Heart of Ice

Heat

Leaving Galacia was the hardest thing she had ever done. She said goodbye to freshly-baked, sweet Galacian bread, which she knew she would not have in Solen. She said goodbye to messenger Don, who told her that it would not be the same without her. She said goodbye to Tati, who cried and said she felt like she was losing another child. She said goodbye to the castle staff, with whom she had grown up and under whom she was raised. She said goodbye to her sisters, who all said that they wished that it were them instead of her. She said goodbye to Jihoon, who said he would never forgive their father for what he did.

Her mother and father were to go with her to Solen to attend her wedding and then leave her.

On the way there, she did not speak to her father; she didn't want to. He had the tendency to get angry nowadays, and she did not want to face his reproach.

She spent the first few days at sea finishing her novel (which she had successfully smuggled into the ship without anyone noticing), and also thinking about what was to become of her life. Unlike in the novel, her life wasn't going to have a hppy ending with the person she loved...

She spent as much time as she could with her mother, knowing that the time with her was now limited. Her mother gave her the awkward talk about the consummation night (which Yewon thought was extremely unnecessary: she knew it all already from her novels). Yewon also had to the take syrups and elixirs that castle physicians had prepared for her to help her with fertility and ensure that the result is a boy and not a girl. They were disgusting, but Yewon took them thinking about how important it was.

"Mom, how old is the prince?" Yewon asked her mother as they sat on the deck, eating sweet bread that they had packed from Galacia for the journey.

"I don't know," she replied, "all I know is that he's the oldest of his siblings and heir to the throne."

"He's probably over 30 then," Yewon concluded with a pout.

Her mother shrugged, "maybe."

"Solenese people are ugly too. So I'm going to marry an ugly old man, aren't I?"

Her mother didn't answer, but avoided Yewon's eyes guiltily as she took a bite from her roll.

"I'm scared," Yewon expressed.

"It will be okay..."

"But it won't be. I'll be a prisoner in that castle with some ugly prince who could hurt me if he wanted..."

"Don't think like that..."

"But it's true. He could hurt me, and no one will take my side over there. You guys will be far away from me, and I'll be alone in that castle around people who would probably hate me."

Yewon's mother didn't deny it. She just put her arms around her daughter and apologized for what she would have to endure.

-

They arrived in Solen after twelve days at sea.

It was hot.

That was the first thing that Yewon noted when she woke up from her sleep and descended onto the Solonese port, stepping foot in Solen for the very first time.

The sun shone ever so brightly in the sky, and it was hot.

After living in Galacia for so long, it was a strange feeling to go outside and feel warm. It was so foreign to her, so wrong, so unhomely, so strange...

But it was not only the weather that was different. Everything was different.

First and foremost, as the descended onto the port, the royal delegation waiting for them did not put the left hands on their heart; they did not say the customary greeting Yewon was so used to hearing. Instead, the delegation bowed to them and welcomed them to Solen.