then

 

Wheein met Hyejin in winter, when the crisp air biting at her nose was only lessened by the pain of her empty stomach.  The last time she’d eaten was a few days ago when she’d managed to steal a few coins to buy a measly bowl of rice gruel.

 

She panted at the smarting pain of the sharp kick to her ribs, small hands curling into fists as she wheezed.  Wheein had tried to grab a man’s purse of coins but had been clumsy and instead earned a sharp jab in the ribs for her trouble.  She blew a strand of hair from her face, warily gazing up at her would-be victim. 

 

It was a knight in the uniform of the royal guard with a crimson cape and dark tunic.  He bared his teeth a little at her, starting to unsheathe his large long sword. 

 

“How dare a little street urchin like you try to steal from a servant of the king?”

 

Wheein groaned as she tried to shift to her knees, prostrating herself low in front of the furious knight.

 

“I’m sorry, my lord.  I was just… so hungry.  My father’s a drunkard and my mother is ill.  It’s up to me to-”

 

“Do you think I care about your sob story, you little thief?”

 

Wheein gasped as she felt the hard toe of the knight’s boot slam into her stomach, making her keel over in pain.  She closed her eyes and almost welcomed the burning sensation spreading from her stomach to her ribs.  In a horrible way it at least made her feel a little warm on the frost covered ground.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Immediately the kicking ceased and Wheein collapsed onto her side with a wheeze.  Her eyes fluttered as she saw the hem of a fur trimmed gown, just barely covering thick winter boots.  A rich girl.

 

“P-princess!”

 

The small crowd that had gathered in curiosity at seeing a member of the royal guard whaling on a small street urchin broke out into shocked cries and immediately scrambled to prostrate low to the cold ground.

 

Wheein rolled onto her stomach and tried to brace her arms to get herself into some form of polite prostration but the pain in her ribs made her collapse onto the cobblestone with a pained gasp.  Breathing heavily, she saw through her greasy bangs that the knight had gotten on one knee and bowed his head in front of the girl.  She had on a fur cap and long dark hair pulled into an elegant plait behind her shoulders.     

 

“Princess, I was merely disciplining this street urchin after she attempted to pilfer my money purse.  The coins inside were directly given to me by your father himself for the outing today.  I had to teach her a lesson.”

 

The knight chanced a glare at Wheein and she bared her teeth at him a little.  The king meant nothing to her.  He was just some man in that big castle on the hill who had made taxes so unbearable that her father had to sell the farm and everything they owned.  Wasn’t that money she’d be taking from the king hers by right anyway?

 

“You dare to glare at a servant of the king, you street ?”

 

Wheein scrambled to get to her knees, realizing belatedly that her nose was bleeding.  She tried to smear the blood off her lips, dragging it across her cheek in a line of ugly copper.  Wheein bared her teeth defiantly now, bracing herself for the next series of blows. 

 

Maybe if he hit her enough she’d be dead.

 

“Stop!  Stop both of you.”

 

Wheein’s gaze snapped to the princess standing before them.  Her eyes met the other girl’s and she was shocked by the unfamiliar gaze.  It reminded Wheein of when she was small and her mother had held her close and softly rubbed her stomach until she fell asleep.  Unintentionally her shoulders drooped a little.

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

Wheein blinked slowly in confusion before lowering her head.

 

“I asked if you’re hurt.”

 

Wheein saw next to her curled fist the hem of that expensive gown.  Swallowing she looked up, squinting a little at how the sun behind the other girl made it hard to look directly.  Even in their first moments of meeting each other, the princess was blinding.

 

“I’m not hurt.”

 

“You’re not?”

 

Wheein dropped her gaze to her hands, ignoring how her knees and ribs ached.  She just wanted to leave and her wounds in peace. 

 

“I’m fine, Princess.”

 

“You don’t look fine.”

 

Wheein’s gaze snapped up and she couldn’t help how her face twisted in annoyance.  She tried to hide the look by quickly ducking her head but the princess had definitely seen it.  Just when Wheein thought she could get away with bruised ribs.  With her luck she’d get a public lashing before the day was over. 

 

But then the princess just laughed.

 

“No one’s ever looked at me like that before.”

 

“Princess-”

 

“You must call her Your Grace!”  boomed the knight, still kneeling.

 

Wheein swallowed and bowed her head again.

