Jaejoong POV

I was so angry. Who was that woman? She used and had what was mine. It was my bed and my Yunho! I stomped my feet against the marbled tiles. By just thinking about it, I felt so irritated. A few days ago, I saw Yunho being so caring to her. When she was going down the stairs, Yunho held her arm. They strolled in the garden. It seemed that they enjoyed the company of each other. I gritted my teeth as I watched them that day. Yunho never even gave me a glance after I delivered food to his room. He did not even call me 'Jae', like he usually did.

"Hey, Jaejoong. Isn't it great that Matron Lee lightened your punishment? Now, you only have to spend the first half of day at the stables," Hyerin said.

I furrowed my brows as I continued to ponder about that two and simply answered, "Mmm."

"Jaejoong, I'm really sorry that I made you cry that day. Please forgive me?" Hyeri said sincerely as she held onto my hand.

"It's really ok. You didn't make me cry," I assured her, forcing out a smile.

Then, we parted ways. She went about her duties while I went to the stables. Before that, I fetched two buckets of water and hobbled towards the horses. My muscles were going away. It had been months since I ran, jumped, pounced or hunted. Even carrying two buckets filled with water was a chore to me. On the way there, a kind hearted soul helped me.

"Where to?" he asked.

"The stables. Thank you," I said. "I have never seen you before. Are you new here?" 

"Actually, no. I came here to deliver hay," he said.

"Ah. You're ...?" I asked.

"Kyuhyun."

"Jaejoong."

We came to a halt at the entrance of the stables. I thanked him again.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" he asked with concern.

I smiled and took the buckets from him.

"See you around?" I said.

"Yeah. I will be making several trips here to transport all the hay," Kyuhyun told me.

I put down one bucket and waved goodbye. Picking it up, I went to the horses.



3rd person POV

"The palace is so near but, I could only watch you from afar, princess," Kyuhyun thought as he turned his back on the castle.

Later that night, Yunho called Jaejoong to the office.

"Yun- Your highness, I'm here as you have requested," Jaejoong said and bowed.

"Ah Jae, you don't have to be so polite," said Yunho.

Jaejoong blinked at Yunho and scanned across the room. Yoochun was there and Junsu was sitting beside him. Both of them were looking at Jaejoong.

"Yunho? Are t-they h-here to b-bring me b-back to the f-forest?" stuttered Jaejoong.

"No, no! Who gave you that idea?!" exclaimed Yunho.

Junsu whispered to Yoochun, "Who's she to Prince Yunho?"

"They're lovers for quite some time," Yoochun replied.

"Then, what would my sister be to him?" Junsu asked with a tone of anger.

"His wife?" Yoochun said.

"Erm... You?" mumbled Jaejoong. "You're going to marry that woman and I'm no longer needed here..."

"Yah! My sister isn't 'that woman'! Treat her with respect, maid!" shouted Junsu.

Unfortunately, his words were being ignored.

"Jae, no! There's no way that I'm not going to need you. I love you; I need you by my side," said Yunho, holding Jaejoong's hand.

"Aww," Both Yoochun and Junsu sighed in unison; Yunho's words touched Junsu's heart. Junsu could not help but to admired the relationship between Yunho and Jaejoong.

They sat down and began the introduction between Junsu and Jaejoong. Junsu was the younger brother of Princess Taeyeon and Jaejoong was a person that could assist them in their upcoming plan. Junsu did not know that Jaejoong used to be a snow leopard or was currently a half snow leopard.

"Princess Taeyeon's pregnant," Yunho announced.

"What?!" the trio exclaimed.

"Yunho, are they your cubs?" Jaejoong asked with teary eyes.

"What do cups have to do with my sister being pregnant?" questioned Junsu.

"Nothing," Yunho answered Junsu. He turned to his side and stared into Jaejoong's eyes. "They're not," stated Yunho.

Yoochun understood what that meant.

"Prince Yunho, is the baby yours? Then again, it's impossible. We just came here a week ago," Junsu said.

"It's not mine. Do you know the reason why she run away?" Yunho continued.

"No. All I know was that she came back by herself after two months since she ran away," Junsu said.

"She has a lover," Yunho said. "And it seems that this fellow doesn't know that she's carryIng his child." He paused. "I'm proposing that she should go back to him and let him be the rightful father of the child."

"No," Junsu said. "Dad and Mum told me to keep an eye on Taeyeon Noona until she gets married."

"We, the Dong Bang Kingdom will answer them for you, Prince Junsu. So, we let her go. If I didn't, I think I would live a life filled with guilt that I can't love her whole heartedly," Yunho said.

After discussing for the whole night, Yunho decided that it was best if they continued some other time. It was very late. When everyone proceeded to leave, Yunho held back Jaejoong.

"Jae, stay back for a while," Yunho said.

"Ok. But I need to get back soon —before Matron Lee finds out."

"Do you still have your great sense of smell?" Yunho asked as he settled Jaejoong on his lap.

"I think so. I haven't been using it for a long time though," Jaejoong said, sniffing around.

