Byulyi and Yongsun had returned to the room, followed by two soldiers who were currently standing guard outside the door. Byulyi laid quietly in Yongsun’s hold, nuzzled against her chest, listening to her steady heartbeat. Yongsun was keeping her arms around her, gently her arm in a comforting manner. 

“How are you feeling love?” Yongsun mumbled softly to Byulyi. A sigh left the princess as she shifted her body to look up properly at Yongsun. 

“I...I don’t know honestly… I never thought that a day would come where I’d be chased out of my own home.” 

Yongsun frowned, holding on tighter to Byulyi as a means to comfort her more. She didn't know what to say, only knowing that this was probably all her fault. If she hadn't decided to keep in contact with the younger girl then she would still be here, still be loved by the soldiers, servants and people. Byulyi, sensing her lover’s shift in emotions, tilted her head and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. 

“Yong? It’s not your fault you know.”

“It feels like it.. If I hadn't insisted on keeping contact then this wouldn't have happened. You wouldn't have gotten hurt, you wouldn't be hated by people and you wouldn't be banished. This.. This is really all my fault.” 

Tears started to well up in Yongsun’s eyes to which Byulyi immediately responded to by cupping her cheeks gently. 

“If we hadn't kept in contact then we wouldn't have this special connection that we have. We wouldn't have each other, and that’s the most important thing right now. As long as we have each other nothing will bring us down. Listen, no matter what happens to me, I will never regret meeting you.” 

Byulyi cooed with a small smile when the tears managed to break out and roll down Yongsun’s cheeks, the dragonkin whimpering softly as she buried her face into her neck. Byulyi her back comfortingly, threading her fingers through her hair. When Yongsun calmed down she pulled back to look at Byulyi, eyes still watery and sad. Byulyi rubbed her thumb across her cheeks, wiping off the tear streaks. 

“Hey I’m the one being kicked out of my own home yet you’re the one crying.” Byulyi joked with a small laugh. 

“Such a crybaby.” 

Yongsun whined at that, weakly hitting Byulyi's shoulder before resting her head back on her shoulder, arms encircled around her waist. 

“Yours.” 

“Mine.”  Byulyi hummed in agreement, pressing light kisses to Yongsun’s head. They were contented to stay in that position for as long as they liked but a knock on the door had them separating from each other. Yongsun quickly rubbed at her eyes and tried to appear as if she hadn't been crying the past minutes while Byulyi settled herself into a position just next to the dragonkin. 

“Come in.” 

A servant entered, carrying a tray of tea cups and a teapot. Yongsun watched cautiously as the servant walked towards them and placed the tray down on the table. He poured the tea into each of the cups before bowing. 

“The Queen has sent these to the both of you.” 

Byulyi nodded and dismissed the servant with a soft “thanks”, waiting until he was out the door before slipping off the bed to investigate. Yongsun followed after her, standing behind as Byulyi picked up a tea cup. 

“This was nice of my mother I guess? A farewell drink?” Byulyi mused as she raised the cup to her lips. Yongsun held her own cup, sniffing the liquid inside before shooting a hand out to stop Byulyi from drinking hers. 

“Don’t drink it, it’s poisoned.” 

Byulyi stared back at her with wide eyes, confused and shocked. 

“Poisoned? How can you tell?” She asked as she placed the cup back down again. Yongsun opened the teapot to take another sniff, nose scrunched as she pulled back with a hiss. 

“Back in days the other methods to hunt down dragonkins were to poison our food supply. The first few to digest the poison were killed but we quickly adapted to it. This is a really common and well-known poison to use and I’ve encountered it more times than I can remember.” 

“Oh? Then, does that mean the poison the king made won’t work on dragonkins?” 

“Unfortunately no. It’s a new poison that only he has created and no one has encountered it before. We don't even know what it’s made out of. If he had managed to make large gallons of it then the possibility of killing off every single dragonkin is high. But hopefully he didn't, so we should be safe.” 

Yongsun said, trying to lighten the mood back up when she saw the fading hope in Byulyi's eyes when she said that dragonkins won’t be safe from the poison the king had made. Yongsun patted Byulyi on her head, trying to ignore the fact that the very poison was already coursing through her blood and was causing her health to deteriorate by each second.   

Byulyi pushed the tray with the tea away, an expression of disgust on her face as her disbelief and anger began to increase at the thought of her own servants attempting to murder her and Yongsun. 

“I can’t believe that they were this quick to even think about killing us. Is my banishment not enough for them?” Byulyi growled out, eyes narrowed. 

They were scheduled to leave the next day and apparently that was already too long for the people to handle. 

“I wonder why they didn't try before.” 

“Because they were afraid of what your mother would do if they so much as laid a finger on either me or you. But now that she’s given the official statement that you are to be banished everyone’s taking it as that you are no longer protected by her.” 

Byulyi sighed harshly at Yongsun’s words, burying her face in her hands. Both girls looked up at the door when they heard voices outside, one of them sounding like the servant who had just entered before to give them what could have been their final drink should they have consumed it. The doors opened to reveal the servant and the two guards, the smug expression on their faces soon dropping when they saw Byulyi and Yongsun standing alive as ever in front of them. 

“P-Princess! I was uh, just checking on you!” 

“Save the lies. You tried to poison us!” Byulyi hissed out menacingly at the three, gesturing to the tray. Yongsun kept a sharp eye on them and transformed her hands into claws, growling just to remind them who they were dealing with. 

“If you’re going to ask why, then my reason is that you simply don’t deserve to live anymore after befriending that monstrosity.” 

The servant spat back, his pretentious act instantly dropping as he glared at them. 

“She is not a monster!!” Yongsun let out a warning snarl when the two guards unsheathed their swords and pointed it at them. Byulyi instinctively reached for her sword at her waist only to painfully remember that it was broken and that her ability to wield a weapon with her right arm was gone. One of the guards smirked at that, stepping forwards. 

“You were never meant to hold a sword.” 

At that Yongsun snapped, she absolutely refused to have anyone mock and belittle her lover for losing her ability to wield a sword. She flew at them, claws outstretched as she tackled the first one down. The other guard attempted to help his comrade but was swept off his feet by Yongsun’s whipping tail. She him with a fanged snarl and leapt on him, slashing her claws down. 

“And to think I was sorry for killing you people during the battle before!” 

Yongsun sneered as they tried to wiggle away from her. The servant had already dashed off, calling for backup to which had Byulyi chasing after to stop him. 

Yongsun flew out after them, having knocked the two guards unconscious. She growled as she ran, spreading her wings as much as she can with the limited room of the hallway to give her the boost she needed to catch up with them. She quickly overtook Byulyi, the servant yelping in fear when he turned back to see Yongsun just an arm’s length away from him. She tackled him and they burst into an empty room, Yongsun pinning him down with her claws digging into his shoulders. He trembled in fear as he gaze