I can’t believe this… Yoona thought as she weaved her way through the narrow streets of a district in Yonsei. For the first time in her life, she was seeing the true effects of the war on her people and it did not make her feel any more confident in her role as princess. Near the horizon, Yoona could see dozens of tents set up, all for treating the wounded and preparing burials for the dead. Right beside her, the princess witnessed the daily life of the thousands of citizens who were starving and dying from disease.

Yoona clutched the files closer to her chest as she entered a particularly shady alleyway. A finger tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, heart pounding wildly against her chest and then sighed as it was only a vendor offering her a bouquet of roses.

“These here are for free for a lovely miss like you,” said the vendor, smiling to reveal his black, rotting teeth.

Taken by surprise, Yoona said, “Thank you, kind sir…” Just as she was about to take the flowers, she felt a smelly hand clamp down on . She let out a muffled cry and tried to break free, but whoever was holding onto her was tremendously strong and managed to drag her into a shadowy corner of the alleyway.

“This is her, right?” a rasping voice behind her asked the vendor.

“Yup,” the vendor confirmed, a sleazy smile forming on his face. “Princess Im Yoona of Yonsei. Recognized her right from her voice and from the fact that she’s carrying those files your source informed me about. She’s quite a picture- your master will be very happy.” Yoona’s eyes widened. So there really were spies everywhere- even within the palace!

Picking just the right moment, she twisted her right arm out of her assailant’s grip and drove her elbow straight into his stomach. Yoona may have been a princess, but that didn’t mean she was just going to be a helpless girl and constantly wait around for someone to save her.

She sprinted away and was nearly halfway out of the alleyway when the mysterious man caught up to her and grabbed her long skirt, causing her to trip and slam onto the ground. Yoona began to yell, hoping to attract the attention of nearby civilians and continued to squirm from the man’s grasp.

“Make sure she doesn’t get away and shut her up while you’re at it- don’t want anyone to witness this do we?” the vendor ordered harshly, disappearing out of the alleyway. The man complied, shoving a handkerchief in between the princess’s lips and tied it around her head, effectively gagging her.

“Hnn!” Yoona screamed and desperately tried once more to get away, but now it was of no use. The man, pressing his knee into the small of her back, lashed her arms behind her back painfully and used a cord to tightly bind her wrists together. Throughout the ordeal, the princess shut her eyes, fearing the worst.

Are they going to sell me into slavery? Yoona wondered as she struggled against the man who was trying to shove her into a potato sack. Aish, Yoona…this is what you get for not thinking things through…this is the end…I’m sorry, Nichkhun, Victoria…Appa…my people of Yonsei…I’m sorry for failing you all. And…Donghae…oh God, I’m sorry, Donghae. Sorry for treating you like dirt, when really…I’ve been lying to myself this whole time. You mean so much to me and I wish I could have told you…

Suddenly, Yoona heard a loud clanging noise, a scream of pain and she felt the man’s grip on her loosen. Wriggling out of the sack, Yoona managed to sit up and her heart leapt at the sight she was witnessing- Donghae gripping her assailant by the collar and a sharp sword held close to the man’s throat. Nearby, she saw the unconscious form of the vendor and pieced together what had happened.

“You’re a brain-dead fool to have attacked the princess.” The general’s voice was still calm but underneath was layered with a menace that made Yoona shiver. With a swift movement, Donghae kneed the man in his most sensitive area and the man let out an unearthly shriek and fell to the ground.

“Now listen up,” the general said, voice becoming hard as steel. “You are extremely fortunate I don’t have the numbers today to take you in and have you interrogated. So, for now, go back to whatever hellhole you came from. But know this- and repeat this to whoever employed you. The next time you or anyone of your caliber ever so much as lay a hand on the princess, I, as General of the Royal Army of Yonsei will do all in my power to find you- and I will kill you.”

The man hurriedly scrambled to his feet, grabbed the unconscious vendor and scurried away. Donghae stared after them, his back towards Yoona and not appearing to notice her whereabouts.

“Mmph!” she squeaked, trying to get his attention. Finally, he heard her and immediately rushed over and knelt by her side, undoing her binds and removing the handkerchief from . “There we go! Really, princess, I take my eyes off of you for one minute and you go off by yourself, right into the slums of the city no less and I’ve got to…”

The general never got to finish his sentence- as soon as Yoona was freed, she flung her arms around him, and as she did, his eyes widened. The ordeal had truly frightened her. Now that he was here, when she thought she would never see him again, the princess began to cry in relief.

“I…I thought…they were going to kill me, or-or sell me somewhere…y-you had to save me…I’m sorry, I always screw up…” Yoona choked out, her breath hitching in between phrases. 

