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

 

A closed door policy was how every major decision was made for the royals. From when they would marry to whom they would marry to when they’d start to conceive to how often they’d conceive. But it was never behind the royals’ own closed doors. The council were the masterminds behind the royals’ private and public lives for every Kingdom in Milieu, directing them from birth to death.

(And in some cases, how they would die.)

Never was such scrutiny done in the Jung castle. The two current ruling queens wanted power to belong to the people, seeing firsthand how power had turned their parents into near animatronic puppets, wielding nothing but their heads held high. Jinsol and Jungeun hoped to never become carbon copies of them. Open door policies were enforced which young Chaewon took full advantage of, barging in at whatever hour she saw fit to discuss anything and everything.

As the years went on, their family grew further apart, and the doors became harder to open and then harder to find.

Jinsol and Jungeun spent their energy reopening theirs but maybe they should’ve focused on their daughter first.

After Chaewon unrolled the congratulatory announcement and read it aloud, the rest of dinner was spent in silence. Between the shocking announcement of Jinsol’s wolf slaying - which would’ve sounded just like her mother’s handiwork if not for the gruesome details - and the surprise of Chaewon’s engagement, the aura surrounding the Jung castle shifted.

Even the footnote of the council hosting a Betrothal Fair in celebration before the Suitors Ball couldn’t liven up the dining hall.

“I think I’ll finish in my room,” Chaewon shakily said, the non-subtle stares ruining her appetite.

Her parents didn’t object. If she can decide she was going to be betrothed, she can decide where to eat.

No royal in the castle had an appetite after that.

“Good night Chaewon,” Jungeun meekly replied a few hours later on the other side of her closed door.

“If you want to talk about it in the morning, we can,” Jinsol said, whispering something to Jungeun and escorting her to their own room.

Chaewon knocked her chair over in a need to explain herself. She didn’t have a planned speech and didn’t think what she did necessarily warranted an apology. With how vehemently Jinsol denied the murder claims and how stressed Jungeun was in reassuring her they weren’t true, Chaewon believed she was doing the right thing. Jinsol and Jungeun pressed against her door hours ago was an indication that both of them being home would save their marriage. Chaewon was only ensuring these moments would last. She was ensuring that they were home for good.

Tearing her door open, she watched the bottom of her mother’s dress disappear into their shared room.

Their bedroom door was slowly shut.

---

The carriage ride to the fair was spent in the same fashion.

The curtains to Carriage #2 - the first one transported Vivi, Haseul, Yeojin, and Jiwoo, with Hyejoo and Sooyoung driving - were drawn wide open but the silence was deafening. With Yerim driving - Hyunjin almost ran them into a ditch - she thought maybe the Jungs were speaking in a lower frequency she could pick up. One look behind her showed that no mouths were moving.

“Hyunjin, did you get left behind? I can barely hear you,” Hyejoo whispered under her breath, Sooyoung made sure the other occupants - except Jiwoo - weren’t thinking Hyejoo was losing her mind by talking to herself, nodding along as if the question was to her.

“No we’re several paces behind you,” Yerim answered for her inattentive sister. “It’s just that no one here is talking.”

It had been about a week and a half since the announcement and the Jung family still hadn’t had their much needed talk. Chaewon had unfortunately picked up on both her parents’ stubbornness and lack of communication skills.

(Haseul joked that that was what happened when two air signs made a baby.)

But how could they have a private conversation when they were bombarded with well-wishers from around the land. Everyone except three members of the castlehold opened the door hourly for gifts and deliveries, promising to send the regards to the Jungs. Queen Seohyun and Queens Krystal and Amber were wise enough not to send anything.

(Haseul and Yeojin wondered if the news reached their own parents and they’d be the next at their castle gates to offer their congratulations. “Hoped” was more accurate, really just to see them again.)

The packages quickly piled up and began collecting dust. Before they knew it, they were on their way to an open field which had been transformed to a bright carnival for this momentous occasion. A few stray knights would keep the castle and village guard and would switch with them when they arrived back later that afternoon for a well-deserved break. The other knights would be doing bag checkpoints and were positioned at all access points of the fair.

Jinsol and Chaewon begged - they switched off shifts unknowingly - Jungeun to reconsider about attending. At an event like this, the whole kingdom would arrive. But Jungeun said this event came once in a lifetime - divorces were more scandalous than affairs for royal families - and that she needed to go.

“Congratulations Princess Chaewon!”

Jungeun sighed as she looked out at the rolling fields, waving timidly at the farmers who rarely saw her. The long line of citizens seemed to stretch for miles. Jinsol and Chaewon were used to long drawn publicity and kept a good facade.

(They ignored the hushed tones of the village gossip about the queen’s out of the blue appearance. Yerim was livid at every insult her ears picked up.)

“Thank you for your service Queen Jinsol!”

For Jungeun, it had been years.

“Long live Queen Jungeun!”

(Snickers followed. Thankfully Hyunjin was preoccupied as they know she would’ve tried to put a stop to it.)

Jinsol, feeling like she didn’t do enough to prevent this, and Chaewon, feeling like this was all her fault, reached over to hold Jungeun’s hands. They flinched as their own hands brushed against each other. Chaewon squeezing one hand tightly and Jinsol kissing the other lightly, Jungeun remembered visualizing what a family day out of the castle grounds would look like.

Her wish of all three of them enjoying it would remain in her imagination.

---

The princess’s feet sticking out from beneath their red curtains gave away her location. Calling off the search party, the Kim kingdom queens approached the curtains stealthily.

“Oh where oh where could our Jungeun be?” Hyelim baited.

“I don’t know. I guess we’re going to have to eat all the ice cream by ourselves,” Yubin tag teamed.

Jungeun threw the curtains over her head, hair messy and lip pouting.

“There she is!”

Crouching down to Jungeun’s level, they each took one of her hands.

“Are you afraid of our new visitors, Jungeun?”

Today, a traveling troupe had come to do a house performance in front of the queens. The plot was about a hoops star and an alchemist falling in love on New Years Eve, only to meet again at an Academy later. Judging by the way the cast needed to hydrate frequently during the musical, there was a special element about the performers. A non-human element to be exact.

Merpeople? Sirens? Maybe from Atlantis?

“Are you sure you knew everything about them before you let them into our house?” Jungeun questioned.

She was used to strangers coming in and out of the castle. She was even used to nonhumans living in the castle. Healer descendant Feifei and her daughter Vivi, who was shadowing her mother until school started, lived down the corridor.

(The Wongs would’ve brought the whole family of five but thought it better if Qian stayed home with the boys, knowing they’d find a way to wreak havoc in the castle.)

“Of course! What kind of queens do you think we are?”

Jungeun had never met water people's descendants until now, believing they were extinct like the stories suggested. She felt enraptured by their voices and performance but fighting it off, she ran away before the second act - this one taking place at a golf course resort - could begin.

“Jungeun, it’s okay to be afraid.”

Hyelim remembered calming Jungeun down when she found out their physician was a witch, saying she was one of the good ones.

“Yeah, it’s normal for any royal. I’m scared of your mom sometimes.”

Now Vivi and Jungeun were good friends. They could see Vivi waiting at the doorway with a bowl of mint chocolate ice cream to calm Jungeun down.

“But you have to remember not to show it in public.”

---

For the sake of the castlehold, they split into two groups upon arrival at the fairgrounds.

The first group consisted of the younger members, Hyunjin and Hyejoo being guards. The second cohort: the married ones.

(Yeojin didn’t mean to call them that, seeing how Chaewon was only a few weeks away of being part of that group as well.)

Sooyoung and Jinsol were in charge of guarding but those two, dragging Haseul along, were skipping to the nearest game booth to win the best prize for their wives. Jungeun, holding tightly onto Jiwoo and Vivi’s hands, followed while shaking their heads.

Hyunjin took up the rear as Hyejoo led the group, both of them being terrible guards as one had her mind elsewhere and the other was avoiding the most important person she was assigned to guard.

