8

So-yi/Nia's POV

" So is it Nia or So-yi now?" Alba asked.

I gave a distant chuckle to lighten the mood as she did, with her casual questions. Even in her effort my mind was distracted by the events of the prince earlier today.

The slight protection he gave me from his mother, the way he quickly told his mother it was a play and the words he shared along the lines of; " What I say shouldn't affect you so easily if you don't believe them of yourself", before granting me the rest of the day until late evening with my sister.

" I don't act as I do because I completely despise you, it's a matter of role, I admit my faults, forgive me for hurting you, I can honestly say there's a lot of hope I see in you that I don't see in myself, makes me defensive. Before I get too sappy I'll be on my way."  I repeated him saying in my head.

Alba reached over the table selecting some dishes, to place onto the main table for dinner.

" how'd you find out?" I asked she looked in my direction after fanning away thought.

" huh?" She asked as she focused her attention towards the crying baby.

She clapped her hands, made childish noises and opened up her arms in order to receive the crying infant from her father. " How's my baby." She cooed.

Alba had a skin of roasted milk, it wasn't pale, it had a tint to it but from afar she looked the most like everyone else. Only when you meet her honey brown and double lidded eyes would it be evident that she was a child of another land.

" Oh eomma, mother told me about it." She answered at last to my silence as she gave kisses to her child.

" Are you well? How's everything?" A heard a voice asked. I turned my face towards his direction, for the first time ever since my eyes had ever seen the man, my first love whom fell for my sister, I felt no pain towards my heart as I used to.

I only stared at him in silence. " oh well, not too bad." I responded.

" The royals aren't treating you too bad? " he asked as he caresses his eldest son's hair. The other two boys ran over towards me as they cried out.

" Aunty Nia!" They jumped toward me in excitement.

" how are y'all doing?" I asked them they gave me a few kisses on the cheek as I squatted down. The second eldest hyuk tugged onto my veil basically ripping it off my face before closing his eyes in regret.

From his father's side Min-No spoke out " you look prettier like that." Causing Alba to go on a rant.

" I always tell you that but you never listen, you're so stuck on your over protectiveness to make sure people don't follow you with their eyes that you do things to make their eyes follow you." She instructed.

For the first time I realized her insensitive words weren't intended evil words, as much as they typically sounded when my heart beated for her husband. It was a casual thought but it was one that saved my spirit in that moment from yelling at her as I usually did.

" You must be maturing, you aren't crying bloody murder at my advice." She snarked as she gave the child in her arms kisses.

" Honey, can you place her down, she's seeking sleep. " Alba instructed her husband.

" poor guy he's transformed into a servant." I said.

" I make human beings for a living the most he can do is respond to a simple command." She rebutted as she turned around to do the dishes that resides in the washing bucket.

" By the way I believe —." Before my sister could finish her sentence an attack from behind gave her a jump, as it did me.

BANAFRIT YOU RAT!" Alba cried out in terror. Aban simply laughed as he came towards me to give me a hug.

" Her poor children." Banafrit in her ink blue outing hanbok teased as she set an older and molded clay container of wine onto the table. She braided her bountiful curls up in a ponytail, as she placed a butterfly hair pin towards her left ear:

" It must be nice to be a scholar's wife." Banafrit responded as a reaction to the kitchen we stood in.

My sister's kitchen displayed in terms to the money they had. The wood of aged deciders, holding up the risen roof, were painted royal red, the concrete of the floor was smoothen and glossed by a shining black coating.

" It does well, but your husband is also a scholar." Alba said to banafrit.

" Yeah but my mother in law could never allow me to have him spend money on such things, after even agreeing to allow him to marry me your mother in law lives in the graveyard underground,  mine lives with us." The youngest, eldest sister of mine said.

Alba scoffed, alittle before she grew offended. " how dare you speak so rudely you mannerless child." She almost yelled.

" Am I wrong?" Banafrit turned around to ask Aban and I. My brother and I turned away, and began our walk towards the library.

" When are you going to join them in their conversation of mother-in-laws?" He asked. I chuckled freely almost chocking at his absurdity.

" It's easy for you, you're a guy, it's easy for Alba she looks like them, it's easy for Banafrit she's close in completion but she's still lighter than I am, with her personality and a stern husband that said her and her alone, she found someone. I was the one that lost a suitor that's now my eldest sister's husband. I was raised in secret the villagers never knew me as they did you guys." I finished as I glided my fingertips along side books on the shelf.

" Have you found the answers you've been looking for? " he said shifting the conversation aware of my lack of interest on his thought of love.

" About how we all ended up here? Not at all I haven't had time to do such a thing ever since I entered the palace. I've become slave to the crown prince." I informed my brother.

His projection changed much from his childhood to what he looked like now. His skin now tanned, losing the pigment of his once pale tint, his build was much more handsome than all  in the village. He didn't come from money which his wife liked, he was genuine in his actions towards her, which he was lucky to have her parents value, before interest on whether he had money.

After we selected books we walked outside onto the porch to read at the the footsteps of the house as we always did when we were younger, as the wailing sound of my sisters came from the kitchen.

" I will pour this stained water onto you, you will not be having another glass of wine."

