I failed to see what you didn't show.

Inhee felt guilty about not spending enough time with her brother, and she also had to tell him about her identity sooner or later, so she decided to visit him.

"Inhee!" Seokjin welcomed her happily.

"Your Majesty," she bowed. He gestured for the guards to leave. "Brother, are you sick?" she asked, concerned upon seeing him lying in his bed, bundled up in sheets.

"It's only fever," he assured her. "I'm very disappointed, it turns out nobody cares about me except for Taehyung."

"He visited you? I was planning to come over sooner-"

"He's been visiting me," he chuckled, gesturing her to sit beside him, "I must admit when you agreed to this marriage I was extremely worried, but now I'm happy, Inhee, very happy for you."

"Are you going to cry, Your Majesty?" she teased.

He laughed. "Don't call me that, nobody's around," then he broke out in a fit of cough. She handed him the glass of water.

"What did the physician say?" she asked, concerned as she noticed his pale face and weakness.

"Less than a week and I will be able to lift Jungkook," the sound of his laughter filled the room, the one she found very contagious," You don't have to worry about me."

"How come the words didn't reach me about your health?" she frowned, feeling betrayed.

"Because I didn't want you to know, but now that you are here, there's some more you should know." She wondered if this was about her.

"It appears that the Crimson Kingdom and the Silver Kingdom have officially emerged their forces."

"A war?" she asked.

"Yes. King Namjoon has already begun setting up more men at our borders and securing the small towns nearby. I've sent Junkook in my stead to assist him," he smiled tenderly at her concerned face, "no, Inhee. We should embrace the positive side of this. I'm so relieved to have formed this new bond with the Black Kingdom. The king is helping me tremendously. Honestly, I wasn't expecting their kindness."

Hearing that made Inhee feel a little relieved, even when the word 'war' was weighing down her shoulders. She decided against telling her brother about the issue since he already had a lot to take care of.

She watched the sunset in the far west, day after another, a week had passed already. The time of war was getting closer and closer. She never feared for her life, but for the people she loved, realizing just how much she had to lose.

_______

"It's getting worse Inhee!" Jungkook whispered, keeping his voice from being heard outside the closed doors. Inhee wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks. A gloom had clouded their palace, Inhee didn't know where to go and who to ask for help when the person she relied on the most was not well.

"The physician said he was getting better," She frantically ran her hands through her hair, and then a thought struck her mind, freezing her in her spot. "Jungkook. We can't trust the people around us. Call a physician from downtown."

Right after Jungkook left, she closed the door again with her shaking hands. The new fears that crept into her mind made her breathless. She won't let anyone harm the people she loves. She ran through the hall, lifting her gown with clutched fists. The sound of her knuckles rapping on the door echoed in the empty, narrowed passageway.

"Inhee?" Taehyung opened the door.

She pushed him inside, quickly closing the door behind them. His lips parted in concern. "Taehyung, I need your help. We are not safe in this palace-"

Somebody knocked on the door. She opened the door, keeping a steady hand on top of the hidden dagger on her thigh.

The servant bowed at her. "Your Royal Highness, a messenger has come looking for you."

She turned to Taehyung, pleading. "Please, I need you to stay with my brother."

"He's safe with me," he squeezed her palm.

_______

She found a man standing by the palace gates, he bowed at her and handed her a letter.

Your Royal Highness,

The King of Crimson Kingdom, your uncle, wishes me to write you this letter to express his concerns for your king's health. His Majesty said, "It has been a long time, my dear niece. I was in utter sorrow when I heard about your King's condition. Tell him to gain strength, as we never know what follows the new sunrise. I wish for you to know that I have always been looking for you. I cannot express how glad I am to know that you are alive. The joy of meeting you soon ran through me like poison in the veins. In desperation or sadness, you can look out for me. Only I can help you, as the last of your family." His Majesty asked me to send you his best wishes.

Yours Sincerely,

King Jung Johan

Courtier

To Princess Lee Inhee

Inhee clutched the letter tight in her grip. The words 'poison in the veins,' 'only I can help you,' and 'sunrise' replayed in her mind as she ascended the stairs leading to the King's chamber.