“Can you move please?” Yeojin asked the stiff ride attendant, their shimmering bracelet reflecting the sun almost blinding her. Finally released from her cone and with almost twenty menthol patches down her back, she couldn’t wait to experience what this fair had to offer. But she wanted to do so with her vision intact.

If one looked at the fair without thinking of the context, they’d find it impressive. The latest of amusement rides powered by cutting edge technology (and a dash of magic) from other lands were spread across the once empty plains. Booths selling any item they could think of - fine leather works, artisan handspun glass, toy puppet dragons, cloaks, candles, perfumes and more - lined the walk paths. The many attendants, each sporting a gold bracelet, defended their posts with discipline that rivalled the knights.

(Except Knight Hyunjin who almost tripped going up the stairs into her seat.)

As they buckled in, Hyejoo held in a scoff as a family of five congratulated Chaewon. As usual, the princess accepted it.

Hyejoo wasn’t a Jung but with the way she was avoiding Chaewon around the castle, she might as well be. The news of her engagement was the first thing she heard when she joined her parents in the kitchen for breakfast after her transformation ended.

“Stop it,” Yerim growled as the ride’s gears revved up.

Yerim had a hunch as to why Hyejoo was acting this way since figuring it out in the tunnel. But like all nonchalant wolves, her sister being the prime example, she’d wait until they admitted it aloud.

“I’m not doing anything,” Hyejoo argued in a volume too low for human ears to pick up. “I’m already sitting next to her, what else do you want me to do?”

The ride started up and the wolf and wolf descendants were unfazed as it turned them upside down.

The ride’s attendant didn’t pay mind to Yeojin’s screaming and Chaewon’s cursing. The queen-to-be was smart enough to do it in Turkish so other riders wouldn’t be scandalized.

Not like her future wedding was sordid enough.

“Try harder,” Yerim suggested.

The ride turned them sideways and knowing they were hard to spot - and more importantly, that Hyunjin had her eyes closed, too relaxed to be on a nauseating ride - Hyejoo flipped Yerim off. 

---

“Come in?” Jungeun asked as she heard three knocks on the door.

Accustomed to the frequent barging in of the castle employees - except for Vivi and Sooyoung; her parents would have been getting better at it if it weren’t for their untimely death - she wondered who was polite enough to knock as she prepared for her one and only wedding.

They had turned the castle library into her dressing room and the first thing she did upon entry was close all the curtains, wanting to shut the outside world out before she was pawned off like a commodity.

Haseul, the court musician’s daughter and Jinsol’s closest confidante, entered with hesitation.

“Jinsol wanted me to come check on you,” Haseul said, holding her hands up in case Jungeun doubted her.

This being their first meeting, she had to make a good impression. They would be living together starting today. There were rumors that Jungeun was wary around other species but as a human, Haseul took precaution.

“I’m Haseul by the way,” she extended her arm which Jungeun took shyly, not with as much vigor as she thought the royal would have. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Jungeun didn’t have a choice but to meet her. Seeing Haseul fiddling with her fingers, Jungeun took pity on her. Smalltalk seemed safe.

“Is it your mother officiating? I heard she has a way of luring people in with her voice.”

“Yeah, it’s a weird habit but I assure you she’ll stick to the script this time and this wedding will fly right by,” Haseul swallowed her words, forgetting that that wasn’t something Jungeun wanted to hear.

(Jinsol’s obscenities to her in Russian behind the door was lost on her.)

“Is it normal for ceremonial leaders to wear long sleeves other than in the winter time?” Jungeun asked, looking at Haseul’s outfit.

The curtains did nothing to stop the blazing sun from seeping in. As a summer wedding, she expected everyone to be in more comfortable wear. Maybe the Jung kingdom had different norms.

“No, this is my mother’s,” Haseul explained, rolling up her sleeves right away to appease the new queen. “She only wears long sleeves. Not that there’s anything wrong with short sleeves. Jinsol is very fond of your shoulders.”

(Jinsol made sure to kick the door to signal to Haseul that her time checking in on her future wife was up.)

---

Another loud song of praise in response to her wolf slaying made Jinsol miss the target with her water pistol, making Haseul win the game and securing the prize of a plush deer for Vivi.

Drawing a natural crowd like her mother, Haseul basked in the compliments which allowed Jinsol to take a breather. Out of fear or disgust, the citizens didn’t dare bother Jungeun who was watching their childish competition. As Haseul was declared winner, Jinsol leapt off the wooden platform and returned to her wife’s arms.

(Sooyoung was bribing the stern attendant to give her the prize with a handful of schillings. Jiwoo only watched in merriment.)

“To be fair, we don’t use pistols here,” Jinsol reasoned.

Jungeun smoothed the lapels on Jinsol’s coat, knowing she didn’t need any physical object to know Jinsol adored her.

“It’s okay,” Jungeun kissed Jinsol chastely, earning giggles from the citizens. “Chaewon has enough stuffed animals for the three of us.”

Jinsol wanted to continue the conversation but every mention of her daughter’s name was another reminder of her failure as a parent to prevent the same marriage that could’ve ruined Jungeun and her if they never found love.

Jungeun brought her in for another kiss, knowing why Jinsol was silent.

“But I bet you could’ve taken out more wolves if you did have one, right Queen Jinsol?” A passerby chortled. 

A series of “hear-hears” echoed around them.

Moving onto the next game, this one without water as they felt like those were to Haseul’s advantage, the queen-Head Knight-court musician trio began another round to win their wives’ affections. For their audience of three, nothing materialistic could replace what they felt for their wives. Who were now making a fool of themselves at the ring toss competition.

“Okay, those bottles are rigged because I should have won by now,” Sooyoung complained. “Jiwoo, please forgive me.”

For Jiwoo, she would’ve liked to enjoy this date without a crowd. Sooyoung’s adamance with winning her something she could hold onto when she was out on missions, Jiwoo knew once they were in a private setting - someone had to leave their booth sometime - she would pull Sooyoung in and give her a long kiss.

For Vivi, a belated first kiss was a preferred prize. But the hustle and bustle of the wedding kept everyone busy. But she knew that when things simmered down and people weren’t always ringing the castle gate bells, they would get it.

And it would be worth the wait.

For Jungeun, she wished for things to go back to that blissful moment of Jinsol and her in the hallway. Before their world came crashing down. Before people painted gruesome pictures of her wife committing violence. Before Chaewon decided to offer herself up as another victim to the system. 

But not before her condition reared its ugly head as she accepted that her family loved her even as she survived through it.

---

Pulling the black and pink curtains back, Haseul looked out into the crowd. On a platform in the middle, a long table seating one stood out. A seemingly middle-aged man, hard to tell for sure with the shadow cast from his black felt cap, sat at it, flipping through his notes as the person before Haseul belted a tune. At one corner of the table, shimmering sets of golden wristbands lay unclaimed.

Around the back and sides of the pub, people stood around with half-filled pints, either enjoying the troupe auditions, which to them was a free concert, or hiding their distaste behind their drinks.

In the front, round tables were set up for the most generous of patrons and knights, which also meant they were the most judgmental of hecklers. The face Haseul was looking for was missing but Head Knight Minho waving from his station in the back meant her support team had made it.

(Vivi would have come along too if it weren’t for some of the younger members injuring themselves with piggyback jousting earlier that day.)

“You’re going to do great,” a voice startled her from behind.

Haseul turned around to wag a finger at the playful Hyunjin, glad she got her out of her vengeful stupor at the castle earlier today. She wasn’t her mother, birthright or adoptive, but she could read Hyunjin easily. Like any growing teen, she needed frequent distractions to keep her mind off of pessimistic thoughts. Yerim handled it well. (Almost too well.) The death of her parents still fresh in everyone’s mind, Haseul hoped she was saving her from taking it out on innocent bystanders.