“Shhh…” Donghae put a finger to her lips. “It’s alright now, princess. I’m used to it anyway.” His tone was lighthearted, but Yoona could tell that in his eyes, he remained distant and anxious. You just might never get the chance again… a voice in her head reminded her as she gazed at the man, clad in his military uniform, who stirred her deepest and strongest feelings.

“General…I’ve said some terrible things to you and…I’m sorry…the truth is that I…I…” Yoona stammered, blinking back tears and fighting the urge to look away from the general. “…I…love you…General Donghae.” He stared at her with stunned amazement. Heart pounding, Yoona turned away, her face flushing a vermilion color.

Then, she heard him murmur, shock still apparent in his voice, “I never thought you’d come around,” and felt his hands cup her face. His lips touched hers in a gentle yet compassionate movement- nothing at all like the savage, hormone-driven gulps he had taken of her many times prior to now. Then, the general pulled the princess close to him, kissing her lightly on the forehead. They stayed put in an embrace where the only people in the world at that moment was each other. Neither of them were aware of the figure in the shadows who was watching them closely.

When Yoona finally withdrew from Donghae’s grasp, she saw that a light pink flush colored the general’s face. Embarrassed, he turned away for a few moments, looking for something behind him. 

“By the way, I found these files on the ground…it seems those thugs forgot about them,” Donghae informed her, showing her the folder which was slightly crumpled, but otherwise intact.

Yoona heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness- I thought the future of Yonsei had gone to naught.” She gazed up at the general, who was standing up and dusting himself off. “Thank you, general,” she said softly. The princess felt a tingle sensation throughout her entire body when he smiled his trademark cocky smirk, the one that seemed to be always reserved just for her.

“Don’t mention it, princess. It’s because I love you.” He offered his hand to her and graciously pulled her up. “Come now, let’s get you back to the palace.”

Yoona paced around in her room, anxiety and restlessness nearly driving her mad. “This is no better than house arrest,” she whined out loud. As soon as she and Donghae had reached the palace, she had been whisked away by frantic maids who insisted that she rest in her room and moreover that she stay in her room until her father called for her presence in the throne room.

The princess was not only bored out of her mind- she missed the general terribly and could not stand waiting much longer to see him again. How stupid of me, Yoona chided herself. I let myself fall victim to lovesickness…but I do want to see him. I really wish my father would hurry up and call me down!

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on her door and Seohyun entered her room. “Princess, His Highness wishes to see you now…” Yoona practically jumped up from her bed and, thanking her maid, rushed down to see her father.

As soon as she entered the cavernous room that was the king’s throne room, Yoona felt something was terribly wrong. The silent tension in the air was stifling. The guards, instead of greeting their princess amiably, stared at her with uncomfortably blank expressions. But most startling of all was the sight of Donghae kneeling in front of the king’s throne in chains and with two of his own royal guards keeping him subdued with their swords set just underneath his neck.

“Wha…” Yoona stammered, still unable to process what she saw. Instinctively, she started to approach the general, but he warned, “Yoona, no- stop!” The princess halted abruptly just as two guards flanked her sides and drew their swords, crossing them dangerously close to her own neck, holding her down in a similar fashion as Donghae.

“How very interesting,” a cold voice, belonging to Grand Vizier Taecyeon, mused by the side of the king’s throne. Yoona felt her heart turn cold with dread as she was starting to suspect the cause behind the current situation.

Nevertheless, Yoona swallowed back her fear and asked in as firm a voice she could manage, “Father…what is the meaning of this? The general just saved my life- why is he being given the same harsh treatment as a prisoner?”

After another silence, the king spoke, his booming voice resonant throughout the entire throne room, “Yoona...I’m sure you are aware of the law that forbids anyone that is not of noble birth to engage in any form of an intimate relationship with members of the royal family?” Yoona felt the icy grip around her heart constrict even tighter- with one eye, she glanced over to the base of the throne, Donghae staring straight at the floor with a devastatingly guilty expression and Taecyeon over by the side with almost a smug smirk on his face.

“Grand Vizier Taecyeon came to me with an interesting hypothesis- that someone in the palace was carrying out their affections for you in the most treacherous and sacrilegious manner possible. He believes he has found his suspected person when he saw the interaction between you and General Donghae when he saved you from the spies.”

Yoona gazed at Donghae helplessly and it took all of her willpower to stay put and not rush over and strangle the Grand Vizier. However, those thoughts dissipated when her father spoke once more with a rage strained behind his voice that Yoona had never heard before.