The king was deep in sleep, his face paler as time went by. Taehyung got up on his feet from the chair beside the bed. He immediately reached out to Inhee, meeting eyes with her in concern. "Who was it?"

Inhee shook her head, burying the letter in the back of her gown. She didn't want him to be worried more than he already was, and also she wasn't sure about everything yet. "Somebody wanted to meet Jungkook," she lied.

Upon hearing Jungkook's name, he nodded first, but then his face scrunched up in concentration as he pulled her closer by putting his arms on top of her shoulders.

He whispered, "Princess, I don't have other words to say this to you, but don't blindly trust anyone."

She was about to ask what he meant before Taehyung pulled a box out of his pocket. The name Inhee was engraved on it with 'the princess of the Crimson Kingdom' under it, and inside of it was an emerald pendant.

"The first time I tried to get into your room through the window, I entered Prince Jungkook's, thinking it was yours. I found this box, on top of his desk. This implies that he already knew the truth about your identity. If you don't believe me, you should ask him about this, but please I need you to stay safe. Promise me you will be careful, hmm?"

Only halfway making sense of everything he was saying, she said, "I promise."

Her feet began taking her to Jungkook's room without the need for command. It was like a cord struck in her that played an off-tune sound, and she had to halt the lovely music to figure it out.

He could have gotten the pendant to give her as a present someday. But she remembers, crystal clear, seeing this box on his desk even when she was young. She once tried reaching out to take it, standing on her tippy-toes, but he was fast to snatch it and put it on a higher shelf. She has never seen the box after that day.

How do you break something that is already broken? Just how many more people will tear my heart into tiny pieces?

She sat on Jungkook's bed, waiting for him to return. Although she had promised Taehyung that she would be careful, she doubted she could ever hurt her best friend.

She would happily let him stab her a million times, but she'd like to know what she did to deserve that. She could hear the heavy footsteps and panting coming closer. Her eyes closed in distress, wishing this was a dream.

"Inhee?" he asked upon spotting her on his bed, "The physician will be here soon."

She looked up at him, weakly, with no expressions on her face, and raised the pendant in her hand. His expression shifted from shock to horror.

The urge she held to laugh like a mad woman because she could read him like an open book, could see how he was struggling to not let his expressions slip.

"I want the truth only, Jungkook. You knew about everything, didn't you?" He visibly gulped, hands clasping together, as he got closer to her. "You knew I'm the princess of Crimson Kingdom and you never told me!"

"Wait, I can explain."

"Was it you who sold my information to Yoongi?" she gritted her teeth.

His mouth opened and closed, unable to say a word. She waited another moment, granting him another chance, but his inability to talk confirmed her doubt.

Inhee smiled through her pain. "Just say no Jungkook. I have been praying to hear a no from you, please."

Don't we all wish we could paint reality with our hopes and wishful thinking?

He panicked, putting his hand on hers as he stumbled on his words, "That, no, I mean."

She flinched away from his touch. "Don't come closer! How could you do this to me?"

He just stared at her with the same innocence brimming in his enlarged anxious eyes, the ones she never imagined could betray her.

She rushed out of his room, slamming the door. She knew she could cry, she could fall apart but now was not the time. Her King needs her, and she will do everything she can to protect him.

She pulled open her drawer, taking out the seal King Namjoon had given her.

Your Majesty,

I'm in desperate need of your help. Please send a royal physician. As you might know already, my brother's health is in critical condition. I have come to find out that he has been poisoned. This information was disclosed to me in a letter that was sent to me by the King of the Crimson Palace, who is my uncle. When we visited the Silver Kingdom, my childhood companion told me about my true identity. He claimed I am the Princess of the Crimson Palace, and his claim was proved right by the letter I received from the king this morning. That letter was a threat. They are going to attack at sunrise. The lives of the people in my Kingdom now rely on you. I am surrounded by danger. Therefore, I am reaching my hand out to you in hopes that you will not let me be disappointed as you promised me that day.

Yours sincerely

Princess Lee Inhee

To King Kim Namjoon

She knew her guard wouldn't be stopped from delivering this to King Namjoon as it had his seal on it, nobody in the Black Kingdom would stop him, she was certain. Now, she could only rely on him to lead the army and guard her people whilst she guarded her brother.