.eighty five.

-

"Eun-ie and the kids really hate it though. He's never known struggling his entire life and it kills him to have to sit still for even a bit. He's like my fifth child."

-

The days after their escape went by eternally slow and Minji felt like the day of their escape wasn't coming around fast enough. Yo had sent troops to stay posted at his brother's home, in case they were to return. But the couples weren't dumb enough to return home. Instead they were hiding in the palace, the very place where the king himself lived. It had been easy to get in, thanks to an intricate system of caves and tunnels that went to and from the palace. Since they were being searched for through the entire kingdom, Yo had gotten more guards to patrol the house. They were mostly made to look out for the princes, since they it was more commonly known what they looked like.

That meant that Soon Deok could come and go as she pleased, and she used that to her advantage. For the first few days, she stole court lady attire and used that to find a way out of the palace. The caves were no longer a possibility, as Wook had informed Yo that it was a way to go about the palace without being detected. The king immediately had them closed off with large rocks.

On one of her walks around the palace, she had been carrying a tray with tea and snacks to the kitchen when she bumped into someone. The tray slipped from her grasp, but her reflexes were faster and she was able to catch it before it touched the ground. She lifted her eyes and they widened in shock when she saw someone she recognized, but it was someone who recognized her as well. His voice seemed to drop down into a low whisper full of surprise. "Sister in law?" Baek-ah asked, not sure if he was seeing things or not. But it had to be her, since she seemed utterly terrified that she had been caught.

A part of him was glad that she was alive because that had to mean Han was most likely still alive, and so were their children. Another part of him ached for Eun and Hak Soon, since he didn't know about their whereabouts. Then he also feared for their lives. If they were hiding in the palace, and Baek-ah knew security had gotten tighter, he knew it would be extremely difficult to make it out of there alive. Last, his thoughts were in that moment with her. If anyone were to overhear them, they would no doubt run to the king and tell him that the people he was looking for were hiding in the palace.

She looked down to the ground and quickly shook her head. "Prince Baek-ah, I am merely a court lady."

He nodded in agreement, not wanting to insist. "Yes, right." He cleared his throat awkwardly. But he looked around to make sure they weren't being watched. "I just...you look like someone I used to know. Carry on. But...I would like for you to bring me some tea, and some lunch to my private quarters."

The thirteenth prince knew he would be able to talk to her alone there, if only for a few minutes. But that was enough for him to know, to ask if everyone was alright, and if there was anything he could do to help. They were his brothers after all and Baek-ah knew they had done Yo no harm. They didn't want the throne. The king had merely wanted to get them out of the way because they came from one of the most powerful families in the country. 

Soon Deok nodded her head quickly and bowed in respect before scurrying off towards the kitchen. Once there, she dropped off the tray of used items and asked the court ladies to prepare another one for her. Another of the court ladies told her with disdain that the thirteenth prince had a set of maids assigned to him, and that they would prepare his meal and take it to him. But Soon Deok insisted that the prince had asked for her personally, and they had no other choice but to comply. As the general's daughter made her way to his private quarters, she noticed how it was in a secluded part of the palace, as most of the other princes' private quarters were. That was to ensure that the noise of the palace would not disturb them.

She knocked on his door and he opened it for her, a warm smile displayed on his face that was also full of relief as he led her inside.

"I wasn't sure what had happened when Yo told us you four had escaped." He heaved a sigh of relief. But he knew he had to be quick, since they didn't have much time, so she set the tray down and he went straight to the point. "Are my brothers well? What about Hak Soon? And the children?" He wondered.

She nodded her head slowly. "We are all well. There will be a boat waiting to take us away from here in three days time."

"What can I do to help?" He asked her, immediately willing to lend his help.

"The caves that lead out of the castle." Soon Deok began to explain to him. "That's how we got here and Yo had them covered up. I need you to help us clear the path so that we can make a swift escape for the docks in three days."

The thirteenth prince gave a nod of his head. "I can help with that. I'm sure Jung and Soo-yah would be willing to help as well.

But the general's daughter was hesitant. It was bad enough that Baek-ah had spotted her, since she wanted to go undetected the entire time. Now having Jung and Hae Soo knowing about where they were as well, Soon Deok just knew it would not end well. It wasn't that she didn't trust them or that she thought they would go to the king. But three people knowing was far too many and she didn't want word to reach Yo. He would turn the palace upside down to find them.

But then she thought of Jung and his military training. He was tactical and fast, he was good at what he did. Perhaps having another military man on their side would be of benefit to them. And then there was Hae Soo who was a court lady. She knew the palace like the back of her hand and could likely even get away with murder if she wanted.

With a sigh, Soon Deok finally said, "If we must. I know Hak Soon would put her trust in them, so I can too."

-

Baek-ah found Hae Soo first and informed her that the tenth and eleventh princes were hiding in the palace. He didn't tell her where they were staying exactly, but she knew it straight away. No doubt they were hiding in Eun's old bedroom and Han's old bedroom in the palace. Sometimes the other court ladies murmured to each other how they heard strange noises when they seldom walked down those halls to sweep the hallways or to get to other parts of the house. Some of them mentioned that in the past couple of days they could hear the giggling of children, or even footsteps in some of the rooms. But they knew the rooms had been abandoned for years now and did not want to check, as they were not brave enough.

