There it was.

Hiding away from her in the back of the pantry.

Jisoo reached in and grabbed the bottle of Southern Comfort liqueur stowed away behind the flour and the maple syrup. Without any effort, she twisted off the cap and swigged from the bottle. Lazily pushing the kitchen door open, she pulled her dress into the hall and trudged along aimlessly, drinking here and there. Tiredness swept over her - she couldn't remember the last time she slept well. She knew she couldn't have saved him from a bullet, He was a vampire, though, so couldn't he have healed fast or, or just...

not died?

It was only one in the afternoon and Jisoo suddenly remembered that she had an appointment with the General and their team. That meant going out to the pavilion. That meant exerting more effort than she felt necessary.

She just wanted to sleep.

But she couldn't.

So why not drag her body all the way over there to that secret room?

"Your Highness!" General Lee exclaimed, helping steady Jisoo as she tripped entering the room, the bottle now a quarter empty.

"I'm late, sorry." she mumbled, sitting down in the chair and thanking the General for his help.

"We are so sorry for your loss." he said, bowing before her, the rest of his men following suit.

"Is this Revenet or something?" Jisoo laughed bitterly. "Straighten yourselves."

"Now you mentioned Revenet," General Lee began, "We sent some men to the border and retrieved your guard for you."

"What?" Jisoo frowned. The alcohol must've scrambled her hearing.

"We brought the guard you talked about. Yixing? We thought after everything that's happened you might find comfort in him."

"Yes, yes... That was very considerate of you. Where is he?"

"I've sent word to King Seokjin. He was understanding, especially after what happened. Yixing can protect you both."

"Where is he?"

"He's waiting outside."

"I didn't see him." she said. "Call him inside."

Rising up, she moved to the sideboard table to pour herself some hot water. She only heard the scuffle of doors opening, hushed voices and a quiet steps of military boots trying not to draw attention to themselves. Downing the water, she reached over for the bottle of alcohol once more. Before she had a chance to see him, she heard his voice:

"Your Guard kneels before you."

Wow.

How long had it been since those words passed her ears?

Jisoo turned to look at her old guard, on one knee, his hands together, head down. He looked older than she remembered him. His hair hadn't been kept too well and blood stains had dried on his armour. His sword hung at his hip as always.

"It's been hard for you." she said quietly, running her hand through his hair gently. "You can rest here. Get up and join us at last."

"Now that Prince Namjoon is no longer with us, your Highness, we have decided that it would be best to try and convince King Seokjin to go along with our plan. Or, we can depose of him and replace him."

"With who?" Jisoo asked, her eyes feeling heavy. "I'll convince him."

"Your Highness, even though it's our main option now, are you sure he would be able to come on board?"

"Creating hidden rooms in broad daylight is only one of my many talents." she smiled wryly, taking another drink. "I will take care of Jin. I'll guarantee you a declaration of war within the next three weeks. Do not be surprised if he comes to you to talk of invasion, but you must not let him know that I talked of it with you. Is that clear?"

"Understood, your Highness."

Jin looked at Jisoo in front of him. They were back in the Revenet palace it seemed, if the ridiculously ornate surroundings were anything to go by. Jisoo was perched on her throne but her clothes looked like something a commoner would wear. Her robes were made of cotton, filthy and cheap. Behind her, her father and mother sat in their regal robes, sparkling with gold and jewels. 

His wife's hands were in chains, her feet too.

"It's not that the bird didn't want to sing. It