Chapter 2

Hyun Joon carried Amber all the way to the royal baths over his shoulder. She began to whine and moan after 5 minutes of the journey. " Ya! We are almost there." He shouted. "All the better to put me down, what would people think?" Amber exclaimed as they continued there journey. "Ya! What do you think your doing? Arrest that man! He is man handling the Princess! Where is the captin of the guard?" A small astute women dressed in Qing clothing. At that moment Hyun Joon gently place Amber onto her feet. He spun her around to face the women. She grab his clothing to steady herself from dizziness. Whiping the blood from her cut hand.

"Blood! I see Blood! Arrest him he has harmed the princess!" none of the gaurds in the palace wheer moved by her words. "Are you blind that man has harmed the princess, why aren't you going to protect her!" The women protested, then sent her own soilders towards them. This caused the palace soilders to surround the Qing soilders. "You majesty, it is not what you think. This is the captin of the princesses guard." Amber stated humbling bowing. "Withdraw yourselves, they mean no harm." Amber ordered the soliders surrounding her. "I have withdrawn our soilders, if you would be so kind you majesty." 

With a flick of her wrist the Queen's soliders retreated, Amber repeated her bow ina sign of thanks. "I am sorry you majesty for concerning you. I was being taken to the royal baths under orders of the king. He didn't want anymore harm to come of me so had that captin carry me. My brothers requested my prescence for there training and needed a musican. I had agreed and it was why I failed to attend the tea which I am sincerly sorry for, The cut was when I tripped and feel on a dagger. A mere accident your majesty." Amber finished her explaining with another bow. "Ah, I see. I hope no more harm comes to you child. And captin?" She spoke powerfully. "Yes your majesty." He stated with a bow looking up to met her gaze quickly. "You should carry cargo as precious as the princess with a kinder hold." He bowed again. "Forgive me your majesty, I just didn't want the princess to ran away again." He stated softly. "She is worried of her fathers anger, for missing the tea with yourself and the other queens." He spoke softer than his previous statement. 

It caused the queen to laugh. "Child, we were not offended. Merely intrigued by what a princess might have arranged. Most Princesses spend there days in relaxation. We were surprised to find a princesses with a scheduel as busy as a crown prince." She looked upon the child fondly. "I have never met a child, who could lie as well as a prime minister. We know what you were doing Princess we watched keenly, you are a very impressive fighter." This caused Amber to choke and quickly kneel infront of the queen. "I am so sorry for lying, you majesty. I should not have lied. I didn't wish to offend you tea sitting by not attending for my martial arts training." 

"I am sorry your majesties, I really must take the princess to the royal baths. Dusk is approaching and I do not wish to anger the king." Hyun joon bowed pushing Amber slightly towards the direction of the baths. "Princess before you go. Do not fear your father too much he loves you more than a flower loves the sun. When he sees you he can't help but gravitate towards you. But be careful princess, you will be leaving here soon. Breaking your attachments now will make your marriage much easier." The Queen stated reminiscing her younger days before marriage. She turned towards the lovers infront of her and knew the heart break they would face. 

Hyun Joon lead her quickly to the baths and informed the court ladies to perform their duties quickly as amber had a tea sitting with the king. "Put her in purple, she looks best in purple." The court ladies gushed at the comments from hyun joon. "Leave her hair out, do not braid it. It doesn't suit her.  Please clean her wound as well." He nodded before exiting and waiting outside the wash chamber for her. "Oppa? Are you still out there?" Amber called from the bath. "Yes, Princess." "Oppa! Just call me Amber, the court ladies won't tell anyone." "Princess you know we must not forget our status. What is it you needed." In a whiny voice Amber repeated him. "We must not forget our status. But I think you should work with Yuta. He will be a great warrior if he stops his repeation." This caused the court ladies to giggle at the couples antics and gossip about how good looking the Prince Yuta was. 

