A/N: Not really sure if this chapter needs an M rating 

It was their last full day in the palace. A feeling of unease and doubt clouded over them but they managed to hide it since they would be together no matter the circumstance. Never did they stay in the same place together for long periods of time. Two maids, a princess and the lady who was to be married tomorrow spending too much time together ought to arouse suspicion.

Hyejin was perhaps the least afraid of running away. She had no one to be afraid of or no one to call home. If she was thrown in prison it would be her punishment and she would bear it however she could. Hyejin was very brave and never gave up despite everything that life had thrown her way.

The only part she was slightly afraid of was creating the distraction. She had prepared to set the kitchen’s rear entry on fire. It would be easy to create a fire near the collection of wood used as fuel in the kitchen. A quick and stealthy approach guaranteed that she could successfully accomplish the task as the other maids would be busy preparing the feast while the rest attended the wedding ceremony. She was to accompany Yongsun to the start of her procession, but was free of any tasks afterwards.

Wheein was pretty giddy about the whole affair. Cracking jokes and fidgeting a bit more than usual, the small girl was ready to bid goodbye to the god awful place she had called home for about ten years. Life with the other three would be amazing, she thought. Running away to her hometown meant a great deal for her since she could show the others the beautiful scenery and sights of her small village.

The only thing that bothered her was how they would steer the boat for days on end. It had been years since she had last paddled a boat. After having collected the boat from one of her trustworthy friends in a village bar who willingly let her take it since he had too much of them around, she had docked it a few meters away from the tunnel’s exit. She had inquired Byulyi about the task of steering it, and the princess had agreed to assist her in it and had been positive that they would learn a couple of things as the days progressed.

Yongsun was in love with her newfound freedom. The group had not fully attained it yet, but they were so close to escaping that it washed over her a sense of pure calmness. She was unusually happy despite having to participate in the next day’s festivities with the prince. No more did she have to take orders from her parents or have to be bound by marriage to a man. Yongsun was the happiest she had ever been and Byulyi was also half the reason behind why the oldest of the four was feeling an extreme sense of euphoria.

The other maids and palace officials had been glad to see the future queen in this new light. It seemed as if the heaviness that clouded over her had suddenly been taken away. They were thrilled to see the young girl so well behaved and in good spirits. Little did they know what the reason for her happiness was and how it would affect their kingdom, the friendship between the Kim Clan and what they knew about their own princess. Yongsun admitted to Byulyi that she was indeed afraid of running away, but the princess with her gentle ways had reassured her and promised to rehearse their escape during their last day.

Princess Byulyi, second eldest of the royal children of Chuseon was heartily waiting for the next day to arrive. Although fear tugged at her chest, she was not the type to answer its call. Deemed less elegant and royal than other princesses before her, Byulyi never was the stereotype and here she was, proving it again. Detailed planning of a few months had led to this moment. She was finally escaping from the palace. She was leaving forever from the place she had called home in all her years of life. It was not as hard as Byulyi thought it would be. The more she thought about it, the easier it was to let go of Chuseon. After careful observation, she decided that the only part of it which she would miss, were the fish, library and practice sessions.

And so she took a walk.

One last time…

Summer brought life to every aspect of nature. Flowers bloomed and trees rose to the skies and faraway mountains stood in all their glory, looking down at the kingdom of Chuseon. Today’s walk was very nostalgic for the girl who would never walk these same rounds again. The castle looked dashing in its preparations for tomorrow’s wedding. Seats were placed, decorations were hanged with due respect to their traditions and the maid were working as always.

The only difference was that soldiers patrolled most of the entries hoping the enemy stays long away during the time of the wedding. Byulyi thought about how her kingdom would fall into war in a couple of weeks; people would die, all the majestic structures will be torn to the ground and Chuseon would only be just another name in the future’s history books. She did not want to be remembered as someone who was a part of this kingdom and she was sure that it would be that way, since no one had ever really let her shine in her own ways.

A pack of crumbs was collected for the koi fish who she was sure would rejoice after being given something proper to munch on. So, on she walked to the pond and watched calmly as the fish performed stunts in order to compete for the food that was thrown their way. Byulyi’s faint smile was one of slight sadness, for she was indeed going to escape from her own home.

On she walked, greeting all those who came her way. Even Jin-hee and his mother who seemed stressed for tomorrow’s wedding. She went out of her way and greeted her half- brother with a small ‘good luck’ for his wedding, knowing very well that she was in the way of their marriage.

Knowing very well that he was not going to get married tomorrow.

The princess walked out of her way to meet her own mother, the wretched woman who married for the sake of power and nothing else. A casual conversation was all they had. Byulyi could not risk hinting anything about their escape and she was very careful of it. She did not even want to meet the king, and it would forever stay that way.

Lunch was a quiet affair as Byulyi invited Yongsun over to dine in her quarters. The close proximity only made them want to hold on to each other, but they saved the physical contact for later because of the parade of onlookers. Wheein and Hyejin were surely talking to each other about tomorrow’s escape, finalizing details about what should be done and about what should be avoided.

It was a lazy afternoon and the slowed pace of life meant that tension grew higher and nerves started influencing their actions. Yong was almost shaking and Byulyi stared into space most of the time. Wheein and Hyejin could not even eat their meals without having to rethink if what they were doing was achievable.

It was about an hour before sundown when Yongsun asked the princess, “Byul-ah shouldn’t we leave now? It would be late if we don’t get a move on!”

