Jaehwa just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that they were going to fight a war against the huge Empire of Yeora. Now that she thought about it, it did not sound as simple as before. They could lose in a matter of a day or two or even a few hours, that was their strength right now and she was actually getting giddy about it. The chances were very thin that they could actually win against the empire, who had defeated about half a dozen of kingdoms in such a short time, without a miracle happening and even if they did, they would come out very damaged out of it. Sure, Yeora was hungry for power but it was powerful too. Very powerful.

So now she could be seen walking down the hall to the room of her father. She would always come to him whenever she was in doubt. That's what she was doing right now.

"Father," she called at the door.

The room was big enough to fit a hundred people easily. It had big green curtains with golden bands hanging on the windows. The walls were creamish-yellow with various paintings and maps hanging. There was a picture of her grandfather, the 66th King of Juana, right above the massive king-sized bed at the other end of the room. There were two tables with various papers and scrolls and chests. On the mid-left side was her father studying something.

The King looked up at her from the paper on the table. He motioned for her to come in. She walked into his room eyeing the paper curiously. It was a map. There was Yeora in the left, the big patch of land with various kingdoms scattered around it. It was marked with blue while the four kingdoms around it were marked red. To their right were two more kingdoms marked red while the two others around were yellow. There was a river in the middle of the continent. River Alka. Some of the northern sides were green as were all those in the south of the river. Juana was in green. Jaehwa realised what the map was about.

"It will be tough," she said.

"You're right. Very tough," her father said looking down at the map again.

"Do you think it's the right decision? To fight a war after all these years of peace?" The King looked up at her, sensing the doubt in her voice. 

"What do you fear?" he asked.

"This war can destroy us and it is almost impossible to win against them," she said.

"Does the most egoistic and stubborn girl in Juana believe that we will not last a war?" Her father raised an eyebrow. 

Jaehwa opened , then huffed. How could he joke at a time like this.

"Father, we have 346 soldiers while Yeora has about 3000. That would be a fight of one man to eight. And even though I believe in our men, I do believe that Yeora has some nasty tricks up their sleeves. They have won every war they've fought so far."

She looked at him. There was such fierceness in her eyes, yet there was doubt. A doubt every sane person in the kingdom was having right now.

"Look at this map, Jaehwa." He pointed towards the map. She walked closer to the table. "The blue land is Yeora. The red lands are the kingdoms it defeated in war. The yellow are the kingdoms that gave in without a fight. How many do they make?"

"Eight," she counted.

"And how many are green?"

"Sixteen including us," she counted again.

"So they haven't even conquered half of the continent."

She drew her eyebrows together. "But that doesn't justify anything. They'll soon-"

"Your grandfather," he interrupted. "My father, the late King of Juana, had once said to me when I was a child, 'Fight with brain, fight with courage, fight with numbers and you will ignite with fire. Fight with fear, fight with doubt and you will burn to ashes.' Do you understand the meaning?"

She nodded. He reached out to hold her shoulders.

"We're as powerful and strong as we make us. And we are more courageous than our enemy can handle. We will win or die fighting," he said. "Do you remember the princess who defied the norms and forced her brother to teach her swordplay when no one thought she could even lift a sword. But she excelled so well and proved that her courage and the fire in her heart were greater than the minds of those people who belittled her. She did what people didn't believe in. Isn't she the girl standing before me?"

Jaehwa smiled at the memories. Her father had supported her in so many things. Swordplay was one more. When she was nine, she used to run to the courtyard and hide behind the pillar to watch her her brother everytime he was learning fighting. One day when she couldn't take it anymore, she stole her brother's favourite book and threatened to burn them if he didn't teach her. Surprisingly her father came and supported her and told Junmyeon to teach her. The Queen and many people in the castle were definitely not happy. But that never mattered to her. That day was one of the most delightful days in her life.

But now all the happiness seemed endangered. She looked at her father and frowned.

"You know that herald wanted us to war against Yeora. They already believe they'll win," she said.

"I know. They want to instill fear in the other kingdoms by winning thier first war across the river. That too against Juana, the Kingdom of Peace."

"Well it's not gonna happen," she looked at a him and gave a sparkly smile.

"No it will not," he returned it.

---

Jaehwa went to the stables. She had remained in her father's room for about half an hour more talking about the various strategies they could have. Their first step was to ask the neighbouring kingdoms to send help, soldiers. They could not stay over-confident thinking they could easily bring down 3500 soldiers with the 450 they had. They needed more.

So here she was at the horse stables to have a ride to get her mind around everything that was happening. She had changed to the common folk attire. Nobody would let her live if she went to the town looking like a royal and got identified as the princess. She had spent countless days convincing her mother to happily let her roam the towns in disguise of a commom girl. 

"I want to go for a ride," she told the guard at the gate of the stables.

He bowed. "I'll bring your horse to you, your Highness."

"No. Haven't I told you enough times that I like to bring her myself?" She definitely was not a rude royal but she was highly annoyed by the way the guards always asked to bring her her horse. They didn't do that with her brother. "Move. I'll take her myself."

The tone in her voice made him oblige with no comments. He opened the gate and she walked in.

There were many horses, some owned and some with no owners, in the stables. Juanna had one of the most posh horses in the continent. But her horse was the most unalike. She was a jewel Jaehwa could recognize a mile away. She had fallen in love with her mare when Jaehwa was thirteen, when Ara was just a pony but so different from the others, with her shiny golden-white coat with dark black spots on it and u