"Yes Princess, I will work with him." Hyun Joon answered. "You fought well today oppa." Amber finished. A swell of pride rose in his chest and he couldn't help but smile. Causing a snikering among the other gaurds he jabbed througherly in the side. The doors to the royal bath house swung open after an hour or so revealing the Princess dressed beautiful in a purple hanbok with loose gaze like sleeves showing her dainty yeah strong arms. The dress had a dragon wrapped around a cherry blossom tree watching the dragon embrodded on her sleeve. "Captin?" She question hyun Joon's silence and blank stare. In his head he questioned why she had to be so beautiful and strong willed, he asked himself why he couldn't admit on that day how much he loved Amber to the king and his father. He wished he could just grab her now and run away. 

"I am sorry Princess, I was in a moment of thought." He nodded and stepped forward to show they were ready to move. "Its said isn't it? To watch them so close to having the dream and even closer for them having their dream ripped away." Princess Taeyoen stating stepping out of the baths as the couple walked away. The rest of the court ladies sighed accepting that they could dare to dream of a happy ending for them. "Yes your majesty." "I think it is sadder for someone to never know that love. Or maybe I am just jealous." She sighed walking in the opposite direction to where her husband would be. 

"Oppa, no one is here. Will you call me Amber now?" The princess asked looking at him with her puppy do eyes. "Why do you do this Amber?" He stood seriously staring into her eyes hating himself every second his heart loved her more. "We cannot, we should not. Why do you do this too me?" He said taking hold of her wrist. "But no one is here. Is it that hard for you to forget your rank for a few minutes?" She stepped closer knowing this as more than rank. "Amber" He whispered quietly dropping one of her wrists and pulling her behind a building. 

A small group of water maids past thier cove without detecting hyun joon or Amber. Shielding Amber from view he turned them and pulled her close. Close enough for Amber to fell his breath upon her face. She looked up at him for a few minutes before tiptoeing to kiss me, with in a few second he wrapped his hand around her neck and kissed back forcely letting a tear slip from his eye. They pulled away and Amber looked at him in hope. "This must never happen again. Princess we need to go." He walked out from there cove and Amber felt a burning in her throught as she try to hold down her tears. Whispering "Oppa, please." "Don't you understand? I am doing this for you. In two months you will be married. You will be a Queen and I will still be here as a captin of the Guard. In a year I will Marry your sister, we will both be expected to love and cherrish our other halves. We will have children and grow old. But we cannot do this. We would both dishonor our families. I have loved you since we were small but now it is time to give each other up." He with drew a small hairpin from his clothing. 

"I will never stop loving you, but now I must not show it any longer. This was my mothers, she told be to give it to the only one my heart could ever be given too. Usually it is part of our family dowry, but I am giving to you because the only thing that makes me sleep at night is somewhere I know you sleep under the same stars." He got onto his knees. "I am begging, only because I love you too much to even consider anything that would put you endanger. Please stop. Don't do anything stupid and stay alive, for me and for your father." Amber let the tears flow down her face and she dropped onto the floor as well with Hyun joon. She slowly slid the hairpin in her hair out and replaced it with Hyun Joon. "Lets stop now. We need to go." Amber wiped Hyun Joons tears and her own before continuing towards her fathers pavalion. 

Reaching the pavalion Ambers arrival was announce swiftly and she entered leaving Hyun to enter behind slowly, standing back behind the Princess observing the others in the room. "I give my greetings to you, I am Princess Amber." She spoke in her softed voice. "So this is the most skilled Princess Amber." An older man in fine clothing spoke who sat close to the king. Amber turned to give her father a questioning look before he nodded for her to greet the man. "You are too kind with your compliment. My ...." She left a pause open for him to fill. "I am the Emperor of Qing, I believed we are to be married, however I feel plans maybe changing, but we shall discuss this later. For now I hear you have the most beautiful voice among all the women in the palace and I would much appreicate to her it." He nodded, the court musicans began to play. Amber stood slowly remember that it was no small lord she was singing for. 

