The King's Lineage (YeJu)
Part 1

Being at the top of social gatherings is a must for women. It is a battle of connections, words and deceits. Controlling the noble society is like controlling the country itself. Everyone strives to be on top or atleast be associated with the people on top. Social gatherings are their life. Female's are groomed to be the best at these occasions, to secure themselves an array of  connections and a high-status husband. The noble lady's life revolves around this formula and the women in the royal family are no exception. They live by these rules too.

In the Kingdom of Soumu, the first Princess is taught in etiquette, dancing, embroidery and other lady-like activities. However, before her debut to high society, the king ordered that the first princess be taught in swordmanship, horse riding and combat. She never debuted in society and never had the chance because she was sent to war. People always wondered why she was sent there, when she had two brothers who were just One and Two years younger than her, respectively. Even the crown prince who is Two years older than her wasn't sent to war. They speculated that the King discovered that she wasn't of royal blood that's why she was sent. There were lots of speculations and though the royal family denied these rumors, these foul hearsays never died down.

Six years later, the first princess, who was rumored to be an illegitimate child, returned from a five-year long war in the far eastern part of their kingdom. She is now at the age of twenty-one, too old to start her societal activities but returned with a list of accomplishments of her own that no one ever would have thought she'd achieve. She is an accomplished war hero and even if she was an illegitimate daughter of the king, her accomplishments are still way high to be sneered upon. She can even rival the prestige of the biggest Ducal family.

And that Princess is named . . . . . . .

SOUMU KINGDOM'S MEETING ROOM

"Father, I have returned." A loud serious tone was heard behind the big doors of the the palace's meeting room. The king and his subordinates were on a conference talking about the immediate worries of the kingdom when they heard the greeting. The people on the table were worried for it is a rule that no one is allowed to disturb an ongoing meeting. They looked at the King and they saw a glimpse of a sombre look on his face before it disappeared and asked everyone to leave. They were curious as to who that person is when they remembered that the first princess was to return today. When they got out of the meeting room, they were greeted with a deep bow from a high ranking uniformed person. The person's face wasn't seen because it was lowered but she seemed to be no doubt the first princess. Stunned by the deep bow given by the Royal princess, they scurried away after giving a bow in return.

"Princess, you may enter." The guard at the door informed her and she entered after giving a nod.

"Father" was the only greeting she gave to the man who was still seated at the head of the long rectangular table. She didn't sit but just stood there at attention like the knight she'd been these past few years.

"You're back." Was the short reply the King gave. He observed the posture of the child who'd grown in the battle field. Memories of the child that once happily ran after him through the old hallways of the inner palace resurfaced in his mind. The memories of a girl crying and asking him to relieve her of her knighthood activities made his chest uncomfortable. He had been cold to her all these years and if she resents him for it, he won't take it against her.

"I am, it's been years father."

"Yes it has. . . ." The awkward atmosphere of the two had been there since the King ordered for the Princess' confinement when she was 10. They weren't distant from the start, a child's mistakes couldn't be taken seriously afterall, especially a cute child at that. However, even if it was a mistake or a simple daydream, a problem should be dealt with before it blooms. The King loves his children very much and though he may look harsh on the princess, he loves her dearly.

"Have you changed your mind?" Was a question that the King always asked at every end of the letter he sends his daughter in the battle field. A line of words that the princess had seen even in her dreams. It was a talk that started 11 years ago and until today is still a very much topic between the father and daughter pair. A topic that changed the future of the princess.

" . . . . No, It isn't a choice father, like for me being your daughter or me being this beautiful." The princess who was keeping her posture to act all dignified slowly eased up. Afterall, she was never the serious type when she's not at death's door.

.

.

.

.

.

"And you being overly taken by your own beauty. . . . " Was the response she got from the strict father that she respects so much.

.

.

.

.

"I'm appreciating your genes father. Aren't you proud?" The King couldn't help the swell of feelings when he heard her daughter's humor. Even after years and long distances, even after how many wars and deaths, his daughter is still the same.

"It's good to see that your humor is intact after all the things that you have seen. . . . . You may go." The princess who was looking at the King with a relaxed face, now had a blank expression and just stood there waiting for something more from the King who was her father. Sadly, there seems to be none coming. She did not get to hear what she wanted to hear, so she turned and left.

"There will be a ball tomorrow night to celebrate the victory of our kingdom. It will also be your debut to high society. Your brother Sanha will be your . . . . .." Before she could open the door, she turned and addressed her father dearly, "Father, Nothing has changed. My feelings, my thoughts and myself, they have not changed and that also means thay I love you no less. I can do anything you ask for, except for that." She said with a clear voice then totally left the room.