“I almost fell asleep, I’m sorry. But yes let’s go”

Hyejin had to cover for the two as they made excuses to the other maids about leaving together without them having to follow the two around.

They walked the usual route to the library and avoided the entrance hallway and went through the other to where the tunnel was. It was pretty dark and unclean since the hallway was not used much. The two constantly glanced backwards to make sure they were not being followed.

As Byulyi opened the stone entrance to the tunnel, she asked Yongsun to stand outside till Wheein’s lamp was lit. She made a small fire with the equipment that the younger girl had used, and had managed to light the lamp in no time.

“Give me your hand” Byulyi reached out for Yongsun and helped her in.

After carefully concealing the exit, they were safe and continued onwards into the dark.

“Byulyi, are you sure this is safe?” Yongsun was terrified of having to walk in a small dark space.

“Don’t worry Yong, Wheein was here yesterday and she said it was okay” Byulyi reassured her as always.

Walking further into the narrow tunnel only made the trip scarier since Yong kept glancing backwards into the dark trail they left behind. Thinking about who or what could be lurking back there sent shivers down her spine and prompted her to clutch Byul’s elbow with a small squeal.

“Unnie…are you scared of the dark?” Byulyi said in her deep dark voice, a small laugh echoing off the walls.

“Maybe, but please don’t make fun of me I’m not used to this” Yongsun said, leaning closer to Byul.

The princess’ heart started beating faster as a result of Yongsun being this close to her.

“Yong don’t do that here” Byulyi said, focusing on holding on to her lamp.

“Do what?” Yong asked, confused or teasing, Byul could not tell.

“You know…don’t lean in like that”

“Oh…you don’t like it?” Yong sounded playful.

“No…I mean…”

“What?”

“I do like it obviously,” Byul continued, shocked since Yong sounded slightly offended, “but not here I guess…”

“Oh I get it”

They walked onward, silently now after the exchange of words, slowly navigating their way with the assistance of the lamp they carried. It was only about ten minutes after that they saw the tunnel widening and coming to an end. It was the cave exit.

“We’re here” Byulyi looked at Yongsun, who looked uncomfortable and the younger felt bad about their small argument.

“I’m sorry Yong, about before…” she touched her face and pulled her close.

“You can hold on to me on our way back” she smiled and nodded, and automatically put Yongsun in a better mood.

“Awh Byul-ah that’s okay I could never stay mad at you” They were once again comfortable with each other.

“So we’ll only take two minutes to quickly stuff these into the boat”

Yongsun nodded in agreement. And then they after close inspection, they ran.

The end of the cave was covered in creepers, just as the boat was. They could see how neatly Wheein had packed everything and made sure not to bother anything which was inside. In two minutes they were back inside the cave.

“So we’ll stay here for a while since its dark out anyway?” Byulyi asked.

“Sure, that’s fine” Yongsun replied before sitting down with Byul, on the huge flat rocks around the wall of the small cave.

“Come closer” Byulyi said as she held the older girl while she shifted closer to her.

“Byul-ah how are you feeling? You seemed tired earlier” Yongsun looked at the princess’ face, concerned about the health of the younger.

“I’m doing alright Yong, it’s just the nerves kicking in all of a sudden. I’m afraid that it might go wrong even though we’ve thoroughly planned it out” she took Yong’s hand and held it close.

“Don’t worry Byulyi, it will be alright. We’re all in this together” she smiled that beautiful smile of hers. It lifted Byulyi’s spirits as she looked closely at the older girl before grabbing her by the waist and seating her on top of herself. Sure the rocks hurt, but it was Yongsun. Who could resist.

Byulyi carefully traced the older girl’s lips with her thumb, feeling the soft touches of the other on her own neck as well. They looked into each other’s eyes, not shying away for even a second. Yongsun swore she could look at Byulyi for an eternity without ever getting tired of seeing her face. The lamp’s light illuminated both their features, while creating the perfect ambience for the two to bask in.

The princess held her lover by the waist and kissed her, carefully and gently as if studying every corner of the girl’s mouth. Yong’s velvety lips were almost always asking to be kissed and she was glad to be here, doing exactly that. Her warm skin pulled her in as she held Yongsun’s back while the older pulled back only to kiss Byulyi on the neck. She clung on to her neck, resting one of her hands on her collarbone, breathing in the sweet scent of the girl who she had fallen so deeply in love with.

Byul nudged Yongsun’s face up to kiss her lips one more time.

One turned to two and two to three and so it continued till the sun set and the birds were all comfortably resting in their nests.

The lamp ran out of fuel as the two were busy exploring every corner of each other’s bodies. Byulyi’s hand moved down to Yong’s thigh as the other held her in place. Wet kisses were placed on each other’s bodies and buttons taken off to expose the lush skin that the silk was covering. Messy hair, tight grips and fingers running down thighs and waists, the two spent their last evening quite well.

When it was time to go, they had tried to look presentable if someone were to see them in the palace gardens. After fixing each other’s hair and covering up once again, the lamp was lit with more fuel and used to guide their way home once again.

Yongsun held on to Byulyi as they walked towards the castle. The tunnel gave them the privacy for Byulyi to pin Yong to a wall and start kissing her all over again before continuing their journey.

It was late when they had arrived and Hyejin had been partially furious but let them go because of the busy day that was looming on the horizon.

Their last day in Chuseon would be one to remember after all.