Go Won tugged at the dress Hyunjin had gotten her - silk, long sleeves, long, pink-ish, patterned with diamond shapes filled with green, orange, pink and white. It was pretty enough, she supposed -, looking at the mirror as she wondered if this was good enough to meet Lady Viian. Her hand flew to where the butterfly medallion was hidden, and she took a deep breath.

As if noticing she was anxious, Heejin approached. She looked more like a princess than Go Won could ever hope to look like, dressed in white lace, with a rectangular neckline, a small bunny pendant in silver laying between her collarbones. Go Won felt inappropriate, close to her.

“Don’t worry, Go Won, you looked great. Want me to brush your hair?” Heejin asked, humming, and Go Won, blushing just the tiniest bit, nodded. They sat on the bed, and Heejin soon started to work on Go Won’s hair, humming softly. “Alright, last round of questions, okay? Just to make sure you’re down to the details.”

“Sure.” It would calm her down a little, maybe; that’d be nice.

“What was princess Chaewon’s favorite dessert?” Heejin asked, and Go Won smiled. She knew that - it was chocolate. She had always loved chocolate.

“Chocolate cake.” She replied, and Heejin tsked, making Go Won protest.

“Come on, Go Won, it was candy. Any of them, as long as it had a copious amount of sugar.” Heejin chuckled, softly brushing Go Won’s hair, and Go Won frowned. No, she distinctly remembered stealing a piece of cake from her parent’s tea table, giggling like mad as she ate it underneath the linen tablecloth, until her parents found out, her mother arguing for her to be punished, her father - her father?

She rose up, a headache forming on her head, and Heejin looked at her, worried.

“I liked chocolate better. I did, I swear…” She said, and stopped herself, shaking her head to clear off the thoughts. “The candies were sweet, yes, but chocolate was better.”

“How do you… Know that?” Heejin asked, careful, rising up as well, leaving the brush alone. “I didn’t tell you that.”

“I just… Know. It’s weird, but I remember that father and mother had this tea time, every day, no matter what, and…” She told Heejin the story, and her eyes grew to the size of saucers when she finished. “I know, I probably just invented it.”

Heejin bit her lower lip, hesitating on something, and Go Won waited, feeling the headache subside. That was good - she didn’t want to meet Lady Viian with a headache pounding her brain.

“No, you didn’t,” Heejin said, after what seemed like an eternity. “You… Chaewon was probably five, it was what made your parents get Sooyoung and Jiwoo as your ladies in waiting, saying…”

The voice of her mother rang through her head, and Go Won knew what had been the excuse behind Chuu and Yves - Jiwoo and Sooyoung. Those were her names.

“That it would help me get some manners. Father protested it, but he accepted when he saw me playing with them.” Gasping at her own words, Heejin approached, touching Go Won’s shoulders quietly, face close, analyzing her eyes for a moment.

She could kiss her, Go Won realized, with a start. She could just kiss Heejin, and no one would ever know. It’d probably be nice.

Making her decision to kiss Heejin, Go Won psyched herself up for it - at the same moment, Heejin fell to her knees, head low.

“Your highness.” She said, and it somewhat broke Go Won’s heart. Of course things couldn’t be so easy, could them? She was - supposedly; she’d only know for sure if the faces of Sooyoung and Jiwoo matched those of Yves and Chuu - a princess, and Heejin was not. “I’ll… I’ll give you a moment. If you’ll excuse me…”

And, with that, Heejin was gone from the room, closing the door softly behind her - and as the door closed, she fell, legs weak too suddenly. Bitter tears made her eyes burn, but she refused to cry, feeling confused.

Was she the princess Chaewon, long lost, heir to a dead royal family? Was she Go Won, the amnesiac Yerim, Jungeun and Jinsol found in an alley? Who was she?

Grabbing, with one hand, the butterfly medallion, she reached for the scarf, picking it up with trembling fingers, and letting it fall open - revealing a motif of little bats, owls, butterflies and fishes scattered through the yarn.

Their animals - Jungeun always liked owls, while Jinsol’s dream was to have the biggest aquarium she could afford, filling it with blue fishes; Yerim simply liked bats, no reason or rhyme.

Burying her face in the scarf, Go Won allowed herself to calm down. She still had to convince Lady Viian.

