The little girl clasped her hands together and stared down at the floor. She had never been so scared before in her twelve years of life- not even when her grandparents were killed in front of her, nor while being taken away from her war-ridden home or while she had gone into hiding with Uncle Sung-ki, and throughout the two-month long trip to this new place. She could feel herself shake, and wanted to look up at the people she stood in front of, but knew better then to look up at the eyes of the women before her. She held in a gasp as she could hear the woman slam a hand down on the arm of her chair again.

“How dare you try to pawn that thing off as the king’s daughter!” Shi-ra –the reigning queen- stated, her voice calm and steady, but full of venom.

“Your highness, I would never contemplate at an attempt to lie to you or any other member of the royalty,” came the soft reply from Sung-ki –the man charged with protecting the young girl- his head bowed in respect.

She scoffed, and straightened in her chair. “Are you trying to tell me that you aren’t lying then?”

“Mother,” came a voice from behind the queen.

Shi-ra pursed her lips and glanced behind her. “What?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

Donghae –the eighteen year old, second-eldest prince- cleared his throat and straightened at the expression of the queen’s face. He knew his mother was not one to interrupt or cross, but he couldn’t stand and watch the young girl in front of him shake in fear any longer. “If I may say… if you look close enough she looks like she could be father’s child. She looks a lot like my brothers and I,” he said, with a quick glance at his grandmother.

Yun-hui –the mother queen and mother to King Seung-won- nodded in agreement. “Donghae is correct, my queen. No one could deny that she has similar features to Yoochun, Donghae, Jonghyun or Dongwoo.”

Shi-ra closed and took a deep breath. She looked back down at the child in question and barely held back a sneer. How dare they even claim that… just because she looks like the princes don’t mean anything. “Why should we take your words as truth?” she asked the older man who now had a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Sung-ki cleared his throat and reached into the pouch within the folds of his robe and pulled out a small wrapped bundle. As he opened it, he pulled out a square of gold silk. “This coverlet belonged to the youngest granddaughter of the former Duke of Yansheng. It had been part of the dowry presented to King Seung-won and at his wedding with Ying Jie thirteen years ago. It was used to wrap around the baby when she was returned to her grandparents after the death of Ying Jie.”

Donghae glanced nervously between the queen and his grandmother. Where is father, Yoochun, Jonghyun or even Dongwoo when I need them? Why did they all need to go riding now? He sighed, knowing full-well of how the queen detested any talk of that time when the king agreed to marry Ying Jie as a result of the king’s promise to help protect Taiwan from the threats of war. He remembered every time she had been mentioned, the words of “Good riddance for the death of that ” automatically came from the queen’s mouth –as long as the king was nowhere around and held his breath waiting for her reaction.

The queen visibly exhaled and tried to remain calm at the sight of the piece of silk. The memory of the beautiful and much younger girl who had enthralled the king for those two years still enraged her. She had had no say of the Korean concubines her husband had acquired due to other political obligations, nor the sons –Donghae or Dongwoo- borne from those relationships, or even the fact that the king fully claimed them as his sons and made them second and third in line –behind her own sons- to the throne… but to know that this child in front of her would more than likely be claimed as well, infuriated her beyond belief. She slightly narrowed her eyes at the child again and could see both the features of her husband and Ying Jie… there was no way she could deny the fact that this child really could be the offspring of her husband... the one she sent away.

Yun-hui gently reached out and patted the queen’s arm. She softly nodded hoping the queen would remain quiet and turned to face the older man and young child. She watched how the child stood frozen in place, eyes barely open... her small body beginning to sway from side to side. She glanced up at the man and cleared . “What is her name?”

Sung-ki bowed at the queen mother and straightened. “Your highness… her name is Yiyun.”

Yiyun looked up at the sound of her name, her eyes round with fear as she glanced over at the queen. She trembled slightly at the expression before turning to peer at the other woman, as her name was called again.

