.eighty seven.

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"When he was dropped off in the palace the first couple of times as a small child, he wouldn't stop crying, and the only way his majesty could get him to shut up was by entertaining him with napkin rabbits."

-

Hajin returned to the caves after leaving Eun and Minji that night to check on the two youngest princes of Goryeo and their progress. They were still hard at work when she arrived. They were very tired, and covered in a layer of sweat and grime from their tireless hours of being there. But Hajin noticed they were almost done, and they had little time left before dawn. Their efforts had not been in vain and Hajin knew their brothers would truly appreciate the help. 

She tried to help them continue, but they instead asked her to keep watch outside, as the palace guards started making their rounds in the early morning before everyone got up. Hajin wanted to go clean up after Eun and Minji in the bath, but she was so exhausted that she instead ended up falling asleep by the entrance of the caves.

She was woken by the two princes at dawn, but left them to scurry off to do their morning chores. In another part of the palace, Yeon Hwa was getting up and getting ready to start her morning routine. Her maids had gathered towels and a fresh set of clothes for her. Then they followed the princess to the bath.

Yeon Hwa was surprised by the mess left behind. But she was surprised because the palace was to be cleaned from top to bottom before any of the maids could go to bed. That meant that someone had been in the bath at some point during the night. Her eyes scanned the area. There were paper boats in the water, candles that had burnt out during the night, and by the steps of the bath were several animals made out of cloth napkins. She only knew of one person who loved making napkin animals for fun.

Prince Eun.

But he couldn't be there. He had to be somewhere halfway around the world by now, since there was word that they had gotten away when the troops went in to arrest the family. The four of them had escaped and were wanted criminals of the kingdom from the very moment that Yo put out his decree. It was both the dumbest and the smartest idea to hide in the palace, as far as Yeon Hwa was concerned. It was smart because no one would think to look for them there. But it was also dumb because with the amount of guards Yo had added to the palace, it was unlikely that they could manage to get out there alive. But it couldn't have been anyone else but them. They had to be the ones who had snuck into the bath the previous night. That filled her with some relief because she knew her friend, and her brother, were still alive. Perhaps they were still there and looking for a way out.

"Clean this mess up quickly." The princess instructed the maids with a nod of her head. All eight of them hurried forward and started picking everything up without a second though. As they did so, Yeon Hwa gave them more instructions, accompanied by a warning which they knew they should take very seriously. "Do not tell any one what you have seen here today. If I find out any of you have run their mouth to his majesty or to anyone, I will personally deliver a severe punishment."

The maids all nodded their heads in silent agreement, shaking in fear at her command. The princess was ruthless and was capable of anything, they had seen it themselves. They knew they would be wise to remain quiet if they wanted to avoid being punished.

When the bath was once again clean and ready, Yeon Hwa took a bath and the maids helped her change into her clothes for the day. As she left the private baths with her maids trailing behind her, she ran into her brother Jung, and court lady Hae Soo. Both were tired and covered in muck from head to toe. The two of them watched her with widened eyes at the fact that they had been caught, but said nothing. They knew that she was engaged to Yo now, and had promised her loyalties to him. But Yeon Hwa still had a lot on her mind thinking about Eun and Minji hiding out in the palace somewhere. She did not question the two and they continued down the hall without even speaking to each other.

But one of the maids in the group was Chae Ryung, who had been given a job at the palace when the eighth prince's family moved in, and who watched the court lady scurry off towards her room to get cleaned up and dressed for her daily chores. 

Yeon Hwa went to have breakfast with her mother and her brother before doing her assignments as betrothed to the king. She was to be seen with him at important meetings and gatherings. But she was also to go out into the village to do some community service, so that the people would take a liking to her. Included were also extra classes in mathematics, sciences, and languages. If a woman was to marry the king, she was to be seen as the most educated in all of the land. She had to be worthy of marrying the king of Goryeo. Yeon Hwa would do anything in order to be queen, and she did everything without complaining. She only didn't like that she didn't get to see Wook or her mother often any more. And she was absolutely forbidden to see Hak Soon. 

As soon as she was dropped off with her mother, she dismissed her maids and they all went about their separate ways to have some breakfast or to continue with chores. But Chae Ryung made her way expertly down one of the empty hallways of the palace that would lead her to Prince Won's quarters. Though he was married, he spent nearly no time at his own home with his wife and most of his time at the palace. He was always either with Yo, doing whatever his brother asked him to do, or alone in his room. Other times, he was seducing the young and naive maid to do everything he wanted. But she loved him so much that she would do anything for him. Even betray her friends for him.

