Master Sang-hyuk, Changbin, and the Lee King had all approved of the plan that Minho had sent them in the afternoon. They were ready the next morning to pull off whatever they had to in order to get the Han King out of the palace with them and come back alive.
This was one of the first real missions that Minho was able to go on. Yet he found himself in a state of eerie calm. He sat up at early dawn in the back training area, sitting a round grey stone that overlooked the stream as well as the young men and women who also got up early to train.
Changbin got up about an hour after him and looked out the window, the first thing he saw was of course Minho.
He got dressed and went down to sit under the rock Minho was perched on. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked as he sat down and started to peel an apple with a knife. "You should rest more."
"I didn't want to wake Hei-ran, so I came down here," Minho said simply as he closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air. "We have to bring her with us, so I thought that it'd be better to let her sleep as long as she could.
"Are we really going through with that plan though?" Changbin asked. "If that's the case, then you'll have your mask on until we get back?"
"That's right," Minho nodded. "And we'll need Hei-ran to be in on the act as well. I made sure to talk it over with her last night, but there's no guarantee that she won't break."
"She's only three," Changbin shrugged. "What more can we expect? It's like a game for her."
"Yes," Minho let out a long sigh. "She hardly even remembers Jisung, just a wisp of a face in her memory. I didn't realize that when we're kids, we hardly remember."
"Do you remember your parents?" Changbin suddenly asked, looking up.
"No," Minho stared off into the distance. "The palace burned when I was only a few months old. Both Jisung and I lost our parents just a few months into life... isn't that sad?"
"Yes, it is," Changbin agreed as he stood up and chucked a piece of apple at Minho, who caught it in one hand. "Eat this and let's get going. We've got a long day ahead of us."
They walked back into the mountain where the Lee King and Master Sang-hyuk were already waiting for them. Minho hurried back to his room and woke Hei-ran up from her sleep, telling her it was time to get going.
She was up after she heard that and changed into her soft, silk robes of pink and red and white, like roses.
Everyone gathered together in the stables in the cave. "You must not fail," Master Sang-hyuk stared at Minho with a piercing gaze. "We lose everything if you can not get him here."
"I understand," Minho agreed before bowing to Master Sang-hyuk and walking down to his horse, who was bucking her head as he approached.
"Are you ready for another nice long ride?" he asked, patting her neck. "Come on, Danbi. Let's go get the king.... again."
"Where are we going this time, Daddy?" Hei-ran asked as Minho set her in the saddle, in front of where he would be riding, finding that would be the safest spot, considering the Black Masks were still at large.
"We're going to go see your other dad, remember?" Minho huffed as he pulled himself up into the saddle behind her. "You remember what we practiced yesterday?"
"Oh right! You're pretending to be my servant, right?" Hei-ran smirked back at her father. "Can I speak down to you then, Daddy?"
"I guess so," Minho sighed as he kicked Danbi off after Changbin on his own horse. Unfortunately, with the plan Minho had made, they had to sort of throw Changbin under the bus.
Minho was not to even get involved. As they rode, he pulled his mask all the way up to his nose and pulled a hood over his hair which was tied back like usual. Changbin was going to go in with Hei-ran, Minho following behind and demanding that Jisung come with them, and the Lee King was waiting for an audience with them, where Minho would be waiting to see him. This way, they could give him two reasons to want to come with them.
Changbin's horse took off over the ground at a fast pace where Minho had to push Danbi to keep up. Of course, Hei-ran loved the entire ride there, as she loved to go fast.
"Is that it?" Hei-ran asked as she pointed at the San Palace that was in the far distance. "My mom is buried there?"
"Yes, she is," Minho said stiffly as his arms tightened protectively around her.
Hei-ran must have felt this because she put her tiny hand on Minho's hand. "Daddy, we can do this!"
Minho looked down at his small daughter and felt a blush rising to his cheeks. "You're just too cute now, aren't you?"
Hei-ran smiled like she didn't know.
"Okay, let's start the act right about now!" Changbin hissed as he spotted an entire herd of guards on horses riding towards them. "I knew we should have dressed you in white instead of black!"
Minho clenched his teeth, but trusted that his plan would work. "Call out to them," he called to Changbin, which was his last command before he fell into the "servant" roll.
Captain Kim Mingyu was at the front of the group riding towards them on a tall stallion, making him even taller then he already was. Minho lowered his eyes to the ground and took a defensive stance around Hei-ran.
"Lord Seo?" the captain pulled to a stop a few feet away. "Is that you?"
Changbin gave a curt nod. "It's me. I have to speak to the king and Prince Yongbok."
"The king? He's refusing to see anybody right now," Mingyu murmured. "And Prince Yongbok has been looking for you. He's not happy."
Changbin gave Minho an 'I told you so' look before he cleared his voice and said louder, so all the soldiers could hear. "Perhaps you would like to tell the king that his long lost daughter is here to see him?"
"D-daughter?" Mingyu's eyes went wide as he turned to look at the small princess in the saddle behind Changbin. "Princess... Hei-ran?"
"That's me!" Hei-ran smiled and waved cutely. "I'm here to see the king... can I see him?"
"A-are you sure, my lord?" the captain asked, hesitating. "S-she's the princess?"
