.two.

Eun finally let go of her arm after some hesitation, but still held the look at displeasure at her on his face. He only let her go for his brother's sake, who was a friend of hers, and seemed to be fond of the General's daughter. Minji fell back on her knees in the water, catching herself on her hands as she was no longer being held up by one of the Princes. The other one of the brothers who was there with them knelt down to help her get back on her feet and make sure she was okay.

"Jung-ah," Eun started in a rather whiny voice as he looked away from the girl who mysteriously appeared in the bath, his arms defiantly crossed over his chest. "I'm going back inside the palace. You deal with your friend." He turned and walked away, feet splashing water everywhere in an exaggerated way. As he put some distance between them, she heard Eun inform the other brothers who were watching them from where they sat, "There will be no punishment, brothers! It was just Jung-ah's friend, probably looking for him."

"What about the other one?" Another of the brothers asked.

Eun only gave a shrug of his shoulders.

Princes Jung and Eun, Minji made a mental note to remember their names since she didn't know how long she would be in that strange place and just how long she would have to play along, pretending that she knew them when she was certain that she didn't. Where am I that Princes still exist? Or maybe they're just faking, trying to mess with me?

Jung knelt down by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked her, full of concern.

She nodded slowly, but asked him a question with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Where do we know each other from, again?" She took a good look at his face, hoping to remember him from somewhere, anywhere. She found that he was very handsome, but otherwise it was no use. She didn't know him.

He sighed, giving a shake of his head. "You really need a doctor."

"I don't." She shook her head quickly, assuring him, "I'm fine. I just need to find my way back to where I came from..."

 And she needed to find Hajin, but she didn't know where she had been taken by the other girl who was with them. Now Minji was beginning to regret letting her go with a stranger when it would have been much safer for them to stick together. But the princes seemed to know her, and not Hajin. She didn't want them to hurt her for thinking she was trying to spy on them bathing.

Instead of listening to her words, Jung picked her up in his arms with a soft grunt and a minimal amount of a struggle. Both of them were dripping with water from the bath and Minji had just come to notice that he was undressed, other than the fact that he was still wearing pants. In a complaining tone, he told her, sounding like he was struggling to hold her in his arms. "Why do you have to wear your armor everywhere, Haksoon, really? Its so heavy." He thought it would have otherwise been easier to lift her, had she not been wearing the heavy metal armor.

"I honestly have no idea." She muttered, more to herself, as her hand ran over the slippery wet metal of her suit.

She decided it would be best to play along for the moment, until she could find Hajin and get out of there. Minji wrapped her slender arms around his neck securely, to keep herself from falling with her wet clothes underneath the metal armor. He carried her out of the warm water pool and into the palace where the other brothers were sitting, drying themselves off after their bath. Minji didn't know where to look and she felt a blush tinge her cheeks, seeing them all undressed before her.

"What is your friend doing here?" One of them wondered as Jung set her down at the foot of the pool to grab some towels for them. The rest of the princes either looked at her with hostility or curiosity. Some even a mixture of both.

Jung gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know, and she doesn't seem to remember anything, so I can't expect her to tell us either. Maybe she was trying to chase away that intruder and then she accidentally drowned. Her armor is very heavy and then with the water, it must have dragged her down." He explained to them. Kneeling once more at her side, he handed her a warm towel, saying to her in a whisper, "I'm going to get changed into a set of fresh clothes and then I'll take you back to your house, and call in a doctor for you. I'll be right back."

"Jung-ah, wait." She called, desperately reaching for his hand. He was the only one in the group who wasn't looking at her like she was an enemy. Him leaving her there would have been the equivalent of him throwing her into a lion's den. "Don't leave me here. I'll go with you."

From nearby, Eun scoffed, "You can't go into the prince's quarters. Are you dumb?"

Minji shot him a glare, but didn't respond.

As an idea came to him, he pulled away from the desperate grip she had on his hand and walked over to his brother. He grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards Minji as he suggested, "You can't go with me to my bedroom, but Eun hyung will take care of you until I come back. I'll just be a few minutes." He told her with a smile, confirming what Eun said, but with nicer words, and the way he spoke almost made her feel like she was a child. 

His brothers were also surprised at the gentle tone he had suddenly taken, since they knew Jung was normally more aggressive in his way of speaking. Out of all the princes, Jung was the one most interested in picking fights in order to better his martial arts skills. But he was concerned for his friend, and wanted to help her recover.

Minji watched the two of them with confusion.

So Eun is older than Jung, she thought to herself. But Jung was much taller, and Eun had more of a boyish face. She would have easily believed that it was the other way around.

Eun plopped down next to her at the foot of the pool, crossing his arms over his chest. Jung walked away and Minji looked down at the pool, feeling the burn of several pairs of eyes on her. 

There was a silence full of tension between everyone, and Minji considered getting up and making a run for it. From where she was sitting, she had a clear path to run towards the rocks where Hajin and the other girl disappeared. The only person slightly in her path was Eun. If she wanted to get out of there, she would need to be quick. 