 

“Your Grace.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I want a warm meal.”

 

And then the princess burst into a peal of laughter that even had Wheein smiling uncertainly at the sweet sound.

 

“More hungry than hurt.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Wheein didn’t look forward to the visits from the princess.  They were more of a nuisance than anything. How was she supposed to steal anything with the other girl at her heels, asking silly questions with a platoon of surly bodyguards not too far behind. 

 

It was enough to make Wheein go crazy.

 

“Do you go anywhere without them?” asked Wheein, gesturing pointedly with a thumb at the four men glaring at her.  She fought the urge to stick out a tongue.

 

The princess folded her hands in her lap as she sat on an empty crate, dainty legs swinging above the dirty ground of the alleyway.

 

“I am not allowed to.”

 

Wheein hummed as she shifted next to the princess, chancing a sly glance at the bored looking men.

 

“Why are you even coming here anyway? Isn’t a princess supposed to be doing princess things in the castle?”

 

“Father says the best education is one outside the castle walls.  He actually grew up in the south in a farming village for a time.  It made him love the people.”

 

“Love? How can you love someone you don’t consider your equal?”

 

The princess had paused in her casual leg swinging, gazing up at Wheein with big eyes.  It was like looking at the sun again.

 

“I consider you my equal.  You’re my friend.”

 

Wheein opened for a defensive reply but to her surprise nothing came out.

 

“Your face is red.”

 

Wheein spluttered out a curse, ignoring the sharp glance of one of the body guards, as she turned away, rubbing at her flushed face with a huff.  Princesses sure were annoying. 

 

Another day in the spring, Wheein was lying on her back with a blade of long grass between her teeth as she sleepily stared at the sky.  The princess hadn’t visited in a few weeks and as a result Wheein had been able to pickpocket in peace.  She’d managed to have a full stomach for once and received medicine from the apothecary that eased her mother’s coughing. 

 

She sighed peacefully as she closed her eyes.  Maybe the princess was gone for good.

 

“Jung Wheein.”

 

Damnit.

 

Wheein’s eyes remained stubbornly closed, jaw clenching a little at the effort.  She could tell though through shut eyes that the princess was standing above her, blocking the blissful rays of spring sunshine.

 

“I thought you’d stopped bothering me.”

 

“Bothering you? You enjoy my company.”

 

“Do not.”

 

“Do too.”

 

Wheein’s eyes snapped open in annoyance and the princess was above her, long hair twisted into a braid over her shoulder over a deep crimson silk gown.  The sight reminded Wheein of the glass she’d seen in the merchant docks.  She’d glimpsed peeking out not clear glass but crystal lit by the sun into a myriad of colors like a rainbow.  Beautiful. 

 

When Wheein asked her mother what that had been she’d whispered with reverence. Pieces of heaven.

 

“Is there something on my face?”

 

Wheein scowled and sat up by her elbows, bringing her face rather close to the curious princess bent over her.

 

“Where are your guards?”

 

The princess’s mouth twisted a little.

 

“You did not seem to like them so I had them… removed.”

 

“Removed? But you’re a princess!”

 

“I thought you would be happy with the change.”

 

Wheein rolled her eyes and ignored the sudden urge to touch the tip of the princess’ braid brushing against her shoulder.

 

“They at least could keep you in line.  If it’s just you who knows how many boring questions you’ll ask me.”

 

“Hyejin.”

 

“What?”

 

“They would not let me tell you it before. But that is- that’s my name.  Hyejin.”

 

Wheein sighed a little, pretending to not commit the name to memory. 

 

“Well Princess Hyejin-”

 

“Just Hyejin.  When it’s with you.”

 

“A princess who doesn’t want to be called by her title.  Strange.”

 

Hyejin swallowed as she sat next to Wheein, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared ahead.

 

“I’m not much of a princess anyway.  My eldest sister will be queen.  I’m the youngest.  It’s why they let me have so much freedom to come and go as I please.”

 

“So you choose to spend your time with a street beggar.”

 

“I choose to see my people.  What help can I be to them inside my castle’s walls?”

 

Wheein narrowed her eyes at Hyejin.

 

“Is this what you call helping your people?”

 

“What more can I do?”

 

Wheein’s jaw clenched as she felt the frustration she had been nursing for the past few months start to bubble to the surface.

