Joohyun admits, since she was a little child, she rarely feared on anything.  The gruesome matches of joust or any gory sightings did not scare her, but it disgusts her. Both were two different emotions. It was her father, the King whom constantly had his mind encircled with the emotion of fear. Aside fearing for their kingdom’s safety from time to time, he feared over her daughter’s safety the most. And due to his fear, his judgement could become slightly off-putting at times. All her life, Joohyun often questioned and pondered on why her father would take such measures to protect her, even by locking her up in the castle compound for many, many years. Surely, anyone would think the King is mad, and she herself admits that at times, she also thought her father was getting around the bend. But now, she understood. Joohyun had never felt this frightened. The repetitive nightmares she kept having were no match to what she is feeling at the moment. Here she was, sitting with her knees hugging her chest, in the middle of the night inside her bedchamber. They were many feet shuffling outside her door, she could clearly hear. The King had ordered the best knights of the kingdom to guard her room and she was once more ordered to be locked up, but this time, maybe longer. Joohyun could not sleep. Her mind kept repeating her previous actions and amidst of feeling frightened of herself, she was thankful it was only Seulgi who saw what happened. And speaking of the latter, the door opens, revealing Seulgi in her tunic shirt and pants, rather than a nightgown. The girl was whispering something to one of the knights outside, whom Joohyun figured to be Ser Jongin. Seulgi then shuts the door, before locking it. She pauses in her steps as she saw Joohyun staring straight at her. “Prince—Joohyun, why are you still awake?”   “Tell me how am I supposed to shut my eyes with what had just occurred?” Joohyun whispers, so soft and fragile, “You knew about this, don’t you not? You said it was out of my control earlier, as if you had known I had this curse…which means you knew all along? Did you?”   Seulgi did not answer to her bombarded questions, though she exhales from her nose before she proceeds to sit on her bed, just beside her. “Let’s not talk about this right now, shall we? You need to rest your eyes first.”   Her cold hands clutches Seulgi’s own pair and Joohyun did not miss how the latter winces, “If I rest now, then you must promise me that you would tell me everything tomorrow.”   Seulgi releases her hand from Joohyun’s grip and switches their position. She could feel how warm Seulgi’s hand were, covering over hers, caressing in the most softest way, reducing her anxiousness. “You have my word. Not just I, myself, but Jongin would also be there to tell you everything you wanted to know – tomorrow.”   Joohyun searches the dark brown eyes of the lady and can only find the obvious intensity of genuine and care. Her heart tremors at the sight and resulted her to hug the girl with such force, Seulgi almost fell backwards, out of the bed. “Stay.”   “I’ve already planned to.”   “To be truthful, I want you to stay here with me every minute and of every second of the day…for the time being.” Joohyun buries her head deeper at the crook of Seulgi’s neck.   “Is that a command?”   “It is an official order from the Princess.” She whispers, before hearing a soft agreement from Seulgi and the latter reciprocates and embraces her back.                                                      ***   Maybe due to the fact that Chancellor Kang might had a word with her father, the King had allowed for her to leave the bedchamber as long as she was occupied with the appointed knights and to be back in her bedchamber before the sun sets. But there was a slight problem. If she was to be told everything regarding last night’s occurrence, indeed there was no form of privacy. The King had ordered the knights to guard her not more than a fifty metres distance. And the knights probably had the order engraved in their mind for never once, did they further, nor stay too close from her.   “This is impossible.” She heard Seulgi mumbled beside her as they walk out of the hall into the courtyard.   The usual bustling courtyard packed with the higher ups and the nobility were now twice crowded as each had brought their own protectors to guard from the unseen danger. Plus, the people in the castle look much in haste and terrified, as if there is either many complications going on in and out of the castle, which is proven to be true when Joohyun inquires.   “The council has been very much chaotic.” Seulgi explains, “The people had been demanding for actions to be taken, because they are scared for their lives. There were three dead bodies found not far from the Whiteridge border gates two nights ago. And according to the reports, those bodies were similar to the ones spotted after the joust.”   “Yet The King still had the audacity to hold a name-day feast…” Joohyun laments, before she heard a soft calling of her title from her maid, Sooyoung.   Sooyoung bows shortly before slightly tilting her head up, “Ser Jongin wishes to speak to Lady Seulgi and to you, Your Highness.”   Joohyun trails her eyes to the knight, standing the furthest at the back of the formation. He curtly nods before his eyes darts away. She then turns to Seulgi and whisper, “I think I might have a place in mind on where we could talk.”   If there is a place where she was glad The King had built solely for her, it would be her personal garden where only she, herself could enter and only she, herself can allow or forbid anyone from entering. But in their current case, the King, being meticulous, had ordered at least a knight to guard inside and Joohyun was more than glad to call for Ser Jongin though she apologetically had to dismissed Sooyoung for the time being. No one had ever stepped in her personal garden, except for her, The King and Sooyoung. Joohyun had never invited her own cousins nor the other Lady’s in this particular compound because she somewhat felt that there was no necessity for them to be here. This garden is similar to a safe haven and she deeply loves the place for it was the only place where she can overlook the entire West, up to the glint of the blue sea. And besides her own bedchamber, the garden is also the place where she would hide her sorrows and wept whenever she felt unhappy.   “Thank you for letting me in, Princess.” Ser Jongin immediately bows, straightens his body only when Joohyun instructs so.   She knew Jongin was amazed by the garden no matter how hard the knight refrains from showing it in his expression, but the sparkle in his eyes gives away. Joohyun then sits on her usual spot, and insist for Seulgi and the knight to do so which the latter politely declines.   Not wasting much time, she speaks, “I believe the two of you have much to explain. Though some people said that it is better to be ignorant and live in bliss than knowing the truth and live in agony, this unknown curse inside me is now the building cause of my agony. Therefore I want no lies.” Joohyun inspects both of them and they immediately consented in unison. Seulgi then cast a look towards Jongin, as if to signal the guy to speak first and so he did.   “…Princess, if you could, would you allow me to hold both of your hands?” Jongin requests though his voice sounded tense.   “Very well.” Joohyun slides off her gloves and open her palms towards Jongin.   “May I….” Jongin held her hand and it was the first time Joohyun let a man touch it, skin to skin.   Jongin’s hand felt like sandpaper or perhaps stone, rough and unfinished, a contrast to her own but what felt similar is the coldness. The same coldness amidst the summer days in the West. Jongin had gripped her hand firm, and soon Joohyun felt the sudden rush in her veins as she exudes speckles of frost wrapping on both hers and Jongin’s. Wide eye, she pulls away in surprise.   “Princess, I apologise.” Jongin expresses, “I might have gripped your hand to hard. My apologies once more.”   Still clutching her hand to her chest, she carefully points out, “Y-You have it too? You have the curse too?”   “It’s not a curse.” Seulgi takes her hand, enveloping it with her own. “It’s hereditary. You have inherited this ability from the late Queen.”   “Pardon me…but I’m confused…” Hereditary? The late Queen? Her mother? There were still no elaborate explanations on the matter yet in her mind, everything seems to float about. Was this ability of hers the apparent reason why her mother died? Does this mean she will die too? “I don’t understand…though I do want you to explain.”   With a mutual nod Seulgi and Jongin exchanged, not wasting much time, the both of them starts to convey everything. And when Joohyun meant everything; even to the bits about her mother’s origin, her planned murder, and the existence of the hooded figure in her nightmare. With each information, her heart felt heavier and her skin turns paler. There was so much running in her mind, she could not sort her thoughts well.   “It’s alright, Joohyun.” Seulgi’s voice brings her back to the garden. “No matter what happened, Jongin and I would be by your side. We will watch over you.”   Joohyun shifts her eye