"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," the princess breathes. "That they will be whoever they want to be, and that they'll never ever have to carry a sword wherever they go."
"I live for you," Jeongguk answers. Simply because, he...
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THE DAYS SEEM TO PASS by in quick motion; the seasons fade in and out like soft lullabies. The colours of spring faded into the heat of summer. Finally, autumn comes, bathing the trees in a scarlet and caramel hazed, crisp leaves.
With the changing of seasons, Jeongguk's wariness grows. The tension in the castle has grown significantly thicker—with the king still making no progress in recovery and Mirador's sceptical silence. These days, the anxious feeling that disaster could strike at any given moment, at any second of the day or the night, makes Jeongguk feels like he's wobbling on a thin piece of thread with boiling hot lava underneath him.
If he feels this way, he can't imagine how the royal family would be holding up—how distressed Saeron would feel.
Over the past few months it's safe to say that they've developed a stronger bond, although Jeongguk never dares to stray too far over the line between Princess and subject.
On days when he takes notice of the deepened frown on her face and the uneasiness in her movements, he bends the rules a little and steps out of his boundaries to afford Saeron some time and space to breath—quiet nights of both of them chatting about their day in her garden, sneaking out into the woods behind the castle to catch fireflies in little glass bottles, and sparring with each other for fun when the training fields are empty.
You would think someone would grow suspicious, but really, everyone is just too stressed about the future to even notice. Or maybe they just preferred to stay silent because its the princess that's involved.
However, Jeongguk's wariness doubles whenever he's reminded that there will always be someone who is watching them. In fact, Jeongguk is positive that the commander still harbours a little distrust towards him.
One day during the late fall Jeongguk stumbles into Taehyung at the training field when all of the other knights have retreated back to the castle for rest. The long day of practising his horseback riding around the field has already worn out most of his limbs and as soon as he reaches his limit, he dismounts and crashes his back on the grass.
