"Are you alright, dear?" Leader of Daegu's wife asked, giving Erin a concerned look. "You seem flushed."

Erin simply smiled, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Look at the both of you! You look amazing!"

The ladies, Solar, the Leader of Mokpo's wife and Wheein, the Leader of Daegu's wife grinned at her, commenting on the expense of the material and how it came from overseas as they pulled her into a welcoming hug.

Solar wore a pink and white hanbok -- which she claimed had been shipped all the way from France but was obviously not the case -- and a red daenggi tied to her braided blond hair. She had a face full of makeup which didn't surprise Erin at all knowing how wealthy she was, but it seemed to knock the air out of Chaeyeon's lungs. A cherry blossom fragrance hugged the lady and Erin recalled her once saying that the Queen gifted it to her.

Wheein was dressed in a green and grey hanbok, the representative colours of Daegu and had an olive green embroidered daenggi in her short, charcoal hair. She, too, had a face full of makeup but it was clear whatever she used was less expensive than Solar's but pricey nonetheless. Wheein's perfume frequently changed and Erin found herself almost immediately asking where the new sweet fragrance was from.

"Who's this?" Solar eyed Chaeyeon cautiously. "She does not look strong enough to be a Guardian."

"She's Seungmin's fiancée. The wedding is next week. You should consider coming. It will be amazing."

"Wedding?" Wheein cheered as she linked her arm around Chaeyeon and led her away. "I love weddings! My wedding was amazing! There were fireworks and a buffet and-"

"How's the other Guardian boy doing? Oh, what's his name again?" Solar asked as she and Erin followed behind the two ladies in front of them. "Hyunjin, yes. How is he doing?"

"He's alright. Last I checked he was with Nathaniel."

"Ah yes, Nathaniel," she hummed. "Is he still as dreamy as ever?"

Erin shot the lady a disgusted look, suppressing a sarcastic statement. One look at the girl's expression and Solar derided.

"I was joking, hon. Tell me, is there a French restaurant here? Or anything foreign? I'm famished and, as you know, I only ever eat foreign food."

"Of course, Solar. Like I would ever forget."

"Good," she grinned.

They walked in silence towards a local Japanese restaurant. It wasn't the 'foreign cuisine' Erin knew Solar wanted but she knew that the chefs knew how to make their dishes appear 'foreign' even when they aren't. And that was enough to fool Solar every time she visited Busan.

"That girl," the Leader of Mokpo's wife finally spoke up. "Where is she from?"

"Which girl?"

"Seungmin's fiancée. Something about her feels off."

"Off?"

"She keeps on waving at commoners and I'm starting to get the impression she was a commoner too once. You know I cannot mingle with commoners. It would ruin my reputation... now thinking about it, you wave at commoners a lot too... Were you once a commoner?"

"Did I mention how beautiful your dress is?" Erin instantly changed the subject. The serious look on Solar's face immediately changed into a smile.

"It is, isn't it? I got it straight from France. A famous designer named Louis Jacques made it, you wouldn't know him. He's too popular for this country. He's the designer that makes the Queen of England's dresses. Where is your dress from? I know many commoners buy theirs from the local market. But civil ladies like us would never stoop that low, right?"

"Your hair looks so silky! What have you been using?" she once again attempted to change the subject.

"A good friend of mine from India gifted a cart of organic plants to me for my birthday. I wouldn't expect you to know any of the plants. Just a leaf already costs ten times the amount of this ratty town."

Everything inside her wanted to correct Solar and tell her that Busan was certainly not 'ratty' and she had been one of the people to help build it up into what it was today -- of course, with the help of the other Guardians -- but she instantly decided against it. In Solar's eyes, everything 'local' was considered cheap and Erin swore it was only that way because the Leader of Mokpo's wife paid a lot of attention to the cost of shipping. Most of the stuff Solar owned probably wasn't even as expensive as she made it out to be and Erin knew there were most likely better materials and products within South Korea that Solar never bothered to associate herself with.

Erin knew it was not Solar's fault for being this way -- and the same applied to Wheein -- and the way they viewed life was mainly impacted by what they had been brainwashed with as children. As someone who came from a small town with nothing particularly special about her, Erin always hated being in the two ladies' snobbish presence but she knew she had to deal with it to keep the peace between the towns. She just had to hold on for one afternoon with the ladies and then she'll free of their presence for the next few months.

***

"The crimson flag?" Nathaniel almost spat out his drink of water when Erin sprinted into the living room of the Guardian Building, rambling on about everything the Leaders of Daegu and Mokpo's wives had told her.

In the room sat Nathan, Jeongin, Chan and Minho who had just halted when she guessed had been a pleasant conversation. They all glanced at her as though they had seen a ghost, watching intently as she paced around the room.

"Yes, Solar said it's information everyone in the west knows. She said she doesn't know when it was put up or if it is specifically aimed at us but she does know that the Royal Army passed the Royal-Guardian Territory border yesterday. Who knows how long it will be until they show up in Busan?"

"I'm confused," Chaeyeon admitted, turning everyone's attention to her as she lingered by the door frame. "What is 'the crimson flag'?"

"Whenever the Royal Army leaves the Palace with the intention of going to war, a crimson flag is drawn in the centre of Seoul. This means the Royal Army is going to war now... and probably against us," Jeongin explained.

"The Royal-Guardian Territory border to Busan is still a four-day journey riding horseback," Chan reminded them. "And that is only if they take the Masan route... which they wouldn't."

"Why not?" Minho asked, glancing at all of them. "Is it something to do with the remains of Masan or..."

"The Royal Army would happily prance through Masan just to see the damage they caused," Erin tensed her jaw at the thought but quickly shook it off as she added, "they wouldn't go through Masan because the area is the pathway between the town and the border is filled with bandits. And the last thing you want is to be robbed when marching to war."

"Certainly this whole war thing isn't that big of a deal, is it?" Minho tried to clear the tension by tittering but was met with serious gazes, "is it?"

"As you said, Your Highness," Nathaniel hummed as he stood up. "Your father is set on ruling over the whole country and the people getting in the way of that is us. And I'd rather die than ever willingly hand over the east to him. So, yes, this whole war thing is that big of a deal."

"Where are you going?" Chan mumbled as Nathan pushed past Chaeyeon to leave the room.

The Leader of the Guardians didn't even spare him a look as he responded, "To get Hyunjin and Seungmin. We need to hold a Guardian meeting. Now."