 

“You rich people are always the same.  You find some pet to feed for a time and then you get bored and just move on.  How is following around a pickpocket once in awhile helping any one?”

 

Hyejin turned to curiously look at the other girl, eyes sharp. 

 

“If you were me what would you do?”

 

“I’d grab every bag of rice I could get my hands on and dump them in the market.”

 

“The bags of rice in the castle?  The ones we receive from taxes?”

 

“They were ours first.  How can you call them yours?”

 

Hyejin’s face twists in confusion, eyebrows knitting together like she didn’t understand.

 

“But they are ours? It’s our right.”

 

“Did you grow them? Did you pick them?  Did you sweat as you bent over to pluck each stalk?”  Wheein had bared her teeth again, sitting up as her body practically vibrated with rage.  The frustration she felt practically coated her tongue as the words bubbled from .  She knew she should never be speaking to a princess like this but she couldn’t stop even if she tried.

 

Hyejin’s face flushed and for one moment Wheein thought this would be the end to everything.  Maybe she’d call her guards and she’d be snuffed out like some candle in the night.  There was a part of her that was terrified.  But some angry part of her stared right into Hyejin’s eyes and waited for some sort of reaction from the girl who seemed to just smile at everything.

 

Hyejin stared for one long moment before she nodded slowly, shifting to look down at the grass in front of her.

 

“Maybe you’re right.”

 

The anger and frustration whooshed out of Wheein in an instant.

 

“What?”

 

“I said maybe you’re right.”

 

“I’m right? The princess of this kingdom just said a farmer’s daughter was right?”

 

Hyejin nodded slowly.

 

“Every time I meet you I realize that there’s something new that I didn’t know before.  My tutor Yongsun always reminds me that the world stretches out further than I can ever imagine and holds secrets I cannot fathom.  Maybe this is one of them.”

 

Wheein felt her face scrunch up in disbelief.  She scrambled to her feet, still shaking her head.

 

“I need to go.”

 

“Wait why? Where are you going?”

 

“I just-” You’re too different from what I expected- “I need to check on my mother.”

 

“Oh.”  Hyejin nodded slowly as she also began to rise.  “She’s sick, right? I saw you with medicine the last time we met.”

 

Wheein nodded curtly, uncomfortable under Hyejin’s steady gaze.

 

“Next time could I visit?”

 

Wheein thought of Hyejin standing in her hovel of home in her rich red silks and cadre of guards with a grimace.

 

“Maybe.  If you don’t ask so many questions.”

 

“But if I don’t ask questions, how will I learn? My tutor Yongsun says-”

 

“I never want to meet this Yongsun person.  She sounds annoying.”

 

Hyejin just smiled again and when Wheein turned away it took a surprising amount of self control to not look over her shoulder and try to remember the way the princess looked in the warm light of spring, her hair coming out of her perfect plait and lips turned upward.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Wheein hugged her knees to her chest as she gazed at the fields in front of her.  Golden wheat dancing in the light of near fall.  Closing her eyes she could hear her father’s laughter as he danced with her on his shoulders, her mother’s warm hand supporting her back so that she wouldn’t fall.

 

Now her father was off in some godforsaken sewer drinking himself to death and her mother was dead. 

 

Wheein grit her teeth as she glared at the waves of gold in front of her, mocking a memory of a life she’d had so briefly she questioned if it’d ever been real.

 

“Wheein?”

 

She stiffened for a moment before she pointedly ignored the questioning word.

 

“Wheein-ah.”

 

Wiping at her eyes in annoyance, she whipped her head around.  Hyejin stood before her with a tentative smile.  But behind her was a taller woman wearing a loose tunic and leather breeches, a sword strapped to her side.  Her dark hair was tied back loosely at the base of her neck with what looked to be a ribbon made from ripped dark blue cloth. 

 

“Who is this?” Wheein asked, trying to clear .  Her voice was scratchy from disuse or tears. 

 

“Moon Byulyi.  It’s nice to finally meet the person Princess Hyejin holds in such high regard.”  The woman dipped her head a little, a smile curling .

 

“Father wasn’t very happy that I’ve been visiting you without protection.  And I thought maybe she’d be a good way to… give you something else to think about.”

 

“You don’t owe me any favors,” Wheein groused sullenly, glaring at the ground where Hyejin stood.

