FORMAT AS FOLLOW: Italics - Past | Straight (but really gay) - Present

 

Yeojin poked her head around the corner.

Heejin poked her head above her.

Yerim above her.

Chaewon above her.

But she didn’t have a noticeable height difference and the four conspirators toppled over in the corridor leading to Jinsol’s office.

Now that all four of them knew how to read, having exhausted their libraries’ contents, they were starving for content. Their latest book series they were collectively hunched over was on hiatus with no foreseeable installment. It would’ve been wise to comeback when other authors hadn’t put out new content while the interest was still hot yet but rumor lots of setbacks prevented a sooner release date.

The next best thing?

Jinsol’s office.

Chaewon had been inside a few times - usually to get a scolding for snooping around during council meetings - but knew it was chock-full of books and scrolls dating back to the beginning of the kingdoms. Stepping inside, she never fully appreciated its intricacies. (The others did, gasping at every detail in sight.) She was a er for lavish antique furniture and she inherited it from Jinsol.

The monstrous maroon curtains covering the floor to ceiling windows, Heejin thankfully drawing one of them open letting light pour in so they could see inside.

The fortified fish tanks aligning the sidewalls, housing one fish each. Blue bettas, if she remembered correctly. Jungeun remembered to feed them when Jinsol was on duty like she was now.

The regal and now dusty couches that were once used for peekaboo games between her mother and her.

The chaise Chaewon loved treating like a slide when she could pull herself up.

The sliding ladder Chaewon loved treating like a trolley ride.

The desk Chaewon loved treating like a personal stage.

The globe Chaewon loved using to play catch with.

Okay, maybe there was a reason why she couldn’t enter this space as much as she wanted.

Jinsol was a great mother and queen and she was adamant in not making Chaewon or Jungeun doubt her love for them. They were allowed anytime she liked. Mi casa es su casa, Jinsol would say - the only Spanish she knew and even then she didn’t know it was Spanish - before riding off with Hyunjin.

It was Chaewon’s home already but she appreciated the sentiment.

Today’s mission: find more reading material.

The rest of the girls were distracted by what Jinsol’s office possessed. Yeojin made faces at the lonely fish. Heejin checked out the view from the windows. Yerim traced the borders on Jinsol’s maps with her finger.

Chaewon had the same enthusiasm, used to the same scenery that only changed with the seasons. She through her mother’s belongings, wondering how many generations of knowledge were in her desk drawers alone.

Tripping over an open drawer, the princess saw a stack of portfolios lying there. 

Never seeing them before - she used to know this office inside and out - she took a peek.

After all, mi portfolia es su portfolia.

(Please excuse her, her mother doesn’t think Spanish is a real language.)

---

Jungeun hummed as she made her way through the first floor sleeping chambers.

Passing by Hyunjin and Yerim’s room - Hyunjin refused to sleep in the knight wing, a separate building from the rest of the castle, due to political (but really gender) differences - Jungeun saw an eager Yerim bouncing on an unmade bed as she asked Hyunjin if she got her anything nice.

To which Hyunjin argued that she was in the woods and couldn’t possibly find anything valuable.

Yerim pouted that even just a rock was fine.

Passing by Haseul and Yeojin’s room where Yeojin was teaching Haseul the newest dance craze which involved dipping one’s head into the crook of one’s elbow while holding another arm outstretched to the side.

Jungeun didn’t want to ask since Yeojin went through her jumping and popping combo phase.

Passing by Heejin and Vivi’s room where Heejin was packing, asking Vivi what the weather was like in other kingdoms - as if the world outside was that much different. Vivi winked over at Jungeun, thanking her for the opportunity she was giving the young cook to finally travel.

(We’ll get to that later.)

The castle staff could’ve easily filled out an individual rooms but loneliness was a time bomb - seeing the tragedy it did to Jungeun - so they favored rooming with who they found themselves close to.

Hyejoo was the odd one out as she straightened out her single occupancy room. She noticed the pink fluffy orb on her bed as a “moving in” present from everyone-knows-who. But Chaewon threw it out the window - making Yeojin fetch it later - when Hyejoo grimaced at it, promising a better gift.

(Hyejoo bit her tongue to keep her from saying Chaewon’s presence was the greatest present. She blamed her romantic parents.)

Per her parents’ request - Sooyoung begging on her knees - she would not be sharing a room with them. 

Seeing the queen, the rookie knight bowed. Jungeun shook her head at the action. She may be a queen but she was her aunt in a way. And friendly relationships trumped social hierarchies.

“How was the mission?” Jungeun didn’t step into Hyejoo’s room even if it was her castle. She respected personal boundaries much like Jinsol did.

“Permission to speak frankly?”

“Of course Hyejoo,” Jungeun smiled.

Besides in the council’s presence, Hyunjin never asked that question in years. It was deja vu for Jungeun.

“It was boring actually. Hyunjin and I failed to find any hideouts,” Hyejoo hung her head. She hoped the queens weren’t regretting their decision, letting Hyunjin knight her so soon.

“I was surprised it was you who Hyunjin chose. Call it fate.”

“Call it nepotism,” Hyejoo bit back but shook her head, hoping the queen could take a joke.

She was unsure how to feel with Hyunjin making the decision to knight her. The experienced fighter must’ve seen some sort of potential. Or with the smile on Jungeun’s face - contrasting the fear towards aunt Jinsol from the last time they saw each other - maybe Hyunjin owed the queens a favor. Chaewon’s excited summary in the carriage ride up gave an insight on the queens’ about-face relationship. Yeojin was more than excited to ride her horse up while they caught up while Haseul drove the carriage.

