Seulgi shoots to her feet. “P-princess,” she stammers. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

Joohyun gives the faintest hint of a smile. “Am I unwelcome?”

“N-no, of course not.” Seulgi is not typically a stutterer, but something about Joohyun completely undoes her ability to articulate. “Is there, um, that is to say – do you need something?”

“How’s your arm?” Joohyun asks instead, eyes flickering to where Seulgi’s sleeve is covering her bandaged wound.

“Totally fine,” Seulgi says immediately, even though it had bothered her quite a bit in training. Jongin had told her that she should take it easy, and she had replied that she couldn’t afford to. Nothing about her life has ever been easy, and she can’t act like it is. She doesn’t have that luxury.

Joohyun’s brow knits. “I can ask a court physician to look it over—”

“No, no, that’s fine.” Seulgi waves her other hand. “I’m not worth the trouble.”

“Seulgi.” She almost shivers at the way Joohyun says her name. “Of course you are. You got hurt because of me.”

Seulgi’s eyes flicker down. “You don’t…have to feel guilty. You’re the princess; it’s my duty to protect you.”

Joohyun is silent for a long moment, and Seulgi chances a glance up. Joohyun’s face is unreadable, remote, so beautiful that it hurts. “So if I weren’t the princess, you—”

If you weren’t the princess, I would— She can’t even bring herself to complete the thought. She can’t afford to.

“I didn’t—I.” Seulgi swallows. “I didn’t do what I did because you’re the princess or I would have been punished had I failed to act or anything like that.”

Joohyun’s eyes lock on hers. “Then why did you?”

“Because…you’re Joohyun,” she says helplessly, and if someone heard her call Joohyun, call the eldest princess, by her actual name, she would probably face a lashing if not worse. “And I—” Three words climb up from her chest into , straining to leave her lips, but she swallows them down. “I couldn’t bear for you to get hurt. I can’t bear for you to get hurt.” It’s not enough, really, but it’ll have to do for now.

And Joohyun smiles at her like she heard her anyway.

A/N: I was totally going to incorporate hair stitching into here, but I didn't, see holcene that's how much I love you <3