"Yerin" was the only word the King could say after the door closed behind the person he missed for so many years, that was the name of the first princess of Soumu.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

YERIN'S POV

That father of mine! He's getting older and older but he's also getting more hard-headed as the years go by. Why can't he just let me be?! Ughhhhh. . .

It's our long awaited reunion after six years and that's all he's got to say?! Not even a hug? Can you imagine. He could have stopped pretending just this once but NO! His Kingly pride didn't allow it and not even his fatherly pride could push him. Ughhhhhh, I'm so irritated right now.

I marched back to my childhood room in the inner palace. I needed to get out of this confining uniform of mine. After years of battles, I can now wear new beautiful dresses. I can't wait to soak in scented bathtubs.

The images my mind conjured made my steps faster until I couldn't help but sprint through the hallways.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Shouted a guard that I passed by but rather than stop, it made me more motivated to run for my life. He tried to catch me but I was faster and coupled with my adrenaline, it was surely my win. As I rounded a corner, a blurred moving object flashed before my eyes and thanks to my awesome reflexes I dodged the oncoming crash. The bad news is that, when my foot landed after my fast swerving, I stepped on the edge of an elevated brick on the floor which made me sway. I tried to save myself but maybe because I was too happy to be home again and that my body new there was no imminent danger for my life, the adrenaline dissipated and I felt myself slowly fall to the ground.

"Ouch!!!!!!" I forgot about the elevated brick. It struck my hip when I fell and it hurts like hell. D*mn those reflexes when it's gone when you need them.

"Are you ok?" Asked the servant girl. I can't be seen like this! I should always be respectable and charming in the eyes of the people.

I stood up and said, "I'm fine miss. A stupid brick could never harm me." I smiled at her but I swear that if that brick was a person, I would have slashed it to pieces.

"Oh okay. I'm sorry officer about springing on you like that while you were running but I was just so worried about the crown princess. She's been missing and I couldn't find her. Have you seen her by any chance?" Asked the worried maid.

"Crown Princess? I haven't met the Crown Princess yet but I think I didn't see her on my way here. I saw some ladies on the way but they were too old to be the Crown Princess. Unless she's pretending to be a man then she might be the guard who tried to catch me, otherwise, nope I did not see her."

We talked a little bit more until she said that she needed to go find her Lady so she left. While thinking about the missing Crown Princess, I heard a shout coming from the path that I came from.

"You! You can't go there! That is a restricted area!" Shouted the guard. Uh-oh. . . . I did what I needed to do. I ran into the flower maze garden. This place really is a restricted area, only the royal family and personal guards are allowed to enter. He isn't allowed to come here, and if ever he tries, he'll get lost. I'd like to see him try and catch me.  I may have been away but I know this garden like the back of my hand. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

It's so nice to see the flowers in bloom. It's like they are welcoming me back. I traced the side of a flower while I slowly moved around the maze. Then I saw a white small object staring at me. Ow its so cute! I want that bunny. Without taking my vision off the adoring eyes of the little creature, I jumped towards it without any sign of preparation. I wouldn't want for it to think that I was planning anything but as I jumped towards it, my head collided with a rock as big as my head.

Who threw that?! Why do these things keep on happening today? I wasn't this incompetent yesterday but today seems to be my bad day. I looked at my surroundings to see who threw the rock but there was no one there. My heart jumped out of my ribcage when the rock moved to show a head of a lady, not any lady but a filthy and disheveled looking one. 

"Who are you and why are you here?!" Asked the dirty lady while scrambling to stand up. She patted her dress and acted like that fixed everything wrong about her. I eyed her from the ground. Though she may look anything but dignified, somehow, her air and the look in her eyes do.

"Why are you here? Nobody can just waltz in here unless you're authorized."  I asked her.

I saw a twitch of her brow to my question.

"I don't know who you are but you've crossed the line in coming here. If you want to live, thou shall not talk about whatever you saw here." She said in an overbearing voice. "Now leave!" She ordered.

"Fine!" I didn't plan to stay here long anyway. My scented bath is still waiting for me so I stood up to leave, however, I heard footsteps. I threw the rabbit to her then covered when she was distracted with the creature. I pulled her to a corner and waited for the footsteps to disappear but then, I felt my fingers stinging. The nerve of this woman to bite my fingers made me want to strangle her but I didn't want to get my uniform dirty with blood so I pushed her away. When she was let go, she screamed with all her might.

The guard arrived at our hiding place and saw us. He pulled out his sword, went to cover the lady and took his stance.

"Were you hurt Your Highness, Crown Princess?"

What?!!!!!!!! That filthy woman is Yuna, the Crown Princess?! My brother's fiancé?!!!



-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

03-22-20
10:56 pm

Be safe everyone T_T