“Your highness! Please come down,” your nurse begged, nearly in tears at the sight of you climbing towards one of the higher branches of the tree, the skirt of your dress scandalously bunched up past your knees.

“Just a bit more!” You shouted back, determined to get to the frightened cat stuck in the tree. It was a mystery how it got there in the first place, but after observing it for a while, you were convinced that it was not going to be able to make it down on its own.

You ignored your nurse’s desperate pleas as you reached the branch the cat was perching on. The branch was quite thin so you didn’t dare climb on top of it, trying to stretch your arm to reach the cat instead. You were doubtful that the branch could even hold the cat for much longer. It was scared out of its wits, obviously, hissing and refusing to come towards you, even though you tried your best to persuade it by talking to it softly.

Just then a strong gust of wind blew, sweeping your hair into your face, making you lose sight for a few seconds. You brushed your hair out of your face irritatedly just in time to see the cat losing its balance and falling towards the ground. More out of reflexes than anything else, you made a crazy swipe for it and managed to grab it by its stomach.

Unfortunately you had no time to even feel happy about the feat as your move to catch the cat made you loosen the grip on the tree trunk that you had with your other arm, resulting in a quick and rough descent down the tree, the coarse bark ripping your hands and clothes as you tried to regain your hold on the trunk without success before you lost hold completely, freefalling towards the ground, screaming in fright.

A light smack on the back of your head brought you back to reality. You tore your gaze from the tree where the incident happened years ago to scowl at your grinning second brother, Jimin.

He looked pretty proud of himself. Usually you were a model student, paying complete attention to lessons that you were permitted to attend with your brothers but today you were simply not in the mood, and Jimin apparently had taken it upon himself to bring your focus back to the lesson by throwing a paper ball at your head. You scoffed silently. He rarely paid attention during lessons, and your tutors frequently reminded him to be more like his sister and elder brother.

Sneaking a glance at the tutor, you held the paper you had crushed into a ball in your fist, waiting for the right moment to retaliate. Several attacks were exchanged before your tutor noticed that there was a growing pile of trash around your desks and gave the two of you a dirty look, but decided to let it slide when both of you had the sense to look apologetic and turned back towards your books. Your eldest brother, Namjoon, was too focused on his notes to notice that anything out of the ordinary was happening.

One glance at him reminded you of how lucky you were to be able to learn mathematics, science and the like with your brothers when most girls were not given that opportunity, being encouraged to pursue more feminine activities instead. Namjoon’s intelligence and dedication to learning was something that you’ve always admired, among other traits, but it was expected of him, since he was the crown prince after all. He had always been responsible and hardworking, while your traits hover between the two princes – interested in gaining knowledge and governing the country like your eldest brother, with a fun-loving and carefree attitude similar to your second brother, and a stubborn and rebellious streak of your own that drove everyone crazy.

“Just what were you daydreaming about, pipsqueak?” Jimin asked a few minutes later as you walked down the hall, pinching your cheek. You swatted his hand away, resisting the urge to kick him. Childhood had left you behind years ago, and you needed to remember to act like a lady. Like a princess. Even though you never held back on Jimin when there were no prying eyes.

Namjoon looked on with confusion. “Did I miss something?”

“Shorty here was staring off into space just now,” Jimin answered. You didn’t even bother to acknowledge another one of his annoying nicknames for you this time.

“I got distracted,” you explained. “Do you remember when I climbed the tree outside the window to rescue that cat?”

“As I recall, I rescued you and the cat,” Namjoon grinned, and you pouted. True, he did catch you before you hit the ground,  but was no one going to acknowledge the fact that you climbed up the tree to get the cat, getting countless cuts and a punishment from the Queen later in the process?

The annoying princes simply chuckled when you reminded them of that, and you were thinking of a retort when they were summoned by the king. Despite not being called for, you followed them into the castle front, where several horses and a large group of men were getting ready.

“Where are you going today?” You asked Namjoon as he and Jimin quickly got ready for the trip.

“We are visiting the south villages today,” as usual, Namjoon never gave pause in indulging his baby sister with information. “The crops are doing well this year, but the villages have been attacked. We have a suspicion of who were behind the attacks but we need to investigate further to make sure. Mostly we are going to help them however we can, see if we can provide them with anything.”

This was not the first time that news of the villages in the outskirts being attacked reached your ears, and you couldn’t help but feel worried for your brothers, who were visiting the villages in the king’s stead. Catching your concerned expression, Namjoon pressed his hand against your cheek and smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” he said. “We have adequate protection, and it seems that the attackers have left the villages.”

You took his hand that was resting upon your cheek to wrap it with both your hands and you nodded understandingly. “It will be very reassuring for them to have the princes see to their welfare themselves. I’m sure it will boost their morale too.” Namjoon’s smile widened at your words, making his dimples more prominent. He appreciated your views on matters concerning the country, they are similar to his.

“I wish I could go too,” you said longingly.

“You will soon,” Namjoon answered. “I imagine father will be glad to have someone from the family visit the hospitals and orphanages again. Minister Kim does a great job, but it’s just not