The auditoner before Haseul rushed in with a thunderous applause, the gold band on her wrist as proof that she passed.

“How did it g-” Haseul wanted to ask but the girl was ushered away quickly, a skinny lackey already telling the new recruit of the new rules. It was quite extensive at the rate they were speaking.

“What do you mean by dungeon?” The new recruit asked, her smile dropping.

“Just behave and you won’t need to know what that is.”

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Bang Haseul!” Host Jo Kwon announced.

“Break a leg,” another auditioner, dabbing on a thick layer of makeup, whispered to Haseul.

“I’M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER?!” Hyunjin boomed, not liking the threat to one of the kindest souls in the kingdom.

“Hyunjin please, it’s just an expression.” Haseul warned, snapping Hyunjin out of it. Pushing the riled up knight out of the backstage area, Haseul swallowed up as much air as she could and stepped onto the stage.

---

“Told you we should have brought your funnel,” Hyejoo said as Yerim rubbed gentle circles on Yeojin’s back.

After their fifth amusement ride - royals got access to what was called a Fast Pass - the gravity defying Ring of Fire was the last straw for the youngest castlehold member.

“My scars are almost healed!” Yeojin jolted her head up but the speed of which she did it in, only made her double over even more.

“I meant to throw up in if we could cover the hole at the bottom or something,” Hyejoo trailed off.

Usually when she had a snide remark, someone would respond with a soft laughter beside her. No such sound came, which wasn’t a surprise to her. She needed to get used to it anyway. There was no guarantee the princess would remain in the castle after her wedding.

Motioning over to the attendant to bring over something in case the former squire did want to reveal the contents of her breakfast, Hyejoo struggled to get their attention. Were they in a binding contract to only do their job? Even Hyunjin and her had a side trip to a convenience shop while on their mission to wolf territory.

She turned to her partner for help.

But the vulnerable Hyunjin from the pool tunnel was gone. The seneschal that was coming to terms with her feelings had gone elsewhere. In her place was this lifeless knight staring aimlessly into the distance.

“Here, she looks like she could use it,” a gruff voice offered, a tote shoved into the middle of the semi-circle they formed around Yeojin.

Without seeing who it was, Yeojin snatched the bag from a man in a black cap and threw up copiously as Yerim held her breath next to her. It didn’t help that onlookers came to check in on Yeojin, who was doing nothing to attract this attention except reveal the contents of her breakfast.

The gross sounds were enough to get Hyunjin out of her stupor. The knight rose to her feet and shooed off the crowd forming to give Yeojin some privacy, shielding her with her body. 

“Welcome back,” Hyejoo said softly, not wanting to set off her knight partner.

Yerim looked over in appreciation at Hyejoo’s sympathy. She gave a pointed look that she should also be showing it to another member of their group. Engaged or not, they were still friends.

Speaking of.

“Wait, where is Chaewon?”

As the crowd dispersed, they realized they were a group of only four, the princess was missing.

---

“You requested for me,” Sooyoung bowed before her mockingly, getting a swat across her shoulder for her faux reverence.

Jungeun and Sooyoung didn’t meet until their later teenage years, but they considered each other (late) childhood friends. They preserved the queen and knight dynamic to appease the council and the citizens.

“I have a proposition for you Sooyoung,” Jungeun said.

Sooyoung noticed that she wasn’t even dressed yet and the guests were arriving. The Kim kingdom knight entered Jungeun’s temporary dressing room, a half-filled library collecting dust. Jinsol and Haseul apparently went to school here but their studies were cut short.

(Something about an altercation between Jinsol and her teacher.)

“I want you to take my place.”

“Pardon?”

Maybe Sooyoung blew an eardrum out with the fanfare outside.

“Jungeun, you know no knight has ever married a royal before,” Sooyoung chewed on her bottom lip.

Jungeun’s confidence had wavered through the years, the wolf attack months ago being the final nail in the coffin. She regained it to publicly suggest Sooyoung and Vivi walk her down the aisle rather than some randomly assigned royals from another kingdom. (The council was easily swayed by public opinion.) But this time, Jungeun was proposing fraud.  

“Exactly. ‘Before.’ You could be the first!” Jungeun kept a calm demeanor as Sooyoung mulled over her suggestion.

But the lax in Sooyoung’s posture and stammer in her voice shot down Jungeun’s confidence once more. Not wanting the future queen to feel useless, Sooyoung took Jungeun’s hands into hers. She pouted as she felt the shakiness in them.

“Jungeun, I know you don’t want to marry Jinsol.”

“I don’t want to marry anyone right now,” Jungeun corrected.

“But let’s think of the repercussions here. How would the council react seeing me at the altar in your place? They’d have my head.”

Both shivered at the thought.

“And while I know it is my duty to serve you, I also have a duty to my heart.”

“Right!” Jungeun slapped a palm over her head. “Jiwoo. How could I forget?”

As impulsive as she was, she had to remember more people would be affected than her. Queens had to be selfless no matter what. It’s what was expected. Her duty was towards the people, not her heart.

She smiled at Sooyoung’s face lighting up at the mention of her current lover.

“Get going then,” Jungeun commanded. Less confident than when she suggested switching places an hour before the wedding but her conviction was there somewhere.

Sooyoung knew she just needed to find it again. No more hiding.

“Jiwoo is due to arrive any minute now. You should be the first face she sees.”

“Right,” Sooyoung stood up slowly, not wanting to leave Jungeun alone with her thoughts.

What if she got another outrageous idea and actually executed it?

It was imperative that Jungeun remain hidden while she was vulnerable like this. That was her role.

Sooyoung were glad the curtains were closed as the guests mingled in the garden outside. They’d want a glimpse of who would be their new representative. Sooyoung remembered her place as well as she had a duty to serve the soon-to-be - in forty-five minutes to be exact - queen.

---

Vibrant loud booths as far as the eye can see.

As this festival was a last-minute attempt to boost morale throughout the kingdoms, there was no real coherent theme. Any vendor, gamemaker, entertainer, and shopkeeper was permitted to snag a stall and did their best to increase business and influence at this event. Some booths were wedding-inspired, selling veils, couple items, and new clothes for the upcoming event. Others were randomized: umbrellas, camping chairs, shopping bags, handkerchiefs, and diffusers.

Chaewon lowered her beret, hoping her faded dyed hair would keep her anonymity as she traversed the fair alone.

The fair in honor of her.

Whiffing the freedom in the air, Chaewon forgot what it was like to travel alone. She only planned to take a quick tour of the campgrounds before making her way back to her guards. Not like they were paying attention to her anyway. One’s mind was eons away and the other did everything not to look at her.

(Hyejoo avoiding her hurt more than Hyunjin.)

Her runaway trip with Yeojin left much to be desired and feeling the wind rush through her hair and having control of her own schedule made Chaewon wish life could be like that.

But she would willingly give it up for her parents.

Her parents who were having closed door conversations without her. In the past few days, their bedroom door didn’t just remain closed, but locked. Each time she’d scurry by, she’d hear them pause their conversation, preventing her from taking part in what she granted them.

At least she was doing something. Chaewon would never demean her parents but in her eyes, she was taking the step they were too scared to take.

Much like some of these fair attendants who barely moved from their assigned spots. Wondering where she could purchase matching jewelry - as every one of these workers had a matching bracelet - to make up for her reckless mother losing half of a couple-ring set a couple months ago, Chaewon approached one of them.

But none of them would entertain her question.

How odd.

Chaewon turned a corner and saw a simplistic clean and crisp booth. Its white, undecorated tent flaps and lack of cohesion in its inventory was questionable. Chaewon understood people needed to pick up multiple trades to survive sometimes. The booth didn’t even have a sign to showcase its brand. One side had racks of simple, yet beautifully tasteful clothes, the other side had a cooler of colorful desserts. The middle had a table of novels, stacked high. Two empty chairs behind it left the tent open to thieves but the blandness of the stall made it a less desirable target.

