A/N:

Heyo, so i need to put a trigger warning; this chapter has mentions of violence and blood

also, i know that this is a kwonchaeng story but you guys will have to wait a bit until they finally interact... sorry about that fam, but it will be worth the wait!!

Ever since her short lived dream of having a normal life with the woman she loved, who in the end betrayed her, had all but crumbled, Eunbi went back to her life of being a farmer’s son. She had even resigned from her post as a royal guard, and she could no longer go back to it. And so Eunbi lived the next three years as Eunwoo, working the fields day after day with her father, just like she had done since her exile all those years ago, waiting for the war to finally be over so that she may return home to her kingdom.

The news came abruptly even if she waited for it to come everyday.

Her foster father met with the other spies once every full moon, relaying information about the kingdom they settled in, sending messages of what has become of the war back home, but never returning with the one news Eunbi longs to hear.

Until finally, just like any other night, Eunbi had been in the middle of setting the table for dinner with Sakura when her foster father barged in through the front door, panting and dripping with sweat. “They’re signing a treaty!” he announces urgently.

Sakura was the first one to react. “What does that mean?” She asks.

In an instant, tears started freely falling down Eunbi’s cheeks. Relief washes over her––the war is over, and that means, “I can go home.”

They packed in haste all evening, prioritizing books, maps, and records gathered over the past decade, and a few weapons that they’ve kept hidden. Meanwhile correspondences between Izland’s spies were burned in the hearth, and their humble but sturdy house was burned to the ground along with the stable where they kept the horses, erasing any sign that they were ever there in the first place.

But the fire itself would undoubtedly attract attention from the nearby village, and they must escape back to Izland before any Oneiric patrol soldiers catch them.

Eunbi flicked the reins, telling her old mare to gallop faster through the field, following behind her foster father and Sakura. 

She had never felt this burning desperation to arrive at her destination before. Ever since she was a child, too young to have gone through what she did, all Eunbi ever hoped for was this––to finally be able to come home.

And yet, Eunbi still looked back.

Without a doubt, Eunbi was glad to leave the Oneiric kingdom after all these years. But despite herself, she couldn’t help reminisce about the memories of her childhood, the life she had there, and the one she lost.

She remembers being taught archery by her foster father on a hot summer day, with Sakura watching them from the side, cheering Eunbi each time her arrow got closer to hitting the pebbles placed on top of sacks of hay. She would miss laying on the wet grass, watching the stars at night when her foster father left them for his missions or just to trade for food with the village nearby, wondering whether her parents were looking at the sky thinking of her just as she did them.

Eunbi might be even willing to admit that she would miss the friends she made in the army; running drills with them, sparring at dawn, midnight patrols and getting drunk after a particularly rough day of training with her comrades. Though she has made peace with the fact that they will always be on opposite sides of the war.

But the one thing Eunbi might never forget was the love she had found––the longing looks and fleeting touches with the one person she should not have dared. And like a scar on her heart, she would not soon forget that she had lost it.

She’s had three years to forget the heartache, and a whole lifetime to keep trying.

Eunbi grips the reins tighter and stares forward to the open field. She was ready to go home.

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They had ridden for so long that the sky was starting to darken once more. Somewhere deep in the forest, her foster father pulls his horse to a sudden stop. “We should rest here for tonight,” he said, before dismounting his horse. “Tomorrow we’ll ride to where your father’s army made camp. They sign the treaty in two days.”

Eunbi frowns. “We should keep going,” she argues. They did not have much time to make it back, especially after the fire they created surely alerted their sudden disappearance, and if the treaty were to fall through, then they wouldn't be safe making camp on enemy territory. 

Although, it could have just been the desperation talking.

“We must rest first, Eun—Your Highness,” her foster father corrects himself. “It’s been a full day’s ride, we can’t keep going. If not for you, then for the horses.”

Still, Eunbi does not make any move to dismount her horse.

Sakura, who now stood on the ground, looks up at Eunbi and offers her a hand. “Eunbi, please. I know you’re eager to see your parents, but it would do none of us any good if you dropped dead falling off your horse,” she smiles reassuringly––teasingly, and adds, “Your Highness.”

Though all Eunbi wanted to do was keep riding until she saw her kingdom again, she couldn’t deny that her body ached all over and was telling her to rest. “Alright,” she agrees, albeit reluctantly.

Eunbi and Sakura helped their father make camp for the night. She and Sakura looked for wood to build a fire, whilst their father went deeper into the woods to hunt for food.

As the night drew closer, the fire kept them warm while they ate together in silence, a dinner consisting of wild hares that their father caught. Afterwards, their father had insisted on keeping watch, and so the two younger women laid by the crackling fire getting ready to