“Yiyun… come here child,” Yun-hui said softly. She waited while the young child walked to stand in front of her. Her eyes roamed the face and clothes of the child before glancing up at Sung-ki again. “Why does she look the way she does?” Yiyun was extremely thin, dirtied from the long trip from Taiwan… her hair cut boy-short and dressed in traditional clothes reserved for men and boys.

Sung-ki bowed and swallowed. “It was ordered by the late duke for her to be in disguise. The soldiers had been ordered to kill everyone, including her, so we were to make her look like a boy and go into hiding while we traveled here, your highness.”

Yun-hui nodded in understanding, having heard the news of what had happened in Taiwan. She glanced back at Yiyun and felt her heart falter as Yiyun held in a yawn. She reached for the arms of Yiyun and wrapped them around her. “My granddaughter…” she softly said.

Shi-ra narrowed her eyes again at the words, knowing her worse fears were coming true.

“You must be tired, little one,” the mother queen continued, as she gently moved Yiyun back to look at her face.

Yiyun slowly nodded and felt her eyes begin to water. It had been so long since she had heard a soft voice as those from the mother queen –not that Sungki hadn’t tried, but it wasn’t the same- someone related to her. She felt a tear fall from her eyes and reached up to swipe at her eyes.

Yun-hui reached up and wiped away the tear before Yiyun could, softly pulling the child into her arms again. “Shh, little one…” she cooed. “You’re safe now. Your father, brothers and I will never let you hurt again.” She knew better than to add the queen and purposefully ignored the loud sigh from the queen. She glanced to the side and waited until her attendants nodded. “Please ready a room for my granddaughter in my wing and a room for Sung-ki to rest. They have traveled long and will need food and rest.”

“Yes, mother queen,” came the reply. One of the girls rushed to prepare the rooms, another to ready some food and the two oldest attendants walked towards them to lead Sung-ki and Yiyun to their respective rooms.

Donghae smiled, reassured that with her grandmother’s words the little girl would now be safe away from the queen. “I will help carry Yiyun to your wing, grandmother.”

Yun-hui nodded, knowing the caring nature of Donghae was already coming through. She looked back down at the small girl, asleep in her arms. “Be careful, my prince…” she whispered as Donghae picked up the younger girl. “You’ve finally had your wish of a younger sister fulfilled.”

Donghae smiled and nodded. “Yes, grandmother… and I am sure the brothers will all agree.” He glanced at his younger sister. “We will all protect her and love her with all that we are.”

The mother queen smiled and knew the promised words he said would be kept. She was proud of each of her grandsons, the love they had for one another and their families never ceased to amaze her. “I know you all will, my prince.”

Donghae looked up from his book as Jungsoo –the son of the head butler and advisor to the king- walked into the garden and to his side. “Your highness… you had requested to be told when the king and other princes returned from their ride.” Donghae nodded and closed his book. “They’ve just ridden onto the property and are headed to the stables.”

Donghae stood and slightly bowed. “Thank you for informing me, Jungsoo,” he said and handed him his book. “Please return this to the library; I wouldn’t want to soil it since I will be going to the stables.”

“Of course, your highness,” Jungsoo replied.

Donghae nodded again and headed towards the stables, excited at informing his brothers of the news of Yiyun. He walked into the stables to see his father and each of his brothers brushing down the horses –something his father insisted upon as something the riders do, instead of delegating it to the attendants. He walked towards Nae-sang –the head butler and advisor to the king- and waited until he was acknowledged.

“Nae-sang… I will inform the king and princes,” Donghae said and received a nod in reply. He turned to face his father and brothers as his father raised an eyebrow at the comment.

Seung-won handed the brush to the attendant standing by and turned to face his second son. “Inform us of what, my son?”

Donghae bowed and straightened with a smile. He watched his brothers as they walked over to stand by their father, all with curious looks. “Seems like you all chose the wrong time to go for a ride,” he said with a small chuckle.