Castlehold thieves Yeojin and Hyunjin would’ve skipped it surely.

But Chaewon took the blessing, needing to get away from the sensory overload. Running her fingers through the rack of hand-sewn blouses, she took a look at the paper tags wrapped around the sleeves to see the designer name.

Her eyes furrowed at the familiar “J” and the golden star that followed.

She’d seen that penmanship before.

My wife and I would ask that you reconsider your stance on marriages of conveniences.

Rushing to the book stand, Chaewon flipped through the cover pages haphazardly, eyes zeroing in on the book's dedication in disbelief.

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

“Oh hello, sorry if you’ve been waiting long.”

“It’s her fault. She got scared of some cucumbers,” a second voice chuckled.

“ANYWAY! Please take your time and let us know if you have any questions,”  an unfamiliar voice called out from behind her.

Chaewon felt her heart expand, hearing voices she never thought she’d get to experience. Last she’d heard of them, they deserted her mother. The youngest Jung royal turned around and met the eyes of the oldest living Jung royals.

Former queens Jessica and Hyoyeon.

---

“Hyoyeon, I found her,” Jessica motioned into the throne room.

Jinsol’s feet stuck out beneath their blue curtains, blonde hair reflected in the window behind her.

The Jung queens shared a long look, before they raced to their daughter, dragging the other one backwards violently. They both wanted to console her, knowing Jinsol spent hours mulling over what-ifs and maybes. Her new subject: marriage.

Jinsol heard the scuffle. In a few months, that could be her life. That is, if the Kim princess could look her way for more than three seconds.

“Sweetheart, we know you’re upset,” Hyoyeon ruffled the curtains softly.

“Honestly, the Kim princess is not all the kingdom says she is,” Jessica nearly broke the curtain rod with her shaking.

The Jungs weren’t in love but they perfected the good-knight-bad-knight cheer-up routine.

Jinsol poked her head out to see mothers were standing close to her but far from each other.

Her bride-to-be left an hour ago, their first meeting disastrous. Happy marriages were nearly impossible for a royal but Jinsol had expected some sort of camaraderie with her assigned bride. But Jungeun offered one-word answers and sprinted to the carriage as soon as time was up.

Jungeun’s guard Sooyoung gave an apologetic bow.

“She doesn’t like me,” Jinsol murmured.

“Told you not to get your hopes up,” Hyoyeon said.

“Hyo, stop, she’s in pain,” Jessica glared.

“What? You called her future wife a fraud a few seconds ago.”

Whereas Haseul’s parents were sickeningly sweet, Jinsol’s were civil on good days. Jinsol wasn’t sure which set-up she wanted when Jungeun and her were bound.

“Just let her breathe.”

Jinsol was used to blocking her mothers’ spats out. She learned the hard way that they weren’t in love. Their acting furthered the knife in Jinsol’s back after being fed fables of true love and romantic courtships. Due to this, she built up a fantasy that the council knew what they were doing and paired her up with the perfect partner.

“I don’t know how she’s supposed to breathe in those dusty curtains I told you to clean months ago.”

"We have people for that, why should I do it?"

But catching her mothers in multiple affairs outside their marriage - all due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time - Jinsol felt betrayed. Their marriage was a facade and Jinsol bought it like every citizen did.

Would she be trapped in her own marriage as well?

---

One simply doesn’t do a fair right unless they ate a mountain of fair food.

Haseul’s corn dog was drenched in ketchup. Vivi made sure to hide the tomato ketchup packets in her purse for souvenirs while she dug into a banana split. Sooyoung was searching for her funnel cake underneath an overload of toppings. Jinsol was only eating the breading, her favorite part, around her skewer.

Jiwoo and Jungeun were sneaking back into the spicy rice cake tent for another plate of free samples with new anagrams of their names.

Jinsol worried of Jungeun leaving her side but Sooyoung reassured her that they were in the center of the fair and if anyone tried anything with so many witnesses, they’d be caught and tried within seconds. There were guards all over the fair as well. Plus it was Jiwoo who saved Jungeun all those years ago, she was in safe hands.

“Hey Sooyoung, remember that talk we had by the fireplace?” Jinsol coughed out.

Vivi and Haseul had the decency to “check out” the other attractions, sensing the queen and Head Knight wanted their privacy.

(Or as much privacy one can get here.)

Sooyoung nodded, noting what direction the two went in her peripherals. She could see Jiwoo picking a fight with a vendor who was shooing them away.

“I know that you said honesty is important in a family and Jungeun and I are trying…” Jinsol bit her lip as she tried to formulate her thoughts.

“And I think you two are doing very well from what we’ve seen,” Sooyoung encouraged.

“Thank you...It’s just…” Jinsol blew out a long breath. “I always knew Jungeun was keeping secrets from me. That’s how we were raised and we tried so hard not to instill those same beliefs onto Chaewon. We wanted her to be open and honest with us but things happened…”

A lot of things to be exact.

“...And now I feel like I failed as a parent because Chaewon ended up becoming like us.”

They remembered all eyes on Yeojin - or her cone - when Chaewon took her dinner upstairs but Yeojin swore that Chaewon didn’t inform her of the decision she made with the council. Chaewon kept it a secret from everyone until that night.

Sooyoung wondered if Hyejoo would become more like Jiwoo or her. (She hoped the former.) But sometimes, she’d see her stubbornness and need to protect expressed in Hyejoo’s decisions. While it terrified her as sometimes it’d get her into unpleasant situations like bar fights and arguments with her parents and other knights, Hyejoo was at least aware.

Chaewon running away from home was a classic Jungeun move.

Chaewon taking the entire Jung legacy into her own hands was a Jung kingdom staple.

“Maybe Chaewon knows that already and she wants to change it. You two, sorry you three, need to talk about it.”

Perhaps Chaewon knew what she was doing. But they would never know unless they talked about it.

“I know,” Jinsol fiddled with her wedding ring. “I know.”

---

Heavy applause drowned in her ear as Haseul in the stale pub air. Minho rose his beer and Hyunjin, her apple juice, to commemorate a successful audition.

“What did you say your name was?”

Turning their attention away from Haseul, the crowd looked at the man whose opinion mattered the most. It was his audition after all.

His choice if Haseul would be walking off with a gold bracelet strapped tightly around her wrist or be singing scales in the Jung castle? Thinking of being away from her family for a few months out of the year was frightening but luckily no one’s face in the audience made her second-guess her decision.

(Vivi also knew Haseul would be self-conscious with her presence so the kids’ minor injuries were a blessing in disguise.)

“Haseul of Jung castle,” she squinted under the massive chandeliers.

It was a simple “yes” or “no” and she could hear the other auditionees clumping around the curtains to wonder what was taking so long.

He wasn’t even going to ask what song she sang. It was a ballad that only a few court musicians heard. When singing could only be experienced live, the gift of classics had to be passed down generation to generation. Haseul and Yeojin were lucky their parents had an expansive repertoire. Some selections didn’t even exist on sheet music. Their mother sang tunes the Jung queens had never heard of before.

“Your parents are the Jung court musicians correct?” the man in the black cap flipped through his files.

Haseul was too confused to not notice Hyunjin getting up from her chair, wondering who was making their beloved teacher feel small in front of everyone.

“Where are they now?”

“I-I don’t know. They’re on tour to boost morale.”

His scoff echoed in the dead silent room.

Haseul bit her tongue. These auditions he was throwing were nothing but a distraction as well. Entertainment was always the perfect replacement for large-scale trauma. If not to distract then to cope.

“And you’re here to live out their legacy, I presume?”

 “O-o-of course.”

"Are you sure about that?" 

His crooked smile shone brighter than the lights around them. Haseul felt herself wanting to look away. What did he know about her parents that she didn’t know?

