A/N:

Wanted to put something out, so I sped through this chapter. Hope you guys like it, and I'm sorry f there's any grammatical mistakes :))

Breakfast continued to be Eunbi’s favorite meal of the day. Mostly because she could share the company of her wife. What a sentimental fool, Eunbi thought, and reminded herself that she needed to be careful with her heart, lest she go down that road again.

Though try as she might, Eunbi could not hide the elation she felt when an attendant came to inform her that the Prince of Candor would not be joining them for breakfast today. It turns out, Eunbi was not the only one pleased if the grin on the Princess’s lips was any indication. The fact that the Prince was not present for breakfast meant Eunbi could finally relax, to not think about filtering her words in case it could be used against her. And against her better judgement, the Prince’s absence also meant that she could openly flirt with her wife. Eunbi did so enjoy making her blush. 

“Your Majesty.”

Eunbi shook herself from her wandering thoughts to the woman in front of her. “Yes, Princess?”

“Are you alright?” The Princess of Oneiric looked at her with concern, her eyes a beautiful hue of chocolate glinting with the morning light, “You seemed far away just now.”

“I’m perfectly fine.” Eunbi unthinkingly smiles. “Where were we?”

“I was meaning to send a gift to my brother for his birthday. It’s coming up next week, you see, and I was wondering if you would allow me to access the treasury to buy him something.” The princess looks away, breaking their eye contact to inspect her empty plate. Shyly, she starts to ramble on, “It won’t be anything expensive, of course, and it's only something small. I wouldn’t want to burden the servants to send something so large, or heavy... or to burden you, for that matter, I––”

Although the blush dusting the princess’s cheek amused Eunbi, the Queen could not help but take pity and stop her from rambling even more. “You’re close to him, I take it.”

Finally, Princess Chaeyeon looks up again, her cheeks still pink. Her small, embarrassed smile only made Eunbi all the more amused. “Yes, we are.” She pauses, then adds, “I don't miss much of my life back in Oneiric. Just him.”

“I’ve always wanted a sibling, but I was told my father wanted only one heir.” A chuckle escapes Eunbi, “It keeps disputes of inheritance to a minimum, I would imagine.”

“Sometimes I feel as if my father thinks he only has one heir,” The Princess replies distractedly. 

Eunbi was taken aback by how honest they were being. Their talks have never ventured beyond their interests and hobbies before today. It was always menial and distant between them, but after months of spending time together, other subjects were bound to come up. And Eunbi found it very easy to hang on to what her wife was sharing, to drink up every word that left her lips.

“I suppose I can understand that my brother was the special one. He is the first-born son. But my father never really acknowledged me, not even as a daughter, not unless I had displeased him somehow, or if I had stepped out of line. I was given the title of Princess, but never the respect. He overlooked me for all of state politics or royal matters. He wanted me silent and hidden from everyone. I was of no use to him until...” The princess trails off.

“Until?”

Their eyes locked. “It only changed when I married you. Suddenly, he writes to me, suddenly I exist. Although he does not even send it to me himself, the ambassador would have to pass his letters to me.”

Now that made Eunbi unintentionally tense up. The Queen could not help but think how suspicious it was that the letters from the King of Oneiric were sent through a private channel that Eunbi was not aware of. “What do they say?”

“I don't read them.”

“Whyever not?”

“The chance of disappointment.” The princess answers. “If I don’t read them, I can pretend that my father isn’t just using our marriage for his political gains.”

Eunbi’s eyes widened. Perhaps she has underestimated her wife. Innocent as she was with many things, Princess Chaeyeon was not a complete fool. She had to swallow the guilt of knowing that she too was using their marriage just like the King of Oneiric, even if she had other reasons on top of it. Eunbi’s hand reached out for her wife’s before she realized what she was doing, only knowing that she wanted to comfort the princess. “I understand what that is like.”