Long black hair falls softly on bare shoulder blades. A younger girl gently grasps it in a loose ponytail to run the brush through it again. In the mirror her majesty looked at herself as she applied makeup. Studying her own face, she feels her own confidence drain out of her as her eyes peer upwards at the girl brushing her hair. 

“Yerim-” she says softly, “just take my throne. I can’t do this.”

She finishes brushing her hair and furrows her brows at the the Queen staring at her through the mirror. 

“You were made for this. No one else can do this but you. You have a hall full of guests waiting to celebrate your-” Yerim was cut off by a soft spoken voice by the fireplace.

“You’re going to meet someone tonight. I can’t tell what their significance is, but you’ll know when you see them,” Joohyun says from the lounge chair. 

She was strewn across the chair, more than comfortable, by the warm fire. Her wavy light brown hair fell effortlessly past her face and over her shoulders. 

“Are they dangerous?” Seulgi asks from the corner of the room, overseeing the ladies inside, protecting them.

Joohyun turns her head to look at the slender woman covered in shiny armor that complimented her figure more than hide it.

“Does it matter? You wouldn’t have a job if I knew that much,” Joohyun snickers as she smiles at the knight.  

Seulgi looks away, stifling a smile and hiding her blushed cheeks.

“D-do you want me to have extra security at the gates and inside of the hall?”

Sooyoung stands, moving elegantly towards the mirror while checking herself out in her gown. 

“No, I can’t show weakness. I earned this. This is my throne. I’m not afraid.”

Yerim stands next to her fixing the train that followed the ruler from her vanity. 

“You look beautiful,” Yerim says with watery eyes. 

They’ve been friends since childhood, Sooyoung couldn’t ever bear to leave her behind and would inevitably do anything for the younger girl. Yerim never asked for much, but the monarch made sure that she never had to. Ever since they met, Sooyoung has always been like her older sister. Blood didn’t matter to them they made their own family, and that family now included Irene and Seulgi. The four of them got close after Sooyoung begun her courtship with Sungjae. He wanted her to feel comfortable in her new kingdom, and so he hired women to be around her. 

As Sooyoung tucks her hair behind her ear, she sees Joohyun and Seulgi in the reflection as well. The people she cared about, that was there for her through everything, was looking at her the same way. 

Yerim grabs a hold of Sooyoung’s hand, “You’re ready. Let’s go,” she says confidently while tugging on her.

-----

The event was a success. The nervousness that consumed the Queen turned into boredom relatively quickly.

“How do I know when I’ve met… Whomever I’m supposed to meet today?” Joy asks as she peers around the grand room. 

“You’ll just know,” replies the High Priestess as she eyes Seulgi at the end of the table, noticing she hasn’t taken a sip of her wine yet.

“Cheers!” Joohyun says, holding her cup in the air towards the focused knight. 

Seulgi looks up at the direction that loud voice resonated from. It was rare that she spoke loudly, but she could distinguish that voice from a crowd.

“C-cheers!” Seulgi replies holding her full cup in the air as well.

Joohyun maintains eye contact as they both take a sip, winking after putting the cup down. Seulgi’s feels herself drowning in her dark brown eyes before she realizes that she’s been chugging her drink this whole time.

One of the gaurds from the gate is seen walking quickly from the entrance of the ball. Seulgi chokes on her wine as she stands, coughing and wiping . Excusing herself from the table, she places a hand on the Queen’s shoulder as a sign of comfort when she walks by. Meeting the guard halfway she insists he explain his urgency and to do so without startling anyone.

“Explain yourself,” Seulgi demands.

“We have an unexpected guest, Captain,” he replies in between breaths.

“Who?! What is their name?!” 

“Woo Do-Hwan. He is an old friend of the Park’s, he told me to inform your highness that he is merely here to rekindle an old friendship and nothing more than that.”

“I’ll tell her, thank you,” Seulgi says as she dismisses him.

