.eighty seven.
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"When he was dropped off in the palace the first couple of times as a small child, he wouldn't stop crying, and the only way his majesty could get him to shut up was by entertaining him with napkin rabbits."
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Hajin returned to the caves after leaving Eun and Minji that night to check on the two youngest princes of Goryeo and their progress. They were still hard at work when she arrived. They were very tired, and covered in a layer of sweat and grime from their tireless hours of being there. But Hajin noticed they were almost done, and they had little time left before dawn. Their efforts had not been in vain and Hajin knew their brothers would truly appreciate the help.
She tried to help them continue, but they instead asked her to keep watch outside, as the palace guards started making their rounds in the early morning before everyone got up. Hajin wanted to go clean up after Eun and Minji in the bath, but she was so exhausted that she instead ended up falling asleep by the entrance of the caves.
She was woken by the two princes at dawn, but left them to scurry off to do their morning chores. In another part of the palace, Yeon Hwa was getting up and getting ready to start her morning routine. Her maids had gathered towels and a fresh set of clothes for her. Then they followed the princess to the bath.
Yeon Hwa was surprised by the mess left behind. But she was surprised because the palace was to be cleaned from top to bottom before any of the maids could go to bed. That meant that someone had been in the bath at some point during the night. Her eyes scanned the area. There were paper boats in the water, candles that had burnt out during the night, and by the steps of the bath were several animals made out of cloth napkins. She only knew of one person who loved making napkin animals for fun.
Prince Eun.
But he couldn't be there. He had to be somewhere halfway around the world by now, since there was word that they had gotten away when the troops went in to arrest the family. The four of them had escaped and were wanted criminals of the kingdom from the very moment that Yo put out his decree. It was both the dumbest and the smartest idea to hide in the palace, as far as Yeon Hwa was concerned. It was smart because no one would think to look for them there. But it was also dumb because with the amount of guards Yo had added to the palace, it was unlikely that they could manage to get out there alive. But it couldn't have been anyone else but them. They had to be the ones who had snuck into the bath the previous night. That filled her with some relief because she knew her friend, and her brother, were still alive. Perhaps they were still there and looking for a way out.
"Clean this mess up quickly." The princess instructed the maids with a nod of her head. All eight of them hurried forward and started picking everything up without a second though. As they did so, Yeon Hwa gave them more instructions, accompanied by a warning which they knew they should take very seriously. "Do not tell any one what you have seen here today. If I find out any of you have run their mouth to his majesty or to anyone, I will personally deliver a severe punishment."
The maids all nodded their heads in silent agreement, shaking in fear at her command. The princess was ruthless and was capable of anything, they had seen it themselves. They knew they would be wise to remain quiet if they wanted to avoid being punished.
When the bath was once again clean and ready, Yeon Hwa took a bath and the maids helped her change into her clothes for the day. As she left the private baths with her maids trailing behind her, she ran into her brother Jung, and court lady Hae Soo. Both were tired and covered in muck from head to toe. The two of them watched her with widened eyes at the fact that they had been caught, but said nothing. They knew that she was engaged to Yo now, and had promised her loyalties to him. But Yeon Hwa still had a lot on her mind thinking about Eun and Minji hiding out in the palace somewhere. She did not question the two and they continued down the hall without even speaking to each other.
