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THE ROOM WAS silent as both the Queen and Minnie sat quietly across from one another. After Moo Myung surprise attack and Minnie's emotional encounter with the Queen, Master Ahnji and the brunette were brought to the palace, while Moo Myung was sent to a cell. As Minnie sat across from the royal women, she couldn't help but wonder if it was okay to trust this woman - but she had no other way of getting the answers she desperately needs.
"How do you know me?" Minnie spoke up, breaking the silence in the large room. The Queen raised an eyebrow at the younger woman's lack of formality, but Minnie soon realised her mistake. "Your majesty."
"You are Mi Cha, 'the adventurist little soldier' as the capital liked to call you." The Queen began, sipping quietly on her freshly brewed tea. "I was the one who gave you the bracelet that lays upon your wrist."
The Queen's reveal, startled Minnie and said girl couldn't hide her surprise from hearing the news. Fidgeting with the bracelet, Minnie's mind began to wander far. If the Queen has gifted it to her does that mean Queen Jiso was her mother? No, it couldn't have been, there was no way Minnie could be a royal, she wasn't even sure if she was a True Born. But why did the Queen react the way she did early at the parade? Why was she so emotional to see Minnie?
"You were an incredible child Mi Cha." The Queen smiled, though her tone was distant and her eyes were distracted. Minnie wished she could see the memories of her young self that the Queen was seeing now. "My son was very fond of you, I could never understand how a little boy could love someone as much as he loved you."
"Loved?" Minnie squeaked, breath hitching at the intense words. If the Queen was actually speaking of the king Minnie was thinking about, then she wanted to die on the spot. Minnie knew exactly who killed Makmoon that night, she was certain it was the future King of Silla. It was just her luck that her childhood best friend and child who once loved her, killed one of the most important men in her life.
"As I said, I could never understand why he was so fascinated by the little girl who picked wildflowers from the palace garden." The Queen released a soft, almost breathless chuckle and her dark eyes finally met Minnie's curious doe ones. "That was until I saw for myself what an incredible fighter you were."
"If you knew me as a child...you must have known my parents and brother." Minnie asked, tone desperate and filled with emotion.
"You see my son had, has, men wanting him killed since his first birthday." The Queen sighed, ignoring Minnie's previous question. "One day as my five year old son played in his own bedroom, a man came in, sword at the ready to cut a little boys throat." The king's mother paused, as her eyes watered at the tragic memory. "And...and by the time anyone knew what had happened, we all taught it was too late. But I can still remember the guards breaking down his door and charging towards the assassin, only to realise he had already been taken down by the little girl who held my crying son in her arms."