 

“Princess Hyejin told me of your current situation, Wheein.  I think that perhaps I can help you somewhat.”

 

“What could you do?”

 

The other woman straightened a little.  A bit of pride and confidence hung on her shoulders.  If she didn’t seem so insufferable, Wheein would find her handsome.

 

“I am training to become a knight.  Although your social standing prevents you from serving as a knight, there are other opportunities to serve the kingdom. I’ve come to speak to you today about potentially training to become a soldier for the king.”

 

“Why would I want to do that?” Wheein asked with thinly veiled disgust.

 

Byulyi paused, blinking dumbly in confusion like she’d never been spoken to like that before.  And honestly by looking at the perfect whiteness of her tunic and the fancy rings on her fingers, Wheein doubted she’d ever had. 

 

“Well to do good for the kingdom of course! And to help Princess Hyejin!”

 

“Hyejin is more trouble than she’s worth.”

 

“Most of the time,” Hyejin corrected with a bit of a smile.  Wheein rolled her eyes which only made the other girl’s smile widen.

 

“Why did you bring her here, Hyejin?”

 

The princess took a tentative step forward and reached for Wheein, her eyes begging for permission.  Wheein gave a terse nod and she tried not to show how much her body relaxed at the warm touch on her wrist.

 

“Working as a soldier could give you a warm bed and hot food every night.  The barracks are right next to the palace so I could see you more easily.”

 

“A soldier?”

 

“I just want you to be safe,” Hyejin whispered, her eyes wide and a little wet.  They both did not speak about the last time Hyejin had found Wheein, face bloody and ribs aching from a failed attempt at pick pocketing.  The princess had quietly helped her bandage her side, crying the whole time.  It had been so strange seeing the other girl cry and feeling almost sad about the pain Hyejin was feeling rather than her own cracked ribs. 

 

“My safety isn’t your responsibility.  I’m not some pet for you to-”

 

“You know I don’t think of you that way.”

 

The warm hand on Wheein’s wrist tightened tentatively for emphasis.  The hot burst of anger fizzled away as she felt the slight tremors in the princess’ grip.

 

“I’m just afraid for you, Wheein-ah.  I want you to be safe and happy.”

 

Wheein swallowed at the way Hyejin’s voice cracked and strangely she didn’t want the other girl to cry.  What did she have to lose? She didn’t have a home to go to and no one cared about whether she lived or died but herself. 

 

And yet.  Depending on someone was so unfamiliar it broke the bit of warmth that had started to fill her chest with hope.

 

With unpracticed gentleness, Wheein pried Hyejin’s hand from her arm.

 

“I wish to think about this,” she said, staring at Moon Byulyi who watched them with a curiously quirked head.

 

“It’s an important choice.  I understand.”

 

“Byulyi-unnie, can I speak to Wheein privately?”

 

“I have orders to protect you, Princess.”

 

“I let you be alone with Tutor Kim when we finish lessons early.”

 

Byulyi flushed at the remark, eyebrows arching in surprise.

 

“T-that’s different! We’re betrothed! Our parents won’t let us spend a moment alone without some sort of chaperone.”

 

“And why would you need a chaperone?” Hyejin asked innocently chancing a grin at Wheein who couldn’t help but return the smile.

 

“I’ll be twenty paces away.”  The woman stormed off exactly twenty paces and turned around with her arms crossed over her chest. 

 

“Just because she isn’t here, doesn’t mean I’ll change my mind.”

 

“I know.  I just don’t want you to think I’m forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

 

“Why? Why does it matter whether I’m some soldier stationed near the palace or some street rat dying in the gutter?”

 

Hyejin’s eyes suddenly filled with tears and Wheein’s hot temper immediately was tempered.  She found herself staring in confusion as the other girl began crying, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

 

“W-why do you talk about yourself like that? Like you’re meaningless?”

 

“Because I am, Hyejin!  I don’t matter! I’m nothing!”

 

“You aren’t!  You’re special to me, Jung Wheein!  You could be a knight or a beggar and I wouldn’t care.  You’re my friend.”

 

Wheein paused at the tearful words, confused because it almost sounded like Hyejin meant every word. 

 

“You don’t mean that,” she whispered.  “No one cares about me.” The only one who loved me is dead.

 

“I do.  I care about you!”

