“King Seung-won is still in the mother queen’s quarters, your highness,” Hye-shil –Queen Shi-ra’s lady-in-waiting- said, her head lowered. “Jungsoo was guarding the door and did not allow anyone but the queen mother’s attendants through.”

Shi-ra pursed her lips and silently nodded. He couldn’t just wait to see that child, could he? Hmm… how pathetic for a grown man to behave in such a way.” She closed her eyes and waved off her attendants and slowly picked up her cup of tea. Her worse nightmare was coming true… the past was truly coming back to haunt her. Damn that … still having a hold on the kingdom... still affecting my life from the grave through her spawn. She frowned once she was finally alone. That ’s child… how did she make it back? I knew it… I should have just ordered her killed along with that .

She shook her head with regret, cursing her weak heart at not following through her plans of getting rid of all traces of that Taiwanese who dared to take her place besides the king. No other woman will sit upon this dais but me. She sipped at her cup of tea and slowly smiled as another idea popped in her head. No one… and I know just what to do…

Yiyun looked over at the men in front of her and softly giggled at them as they were all laughing; each teasing the youngest again for his quick agreement in allowing a twelve-year-old –and a twelve-year-old girl at that- promise to protect him. She pulled the blanket up to cover more of her lap and slowly curled her fingers into her palm, feeling the nails dig in. Ouch! She shook her head at the pain. This isn’t a dream Yiyun… you finally have a family.

She thought back to her great-grandparents –the Duke and Duchess of Yansheng- and of her grandparents. She had never seen much of her great-grandparents… they were based in the capital city of Taipei while she had lived with her grandparents on the western coast. She quickly closed her eyes and shook her head in hopes of erasing the last time she had seen her grandparents… being beaten and bloodied on their own bed.

Seung-won took a hold of her hand when she gasped, her face having gone pale. “Princess?” he softly asked. “Are you alright?”

She opened her eyes and stared up at her father. “I-I’m alright, father… I was just thinking about something.”

The frowning princes crowded closer to her.

“Tell us sister,” said Jonghyun, as he reached for her hand. “What were you thinking of that put such a frown on our beautiful sister’s face?”

Yiyun lightly smiled at her brother’s words and action, wanting to believe she was beautiful but then slowly exhaled and shook her head. She really didn’t want to talk about the memory… at least right now.

Dongwoo shoved at Jonghyun, taking Yiyun’s hand from their older brother. “Yiyun… that was a sad memory though, wasn’t it? Tell me and I will make you forget,” he said, grinned and reached over to poke at her face in hopes of making her smile.

She looked as the two younger brothers started pushing one another for her hand and looked up at her father. “Are… they always like this?” she asked.

Seung-won chuckled loudly and nodded. “Perhaps it’s because they’re the same age, but they’re always like this. One gets used to it, princess.” He reached over to his two youngest sons and smacked at their hands. “Leave the princess alone; she isn’t a toy to fight over.”

As they each pulled their hands away, Yiyun squeaked in surprise when she was picked up and set farther away from the two younger princes. She looked to the side and saw that she was now seated between the two oldest.

Yoochun reached out and gently patted her head again as he had earlier. “Don’t mind those two… they fight like this all the time, but at least they never let it get out of hand, princess,” he said and watched her nod. He smiled as he saw that she was no longer as pale, thankful for the two younger males having distracted her, but knew that he should say something… especially knowing just the little bit that the mother queen had told them earlier. “But princess… please do remember our promised words. We are here to protect, care and love you. We will always be here if you need us… even if it’s to listen to any fears or thoughts you may have.”

Donghae nodded. “It won’t do any good keeping it inside, princess. But we won’t pressure you to tell us; just know that all of us are here for when you want to tell us… anything at all, all right?”

“Sons,” Seung-won called out, garnering everyone’s attention. “Stop pushing her.”

Donghae hung his head. “I… we’re not meaning to push her. We just want her to know we will listen when she wants to tell us anything.”

Yiyun reached out and gently padded Donghae’s shoulder, watching him raise his head to look at her. “I know you are all meaning well,” she said, turning to face each of her brothers. “And I promise… I will always come to talk to you all if I have something to say.”

Seung-won smiled, proud of all of his children. “Princess?”

Yiyun turned to face her father. “Yes, father?”

“Please always remember I am here too, all right?” he said and smiled.

She nodded. “Yes, father… thank you.”

“Are you ok now then?” Jonghyun hesitantly asked.

