Another one of those nightly routines. You’re honestly really tired and wanted nothing more than to just lie in bed and sleep. But you had the unfortunate luck of being friends with Yena, your best friend since diapers. Therefore, finding yourself doing so much more extra work and in some of the strangest situations is the norm. 

‘So...tell me why I’m out with you here again, when I can very well be resting after a tiring day?’ you said as you rubbed your temples. Goodness, you can already feel the headache and other people’s questions for tomorrow.   

‘Oh please, you love me too much to leave me here alone. Plus I heard from Chaeyeon that there were ghosts that lurk around! We absolutely HAVE to check if those are real or not!’

Yes. You know Yena too well. Her reasons are absolutely bull, but you still put up with it because your cousin has told you one too many times to ‘Please look after my girlfriend for me’ with puppy eyes. Despite the puppy eyes and pout combination making you want to puke a bit (it’s actually pretty cute but Yuri will never catch you admitting that), who are you to say no to her anyway? 

You let out a sigh and shake your head tiredly. You know she knows she won. With a huge grin stretched on her face, Yena pulled you along by the arm - all while childishly chanting something about ghosts and keeping people here safe. 

***

‘Rise and shine! You don’t want to be late!’

A loud groan filled the room. Yena’s late night/early morning adventures definitely was NOT the right thing to do, seeing as your body did not want to move at all. Goodness this is worse than having General Kaeun running drills and Vice General Chaeyeon making all of you do spars all on the same day with no breaks.  

‘Leave me alone...’ you said, voice muffled by the pillow you buried your face in. 

‘I can’t do that. I’m here to clean the rest of the things or I’ll be in trouble! Even Yujin woke up already!’

Your ears perked up at the information, realizing even the latest one of the batch has woken up and got ready for the day ahead. 

‘No way...Did she shower already?’ you asked, as you sat up from your bed. You tried to blink the sleep away, awkwardly rubbing your eyes with the back of your hand. The blurry shape in front of you started giggling and that’s when you knew, your bean pole of a sister was there. 

‘Wonyo, please spare me. I can’t do this...Not after Yena dragged me into one of her rounds when it wasn’t even my turn...’ 

‘Uh...you do realize that you could say no? Or tell Yuri to tell Yena to stop dragging you everywhere? She's whipped for Yuri anyway...’

‘True...but...argh’ you groaned again, not liking how the both of you know that even though you could have said no, you would still go with her. Best friend duties or something like that. Feeling a pat on your back before listening to Wonyoung shuffling out the doors, you awkwardly sat there, probably to rethink your whole life. A sort of midlife crisis if you may.

Realizing it was better to just get up and get ready for training, you stretched and made your way to the bathroom. Better get yourself to the training grounds as quickly as you can so both the generals can’t over work you as a punishment. It was just another day and you made a quick promise to yourself - ‘Don’t let Yena drag you into any of her jobs at night or you’re going to make Yuri break it off with her’. 

***

You made your way to the training grounds, fully clad in the one set of old training clothes that you own. Wonyoung has been complaining about the countless patches on the shirt for a while now. But hey, just because it’s a little uglier than others, doesn’t mean it isn’t a shirt anymore. Either way, you’ll still keep it. After all, it was pretty comfortable, despite what other people have said about it. 

When you were just a little away, you noticed that the formation they were in was not the usual. What was going on? Wait. You squint a little harder, just to make sure you’re seeing things right. Why is General Kaeun walking closer and closer to you? You tried to think back. Have you broken any rules recently? No. Ate something that wasn’t yours? No. Overslept and missed out training purposely? Nearly, but no? What could it be? You were a little lost in your thoughts, finding yourself completely at a stop and facing the grass under your feet. A warm hand on your shoulder bought you back to reality.

‘Good morning General Lee. Is there anything I can do to help you today?’ you said, a little nervous. You weren’t a hundred percent sure if you’re having a talk with General Kaeun this early in the day because she somehow found out you cashed in the favor Yujin owed you and made her clean up the equipment room instead. 

‘It’s all good. Just wanted to let you know you’ll be getting promoted.’