(‘Can I wear your crest too?’

‘Uhhhh sure?’ But before Hyejoo could pluck off the badge, Hyunjin said it was forbidden to bestow a squire a crest without proper knighting.

Yeojin sulked on the way up but at least Yerim kept her company, saddling behind her, making Yeojin threaten the horse to get them to the castle safely - not because she cared for Yerim or anything like that - or she’d make Heejin cook it.)

Jungeun only laughed, happy that Hyejoo didn’t filter herself around her. She would rather someone be straightforward than hide secrets from someone they trusted.

(Pot calling the kettle black, Jungeun?)

“May I play around during my free time?”

“Of course, this is your home now!”

Hyejoo grinned, took her latest labyrinth puzzle box and flopped onto her bed, ready to spend hours on it. Chaewon said she’d give her time to unpack but with her minimal luggage, it took less than a day which gave her time to play. (She knew Chaewon would be next at her door to ask if she needed help so put her wolf speed to good use.)

According to Chaewon, Jinsol and Jungeun were spending every waking moment with each other. True to their word, Jinsol sprung behind Jungeun announcing her presence with a soft “I’m here” so as not to startle her wife. Hyejoo found the chivalry sweet.

“JINSOL, WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?” Jungeun screeched when Jinsol flung her over her shoulder.

They were barely apart for ten minutes but seeing her doting wife again - at least her backside as she was carried upside-down and folded over - made Jungeun giddy. Curious heads poked out of their sleeping chambers at their screams.

“I DREW YOU A BATH, MY LOVE!” Jinsol may have first degree burns. 

“A BATH?!” Jungeun happily squealed down the hallway.

(A pleasant sound for all the castle residents.)

Hyejoo smiled. Romance was cute when it wasn’t her parents.

---

“What’ll you be having?”

“Ummmm….well...what do they usually serve here?”

Sooyoung cocked an eyebrow. They looked at the wall-mounted menu, picking out what to eat. They were on the higher terraces in the village where Jiwoo’s family sometimes had home deliveries too.

They were one step down from Kim royalty.

And thousands of steps higher than Jiwoo’s family.

(And previously Sooyoung’s)

To look presentable, Jiwoo washed her clothes so hard. But the colors faded. Her newly purchased shoes were a bright contrast, selling her favorite knight trading cards for them - none of them Sooyoung’s of course. She still chose the farthest booth away from the rest of the brightly clothed and sequined patrons.

Sooyoung thought she was squinting due to the distance from the menu. Maybe they could see Vivi after to check her vision.

Woah, hang on Sooyoung, you’ve only known her for three months. You can’t introduce her to friends yet, it’s too soon.

But Jiwoo barely spared a glance.

“I….figured you could order for the both of us.”

Oh.

Sooyoung kicked herself for thinking Jiwoo was testing her to see if she knew her favorite foods. 

(She did, having calmly stalked her parents in the market the other day.)

Sooyoung had learned how to read during her knight training seminars, squinting under the stars to match each letter to her pronunciation cheat sheet before the written exam. Before, she’d ask her cohort friends to order for her.

Like Jiwoo, they came from the same elementary education.

And she would never look down on Jiwoo or anyone due to something like literacy. She still used her fingers to add numbers which when she found out Jungeun did the same, made her feel less plebeian.

“You like chicken, right?” Sooyoung reached out for Jiwoo’s hand, stopping her nervous ticks.

And probably stop her own tremors as well.

Jiwoo looked absolutely beautiful today. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through this meal. Sooyoung never spent so much time with someone doing absolutely nothing. All of her moves were calculated but with Jiwoo, her plans were out the window. They took the scenic route, one she wasn’t familiar with, Jiwoo turning wherever she pleased, and talked about everything and anything.

(“Hey that pig looks like you.” Sooyoung slapped a hand over in case Jiwoo couldn’t take a joke.

Were they on terms for light teasing? Last time, she got flipped on her back when she spoke out of line.

“Nah looks more like you though,” Jiwoo hit her shoulder. Hard.

Sooyoung swallowed her grunt and saw the devilish smirk on Jiwoo’s face.

Sooyoung counted the pigs rolling in the mud, loving every small grunt Jiwoo emitted. “So many Jiwoos. One, two, three, four…”

“No, no, no, no,” Jiwoo faux-complained, her face growing red at the crowd forming around them.

“Eight pigs,” Sooyoung pointed at the red-faced farmer last.

“Nope. Nine pigs,” Jiwoo framed Sooyoung’s face, accidentally slicing her neck. She cupped her face later to apologize sweetly, being the closest the two have ever been to each other.)

Sooyoung downed her cup of water to calm her cheeks right when they sat down. 

Jiwoo looked up at Sooyoung being patient and kind. The knight would figure out soon that she wasn’t as proficient as some of the elite she mingled with. But she also felt like Sooyoung didn’t care.

Sooyoung ordered for the both of them, not a judgmental bone in her body, Jiwoo wondered if there was a new kind of literacy. One that wasn’t taught in school or validated with a piece of paper costing thousands of schillings.

She wondered if it was possible to read a person.

Because she wanted to know all about the woman in front of her.

And with the way Sooyoung was trying to make her feel comfortable - even offering to carry her up the last three terraces - she knew Sooyoung found something to read in her too.

---

“Excuse me…” 

Hyunjin blanked on her name. She was used to addressing her as the former Kim kingdom seneschal. Or Jinsol’s best friend. Or Hyejoo’s ex-knighted mother.

What was her name again?

“Aunt Sooyoung,” the woman filled in with amusement on her face. Having always seen Hyunjin unperturbed, a flustered seneschal was new.

