I finally got the energy to finish my chapter! I know I repsonded to the comments I got from my last post but I just quickly want to say thank you again for being so understanding with me, it means so much to me, you're support is my everything <3 stay safe everyone please

YongSun awoke with a throbbing headache. She could barely make herself sit up in bed without everything spinning and her vision going black. Small hands quickly found her and held her upright. “Are you okay My Lady?” YooJin’s soft voice reached her ears. YongSun could not think, she tried to speak but was so dry. The hands pressed her back so she was resting against her pillows. “Here Lady.” She said pressing a cup to her lips. Sweet tea rushed , the flavour of lemon and strawberries dancing on her tongue. YongSun tried to drink it quickly but YooJin held it firmly back. “You need to pace yourself.” 

When YongSun finished the cup she opened her eyes slowly. The light coming from outside stung a bit but she was able to keep her eyes open this time. “What time is it?”

YooJin walked to the table to pour some more tea. “It is midafternoon My Lady.” She returned to her side with a fresh cup of tea.

“Wasn’t it midafternoon when they brought me up here, how long did I sleep for?” She took the tea from YooJin, drinking it herself this time, in moderation.

YooJin looked worried. “Three days My Lady.” 

YongSun shot up so fast she fell back down. “Three days?”

YooJin worriedly sat YongSun back up. “You must rest My Lady, you haven’t had solid food since.” 

“But three days?” YongSun felt herself panicking, which means the wedding was the day after tomorrow, and what of TaeOh, he hadn’t seen her in this long. “Summon Jin please YooJin.”

“B-but My Lady, his highness prince Eric wanted us to fetch him as soon as you awoke.” She already looked like she was partway to the door to send someone to call for him. 

YongSun pressed her hand to her throbbing head. “Yes that is fine, I can send Jin but I need to talk to him first in private beforehand.”

YooJin looked confused but she did not question YongSun, she quickly went to get Jin and closed the door behind them. “You wanted to see me, My Lady?” He also looked concerned for her. 

YongSun tried to look as strong as she could. “I need you to summon Eric, but once you do so please give a message to TaeOh for me.” Jin nodded. “Has he heard of my condition?”

Jin nodded. “I informed him when prince Eric expelled me from your room, he has been asking ever since about your condition.”

YongSun nodded but it hurt her. “I am going to write him a note, you must guard it with your life, no one else can lay eyes on it…” She trailed off for a moment. “Can you do that? I will not ask it of you if you do not want to take the risk.”

Jin put a hand over his heart. “I serve TaeOh My Lady, I will give him your note and no one else will ever lay eyes on it, you have my word.”

YongSun thanked him. He provided her with some paper and a pen, she quickly explained to TaeOh what had happened, the best she could in code, she asked him for an update as soon as he could. 

She sent him away and YooJin returned to her side. “Where did he go My Lady?” 

YongSun tried for a smile. “He is going to get the prince and to get me some real food from the kitchens.” 

“My Lady, I could have done that for you.” She said, sounding slightly offended. 

“No YooJin I want you here by my side, you’ve been taking such good care of me I would not trust someone else to do it.” This brought a smile to her lips. Now she just had to figure out the best lies to feed Eric. 

Eric arrived not too long after she sent Jin to get him. He looked pretty tired, YongSun wondered if he had gotten any sleep in the last few days, but she doubted he cared that much for her. Eric entered and immediately sent YooJin away, she gave YongSun a look, but YongSun nodded, telling her to leave them. He waited until he was sure they were alone before he came and sat on her bedside. “I am going to need answers, YongSun.” He said very firmly, she wondered if he practiced it.

YongSun sat up as straight as she could. “Answers to what Eric.” It was a challenge, see which one of them was going to give up first. 

Eric crossed his arms. “My parents may have believed you lie about being sick but I saw you, I know better.” He looked deep into her eyes. “You were perfectly fine until you touched my father.”

That made YongSun’s heart sink a little bit, she did not think he would be that preceptive. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” She crossed her arms and gave him the same look he was giving her, back to him. 

Eric’s eyes softened as he sighed. He was a good person, she knew that from the few times she had traveled in his memories, he wants better for this kingdom than what his father had made. She knew she could trust him but she knew she could not give him the whole truth. “Please just trust me YongSun, I thought we were in this together.”

That stung more than it should have, he had been her friend through all of this. “I can’t tell you Eric, whatever I say will put you in danger.” His eyes widened a bit. “I won’t do that to you so I am going to need you to trust me this last time please.”

Something crossed Eric’s face. “You didn’t come back here to marry me did you?”

YongSun debated it for a few minutes then shook her head slowly. “If things go as planned then you will be able to marry Alexandra in no time.”

Eric chewed this over. “I will do my best to keep my parents… my father from being suspicious of you.” A huge weight lifted off her chest. “I do consider you my friend YongSun so I hope when this is all over I can have an explanation.” 

“If everything goes as planned Eric I will tell you everything.” And she meant it… kind of. Clearly, she could not tell him what she was while he was still under his father’s thumb, that would be too dangerous for her, but she could tell him enough to help him understand.

Eric rose from the bed. “I will be back in a bit, long enough for you to get your return message from TaeOh.” This should have shocked her but it didn’t. “I’ll bring dinner for the both of us so be ready to eat, you need to get your strength back up.” As Eric left, YongSun surprisingly felt relief. She sat back and anxiously awaited Jin’s return. 

The camp was right in front of Byul’s eyes. She could make out the small structures and people moving around. It had taken them the better part of a day to figure out where it was located, with the help that WheeIn and HyeJin brought back from Blue’s place, they had split up and searched until one of the men stumbled upon it. It wasn’t easily found, it was randomly in the middle of a vast forest on the edge of Alexarion, surrounded by mountains, had they not been looking for it, they would have never come across it, it was well hidden.

She had spent the last few days with Blue and another woman, Slyvia, she seemed to be the leader of the people that showed up at Blue’s place. Together they surveyed the camp, taking note of everything and anything, down to the trees surrounding it, no detail was overlooked. Today was the last surveillance. Byul had to make sure she got all the information, there could be no room for error. 

The camp seemed to be nothing but a large patch of field in the middle of the woods, not unlike the Knight, just not guarded by magic. There were two large buildings where they kept the prisoners, keeping the men and women separate, they lay on opposite sides of the camp. The area in question was not very large, it sat on the cusp of a mountain, where they sent the prisoners to work every day before sunrise, only to come back after the sun had set. From what Byul could tell the children were forced to stay behind and sift through the rubble brought back from the mountains, what they were looking for, Byul was not sure yet, it didn’t matter. 

The entire camp was surrounded by a wire fence covered in razor-like spikes. Guard posts were at every corner, shifts changed every six hours. Four more guards were posted at the gates, two on the outside and two