---

Looking for the most important figure in the kingdom without alarming people was one of the hardest missions Hyunjin and Hyejoo would go on. They asked the carnival aides for hints, feeling like they wouldn’t cause a scene that would ruin the whole mood, but they shook their heads and turned down joining the search. Like they were afraid to leave their post.

Yeojin’s funnel could’ve been effective here as well as a way to amplify their voice.

“Aunt Jinsol is going to kill me,” Hyunjin grumbled, adjusting Yerim on her shoulders.

In order to widen their field of view, the two knights carried the other two members of their search party. Yerim immediately leapt onto her sister’s back, climbing up her shoulders with grace and poise. Yeojin kicked Hyejoo in the head twice with her attempt.

“If there’s someone she’d kill, it’d be me. You’re her favorite,” Hyejoo shot back.

She was the resident pessimist of the group but Hyunjin was taking the spot away from her. At least she was aware of it. She wouldn’t tell Hyunjin - unless she needed it - but her downward spiral was starting to worry her, as well as everyone in the castle.

“Please I’m no one’s favorite.”

Yerim and Hyejoo would’ve looked at each other if Yeojin thighs weren’t in the way.

Ignoring the drama around her, Yeojin was doing a noble job in getting people to entertain her questions. While Hyejoo balancing the girl better than any father could do a toddler was a feat, Yeojin had an aura to her that attracted people.

“You could be a carriage salesperson, Yeojin,” Yerim changed the subject.

Yeojin’s quest for a new career was maybe the second-hardest mission in the castle at the moment. Especially since she had interests galore.

“Those people who come running out to you the second you step onto their carriage lot?” Hyejoo played along.

For Hyejoo, she’d say figuring out Chaewon’s intentions might be the second-hardest mission.

“How much do they get paid?” Yeojin joined in. “And do they get benefits?”

For Hyunjin, she was starting to wonder why Chaewon was getting a search and rescue mission but none was ever done for Heejin.

---

Jungeun might as well install a turnstile with how frequent people were coming into her dressing room. Hair people, makeup people, hair people again to make sure her makeup matched her hair, all kind but strangers. She was about to lose it when the door opened again but her eyes softened at a familiar Kim kingdom face.

Her first friend.

She had never seen the physician so flushed before.

“Have you seen the court musician’s daughter?” Vivi gaped, taking one last look into the hallways before closing the door.

“Haseul?” Jungeun recalled, remembering the only (original) Jung castle resident checking in on her.

Vivi nodded, trying to regulate her temperature. Maybe Haseul was a descendant of a nonhuman faction. No one had this effect on her until now. While Vivi pushed her for answers, and to get a better picture of Jungeun’s new wife, Haseul willingly answered all of her questions with a warm smile.

(Vivi wondered why it was so hard to leave Haseul’s presence but she’d write about that in her diary tonight.)

“Yes, her,” Vivi tried to say nonchalantly, glad Jungeun was mulling over something to notice her strange demeanor.

Pulling up a chair behind Jungeun, Vivi loosened a few threads on her bodice. The loud breath echoed in the room made them both feel relaxed.

“What did you find out?” The queen-to-be whispered.

“Nothing much. The Head Knight’s kid is freakishly strong…”

Vivi recalled young Hyunjin carrying more fold out chairs to the gardens, where the ceremony would take place, than the squires.

“Haseul and Jinsol grew up together…”

If Jungeun wasn’t so nervous about the wedding, she would’ve noticed the lift in Vivi’s voice at the mention of the court musician’s prodigy.

“And there’s more to why they rushed your wedding…” Vivi loosened a couple more strands before she broke the news. “As you know Jungeun, Jinsol was already chosen as your projected partner and both of you couldn’t marry unless both of your parents relinquished the thrones.”

Jungeun’s parents died at the hands of the wolves exacting revenge for humiliating them during Jungeun’s failed capture. She never wondered about Jinsol’s origin story to the throne.

“Her parents didn’t die. They abandoned her. It’s all Haseul could say…”

Jungeun’s breath hitched, Vivi’s voice muting in the background.

Why would Jinsol hide that from her in all her visits to woo her?

Jungeun fought her pity, knowing that Jinsol was a born-and-bred royal. Keeping things from each other was their specialty. She had to get used to it.

---

“I would like to talk to the architect of this fair…”

Jungeun groaned louder as she pulled Jinsol off her pedestal: the small platform people stood on waiting for the steel ride. Her wife can exact revenge later, right now her duty was to make sure Jungeun kept all her free samples inside her stomach.

The older Jung castle group didn’t wait long enough after lunch before boarding the ride and were in various states of nausea around the back of the ride to maintain their regal image. While Jiwoo cradled a flushed Sooyoung’s head, Jungeun was doubled over in Jinsol’s arms.

Jungeun was sick to her stomach early this morning due to their bumpy carriage ride. But this felt like her organs were kicking each other.

“Excuse me,” Jinsol flagged down the ride attendant. “Hello?”

“Can I help you, Your Majesty?”

Jungeun forgot that Jinsol was also addressed that way. Each of them (unevenly) splitting out their duties inside and outside the castle walls meant they were never addressed together. Jungeun heard petitions and grievances from the comfort of her own throne. Jinsol met her constituents face to face.

“May you fetch Jungeun something please…”

Vivi’s medic bag was left in the carriage.

Jungeun adored that Jinsol never forgot she was her own person. The only time she addressed her as a queen was for giggles or when she was caught hiding gifts for her family members around the castle.

“I would love to but I can’t leave my station.”

Everyone - Sooyoung needed the help of Jiwoo to do so - looked over to the front of the gears and saw no line or riders. When Sooyoung served the royals, she always had “emergency” side quests. Even Jinsol had a stopover for a snack break or to meet an old ally.

“I admire your discipline but we can watch the ride while you go-”

“I really can’t,” the attendant grabbed at their shining wrist, wringing it in discomfort.

Jinsol caught a glimmer of a very familiar jewelry item. One that Haseul and her found around the castle when they gallivanted as children.

Jungeun reached Jinsol’s arm weakly. She could tell Jinsol was in disbelief. If she wouldn’t help her as a queen, at least help her as a person.

 “Who is your boss?”

Jinsol could complain about the dizzying ride and how selfish the staff was. Two wolves, one stone.

“We are not to refer to him by name.”

Their cold, monotonous words made each of the married couples get closer to each other. They looked human so why did they sound so devoid of life?

“But our leader wears a black cap.”

Haseul’s eyes widened.

---

Haseul was caught between defending her parents’ legacy and the possible betrayal of her entire family tree being a lie. It was common knowledge that most troupe members weren’t completely human but those who trained well were able to blend in with the talent of the magical folk. Banshees birthed heavy metal, trolls created rock music, and sirens used their alluring voices to create ballads. Sometimes they’d band together under a troupe leader who would help them achieve their dreams.

A troupe leader like this man in the black cap spouting lie after lie about Haseul’s family.

Haseul often provided a shoulder for Jinsol when she found out about the secrets her mothers hid from her. Now it felt like the court musician and queen had more in common than just sharing a residence.

“Your mother was insolent, breaking her contract and leaving me one troupe member short just to run off with your oafish father...”

Yeojin and Haseul grew up listening to tales about sirens but never would they have thought that their mother was speaking from personal experience. Or maybe she was a descendant and those were tales she heard.

“So I had to make sure she would pay for her insubordination...”

Those wristbands that Haseul once coveted matched scars on her mother's wrists that she remembered tracing as a child.

“Yet it's obvious that my curse didn't work the way I had intended...”

Scars her mother conveniently hid with long sleeves.

“Yet here you are. Showing up to become part of something just like your mother did years ago…”

Haseul would be too ill to confront her parents about this night. She wouldn’t lie to Yeojin but she wouldn’t give her a false narrative either. One part of the bedtime story that Minzy conveniently left out - or maybe she didn’t know which was how Vivi would console Haseul later when wondering if he was telling the truth - was how cursing a mythical kin didn’t have the regular effects as cursing a human. 

