2

Hybe sat on her window sill, looking out at the village covered in darkness, a few flashes of light could be seen through windows but other than that, all she could see was the coat of black that covered her village. She knew that she was now an orphan and she turns away from the window to see Prince Xie sitting on her bed looking back at her.

"D-Does your father take good care of you?" She asks.

He doesn't answer and instead looks away while hugging himself as he tries to think of an answer.

"Of me? Ah...not good care." He admits.

Hybe frowns and comes closer, sitting next to him.

"I can guess that he won't be as nice to me then." She says, her eyes beginning to lose their hope.

"I-I'm sorry. But once I'm all grown up, I'll be better than my father. I won't be as mean and I will rule with kindness. Will you stay with us until then?" He turns to her.

She blinks at him as she looks into his eyes, seeing hope in the brown irises. She begins to smile and feel a bit more motivated and comforted that there won't be a horrible future ahead of them.

"I will." She says.

"Can you sing for me?" He asks quietly.

"I don't think I'll be able to sing for a while." She admits, trying not to become too emotional.

He nods in understanding and takes her hands in his.

"When you become sad or feel angry or become happy and full of joy, I will always be here to listen to you. Stick with me and I promise that everything will be okay." He smiles.

"Why would you want to do that when she's going to become a concubine?" Hyreon asks, entering the room with arms crossed.

Hybe begins to feel her heart beat faster at the mention of a concubine. The mere thought of becoming one at all sickens her but she looks beside her to see that Xie was still looking at her with a serious look. She begins to feel a sense of newfound motivation and nods at the boy in front of her, taking her hands out of his.

"If she's going to live in the palace, she might as well have at least one person to talk to," Xie says, standing up to face his father.

"Humph, do what you wish, it's time to leave. Come girl." Hyreon says, turning on his heel right after speaking.

Xie turns and holds out his hand for Hybe, who looks at it and shakes her head.

"We should follow your father, I'm sure he'll be mad if we lag too far behind him." She says.

She leaves the room, ignoring his outstretched hand, and hears his footsteps behind her as they meet in the courtyard with Hyreon and his entourage. He opens the door to his carriage and gestures to no one to go inside, making Hybe confused and stays where she is as she watches Xie climb into the carriage.

"Are you gonna move, girl?" Hyreon grunts.

She jumps at the tone of his voice and hurries into the carriage as well, trying her best to make herself small as the large man climbs into the carriage as well.

"Go." He demands, the carriage moving after the command.

Hyreon stares at the small girl, looking her up and down, staring at her face a little too long before reaching forward to stroke her cheek. He grabbed her face in one hand to make her look at him, a glare on his face until her grey eyes pierced his, his expression softening and his grip loosened.

"You'll be just fine. A promise is a promise, though I can't promise that you'll be treated nicely. I tend to be very mean, don't get used to this gentle voice because if you anger me, I will be the one to punish you. Don't think I won't think twice about lashing you if you disobey me." He says, trying to be a bit gentle with his words.

Hybe nods and she could have sworn she saw his lips tug upwards a bit but as he let go and leaned back into the seat, his face went back into a scowl. She shifts her gaze to Xie to see him looking through the window with a pained expression. She starts to turn her head but a hand covers her eyes, not allowing her to see the village she grew up in.

"It's best not to let enemies know where you are, princess. Your subjects know you are safe, I assure you, but if they catch sight of you leaving with us, people may get the wrong idea." Hyreon says, trying not to allow her to see what was really going on outside.

Hybe moves his hand from her eyes, staring at his face, and blinks before giving up and laying down on her seat to nap. Unbeknownst to her, her village was burning down, her subjects were being slaughtered and everyone she loved and everything she knew was being ripped away. Xie watches as a small boy is pulled out of what looked like a pub and dragged into a burning carriage, looking away as a guard locks the door. He turns to look at his father who was also looking out the window with an unreadable expression on his face. He didn't understand why his father had to be so cruel, he was gentle with the girl yet completely different to the people in her country.

