"Yongsun..."

It was the first thing the Queen of Solaris heard. Her voice. Moonbyul's voice.

The first thing she smelled was her scent.

The first thing she felt was her warmth.

And when she slowly flutter her eyes open, the first thing she laid eyes on was Moonbyul's gentle face.

Yongsun's senses were consumed by Moonbyul's presence that she was unable to think clearly, at first.

But when she realized that she was laying in bed with the prince of Lunaria, with nothing but robes hindering their bodies from touching skin to skin, she immediately tries to sit up straight.

But alas.

Moonbyul catches her first, placing her arm around her wife's waist to hold her down and refrain her from getting up. "Where do you think you're going?"

Yongsun's breath hitches. Looking at her King, she couldn't help but be tempted by the idea of spending the day laying in bed with her. To spend more time just to get to know her, until the depths of her soul. And she almost gives in...

Yongsun didn't know what she expected. But surely, it wasn't what is right in front of her at the moment.

Moonbyul's smile isn't an evil grin that she expected. Her eyes weren't cold and calculating as she expected. She expected Moonbyul to finally show her true colors because their marriage was final. Heck, maybe a part of her even expected that she might not be able to wake up. But what she got was quite the opposite.

Moonbyul's gaze was gentle and her smile was soft. But all the same, it still didn't fail to make her shiver.

...but she was suddenly reminded of the crown placed in her head.

"You're Kim Yongsun. The Queen of Solaris. You must protect your people. Nothing should be put above your kingdom -not love, not even your life." it's a chant she has grown to remind herself every single waking moment of her life since she was hailed the Queen of Solaris.

She closes her eyes shut, as if stopping herself from being hypnotized by the wolf in sheep's clothing that is in front of her. She could feel herself losing control. Losing her grip. And she couldn't possibly allow that. She's the Queen, after all.

If she would stop being wary for her kingdom, who will?

She couldn't possibly trust the person she just met, even if it was her wife. Even if it's the King herself.

Of course, she wants a healthy and peaceful marriage. She wants to give their marriage an honest try, despite it being arranged regardless of their will.

No matter how easy it is to just trust her, Yongsun tries her hardest to resist it.

At least not until she's completely sure of their true intentions.

When Moonbyul could feel her trying to get up again, Moonbyul scoots in closer. "Lay still." she utters.

Yongsun realizes how close their faces were, and she shoots her wife a questioning look.

"Don't pretend like you don't like it." Moonbyul smirks, her eyes teasing.

And Yongsun refrains herself from physically shaking her head. She didn't know what awaits her kingdom from their marriage. She was promised safety, but it could easily be a trick that might cause them more harm. Either way, the safest route is to go through with the wedding, and so she did...for her kingdom.

So she's finding it hard to make sense of why here she is, thinking of Byul's true intentions and how she should snap out of it and reestablish her guard up because it could be a matter of life or death situation for their kingdom, and yet, it seemed as if this is all just entertainment for Moonbyul.

"Like...what?" she asks, playing along.

"This." Moonbyul thriftily answers. "Me, holding you." she says so casually, as if they're used to this kind of conversation even though it was their first day as an official married couple.

"What gave you an idea that I like it then?" Yongsun replied, even though she was unsure of how to feel about it, she found herself smiling at how absurd Moonbyul is acting.

"Don't you?" Moonbyul asks her, as the king's face suddenly turns into that of genuine curiosity.

The queen was caught off guard, not by the question, but by the expression that Moonbyul wore. Is she genuinely curious? Yongsun didn't want to tell the truth and Moonbyul's ego, but she didn't want to lie either, and potentially dismay Moonbyul. She didn't want to get on her bad side. She still hasn't forgotten the rumors surrounding her new King. She'd rather be wary and play it safe for now. "What do you think?"

"I think you do like it." Moonbyul states with finality. "I like holding you, as well." she adds as her eyes glowed red, catching Yongsun -once again- off guard.

A shy smile makes its way to Yongsun's lips despite her thoughts. She breathes heavily before finally acknowledging Moonbyul's question. "I don't hate it."

It was an understatement. But judging the way Byul's smile widened a little, it sufficed. Or so she thought...

Moonbyul let out a slight chuckle before placing her lips near Yongsun's ear, 'Women either like my touch or love it, Yongsun." she whispers, tracing the back of her hand on Yongsun's temple down to her cheeks until her thumb settled on her chin. "No one simply 'doesn't hate it'" she insists.

Yongsun didn't know what to say or how to react to that gesture, as it uttered her completely speechless.

And when she finally managed to speak, all she could say was, "Aren't you hungry?"

Byul grinned widely, "Oh, I am very hungry.", she said, clearly referring to a very different thing that's very far from food.

Yongsun could feel her breath hitch once again, her cheeks turning a shade of red. 

Her previous thoughts were focused on her kingdom and Lunaria's real intentions, but Moonbyul has been consistent in merely playing with her feelings. She wonders if this is really nothing but a game to Moonbyul. And all of this is just some grand gift to her to pass by time.

Yongsun sighs. She didn't know why even that absurd idea didn't comfort her. Surely that's a better fate than the Lunarians secretly wanting to oust her and conquer Solaris for themselves.

"Yongsun." Moonbyul calls her attention.

Yongsun meets her wife's gaze, her expression is no longer playful. "It's too early to drive yourself crazy by overthinking." Moonbyul observes.

Yongsun is taken aback by Byul's attention to detail. It hasn't even been a whole day since they were married but Byul already knows when Yongsun is overthinking. Somehow, Yongsun is both impressed and nervous about that fact.

"We should get up and eat." Moonbyul suggested, and contrary to Yongsun's expectation, Byul stood up before her and prepared herself for breakfast, not looking back at her even once.

The breakfast was quick and quiet, different from what Yongsun had expected. She guesses, that her expectations are rather a failure at this point.

She didn't know why there was a sudden shift in Moonbyul's mood, but somehow her instincts tells her that it would be one of many.

She wonders if it is something she said. But she barely said anything. Moonbyul couldn't possibly be mad at her comment about not hating Byul's touch?

The queen shakes her head. She has more pressing matters she should be thinking about, than her wife's mood swings, and so she lets it go for now.

They were set for a board meeting with the highest nobility of both their kingdoms

It would be their first official appearance as a married couple in the board room. This is usually where couples assert their dominance. And as they walked to the board room, Moonbyul seemed unfazed by her queen's silence, yet Yongsun couldn't help but think of why Moonbyul hasn't said a word to her since their breakfast.

Yongsun felt off