A month. A month of training and Jeongyeon felt as if she was going to drop dead at any given moment.

A kingdom draft had been done, forcing any and all healthy individuals to fight. Jeongyeon had seen people she had grown up with, all of them ready to defend their kingdom. What hurt her the most was seeing Momo there. She didn’t know she had qualified, and didn’t know they had forced people from her area to join.

“What are you doing here?” Jeongyeon asked her.

“They required one from every family. I didn’t want to make my sister do it… Besides.. She has a nice career for herself. I’m just a breeder.” Momo answered quietly. “Kinda the… You know. Black sheep. So, this will be a good way to make my parents proud of me.” She gave a half hearted smile to her friend, happy that there was a face she knew well in her group.

After her training, she was allowed back home in the palace. Sana greeted her with open arms, pulling her into a deep kiss before anything else.

“I missed you so much.” Sana mumbled.

“I know.” Jeongyeon sighed, holding her close.

Everyday was a waiting signal. The king strategized with his guards and representatives of the surrounding kingdoms that wanted to help him. Jeongyeon watched as Sana took careful notes, drawing plans on her map while still listening. She glanced over to see Jihyo already drafting up treaties, negotiating deals for the other kingdoms for their help. Almost every royal was here, minus Nayeon. Tzuyu was here offering her advice, Mina the same with her side of the kingdom.

“Your majesty..” Mina sighed while standing up. “No offense to your intelligence, but by playing a waiting game we are nothing but sitting ducks.” She frowned.

“I agree.” Tzuyu stated. “If we wait for them to do another raid, we might as well just surrender now.”

“If we provoke them by answering their last raid, then we are giving them what they want!” He shouted while slamming his fist on the table, causing Sana to mess up her plans.

She was about to shout at him for his anger until she saw where the smudge had gone. She tilted her head, looking up at the giant map on the wall then back at her own plans.

“What if we occupy the southern end?” Sana sug