The king, queen, and Gahyeon all departed from breakfast to the war council room. Siyeon stood up to follow but her father stopped her. “Siyeon, you head out to the gardens and relax. We have much to discuss, I think it’ll spill over into lunch time.” The king suggested.

“But father, I think I should know what is happening as well-”

“Siyeon, you need not worry about these affairs. Just focus on your own things.” The king said gently. Even though there may not have been any bad intentions, Siyeon still felt dismissed and neglected. It wasn’t like she was treated badly on a physical level but there was always that emotional disconnect. When she was a child, she didn't really know the terms “father” and “mother” but rather “nanny”, above all else. Gahyeon’s birth was the start of her relationship with her parents, though that was only because Gahyeon was so attached to her big sister.

She thought that she learned to get over it but ever since the manakete entered her life, she started to wonder why she wasn’t deserving of more. After all, she was born this way but that doesn’t mean that she has to accept her fate.

“Okay...” Gahyeon casted her worried glance but Siyeon smiled to reassure her she was fine. For the first time in a while, Siyeon was alone for the day. Well, not truly alone as there were still castle guards following her around. But alone as in Minji and Yoohyeon left a few days back to go to the dragon tribe lands. Minji was secretive about the trip so Siyeon didn’t want to pry.

No matter, Bora was still here and Siyeon promised Minji that she would start trying to find her calling. She was tired of being called a useless princess. Only a replacement should anything ever happen to Gahyeon. An unworthy replacement, as the advisors say, but a replacement nonetheless.

The library was always a good place to start. If she couldn't venture outside the castle wall, she could learn through books. Teacher Han was situated at the front desk with a stack of reference books.

“Oh? Princess, what brings you here today?”

“Just some light studying. You don’t need to get up, I’ll just wander around.” Siyeon said as Handong was about to get up. The teacher sat back down and nodded. Siyeon walked around, glancing at several books in a disinterested manner. Nothing in particular seemed to stand out to her.

Walking through the library reminded her of her childhood. The library was like an endless labyrinth of fun. She and Gahyeon used to play hide and seek here when they decided to skip their lessons. The hushed giggles in hiding and the angry stomping of the big, bad adults always brought life to their games. Even when Siyeon wasn’t playing with Gahyeon, she enjoyed reading every book she could get her hands on. She remembered telling her father all about the new things she learned for the day with child-like enthusiasm. It didn't pass her by that her father started listening less and less to her babbling as time went by.

But now, these dusty old shelves meant little to her. Her dull-colored lens made the place less magical. The tall, stained glass windows were like a cage instead of a portal to magical worlds. The books were nothing more than tools to imprint information into. Even her old hiding spots were just old nooks that needed repair instead of a child’s secret hideout. Life just became more complicated as she got older.

“Enough self-pity.” Siyeon slapped palms against her face twice. Coincidently, she stopped at a section describing the nature of dragons. She pulled out a few covers, reading the backside to determine if there was any useful information. Finally, she settled for two interesting books.

The first was about dragon anatomy. It was worth noting that dragons had as much individuality as humans did. Not a single dragon had the same dragonskin nor the same powers. As such, the book only had general assumptions about dragon anatomy like where the heart and brain were located.

The second was much more interesting because it detailed some accounts as to when dragons began appearing in human affairs. It was always intriguing to Siyeon because dragons were so much more powerful than humans. They could have easily wiped humanity out and coveted all the lands for themselves. So why did they start helping humans in their wars? According to the text, some sort of “event” caused dragons to suddenly come to the human lands. Whatever it was, dragons started taking the form of humans and working alongside them.

Siyeon stood up in search of her next book. If dragons willingly took the form of humans, then that meant that manaketes are not a natural phenomenon. A thin book between two huge tombs was hidden away in a little crook but Siyeon managed to find it.

--

“Siyeon! Did you like the cake I sent to your room yesterday?!” Bora asked, voice booming in the kitchen.

“Yes, it was delicious. Thank you for the cake.” It really was a great pick-me-up late night snack. Siyeon spent most of her days holed up in the library or her room, reading up on anything and everything. Though no one seemed to notice except Bora and Handong. Nowadays, she has been seeing less and less of her family members.

