Shining upon the flower road, I walked through the rows of camellias.

The night has fallen down, the air turned breezy.

Quickening my step, I entered the wooden house illuminated from the night.

“Wellcome, great sir” The waitress greeted me. I gave her a slight nod, before enter the tarven

I sat down at the corner, removing my straw hat, then my haori. The tavern was nice enough to light up the woods, providing steady heat for the customers. 

“Warm sake, please” I said 

“Coming right up sir!” 

The place was small, with only 3 tables, and I was the only customer. 

“You are lucky sir, this is our last bottle” The waitress said, as she placed down the bottle. The heat spreads from the top, creating white trail of smoke. I put my hands over the smoke, watching as it escaped my fingers, floating to the air.

The waitress seemed keen on my outfit “Sorry to disturb you sir, but I guess that you are not from here?” 

I chuckled “That is correct. I’m from the neighbor kingdom, the one owned by the Kim family” 

The mentioning of another foreign territory made the young girl quivered a bit. She bowed lowly to me “Great sir, we do not seek any trouble. We merely are a tavern, unfortunately to be located near the border of the Kims and the Nams. If you are looking for people you deem impurity, I’m afraid that we can not do that. There’s only wine and stories at this small place”

 I held the girl’s arm, guiding her to stand up “Do not be afraid. I seek for no such thing like that” I smiled, a genuine smile that make her cheeks turn red for a moment

“I apologize for it sir. We were always bothered by thugs and people from both sides. And I assumed that you seek the same thing by the swords hanging beside your hips” 

“I’m not bothered at all” 

“Yet, it seems that you are bothered by something else, sir?” 

I was caught off guard. She read me like a book. Never have I been caught with my thoughts like that. The girl seem to notice the surprise in my face, as she smiled to me “I’m sorry for my sudden words, but I am known with the great ability of reading people”

 “You have an overwhelming ability, young girl” I complimented her, as I sipped the warm sake. She bowed, thanking me for the nice words.

 I looked at her again. Young, small. Her skin was white as snow, her lips were crimson red. Her kimono casted an image of a crane, biting a camellia flower. 

 She reminded me of her

“Young girl, are you a story teller?” I asked her again

“I would like to call myself a story singer, sir. I do not have the gift to create a story, yet I have a talent for singing. I sang tales, myths and legends. I will sing every stories in this small world” 

I looked at her. Such pure “Will you be willing to accompany me, as I tell an old tale from our district?”

She sat down, facing me “It would be my pleasure great sir”

Inhaled. I organized my thought, then wiping my thumb on my katana 

“Let this story be known by mortals…”

------------------------

Once upon a time

In the kingdom of the sun

There was a princess. Her beauty was unmatched by the beauty god herself. Her smile can heal hearts, and her touch can warm a broken soul.

Her name was Kim Yongsun, and everybody knows that. Everybody in the castle, not the public. The king forbade her from the outside world. Everybody, except the commoners, knew her.

So the princess spent her whole life inside that luxurious jail.

She has a guard, a close friend, a company.

And her name was Moon Byulyi

She was the shadow to the sun. Wherever the princess goes, she would follow her, 3 steps behind. She dedicated her life to forever walking 3 steps behind her. 

They find each other's company comforting. Yongsun only knew Byul, and Byul only knew Yongsun. 

One day, the princess called her guard to come closer. The taller guard tumbled on her boots, landed straight onto the princess' arms. The guard was terrified, she kneeled down to her feet. 

 “Your Highness! My deepest apologies” Her head touched the ground, she feared not the small princess. She feared the walls with eyes and ears in the castle. 

 The guard expected a slap, a punch, or even death upon her outrageous act. She was ready to be executed right there at that moment. Yet she felt none. Instead, she felt a soft pair of hands, guiding her up. Once again, the guard found herself looking straight at the pair of brown eyes.

 “Byul-ah, it’s ok” The princess smiled. Her dimples flashing like a ray of sunshine, melting the guard’s heart.

And from that day, there’s a warm heat inside the cold guard’s heart.

Morning comes, as if it were the thaw of spring.

The princess woke up, and the birds started singing with her. Her guard was still there, kneeling next to her futon. Highly trained soldier like her could sleep for 2 hours and be fully energized for a whole day. The princess was concerned at the beginning, but within a few months, waking up to her loyal guard on her right side was the usual thing for her. 

And it was the same for the guard. Watching the princess lightly stirring in her sleep, her light snoring, sometimes even talking in her sleep. 

She fell in love with that. 

“Good morning, Byul” The princess smiled, looking up at her guard.

“Good morning, your Highness”

“Wonderful weather today, isn’t it?” The princess turned her head toward the open door to her garden. Snow has fallen down, the green of the leaf was replaced by the white of snow. The flowers closed their bodies and the small pond started to harden. 

The guard looked outside to the majestic view. Her princess was never afraid of the cold. Her princess wants to be embraced by the cold. Her prince