‘Promoted? Me?’ You said while pointing at yourself. Hold up. What the heck is going on. Promotion? You? What did you do? You try to think back. But nothing special really stuck out. You only really repeated the cycle of training, eating, sleeping, occasionally doing your rounds and the rare missions you get to do. From the list, nothing really stood out. Nothing at all. 

General Kaeun must have seen how question marks have been forming everywhere around you. You could do or say nothing, still confused with everything going on. General Kaeun was always honest and fond of her squadron and trainees, so you doubt she was pulling your leg at this point. But hey, who knows? You watched with what you think is a confused expression on your face, eyes clouded with curiosity. General Kaeun cleared and broke into a wide grin, eyes turning into crescents. 

’Everyone and their mothers know that there’s usually a whole plot twist to this. But I can tell you now that you don’t need to expect any sudden plot twists. You’ll still be on castle grounds and doing training with everyone.’ 

There’s definitely more to this whole thing than just that. You can feel it in your gut. So you stared at her, waiting for her to finish. General Kaeun paused for a second, studying your face before continuing with where she left off. 

‘Don’t worry, the plot twist to your promotion isn’t that much of a plot twist. You’re only going to be the personal knight of the fifth princess. Nothing big. Everything is still as per normal, minus the night rounds.’

Your eyes widen. You’re going to be a what? Of the what? You couldn’t help but feel your jaw drop. To say you were surprised was definitely an understatement. You’re not even sure if you liked this whole set up or not. You’ve always thought you’d end up in a squadron and end up going on more missions. Go help the country or something along the lines of that. But you’re stuck in a castle? Babysitting? No thanks. 

‘Hey, you don’t have to look that surprised. You literally look like you were constipated one second and an open bin the next.’ General Kaeun chuckled, clearly amused with her favorite trainee’s reaction. Coming closer General Kaeun softly pushed your jaw up, effectively snapping you out of it. 

‘B-but,’ you spluttered, clearly taken aback from the news that dropped on you. At this point in time, you’re not really sure whether you’re happy or upset over this whole promotion. Happy over the fact that you got promoted and is now considered a ‘real’ knight. Or upset because you’ll be babysitting and also the fact that General Kaeun had fired two insults at you in one sentence. That last one hurt a bit.

‘Wait. You’re telling me I’m going to be both promoted and demoted at the same time? Is that even possible? General Lee, you just have to tell me I was doing a bad jo-’ 

‘Wait a second. What do you mean by promoted and demoted at the same time? You’re definitely not doing a bad job. In fact, you’re probably one of the most promising and hard working trainees that I’ve met in this batch?’

‘But you’re saying I’m going to be basically babysitting someone? Permanently?’ 

Realization must have struck General Kaeun as you see her face morphing from confusion to understanding. You’ve always known you weren’t on the same academic level as others your age, given that you were practically sold to the castle with nothing but the clothes you were wearing while holding both your cousin and your sister’s hands. You’ve never really held a book properly until you had those really brief academic lessons during training. Even so, it’s only enough to get you by reading the more average things. Anything that required big words and especially when politics are involved was definitely a no in your book. Hey, at least you like to practice what you learnt by writing in a diary everyday no matter how tired you were. 

‘Well, it may seem like that at first, but I assure you, this whole ‘babysitting’ business in your words, is actually very important. I don’t just choose anyone to take on this job you know. You have to be the best of the best; top of the batch to be recommended, before the King himself decides. Good job, my favorite trainee! I’m so proud of you.’ explained General Kaeun kindly, giving you a grin and a pat on your head, before walking off. 

You were still trying to digest the information dumped on you and her explanation when you suddenly felt someone’s arms latched around your neck from the left, while another pair of arms were around your waist from the right. Right. You still have to talk to the other two about this. 

‘GUESS WHAT? WE GOT PROMOTED!’ yelled an over enthusiastic duck. The puppy to your right only nodded her head, quickly agreeing. 

‘The two of us are under General Chaeyeon’s squadron. But we are going to handle some easier missions first!’ the puppy informed you. You looked over to your two best friends. You can see the way Yena’s eyes shone brightly while sharing the good news and Yujin’s imaginary puppy tail wagging furiously. You’re so happy for them. You know just how competent the both of them are and no doubt are great knights. But you’re still a little worried for them as you won’t be by their side when they are out on missions.    