 

She felt her own face contort in confusion as Wheein felt a wetness trickle down her cheeks.  Tears.

 

“Wheein-ah, why are you crying?  Did I say something that upset you?”

 

“I-I…” Wheein couldn’t even stammer out a proper reply.  All she could think about was how her chest ached and ached with a pain she couldn’t put into words. 

 

“Wheein-ah, will you let me prove it to you? Will you come back with me to the palace and let me show you that I care about you?”

 

Hyejin took a step closer and Wheein didn’t jerk away as soft hands brushed away the tears trickling down her dirty face.  She stared and stared at the sincerity in the other girl’s eyes with not a shred of deception. 

 

And then the air whooshed out of her chest as Hyejin pulled her into an embrace, not caring about how filthy her clothes would become or what it meant for the princess to be hugging a beggar.  As Hyejin sniffled into her neck to both comfort and be comforted, Wheein found herself tentatively reach a hand up and softly press against the small of the other girl’s back.  She hated how there was a small part of herself that felt a bubble of hope. 

 

Maybe not everyone on this earth didn’t care if she lived or died.  At least, not Hyejin.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

now

 

The beginning of a heroes’ journey is tragedy.  So too is the beginning of the downfall of a villain.

 

Wheein collapsed to the floor, finally free of the chair.  She coughed wetly into the bloody ground, unable to see out of her right eye.  The torture had commenced shortly after the Queen had arrived and she had stayed for the whole thing.  Hyejin had always been a little squeamish but the Queen was different.  The throne had taken so much away from Hyejin, especially the privilege to express her true self.

 

She tried to face the direction of the Queen as she started to drag herself up to her knees, her broken body doing its best to be prostrate. 

 

“Your Highness,” she heard Kim Yongsun cry from somewhere across the room and Wheein’s head tilted in confusion, trying to see out of her good eye the reason for the disturbance. 

 

And then the crimson robe of the Queen was at the edge of her vision.  Without thinking she reached for it, transported back to a time when snow sprinkled on the heads of a beggar and princess tied by a fate so bloody and painful.

 

In an instant, Wheein was thrown on her back, a sword point digging into the skin of as she lay on her back.  She was prone in her brokenness to the Queen’s brilliance and she felt not an ounce of shame.

 

Even now, like this, Hyejin couldn’t muster up a few sorrowful tears of pity for her old love Wheein.

 

“Don’t you dare touch the Queen, you traitor!”

 

The hand that had been reaching for the crimson silk dropped and Wheein just stared up again, trying desperately to find the woman she loved in the glassy veneer of her monarch.

 

“I confess to my crimes,” she spit through bloody teeth, leaning into the sharpness of the blade at her neck.  “I conspired to murder the Queen and burn the palace to the ground.”

 

“So then why did you end up killing all of your co-conspirators?” Yongsun asked sharply, striding to the Queen’s side in her dark blue robes. 

 

Wheein let her head fall to the ground as she closed her eyes.  The one answer she still wasn’t ready to give. 

 

“Well I suppose we should continue with the interrogation then, Your Highness.  It’s late, you should be resting.”

 

“I’m fine, Prime Minister Kim.”

 

“I speak with the concern of the nation, Your Highness.  If I may be so bold.”

 

Wheein slowly opened her eyes and couldn’t help how her face warmed at the way the Queen stared at her with unmasked emotion.  It was so close to her Hyejin that her teeth ached. 

 

“I will retire for the evening only if you promise to cease the interrogation for the night.”

 

“Y-your Highness!”

 

“That’s a royal command, Kim Yongsun.  Not a request.”

 

Wheein’s good eye widened as the Queen took a step forward so that the silk of her skirts brushed against the back of her hand like a caress.

 

“We will resume this interrogation in the morning,” the Queen stated calmly to the guards.  “Leave the prisoner alone for now.”

 

“Is this it, Your Highness?”

 

Everyone paused at Wheein’s broken voice.

 

“Is this how you’d show you cared for me?”

 

And when she meet the Queen’s eyes, it was Hyejin staring back at her.

 

“Continue the interrogation tomorrow morning.  I will be watching over the proceedings again.  I forbid you to start before I arrive.  That’s a royal order.”

 

Wheein stared after Hyejin when she left the room, the only light in her cell filled with pure darkness.