So when the troupe leader enacted his revenge with a deadly drowning curse at the age of eighteen on Minzy's firstborn, the water in Haseul's veins was thicker than her blood and absorbed the hex, transforming it into a weather curse that she would live with for the rest of her life.

"Call it fate. You can join my troupe to pay off the rest of your mother's contract." The man offered, extending his hand. "What do you say?" 

Haseul felt close up as her mind raced with all of this new information. All this time she held hope that the rain that seemed to follow her was truly a coincidence but no, she really was cursed. Cursed for something her parents did. And now the one who did the deed to her was trying to coerce her into another stale dead end. 

"Maybe even when the contract is over I could remove that curse on you," Haseul’s eyes widened at his words, "Or make something worse happen if you refuse my kind offer." 

Chills ran down her spine at the threat, as his outstretched hand began to glow with an ominous aura.

---

A “Will Be Back” sign hung outside the practically empty carnival stall as its owners and lone customer sat in silence inside the closed tent doors. Chaewon sat on a cleared off table while her two grandmothers - what a foreign word for her to think - sat in chairs before her.

Elevation and status wise, also beneath her.

“I would say ‘you look so big now’ but I don’t have a memory to go off of,” one of Chaewon’s grandmothers lightened up the mood but with no reward.

Chaewon couldn’t even tell where her mother’s signature blonde locks came from as both of her grandmothers had dyed their hair to conform to the society they have been hiding in for years. Their faces were sunken, sunkissed, and weary yet still held a youthful regal beauty. Rumours of royals ageing very well looked to be proven for fact. From their store’s inventory, Chaewon could guess they had dabbled in multiple trades to make ends meet.

But she didn’t want to guess anyone’s intentions anymore. She just wanted to know. 

The book Jinsol had shoved into the back of her office shelves matched the binding and signature of the books for sale. Chaewon wondered who the writer was and what kind of stories she told. Why wonder when she could ask. But her voice was failing her.

“Why?” was all the young Jung could utter.

Why they left. Why they never bothered to return. Or write. Or give some sign that they were alive and well.

It was deja vu to her reunion with Hyejoo. How fitting that Hyejoo had to ignore her for her grandparents to make their comeback.

“Why what, dear?”

Chaewon couldn’t fight the rise in her chest at being called that from a voice she was missing for years.

Jessica looked over to Hyoyeon, a look only couples married for years could decipher, to take it easy on the young girl. Were they in love like her mothers or was their arranged marriage met with reluctance? The wordless communication wasn’t reserved for loving couples. 

Chaewon remembered when Hyejoo and her could communicate the same way but now the girl had barely looked her way since her return trip from…

“The council,” one of her grandmothers offered, hoping it was the right answer.

“Pardon?”

“The council is the reason we have never met until now.”

---

Jungeun was a few seconds from requesting nails and wooden boards. Her last visitor, one of the members of the council, had come to ensure she hadn’t run away and left a decoy in her place.

(Jungeun didn’t want to think of what could’ve happened to Sooyoung if they indeed found her trying to dupe the council.)

But a flurry of crimson new threads introduced Jiwoo and Heejin coming to pay the bride-to-be a surprise visit. Giggling and caught in a game of tag, Jungeun pretended to share their joy as Heejin hid behind Jungeun, knowing no one would tackle a royal to tag her.

But Jiwoo and Jungeun had surpassed their forced class boundaries and the farmer took all three of them down to get to the young chef-or-stable person-to-be.

If Jungeun cared about this wedding, she would’ve grimaced at her dress collecting dust.

(The Jung floors were spotless as Jinsol may have stress cleaned before Jungeun’s arrival.)

“You’re going to be a queen soon, Aunt Jungeun!” Heejin smiled even under the weight of two adults on her.

“That she is,” Jiwoo kept the positive attitude for Heejin’s sake.

Picking them both up with ease, Heejin situated herself into her favorite princess’ lap as Jiwoo did her best to fix Jungeun up before she walked down the aisle.

“I made a new friend today!"

“Did you?” 

“Uh huh! Her name is Hyunjin and she’s going to give me a tour of the castle later.”

Heejin boasted about her new friend as Jiwoo loosened up the too-tight ponytail atop Jungeun’s head. Jungeun couldn’t be more grateful for Heejin distracting her before she gave herself up. She also couldn’t be more grateful for Jiwoo making her look presentable as inside she felt herself falling apart.

Why didn’t Jinsol tell her her parents left?

“Woah, are you giving me another steel ride Auntie?”

Jiwoo stopped her ministrations as Jungeun started shaking beneath her touches. Heejin didn’t really know that Jungeun wasn’t shaking for her entertainment but it was how the monarch kept the attacks hidden. 

A fair ride sounded more palatable than a mental breakdown.

“Do you need to wear this veil, Jungeun?” Jiwoo distracted, kissing Jungeun’s shoulder to show her support. “It covers your beautiful face.”

“It’s tradition,” Jungeun was able to muster, keeping her breathing in check.

“When you’re queen, maybe you can change that.”

---

Yeojin was drawing too much attention.

It wasn’t so much that she resembled an overgrown child sitting atop Hyejoo’s shoulders but her natural way of magnetizing everyone in her midst wasn’t doing her any favors.

“Yeojin, can you stop? We’re trying to be inconspicuous,” Hyejoo warned.

Hyunjin’s frown lines deepening at every corner they turned was starting to worry the rookie knight. She was angry for Chaewon going rogue as well but Hyunjin looked murderous. Yerim had to duck multiple times to dodge streamers and large signs due to Hyunjin’s violent maneuvering.

“I’m not even doing anything,” Yeojin seethed. While the attention was ego boosting, it made it difficult to swim through the crowds unnoticed.

“I think this is the only way we can tell Auntie Haseul and you are related,” Yerim remedied. “Both of you are natural attention getters. Remember when we used to host events at the castle? Remember the crowds Haseul and your parents gathered?”

Their last party was Chaewon’s 18th and before that, Chaewon’s 17th. Jinsol respected Jungeun’s aversion to large functions and both queens celebrated their birthdays privately.

“Well maybe Chaewon is immune to it as we should’ve found her by now,” Hyejoo grumbled.

Yerim swallowed at Hyejoo’s tone.

The next event they would be able to test the theory of Haseul’s intrinsic charm would be Chaewon’s suitors ball and she didn't think Hyejoo would like it if she brought that up.

She could only handle one crabby knight at a time.

---

Jungeun was on autopilot as the library door was knocked for the umpteenth time today. She had been pricked and prodded to look the part tonight. Jiwoo, Sooyoung, and Vivi were gracious to undo their work so Jungeun could at least breathe in her satin gown.

No matter how she looked, she’d be married regardless.

Or maybe Jinsol would surprise her and wouldn’t show up at her own wedding.

(She couldn’t put a finger on why that thought troubled her more than relieved her.)

It looked like Jinsol would be her last visitor before she became a Jung. Her wife-to-be respectfully kept her distance and covered her eyes as she stood against the door she closed to grant them their privacy.

Jungeun was a little tickled of Jinsol adhering to the “can’t see the bride before the wedding” tradition when she’d broken so many rules to get to where they are.

“Do you prefer having your curtains drawn?” The sole Jung queen pointed at the midnight blue drapes streaming in the afternoon sun.

As the guests were arriving, Jungeun heard a cluster of voices outside and did like her parents do: shy themselves away from the world. (Jinsol made sure to wall off the area surrounding Jungeun’s “dressing room.”)

Jungeun was not willing for her first impression for the Jung citizens to be her having a panic attack. Toddlers like Heejin might be able to buy her “steel ride” story but she knows the adults wouldn't.

“I’m used to them being closed.”

“Me too.”

Jinsol shut comically missing how Jungeun shot her head up to look at her. Was that not the right thing to say?

