There were three med areas: the medic tent for Jungeun's guards outside the kingdom, the medic tent for Jungkook and the royal guards inside the kingdom, and finally this. I almost couldn't wrap my head around it.  A completely separate wing in the castle. When people appear at the archway of the wing donned in riches-- jewellery, silk clothes and hair styled to perfection-- I knew instantly what this was. The med bay for the wealthy. 

Just how ing big is this place?

Vintage photos of people I didn't know frame a single beige wall of the long hallway, large and lifelike. Their gold frames compliment the sleek mosaic floor and window sills paralleling the paintings.  As Yves and I walk down the wide hall, it's almost as if I could feel their eyes on me as we move. I knew it was my imagination but it just felt so unsettling. 

 As we near closer and closer to the archway the two noble people came from only seconds before, pausing for a moment to bow to Yves, my eyes rest on the last frame. A headshot of the King, no smile on his face. Either these people were self absorbed and liked looking at their own faces, or maybe it was just tradition. I could only assume the pictures before him were of their ancestors.

 But then we walk through the archway and the King's portrait leaves my vision. My eyes are drawn to the room we stand in now. Large and spacious, women bustling about with different concoctions in their hands. Beds situated on both sides of the room, a large footpath separating them for nurses to walk about spaciously. Some beds were hidden by clean white curtains and others were pulled back,  allowing me a good look at the people inside. One of the nurses looks our way and her eyes blow wide instantly. She rushes over to us and curtseys, startled.

I don't miss the way the guards accompanying us fidget at the woman's aggressive movements, but a stiff hand from Yves has them relaxing a second later.

"Princess... what are you doing here?"

Yves scans her eyes around the room as if searching for something, and then they settle on the woman once more.

"I am sorry to disturb you, but I wish to speak with Chef Min-sik." 

Suddenly it made sense to me. My mind races with the realisation. The King  accusing me of attacking him and one of the servants in the kitchens.

The nurse looks between us and shakes her head, lips pulling into a frown.

"He is not ready, M'lady, he is still in shock-"

"It is important I speak with him. I am sure you can be understanding." 

When Yves voice drops to a low, stern whisper, I feel my own hairs raise on the back of my neck. She says it almost like a threat. The woman hesitates for several seconds, spares a second long glance towards the guards behind us, and then breaks. She nods her head nervously.

"G-give me one second, M'lady. I will be sure he is capable to meet with you." Then off she goes. She quickly hurries away as quick as she came, clearly shaken.

I turn to Yves when the woman is out of earshot and quirk an eyebrow.

"What was that about?"

She seems to understand what I mean instantly. She huffs and motions for her guards to stay put. The two men position at the archway of the room, their backs stiff as they watch their princess. But she pays it no mind when she turns to meet my eyes once more.

"Forgive me, but I just do not want my time wasted. I want answers, Y/N. I need to know what happened."

She motions for me to follow her as we walk deeper into the room. I let my eyes wonder. Taking in the cabinets filled with vials and makeshift bandages, the few noble-folk lingering around waiting to meet with their injured kin. I watch Yves eyes as she trains her vision on the beds not covered by cloth. Her lips purse together, saddened at the sight before her. It's then I realise just how deep her devotion to her people was.

But then a thought dawns on me. I turn to her expectantly.

"What even happened to Min-sik after I left? You still haven't told me..."

A soft sigh leaves her lips and she's shaking her head. She looks around us to make sure no one's listening then drops her voice to a whisper.

"Chef Min-sik was suppose to report back to someone about supper. His unusual absence is what signalled trouble. His body and one of the servants was found on the floor. Alive but unwell."

My mouth goes dry and a heavy feeling cements itself in my stomach. It didn't make sense to me. When I spoke to him everything was okay. I didn't feel like I was being watched, I didn't feel anything unusual. It almost bothered me to think I should have noticed something was wrong before it happened.  My eyebrows furrow.

"It's just so confusing... The only people Olivia and I ran into were Jungeun and two guards."

Yves perks up. She tilts her head.

"Two guards? Do you perhaps know their names or recognise what they looked like?"

I shake my head. "No." I could barely remember my own fathers face, so how was I suppose to recognise theirs?

Yves sighs and she nods her head 'okay', and I can tell she's made a mental note. The conversation falls quiet and I take it as my signal to turn away. My eyes instinctively draw to study the room again, still not quite over just how different it felt compared to Olivia's med tents. But then my eyes still on a particular body.

A nurse stands over a woman's body and presses the back of her hand against her forehead. The woman lied limply, her shirt stained crimson in what looked like blood. But it's her face that had a gasp tearing from the back of my throat. Her eyes were sunken in like she had a good punch to her face, a cut just above her lip that spread to the bottom of her chin. As if hearing my gasp, the nurse turns around in shock and meets my eyes. The nurses' face tears into a stern glare followed by the closing of the curtain around the bed. I could no longer look in but her face was as clear as ever on my mind.

