Leaving the palace with a lighter heart, Joohyun was driven straight to the private airstrip where their jet was waiting for them. Every piece of her wanted to go back to Chaeyoung, to cuddle up in her arms and let everything return to normal, but she had to go back to Gutrin. She had more than one reason to leave, and she wasn’t quite ready to swallow her pride just yet. The flight felt longer than it was as she lightly dozed in her seat, a glass of mineral water on the table and a book open to the page she was on, the spine cracked as it lay face down and abandoned. She hadn’t been sleeping well, and not just because her heart ached for her wife, or because she was pregnant. There was an undercurrent of uneasiness that had made her antsy and on edge, and she blamed Chaeyoung for putting the nagging thoughts into her mind. Even her dreams had taken a darker turn. Still, it was all about to come to fruition.

As soon as she landed in Gutrin, a waiting car drove her straight to her family’s palace, Sein City flashing past as she grew tenser with each passing second. Joohyun had a difficult relationship with her home city, having spent only her school holidays at the palace, and then a few years after college in her own estate on the outskirts of the city, and it didn’t really give her a feeling of home. That was reserved for Ireland, and wherever Chaeyoung was. Her estate was a safe haven in Gutrin though, and she was grateful to have somewhere to stay, aside from the palace, when she had to come home, but it didn’t make the trips to the palace any easier, knowing that she could leave whenever she wanted to. It was a necessary unpleasantry though, and she resigned herself to a brief moment of suffering through her mother’s prickly personality in order to get what she’d come for.

Stepping out of the car as it stopped outside the side entrance to the palace, she mounted the steps and walked in through the open doors. While Sunstone Palace oozed warmth and comfort, with its golden coziness and snug corners of comfort with roaring fireplaces and deep armchairs, the palace in Gutrin had always made Joohyun feel unwelcome. Walking down the marble hallway, taking in the deep greens and purples of the country’s colours, she had the same feeling that she’d always gotten there, and she felt like a child again. It wasn’t that the place wasn’t as lavish and rich as her home in Glaston City - if anything, it was even more obscenely ostentatious - it was just the feeling that she’d never had a loving family here, had been sent away at every opportunity, and would find no love from her mother here. Still, she let a butler her straight to her mother’s office.

Her arrival was announced, and Joohyun stepped into the office with a haughty look on her face, her shoulders thrown back and chin stubbornly raised. “Mom.”

Yujin was sitting behind her desk, the setting sun filtering in through the window behind her, and she beckoned Joohyun closer, taking a pair of small glasses off and setting them down on the large desk. The room was mostly mahogany, the smell of wood and polish mingling with the floral smell coming from the vase of fresh cuttings on a small table off to one side. Joohyun slowly wandered closer, taking her time as she steeled herself for the incoming conversation.

“You’re looking a bit peaky. You need more sunlight,” Yujin said, barely glancing at her daughter as she shuffled the papers in front of her. “You look like you haven’t been sleeping either. You should meet with a specialist. I had a good one when I was pregnant with Seonho, he-”

“I don’t need your medical advice,” Joohyun curtly interrupted her, lowering herself down onto the chair across from Yujin, one hand on her stomach as she settled herself down. Ordinarily, she would’ve stayed standing so that she could leave quicker, but her feet and back were hurting, and she was tired enough already. “Do you have what I came for?”

Yujin pinned her to the seat with a hard stare, her disapproval radiating off her in waves, and she made a small sound of dissent at the back of . “You would think that you could muster up even an ounce of courtesy, given the fact that I’m doing you a favour.”

“It’s not a favour when I have to pay for it.”

“I do something for you, and you do something for me in return. That’s how this works, Joohyun. It’s not a gift, and if you’re not willing to play nice, then you can keep searching on your own.”

Letting out a huff of frustration, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as the baby started kicking, she ground her teeth together. She was doing this for the baby, both babies, and for Chaeyoung too, and there was no price too steep for her family. “I agreed to your terms, didn’t I?”

Nodding, Yujin opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a thin manila folder, holding it in an almost taunting manner as she smiled at her daughter. “Make sure you don’t double-cross me, Joohyun. I agreed to help because I want you to ensure your safety and not let this ruin your marriage, but you will give me what I want for this.”

“Yes,” Joohyun tightly replied, “I promised didn’t I? It was you that instilled it in me to never break a promise.”

“Good. So you’ll be here for Easter with the babies?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll name one after me?”

“Middle name.”