Sooyoung wondered if this was how Jiwoo felt when she was flustered ten seconds into their first meeting after Jungeun’s rescue.

Hyunjin nodded, thankful for the correction. She didn’t want it to look like they were co-workers. She had been informed that Sooyoung and Jiwoo were officially handmaidens in the castle but with the winter solstice days away and school not in session, only indoor chores would be done and the current staff finished their jobs before lunch.

What chores would they even be doing?

“Right, my apologies.”

“It’s quite alright. May I help you with something?”

Hyunjin wasn’t sure what she’d attain in talking to the retiree but it couldn’t hurt.

“I was wondering if you could tell Yerim stories about our parents.”

Even if she got ahold of knight files - which were stowed in a secret area only the head knights knew of - they would only hold facts and statistics. Jinsol knew her father and mother plenty but Sooyoung fought alongside Taeyang and Hyorin during their prime.

From the many times Hyunjin had witnessed Jinsol crying herself to sleep to hacking away at wolves to staring fondly at the stars, wondering if Jungeun and Chaewon were looking at them too, there was a vulnerability knights witnessed that went beyond a working relationship.

“Sure, I’d be happy to!” Sooyoung agreed. She was crafting her lecture for Hyejoo for moving up the ranks early. But she could save that for after dinner.

Hyunjin was curious if her mother told Sooyoung of their family history and identity. She couldn’t ask him anymore so Sooyoung was the next best bet. (Jinsol seemed much happier and she didn’t want to ruin that with a question that could trigger her. Also, the queen had been MIA. So has the other queen.)

Also, Hyunjin promised Yerim something valuable and what was more valuable than family stories?

If her father trusted Sooyoung, maybe Hyunjin could trust Hyejoo with her own identity and in turn Hyejoo could one day trust her with hers.

---

“Your card is shinier than mine.”

“I’m a higher rank than you,” Taeyang answered.

Sooyoung scratched her head, looking at how this one was notably shinier than the rest.

The knight council employed Dalcom into coming up with a way to keep the idol image of knighthood alive. It was a collectors’ game the people in the kingdoms played. They’d collect cards of their favorite knights, a new theme was released every year.

This was the first time Sooyoung was fully seeing the collection, as one eager fan gave them a whole portfolio to autograph. It was filled since the first generation of knights when they started creating collectables. Sooyoung signed away on her cards and Taeyang did the same to his.

She recalled a time she came across Jiwoo’s personal stack.

(As their relationship progressed, the stack grew smaller and smaller so Jiwoo could lavish herself with new clothes and gifts to impress her real life knight. But Sooyoung didn’t need to be impressed, she was already hers.

She swore she could hear her future child throwing up in the distance.)

But Jiwoo had a limited amount of funds and favorited a few knights - in the business, only a handful were actually idol-worthy - replenishing her decks when the Kim gratuity came in for rescuing Jungeun. (Unsurprisingly, her favorite card to collect was Sooyoung’s.)

C-B-A-S-?

That was the ranking system, corresponding to their actual ranks. C being the cheapest, S being the most expensive. S, Sooyoung knew, stood for “seneschal.” Looking over at Taeyang’s, maybe it was an H for Head Knight or I for Imperial. There were even limited edition themes released mid-year which one could only buy during that time frame.

It confused Sooyoung but she had no control over her image.

Townspeople believed whatever they wanted to believe.

Careful not to smudge her signature, she read her stats on the back.

Full bar for speed.

Half bar for agility.

No bar next to her amount of wolf kills.

It’s not like she needed to fill out those stats anyway. After the last few decades the werewolf population was dwindling and with natural selection, they’d hopefully be extinct soon. 

The two knights handed back the signed cards to the giddy teenager and mounted their horses.

“Do you think Jiwoo has them?”

“What, the plague? Vivi gave us our annual needle for it.”

“No. Your cards. Also, I heard those needles made one looney.”

“You didn’t give Hyunjin the needle?” Sooyoung knew she’d be a better parent than that.

Just because one healer said the needle caused differences on a child's thinking, now everyone was going around believing some cockamamie conspiracy.

“THE DOCTOR WAS LYING! And yes, I’d like to believe Jiwoo still has my cards.”

Later that night at - ignoring Jinsol and Jungeun trying to share one spaghetti noodle across the table - she found out her wife kept the cards. They were even concealed in see-through sleeves to keep them crisp and dry.

Taeyang wasn’t as lucky.

Funnily enough, Hyorin had more cards of her own self than she did of her husband.

---

“Wait, wait, wait, Mom had no cards of Dad!” Yerim hugged one of the pillows close to her.

To keep the firewood counts stable, the castle tried to spend more time in one room. Chaewon’s room was the chosen room for this afternoon’s storytelling. Haseul and Vivi could’ve easily squeezed in another lesson -itching to don their teacher personas since someone (Yeojin) was misbehaving recently - but Sooyoung was like a guest teacher.

Even if her stories weren’t educational.

The younger girls had gathered on the bed. All but Hyunjin, who chose to sit at Chaewon’s bay window seat which was basically the size of another bed. Chaewon, Hyejoo, and Heejin sat against the headboard, with Hyejoo in the middle as she was “surprisingly warmer.” Hyejoo was glad they had to push all the pink monstrosities off the bed to make room for them. Yeojin laid on her stomach, her feet mischievously targeting the other girls’ faces. Yerim was practically falling off the foot of the bed as she hung onto every word Sooyoung said.

(Hyunjin was doing the same, hungry for any memory of her parents’, even if it wasn’t hers.)

Sooyoung had taken Chaewon’s desk chair while Haseul and Vivi took the bench by the wardrobe.

