CHAPTER THREE

[ EMMA'S POV ]

I woke up and took in where I am. This was not the wooden floors that I always stepped on, the windows were open and light pierced in, brightening the room in a light that felt so innocent. Gold dazzled with the purest white I have ever seen, on walls and on the furniture. I look down and glided my hands on top of my dress, I was no longer wearing my old clothes. I skimmed through the details on the dress and I couldn’t help but cry. I looked at my reflection and I cried, but only to find that the tears refused to come out. 

“Good morning princess, we are here to—” 

I ran towards her and took the one thing that I felt was going to help me. 

“NO PRINCESS! COME BACK! PLEASE COME BACK! GUARDS, GUARDS!”

I heard the maids call out but all I could feel was my heart beating against my chest, this was my ticket out of here. This was it. I turned and bumped into someone who was swept off their feet as I climbed on top of him, I held up the knife and—I looked into his eyes and saw my reflection. My eyes widen when his hands came up to wipe something off my face, ‘huh?’ I was held back when two men took my arms, restraining me from doing it. I was so close, I was so damn close. I felt the knife escape my grasp and I crumbled. I shook my head, in complete disbelief. Please tell me this was a dream, please tell me this is one of those dreams I will wake up from—clenching on my blanket only to find out that this was a nightmare. Please, I’m begging you, someone save me from this!

“LET GO OF HER!”

My whole body gave in as I kneeled on the floor only to be held up by a pair of hands. I look up and caught a glimpse of who he was. 

“Your highness.”

Someone in the crowd spoke out, everyone kneeled down to him as he brought his eyes to me. 

“Prince Taecyeon, please allow me to bring her back to her room.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I rose up and pushed him back on the ground, I wrapped my hands around his neck and I prayed for forgiveness. “OH MY GOD! GUARDS, AREN’T—”

“THIS IS FOR MY GRANDPARENTS! YOU MONSTER, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! I WILL NEVER—”

A hand came over and wiped the tears off my face again, I blinked and before I knew it, I pull my hands away from him and he placed his hand on the back of my head and pulled me in. 

'Where am I?’

“I can not take the pain away from you and I do not understand your feelings. But know this, this pain in your heart will not go away as easily as it came. I only hope that with time, you will find yourself walking hand in hand with it. What has happened; has happened.” He continued to the back of my head. After a moment of silence between us, I got up and turned my back against him to see someone standing in front of me. 

“I have missed you my daughter, my angel.” I turn to a younger guy walking towards me. “Welcome home sister.”

“You guys are mistaken, I am not—”

“That’s enough from you. You are my daughter, the princess of the Kingdom of Wu.”

“I can’t be—”

“You are.”

Everyone standing before me knelt in front of me, someone came over and showed me a painting of a infant with an exact necklace. I felt the birthmark on my nape as I looked at the painting and back at everyone surrounding me. 

“No… No more lies, no more!”

King Wu signalled some men and I felt a sharp pain before everything went black. Prince Taecyeon stares at the princess, who was allegedly his fiancé; who was being carried back to her room. He glances at his hands and found himself thinking about her face, she was screaming for the pain to go away. 

“I will do anything for my sister, I want everyone to give her some time to herself. I am happy that she is back with us so let’s push her homecoming back a couple of dates. She needs time to adjust.”

“All in due time.” King Wu stated as he walked off with his group of men. Prince VanNess looks over to Taecyeon and crosses his arms. “Has the cupid hit you with his arrow already?”

“Who would dare make her cry?”

“My sister isn’t the typical princess, she has been away from her home for a long time. You don’t mind if we push the engagement back right?”

Prince Taecyeon ran his hand through his hair and smiles. “Of course not, I want to get to know her before our wedding.” Prince VanNess smirks, walking past him as he peeks over his shoulder. “I want to get to know her as well, I will be doing everything I can to make sure this engagement between you two doesn’t happen in a blink of an eye.”

With that, the two men walked off.

.

.

.

“What do you think he’s dreaming about?” Calvin wondered as he peels his eyes away from Aaron to look at Wu Chun and Jiro. “Who knows…? Hey Cal, I hate to remind you; you should know that it isn’t good to pry on his business. After all, he is still the son of our late King.”

