Royal Palace, Allegria

A tall slender figure stood on the balcony of the grandest room in the entire royal palace, her chin held high and her back straight as she gazed out into the distance. Long black hair tied in a ponytail whipped gently in the wind, a few stray strands escaping the simple black hairband to tickle a pale cheek. Long black lashes closed down as dark orbs closed, a soft sigh escaping pale pink lips. Two steps took the figure to the edge of the balcony, her hands tightening around the raised protective edge as the figure raised her head to the wind and savored the cool refreshing breeze dancing across her skin. Still, the wind did little to calm her tumbling thoughts.

Where did it all go wrong?

Was it when I took your hand and forced you to marry me?

Or was it when I turned my back on you, blinded by jealousy, and let you walk deeper towards that person?

Or was it…wrong from the start? Was it when I so selfishly allowed myself to have a relationship, to savor the love, that wasn’t and shouldn’t have been mine to start with?

Jinyoung…oh Jinyoung…if only I could turn back time and turn a blind eye on the feelings that had long blossomed in my chest.

If I had done that, would things have turned out differently?

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Further away, a beach on the outskirts of the country

A figure sat silently on the beach, one knee pulled up to his chin as he rested his head on it thoughtfully. One finger drew patterns aimlessly in the wet sand next to him, the salty breeze blowing at his hair. A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes and saw once again behind the darkness of his closed lids the disappointed, horrified, and tear stained face of his wife, her hand raised in the air as she hovered between letting out her rage on the man that had caused it and protecting the man she had married. He could still hear her voice, dragged with defeat as she pointed at the door behind him.

“Leave.” The single word had hung in the air like it was frozen in time as the woman had given her order, “Leave, and don’t ever come back here again.”

Golden eyes opened halfway as another sigh escaped the young man’s lips, his lip trembling slightly. He should have felt happy that he had finally left the palace, the place that he hadn’t wanted to go in the first place. Now, he no longer had to sleep next to the woman who had indirectly caused the death of so many of his people, who had plucked him from his home like a war prize and threw him in the middle of a country he didn’t want to live in. He no longer had to sleep by her side and act like he loved her while they were in public, no longer had to hold her hand or dance with her at banquets. And yet…he couldn’t bring himself to be happy.

Where did it all go wrong?

Was it when I sent that letter without even thinking twice about what was in it?

Or was it when I chose to trust someone else over you and let those tricks and lies take over the little trust we had managed to build up? 

Or was it even earlier, when I opened my heart to the unassuming girl who appeared in my life one regular spring day?

Tears bubbled up in the young man’s eyes as he buried his head into his arms and let the wind blow away the droplets running down his face.

Soyoung…can I ever make up for the things I have done?