Hyreon turns and locks eyes with his son, allowing himself to look at the sad expression on his son's face. He was grateful to have the carriage so securely built that not even the screams of the innocent could be heard through the walls. His eyes shift to the girl sleeping across from him and his heart seems to tighten, something that he wasn't used to feeling. He didn't know what was happening to him, he never had a girl so small in his presence before, let alone going home with him as part of his family. Could he even call her family? He never had a daughter and he didn't think he ever wanted one until coming across this girl that was his enemy's cherished child.

Hyreon sighs and closes his eyes as well, trying not to get too attached to the child. He could feel by the movements of the carriage that they were almost to his palace, something he couldn't wait for. In the short time he knew the girl, he started feeling bad about what he was doing for the first time in his life. It wasn't going to stop him from doing it though, he had prisoners to take care of and had to keep up his image for his people. Even one slip up could land him in the position that Jiron found himself in, poisoned and murdered. Of course, Jiron asked him to do it, but for what, Hyreon couldn't say. No king could say no to a chance at killing someone of power to gain land, it's just how things are. He sighs once more, crossing his legs as he starts to fall asleep, trying his best to not pay attention to the jerking of the carriage.

"Father, we're here." Xie tugs on his father's sleeve.

Hyreon shoots up in confusion, knowing that he just closed his eyes but sure enough, from the window of the carriage stood his palace. He clears his throat and moves to open the door, stopping as he catches sight of the sleeping girl across from him. His eyes narrow and he leaves the carriage with a huff, a bit upset that she was still able to be asleep.

"Take the girl to the East concubine palace." Hyreon snarls at the closest servant.

"Yes, my king." She bows.

"Make sure that no one within my palace and kingdom knows she's here." He mutters as he walks away from her.

The servant girl waits until her master has left before turning toward the carriage, where a small body was lying limp on the seat.

"This is princess Hybe from the Northern kingdom, which is now ours," Xie says, standing next to the open door.

"Ah, that is good news, my prince." She bows.

He nods and watches as the servant picks Hybe up from her seat, following her down the corridor into the courtyard. He watches to make sure his father's word was kept, not seeing any maids or servants around as they approach the East gates. He partly felt bad as no one lives within the Eastern wing of the palace besides the maids but he also felt that this wing would be the safest place for her, knowing that the maids would take good care of her.

"Prince Xie!" A voice comes from the shadows of the courtyard.

His head snaps in the direction of the voice to see his brother standing beside one of the large pillars of the corridor that leads outside. He gives him a small smile and looks at the back of the servant who was nearing the East gates, turning to walk toward his brother who was also looking at the servant.

"Where is she going?" He asks as Xie comes closer.

"Hmm? Oh, to attend the Eastern concubine palace. I guess father has his eyes set on someone and needs to fix the place up so it's livable." Xie says, not wanting his brother to get too curious.

"Oh? I wonder what she'll look like this time. I would like to go see the Eastern palace, I've never been there before." He says.

"Xienbe, do you know that father is sending you to the military academy?" Xie says, annoyed that his brother was still interested in the matter.

Xienbe freezes in place and his mouth runs dry, looking up at his brother to see if there was any hint of humor in his eyes.

"O-Of course I knew that," Xienbe says, lying through a tight smile.

Xie smirks at his response, brushing past him to intentionally bump into his shoulder. He didn't particularly like his brother as he believed he was much better than anyone else in the world. He was fed up at how elitist he was and he knew that talking his father into putting him into the military would whip the little brat into shape. He walks down the hall just to stop and sigh, leaning over the red fence as he looks at the East gates that Hybe had gone through. He knew that his father had something to do with the death of her father but he didn't know exactly what had gone on between them to have it end up like that. He felt a bit envious of what Hybe and her father had and wished he were that close with his father. He looks down at the azaleas, the pink petals reminding him of the pink hairpin in Hybe's hair, and finds himself wondering if it was a gift from her mother. He smiles at the remembrance of her soft singing voice and sighs as he shakes his head, finding himself already missing the sound.

"Aish, why did it have to be her?" He mutters, slapping the fence before going into the main palace toward his bedroom.