Five days later, and it was finally the day of Yona's sixteenth birthday celebration. 

Ji-ah had been with Yona most of the day from helping her to prepare to standing next to her and their father as people came up to offer their congratulations. If Ji-ah was being honest, she was starting to grow tired of interacting with guests that were only there for the sake of political politeness.

Still, she kept on her own polite smile until they all left to do whatever nobles do at a birthday celebration. She had to keep herself from sighing in relief after the last person offered their congratulations. Though, now she had to deal with her father's crying. 

"Sixteen years old," he sobbed. "My precious Yona has grown up so beautifully."

Unfortunately, Yona didn't even pay his words any notice. "Father, my hair is in a curly mess," she pouted, twirling a strand of her hair. "I wanted to put my hair up today. It looks awful."

The king sulked. "It's no use. The only thing this girl thinks of is her hair."

He muttered a few more words before going to speak with some of the guests, and it didn't take long for Yona to run off either. Ji-ah could only assume that she had gone to see Soo-won. 

And so Ji-ah was left alone once more. 

Almost immediately, she went to go and linger around the food table. She was a hungry person. Sue her. Besides, it's not like anybody else was really munching on any of the food. There was no way that she was going to let such delicious food go to waste. 

"Princess Ji-ah?" 

"Hmm?" Ji-ah turned around to face the one who spoke, making sure to quickly swallow the food that had been stuffed into her mouth. "Ah, Tae-jun, how can I help you?"

Her smile had become even more forced, not that he could tell. Kan Tae-jun was not exactly known for his ability to read the room. 

"Do you perhaps know where Princess Yona went?" he asked. "I couldn't help but notice that she appeared to be missing from her own celebration."

"I apologize," Ji-ah told him, putting on her best business smile; the one that was deceiving in appearance and often led others into a false sense of security. "But it would seem that she has gone off with Soo-won. I would suggest against disturbing them." Ji-ah's smile twitched a bit deviously. "Unless, of course, you don't mind having to deal with Hak once more."

In an instant, Tae-jun paled, sweat pouring down his face as he laughed awkwardly. "Ah, no, that's fine. I wouldn't want to interrupt anybody!"

And as Ji-ah had hoped, he scurried off in a matter of seconds. She had to control herself and make sure that she didn't start laughing at the sight. 

At least she had found one source of amusement. 

Deciding that she was done with socializing for the day, Ji-ah stuffed some food into a bag for later and strolled right on out of the room, paying no heed to the conversing nobles around her. Every few seconds she would stuff a cookie into her mouth as she wandered about the castle. She continued this for nearly ten minutes before she finally ran into somebody she didn't actually mind talking to. 

"Hello, Hak," Ji-ah smiled up at the surprised man. 

"I will figure out how you do that one day," he grumbled, ruffling the girl's hair.

"I have no doubts," she agreed before going to go and sit on a nearby railing. 

If it's not yet apparent, Ji-ah had a bit of a habit of sitting on them. 

They were surprisingly comfy. 

In the meantime, Hak's eyes narrowed at the princess as she sat quietly. 

There was something wrong. 

It was hard to tell, especially with half of the girl's face covered, but there was a barely noticeable underlying tension about her. If Hak hadn't known her for as long as he'd had, he probably would have missed it. 

"Wanna tell me what's on your mind?" He finally asked, taking a seat on the railing himself. 

Ji-ah didn't bother questioning what he meant or bother with trying to deny anything. It would have been a waste of time. Still, she was quiet for a few moments before she finally answered. 

"Do you sense it?" she asked. 

"Sense what?"

"That something's wrong," Ji-ah replied as Hak's eyebrows raised a bit. This was starting to seem very similar to the conversation that he'd just had with Soo-won. 

"What do you mean?"

"I just—" Ji-ah just shook her head as though trying to wipe the thought out of her head. "I just have a bad feeling is all."

"..." Hak looked to be in thought. He'd had the same feeling all day, and he was starting to doubt that it was a coincidence, especially after Ji-ah's and Soo-won's own admissions. 

Before he had the chance to reply, Ji-ah's voice broke through the silence. "Hak?" she started. "I can trust you, right?"

Hak's eyes widened as he looked at her in surprise. A worried frown was drawn on her face as she clenched her fists. Hak had never seen such a look on her face before, not even when the queen had died. 

Hak, with a sudden determination, stood up before kneeling in front of Ji-ah. 

"I was told by His Majesty to protect both you and Princess Yona," he told her.  "No matter what happens…

I will obey him completely!"

*****

Ji-ah sat on the railing outside her bedroom as night fell.

She didn't move even as she heard yelling all throughout the castle. She paid no mind to the rushing about of the guards, and she only sighed wearily as she noticed Hak's and Yona's presence getting further and further away from the castle. She was just relieved by the fact that they still had a presence. 

Unfortunately, she couldn't say the same for her father. 

Ji-ah had noticed earlier on that something strange was occurring within the castle walls. It wasn't exactly difficult to tell, either, especially with so many of the guards acting so strangely. Plus, there were her bad dreams and overall bad vibes that she had been getting all throughout the day.

However, Ji-ah had no plans of interfering in the current turn of events. She knew that it wasn't quite the right moment, or, at the very least, that's what the heavens seemed to be telling her. Whatever was going on was a problem for future Ji-ah, and she was sure that it was going to hit her like a crate full of stone bricks to the face. 

She let out yet another sigh before heading inside, awaiting the terrible news that was bound to come her way.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for a guard to come rushing into her room, grabbing her attention as she sat up from where she had been pretending to be asleep.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, confusion laced in her tone. 

"I—" the guard hesitated. "I apologize, Princess Ji-ah, but I'm afraid that the king has just been killed."

"..." Ji-ah was quiet. She already knew that her father was gone. She could tell the moment his life force died, after all. However, something about hearing it said out loud made it seem more real. She would never see King Il, her father, ever again. "And Yona?"

"..." the guard hesitated, a bit unnerved at the girl's calmness. "It's uncertain right now, but it would seem that both Princess Yona and General Hak have gone missing from the castle."

"And what of father's killer?" She had an inkling of an idea, but she had to ask.

"I'm sorry," the guard apologized. "It's still unknown, but Lord Soo-won and General Joo-doh are already investigating."

"I see," Ji-ah sighed before standing up and making her way to the door. "Then I suppose that this is no time to be sleeping the night away."

"I'm sorry, Princess Ji-ah," the girl raised a brow as the guard stepped in her way. "But Lord Soo-won has ordered that we make sure you stay safe in your room until further notice."

"Oh?" Chills crept up the back of the guard as Ji-ah tilted her head innocently. It sounded and looked innocent enough at first glance, but there was something about her tone that made the guard question if this was truly the calm and gentle Ji-ah that everybody knew and was proud of. 

"I'm truly sorry!" The guard bowed as sweat dripped down his face. 

"..." the guard fought the urge to fidget under Ji-ah's relentless aura that she seemed to exude. He barely contained his breath of relief once the princess finally let out a resigned sigh. "Very well," she told him. "But I'd prefer if you stayed stationed outside of my room if at all possible. I'm not too fond of others outside of my family inside my quarters."

"A-ah, yes, of course!" 

"Thank you, you can leave now."

Ji-ah withheld her amusement as the guard immediately scurried out of the room as if hell itself was after him. 

She supposed it wasn't an entirely inaccurate comparison. 

*****

1574 words excluding A/N

Finished - November 12, 2021

Bye ~