As the highest ranking court lady at the palace, Hae Soo could disappear for a while without being looked for or questioned. She left the other ladies to their chores and went to go see for herself if Eun and Minji were alive and well. She also hadn't seen her best friend in so long that she merely only wanted a glimpse of her, since she knew from Baek-ah they were planning to leave Goryeo.

She knocked on the door and there was dead silence on the other side. It was understandable, Hae Soo thought to herself. If they were trying to hide and not to be spotted, it was clear that they would not make any noise if they heard anyone knocking. But her breath caught in her throat as she touched the door and slid it to the side to open it. Inside was the family of six--Prince Eun standing protectively in front of his family and blocking them from sight. Immediately behind him was Minji with a month old baby in her arms, and behind her were three small children. They were Soo Hyun, Eun Bi, and Jinki. 

"Soo-yah..." The name slipped out of Eun's mouth, flooded with relief.

At the mention of her name, Minji gasped and picked herself up from the ground as quickly as she possibly could. She went past Eun after handing their baby over to him and closed the distance between herself and Hae Soo, throwing her arms around her friend who she hadn't seen in years. "Oh Haj--Hae Soo," She always forgot that in their past life, her friend was named Hae Soo. Minji had gotten used to being called Hak Soon, but she would never get used to calling her friend Hae Soo. "My best friend, I have missed you dearly."

Hae Soo closed the door behind herself and stepped further into the room.

Minji grabbed a hold of her hand and led her towards the children whose little eyes were widened in fear. Minji and Eun didn't want to scare them, but they felt forced to in order to keep them quiet. They had told the children that a bad man was looking for them, and that he would find them if they made any noise. The children now thought that anyone that came in through that door might be someone who might potentially hurt them.

Minji knelt down on the floor and beckoned for the children to come to her. Jinki was the first, and he hid in his mother's arms, as he often did. Minji was most worried for him because their cabin was supposed to be secluded in the middle of the woods in Japan. There would be no easy way to get a doctor to them if Jinki got sick. But as long as she could prolong his life, even the slightest bit, she saw that as a start. The twins followed their younger brother and Minji began to explain who that person was. "Don't be afraid, little ones. This is your aunt Hae Soo. I've known her since I was a little girl and we've always been best friends."

Eun looked to the two of them with confusion. He didn't know why his wife was telling his children that. He had known Park Hak Soon since he was a kid and they had basically grown up together. Never in his life did he even remember Hae Soo ever being there. Yet Hak Soon spoke as though they were childhood best friends who had grown up together. The tenth prince could not understand it. It was one of the many little rarities that his wife said. 

Hajin knelt by Minji's side and held her arms out for the children to go to her. Eun Bi and Soo Hyun looked to Eun, and he nodded. The children then hesitantly went to her and she enveloped them in a hug.

"It must be terrible being locked up in this tiny room for several days." Hajin looked to her friend, making conversation.

Minji shrugged her shoulders. "I think its fine mostly, since everything is the same to me." She meant it in the sense that she could have a beautiful scenery before her and would not be able to enjoy it because she could not see it. Gesturing to Eun, she continued. "Eun-ie and the kids really hate it though. He's never known struggling his entire life and it kills him to have to sit still for even a bit. He's like my fifth child." Minji said the last bit with some amusement, and Eun jutted his bottom lip into a pout.

"I'm not a kid. I'm a manly man." The tenth prince protested. 

Hajin saw the interaction between them and almost melted on the spot. Even after six years of being married, they loved each other very much. At first, Hajin thought her friend would be very unhappy by the prince's side. But now she thought exactly the opposite. They would be most unhappy apart from each other. They were each other's lives.

"So manly." Minji said playfully.

"I mean, you even confused me with your father the other time we were in bed." He pointed out and Minji felt herself go red in the face. "You called me, daddy. Remember?"

The general's daughter stuttered nervously. 

"Geez, Eun, that was only for your ears to hear." She said, feeling like her face was burning up.

But even then, at least, she was glad that he was smiling. It was a distraction from his moods in which he continuously complained about wanting to go outside. Then he was having periods where he would recall that his family had been taken prisoner and that they were all potentially dead. Minji most disliked those little periods of time because he was so mopey and upset, and she wanted nothing more than to console him. But there was only so much she could do. It was his mother, his grandfather, and his aunts after all. She also knew that he felt like they had all died because of him. The rumors were that he wanted the throne, not all of them.

Hajin spent some time with the family, catching up and remembering old times. As she got up to leave though, she warned Minji and the family to stay hidden and as quiet as possible. Yo was looking for them, and if he were to find them in the palace, he would have them killed in a public display, just like he had done with Eun's family.

-

i hope you all like this update. 

im going to try to update this once more tonight, so please stay tuned for that. now we have eun and minji once again. and we have little eun being twenty four years old, but also being an innocent little bean.

i hope you're all having a wonderful day/night.

-clary