“Eh? You guys had cake without me?” A familiar voice said from the entrance of the kitchen.

“Minji! You’re back!” Bora ushered her over to the table Siyeon was sitting at and placed a leftover slice of cake in front of her. The manakete happily dug into her dessert.

Another figure entered the room and sat down next to Minji. “Figures this is where you would go first.” Yoohyeon chuckled quietly. The grandmaster waved to the princess and sneered at the chef. Not surprising that she received the finger in return.

“When did you guys return?”

“Just now. Minji was eager to fly. Speaking of which-”

Minji stood abruptly to grab Siyeon’s hand from across the table, scaring the princess half to death. “Yoohyeon said that we can go flying tonight! Without her!” She said excitedly, spitting cake on the table while she was at it. Bora’s eye twitched at the mess.

Yoohyeon sighed and pulled Minji to sit back down. She used a weave spell to whisk the mess she made into the trash can, much to Bora’s relief. “You really didn’t have to mention that last part...”

“But flying with you . You never let me play.” The manakete pouted.

“Yeah well, Siyeon is the princess so please don’t drop her to her doom.”

“No promises! C’mon Siyeon! We have to prepare for the flight! There’s so many places I want to show you!” Yoohyeon shook her head as she watched her Kin drag the princess out the door.

--

“Minji’s a handful, as always.” Bora commented. Yoohyeon merely hummed in response. She followed Bora to the back room and closed the door behind her. The back room was where Bora kept all of her recipe books and where she would create new ones. A private lair of sorts.

“So,” the shorter woman started, “how did it go?”

Yoohyeon sagged into the armchair in front of the desk, looking 10 years older at the mention of the trip she just took. Dragging a hand down her face, she sighed tiredly. “It went as expected, I suppose. Minji did what she had to do.”

“I see. And the other thing?”

“Will proceed as planned. No issues there.” The grandmaster lolled her head on the back of the chair, staring up at the dull brown ceiling. She barely slept since she departed the castle so all the fatigue was catching up to her. Her eyes were beginning to droop.

Thighs bracketed her hips and arms wound around her shoulders, hugging her closer to a warm body. Bora moved her face so that they were staring each other directly in the eyes. Brown met blue. Yoohyeon’s eyes were always so mesmerizing. Where Minji’s eyes were like the sky, Yoohyeon’s eyes shimmered like ocean waves on a sunny day. The irises moved as though they were alive and to some extent, that was true.

Bora leaned in for a long kiss. It wasn’t anything wild like how it usually was but simply to comfort. “How long do we have?” Bora asked after they broke apart.

“I’ve got a war meeting in 30.” Yoohyeon replied as she pulled off the coat Bora was wearing. She was wearing a simple camisole underneath, the clothing doing nothing to hide her beautiful curves. Suddenly, the room’s atmosphere was getting hotter.

Bora smirked devilishly at the ocean storm in Yoohyeon’s eyes. And they were because of her. For her.“You sure you won’t need to rest before then? You look exhausted.” She teased while easing Yoohyeon out of her cloak and slipping a hand under the shirt.

The younger woman grunted as she reversed their positions on the chair, putting her on top. She brought Bora in for a bruising kiss while her free hand the side of Bora’s waist. “Someone’s eager.” Yoohyeon chuckled when Bora pushed herself further into Yoohyeon’s lips.

“It wasn’t fun without you around.”

“You mean it wasn’t fun because no one was here to top you?” As expected, Bora smacked her hard in the shoulder for her cheekiness. It killed the mood a bit but Bora didn't let that deter her.

“Shut the up and kiss me already.”

--

“Min-Minji!” Siyeon screamed across the open air. Minji was flying incredibly fast and Siyeon was struggling to keep herself on the saddle. “I’m going to die!”

Minji laughed and slowed down, floating idly in the air with her wings spread out. Why couldn’t she do that sooner? Siyeon complained in her head. After taking a few deep breaths to settle her stomach, Siyeon was finally able to look around. It was cold and they were high up in the sky. The princess would probably catch a cold tomorrow but none of that mattered to her.

The only way she could describe what she felt was that it was like sitting in the center of the universe. The stars were splayed across the night sky canvas, painting light over endless darkness. Below, her island kingdom looked so insignificant in comparison to the vast universe. If she