“What are you talking about?” fifteen year old Jonghyun asked, reaching over to rest an arm on the shoulder of the youngest, Dongwoo.

“Yes, brother… what are you talking about?” asked Dongwoo.

Donghae glanced up at his father and straightened. “While you were all gone today, we had callers come to the palace, father.”

“We always have callers, Hae,” said Yoochun as he reached out to poke at his younger brother.

“They were special though,” Donghae replied with a roll of his eyes.

Seung-won ran a hand through his beard and glanced over at Nae-sang. “Just what is my son trying to say?” he asked, knowing full well that Donghae would hold out until the last moment before sharing the news.

Donghae’s smile faded and he straightened as he shook his head at Nae-sang. “No Nae-sang, I want to tell them.”

Yoochun pulled Donghae towards him, covering his younger brother’s mouth at the same time. “Nae-sang… please tell us what this buffoon is taking forever to tell us.”

Seung-won loudly laughed as his two youngest took a hold of both of Donghae’s arms to still him and finally shook his head. “All right boys… let your brother tell us. Perhaps he won’t play around this time and tell us.”

Donghae turned and glared/pouted as his brother finally released their holds on him. He loudly exhaled and crossed his arms. “You all always pick on me.”

Dongwoo shook his head. “We all get picked on… today just happened to be you,” he replied, earning a laugh from the other brothers.

Yoochun poked Donghae. “Just tell us already, or Nae-sang really will tell us the news.”

Donghae dropped his arms and looked up at his father’s smiling face. “Father… do we really have a sister?”

Seung-won’s smile faded at the question. “What brought on this question, son? Though I’ve said so before… you had a sister, but she passed away even before her first full day of life.”

Donghae bit his lip, nervous now. He glanced at Nae-sang and then back at his father. “H-her mother was the woman from Taiwan… Ying Jie, right?”

Seung-won frowned, but nodded. “Yes, Donghae… though where did you hear that name?” he asked, knowing his wife hated the mention of that name and forbade it from being said.

Donghae quickly glanced at the curious faces of his brother and back to his father. “A man came to the palace today… with a young child. He said that she was the daughter of Ying Jie.” He watched his father turn to Nae-sang for confirmation and held his breath.

Nae-sang cleared his throat and bowed, surprised at the immediate turn-around in the mood. “The prince has relayed what happened today, your highness. Apparently, the daughter of Ying Jie was sent to Taiwan after her death. The guardian of the child had the gold silk coverlet that had gone missing after her death, your highness. From what he had said, it had been used to wrap the child when she was sent back to her grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Yansheng.” He bowed his head as the expression of the king changed.

The four brothers watched on as their father reached out to grab at Nae-sang’s robe. “Where is my daughter?” he nearly shouted the question.

Donghae reached out and loosened his father’s hold on Nae-sang’s robes. “Grandmother ordered a room in her wing be prepared for her,” he answered softly, more than a little surprised at the anger he heard from his usually calm and level-headed father. “Grandmother is with her while she rests, father.”

Seung-won breathed in and out, his heart racing at the news. Ying Jie’s daughter… my daughter is alive… He turned to face his sons and finally smiled. “You all have a sister, sons… finally… our family has a little princess.”

[A/N I specifically chose Yoochun, Donghae, Jonghyun and Dongwoo as Amber's older brothers because they've at one time or another been told they all look alike. For story consistency purposes, Yoochun is 2 years older than Donghae instead of the actual 4 months in RL. For this chapter, their ages: Yoochun-21, Donghae-18, Jonghyun-15, Dongwoo-15, each of their birthdates the same as RL (in terms of months and days.) BTW, Amber won't be full tomboy in this story... but will still have some tendencies. Look forward to the next chapter (which with luck) will be done later today. I hope you all enjoyed, and please comment with suggestions, critiques, etc. Thank you for reading! <3