Chaeyoung stood awkwardly in front of her mother, hands clutching at her skirts. Queen Jihyo was well known across the land for being kind but firm, and it was the firm that Chaeyoung was afraid of. Her mother loved her, but love did not surpass duty. She made sure Chaeyoung new that lesson deep in her bones.

“Welcome home my daughter! Tell me of all you have seen.”

Chaeyoung fell into a curtsy. “Thank you mother. We traveled to the home of the witch you had sent for where she cast the spell upon me so that we may find my soulmate.” The last word felt like ash in , the mark on her back stinging faintly like a burn that had yet to heal.

“Perfect! Who are they?"

“I do not know them yet. The spell cast marked my back with a symbol that shall also appear as an identical mark upon their back.

“I see…” The queen paused for a moment to contemplate this. “How many people know what this mark looks like?”

“Only myself, the witch, and my handmaiden.”

“Good, we shall keep that information as secret as possible.” Queen Jihyo lifted her head to now address all of the people gathered in the room. “A call will be sent out to all the kingdom, Princess Chaeyoung’s soulmate has been marked by destiny. All those who believe themselves to be an eligible suitor can be examined by an official inspector. Should they be the marked soulmate, they will become betrothed to my daughter.”

Chaeyoung startled, nearly gasping in shock. Betrothal? Not just a courtship, but outright betrothal. This was much faster than she was expecting.

Queen Jihyo smiled widely “I will meet with my council so this news can be spread to all most efficiently. Young men from all over may attempt to make the trip! We will need to make many arrangements.”

Chaeyoung bowed her head briefly “I will leave you to your arrangements. I will retire to my rooms for the rest of the evening.”

Queen Jihyo dismissed her, calling to those of her council to come forward to discuss.

The hallways felt incredibly cold as Chaeyoung made her way back to her chambers. Talking with her mother always was draining, but this was a new level of draining. The sound of her footsteps echoed in her ears like a foreign heartbeat.

That heartbeat immediately stopped as someone tackled the princess from behind.

“Welcome home Chae! It feels like FOREVER since you've been home!"

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “Somi, I’ve only been gone a few days”

Somi pulled back and smiled widely. “Yes, but it’s been so booooring without you here. Besides, you went off on a secret adventure and came back to be engaged to your soulmate. You have to tell me eeeeeeverything.”

Chaeyoung smiled. Somi was from the neighboring kingdom but had come to reside in this one as an ambassador to the court. Or more accurately, she got sent to be an ambassador but stuck around because she had more fun here. Chaeyoung loved being able to hang out with someone who was unintimidated by her status. 

“Walk with me?”

“Always!”

Chaeyoung’s private quarters were luxurious but deep enough into the castle that it always had felt very private yet overwhelming. The moment that they entered her bedroom, Chaeyoung flopped onto her bed “This corset is so tight I thought I was going to faint in front of everyone!”

Somi snorted, standing over her friend “You think that about every corset."

“And I’m right about every corset! Now help me loosen this one.”

Chaeyoung rolled onto her stomach as Somi sighed before undoing the tight laces on the back, retying them much more loosely. Chaeyoung let out a deep breath.

“Oh, that is so much better.”

“Now that you can breathe properly, you have to tell me about your adventure! and why I didn’t get to come!”

Chaeyoung sat up. “You didn’t get to come because it was organized by my mother.”

Somi rolled her eyes. “Of course. Queen Jihyo likes things to be…. standard.” A quiet fell between them. The queen had never liked Somi that much but put up with her due to her friendship with Chaeyoung.

The princess tried to break the silence. “We traveled to meet with a witch.”

Somi’s eyes went so wide they could have fallen out of her head. “Your mom sent you off to meet a witch?”

Chaeyoung nodded, remembering how confused she had been when she was first told what was happening. “We went to this witch named Yerim out in the western woods. She cast a spell on me to find my ‘perfect other half’ as requested by the Queen. So now I have a huge magic tattoo that will also show up on my soulmate so that we can identify each other."

“That’s insane! Can I see it?”

Chaeyoung shook her head. “Mother said I have to keep it hidden from as many people as possible.”

Somi scoffed, “That’s pointless, what harm could it do?”

The princess shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I don’t want to risk her anger.”

The younger girl grimaced a bit. They both remembered the last time Queen Jihyo had punished Chaeyoung for something. And the time before that.

“Tell me about the witch! Was she creepy?”

“No, she seemed to be around our age. She was actually really pretty and...” Chaeyoung trailed off, her mind completing the sentence. She was so kind to me. Yerim had been so kind. Why?

Somi seemed to notice the pause. “What happened? Was she weird?”

Chaeyoung laughed a bit “She is a witch who lives alone in the woods. Of course she’s weird."

As night finally fell, Chaeyoung stood alone in her room. Her nightclothes were raised to view the mark in the mirror. It was somehow larger than she remembered, only just stopping short of curling forward to her sides. It was like calligraphy across her skin, spelling out a word in a language only a few knew. It was completely smooth on her skin, not raised like a brand or scar. 

It was beautiful but so completely foreign to her. 

This mark would appear on her soulmate as well. It would represent her tie to them and how they would come to find her. The image itself held no pain but it still seemed to possess phantom sensations when thinking too hard about it. And all that she could think of when looking at it was the touch of the woman who had placed it. She could almost feel the warmth of Yerim’s hand holding the brush painting the image on skin. 

Yerim had been... enigmatic. Kind.  Much kinder than she was required to be. She was a witch that had been hired by the queen. There is no part of that statement that should have made her presence feel comforting, yet she had been comforted by the woman’s words and actions.

Yet no matter how fond this woman made Chaeyoung feel, Yerim had still been the one to tattoo this leash onto her skin. The witch had been the one to tie an unknown man into Chaeyoung’s life as her to-be fiancé. All her kindness could not erase the large swirling mark.