The Jung queens were MIA.

Chaewon pretended to hide her eye roll at her parents acting lovey-dovey all day. They were probably feeding each other in the kitchen or having a stroll in the garden or cloud watching on the balcony. Maybe Haseul and Vivi needed to reteach her manners. She’d be scorned if she acted that way when she assumed the throne.

Which wasn’t soon.

Because she was still happily single.

Happy like the handmaiden who felt a storybook open before her very eyes.

---

“So you’re Princess Jinsol’s guard?”

“Yup. And you’re Princess Jungeun’s?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

“Yup.”

Taeyang and Sooyoung stood on either side of the ornate doors as the princesses met for the first time.

Sooyoung knew Jungeun didn’t want to be there. She hated the tradition of arranged marriages, seeing how it broke her Aunt Taeyeon’s heart, having her love taken away due to the barbaric coming-of-age ceremony. Taeyeon took a shameful oath of celibacy and her sister Hyelim assumed the throne.

(Sooyoung had to stop Jungeun from running away twice on their ride there, asking the carriage to “pull over” to stretch her legs. Luckily, Jungeun wasn’t very fast. Sooyoung had placed third in the Knight Olympic races so caught up to her easily. For the second catch, they barrel-rolled together down a hill.

Sooyoung thought Jungeun would want to fix her appearance before meeting her betrothed.

She didn’t.)

Trade relations.

Being on either side of the sea meant the Jungs and Kims could finally tie together the East and More East - they already designated west to everything beyond the sea - trade lines. It would’ve been Jessica - Jinsol’s mother who had been staring Jungeun up-and-down since she stepped foot out of her carriage - and Taeyeon’s marriage that helped sanctify the agreements. In fact, the two princesses hit off well decades ago.

Unlike the current Jung and Kim right now.

Jessica’s wanted to pursue her fashion and novel writing. Taeyeon did the same in singing and lyric writing. They said they would wait for each other.

But the council wasn’t as patient and rushed Krystal’s marriage to the Liu kingdom which was just north of the Kim kingdom, making the Jung and Kim contract obsolete until the next generation.

Which Jungeun and Jinsol found themselves resolving.

Hearing a strange scratchy voice coming from the inside of the doors, Sooyoung shot a confused look at Knight Taeyang. Was it wise for the princesses to meet when one of them had a sore throat?

“Do not worry. It’s her Doraemon impression.”

“Ah,” Sooyoung said, not any less confused.

But from the lack of laughter from inside the closed-off courtroom, Sooyoung could tell the princess was not impressed.

---

Hyunjin bowed her head, knowing what it was like for a knight to lose face. It was a tale among the knight community to not “pull a Jungeun,” which meant going off the railings and running away in the face of danger. Luckily, no knights in their castle ever said the phrase, at least not in the company of the Jung castle residents.

Head Knight Minho wouldn’t let them.

Neither would Hyunjin.

“You don’t blame yourself, do you Sooyoungie?”

Jiwoo caught the end of Sooyoung’s first meeting with Taeyang, asking for permission to happy enter the warm room. The fireplace was blazing strong but even then the room was abnormally hot. (Chaewon granted permission to the lovely addition to the castle. Anything for Hyejoo’s parents.) 

“I try not to,” Sooyoung smiled sheepishly, opening her arms for Jiwoo to sit on her lap.

There was plenty of room next to...pretty much everyone as Chaewon’s room had more than enough sitting areas. But they were a close family.

Family.

Vivi smiled at the family she looked around her. Jiwoo, Sooyoung, and Hyejoo completed the picture and even if they were missing two members - who everyone, even the children, knew what they were occupying their time with - it felt whole.

She removed herself from Haseul’s shoulder, ignoring Haseul’s pout right after. It was getting quite toasty and it would be rude to sweat all over any of her coworkers.

Correction.

Family members.

---

“Doctor, you’ve got to do something!”

“Haseul, how many times do I have to tell you, you can call me Vivi?”

“Doctor Vivi, you’ve got to do something!”

Haseul held a baby Yerim in front of Vivi’s room. 

Vivi cocked her head to the side. The child in no way looked diseased, sickly, or traumatized. In fact, Yerim was babbling merrily, pulling on Haseul’s long locks like giddying up a horse.

Did the Jung kingdom have some invisible diseases she was not aware of? She stayed diligent with her readings. No one would be surprised if she mothered a bookworm in the future. And with her skills, it could be possible. The council (reluctantly) allowed for same marriages among royals to other high ranking officals, hoping it would lessen the scandalous affairs among them.

(Conclusion: It did not not.)

That’s where Vivi’s kind came in useful. Healers, witches, physicians, whatever one called them, were asked to help make sure the royal heirs could still bear healthy children, no matter the gender of their partner. For two biological females, it was quite easy but for two males, they usually had to consult a surrogate. Yet as the generations passed it was always better to have a well trained healer present to assure the safety of the royals.

Unfortunately, for the council, royals in same relationships only beared children of their same , most of the heirs being female this current generation had unknowingly set the precedent for future same couples down the line. The amount of princesses compared to princes right now was unprecedented.

The first few generations of royal lines proved successful.

Even now Jinsol and Jungeun were beacons of good health and prosperity.

Vivi would’ve gone home when the work was done but Queen Hyelim kept her around. She had grown fond of the young foreign physician. Vivi treated Jungeun like a sister more than a patient and they didn’t want their child to be lonely.

Enter Sooyoung years later and Jungeun would have a total of two friends.

“What’s wrong with her? Why is her temperature so high?”

Yerim giggled. Haseul shook in fear.

