12 months had passed and Jisoo was seeing progress in Jin.

Being concerned with the success of the new country and the happiness of the people, Jisoo did her best to take care of Jin. They were no longer a married couple - she was his caretaker, she endured his outbursts of rage, his weak moments, all the while staying calm and consistently assuring him that she had no intentions of manipulating him again. When he asked her, she explained to him exactly when, why and for how long it went on. She calmly explained that there was no longer a need to continue to do such an awful thing to him because the goal was achieved. She couldn't count how many times she had apologised to him. But he was making progress, she could see that at least. He wasn't going to trust her anytime soon, but she implored him to trust other people.

"Jin!" Jisoo yelled, dodging a sofa cushion thrown at her.

"Why should I even bother anymore? Why should I even stay alive, huh? Tell me!"

"Because your people need you! Our people need you!"

"Bull!" he shot back. "Nobody needs me!"

"We do!" Jisoo insisted. "You are so loved by everyone - look at all the good you did, look at all the advancements you've brought to Revenet."

"But none of that was me! It was you! All you!"

"Jin..." Jisoo sighed. "You still did it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for doing that to you, but you are loved by them!"

After Jin had worn himself out from his anger, he collapsed onto the sofa in a heap and ignored her. She remained by his side for a while before deciding that leaving him alone would suit him better than having him agitated by her presence. Well, no one said it would be an easy job, the doctors and psychologists were doing their best, the therapy was helping. Little by little, he was becoming himself once again.

"How do you do that every day?" Yoongi asked her, his voice alone soothing her tired body.

"I feel bad I guess. Even if I didn't feel bad, isn't it the correct thing to do?"

Yoongi wrapped his arms around the Queen's shoulders as he sat behind her on their shared bed in her quarters. It was well known within the palace the relationship between the two. They had become closer than either had expected. Yoongi kissed her exposed skin on her neck. He was happy these days - he was still important to the Queen, to the country and to the diplomatic process. For the last twelve months they had been making up for lost time when they were separated by war. It was odd, he still couldn't get enough of her. He knew she wasn't manipulating him, it was just her natural charm. She looked absolutely amazing in her robes that she wore every day, that most people had now taken to wearing in the general public too. The courtesans had become celebrities all over the country, and their fashion had spread to the former Northern Territory.

They still hadn't decided what to call the new merged land.

It wasn't long before Yoongi had her out of her rob