But for Jungeun, she saw Jinsol in a new light. She too must’ve been mourning her mothers in another way. Maybe not for their death but they would definitely not return. A royal out of the picture for too long would nonetheless be erased in history.

(What she hoped would happen to her if those wolves didn’t find Jiwoo and her so fast.)

Maybe Jinsol’s parents gave her similar advice about sheltering herself when emotions were high. Maybe Jungeun would never see Jinsol cry. She could count on two hands how many times she saw her mothers shed tears.

“There’s this new invention from the dessert kingdoms: blackout curtains. Doctor Wong told me how darkness helps sometimes.”

Jungeun wasn’t sure if she was happy Vivi disclosed that information to her fiance or not. Whenever Jinsol visited, Jungeun made sure Jinsol was floors away when she felt herself spiraling.

“Does it?”

“Does it ‘what?’”

“Help?”

If Vivi shared her research with Jinsol, why would she need Jungeun’s opinion? Why did her heart flutter that Jinsol was asking for it?

“Sometimes.”

“Okay, good to know,” Jinsol bowed her way out, blindly bumping into the door frame

A delivery carriage of blackout curtains for Jungeun’s personal bedroom would arrive next week.

---

Maybe this reunion was a mistake. Knowing the reasons why her grandmothers up and left were eye opening but it didn’t sit easy with the young princess who found herself in a similar boat.

“You were banished?”

She had heard of common citizens being banished for heresy or hiding family history they never declared. But someone of royal blood being thrown out was unheard of.

“We did try to contact your mother at first. But the post office is run by the council and if they got an inkling the letter was from us, it was ripped to shreds or burned.”

Jessica fell deeper into Hyoyeon’s arms, a familiarity she had to get used to for years of surviving, just the two of them.

Chaewon wondered how deep their love was for each other.

And if she’d find it years into her own marriage.

“Sica even tried hiding a message in a book.”

Chaewon kept her lips sealed about the whereabouts of said book.

“What...um...why did you get exiled?”

The two brunettes met eyes. It was ironic that they were explaining themselves at a fair to celebrate their granddaughter’s upcoming wedding.

“We were hoping for the best with Jinsol’s marriage. Hyo and I watched her fall apart after Jungeun ran away. So we petitioned an abolishment of arranged marriages and,” Jessica choked up, remembering the brutal last moments in the castle.

Jinsol was safe and sound - as safe as she could be - in the Kim kingdom. Little did they know, it was to help win over the Kim princess’ heart who they believed was a lost cause.

“The petition was enough to brand us as renegades. We had twenty minutes to vacate the castle,” Hyoyeon finished for her wife.

The two Jungs weren’t a perfect match as Jinsol and Jungeun. They didn’t blossom into a romantic coupling but they found mutual respect and purpose with one another. Moving ramshackle to ramshackle, they found a perfect home not far from a stream. They lived for almost a decade in that little cottage until a wolf attack.

By the time they reconvened at their cottage, a family of three, two mothers and a young girl, took over and the ex-queens moved on and found a better life, leaving Milieu all together.

They hoped young Chaewon would be able to find the conviction to do the same.

But remembering where they were and for what occasion, all three Jungs realized that too was a lost cause.

---

Minzy winced as she drew the curtains open in the reading room to welcome the new day. She was awoken by hooves and squeaky wheels and joined the staff in making the castle presentable for their impromptu guests.

The council marched their way straight to the throne room where Jessica and Hyoyeon were waiting.

It was a blessing Jinsol had ridden out to the Kim kingdom earlier that morning for a special package she wanted to deliver personally. The postal service was a well run machine but Jinsol, like the strange princess she was, wanted to take things into her own hands.

Minzy didn’t expect to see the queens running down the hallway, Hyoyeon chasing after Jessica.

Just another fight.

The court musician didn’t think to find Hyoyeon cradling Jessica at the end of the hallway, conveniently where the curtains were still drawn to keep this moment private.

“Your Majesties…”

“It’s okay Minzy, no one can hear us here.”

It was odd to hear them speak in small voices. Minzy was straining to hear them.

“When you see Jinsol, tell her we are sorry.”

Before Minzy could ask for context, the two queens straightened themselves up like professionals and walked over. She realized her long sleeves were rolled up to perform her chores and were showing her ghastly scars were visible.

A story she owed her daughters when they were ready. Much like the queens owed Jinsol.

“We shouldn’t hide anymore.”

Any three of them could have said this as it held true for all of them.

“We royals aren’t good at communicating.”

“Neither are us sirens.”

---

After hearing of who was in charge of the carnival, their first instinct was to run. Their second and probably better instinct was to find the kids first and then run.

“I thought he was banished.”

Jinsol and Jungeun remembered his trial like yesterday. After cursing out Haseul - literally - and causing a scene on their lands, they asked for his immediate removal from the entertainment field and incarceration or exile from the land.

The citizens rejoiced in his exile and then went home.

If only Jinsol and Jungeun knew the council simply took him under their wing and punished him as they saw fit. Appointing him as the council’s official event planner chair of entertainment was their solution apparently. Hardly the punishment a sorcerer like him deserved.

Sooyoung led the way, shoving people to the side with Jiwoo immediately apologizing on her behalf, to get them to a less crowded space.

Jinsol and Jungeun held each other steady as they followed after. 

Trailing behind, Vivi had Haseul’s full weight on her as she supported her through the throngs of people.

Haseul had sat with Jungeun throughout many of her episodes and had learned to control her breathing. As a siren - who knows how many generations back - air wasn’t completely necessary. But it felt like in this open space, there wasn’t enough to fill her lungs.

Haseul felt like the curse finally hit her mark today as she felt herself going under.

---

Hyunjin forgot how much of a lovely singer Haseul was until tonight.

All eyes were on her as she belted her last note.

(As they should.)

Haseul’s amazing performance had taken her out of her despair and for a moment, she forgot her parents were dead.

The auditioner turned into an executioner in a matter of seconds as he disparaged Haseul’s entire family and homelife in front of the bargoers. Every word that left his mouth brought her back to a place she was trying to avoid.

The young knight knew Haseul only brought her as a distraction. 

And it almost worked.

Hyunjin didn’t get to witness any of Jungeun’s attacks growing up. She heard they were a thing of the past for years. But while she was away at knight school, they had come back with a vengeance.

So she didn’t know how to steal herself to keep calm.

Her parents always taught her to keep her composure. She was a wolf descendant after all.

But her parents were gone so no one was there to keep her in check. One look at Haseul and Hyunjin saw she was visibly trembling on the stage.

“Showing up here to become part of something just like your mother did years ago…”

Her parents were right to reveal her animalistic origin but they were wrong in teaching her to suppress it. Keeping calm meant that people like this troupe leader could spout out nonsense and get away with it. Hiding it meant letting the people who wanted to hurt her, hurt her family, win.

“Or make something worse happen if you refuse my kind offer." 

Turning the table over, the pitcher of beer the knights had just ordered splashed all over the stage. But Hyunjin rather alcohol stained Haseul’s clothes than this man’s insulting threats tarnished her soul.

Letting out a roar like no other, Hyunjin lunged at him.

---

“Does this mean I’m doing the right thing?”

Chaewon felt her eyes swell up but didn’t want to cry in front of complete strangers.Closing her eyes, the princess swallowed a deep breath. She opened her eyes to see her grandmothers closer than they’ve ever been.

More than physically as well.

“Don’t hide your feelings anymore. It’s not good for you,” Hyoyeon wagged her finger. She had dreams of doing this to her grandchild one day and would not let this opportunity her way.

“She’s right,” Jessica huffed with a pointed look her wife’s way

Hyoyeon smiled triumphantly and basked in the rare moment of glory.

“My moms say the same thing,” Chaewon rolled her eyes but with a grin on her face.

The two former queens parsed each word in their head. Jinsol and Jungeun were still together.  While they had some choice words for their own flesh and blood for letting their child run amok-

(Don’t let them know of Chaewon running away twice in the last month.)