Standing up straight she walks back to the table, the priestess staring the whole time. Seulgi felt like this was the person she was warned about earlier. Holding her hand out, Joohyun grabs the captain by the wrist.

“Not the one,” shes says confidently into Seulgi’s eyes.

“What’s going on?” Sooyoung says as she approaches the two of them, while holding her refilled wine chalice in her hand. 

Joohyun and Seulgi start at the same time, but Seulgi eventually over talks her.

“An old family friend, Woo Do-Hwan is entering soon. He wanted you to be aware of his presence. I’ll get a seat cleared for him,” Seulgi says as she waves the staff to set a table for him.

-----

The Monarch moves past her seated guests to where Yerim is. She’s talking to the staff and ordering them around. She was always making sure things ran smoothly so that Sooyoung never had to worry.

“Yerim, come have a drink with me,” she sings into her ear as an arm wraps around her shoulder.

“Maybe after I get everyone settled,” Yerim replies looking worried that there isn’t enough seats.

“That’s an order,” she says sternly as she hands a cup full of wine to her best friend. 

“To us, to my new kingdom, to-” her voice trails off as she sees a small woman enter her ball.

She was short, but had a royal elegance to her. Beautiful enough to stop the Queen mid sentence. 

“W-who’s that?” She stutters for the first time.

Yerim turns to look in the same direction and the woman in the blue dress catches her eye too. She stood out from the crowd and was someone they’ve never seen before. 

Sooyoung stares at her, watching her make her way around when her view is blocked by a smug face.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you Sooyoung! You’ve become such a beautiful queen now!” The man said informally to the monarch.

“Excuse me?! Who are you to speak to your highness with such informality?!” Yerim steps forward, anger on her tongue from the lack of respect.

He raises his eyebrow at the short girl between him and the queen. 

“You don’t remember me, Sooyoung? It’s me, Woo Do-Hwan.”

“Who?” she says finally looking at him after losing sight of the girl in the blue dress.

“We used to play at the stables back home,” he says with an encouraging tone.

“Doodoo?!” She finally remembers, “You fell in horse poop right? That’s why I called you Doodoo!”

Yerim turns around, trying to hide her laughter while hiding behind the ruler’s back.

“Y-yes… I’m Doodoo,” He replies reluctantly, embarrassed by origin of his nickname.

“It’s been so long, you’re right! But enjoy the banquet, I need to greet my guests. We will catch up later,” she says as she waves her staff to take care of her childhood friend. 

Walking past her guests, they bow in her presences and she nods her head acknowledging all of them. Small talk here and there, she was only mingling in hopes to find the blue dressed woman. 

Spotting Seulgi by the entrance, she makes her way over to her trusted friend.

“Let me know if you see a girl in a blue dress. She’s short, shorter than you. About Yerim’s height,” Sooyoung inquires.

“Any other details?” Seulgi asks as she looks around.

“She’s breathtaking,” The monarch replies without hesitation.

Looking at her friend that she’s known for years, she couldn't believe the tone of voice that came out of her. She’s always heard Sooyoung call other women beautiful and breathtaking, but not in the same ways he described this particular guest. 

She feels a tap on her shoulder and turns around to see Doodoo’s face. 

“Shall we dance?” He says with a bow.

She half heartedly smiles and agrees, knowing that this is just the politics of being royalty. The guests partner up and dance as well, but her majesty and her dance partner always remain in the middle. As they spin, she searches frantically for the short woman while smiling at those she made eye contact with. Giving up hope on finding her, she looks at Yerim and raises her brows, as a sign of help. 

“Excuse me, I’d like to dance with your majesty,” she hears over her shoulder.

Turning around she sees the person she had been searching for all night right in front of her. Do-Hwan nodding his head, allowing the unusual request. She immediately takes over from where he left off. Filling in where he was, even though she was much shorter. 

“Hello,” she says into the Queen’s ear as they spin together. 

“Hello,” she replies looking at her guests staring at them in the center.