Taeyang and Hyorin had accompanied the queens, Hyunjin, and Heejin to the magic show in town. Sooyoung and Jiwoo thought they could have a break as their daughter was practically nocturnal but with Chaewon teething on Sooyoung’s bow and arrow, they had their hands full as well.

That left Yerim with Haseul.

It was almost winter. (More importantly in Haseul’s head, it was almost Vivi’s birthday.) Shouldn’t the child be a little cold?

Vivi checked Yerim’s vitals and even pretended to give her the needle - prepping her for annual shots later, thankfully the Jungs also stayed up-to-date on their readings of healthy parenting - and Yerim didn’t stop smiling throughout.

Haseul knew Hyunjin ran warm but that was because the kid couldn’t keep still. She climbed bannisters, tables, shelves, even finding footholds in the side of the walls to climb onto the balcony. Her favorite game, the floor cracks are lava, had everyone in a frenzy. But Yerim rolled around in circles wherever she was placed down. That couldn’t be enough cardio to break a sweat.

Vivi, who promised to co-babysit with Haseul after updating Yerim’s charts, wasn’t as conflicted.

Now she could prove her hypothesis right.

---

“Hyejoo, are you sure you didn’t catch anything out there? You’re burning up!”

Heejin had to lean away from Hyejoo while they listened to Sooyoung’s story of wrestling the late Hyorin too hard, she broke a wall.

“And your heart is racing!” Chaewon joined in.

Hyejoo was like her own personal furnace.

“Why are you listening to her heartbeat?” Yeojin butted in.

Yeojin was like her own personal pest.

Luckily she didn’t have to kick Yeojin off the bed as Yerim, closing her eyes and envisioning Sooyoung and Hyorin’s melee, tossed the squire off the bed for her.

Chaewon was lucky to have her parents alive and breathing. She couldn’t fathom what it must feel like listening to these stories. Whereas Yerim was trying to relive their lives, absorbing every syllable Sooyoung uttered, Hyunjin was dissociating in the corner, using the window as her emotional support system. She looked as if she didn’t want to be there. She was putting on a good front for her sister.

Chaewon hoped that when she assumed throne, she would be as selfless.

But her parents were in power so there was no need to worry.

“We were wondering where everyone was.”

We.

Chaewon missed when her moms referred to each other as a “we.” Even with Jinsol back for barely two weeks, it felt normal. Like that’s how it should always be.

“May we?” Jinsol gestured into the room.

Chaewon and everyone else threw her an irritated look. There was no reason they shouldn’t partake in the storytelling.

The two queens waddled in, taking up the armchair closest to the doorway so as not to draw attention. They closed the door to keep the heat entrapped, envious how Chaewon’s room was able to retain heat so well. Heejin didn’t have the covers on her. Yeojin was making her own Kirby castle on the would-be chilled floor. Haseul and Vivi weren’t in their usual cuddling positions. Sooyoung and Jiwoo sat on top of each other no matter what the temperature. Even the window around Hyunjin wasn’t as frosted up as the rest of the house.

“It’s so warm in here, Chaewon. Aren’t you warm? Why isn’t our room as warm, Jinsol?” Jungeun asked, hoping her good mood would never end.

The only ones out of place were Chaewon and Hyejoo who were huddled underneath Chaewon’s duvet.

A blushing Chaewon shook her head and snuggled further into Hyejoo.

(Sooyoung and Jiwoo shared a worried look.)

---

Yerim didn’t need an overcoat going to the stables.

She knew this was an opportune moment as the castle dwellers wouldn’t dare leave in this freezing weather. She retained heat well, something her family was known for.

Creaking the door open, she headed to the last stalls where they placed most retired horses.

Or horses without owners.

Which is what her mother’s horse was now.

Her father’s horse sadly perished in the attack but luckily one living remembrance of her parents lived on. At least so she thought. Due to budget cuts, food was scarce. The weak horses would be the next to go.

She overheard the newly instated cook Heejin asking Vivi on dishes to make with horse meat.

Good Boy would be dead tomorrow.

(Excuse her father, he got naming privileges.)

Placing her lamp on the bales, she combed Good Boy’s hair back for what could be the last time, She was grateful it was only her that was suffering. Hyunjin must have been having a blast in training camp. She was eager to go, probably too excited to say goodbye to everyone in the castle. She forgot Heejin’s goodbye hug but Yerim was sure she’d rectify the situation upon her return.

Much like how she wished to fix this one. She wish she could tell the Good Boy to run, to save itself, to not spare their life. But how does one communicate with animals?

“I’m sorry the world is a terrible place. I wish you had more rights.” Yerim ruffled the spot at the top of its head. She didn’t know why but she knew it was its favorite spot to be petted.

The horse motioned rubbed its nose on the gate hinges.

“You want out?” Yerim quirked her head to the side.

The horse nodded back, trilling its lips towards the barn’s exit.

“Do you… understand me?”

---

“Mom, can you win any duel?” Hyejoo interrupting Sooyoung’s tale of her trials in the knight olympics.

“Listen here you little--”

“OKAY, next story darling!”

Sooyoung and Hyejoo had a childish staredown, entertaining everyone. The love was there regardless, Hyejoo practically jumped on her mothers on her return home hours ago. If Chaewon wasn’t so engrossed, she would’ve noticed her mother throwing a longingly look her way.

Jinsol watched the staredown with guilt. When was the last time Chaewon and her joked around like that?

“Hah! You blinked Mom!” Hyejoo laughed, warming Chaewon up even more.

“I didn’t know it was a contest,” Sooyoung sulked. Jiwoo cuddled closer in support.

It surely hasn’t been years, right?