-they were proud that Jinsol had figured out a way to love Jungeun in a way that wouldn’t hurt her. And that love was reciprocated, judging by the look on Chaewon’s face.

“And you should do the right thing for you, Chaewon. Not for anyone else.”

“Queens don’t do that. I hear it all the time,” Chaewon refuted.

“Well, you’re not a queen yet, are you?”

“N-no? Not yet.”

“You know what you deserve?” Hyoyeon piped up.

The Jungs were back to their usual dynamic of Jessica rolling her eyes and Hyoyeon digging through their unorganized suitcases for her latest trade item. A pair of antiquated earmuffs were taken out. Something Chaewon’s mothers would’ve worn as teens as they were an older model. They silently handed it over to their granddaughter.

(The item was meant for another Jung who had lost an identical pair years ago. They were sure it would find her way back to her with Chaewon as the messenger.)

Chaewon accepted the gift without question. Enough answers for today.

Hearing a swarm of footsteps rushing to the center of the carnival, the three royals knew that this bittersweet moment had come to an end. To their knowledge, there was no planned main event due to the hastiness behind today’s carnival.

“Will I see you again?”

“Maybe we’ll come to the wedding…” the two women fought the urge to sweep their granddaughter into their arms as she winced at the condition they gave. “We’re not sure your mother is ready to face us.”

(“We’re not sure we’re ready either,” they kept to themselves.)

“If you didn’t learn by now, we’re terrible at communicating.”

More hollering outside as the dust of the hurried footsteps swirled into their tent.

“It runs in the family.”

---

Jinsol and Jungeun stifled their giggles as they stood outside the ballroom doors. In a game of hide-and-seek, the queens didn’t think they’d find their darling daughter so quick. Maybe their parenting skills of having Chaewon be more open-minded and extroverted were a hindrance in some way. Seeing her tiny purple shoes peeking out under the blackout curtains, the two queens wordlessly agreed to pull back the drapes at the same time.

“Aha!”

“Gotcha!”

But the shoes were unfilled and they came face-to-face with a window view of Heejin and Yeojin jousting on Hyunjin’s and Yerim’s shoulders.

Chaewon giggled behind her moms but shut herself up when her moms turned around without the same glee she had.

“Chae, this isn’t how you play the game,” Jinsol kneeled.

“The object of the game is to hide from us,” Jungeun followed suit and took both of her daughter's hands in hers. 

“But I’m a princess, why should I hide?” Chaewon pouted.

Not having anything to base their answer on, Jungeun and Jinsol searched each other’s eyes. Albeit a simple childhood game, hiding part of themselves was their objective as well. Their parents told them that that was the norm. Only show the parts they will like. The parts that make them upstanding role models.

Their upbringing is why it took so long for them to come to terms with their own feelings. Of grief. Of despair. Of love.

Maybe it was time to make a new norm.

---

Hyunjin and Hyejoo immediately threw Yeojin and Yerim off their shoulders as they picked up the other castle residents coming closer.

(Yerim landed perfectly on her feet. Yeojin, not so much.)

Jiwoo practically body slammed a man into a balloon animal stand as the came closer. The group of four looked at each other with a nod that whoever came up with the best alibi why Chaewon was missing would speak first and the rest would follow.

Before the two groups could meet - perfectly in the middle of the fair where the clearing was empty and people’s paths converged and merged - a familiar figure stepped in between them.

“Hey, that’s the guy who gave me the bag I threw up in!”

All but the Ha family froze at the sight of him. Seeing Jinsol and Hyunjin give each other an affirmative nod and put their hand above their waistline sheath, Hyejoo and Sooyoung followed suit without question. 

With Yeojin and Haseul in one spot, their natural ability to draw a crowd put all eyes on them, patrons stopping in their paths, zeroing in on the man in the back cap separating the two groups.

“Where’s Chaewon?” Jinsol asked.

“She’ll be with us shortly,” Hyunjin said without hesitation.

Hyejoo wasn’t sure if Chaewon showing up now would help or hurt them at this point.

Clearing his throat, the man clapped his hands in delight. As organizer of this event, he knew he’d have a run-in with the guests of honor. It was their carelessness that got his one of the esteemed positions in the lands, working directly under the council. And unlike the royals or knights, he actually got a say in what he was able to do.

Humiliating the family that almost beat him to a pulp wasn’t on his agenda today but beggars can’t be choosers.

With everyone on edge they didn’t even notice Chaewon slipping back into the group.

“My, my, what a pleasant surprise...” he croaked, his yellow teeth gleaming. “Of course with honor, I should congratulate you on this momentous occasion. It’s not every day a royal gets married. I’m just surprised both parents are here to celebrate. Such a feat to leave your home for once, isn’t that right?”

Jinsol held Jungeun tighter against her, wanting her devotion to drive out the words they were both hearing.

“And the witch and siren descendant as well. I should’ve known looking at the skies,” he pointed to the overcast hanging over them.

Haseul tightened her lips as Vivi held her tight. Yeojin’s head tilted in confusion. The right time to tell Yeojin was years ago but she never got the chance to confront her parents for the truth.

“Oh you didn’t know? Neither did she,” he pointed an overgrown fingernail at the court musician. “Heard you were too busy playing knight’s lackey to really figure it out. Are you even one yet? Hah, doesn’t look it.”

Yeojin furrowed her eyebrows at her sister who looked like her whole world was falling apart. She thought those were just bedtime stories. Stepping out, she was held back by Yerim.

“Nice to see the former royal guard back on staff. Pity though, seems like all she could manage was a farmer’s daughter.”

A furious Sooyoung was held back by Jiwoo.

“Is your daughter following in your footsteps or did she also not go to school like you?”

Hyejoo felt a growl rumbling in but before she could stand up for her family and herself, she felt a warm hand on her arm.

Chaewon wasn’t sure she was allowed to reach out to Hyejoo like this, given their current status, but Hyejoo didn’t know who she was messing with. Even with Hyejoo’s capabilities, this man could end her life.

“...nine, ten, eleven.” He clapped his scaly hands again. “We’re missing someone..”

Murmurs in the crowd grew and if the castle residents wanted to leave, there would be no way out. There was no way to excuse themselves without making a scene. Jinsol wasn’t sure if she wanted to hold Jungeun behind her to keep her away from him or put her in front to keep her away from the people. Jungeun made the decision herself and stood side-by-side with her.

“Oh right, that bookworm poor excuse for a chef with her head in the clouds. Good job Princess, it's good to rid oneself of the most useless staff first when starting a new life.”

No one was there to hold Hyunjin back as she lunged forward and ripped him apart limb from limb.

In the distance, the council was arriving fashionably late to check up on the county fair. By the time their carriages came to a stop, the kingdom’s best knight had put the entire castlehold on trial for harboring a wolf descendent.

 

 

NEXT CHAPTER UPDATE: SOME MOON CYCLE, GIVE OR TAKE

 

Q (ourtuneisohigh): Can't believe we actually updated on schedule. N and I are relieved and excited as we have been discussing the ending to this lengthy fic.

This month is important for mental health awareness and suicide prevention in the U.S. so we have included some links - mostly U.S. centric - to donate or support mental health conversations and research (esp. among Black, Brown, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ communities). [This list isn't conclusive.] 

N (LazyNinja on ao3): We really had a great flow when it came to this chapter and I'm so thankful we managed to get it out in time! I felt that I was able to contribute more this chapter, hope you all enjoy. Also with all going on remember to take care of yourself. Eat a balanced meal now and then, drink your water, wash your face, change your bed sheets, etc. You don't have to do it all in one day, pace yourself. (But do drink at least one full glass of water daily)  Twitter | CC

BIPOC Mental Health Resources | National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network | Black Mental Health | Help Black Trans Folks | Trans' Rights Funds | QTPOC Support | National American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health | The Okra Project | Community Bail Funds