Weeks passed like a blur, and Jihyo slowly found herself regaining the strength to continue on with life. It was still winter, and the snow managed to cover the palace grounds. The lake inside the palace had frozen over, and the once lush bushes of the gardens were barren. It mirrored the way Jihyo felt inside. 

But much like the middle of the winter, there were small pockets of hearth that provided warmth to people. For Jihyo, that was the memory that she had been loved dearly. She had constructed habits that allowed her to channel the memory of him into focusing on her wellbeing. Every time she felt like crying or closing off the world, she would read Jongkook’s letter, which she always kept in her pocket. Live, my dearest, he told her, and so she did. In times where she needed strength, she grasped Jongkook’s totem, feeling its wooden texture and reminding herself that he wanted her to be happy.

She found herself making drastic changes. She met up with Kwangsoo, and asked him to formally relieve her of the duties she didn’t want to take in the palace anymore. Her brother had been surprised but nonetheless respected her decision, and delegated the ministries under her care into the supervision of other noblemen in his court. She also devoted her time to charitable causes. When her makeshift school in the village was closed, she joined the palace physicians who routinely visited clinics in the outskirts to treat people. 

She was still a doting sister however, and whatever leisure time she had, she used up spending time with Sunbin and Somin. Somin saw the change in her sister, and was happy that she was showing signs of life once again. There were days where she would catch Jihyo staring off into space, lost in her thoughts, but other than that, she seemed to have adapted well to the news of Jongkook’s death. 

One afternoon, as Jihyo was reading in the library, the sound of the bells at the city gates rang. She immediately sprung up from her seat, and went out looking for Commander Sung, asking what was going on. The commander, unfortunately, had no answer, so Jihyo decided to find out. 

She walked out of the eastern palace, and into the main courtyard. Her heart was beating fast. The bells of the city gate were only used when enemies were coming in, and she was worried that Gaya had decided to counterattack. But, when she got to her destination, thankfully, no army was trying to assemble. Instead, the King was huddled together with the Sangdaedeung, a few of his ministers, and the General. 

“What is going on here, Lord Yoo?” Jihyo asked the Sangdaedeung. 

The Sangdaedeung was about to answer, when a horseman entered the courtyard, went down his horse, and reported to the General, “They are men from Daegaya, General. Their leader, Lord Jo Insung, is seeking an audience with his majesty.”

“Did they bring an army?” the General verified.

“No, Sir,” the horseman said. “They are just a small delegation.”

The General turned to the King, waiting for his instructions. Kwangsoo looked warily at Jihyo for a moment, and she knew that he was worried about where this was going to go. Her plans for that day were going to change. As the only member of the King’s court who has had experience dealing with Insung, this truce with Gaya would definitely need her help. She gazed back at her brother, nodding slightly as if to tell him that she would just be there to support him. 

The king instructed the horsemen to take five more men to join him, and to the men of Gaya into the palace. He also instructed the eunuchs to prepare the guest chambers for their arrival. Then, he moved back into his court, followed by all the ministers. 

The princess allowed herself to be left behind for a moment, taking a deep breath. She would have to deal with Gaya once again, except this time they were likely to be more hostile and she did not have Jongkook by her side. This was bound to be even more challenging than before. 

Still she hiked up her skirt, and started moving towards the king’s palace. After all, duty called. 

When Jongkook came back to consciousness, the first thing that caught his attention was the pain in his chest. It was a struggle to sit up, and he groaned as he exerted effort to do so. He looked down and saw that his chest seemed to have been patched up, and the bleeding that he saw before when he was lying on the ground had been gone. He was still in his attire for battle, his clothes muddied and mired with traces of dried blood, but the top of his garment had clearly been cut away to make space for the treatment of his wounds.

He looked around the room, realizing he had never been here before. The unfamiliarity shook him, and he wondered where he was. Was he back in Silla? Did the physicians treat him in the infirmaries? If he was, he should go back to the eastern palace. Jihyo would surely be waiting, the thoughts ran endlessly in his mind. As he thought of Jihyo, he thought about the butterfly barrette, remembering that he had taken it out of his chest pocket when he was hit by the arrow. 

He was looking around the area, twisting his body as humanly possible, when the door opened. “Looking for this?” it was Taehyun, holding up the object he was looking for. Taehyun lightly threw the barrette on Jongkook’s lap, and Jongkook immediately picked it up. His friend moved closer to him, taking a stool with him and sitting by his side. 

“Where am I, Taehyun-ah?” Jongkook was still stunned upon seeing his friend, and his mind worked fast enough to have his own hypothesis of how he got here. But he wanted it to be confirmed. 

“You’re in Seongsan Gaya. Welcome to my small and humble nation. When I told you to visit back then, I must admit I didn’t expect that you’d come in this manner,” Taehyun said. Jongkook looked at him curiously, prompting Taehyun to explain how the ambush against Seongsan had failed, and how he found Jongkook in the middle of his dead comrades. “Your pulse was faint, and you lost a lot of blood, but you were the only survivor. I had the physicians work on you,” Taehyun said. 

“And the rest of the army?” Jongkook asked, as his mind tried to process everything. There was a nagging guilt that he had survived, and had the privilege of being friends with his nation’s enemy. But he set that aside to learn about what happened. 

“They left, and I told them that we would be the ones to burn their dead. I had to make them leave immediately. Surely, you would understand why,” Taehyun nonchalantly said, but Jongkook’s question wasn’t answered. Jongkook stared at Taehyun, waiting for him to continue, but his friend just shrugged, his eyebrows knit together, wondering what information Jongkook was waiting for. “What do you wish to know? It’s not like I can read minds, Jongkook,” Taehyun asked. 

“Do they know I’m here? Do my men know I’m alive?” Jongkook asked. 

Taehyun crossed his arms and leaned back, shaking his head slowly as he answered, “Oh that… I didn’t exactly have time to explain specifics with them. I just sent them off after telling them we will be the ones to burn the bodies.”

Jongkook heaved a sigh; his fears were confirmed. He must have been presumed dead, and he could not fathom the idea of his loved ones grieving him. He thought of his parents, his poor mother was probably nursing her frail heart in grief. His brother and father probably felt helpless, and his nephews and nieces would ask where he went. But, what spurred him into action was the thought of Jihyo. It was all he needed to say, “I have to go Taehyun-ah. There is someone waiting for me, I can’t stay.”

He tried to stand up, but the pain in his chest was too much and his body convulsed, rejecting his intentions to move and leave. “You’re not going anywhere Jongkook,” Taehyun calmly said. “You won’t get to Silla safely until that wound patches up. But more importantly, why would you want to go back to Silla anyway? Chances are they have already grieved for you. Your family is probably mourning for you already. Do you really want the people of Silla to know that you survived the war becau