‘I know how competent the both of you guys are. But please, don’t get hurt or I will personally hunt down the person who hurts you guys and go for you guys too.’ You say with a frown on your face.

‘Yes captain!’ Yena said while playfully saluting you.

‘Of course!’ the puppy replied happily.

‘How about you? What type of promotion did you get?’ asked the overly curious duck. 

‘...I’m...’ you trailed off, not very sure whether letting them know is a good idea or not. Your promoted job seemed so much more boring than what everyone else gets to experience. Yet, what General Kaeun said earlier did make you feel a little better about this whole thing. 

‘You’re…?’ Two pairs of curious eyes stared at you, having let go of you just a little prior. 

‘I’m...a personal knight for the fifth princess…?’ you said, unsure what to make of it. 

‘WOAH! That’s so good!’ the puppy exclaimed, clearly impressed.   

‘HAH YOU’RE STUCK BABYSITTING!’ the duck mocked at the same time. Wow, while you appreciate Yujin’s reaction, you really think Yuri should really consider breaking things off with this duck. The mockery was totally unnecessary.  

‘Oh quit it Yena! Personal knights are such an important job - I’ve read that only the top of the batch and the best of the best get recommended to the King. The King himself then chooses a suitable candidate out of the list of recommendations! It’s actually such a big deal!’ Yujin quickly said, effectively shutting Yena up. Wow. So you guess General Kaeun really isn’t pulling your leg. And that you’ve actually got a really great achievement. 

‘Wait who are the other personal knights for the other princesses?’ asked Yena, interest clearly piqued. To be fair, you were too. You’re sure you’ve heard this talk before but you were never one to really listen in to gossip. Guess it’s time for you to listen in and keep yourself updated from now on. Clearing , Yujin proceeded to dramatically announce in a commentator’s voice. 

‘As far as thy is concerned-’ a loud smack was heard as it interrupted Yujin’s dramatic improvisation. 

‘Can you just do it properly? I’m not trying to listen to Shakespeare here! Also I’m pretty sure that’s not how you use ‘thy’ in a sentence.’

Rubbing her sore head, Yujin stuck a tongue out to Yena before proceeding to pout and continue. This time in a normal voice. 

‘I’ve heard that the titles of the knights were chosen by the king through a lucky draw, though I’m not very sure how true that is. As for first Princess Minji’s personal knight, it’s Sir Yoohyeon from General Kim Sua’s squadron. Second Princess Jisoo’s personal knight is Sir Jennie from General Park Rosé’s squadron. A little off topic but General Rosie is super sweet, she gave me her brownies once! Anyways, third Princess Tzuyu’s personal knight is Dame Sana from General Park Jihyo’s squadron while fourth Princess Hyunjin’s...’ Yujin trailed off, trying to think who the personal knight was. Afterall, Princess Hyunjin is a lot like her third older sister who really only spends time in either the library or the kitchen. Though rumors have it that Princess Hyunjin can be super fun like Princess Jisoo. Trainee knights like them rarely get to see these princesses anyway. Heck, the only princess they all can put a name and face to was probably Princess Minji and Princess Jisoo. After all, those two did like to go horse riding quite a bit. 

‘Pretty sure it was Heejin from General Jo Haseul’s squadron. I think I overheard Yuqi talk about it the other day.’ piped up Yena. Wow okay. So the duck does know some things. You honestly thought she was equally as clueless as you are. But you guess you were wrong about that. 

‘Ah, that’s right. Heejin is now Princess Hyunjin’s personal knight. So...wait, what was even the name of the fifth Princes-’

‘What are the three musketeers gathering here today? Don’t you have to go off and do your training?’ asked General Chaeyeon as she made her way over to the little group of three. 

‘We were just on our way! Sorry General Lee!’ Yena called out while pulling on both you and Yujin’s hands. 

To be very honest, you still had so many questions floating around. Heck, you don’t even know what the fifth princess looked like. How are you supposed to babysit someone you don’t even know the face of, let alone know at all?

