Journey Into the Knight

Chapter Thirty-One

18+ warning for the end of the chapter!

YongSun did not know what to think. She was standing three feet from her mother, someone she had not seen since the day her father had died. She never had a good relationship with her mother. From a young age, her mother always scolded YongSun for not acting like a proper princess, it was the main reason she did not love wearing dresses. She can appreciate a beautiful gown, but when it was the only thing she was allowed to wear, she started resenting them a bit. She was always quick to tell her to sit up straight or to talk more properly. She was more of a mentor than a mother.

She didn't know why she never expected to see her mother in this castle, but she didn't. And now here she was, standing close enough to touch, and YongSun wanted nothing more than to walk back to her bed chamber and lock herself in. But YongSun took a calming breath, stood up taller, and smiled like she wanted to be there. The King gave a little speech about keeping it a secret from the kingdom as a surprise to YongSun but she wasn't sure she bought that, she was sure the king had a different reason for bringing her mother here.

YongSun looked out into the crowd, looking for TaeOh or some other familiar face. Her eyes caught on Byul's symbol, her little message to them. She wondered why the warrior would take such a big risk by putting her symbol on the paper lantern, but the lantern was only about the size of a hand and the marking was small enough to be mistaken for dirty if you weren't looking that hard, or if you didn't recognize the symbol. YongSun hoped no one noticed it. "YongSun?" The Queen's voice interrupted her mind's rambling. She turned to find her mother looking at her, the king was gone and the crowd had gone back to the party. YongSun forced her mind to be blank, leaving no emotion for the queen to read. Her mother's face softened probably for the first time in her whole life. "How are you doing? You have no idea how happy I was to hear of your arrival to Kedoeron."

YongSun felt heat rush her body, she had no idea why she was angry with her mother. "I am fine, mother." Her words were like steel.

Her mother's mouth formed a thin line at her words. "I heard I have a few warriors to thank for that." Her eyes danced over the line of them as if she could pick them out.

"Yes, I suppose you do have a warrior to thank for that, too bad you missed the memorial for the other one." There was no reason for the harshness behind her words. Before her mother could get in another word she added. "If you will excuse me I have matters to attend to." She spun on her heel and marched off the stage and into the crowd.

YongSun pouted against a tree far from the party. Of course, she didn't have any matters to attend to, she just wanted to get away from her mother. Seeing that woman again made her anger rise, she could not bear to know her mother was all she had left, that woman had no love in her heart for YongSun.

A shuffle behind her made YongSun move her hand to her leg, reaching for her dagger. She faltered when TaeOh walked into view. Though the look on his face made her reconsider not pulling it out. "I don't think I can take anymore bad news." She said as he approached.

TaeOh looked over his shoulder as if making sure he was not being followed. "JongKook is back." YongSun felt ice slide over her whole body. "He showed up with your mother."

That made the fire within YongSun rage more. "What?"

"I don't think she knows who he is, but he showed up with her at the party today." His voice was quiet but buzzing. "I needed to warn you to stay away from him." When YongSun opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off. "I already know this could solve our problems but I need to find out if it is a trap. There is no way it is a coincidence he showed up with your mother, if the king has any inkling that you can do what you can, then I think this might be a trap." He squeezed her arm. "We need to be very careful."