Jungeun bumped her head against Jinsol’s, silently asking her if she was alright.

No, it couldn’t have been years.

Jinsol brought Jungeun’s hand up to her lips to reassure her. They could talk about it later. The lovers had all the time in the world. Jinsol wouldn’t be shipped out until the start of the new year. She made sure of it.

If Jungeun and her were able to communicate like this without uttering a word, then it wasn’t true that it had been that long since Chaewon and her bonded. But then again, Chaewon looked at Hyejoo with an expression she hadn’t seen before.

Her eyes forming little crescents, her smile up to her ears.

Or maybe she has made this face but Jinsol had forgotten.

Just how out of touch was she was with another member of her family?

---

Head Knight Taeyang was out of touch with how hormones worked during pregnancy.

Jungeun’s pregnancy wasn’t theatrical, Jinsol the one suffering sympathy pains.

(Vivi said it was all psychological but Sooyoung called it a sham as Jinsol threw up in her helmet more than once when Jungeun should have been nauseated.)

Hyorin was a constantly running a tragedy play with no intermission. She caught a whiff of perfume - blame Sooyoung for borrowing his helmet while disinfecting hers - and was throwing all of Taeyang’s garments out the window for being a spineless cheater. It was a blessing they lived on the first floor.

Sooyoung wondered what Jiwoo would be like if she was with child as she made her way to her room. To her non-pregnancy hormone infested wife.

It was impossible, Sooyoung thought glumly. Jiwoo and her didn’t have the “parts” for the job.

If they were of royal blood, it was feasible.

If only she befriended a witch.

Wait.

She sprinted from her post to knock on someone’s sleeping chambers.

“Sooyoung, how may I help you?”

Sooyoung sighed. She felt like she didn’t even need to tell Vivi. She was strangely intuitive. She knew when she was hungry, sick, depressed, missing Jiwoo.

But Vivi stood her ground, motioning for the knight to answer.

“Vivi, it has come to my attention that you lent a hand in Jungeun’s pregnancy,”

Vivi nodded. If she stopped Sooyoung mid-tirade, Sooyoung would go off on another tangent. Jinsol and her were similar that way, taking forever to finish one conversation. People called her being able to sense this her witch powers. The physician called it common courtesy.

“Well, it’s just, I know you said you were related to witches. Sorry, that’s a slur. To healers. Well, a descendent of, if I’m correct.”

Vivi nodded again.

“And I know I’m not of royal blood or even of knight blood but it’s just, I don’t know how far down the line you are and well, it’s just, Jiwoo and I have wanted a child, you know, of our own. NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH ADOPTION!”

Vivi took Sooyoung into her room, ignoring Jinsol’s hysterical crying down the corridor and her pregnant wife consoling her.

Taking a seat on her bed, Sooyoung looked around a fairly normal room. With a fairly normal wardrobe and fairly normal books and scrolls on her shelves. She never stepped foot in Vivi’s room when they lived in the Kim castle. She was expecting that since Vivi was of a different species, she would have trinkets she couldn’t name and possible a pointy black hat.

She kicked herself in the mouth for thinking otherwise.

There was a time when people used to dress up as wit...healers. (The W-word was offensive.) Once they performed the great feat on the royals to help them bear children, the stereotypes vanished and they became revered. (For most.) 

“You know, being a descendent is all that is. The powers you believe I have aren’t as strong as my predecessors. What we performed on Jungeun exhausted all what was in me. If you recall, the Jung castle healer died casting on Queen Jessica.”

Sooyoung swallowed hard.

Vivi was lucky to have gone to a prestigious school, helping rid of the stigma for her. Others weren’t so lucky. From what she knew, for the healers that couldn’t find a permanent home, they had built a community of their own in the mountains.

“And that’s the same as any descendant of any species. As future generations are born, unless their powers and talents are skilled, they start assimilating.”

“Are you saying sirens and werewolves live among us?” Sooyoung chided. Vivi speaking in her serious tone with eyes unblinking was starting to freak her out.

Vivi merely shrugged and leafed through her collection of...stuff.

Sooyoung watched in awe as Vivi worked, hopefully getting Jiwoo and her one step closer to their dream family. No other species integrated so well. It was demeaning to use them like this but it kept Vivi on staff.

Vivi was lucky indeed.

---

Sooyoung had gone off on a tangent about Jiwoo - the story started off as Taeyang and his woes around Hyorin’s pregnancy.  Once Hyejoo was born, it was only a couple of years later when Sooyoung was transferred as a seneschal to the Kim castle with a higher chance of promotion since Taeyang was still young and would hold that position for years to come.

(Those years were cut short.)

For Hyunjin and Yerim, that meant that the epilogue of Sooyoung’s story was approaching. Sensing the shift in energy - not witch intuition, only observational deduction - Vivi changed topics.

“That’s why they call you the miracle baby, Hyejoo.”

All eyes were on the rookie.

“Medical terms aside, she really is our miracle,” Jiwoo praised, a sentiment shared as Sooyoung squeezed her tighter and gave Hyejoo a warm smile.

“Hear, hear!” Yeojin praised, holding a Kirby in the air.

(Hyejoo glared at it. She didn’t know how Chaewon could sleep with those things in her room. Her own gifted pink monstrosity was tucked away in her trunk.)

“And the cutest miracle baby at that!” Jiwoo added. Once she got the compliments going, she never stopped. 

(Her wedding vow was twenty-seven minutes.)

“But I have the cutest person in the whole world next to me,” Sooyoung added, winking at Hyejoo not to take it personally.

“AHHHHHHH!” Jiwoo screamed, hugging her wife tightly to hide her blushing face.