***

Okay. So the first day of babysitting this so-called fifth princess could have honestly gone a lot worse. If you count not being able to find this so-called princess because you don’t know what she looked like and was given no helpful instructions at all as ‘good’. What was ‘Get to know your charge :D You’re excused for today!’ supposed to even mean? Thanks but no thanks General Chaeyeon.    

It’s been half a day and yet, you still have no clue about your charge or what she looked like. You let out a heavy sigh. You’re so ready to give up. You’re frustrated with running around in circles. Why can’t this fifth princess just get out of wherever she’s hiding and maybe introduce herself and save you so much trouble? It really didn’t help that you don’t seem to know a lot of people and the people you do know also have no clue who this fifth princess is. You run your hand through your hair again, seriously contemplating on whether to just call it a day and disappoint both the generals you look up to (and potentially your friends and family) or break down a little and keep going on your fruitless search. You know it’s a little stupid, but you even ran into town and looked there but your charge is still no where to be found.

You’re tired so you decided to take a little break at the garden. The bench there is under a beautiful cherry blossom tree that provided some shade from the bright spring sun. You’re pretty sure no one ever comes here anyway so with your eyes closed, you unceremoniously sat down like the countless times you did before. Sweat dripped down from your temple and really, while you are thankful for the light cool breeze that passed by, you just honestly wanted a bottle of cold water. Anything to kill the heat from running around everywhere.  

‘Can’t you just come out so I can at least greet you?’ you whined to the sky. It was always the sky and you whenever you wanted to voice out anything negative. You don’t want to make those closest to you worry. But it seems like there was something else in store for you.    

‘I-I..don’t mean to be rude...but may I ask who you are looking for? Maybe I can help you and save you some time?’ 

A gentle voice stutters next to you. You quickly snap your head up and look to your right. You instantly became speechless. You’re honestly not sure if you were speechless from the shock of someone being next to you or the fact that there was a really pretty girl there. She’s so...pretty? Gorgeous? You honestly don’t think all the words you know and even using the dictionary could describe just how ethreal the girl next to you is. Judging by her attire, she’s probably a nobleman’s daughter. It makes you really wonder who’s daughter she is. So far, all the noblemen you’ve come in contact with are all a bit meh (to put it simply). But she’s just...wow. 

‘U-uh...hello? Are you still there?’ 

Snapping out of your daze, you scrambled to give the girl a reply. As if your day couldn’t get any worse, you just had to embarrass yourself in front of a pretty girl. If Wonyoung somehow finds out about it, she’s going to laugh and tease you for it. That baby has been hanging out with Yena and Yuri way too much. But then again, you also do have something against the giant baby in the form of a giant puppy. Yujin can be such an effective way to shut your sister up. Leave them in the same room and Wonyoung becomes either a red faced tomato who can’t talk or a whole stuttering mess. Though you do notice the way Yujin becomes a little more shy, a little more quiet, a little more cautious when she’s with Wonyoung. Something about impressing her is your best guess. And honestly you wouldn’t mind. Yujin was more tolerable than Yena anyway.      

‘S-sorry...I was trying to find someone who I have no clue what she looks like or what her name is...’ Goodness. You’re usually great at masking any sort of emotions but this pretty girl must have caught you so off guard, you ended up stuttering a little. 

‘Oh...I’m sorry to hear that. Does she have a title? Maybe I can help you find her?’

‘Uh...she’s the fifth princess…?’ You see the pretty girl in front of you widen her eyes comically, seemingly also caught...off guard? Wait. Why is she surprised? You watched her curiously as she faced the side and seemed to calm herself down before closing the book she was reading and left it on the bench. She turned to face you once again, this time, a serious expression on her face.

‘You are speaking to her. I am assuming you are my personal knight?’

Your brain decided that this was the best time to draw a blank at everything. Excuse me? No, wait. Excuse you? Hello lady, thank goodness you finally decided to show yourself because god knows how long I was going around this whole country like a headless chicken the whole time? Clearly you can’t say that to her. You still have your manners that you have learnt from training. Plus you are not about to spew a bunch of word vomit on a pretty girl. For all you know, she might have been here the whole time and you just didn't check this place. You quickly rearranged your thoughts and cleared your throat to answer her.

‘Yes, I am.’

‘Nice to meet you. I am the fifth princess, Princess Minjoo.’