A Princess Story

Just Conversations

"My sister is not a spy, Your Majesty" Yuna speaks up right away.

"You didn't know what she was up to recently, Yuna" my dad counters.

"Why do you keep making her seem like a bad person?" I'm starting to get irritated. I just want him to see Ryujin the way I saw her that night.

"Yeji, she saved you and I understand that but she could have done that for her own benefit."

"How? She didn't know I was a princess" I frown at him.

"Look what she's making you do, Yeji. You never talked back to us before but now you are" my dad is still trying to be calm.

"What she's making me do? Dad, as I recall, I'm my own person. She's not making me do anything. Everything I do is because of me. My choices" I stand up, annoyed with what he said.

"Yeji, please calm down. We have to think of these things if you're ruling a kingdom. It's not fun but we have to think of all possible outcomes. If I'm wrong then I will apologize later but right now it's the only thing that makes sense" my dad explains.

"Dad, you didn't see what she looked like before they took her. She could possibly be dead right now so all this talk you're doing could be for nothing. Find out first if she's alive before you keep disrespecting her name" I sit back down.

"Thank you, Princess Yeji" Yuna whispers to me.

"What if I'm right? Say she's alive and she is a spy then what?" My dad questions.

"Then you can choose who I'm gonna marry" I seriously say but I believe it in my heart that Ryujin isn't a spy.

My dad sighs then looks at Yuna, "I need to know about your parents."

"There's really not much to know, Your Majesty. We were just a normal family struggling to make ends meet then suddenly they disappeared so it became just my sister and I having to take care of ourselves" Yuna says.

"Dad, keep contacting their king and get answers from them. Asking Yuna questions won't do anything. Ryujin left Yuna and Chaeryeong has been taking care of her. She's already been through enough and you ask her to come here just to talk about how Ryujin could be a bad person. Just please, if she's alive, bring her to our kingdom. Please" I plead.

"I still don't think she's right for you" my dad claims.

"That's my decision to make" I stand up again, "let's go, Yuna" I bow to my dad before leaving.

I walk out the door and Yuna follows.

"Princess Yeji, thank you for standing up for my sister" she says.

"Of course. I don't think she's a bad person and I've come to realize that I really want to get to know her. I don't know if my feelings for her are platonic or romantic" I say.

"But Princess, I hope you don't take this the wrong way but maybe leave my sister alone" Yuna says, shocking me.

"W–why?" I stutter.

"I hope you don't take offense but if you do decide to date my sister, she's going to receive a lot of hate from your people. She's not royalty, she was part of the rogue knights, and she's not from here. Our lives was already difficult to begin with so please don't add to it. Be friends with her, that's fine but don't go beyond that" Yuna says in a low tone.

"I can protect her maybe?" I say.

"You're gonna go against your people? Princess, you will be the Queen of this kingdom someday. Whoever you'll end up with will be on the spotlight. No one will want someone who has a history like my sister have to lead their kingdom."

"So please, if you do end up taking her away from where she is, just be friends" she says before walking away.

What Yuna said made me think. Do I want something easy? Ever since I met Ryujin, my life seems boring now. Have I been wanting a relationship all this time? But I did have a relationship with Minju but I was still not satisfied.

"Princess, what are you doing standing there?" Chaeryeong says from behind me.

"I'm being confused" I answer without looking back.

"So the usual?" She teases and I finally turn around to glare at her.

"Do you know anything about the Eastern Kingdom? You might know since you're always out of the palace" I say.

"No one knows much about them, Princess. They don't even deal with trades a lot. They rarely visit other kingdoms or communicate with other leaders."

"Do you think Ryujin could be a spy?" I ask.

"She could depending on the circumstance" Chaeryeong says.

"What do you mean?" I furrow my brows.

"I'm not saying she is but she's capable of being one. She's smart and agile and she's a good actress. She can easily make you believe she's someone she's not."

I didn't like hearing that because then I don't know if how she was with me that night is her true self or is that her pretending.

Chaeryeong pokes my forehead, "Don't overthink, Princess. I'm sure Ryujin showed you who she really is. She wouldn't have come here during your party if not."

"She came here to say good bye to you and Yuna" I say.

"Lies. If that's the case then she had no reason to show herself to you but she did. We weren't in that party. We were all working but she snuck in into that room."

I try to hide my joy that I feel, knowing that she did come see that night. I tell myself to calm down because I'm being too obvious with myself. I still try to deny it because I'm afraid if I don't then I'll get my hopes up and it might hurt if things don't work out.

"But Yuna said that it's best to leave her alone" I look down.

"It may be best but it doesn't mean it's right" she says to me.

"Huh? That makes no sense. If it's best then it has to be right" I question.

"Princess, say one town has the best schools for education but the people are rude and mean so they bully your kid. Does it mean it's right for you to send your kid there just because it's the best? No, you choose the school the fits your child's needs" she explains.

"Chaeryeong, we're dealing with my possible love life. Not education" I roll my eyes.

"What I'm saying is, Yuna can voice her opinion on the matter but only you and Ryujin have a say on what happens" she pats my shoulder.

"Besides, why are you worrying so much about this? You said it yourself before, you don't know what you feel for Ryujin."

"You're right. I shouldn't worry. I should focus on figuring out how to get her back first" I sigh.