"Can you help find Princess Taeyeon's lover if I gave you a piece of his belonging? I hope that she would have something of his with her," Yunho said, straight to the point.

"I can try," Jaejoong said.

Just then, Taeyeon barged in, making Jaejoong jump out of his seat.

"I refuse. I just heard a brief idea on what you are planning from Junsu. There's no way I'm going back to him!" Taeyeon insisted.

Taeyeon wanted to do exactly what Kyuhyun had wished. She wanted to show him that she would be living a miserable life just for him to regret. She wanted to make him think that her misery was due to his decision. She wanted it to burn deep into his heart that he was the cause for all and that he would spend his whole life living with guilt. If she had lived happily, Kyuhyun would think that he had made the right choice and be relieved. Then, he would soon forget about her. Taeyeon could not let that happen. Therefore, she could not simply just go back to him. She had her pride.

"How about we find him and talk about this with him first?" Yunho offered.

"No."

"How about I'm the only want doing the asking for you?"

"No."

"Come on, think about the child."

There was silence.

"You could be the child's father. No problem at all."

"No. I don't want that!" Jaejoong interrupted. Both Taeyeon and Yunho stared at him. "I don't like that..." he mumbled.

Taeyeon whistled, "Oh, she has the hots for you and refuse to share." Then, she faked a pout.

"Yeah, I know." Yunho said confidently.

Taeyeon clicked her tongue. After that, she grinned mischievously. She slid her arm around Yunho's and linked arms with him. She brought Yunho's arm close to her chest and looked at Jaejoong with narrowed eyes. Jaejoong fumed. He pulled Yunho's other arm towards him and kissed him.

"He's mine. Back off," Jaejoong growled, baring his teeth.

"Jae..." Yunho muttered.

Taeyeon backed away and raised her hands in defeat. Jaejoong relaxed. All of a sudden, Taeyeon burst out laughing. Yunho and Jaejoong stared at her in disbelief.

"Calm down, Princess Taeyeon. Mind the baby," Yunho reminded.

Taeyeon's came to a halt eventually. She pressed her palm against her stomach and said, "Right." Then, she continued, "I knew something was going on between you two after that day!"

"Were we that obvious?" both Jaejoong and Yunho asked in unison.

"Of course! That longing look Prince Yunho had that day and the daggers-like glares that stabbed into my back from Jaejoong's eyes," Taeyeon giggled.

Yunho looked at Jaejoong and chuckled. Jaejoong did the same.

"Princess, so how about it?" Yunho asked.

"No."

"Think of the child and maybe this guy loves you so much that he doesn't want to see you suffer before him. I will speak to him and we will see about it. Give him and yourself another chance."

Taeyeon gave a thought then, she said,"No."

"Don't you love him so much that you're able to give up your status? Don't you still love him as much?"

Taeyeon struggled to find her words, "...no..."

"You're lying. You hesistated."

Taeyeon swallowed hard. She looked into Yunho's eyes. "You're right."

"So give him a chance to explain?"

She sighed, "Alright."

Yunho smiled and asked if she had anything that belonged to Kyuhyun. Taeyeon went back to the room and grabbed a hankerchief. 

"Here it is," Taeyeon said as she handed the hankerchief to Yunho. "Why do you need it?"

Yunho smirked. "You will see." He pushed Taeyeon out of the room.

Yunho gave the cloth to Jaejoong. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent. He frowned. "It smells familiar." He remembered. "Kyuhyun," he said.

"Jae, you're incredible. You know the person with just his scent?" said Yunho.

"No. I just met him early this morning," Jaejoong said.

"Really?!" Yunho exclaimed, grabbing on Jaejoong's shoulders; there was a ray of hope.

Jaejoong nodded and asked,"Are you looking for him?"

"Yeah... Can you track him down or something?" 

"No. But, he will be at the palace tomorrow. He's going to be making a few trips here to deliver hay to the stables."

"What time? I will be there!"

"I don't know. But, he was there before 8.30am today."

"Ok, I will be there at 7.50am. So that I will not miss him. Will you be there?"

"I-I can go earlier."

With that, they retired back to their own room.

Back in Yunho's room, Taeyeon was sitting on the bed when Yunho's entered the room. 

"You know, I have this hunch that the reason why you were so kind to do all this is because you wanted no one to interfere with your little relationship," Taeyeon said.

Yunho laughed and tried to wave this topic away. Taeyeon had hit the nail on the head.

Meanwhile, Junsu and Yoochun were at the balcony. Junsu stared blankly into space and pondered what his parents might do to him if his sister really ran away again. Would they skin him alive or could he just get away with a scolding? Being a small country, they could not afford to offend the larger countries. Even though Yunho understood his sister's plight and let her go, both Yunho's parents might be furious and The Shin Ki Kingdom might suffer under their wrath.

Yoochun tucked a strand of Junsu's hair behind his ear and pat his shoulder. 

"Don't worry so much. Trust my hyung a little. He's reliable." Yoochun said.

Although Junsu still felt uneasy about the whole idea, he decided to stop thinking from a while and start appreciating the beautiful city lights that could be seen from such a high latitude.