The love was shared in the room. Without Hyejoo’s doing, this entire day wouldn’t have happened. Authentic storytelling from a heroine like Sooyoung wasn’t always on the agenda.

It was a miracle for them to gather like this.

Jungeun hoped there’d be more days like this.

Jinsol would ensure days like this would always come.

Chaewon was nothing short of amazing but Jinsol would have gone on this excursion with Hyunjin if it wasn’t for Hyejoo’s speedy pledge. She owed Hyejoo her marriage and hopefully a solid relationship with her daughter once they spent more time together.

Jungeun thought the same.

To the queens, Hyejoo was a miracle too.

---

Not much was said while Sooyoung escorted Jiwoo to her home.

Not much was needed to.

They enjoyed a pleasant meal together, along with a tableside serenade that Sooyoung hired. But Jiwoo had outdone her own gift by joining in with the harmonies and outshining the court musician.

(Sooyoung preferred Jiwoo’s voice anyway.)

Sooyoung could feel the heavy air where Jiwoo still left her literacy in question but Sooyoung wasn’t sure if it was noble to bring that up.

Situations like this wasn’t in the handbook.

“Thanks for dinner, Knight Sooyoung.”

“Just Sooyoung.”

They were outside Jiwoo’s cozy shack. Sounds of her father practicing his finger-forehead flicking were heard inside. Sooyoung should bring it up now because if not then it would seem like she was ignoring a part of Jiwoo. Not that it mattered. Being able to read wasn’t a prerequisite of being in love.

Not love, but like. Infatuation. Not love yet. Right?

Before Jiwoo could question why Sooyoung was muttering to herself - something she’s been doing since dinner - the door sprang open.

“Thank you so much for bringing her back home, Knight Sooyoung. Oh Jiwooie, your Dalcom cards have arrived,” Luna said with a bright smile, privacy be damned.

Now it was Jiwoo’s turn to mutter to herself. Before she could tell her mother off, Sooyoung turned to her with a grin.

“You collect knight cards?”

Maybe Jiwoo did like her.

That is, only if she had her cards too.

“Jungeun sends me them since she has no need for them and the castle gets them as monthly gifts,” Jiwoo admitted. “The portraits are lovely. Yours especially. It’s not like I could rea…”

Luna would’ve stayed for the show but her husband groaning for bending his finger too far back made her scurry back into the house. Jiwoo was bolder than any child in the village but sometimes she needed a push. And from what she observed about Sooyoung - nothing witchy about it, just mother’s intuition - the poor knight was too nervous to make the first move.

She thought the poor girl was going through a heat with how red she was asking them what Jiwoo’s favorite foods were.

“That’s okay,” Sooyoung never broke eye contact with Jiwoo, wanting her to know it made no difference.

Also, she didn’t miss Jiwoo knowing what at least one of her cards looked like.

And maybe she was itching to spend more time with the girl.

“How about you show me your card collection,” Sooyoung swaggered, motioning to the inside of Jiwoo’s house.

Jiwoo was quick on the move.

She wanted more time with the girl too.

“I’ll show you only if you teach me how to read them.”

Sooyoung went back to the castle late that night but as Jungeun had strangely developed a fear of the outside world so she didn’t worry of the princess running away any time soon.

---

The Jung-Ha-Wong-Jo-Dong-Jeon family were stuffed with the dinner they were given.

With Sooyoung’s help in the kitchen, Heejin was able to cook an amazing meal. Everyone sang her praises, even Jinsol who wasn’t shy in taking thirds.

(Whereas Hyejoo and Hyunjin were on their fourths.)

The current Jung seneschal was warming up to the former one, feeling like she had gotten closer to her birth parents since the afternoon in Chaewon’s room. Her ulterior motives of figuring out if Sooyoung knew of their family background were thwarted.

There’d be another day.

Sooyoung was now a permanent resident of the castle.

Jiwoo felt right at home, flinging open all the windows at her discretion even though everyone was freezing. Apparently, she did that a lot.

Hyejoo knew where the bathroom, kitchen, training room, reading room, Chaewon’s room, and her room was and that was good enough for her.

As dinner wound down, Heejin gathered the dishes per usual but Sooyoung was quick to step in and do it for her, balancing the plates easily - with only a little taunting from Hyejoo who kept faking out that her mother would drop them. Chaewon joined in on the act as well.

Hyunjin was impressed at Sooyoung.

Knight chivalry never faded even after one retired.

But all of that was erased when she picked up what Heejin and Sooyoung were discussing in the kitchen.

“You must be tired from this afternoon.”

A clatter of plates dropped into the water basin.

“All I did was open my mouth and tell stories. I have all the energy in the world.”

A washcloth being wrung with water.

“But it’s my job!” Heejin whined.

(Hyunjin fought a smile.)

“It was your job. You forgot that I’ll be taking over.”

---

Heejin and Yeojin were thumbing through different versions of a knight’s handbook - Heejin’s happened to be in Japanese, the current language she was studying. Yerim found a novel written by someone Vivi or Haseul never mentioned.

“Chae, isn’t your grandmother’s name Jessica?”

“My grandmothers' names are Hyelim and Yubin.”

“No, on Queen Jinsol’s side.”

Chaewon shrugged, flipping through a portfolio. The queens were tidy so Yerim didn’t know where that portfolio could’ve been from. It looked different from the other reading materials in the room, a dull black with bits of paper sticking everywhere. 

Looking at the book in her hand, its spine barely creased, she flipped to the first page.

Scrawled underneath the title:

“To my dearest daughter, please find it in your heart to forgive me.”