Lady Viian stared at her, softly, at the other side of the table, Heejin by her left side, and Hyunjin on her right. There was a door that was left half-open, a few feet away, and Go Won could hear the sound of soft music coming from there. Perhaps Lady Viian had left her radio on? Odd choice, to do so from another room, but who was she to question anyone? She barely knew who she was.

“So, would you mind if I asked you a few questions, Go Won?” Lady Viian asked, playing with the rim of her teacup.

“No, not at all.” She replied, and Lady Viian offered her a quiet smile. She started asking Go Won questions a soft, quiet voice, and some Go Won simply knew the answer, while others she knew the answer because Heejin had taught her (mostly, the ones about family history). Heejin and Hyunjin stayed quiet, Heejin eyeing nervously Go Won and Lady Viian, while Hyunjin simply ate bread.

After what seemed like seven loaves later (how), Lady Viian smiled, serving herself more tea.

“One last question, before I give my final judgment. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you escape?” Go Won paused, considering the question, and took a deep breath.

“It may sound silly, but…” She paused once more, taking a sip of her tea to gather courage. “There was… This panel, on the wall, that slid off. A maid came in for our rescue, so we ran off. Then, we ran to the train station, not daring to look back, and... And I fell.”

She missed the surprised look on Heejin’s face because the half-open door in the background opened, revealing the furious face of a girl, another smaller one trying to stop her unsuccessfully.

“Get out.” She said, voice commanding, eyes hard as steel - she recognized her eyes -, and Go Won rose up. “I’m not sure how you heard that story, but I’ll not let you taint my friend’s memory anymore.”

“Yves, come on, I think she may be - “ Chuu started, but Yves didn’t seem to hear her.

“And you. Heejin, right?” Yves said, and Heejin looked to Yves, frozen. “I’ve heard word of your schemes, that you were running something or another to find a look-alike to fool me and Jiwoo. All for the reward, huh? You’re heartless.”

A reward? She looked at Heejin, who seemed pale, and Yves stepped forward, as Lady Viian rose up from her chair, Hyunjin doing the same.

She hadn’t known about a reward. Was Heejin doing what she had been doing for money? To trick her? Go Won had thought it had been out of good faith, but it seems it hadn’t been.

Yves approached her in quick steps, and stared her down - to the crown of her head to the hem of her dress. She stared back - her old friend seemed well. That was nice. She saw the glint of something silver in Yves’ fingers, as she put one hand under her chin, seemingly deep in thought. It looked like a ring.

“You do have some similarity, I’ll give you this, but you’ll never be princess Chaewon. Get that through your head.” She stared back at Yves, and nodded, offering a polite curtsy, and Yves left, as Chuu approached, picking up Go Won’s hands.

“I’m sorry about her. We’ve been tricked one too many times, and Yves is…” A pause, some hesitation; “Yves is hurt, that’s all. But, if it helps, you’re the most convincing one. I wish you good luck.”

Chuu smiled, and left after Yves, waving to the others in the room. When the door closed, Lady Viian sighed, sitting.

“And here I thought I could get away with it.” She passed a hand through her pink-ish hair, sighing once more, eyes closed for a moment. Hyunjin simply nodded, motioning for Heejin to rise up, and Lady Viian looked at Go Won. “I thought you were real, too.”

“If it helps, me too.” Go Won replied, curtsying for a moment, before she left with Heejin and Hyunjin.

Heejin muttered something about having to resolve something in the city, and stayed back, as Hyunjin guided her back home, quietly, one hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” was all Hyunjin said, when they arrived, and she simply nodded, too tired for words, as she went to the room she shared with Heejin. Hyunjin stayed back, but Go Won barely noticed; her mind revolved around Heejin, her sweet face, her eyes -

Heejin, who had betrayed her for money. She had thought it was a selfless mission, trying to find a long-lost princess, giving her hope she could be someone, but no - no, she was just amnesiac Go Won.

