"Who is that girl with Yeji?" Lia asked. Karina rolled her eyes as she munched the sandwich.

"She is her sister. Winter is the name." She said and shrugged. 

"She is a hottie!" Minju exclaimed. Gaeul scoffed at their friend's reaction. 

"You are already married, Min." She said. 

"Besides, Winter is 15. She is barely a  teenager," Karina added, her eyes looking over at the two sisters not far from them. 

"So, do you still have a crush on Yeji? She grew up so fine, Karina." Ningning asked. Her friends knew about her adoration for the Princess. 

Karina hummed as she stared at the two girls from afar. Her gaze went from Yeji to Winter. Something about the younger girl takes Karina's breath away. 

"Yeji is walking to us! Act like we're talking about something else." Lia said in a panic. 

"Where have you been for the last years, Karina?" Gaeul asked. Karina insisted that they call her by her name. 

"I have been to different kinds of places. The last time was on a ranch far away," Karina said. Minju tilted her head to take a good look at her friend's face. 

"You grew up prettier, Karina. And I assure you, Chaewon and I will welcome you to our home. Anytime," Minju said, her Indian dimples showing. Karina chuckled. She knew she can count on her friends, but she does not want them to fight her battles for her. 

"Yeji, what brings you by?" Gaeul asked with a creased forehead. Out of all of them, she is the most protective. She wanted her friends to be safe and happy.

"Will you please excuse us? I just have something important to tell Karina." Ningning smiled before standing up. The others followed her tracks, living Karina alone with her fiancee. 

"What's up?" Karina asked. Yeji sat beside her and played with her fingers. 

"I will be leaving for a few days, might take weeks." Karina raised her brow. 

"For what, Yeji? Isn't this the time that we needed to plan for the wedding?" Karina asked, her eyes confused. Sure, they are still 16, but they must plan the wedding as soon as they can. It is a long process for the two kingdoms. There have to talk about the different resources and whatnots, the wedding planning might even take a year. 

"We can talk about the wedding after the trip," Yeji said. Karina scoffed. After the trip? How certain is she that Yeji is not trying to run away from her? 

"Do you even want to get married to me, Yeji?" Karina's fiancee did not budge or even look at her. She kept shut. And the silence is enough for Karina to decipher. Yeji did not want to. Her friend is still hesitant.

"You like someone else, no?" Karina rested her palm on the mat behind her. She looked up in the sky and saw the nearest star setting. Coloring the blue sky in orange hues. 

"It is not like that. But we are still young, Karina. Only 16 and we are already talking about marriage!" Karina scoffed. She is, however, unaware of Yeji's lie. 

"And here I am, Yeji. Been the Queen of Kwangya since I was 14." Karina stood up and looked down at her fiancee. She smiled sadly. 

"It is not just marriage for me, Yeji. It is my life, my people's lives." She said before walking away. She stopped for a moment in front of Winter.

"Are you going with her?" Karina asked curiously. Winter shrugged and stood up. 

"I never had the opportunity to go to such things, Your Majesty." She said. She waited for the taller girl to walk before following her. Winter remained at a distance of  10 meters. The last thing she wants is to make Karina uncomfortable.

"Why are you following me?" Karina asked and stopped walking. Winter did too. 

"Because I am tasked to keep you safe. A bodyguard, as they'd call it." Karina muttered a small huh before walking again. 

"I'll be here. Call me if you need anything."

"What I need is a wedding, Winter. And your sister is too hesitant for that." The Queen said before slamming the door in Winter's face. Karina walked inside her room and lay down on the soft mattress. 

All her life, she liked Yeji. And she was quite sure that they would get married someday. Karina grew up confident, because of her title mostly. But now, because of some girl, she is not even sure she loves, her confidence shook. 

She played with her phone, trying to distract herself. However, she cannot. 

"Winter?" Karina asked in a hushed tone. After a second or two, Winter's head peeks through her door. 

"What can I do for ya?" She asked. She stood up proudly. 

"Let's take a walk, Winter. You and me," the taller girl said and dragged the younger girl out of her chamber.

"It's getting dark, Karina. It's dangerous!"

"That's why you're with me, aren't you?" Winter rolled her eyes.

"I can see you rolling your eyes at me."

"Will you execute me?" Winter asked sarcastically. Karina snorted before laughing loudly. She laughed like anything but a Queen. Winter raised a brow. 

"Why are you laughing?" Karina spinned to look at her. She is grinning widely, her Yeji problems long forgotten. 

"I like your personality, Winter. No one would have dared to roll their eyes at me." Winter shrugged.

"I thought about pleasing you. So you could tell good things about me, however, why would I do that?"  Winter asked. Karina dragged her to the nearest rock and made her sit with her. They are looking at the lake, inside the forest. 

"It's actually a good thing, Winter. You do not need to bend backwards to get what you want in life. Actually, I think you will go places because of that attitude." 

"Huh, maybe I will go to prison, maybe to hell if you believed those things." Winter said and shook her head. With Karina, she fellt like she can be herself. 

"It's far more rewarding to achieve something by being yourself, don't you agree?" 

It was just a sentence. But it affected Winter in many ways that she could imagine. How could someone with assassins trying to kill her be so insightful and optimistic?