Sakura_Charmash

First born princess of Goryeo is promised to Silla in marriage. What has begun as a promise between families becomes a pact sealed in blood when her betrothed is mysteriously killed. Now what binds Seol, the lady Ha In of Goryeo to Silla is a blood debt – to turn away from it would be to topple the country into irreparable chaos.
Yet, her heart lies with another.
Raised from obscurity of illegitimacy, fate of concubine - born last son of northern Kang clan rests on the emperor’s grace. However, being tasked with the guardianship of the imperial princess is the last of his worries. In the whirlwind of emotions that she brings along, it is not just his title that is at stake, but his heart and a secret that he had brought from a grave of a different time.
Theirs is a fate from an age gone by, but a love impossible to attain. Theirs is a story written upon dying stars.
***
From inside: 
The snow caressed him in a way she yearned to; fluttering against his lashes, tangled up in his hair. She has always felt home in north, in the valleys that filled themselves with her namesake and with this man beside he, arrows slung over his shoulder and laughter in his eyes. Silla and her betrothed would never take that place.
Seol opens her mouth; it is now or never.
“Don’t say it,” he cuts her off, a hand stretched out for a lonely snowflake to perch upon. It turns translucent against his roughed palm.
“My hand isn’t made for snowflakes,” he sounds joyous, as he always does – when she is weeping within. His eyes remain resolutely elsewhere.
“I’ve been summoned to the garrison,” he continues in that same flat tone. “My last duty here will be to deliver your highness to your betrothed.”
She is unaware of the tear that has escaped, until an ice cold thumb brushes it off.
“Don’t cry,” he says then and she sees the laughing spark in his eyes for what it truly is; longing. “It breaks my heart.”
 ***

Snow n' Starlight

In silence Seo counts her heartbeats. His hand remains running along her spine until they smooth and even, and her breathing deepens.


"Come," he says in the end. Hoisting her up by the elbows and slipping an arm around her waist. His voice is tender as if she is a child. 


"To bed," Seo inclines his head. "You need to sleep."


"Don't want to sleep," she shakes her head in protest, hiccuping over a sob that refuses to be swallowed. "Silla -"


"We are not talking about Silla," he snaps at her a little impatiently. Furious at his own temper that he fails to keep. "It is not a place you can run to hide in." Hurt that flashes across her face makes him gulp. She's so easily broken that he fears the mere thought of her in Silla and the throbbing behind his eyes worsens at the thought. Seo allows himself the liberty of caressing her cheek with his thumb, heating the tear stained skin.


Trade