Jinhee woke up in the morning, her body was sore and stiff from the night before. As she remembered her wedding night she buried her face into the pillow and groaned. No other man would ever want her now. Weirdly enough, Chanyeol was the only person crossing her mind at the moment and knew that she had let him down by not fighting Jongin more.

 

"Good morning your majesty." A calm voice called out and Jinhee yelped and drew the blankets up to her nose and looked at the servant standing at the end of her bed. "May I help you get dressed?" She asked and Jinhee told her that she could dress herself but the woman grew uncomfortable and shifted her weight back and forth on her feet. Jinhee forgot that she was royalty now and she had people help her doing everything in her life so finally she got out of bed and let the woman help her get dressed. She informed her that she last saw the prince having breakfast since it had been served recently.

 

"Does the prince always rise early?" Jinhee asked as she stood still so the servant could expertly do her hair.

 

"Yes your majesty, always. Our lovely prince Jongin has a hearty breakfast and then goes to his exercises. His majesty is very admirable." The servant seemed old enough that she could have been around since Jongin was a child and Jinhee had a million questions but she didn't want to press her for more. Once dressed, Jinhee made her way through the palace towards the dining room. As she approached the doors she took a deep breath. Her nerves were driving her nuts as she hadn't thought of what to say to Jongin after what happened between them the night before. The doors opened and in the middle of the room was a large table that could sit twenty people but the only people there were Heiryung and her husband who were gnashing away at the food in front of them. For only two people there were plates upon plates of food. The servants bowed as Jinhee made her way over to them and sat beside Heiryung who greeted her with a soft smile. A plate was put in front of her and Jinhee started picking at her food.

 

"How are you feeling this morning my sister?" Heiryung asked and Jinhee just nodded her head. She was growing increasingly embarrassed as she figured everyone in the palace already knew that they consummated their marriage. "You just missed your husband, he went to go train about twenty minutes ago." Heiryung grabbed a plate of food by her and transferred some food from it to Jinhee's plate that was now over flowing with food. Without her children around, Heiryung was growing worried and her motherly instincts were taking her over.

 

"He seemed very...energetic...this morning." Heiryung's husband chimed in and then let out a deep chuckle that brought a blush to Jinhee's face. Heiryung sent him a glare to leave the young girl alone and her husband grimaced and excused himself from the table and left the room. Jinhee didn't feel like eating and instead just picked at her food and moved it around the plate to give it the appearance of her eating.

 

"I apologize for my husband, he is a bit of a brute." Heiryung reached out and grasped Jinhee's hand and the younger woman felt her heart jump. Never before had she felt such a reaction from another girl holding her hand but there was something about Heiryung that was electric, perhaps that was why everyone she ever met had fallen madly in love with her. "Hopefully my brother was kind to you." Heiryung muttered so the servants couldn't hear and the blush came back to Jinhee's face. She wasn't used to someone saying something so bluntly but from the few interactions she had with Heiryung she figured it was just one of her many charms.

 

"Yes your majesty." Jinhee whispered back and shoved a huge piece of food into to stop herself from talking any further. Heiryung laughed and Jinhee noticed that a few of the male servants in the room lit up at the noise.

 

"Don't be so formal, we're family now after all. Treat me as if I were your friend." Heiryung waved to the servants to clear the plates as she had caught on that Jinhee wasn't going to eat. "I was the exact same after I got married. All of the staring caused me to lose my appetite. Whispers seem to echo in this palace." Heiryung looked at one of the servants in the corner of the room and Jinhee followed her gaze and saw that it was one of the women that sat outside her door the night before. "Let's go for a walk." Heiryung stood up and took Jinhee's hand, dragging the young girl behind her as she didn't have a choice in the matter. The two women walked around the palace and Jinhee was finally able to see the few areas that she had never explored before. The small courtyards and personal gardens that the King hogged all to himself .

 

"I know that getting married wasn't what you or Jongin wanted, but I think you two will be a good match for each other." Heiryung spoke up and Jinhee scowled. The thought of being a match with Jongin made her skin crawl but she figured that Heiryung had never seen the harsh side of Jongin that she had seen.

