The towering dining hall set the stage for all that was about to come.  Warmly lit as the morning sun gleamed off the cream colored walls, and contrasted the deep cobalt blue tapestries embroidered with silk.

     Eun-Hye sighed and glanced down at the floor as she made her way into the hall.  Not wanting to remove her eyes from the ground she followed one the maids in front of her as she took her seat at the large banquet table.

      “He’s not here yet?” Eun-Hye finally spoke.

       “He is in the lounge with the king, miss, they should be along any--,” The maid began only to be interrupted by the familiar groan of the hall doors opening.

      “Here we go again,” Eun-Hye whispered to herself as she looked up to see just who her uncle had picked out this time.

        He was nothing like anyone she had ever seen before. Dressed in a light gray, his jet black and eyes seemed to pierce the warm and inviting atmosphere.  In its place, a somber air that masked the room immediately as he approached the table.

        “Ah, my dear niece don’t you look lovely this morning.” King Ho-jun beamed at his niece with a slightly rehearsed smile.

         “Thank you uncle.” Eun Hye said returning the same scripted response to him.

        “May I introduce Prince Seung-hyun.” Ho-Jun said stepping to the side to reveal the young man fully.

  Eun-Hye found herself a bit taken back as she observed his presence fully, almost instantly she met his penetrating eyes and though his stare did not carry any sort of threat or arrogancy to it, she did not like it.

  “Princess.” His deep voiced resonated.

Hearing his low voice for the first time, Eun Hye knew he was like no other suitor that her uncle had brought around before.  Kindly responding with a delicate grin, Eun Hye became intrigued, out of curiosity or fear; she did not know as she took her seat at the dining room.  For what seemed like hours passed, as Eun Hye, her uncle, and Seung-hyun ate a light lunch.  Sure, conversation was present, though Eun Hye was lucky if she could get the occasional comment in as the king watched her interaction with the prince intently.

      “Well, my, my, look how the day has carried on,” the king bellowed out suddenly in the break of the conversation as one of the servants came to whisper in his ear. “It seems there is some other royal regards I must attend to for now, Eun Hye—why don’t you and the prince take a stroll around the palace, hmm?” Ho-jun said rather than asked.

“Yes uncle.” Eun Hye replied as she rose from the table softly.

Not to appear apprehensive, Eun Hye quickly linked arms with the prince and sped away from the dining hall, feeling her uncle’s watchful eyes on her the entire time.

**************** (Meanwhile)

“Kim Bum-ah!!! Kim Bum-ah, come inside before dinner gets cold!” A chubby little woman exclaimed as she stood at the base of a small cottage.

“Yes Aunt!” A skinny young man answered back as he emerged from a hedge of rose bushes.  Walking over to a nearby fountain, he hurried to splash some of the cool rushing water over his sweat-ladened face and wash his hands.

“Kim Bum-ah!!! Sit down already won’t you? Always, playing out in the garden.” The woman scolded him jokingly as he made his way to the small table near one of the windows.

“Thank you Imo.” Kim Bum smiled brightly as she set a hot plate of food in front of him that he soon devoured not realizing how hungry he actually had been.

“You know, I hear the kingdom is looking for some help around the royal gardens again.” The little woman expressed glancing at the young man in front of her.

“Imo Hyun Ae, not this again..” Kim Bum scoffed.

“I know, I know, but just hear your aunt out, yes?” She replied.  “We have been lucky to keep the cottage—and the garden for this long, but we can’t be blind Kim Bum.

“Has that palace rat been sneaking around here again? I swear if I get my hands on—,” He began.

“Enough—you shouldn’t be surprised, the king has had his eye on this land for years. Why not find out where all the palace bouquets come from, hmm?” “Which is why it is our jobs to make sure that secret is keep, right?” Hyun Ae asked.

“Yes—but..” Kim Bum trailed off.

“Listen, Kim Bum-ah,” she said placing his hand in her own. “Before your mother passed, she would always say to me, “the beauty of flower begins with its stem,” now, I know how much you resent the kingdom and everything involved with it, but—I myself have become like the petals, and will soon fade away—you are the stem now nephew, it is up to you.”

Rising from the table silently, Kim Bum only let out a small sigh as he nodded in acknowledgement to his aunt and disappeared into his room.

“It was a lot to consider,” He thought as he laid down to stare at the straw ceiling.  He knew how much the garden had meant to his mother as well as himself, but stepping back onto such unwelcoming territory again, Kim Bum struggled to convince himself he could do it.