Wherever that may be

Arc I (3) - 550 AD

"I'm getting married!"

Lizbeth blinks once.

"What?"

"I'm getting married. That's what this party is about. I'm supposed to meet the son of Baekje's King and marry him. An become queen".

The maid looks at her lover in disbelief, taking a step back, as if afraid.

"What?", she repeats, this time breathless.

"I have no choice. I need to protect this kingdom; I need to protect you..."

"Protect me? By ruining us, Jehanne?", Lizbeth asks, hot tears reaching her chin. She keeps walking backwards.

"We don't have to be ruined", the lady argues back. She can't lose Lizbeth, she can't. "We can still be together. We can hide, as we did when we were children".

The tallest girl sneers.

"We are not children anymore. You will be married. You will be sharing all your time with your king. You will share a chamber, even".

"I was going to get married no matter what, Lizbeth, you knew this".

The maid stares at the princess for a moment.

"I didn't know you were going to be the Queen. I didn't know it was going to happen so soon. I didn't know I was preparing you to meet the love of your life".

Jehanne sobs, and her hands search for Lizbeth's.

"I love only you", the lady murmurs. Her eyes burn in pain.

The maid sobs as well.

"I love only you", she tells her, "but love is not enough".

Jehanne gasps, but a knock interrupts her next words.

"Five minutes", the Queen says throughout the closed door.

The tallest girl resumes to her work, neither girl muttering a word.

-

Jehanne stands straight in the middle of the grand hall. The castle shines with the rise of a renewed excitement, the sunlight finally making its way through the massive colored windows. Soldiers get drunk in expensive wine, as some cheer and others follow maids with a hungry gaze. The Queen of Goguryeo chatters elegantly with the Baekje sovereigns, her voice clear, but her head tilted in what Jehanne can deduce is submission.

The golden lights, illuminating the princess' gorgeous face, are not able to reach her heart.

She looks around for the fifth time in the early afternoon, instinctively searching for the comfort of doe eyes.

When she spots Lizbeth, however, the maid is turned around, her back facing the lady, pouring wine in the cups of a bunch of armored men blabbering out loud about their recent success at what Jehanne thinks bitterly, must have been a minor battle.

She's about to reach closer, to ask for anything to make Lizbeth at least look at her again, but a deep voice distracts her from her task.

"Can I have the honor of this dance, Princess?"

Jehanne stares at the young man offering his left hand in a bow. The luxury of his clothing is revealing enough: he is the future King of Beakje.

And Goguryeo. He will be the King of Goguryeo as well.

The lady sighs lightly before taking his hand in hers. The Prince looks up then, serious. Jehanne smiles weakly, and he grins in the same way.

They begin dancing. Kwanghyun pulls her in a bit too harshly, moves a bit too stiffly. The future queen understands, only by looking at the way the man looks at his feet, that his roughness is more result of lack of experience rather than of cruelty.