 

"I know Jongin is cold and distant with most people but once you get to know him, Jongin is one of the most loyal and caring people I have ever met." Heiryung spoke so highly of her younger brother that Jinhee felt like scoffing at the woman. The man that forced her to marry him and destroyed the last piece of her memories of her father was nothing more than a monster. "Maybe your snarky attitude can break through that wall of his." Heiryung chuckled and playfully nudged Jinhee. She didn't mean for her attitude to show but Heiryung seemed very adapt at reading peoples personalities that there was no way Jinhee could hide from her.

 

The two women came upon the training grounds and standing there was a ground of perhaps thirty men in a circle around two men in armor, swinging swords expertly at each other. One of the men in particular looked as if he were dancing around the man, landing precise hits on the other man. Finally the man who had a beating placed upon him fell and the other fighter brought his sword down and pointed it at his throat. The men in the circle cheered loudly and laughed.

 

"We plan to leave shortly, your belongings should be packed. Get Jongin washed up and we will be on our way." Heiryung pointed towards the men before walking off and Jinhee tried to find Jongin among them. The winner of the fight took off his helmet and Jinhee was shocked to see that it was none other than Jongin himself covered in a light sheen of sweat. He had a cold expression on his face as he reached down and helped the other man back onto his feet. The other man took his helmet off and Jinhee was noted that the man was extremely handsome as well. Were all the men in this palace required to be good looking? Jinhee felt oddly out of place and thought about leaving but the man who was defeated by Jongin spotted her and bowed deeply and came back up with a large smile on his face and she couldn't help but smile and bow back. Seeing the two men side by side reminded Jinhee of a dog and a cat. The soldiers all turned around and when the saw Jinhee standing there, they all bowed except for Jongin who glared at her. The friendly looking man and Jongin walked towards her.

 

"Princess Heiryung says we can leave as soon as you are ready, your majesty." Jinhee said once Jongin was in earshot and her husband nodded and shoved passed her.

 

"Move, fish brain." He muttered and stormed off, peeling his armor off and shoving it into the arms of the waiting servants.

 

"You must be the princess, nice to meet you. I am general Kim Jongdae but everyone just calls me Chen." His lips curled into a feline line smile and when he saw Jinhee give him a confused look he forced the sweaty hair off of his forehead. "Jongin didn't like the fact that our names were similar so he made everyone in the palace call me Chen, it's childish I know but that's Jongin." The man laughed and a wide smile broke onto Jinhee's face, this man was like a ray of sunshine in this gloomy place.

 

"Have you known his majesty for long?" Jinhee asked and Chen motioned for the two of them to walk.

 

"Yes I have, princess. My father used to be the commander of the King's army so I was raised alongside all of the prince's. I know all of Jongin's secrets as well." Chen winked and Jinhee choked back a chuckle and Chen was proud of himself for making the princess smile as she seemed nervous around him at first. They made their way to the front of the palace where the carriages were waiting. "It was a pleasure meeting you princess, hopefully we can talk more once you return." Chen bowed deeply and Jinhee nodded in agreement. A large hand reached out and slapped Chen's shoulder in an odd embrace.

 

"Not too much talking I hope." It was Jongin in a fresh pair of clothes and it looked as if he poured a whole bucket of water over his head as if it were a fast bath. He had also clearly used perfumed oils as he no longer smelled of sweat but instead smelled like fresh pressed linens and flowers.

 

"Just enough to tell her that you're afraid of ghosts." Chen quickly rolled out of Jongin's grasp and rushed away as Jongin swung wildly at his friend.

 

"Ghosts? How childish." Jinhee snickered and Jongin scoffed.

 

"Shut up fish brain." Jongin walked passed Jinhee to get to the carriages but on his way he reached out and yank her long braid, he pulled so hard in fact that Jinhee's head snapped back and she feared that her scalp would seperate from her skull. When she yelped in pain Jongin smiled in victory and boarded the carraige and slammed the door shut, not even waiting for Jinhee who had tears welling in her eyes as she shuffled in. The voyage would take a whole day and Jinhee didn't know if she would be able to survive that long stuck with him in a small box. She already wanted to throw herself in front of the horses to end her suffering but she didn't want to punish the horses for her sins.