Leaning towards her, Eun tried to meet her gaze, his childlike face just inches from hers. "Why are you really here?" He asked her, eyeing her with suspicion.

Minji gasped and pulled back to get some more distance between them. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she shoved him forward, pushing him into the pool in front of the surprised and watchful eyes of his brothers. With something of a struggle, she got back on her feet and ran out to the outer pool, her feet carrying her across the warm water towards the wall of boulders and rocks that separated their bathing area from the rest of it. 

She reached the area surrounded by trees and her wet, slippery hands grabbed at the rocks, trying to pull herself up. Her armor was too heavy to allow herself to climb the boulders, and tugged at the metal that at the moment felt like restraints to her. A few feet off, she heard footsteps splashing in the water, but she kept her focus on climbing and tried to pick up the pace.

She was halfway up when once again she felt a pull on her arm. Minji turned to see Eun again with a firm grip on her arm. "Let go!" She hissed as she struggled to get herself free.

"Get down from there, crazy wench!" He yelled at her.

"Wench? Who are you calling wench, shrimpy?" Minji gasped angrily, her eyes narrowing into thin slits. She quickly brought her foot up to his chest in retaliation, and tried to push him away. But she lost her footing and fell into the water below, on top of Prince Eun. He quickly pushed her off him and pinned her down with her hands at her sides. There was splashing of water all around them as both struggled, and soon she heard Jung's voice that hurried to her aid.

"Hyung, let her go!" He pushed his brother away from her.

"She attacked me first!" Eun defended himself.

"I'll take care of it." Jung said to him. "Please forgive her, she doesn't know what she's doing."

Eun got back on his feet and stomped off towards the inner pool where the other brothers were now watching with amusement. Jung grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto her feet. Both of them were drenched in the bath water once again.

Jung sighed. "I guess I'll just get changed after I get you home."

-

Minji had no choice but to follow Jung out of the palace. He had changed once more into a different set of clothes--explaining to her that he needed to dress like a commoner if he wanted to be able to leave the palace in peace. When he asked her if she would be okay riding a horse on her own, she shook her head quickly, confessing that she didn't remember how to do it. Though the truth was she didn't know how to horse ride because she had never been taught in her life.

He helped her out of her armor and tied it to the horse that would get them to her house. He had also let her borrow a cloak to wear over her wet clothes. 

As they passed a market place once far from the palace, he explained to her, "This is where we would often sneak out and you'd watch me fight people to practice my martial arts. You visited the palace often and we'd play wrestle together--you'd always beat me because I let you win." They passed various tents with people selling fruits, vegetables, or little trinkets such as hair pins. It almost seemed like she was in another life time. Jung's voice ripped through her thoughts once more. "Don't tell me you don't remember all of that?"

She shook her head absently. "I wish I could remember you, since you seem to know me so well. But I just don't, and I'm sorry."

He stopped his horse by tugging lightly on the reigns and easily jumped off. He tied the horse to a post nearby before he helped her off, grabbing her by the waist and easily placing her on her feet in front of him. Now she could feel herself shivering from the cold of her wet clothes. They had arrived at a grand house which was smaller compared to the palace, and they were greeted at the entrance by two men dressed in the same armor she had been wearing earlier.

"Lady Hak Soon." One of the two men at the door greeted, and next they bowed in front of Jung. "Prince Wang Jung."

Everyone seemed to be mistaking her for someone named Hak Soon.

"I came to bring her home." Jung explained to the guards with concern. "She needs a doctor right away. She doesn't remember me, and she doesn't remember who she is."

I remember who I am, she wanted to repeat to him just as she had done earlier. But no one was listening to her. They were all hell-bent on insisting that her name was Park Hak Soon, and that she was the general's daughter. 

A girl that was nearby overheard them and rushed to see what was going on. She was dressed in similar armor to the one Minji had when she resurfaced in the princes' bath. Her eyes filled with recognition as she jumped forward and pulled Minji in for a hug. "Omo, yeo dongsaeng!" She said, full of relief. Yeo dongsaeng--younger sister, she had called her. "Appa and I have been so worried about you. You said you were going to visit Jung-ah this morning and come right back to have breakfast with us, but hours passed and we didn't hear from you."

"I'm so sorry. But who are you?" Minji asked her as they pulled away.

The girl eyed her with confusion, taken aback by Minji's words. "I'm your unnie. I'm Soon Duk."

"I don't have any sisters, and my name isn't Hak Soon--"

"She lost her memory." Jung informed Soon Duk, interrupting Minji's explanation.

Soon Duk's expression quickly changed from confusion to worry in a millisecond.

-

posting something on here since about a day and a half passed since i last uploaded anything. i have two more chapters pre-written, so that should keep me without worrying about updates for another good few days.

thank you all for your love and support, it means a lot.

now i have to get to piano class. but i'll be seeing you all later. take care and have a wonderful week! ^.^

-clary xx