Yiyun smiled. “Yes, brother…” she inhaled and could feel her breath catch. “I was just thinking of how grateful I was that I now have the family that I have been waiting for and dreaming of… then I felt bad of the thought, because I did have a family –my grandparents, great-grandparents… the numerous cousins I had.” Even if they all ignored me because of having no parents. “B-but they were always so busy and… and… now they’re all now so far from me,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes. “Everyone was killed… grandmother and grandfather…” Her lips quivered and hands shook; she couldn’t continue. All that blood… how could anyone do such a thing? She brushed away her tears, the memory of the last time she saw them making her start to hyperventilate.

Seung-won gave in to his need from earlier; he moved towards his only daughter and picked her up, enveloping her in a hug. “Yiyun… don’t force yourself to say more if it upsets you that much. With time, the pain will dull… little by little. What your brothers said was the truth; it isn’t good to hold it in. But it also isn’t good to force yourself to speak of it when it’s still so fresh of a painful memory.” He ran a hand over her short hair, as she buried her face in the folds of his robes. “We will never push you to talk about it, but know we are all here to listen when you’re ready.”

“Y-yes, father,” she whimpered out. “I will come to tell someone when I am ready.”

Dongwoon inched closer to his father and sister. “Sister?” he asked and grinned widely. “What do you like to do?”

Yiyun turned to face him at his question. She blinked, unsure of how to answer. “I d-don’t know, brother. I never really thought about it.”

“We all like horseback riding; have you ever ridden a horse?” Jonghyun asked.

She shook her head. “I’ve never ridden one, but I’ve seen many of my cousins ride.”

“We all like to ride so we’ll teach you… if you would like?” Yoochun asked.

She nodded again. “Oh really?” she asked excitedly, clapping her small hands together.

“Yes, really,” Yoochun answered and smiled. “We all have our own horses but there are plenty in the stables.”

“Do you like music?” Donghae interrupted. He had had a small riding accident as a child, so rarely rode anymore.

She nodded and smiled. “I love music, brother. My nanny was teaching me how to play the bipa* but we had to stop a year ago because of the invasion,” she answered, looking down into her lap.

“Well, we can continue learning, if you would like?” Donghae asked. Yiyun looked up and nodded excitedly. “I am sure my teacher would teach you too.” He smiled as her smile widened.

Seung-won smiled again, pleased to see all his children happily getting along… the brothers talking nonstop about things each wanted to do with their sister.

“Your highness… are you ready to retire for the evening?” Hye-shil asked as she bowed her head from the doorway. She gestured at the attendants and they rushed in to the room to clear the small table of the dinner Shi-ra had had.

Shi-ra glanced up from her book, her expression blank.

Hye-shil swallowed and looked back down at her hands. “I am sorry your highness; I should have waited for you to speak first.”

Shi-ra pursed her lips and smirked. “As long as you realize your mistake, Hye-shil,” she replied, standing up from the window seat. “Just don’t repeat it.” She placed her book on one of the shelves and walked towards her wardrobe. “I would like a bath first and then retire for the night.” She stood in front of the wardrobe and waited for Hye-shil to order the bath be drawn and for her to come help her undress.

Hye-shil did her duties quietly, but always made it a point to keep her head down. Shi-ra closed her eyes and nonchalantly tilted her head up as the pins were removed and her long hair came undone from the bun they had been in.

“Did they wonder why I didn’t attend dinner?” she asked suddenly.

Hye-shil blinked and bit her lips nervously. “I… I wasn’t in the dining quarters for long, your highness. So I am unsure, but they surely did, my queen.”

They were probably paying all their attention to that child to even notice I had not been there. She pursed her lips but refrained from saying anything else. She opened her eyes as she felt the light robe drape across her bare shoulders. She walked towards the tub and gracefully sat, waiting for the other attendants to attend to her. After she was thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned, she closed her eyes and let the hot water soothe her; inhaling and exhaling, wondering just when the perfect time would be to execute the plans she had made earlier in the day.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the sliding door to the room close and a clearing of a throat. She refrained from opening her eyes, but knew who it would be.

“Pray tell why you chose not to join us at dinner, my queen?” Seung-won asked as he walked to the chair in the middle of the room and sat, eyes glued on his wife.

Shi-ra kept her expression blank and softly sighed. She opened her eyes and raised a small hand to her forehead, purposefully forgetting to cover herself. “Forgive me, my husband… I was feeling ill tonight,” she said softly, her voice shaking at the end.

Seung-won stood and walked over to his wife. He placed a hand on her forehead and immediately frowned. “My queen, you’re warm to the touch,” he remarked and stood. “Shall I call the court physisican?”

You gullible fool. “No, my husband… I rested and took some medicine he had given me last time. I shall be fine,” she said and shyly lowered her hand while bringing her long hair to cover her bare chest. “My apologies, my husband… I forgot to cover myself.”