"Indeed," Changbin gave a grave nod. "I have brought her to him."
Mingyu glanced at his men and nodded. They moved their horses around to stand around the two horses that were approaching the San Palace, and began to walk them forward. Danbi snorted in distress as the horses closed around them.
"We'll bring you right there," the captain nodded before he turned his snorting horse around and rode back towards the San Palace.
The other Captain Kim was waiting outside, his eyes narrowed as he found the group arriving. "Lord Seo, what are you doing back-"
Mingyu nodded to the small, finely dressed girl in the saddle with Minho. The older Captain Kim's eyes widened, as he had already figured out who this way and nodded.
Two soldiers ran in ahead of them to alert both Prince Yongbok and the King.
Minho was nervous, but he kept his head down in a bowed, submissive position as he followed Hei-ran who acted like she owned the place, just as he had told her to do.
There was a loud crash as they approached the throne room. They had just stepped inside when Jisung suddenly appeared out from behind the throne room with wide, wild eyes, his hair down and his hanbok all over the place. "Hei-ran?"
Hei-ran stared at the man in front of her, a flicker of recognition clear in her eyes. She must have remembered something... she bowed before him with a deep dip. "Greetings, Your Majesty. I'm Lee Hei-ran, Princess of the Lee Kingdom."
Of course, she said this in a high pitched three year old voice, which normally would have made Minho laugh out loud, but he felt that this was not the time.
"We have come together," Changbin clarified, Jisung's eyes flicking over to him. "To send a request for a meeting from the King Lee of the Western Kingdom and Prince Minho of the Lee Kingdom."
Jisung stiffened at those words. "Minho?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Jisung looked back to Hei-ran. "And this is... Hei-ran."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Before anybody could say anything else, Jisung fell to his knees, something that Minho had not seen coming. He completely lost all control and his limbs gave way from under him as he crumbled to the ground.
"Your Majesty, please stand up!" the captains cried as they rushed to his side.
Hei-ran looked back at Minho, who's eyes were fixed on his fallen husband.
He nodded to his daughter and she nodded back before she walked forward and sat down right in front of Jisung, who was bent over sobbing. She reached up and put her arms around his neck. "Hello, Father. I missed you!"
Jisung cried out as if he were in pain before he clutched his daughter close to his chest, pulling her into his lap. "Hei-ran, Hei-ran, how could you leave me like that?"
Hei-ran didn't seem to be uncomfortable at all. Usually she was standoffish when she first met someone, but it was clear that she had a connection with Jisung and remembered him to some extent. She just hugged him back calmly as he clutched her.
He was holding her like he was afraid that if he let go, she would just disappear. He pulled back for a moment to look at Hei-ran's face. "Is your father okay? Is Minho well?"
Hei-ran gave a small nod. "He says he misses you all the time... we should go and see him now!"
Just what Minho had said to do.
"W-we should go see him?" Jisung looked up at Changbin. "We can go see him? Is he hurt? Why can't he come here?"
"The Lee King arrived just last night," Changbin bowed his head. "Prince Lee stayed behind with his brother to await your arrival."
Jisung sniffed and wiped his cheeks before he gave Hei-ran a small grin and set her down. "I'll get ready. Be ready to leave as soon as I am done, Captain!" he ordered before he stared down at Hei-ran. "I'm going to go get ready... promise me that you'll not leave without me?"
"I promise!" Hei-ran agreed before Jisung nodded and slowly turned around and walked back the way he had come.
Changbin watched him go as well before he turned to Minho and gave a small nod.
Minho bowed his head and took a step back like a servant would.
They did not leave the throne room as they waited for Jisung.
When he came back out, his hair was done up, his hanbok was different and tied correctly, and he had matching golden shoes on as he walked down from the throne. "Hei-ran, do you want to ride with me?"
Hei-ran didn't even look back at Minho for confirmation as she nodded and reached up to take Jisung's hand. Minho could tell his husband was fighting back his emotions as he looked down at Hei-ran's small hand clasping mine. "You're so big now..." he whispered.
"Is my brother here?" Hei-ran asked suddenly.
Minho froze. He hadn't told her anything about her brother recently... how did she remember him? And... was Yeong here? Minho looked up in surprise.
Jisung nodded slowly. "He's here, but he's asleep right now. You must come back with me so that we can see him."
Hei-ran nodded, but Minho knew that was not the answer she was hoping for. She wanted to see her brother now, and her three year old brain was trying to find what to say next. To Minho's surprise, she didn't say anything and instead walked hand-in-hand with Jisung until they reached his white mare, which was still very much alive.
"Is my father's horse still here as well?" Hei-ran asked as Jisung lifted her up onto the saddle of his horse. "He says his favorite horse is here."
True, Minho had said that.
"He is," Jisung nodded and he stepped up and swung his leg over the saddle as he settled behind Hei-ran. Minho quickly mounted his horse as well, with Changbin at his side. This entire time, Jisung hadn't looked back at him once or asked who he was, intent on staring at his daughter as much as he could while she was in his sight.
"Come on, Father," Hei-ran looked forward to where Changbin was moving his horse to ride in front of them, to lead the way. "Let's go see Daddy!"