“Yoona…you must be honest. Has the general ever engaged in intimate activity with you?” When the princess did not respond, the king stood up from his throne and faced her fully. “It is best that you tell me the truth. Answer my question, Im Yoona, the daughter that I have fed, clothed, raised in peaceful royalty and have provided a safe, lucrative future for. Do you dare dishonor all that I’ve given to you- and throw away the one possible peace agreement with the Hanyang kingdom to protect one bastard? Answer me now, Yoona- did this man ever e with you?”

Her father’s true anger and agitation flared with the same intensity and fatality of a fiery comet about to strike the earth. The princess could not do much more than lower her head in shame and say in a barely audible voice, “Yes…he did…”

The king stood up and paced around his throne, clenching and unclenching his hands and then running them through his jet black hair. Yoona noticed that her father’s usually pleasant and smiling face was now unnaturally contorted in a hard grimace.

Finally, the king turned toward his daughter.  “I don’t suppose you recognize the consequences this may also pose on you as well?” Yoona felt like she was watching her own death certificate being signed right in front of her.

“Yes, father- I am aware of them,” she replied, her voice quivering.

“Taecyeon, please read out loud the sub-clause under the section of punishments for treason,” the king instructed the grand vizier. The smug look never leaving his face, Taecyeon lifted up a piece of parchment paper, doubtlessly prepared beforehand, which read:

“…Sub-Clause 12: Any member of the royal family who is proven to have willingly carried out extra-marital affairs or intimate relationships with non-royalty involving ual prior to an arranged marriage may face punishment ranging from life incarceration to the death penalty.”

The princess could feel the king’s eyes piercing right to the deepest recesses of her heart as he asked her, “Yoona…did you or did you not willingly consent to General Donghae’s advances?”

Never in her life had Yoona been faced with such a difficult decision. She thought of the first time he had ever approached her and the strange sensations, the terror, the pain and moreover, the bruises and burning hatred he so often caused. But then the memories led to the recent events and how he had touched her in such a way that Yoona knew she could never just let him die.

Time ebbed away from her as she racked her brain for some response, any response that could save both their lives. 

Ultimately, the decision was taken away from her when Donghae spoke for the first time. “Your Majesty, I am guilty of all charges.” Taecyeon narrowed his eyes at the general and started to speak but the king cut him off.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it was entirely my fault that the princess is no longer a . I approached her and engaged in ual against her will.”

“The man lies!” Taecyeon shouted angrily. “He lies so as to protect the integrity and life of the princess!”

The king ignored the grand vizier’s outburst and continued to question the general, “Grand Vizier Taecyeon has a point. Lee Donghae, you were once my top general leading the royal army to several victories- now you have betrayed my trust in you by ing with the princess. What makes you think that I should believe that you and the princess weren’t having an intimate, consensual affair?”

No…no! Donghae, please stop! Yoona silently begged, wishing with all her might that she wasn’t being held down by the guards so she could rush over and pummel him, at least so he could shut up and save his own life.

The power of telepathy had clearly not been granted to Yoona as Donghae still continued to speak. “I came to the princess’s bedside in secret and frightened her into submission, hoping that no one would notice and that she might still be successfully married to Prince Nichkhun and the kingdom of Yonsei may still retain peaceful relations with the kingdom of Hanyang. I may have betrayed your trust, Your Majesty, but never once have I lied to your face, as my relationship with the princess had never been questioned. My actions, though selfish and illegal, were of minute good intention. May His Majesty eventually forgive me when I am in hell.”

The king thought about it for a few moments. “Your way with logic still today puts me in my place, General,” he remarked. “Very well- the princess shall not be accused of adultery. However, since you admitted to your accused crime, you are still found guilty of treason of the highest degree against the royal family, which is only punishable by death. Your execution will be scheduled early tomorrow morning.”

Taecyeon bared his teeth at the general, but said nothing. Donghae bowed his head and was escorted away by the royal guards. Tears streamed openly down Yoona’s face but there was nothing she could do- the guards were still holding her in place and the court etiquette she had been taught since childhood forbade her to speak until the king addressed her.

“As for the princess, see to it that she is locked straightaway in her room until further notice from me. And send down her maid while you’re up there- I have a few questions for her,” the king commanded the guards.

“Father no!” Yoona screamed. “P-Please, Seohyun is innocent! She had every reason to be frightened as well…!”

The king regarded her coldly and said, “I believe I shall be the judge of that. Now go! You have disappointed me, princess. You may have just destroyed the kingdom’s only hope of winning these wars.” Openly crying now, Yoona let herself be led away by the guards, who finally lowered their swords.

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A/N: Annyeong, everyone! Sorry for the delay- for some reason, i encountered a HUGE writing block and this part took me forever to write Dx so most sincere apologies, @aether :x the third part is the last part i promise haha xD 

i wish i could not procrastinate so much- i have to update my other fic as well T-T