Seung-won unknowingly looked down at her, forgetting to even note she had been in the water but quickly averted his eyes. “Y-you’re alright, my queen,” he said and returned to the chair. “Have you eaten at least?”

Shi-ra frowned that she wasn’t able to get any other reaction from her husband but pasted on a smile. “Yes, my husband… I have. I had some porridge.”

“Good, good,” he said and took a breath as he stood and walked towards the open window. “I heard about what happened this morning.”

Shi-ra stopped smiling, but glad he had turned away and not seen her immediate scowl. “I was making sure she was who that man said, my husband… you must understand the position I was in,” she said, her voice soft.

He thought about her words and could understand the position she had been in. “I wasn’t angry, my wife… I can understand the position you were in. I apologize we had not been here to relieve you of that issue,” he said and turned around to face her.

She saw that he was facing her, so nodded at Hye-shil and gracefully stood. She smirked that Seung-won quickly turned back around to face the window. Oh come now… am I affecting you, my king? She silently laughed as she accepted the robe from Hye-shil and stepped out of the tub. She schooled her expression again before saying, “I am covered, my king.”

He quietly grunted, but continued to face the window… his only thought was of how bold she was behaving. “I wanted you to know that I am fully claiming Yiyun as my child,” he said and waited for her response.

Shi-ra pursed her lips, her eyes narrowed at her husband’s back. “I figured, my king,” she responded, her soft voice belying the expression on her face. She immediately smiled again once he turned around.

“I spoke to Nae-sang… and we both think it is the right thing to do,” he added. “We were going to announce the engagement of Yoochun to Princess Chae Won from the south at the end of the year. It was suggested we announce the return of Yiyun then.”

Shi-ra bit her lower lip and blinked at her husband. How dare you try to publicly announce that ’s child as yours at my son’s engagement celebration! She her lips and slowly walked towards Seung-won. “My king,” she started to say, as she ran a hand up his arm.

“Yes, my queen?” he asked, an eyebrow raised at the touch.

“Perhaps you should wait a while longer,” she replied, both hands now on his arms. “I mean, your king… they had to leave Taiwan because they were trying to kill her.” They should have done a better job! “I think it would be safer to wait a while before announcing her to the kingdom as your child. Don’t you agree, my husband?”

He sighed and slowly nodded. “What you say is true, my wife. I did not think of that.”

Shi-ra slowly smiled, pleased with his quick agreement. “Plus, as young as she is… she is still a girl. I am sure she would rather wait until her grew out? Perhaps even until she was more schooled with how to act like the only princess of the kingdom?”

Seung-won nodded again. “You are right, my queen. Perhaps a year or two wouldn’t hurt.”

Shi-ra smiled her beautiful smile, making Seung-won freeze. It had been too long since he had seen this side of his wife… making him wonder why the change of attitude from earlier, as told to him by Donghae. “Of course I am, my king… I only wish to have nothing mar our kingdom,” she answered.

He shook his head, sure that how she acted earlier had been due to her concerns for their kingdom. “You’re right my queen. I couldn’t have asked for a better queen,” he replied… immediately thinking of Ying Jie, his eyes softening a bit.

Shi-ra knew from the look on his face that his words were different from the truth. She stepped away from her husband and walked towards her vanity to sit. She looked over at Hye-shil and awaited her hair to be brushed. “I think it’s also best that until she is announced, you should have her stay at the estate with Dongwoo’s mother. She can help Yiyun until we can find her someone else suitable.”

Seung-won straightened at her words. He had intended to keep her nearby, at the palace. The Jaesan estate was more than half an hour’s ride by horse, and too far for his liking. “My queen…”

She turned to face him, an eyebrow raised.

Deep down, he knew that if he fought the issue, Shi-ra would make the life of Yiyun difficult. It wasn’t forgotten that even the mention of Yiyun’s mother would bring the queen to a terrible, violent mood. Perhaps, being at the estate was for the best. “She will move to the estate… but only will continue to stay at the palace for a while longer. I will not back down from this.”

Shi-ra turned around. That is better than forever. “A month… and no longer.”

Seung-won stood, nodded and sighed. “I am sure you are tired. Rest well and feel better. I shall see you in the morning for the breaking of fast,” he said, and turned to leave the room.

A month… a month with that ’s spawn… how to make her never want to come back?

Shi-ra smirked as her mind was filled with various ideas. She laughed, startling Hye-shil. This month will be fun I think…

*bipa: traditional Korean stringed instrument (very similar to the modern-day guitar)

[A/N So this is how the chapter came out. Like I said in the previous chapter... the storyline is taking on a life of it's own. I even attempted to change it, but said wth... just gonna go with it. Still background I guess? Well... I will update again when I can. Hopefully will speed it up next chapter. <3