The feeling of a soft hand wrapping around my wrist tears me back to reality. Yves spins me around so I'm looking at her, a look of clear concern on her face. She looks between me and the closed curtain I was staring at only moments before. And then her eyes settle back on mine. She frowns.

"Perhaps that was not something you should have saw." Her voice is quiet as she appraises me in this moment. All I can do is nod my head dumbly. I just couldn't get the image out of my head. 

"Who... who was that?"

"The servant." She mumbles although loud enough for me to hear. 

In this moment it goes silent. So silent that you could hear a drop of a pen or even my own breath leaving my body. How... how could someone suspect that I did that? That I had a bone in my body that would ever consider it? It wasn't me...

A soft "come here" leaves Yves' lips and she's pulling me away so the curtain was no longer in our vision. I let her drag me in mute shock. Like the nurse to the servant only moments before, she raises her hand and presses it against my forehead. She frowns a second time.

"It is okay, Y/N. I know you did not do it." Her voice is uncharacteristically calm. For a moment I wondered if this was the same girl I met all those days ago. In this moment she searches my face with an unrecognisable look in her eyes, her body standing so close to mine almost as if she was trying to protect me. She moves her hand from my forehead and presses a finger under my chin, bringing my face up so I would meet her eyes. Her next words fall from her lips in a hushed whisper as if I'd hurt her. I fight the urge of sparing a glance down at her lips as they purse together softly. 

 "Why is it now you are not looking at me? I quite liked your confidence before."

A blush surely takes over my cheeks and I'm stammering. I could practically feel her breath on my skin. I was sure her guards were watching-- the thought making my cheeks heat up ten times stronger. 

"I'm sorry. It's just... how could someone do that? Hurt someone like that?"

She sighs. "There will always be dangerous people in this world we live in. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it."

But then her eyes drop. For a second I could've sworn she was staring at my lips. But then her next actions take me aback once more.

The finger once under my chin moves to grip it softly, and she raises my head again to get a good look at my neck. I can't find it in myself to fight her, chest too busy fluttering with butterflies at the feeling of her soft hand on my face to care. My mouth goes dry and I fight the urge of gulping when her hand not gripping my chin slowly raises. She grazes her knuckle against my skin and it's then I realise what's caught her attention. 

I hiss when her hand touches the fresh scar from her dagger, now no longer bleeding but still throbbing now that I remembered it was there. A hum tears from the back of . All I can do is stand still. Her breath fans over my neck this time as she gets a good look at the cut. This time I can't help but gulp.

"I suppose I should help you care for your wound. It is my fault after all."

I strain to get a good look at her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed in worry, her lips pulled together into a grim line. I shake my head with whatever strength I still had in my body. 

"N-no you don't need to. We can ask a medic, or I can do it myself-" I mumble. I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle having her so close a second longer. The smell of vanilla was slowly wafting into my senses, turning me to putty. A look of displeasure crosses her face and she's meeting my eyes once more.

"Please let me. It is the least I can do."

From over her shoulder I notice the shared look of confusion on her guards faces. I wasn't sure if they could hear our conversation, but I supposed they didn't need to. The sight of their princess, regal and so closed off from everyone, tending to a wound as small as a prick of a needle. But they say nothing, as much as it looked like they wanted to. I tear my eyes away from them when Yves moves.

Momentarily walking to one of the cabinets we passed earlier, she grabs several things from it  before coming back. Twisting the cap of a vial, she dips a rag into the unknown liquid and motions for me to sit. Heeding her command I rest on a stool-like-chair behind me, watching her as she moves. My breath hitches when she takes a step closer and lifts my chin up once more so she could look at my neck. Her eyes meet mine for the faintest of seconds and she whispers, so quiet I almost couldn't hear her, but clear enough for my heart to beat louder. "It may sting."

I say nothing. Nothing but a small hiss leaves my parted lips when she presses the rag to my neck so softly it barely grazes. She looks down at the wound so attentively with a frown on her face, guilt swimming in her eyes. I fight the urge of needing to cringe back at the cold liquid on my neck, far too enamoured by the feeling of her warm breath on my skin.

I wasn't sure why she was helping. Why she couldn't have just beckoned one of the nurses over to do the job for her. The question falls from my lips before I could stop it, breaking the silence.

"...How did you learn to do this? Why are you?"

The unexpected question makes her flinch, clearly consumed by the silence. It takes her a second to register my words before she's sighing.

"It is my duty to know how to protect myself in the event I am alone, no one to help me. I must know how to treat my own wounds." She hums. She looks up to meet my eyes a second time and I don't notice the way her lips tug down, apologetic.  "It is also in my interest to repair my wrongs. I should not have threatened you so."

Neither of us say anything else. I suppose it made sense. Ever since Jennie betrayed them it seemed like Yves was expected to learn to take care of herself if she was ever in a position where she needed to. 

But then the realisation has another question dawning on me.

 I had just asked about Jennie and Eden... so how did Jungeun manage to find Yves so quickly after Jungkook got me from the training room? We left before her.

"How did you know, by the way? That I spoke to Jungeun?"

She ti