"My prince." She bowed in a greeting as she entered the room.

It was still early in the morning, but the ninth prince had been still sleeping. He stirred in his bed, but finally woke up and shot her a glare. "What do you want now? I was sleeping. This better be good." He said to her in a sleepy and grumpy voice.

Chae Ryung thought she would apologize for disturbing him later. But she needed to tell him what she knew. It was important because the king had promised Won a lot of money if he could help in finding Eun and Han. Won, in return, had promised Chae Ryung money to help her family if she were to give him any information. But the maid did not just do it for her family. She was doing it out of the love and devotion that she felt for the ninth prince. She knew in her heart that he didn't entirely love her. But she would take any speck of his attention she could get her hands on.

"Someone was in the private baths last night." She started to explain, but Won cut her off with a scoff.

"And why should that be important to me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her in question.

She continued to explain as though he hadn't just rudely cut her off. She was blinded by the love that she felt for him. "There were toys all over the place--paper boats, fans, candles, and animals made out of cloth napkins." The mention of the last item definitely seemed to catch his attention.

"Napkin animals?" He asked.

She gave a nod of her head in affirmation. Chae Ryung added, "Princess Yeon Hwa made us clean up the mess quickly and threatened us not to tell anyone. She said we would be punished if his majesty were to find out."

Won thought about it as all the details came together. He had heard from some of the other maids that they were hearing footsteps and child's laughter coming from the abandoned hallways of the palace. But the palace was big and it was easy for the imagination to trick someone. He thought the maids were just hearing things, or were probably just trying to start drama to keep themselves entertained. Never did the thought cross his mind that his brothers might be hiding in the palace with their family. Not until Chae Ryung mentioned the napkin animals to him.

He only knew of one person who liked to do that.

"My brother Eun is here, I just know it." He said, and Chae Ryung stayed silent. "He used to make napkin animals in the bath since he was a kid. When he was dropped off in the palace the first couple of times as a small child, he wouldn't stop crying, and the only way his majesty could get him to shut up was by entertaining him with napkin rabbits. It has to be him. I must tell Yo immediately that he should send troops to check the whole palace."

The prince bolted out of bed and rushed to his faithful servant. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving her alone in the room. He practically ran down the halls of the palace to Yo's room, which was guarded by two palace soldiers. When they saw the ninth prince standing out in the hallway, they informed him the king was still sleeping, and that he wished for no one to interrupt his rest.

"This is important." Won insisted, trying to push past them. "My brother will thank me once he hears what I have to say."

The guards were reluctant, but they allowed the ninth prince into the room. Yo was in his bed, sleeping peacefully, when Won walked up and ruined his sleep. Yo was startled awake, thinking that someone was coming to take the throne from him. It was one of his latest fears, and he grabbed a knife from his bed side table and held it to his brother's neck before his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he knew exactly who it was.

Dropping the knife from his grip, he rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Won?"

"Eun and Han are here. They're hiding in the palace." He informed, and Yo's eyes widened. He was now fully awake at the news of his brothers.

"Are you sure?" The king wondered.

Won gave a nod of his head, absolutely positive. He knew Chae Ryung would never lie to him, and there was too much evidence to continue denying that the tenth prince was hiding there. It had to be them.

"You must send the troops to search the whole palace before they can escape." Won said. He would ask for his reward later. But it was a critical time and they needed to act fast if they wanted to capture Eun and Han, and their families. 

Yo called for the troops and gave them instructions to search the palace top to bottom. No one was to leave the palace and no one was to come in for the next eight hours. They all nodded and started their search. Everyone in the palace who was still sleeping were woken up by the commotion of voices and boots on the ground. Minji was woken up by the noise, and she shook her husband awake.

"They know we're here." She cried to him, tears streaming down her face.

"Get the children, quickly." He instructed her.

He grabbed the twins like the time they left their home at his grandfather's property. While Minji helped tie Jinki around his back with a piece of cloth like she did the first time. She grabbed their months old baby and were ready to make their escape when a knock was heard on their door. The couple froze in place, eyes widened in fear as they thought they would almost meet their impending doom.

-

this chapter has been ready and sitting in my drafts for four hours. 

i just didn't post it because i went out with my cousin. we went to have some fast food together and we also just talked about all our daily gossip. she also introduced me to the boy she likes. so that was interesting.

but anyway, thank you all loads for reading and supporting this story. only thirteen more updates before the end of the story.

have a wonderful night!

-clary