“Unni!” My sister exclaimed as she pushed my door open. I was sitting on the floor with a board I was embroidering.

“What is it?” I said as I looked up at her.

“They put the announcement up today.” She said, out of breath. She didn’t need to say more. I already knew what happened.

I put the needle down and stared at the flower that only had 3 petals in front of me. When would be the next time I would be able to finish this?

“I got it.” I said as I got up and walked over to where I knew my parents would be.

In the few seconds I walked into our courtyard, I already observed a crowd of people outside our gate, ready to me to the palace so they could have a chance to admire the life of a king.

“IT’S JOSEON’S FLOWER.” I heard a voice cry out. Our guards struggled to keep all of the commotion down, so I decided to walk over there myself.

“SHE’S COMING SHE’S COMING.” I heard the same voice yell. As I expected, when I made my way over to the door, the people immediately backed away and stayed silent, almost as if I had some authority over them.

“What is it you people want with me?” I said sternly. A few people looked up at me in shock. It was the first time I allowed these people to see this side of me. “I’m asking you. What is it you people want to disturb my family and our home?”

“Ah, we simply wanted to make sure that you knew that you would go to the palace.” A mid-aged male said.

I sighed deeply, probably confusing the people. “Whether I go or didn’t go, why does it matter to you?”

There was silence among the people. “My, dear, don’t you understand?” An old man pushed his way through the crowd. He was wearing hat that covered his face, but from his posture and his clothing, I could tell he was quite aged. “You’ll bring fame to this town! I can see it through your eyes; you are destined to love the eldest prince.”

As I heard his last words, I looked at him in confusion, as did the others in the crowd. At that moment, my father walked up behind me and patted my shoulder. “Yeonhwa, go see your mother.” He said. I reluctantly turned, but purposely walked slowly so I could hear the continuation of that elder’s prophecies. “Excuse me, how did you know that?”

“My, my, when you’re my age, you can just tell when you look at someone. Ah, your younger daughter will marry into royalty too.” I stopped in my pace and turned around. I didn’t care about my father’s words anymore.

“What did he just say?” I asked my father.

“Yeonhwa I told you to go inside.” My father said sternly.

“I’m not going to until he,” I pointed at the man, “explains.”

My father sighed in defeat. “Sir, please explain. What about my younger daughter?”

The old man chuckled. “My, don’t you know that the king has another son? The shadow prince. That’s what we call him. Always in the shadows. Your younger daughter will be his bride.” He said.

“What is this old man-“ My father let out before I tugged on his hand behind my back.

“Why do you say that, sir?” I asked him.

“I’ve seen the young prince many times. Both of them in fact. It surprised me when I realized that their counterparts were right here in our little village.” He chuckled again.

“Abeoji, don’t listen to him. I think he’s a little weird.” I whispered to my father. “Let’s just go inside.”

With that I turned around and left the crowd for the second time, this time actually making it to my mom’s room.

“Guards, close the doors.” I heard my father finally say. There was an uproar from the crowd as I heard screams of “LET’S SEND BOTH OF HIS DAUGHTERS!” “THIS ISN’T FAIR! WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER’S PROPHECY?”

“What’s happening out there?” I heard my mom said as she rushed out of her room, hearing the uproar.

“Some old man made some dumb prophecy about me and Yeonhee. You don’t need to worry about it Ummonim.” I said as I urged her to go back inside.

She complied, fortunately and sat down. “Tell me what he said, dear.”

I sighed before talking. “He said that I’m destined to fall in love with the eldest prince and Yeonhee is destined to marry the younger prince.”

“I’m WHAT?” I heard Yeonhee exclaim as she walked in.

“Shhh.” My mom shushed her. “Why are you so loud? There’s enough ruckus in this house.”

“Why didn’t he say that you were going to marry the eldest prince then?” Yeonhee asked as she sat down.

“How am I supposed to know? All he said was nonsense anyway.” I shrugged it off as I sat down with them.

My mom gazed outside the window as a breeze carried flower petals with it. “If our family was that fortunate, I don’t know what I’d do with myself. Our daughters carry such beautiful lives.” She said as she looked at us both.

“Crazy people are crazy spouting nonsense…” My dad mumbled as he walked into our room.

“Yeobo,” My mom said to him, snapping him out of his daze, “what do you think of what that man said?”

“Oh, Park Jinkyung-sshi? He’s really old. He thinks he can claim to know everything because of his age but he’s wrong half the time.” My dad smirked as he sat down. He moved his hat a little bit and then went back into the conversation. “I wouldn’t believe a word he says. I don’t want Yeonhee marrying some shadow prince.”

“Abeoji.” I said sternly. “Don’t talk about the prince like that. That’s rude.”

“Aish, I work in the palace. I see them everywhere.” My father replied.

“Really?” My sister said, leaning forward. “So what does the second prince look like? Does he have a nice face?” She smiled.

“Aigoo, forget it, forget it. Everyone in this village is crazy this morning.” My dad said while getting up and walking out the room.

My mom, my sister and I all chuckled at my dad’s stubbornness and continued our talk. “Ummeoni, what if,” my sister began, “I actually married a prince? Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Yeonhee nearly squealed.

“That would be like a fairy tale my dear. Marrying royalty isn’t all that simple. Especially the second prince.” My mom replied. “I heard a rumor from your father’s friend’s wife, that the second prince is actually the eldest.”

“Wait what?” I perked up.

“You see, the shadow prince was born illegitimately, so they tried to hide him until the king got married and then had another son. So when the prince now was 4, they found the actual eldest prince and said he was 3, when in reality he was almost 5.” My mom whispered.

“Aigoo ummonim.” I said in frustration. “Do you actually believe that?”

“You never know. No one knows exactly what happens in the palace walls.” My mom shrugged. “That’s why when you go you have to be careful about what you say and who you talk to. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up becoming the queen.” My mom smiled.

“Ugh. Again, again. There you go about me being the queen again.” I sighed.

There was silence as the room settled down. Another breeze blew into the room as I saw pieces of paper fly off the desk.

“Ummeoni.” I said finally. “Do I really have to go to the palace?”

“It’s not really your choice, unni.” My sister said.

“Exactly. Everyone in the town wants you to go. Do you see anyone else who would be a candidate?” My mom inquired. It was more of a statement than a question.

“Then, can I at least bring Yeonhee with me?” I asked.

Yeonhee gasped. “Would you really?” I nodded.

“I don’t know if they’d allow you to do that. I’ll ask your father to ask about that. I don’t see why not.”

I sighed in relief. “But, ummonim, what am I even doing in the palace?”

“Aigoo this whole time you didn’t even know?” She gasped. “Technically, the announcement said that the palace was offering education for the brightest people of each town, but everyone knows that you all are candidates for the prince’s marriage. You’ll be learning new courses in the palace.”

“Like…?” I prompted.

“You know, history, literature, calligraphy, embroidery, maybe horseback riding?” My mom said. “I’m not sure. Probably stuff on how to be a proper lady. It’s basically a training camp to be the queen anyway.” My mom admitted.

“I see. I guess it shouldn’t be too bad.” I shrugged.

The afternoon passed as us three talked about the possibilities in the palace. It all seemed like a fairy tale to me. It seemed like I would never belong in such a place. Marrying the prince, becoming the queen…it was all too unrealistic. I could never see myself walking that path. But then again…

Anything can happen in the palace. 

a/n: annyeong readers ^^ happy 2014! i managed to get in another chapter before break ended. hope you enjoy it ^^ 

oh, and in case you guys are having trouble visualising the things that are happening, here are a few pictures to help you :)

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