It took them a couple of weeks of planning before they actually managed to get away from Sunstone palace and make the trip through the desolate countryside and up to Moonstone palace in the mountains. Up north, the landscape was the picture of winter, with a dusting of fresh, white snow and evergreen trees filling the air with the smell of pine as late November was ushered in. They’d taken the train, as Chaeyoung always had, piling into the private carriage with a full of guards, with their friends joining them. It took a few hours and Chaeyoung was exhausted by the time they reached the small mountain palace, but it had been fun nonetheless. Everyone, save the two pregnant women, drank rum and whiskey to stave off the chill seeping in as the air turned bitter outside the train windows, and they played cards and chatted over the buffet prepared for them by the chef Chaeyoung brought along with her. She spent most of her time sitting near a window in the corner, idly sketching fleeting scenes that passed by in a blur outside the window.

It had been a rough few weeks, with emotions running high between the two royals. The night of the state dinner, they were stuffed into dresses and sat stiffly beside each other, drinking water that they wished was wine as they charmed the guests sitting on either side of them, pretending that they hadn’t had a fight a few hours earlier about which night they could attend the opera. Then there had been a fitting for new wardrobes, as the slightly bigger sizes they’d already been outfitted in grew tighter and Chaeyoung’s stomach grew bigger still, the prominent bump now undeniably caused by her being pregnant. Joohyun’s wasn’t quite as visible with her being couple of weeks behind Chaeyoung, but it was there nonetheless. Standing on pedestals, they’d had measurements taken, clothes brought in on racks, and were dressed and redressed dozens of times, growing more and more frustrated with each other as they tried to find clothes that would flatter their changing body types. They’d had fun when they finally managed to get to the opera, enjoying the singing and enjoying their night back at the palace even more, but there had been half a dozen more times where there had been tears and biting comments. One of them always apologised, and they always made up for it, but tensions were running high as their busy schedules and exhaustion from their pregnancies made them both irritable, lonely and tired.

At four months into her pregnancy, Chaeyoung was starting to lose the rosy glow of it, especially when her morning sickness continued, couple with the new addition of heartburn and her swearing her bladder shrunk a bit everyday. Sitting in meetings with endless people of varying importance, the thermostat set a little colder than was comfortable for everyone else just so she could stop herself from sweating as her body temperature rose, making her feel claustrophobic and restless. Spending hours running over plans for the upcoming Christmas events, just a little over a months away, and ensuring that everything would be in order for it. Joohyun stubbornly refused to help with their Christmas plans, flippantly making comments about how little she cared about their annual duties to go to church and for Chaeyoung to make a speech. It was maddening, to say the least, and Chaeyoung vented to Jennie on more than one occasion, assuming that Joohyun was doing the same with Seungwan. It helped a little. It made their arguments shorter, because they were both reasoned with and sent to apologise and make up.

When they arrived at Moonstone palace, it had been with much relief after the cramped, stuffy train car, and the long drive up through the winding, tree-lined roads, and Chaeyoung was grateful for the chance to stretch her legs as she led Joohyun up to their rooms. Their friends likewise spread out, led off by Yerim, who showed them all to their respective rooms. Sooyoung went to arrange tea and a light meal to be served for them.

Altogether, there were ten on them, which made their time there lively. Dinners were loud and full of laughter, as were lunches, although breakfasts were usually subdued as nearly all of them were nursing a hangover every morning. Shouts, laughter and music flooded the rooms of the palace, with the white sheets protecting the old furniture from dust being removed so that they could play pool or poker, eat dinner in one of the more comfortable dining halls, and spend their nights drinking by the log fire in one of the spacious living rooms stuffed with armchairs, sofas and old oil paintings. Their days were lazily spent lounging around, being waited on by the handful of staff present, enjoying the warmth of the castle and the occasional brief trips into town, or outside to play around in the snow like they were children. Chaeyoung and Joohyun were careful not to exert themselves too much as everyone chased each other, tossing snowballs at each other and tripping over into the soft piles of snow. Frozen and pink cheeked, Chaeyoung and Joohyun would climb into a warm bath and relax amongst the bubbles, feeling happy and relaxed. But Chaeyoung couldn’t shake the tension and nervousness as the day she planned to meet Lisa approached.

On a Wednesday afternoon, towards the end of their trip, with everyone scattered throughout the palace, taking some time after their lunch to relax, Chaeyoung slipped away, silently making her way up to the third floor and stepping into a room. The old easel was there, and the pastel pinks and lilacs, everything still exactly the same as when she’d lived there with her parents. Most of the furniture was covered with white sheets to keep the dust off, and she pulled them off the velvet sofas and the coffee table, taking a seat and letting out a heavy sigh.

“Lisa?” she finally called out, her voice quiet as it carried throughout the suite. She hadn’t told Goeun who she was there to meet, but she’d instructed her to keep anyone out regardless, and was careful to keep her voice down so as not to let her words be audible through the heavy wooden doors.

There were a few moments of silence following her tentative calling out, before she slow sound of footsteps came from what had once been her old playroom. She hadn’t been in that room for years, but Chaeyoung knew that there was a dollhouse in one corner, in front of the panel in the wall which opened to a secret passageway. The older palaces that belonged to her family were riddled with secret passages, and Moonstone palace was no different, which had made it easier to sneak Lisa in. And there she was, stepping into the main living space of the suite, dressed in a heavy sweater and a pair of jeans, a polite smile on her face as her eyes landed on Chaeyoung.

“Your Majesty,” Lisa murmured, forgoing a bow and dipping her chin in a quick, courteous nod. Chaeyoung gave her a brief smile, gesturing to the small loveseat across from the identical one she was sitting in, brushing her fingers over the crushed pink velvet of the seat as she watched her old bodyguard gingerly lower herself onto the seat.

“Thank you for coming all this way,” Chaeyoung quietly said, her voice grave at the seriousness of the meeting.

Nodding, Lisa hesitated slightly, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip as if she was wondering where to begin, or if she should begin where she was thinking of beginning. There was an anxious look in her eyes, and her shoulders were tense, despite the impassive look on her face. Chaeyoung had spent years with her as her bodyguard, and more years with her as an almost sister-in-law, and she found herself surprised at the fact that it was so easy to pick up on the miniscule signs of Lisa’s uneasiness. She hadn’t even known she knew that those signs were there, but there was a tautness to the slight women sitting on the other side of the coffee table, and it had Chaeyoung instinctively on edge.

“You’re starting to show,” Lisa blurted out with surprise.

Chaeyoung grimaced at the tactful diversion, pressing her hand against the bump that swelled against the fitted sweater tucked neatly into her skirt. She’d had Yerim order her new clothes that she’d picked out from a dozen magazines, and they’d been altered by her personal tailor, who she knew she could trust, and standing up, it would have been barely noticeable with the high waistband of the pleated skirt. Sitting down though, the bump was prominent as her stomach ballooned out slightly, and Chaeyoung protectively wrapped her arms around herself. She would need to wear looser sweaters once winter fully arrived, and she was glad that the cold weather would allow her and Joohyun a few extra months to hide their pregnancy. The