“Yes, yes, you made that quite clear. And your brother will be the godfather of one of them?”

“Yes,” she impatiently agreed, “now give me the name.”

Handing the folder over, Yujin gave her an intense look, watching as Joohyun opened the folder and stared down at the name printed on the paper. There was a grainy black and white image printed on it too, with a description of the person. That was all there was, but it was all Joohyun needed to conduct the rest of her search, without her mother’s help. There was only so much that she was willing to agree to, until it was necessary to go any further. But there on the paper, she had a name, and that was worth a great deal.

“Lee Junho,” she murmured, staring at the image of the man. “A Baltian.”

“Or Avalonian,” Yujin added.

Joohyun swallowed the lump that rose in , shutting the folder and climbing to her feet. She paused for a moment, giving her mom a wary look. “Thank you.”

“If you need anymore help, you know where to find me. Now, get back to your wife before people start asking too many questions about your absence.”

Nodding, Joohyun turned and walked out of the room. She shoved the folder into her handbag, her mind racing as she tried to connect the dots. This was the end of the thread so far, and she hoped that this would unlock new information. All she needed was to find the answers that she needed, and then things could go back to normal. Still, she was already cracking, and caving in to her needs, because it was safer to keep Chaeyoung out of this, so that she wouldn’t have to worry about offending a strong martial country, but she didn’t want to be away from her anymore. She had been torn between putting her marriage or her wife’s safety first - in all manners of speaking - and she knew that it was eating away at Chaeyoung too, to be parted from her, and that had made her mind up for her. Wearily resigning herself to a night of little sleep, Joohyun exited the palace, not even stopping to see her brother, and was walking down the steps to the car parked in the massive courtyard, when it suddenly exploded.

She wasn’t close enough for the blast to hurt her, but the ear splitting sound was deafening, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground, with Seungyoon crouched protectively over her while her ears rung and black spots danced across her vision. The choking, thick smell of smoke was nauseating, and black clouds billowed up from the burning wreckage of the car orange flames at the metal husk. Her mind was reeling as she was swarmed by guards in an instant, being helped to her feet and practically carried back up the steps and into the palace. The only thought she had was about her baby. Her whole body felt numb with shock, and she hadn’t even acknowledged the fact that she’d been tackled, before she was already on the cold, hard steps, and she felt panic well up inside at the thought of something happening to her baby. It wasn’t kicking, which wasn’t unusual, but it made go dry with fear as she shook all over, being settled down onto a sofa in the nearest sitting room with no windows.

“My baby,” she gasped, clutching at the sleeve of the nearest guard.

Seungyoon was there, an attentive look on his face as he barked out orders. Already, the palace was going in to lockdown, and Joohyun was on the verge of tears, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily, the shock numbing her to almost everything that was going on.

“G-get me a-a doctor,” she stammered, “where’s Sooyoung? Get me my assistant.”

“I’m right here, Your Highness,” Sooyoung said, her way barred by half a dozen guards as she stared at Joohyun with wide eyes.

“Th-the baby.”

“The palace doctor is on her way. I’ve already sent for her, Princess. You should try your best not to move, Your Highness.”

Her ears were still dimly ringing, and the room swayed as she cast her eyes about, feeling nauseous and dizzy, trembling all over with fear at what had just happened. Her breathing was loud to her own ears, blood pounding as her heart raced, and her tunnel visioned as the thought of her baby took hold in her mind. People had lost their babies for less than being tackled to the ground during an explosion, and she didn’t even know how to react to her situation as she lay on the sofa, the hum of conversation washing over her as her lips silently repeated the same words over and over again.

“Joohyun.”

The sharp sound of her mother’s voice was like a slap in the face, and she was dragged out of her shock as easily as if a bucket of cold water had been tossed in her face, and she in a ragged breath as she stared up at the figure looming over her with wide eyes.

“Mom,” she gasped, “mom, the baby.”

“It’s alright,” Yujin dismissively told her, “the doctor’s here. They’re going to move you to the medical wing. You,” she snapped her fingers at Seungyoon, “report to the palace security for questioning. You,” she beckoned a hulking man forward, “you’re delegated to the Princess’ private security. You do not leave her side.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You,” Yujin barked at Sooyoung, “call the Queen of Avalon immediately.”

Joohyun was being gently lifted onto a gurney, every precaution being taken, and she struggled to push herself upright, her face ashen as she looked at Yujin with fear. “No! You can’t bring her here.”

She was gently, but firmly, pushed back down onto the gurney,