This had to be one of Jinsol’s mothers, as the parchment looked like a new material that this generation used. Yerim didn’t know one of Chaewon’s grandmothers wrote a novel but then again how could she? Jinsol barely talked about them.

Not wanting to start an uproar in this private den they weren’t supposed to be in, Yerim climbed the ladder to place the book back. But before she could wedge the book in place, a bat poked its head out from the rafters.

Luckily it was Yerim that caught its first appearance, hoping the bat would make eye contact with her so she could tell it to leave before any of the girls noticed.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you,” Yerim whispered, keeping her stance open so the bat wasn’t threatened.

Heejin and Yeojin shook their head. Yerim was talking to books now. They were used to this and never demeaned Yerim’s quirk of communicating with non-human entities.

(Vivi’s lesson in ableism was enough to send them running to the hills. The village was starting to label their beloved queen Jungeun as “crazy” due to her aversion to the outside world and Vivi wasn’t having it.)

While Hyunjin trained her skills on the battlefield, Yerim had figured out how to use hers as well using the animal residents as practice partners..

(At least Yerim never hurt any animals in her training.)

The bat, feeling welcomed by Yerim, decided to swoop around the room.

Wrong choice.

Yeojin screamed and wondered if it was safe to dive into one of the aquariums. Bats were hydrophobic, right?

Heejin ducked for cover underneath one of the couches.

Chaewon was far too engrossed in what she was reading to notice the chaos around her.

It wasn’t a book or a scroll.

It wasn’t a petition or a map.

It was a long list of words that she couldn’t pronounce or even spell with her eyes closed.

Those couldn’t be wolf names. No one would ever get the name of someone or something before killing it.

It would make the task too hard.

Those couldn’t be strategies either. Chaewon was sure stab, strangle, and behead were the only strategies knights needed to know.

If she asked anyone, the question might fall in the wrong ears and taint the heroic image her mother built for herself. That is, if the list was confidential for a reason.

Heejin yelling at Yeojin not to climb in with the betta fish and Yerim coaxing a bat to leave out of the open window snapped Chaewon back to reality. The princess helped Yerim close the window, fixing the curtain so it looked like the room was untouched.

And placing the folder back where it came from with a slight slant to it.

Just how her mother left it.

---

“And I was like ‘what’s happening,’” Yerim gasped in her best accent.

She was giving a play-by-play of her day to her favorite species of animals.

All of them were her favorite. But she included that adjective anyway.

The horses listened intently to her stories. And she listened - not just observed, that was a human move - to their reactions. The flurried swishes of their tales meant they were happy for her.

Getting an insight to her parents’ world, spending the day with her favorite people and people who were going to be her favorite people - especially Hyejoo, she was hilarious - her day was spectacular.

Nothing could bring her down.

“Yerim, you in here?” The stable door slammed open and slammed shut as quickly.

Hyunjin would’ve scolded Yerim for being transparent with her animal telepathy. If she had the skill instead, would it be Yerim out there fighting crime and ruining her only non-familial relationship she ever had?

Heejin.

That’s why Hyunjin couldn’t properly scold Yerim. She never wanted Yerim in her place.

Jeon Heejin was to be transferred before the start of the new year.

The Ha family’s relocation meant they didn’t need so many staff members and while Jinsol and Jungeun asked every worker if they would like a chance to live outside the walls, it was Heejin and only Heejin that jumped at that opportunity. 

Something about her talking with Vivi that made her see a new light.

They would’ve broken the news to her sooner but their swift return and Sooyoung’s trip down memory lane distracted them.

“The head chef said she’s always wanted to travel so I don’t see what you’re so livid about,” Yerim retorted, hearing Hyunjin’s breaths grow shallow and her heart race and filling in the blanks herself.

Their conversations never needed easing in due to their connection.

Only Hyunjin could bring out this side of her. With her sister’s behavior so far - albeit the nice storytelling present she received - Hyunjin deserved a calling out from the one person who knew her best.

Hyunjin took a look at her sister who crossed her arms and awaited a response. The horses behind her jeering back at the younger sister’s intensity.

“Maybe you actually do care,” Yerim jeered.

“Yerim, don’t. It was just news to me. That’s all.”

“So why did you come all the way over here if it was just news? I can hear your heart, you know.”

Hyunjin stormed off and Yerim could hear her heart racing up until she entered the estate. At least she didn’t run off to another mission.

Yerim huffed and rolled her eyes. There her sister goes again, putting her walls up and drawing up bridge to stop anything from making it past the moat to her heart.

Hyunjin shut herself out long enough to make the only other person she was close to believe she has moved on. Yerim should be happy with Heejin’s new chapter in life. But what about her stubborn sister?

Hyunjin was rereading the chapters she missed, the ones she deliberately didn’t want to be a character of. But that was her choice. The Dong older sibling had moved on to another story in her life.

Right?

Yerim agreed as the horses shook their heads no.

 

 

NEXT CHAPTER UPDATE: NEXT FULL MOON

Q (ourtuneisohigh): This was one of my favorite arcs to write because Yerim's storyline we created was just too cute. Thanks for all the love and support you've given this story. And for all the support you've given our Billboard/Itunes chart topping girls. See you next year on the full moon where I hope to find new Loona music as well. Happy holidays everyone and a Happy New Year! Twitter | CC

N (LazyNinja on ao3): Thank you all once again for giving this story a read. We are very thankful for all the kudos/upvotes and comments you leave us. As it grows colder and the days both drag on and flash by, please remember to take care of yourself. You are important and cared about. Please try to stay healthy this winter, see you next chapter. Also feel free to send us any story questions on our CC’s or Twitters. (Story art up there too) Twitter | CC