And why would she be a princess, anyway? It wasn’t like she even matched the profile. She wasn’t regal looking, or pretty, or anything; she was simply Go Won, amnesiac and silly, with ideas of grandeur . With a frustrated sigh, she started packing her bags, wondering how she was going to go back home. Maybe she could sell her hair or something, or maybe ask Hyunjin…

No. Shaking her head, she discarded that idea. She wasn’t going to ask anyone for anything, anymore. Go Won wondered if she could walk from the border - quite the trek, if she was honest; if by train it was two hours, it was probably a days-long trip. But to arrive home, it’d be worth it.

Someone knocked on her door, opening it slightly, and she huffed, pushing away a strand of her hair, not bothering to look behind her. Chances were it was Heejin, and she really wasn’t in the mood to talk with her. She had tried to sell her like cattle, and Go Won was anything but.

“If it’s you, Heejin, go away.” She said, folding her clothes. She had just a few pieces, but she needed to be meticulous with them, so they’d last longer. "I don't want to see you right now."

“Good thing we’re not Heejin, then.” Said the voice of Yves, so patronizing it was almost dripping off her voice, and Go Won turned to face her, finding Yves and Chuu at the doorstep. Yves seemed pissed, and Chuu offered her a little wave.

“Your highnesses.” Go Won said, blushing a little after being rude at them, offering a clumsy curtsy. “What do I owe - “

“Spare the chitchat.” Yves waved her off, entering the room, and Chuu rolled her eyes at that. Go Won wanted to giggle - Yves always had had a flair for the dramatic -, but she knew it wasn’t exactly appropriate. “It seems history demands we play this game a little longer, doesn’t it?”

“Talk for yourself,” Chuu replied, and Yves shot daggers at her. “I’m almost sure she is, Yves, you just…”

“Almost. That's our issue.” Yves echoed, and Chuu huffed, raising her hands in the air. Yves’ eyes went back to Go Won, and she gave a step back, entering the room. Chuu closed the door behind her. “Very well. Who are you?”

“I think I may be the princess Chaewon, daughter of...” She started, and Yves rolled her eyes at this, making Go Won stop speaking.

“I didn’t ask that. I know who my friend was the daughter of, thank you very much.” Yves sat on the bed, and Go Won did her best to give her space, in the small, cramped room. Chuu stayed by the door, watching with quiet eyes. Yves, meanwhile, stared at Go Won up and down. “I’ll admit I see some similarity. The eyes, maybe.”

When Yves put her hands on her lap, Go Won caught a glint of something silver. It looked like a ring.

“She has the same eyes, Yves.” Huffed Chuu, and Yves pretended not to hear.

The ring was silver, and it was a swan’s neck, wrapped delicately around her finger. She remembered that. She had gotten it as a gift for Yves, for the girl’s fourteenth birthday, got written their nicknames - and to match, she had gotten for herself the butterfly medallion, and to Chuu...

“Yes, but all of the others had similar features, no?” Yves asked, forgetting about Go Won. "The girl the other day, Olivia, had the same nose."

“Bu Go Won…!” Chuu said, and Go Won gave a step forward, interrupting them.

“Does… Does Chuu have the little… Penguin earrings?” She asked, and the two stopped, looking at her with surprised eyes. “I see Yves still has the swan ring, but does Chuu have it still?”

“How do you…?” Yves asked, as Chuu marched forward, showing off her ears - and yes, there were the little two penguins, hidden by Chuu’s brown hair. Go Won quietly took from the inside of her clothes the butterfly medallion, taking a gasp out of Chuu. “That’s…”

“Mine. I was found with it.” She turned it, the inscription on it still there, like it had always been.

“Chaewon,” Said Yves, in a whisper, abandoning all composure, as the two hugged her. Go Won - Chaewon, now - smiled, softly, and hugged them back.

It felt right. It felt like she had come home, once more, and she had missed them so much.

The two convinced her - somehow, but it didn’t take much, really - to move in with them, and Go Won went, bag in hands. Chuu was stuck to her arm, and one of Yves' hands was in her shoulder, like the two were still regretting that they hadn’t been able to catch her and now, plainly refused to let go.

At the foot of the stairs, they met Heejin, who simply offered a curtsy, not looking at them. If Go Won turned her head to look at her once, well, Heejin didn’t seem to notice.

Her heart was torn on this matter - her tongue itched to call Heejin, to tell her to come with them -, but she knew now that she hadn’t brought her to Paris out of the goodness of her heart.