“I know, of course I know! It’s just… he’s breaking out in cold sweat.”

“For a man his age to bear all this pressure, its no wonder he can’t sleep at night. But when all of this is over, he can fall into a deep slumber.”

“I hope so…” 

“Come Cal, let’s start supper.” Calvin got up and made his way over to the table to see soup and bread on the table. “It’s about time, my stomach was grumbling!”

Flashback

The man offered his hands to the two year old boy and chuckles. For now, it is important for them to teach him the tricks and to help him reach his full potential as a prince to the country of Yan.

"Come lad, come with me."

When war broke out, the King and Queen of the country of Yan made the biggest decision to entrust their beloved son to one of their most loyal subjects in the high court; to guarantee Prince Aaron’s safety. That man became a general at the age of 14 and has built his strength through countless battles through the history of the country of Yan. He was a patriotic man who held high morals and above all else, he remained true to his actions. In turn, his dedication to his people and to the royal family landed him his first love since childhood. The King granted his request to be wed to his childhood sweetheart and so he did, he became one of the few who wed out of pure love. It was a happy ending people marvel about but when his wife suddenly passed away awhile giving birth to their first and only child, his heart ached. He wished his late wife could watch their son grew up, how he overcame some his weaknesses, how he surpasses even his general father in strength and battle strategies. So he found himself adopting two more boys under his care as he trained them, showed them the tips and tricks of the trade. He knew that one day; his boys will make him proud. In his quest to conquer this obstacle, his heart ache was beginning to heal, bit by bit, a step at a time. 

The three boys became his life.

Now adding onto his group of sons to raise, the King and Queen requested him to take the young prince under his wing. Train him for what’s to come, train his heart and soul for the day to come. Together, Calvin, Jiro, Chun, and Aaron became close friends; close enough to be brothers. 

Calvin was the General's son. He would teach them out in the woods, where they would do all sorts of training exercises with one another. Although strength was one of Calvin's strength, his brothers stood relatively similar to him. Jiro was on par with him, next was Chun (who apparently is a good cook among the four), then it was Aaron. The general knew that the prince was the hidden card among the boys; it was his father's genes Aaron inherited from. Aside from his handsome complexion, great reflex and insane work ethic, what more can the prince possess?

"He is a natural." The general laughed blissfully at the sight of his four 13 year old boys training together. 

"Remember boys, even if there are times that are hard to keep up. Do not let it get to you, we have a long history of victory so do not worry. When you turn 14 lads, that's when you guys will be able to fight. So don't rush into the dirty stuff just yet, there will be tons of that once you guys turn 14."

"Yes General!"

"Good now I’m gonna head inside, you lads train more before coming back in!”

"Yes General!"

He gave a firm nod and walked into the house without looking back to catch the boys stealing glances at each other. 

"Okay, he's gone!" Jiro cried out, dropping his wooden sword as he fell back on the grass, looking up at the starry sky. Aaron joined him shortly. "Chun, why don't you sit down too?"

"Calvin and I started digging into the past."

"Huh?" Aaron looks at them in confusion. Jiro wave them off, motionlessly. "Why do we need to know about it? It doesn't even concern us."

"But it does. This is our country's history!" Calvin calls out as he looks over to Chun who agreed. "Our country is at war and you want to look at our country’s history?" Jiro smirked and waved at them away while Aaron laughs. "I'm listening."

"I finally found out what Aaron's mark means, the mark that he has ever since he was a child!"

"Oh?" Jiro sat up and put his arm on Aaron, completely interested. "I take it back, do tell."

Chun and Calvin look over to Aaron who began putting his shirt back on. "Why are you putting your shirt back on? There is no one here besides us; we are in the woods for heaven's sake! Don't tell me you are ashamed of it?! C'mon, stop joking around and be a man. Wait… what is this tense air I’m feeling?"

"Jir–" Chun elbowed Calvin as he shakes his head. Jiro looks at his brothers and his brow arched; what were they keeping from him? 

"So all of you know about his mark and you guys are keeping it away from me? Why? We are brothers, maybe not blood-related but we are still a family, like brothers."

"I'm going to get mor