The song they played was an old song about a dragon trapped under water wanting to sing to the dragon of the sun, she was in love with. Amber felt all the emotion of the song as she sung each word it hit her how the story matched her own prediciment and she put all her emotion and heart into the song hoping that Hyun Joon would hear the love in her voice from the song. Nearing the end she hadn't realised the tears on her face begin to fall but her voice was as strong as ever. She finished and bowed towards the Emperor. 

"It has been many moons since I have heard someone sing that song with true understanding of the pain within the lyrics. How do you percieve that song my son?" He turned to look at one of the younger sons who could only be a few years older than Amber. "The dragon lost it's power and is trapped, but it is burrened by the power it has left to the other dragon. And it is jealous of the Sun light the other dragon recieves." The son denoted, hearing this Amber couldn't refrain from correcting. "That is not right." Amber stated. This shocked everyone in the room. "Amber-Ya! Remember your place!" Her father spoke harshly causing her to pull back. "No, please princess. I would like to hear your opinion on the song." The Emperor nodded for her to continue. "It is not about lost power or jealous. The song is about heartache and lost love. The sea Dragon cannot leave the water and can only look upon the sun dragon from far, she wishes to talk to him as they did when they were younger. But they are both guardians now and cannot leave the place they protect. But each Full Moon at the highest peak the Sun Dragon and Sea Dragon can meet at the surface of the water, not to speak but look upon the faces of the one they love. The line of I take joy in my reflection isn'y about the vainty of the dragon but the hiden message of there secret meetings." Amber spoke softly. 

"That is a beautiful story, it would make sense a women would understand these songs better than most." The Emperor stated. "You have a lot to learn child, he looked upon one of his sons again." The King clapped his hands to signal the Tea. "If I would e so honored to pour your first Cup Emperor. I believe it is Honey Jasmine." Befored she began to pour the cup she turned towards the court lady who brought in the Emperors tea. "Stop! No one drink your tea. There is poison in this cup. Officers no one may exit." Amber stood and checked each pot of tea. The Emperors, The kings and her own all held poison but none of the Qing princes held poison. "Arrest the court ladies who servered the Emperor, King and myself. All of our tea has been poisoned with night lotus blossom." The King quickly held up his hand. "Stop, court ladies you have done well by my instructions thank you, you may leave." The quickly exited. "Father but the poison?" She quickly asked in heistation. 

"I am sorry Princess, I heard of your skills and only asked your father help be observe them. You are quiet talented." The Emperor stated. "You only need to ask and I will abliged at any time." Amber bowed once again. "I had feared you would be too talented to just be another one of my Queens, which is why I came early and brought all my sons. You are too young and talented to be my 15th wife, which is why I want to offer you this oppurtunity to decide who you will marry, a competition in your Honor will be held by my name. Any Man from any great house may enter to win your hand and a great sum of land and money. All my sons will be in the competitons, I believe some of the korean Lords sons wish to enter as well, once a winner is made you may decide who you wish to marry whether it be the victor or another great man within the competion. What do you think of that?" Amber was left in shock and had hope in her heart as the Qing Emperor left this possibility open to her. "However please do look favouribly upon my own sons." Amber nodded in agreement and the King felt a sigh of relief. Amber turned quickly to glance at Hyun Joon who wore the same glimmer of hope. 

Only at this point did the king recognise the hair pin within Amber's hair, it was the same Hairpin he gave to HyunJoon's mother when she was to marry Hyun Joon's father, a symbol of their true love. No matter how time would change. 

Authours note;

Okay so chapter two sorry from the grammar and speeling mistakes I am a rough and ready writter but lots of you are used to this by now please let me know your thought feels, loves hates, likes dislikes. 

I am still planning it out so if you have an idea you want to include or want to change please let me know. 

Lots of love 

Laura

xxx.