I heard Alba command. My bother looked at me and shyly shook his head.

The day went on as if we had never parted, but I felt years behind my siblings, though we were unaware of our places of root, it seemed we perfectly fit one another, even though it was a trail to get where we were now.

I didn't mind growing in the shadows when I was younger but now my heart displayed a miscommunication of regret and yet relief.

As the night grew darker, Banafrit and Alba came outside with a lantern in hand. Aban had fallen asleep when I still intrigued into the story I was reading I hadn't realized I was struggling to see the words.

" Still obsessed with stories I see." Banafrit said as she sat next to me placing her head at the crook of my neck when she looked up towards the starry sky.

The blackened sky in its ocean-like comfort warmed up the night, allowing the light from the stars to roam about.

" Better than reality sometimes." I responded.

" Don't curse your life if you haven't been in the footsteps of another." Alba ordered.

" How many people's life starts at a cemetery?" I mumbled. She reached over the lantern slapping my arm.

We all sat on the footsteps to the house, unaware of who met who in order for us to find one another. It seemed every time we were together like this, it was both warming and disheartening.

" I was threatened to come here by mom." I randomly called out into the silence aware we were all thinking the same thing.

" So were we." The others called out, as Alba left her lips partly opened hitting us once more, her brown hair in a long braid down her back, she used it to swing about.

" I need to return tonight, then in ten day's time I'm to have another break, we can meet at Banafrit's home. The prince was only convinced by mother to leave me be today, because I poured out my emotions at random today because he called me a creature as he spoke about the other maidens. He asked for me to go cool my head before return." I responded while we each took our fourth or fifth drink of Banafrit's endless wine.

" That's nonesense he seems too full of himself in that sense, you aren't ready to quit yet? you know you can stay with Yo-ri and I." My drunken brother said as he emerged from his short rest.

I shook my head and took another sip of wine.

" it leaves no room for my freedom, I'm suffocated by his presence and rules but it's not too awful, my heart is at peace with the idea that I'm free."

I opened my eyes alittle as I felt myself swing slightly unadjusted watching my siblings enjoyed themselves, Alba celebrating her ability to get drunk now that she had given birth to my niece, Banafrit drinking to drink and Aban doing so alongside my sisters.

" You know what else, why I can't really leave he actually acknowledges me." I mumbled. " I hate him so much but I can't over think what he did."

Right on schedule into the night as we all grew drunk only selective moments I was able to comprehend. I remember someone coming out for me helping to towards the palace that evening. Who it was I wasn't sure.

" You can't hold your alcohol." I heard the voice say.

" better to become drunk than to acknowledge the problems being sober— or rather being yourself." I responded while I was adjusted onto the back on the one that came for me.

That evening I woke up in the comfort of a soft velvet bed, surprised at how I found myself there, I quickly got up towards the door, only to be backed up back into the room.

" I see you've woken up a lot more sober than you were brought last night. Should we speak on the matter you addressed yesterday? " The crown prince asked.

He walked closer towards me as he eyes stared into mine, he wasn't far enough, my eyes may of still have been drunk because for reason beyond my knowledge he happened to look handsome.

His eyes followed mine as I stared into his face.

" does this make you uncomfortable?" He asked me after a long moment of a staring game it seemed we played. Unaware to my consciousness my heart began to speed like it used to at the face of my old love.

I didn't respond to his question I just continued to stare as I tried to comprehend for what reason my heart was beating for such a man that lived against me, and as to why so suddenly.

" how'd I get here?" I asked as my heart began to beat harder anticipating a response of heart warming intentions, as the last words he shared with me before I left did.

" Officer Yung carried you in." He said as he then backed away stood up away from my eye level.

I am guessing his response drew a reaction onto my face considering how quickly he asked. " Are you disappointed to hear I didn't go after you myself? " he asked with a laugh.

" Don't beat yourself down but don't be foolish, my heart would not go as far as to struggle harshly for you, I know it'll hurt to hear such a thing but accept it for now before your emotions get knotted. " he requested.

" Too late." Was all I could continue to say to myself.

I couldn't understand if it was his physics I was in attraction to or his honesty, as I stared towards the man before me in the discomfort of the situation at hand. I had to quickly be rid of such a sin of actions.

The moment I could, I left his room before he dismissed me that evening I hid into covers hoping the beating of my heart would die down, but even so, it raced a bit harder in the thought of my imagination. I seemed to have remembered him as if he was alittle sweeter.

He gave me more attention than he gave other maidens even if it was to tease me, I accepted it with a smiling heart.

As the days lingered on, it seemed my actions were based on my philosophy of avoiding him for as long as I could manage to. When he called for me I placed things in order and quickly walked away before he could ask for something else.

Silly woman. That was what I was becoming. I was going through this emotion easily and it stuck around for a length of time before that love dies and another is found, even the smallest kindness overshadows the greatest hate.

In this case I have surpassed insanity for falling in love with a prince, my emotions projected out of nowhere, maybe, for this reason, the words I heard of him calling me a creature hurt so deeply, maybe that's why I confronted him as I did, when was it did I fall into an attraction with such a selfish man?" I wondered endlessly for weeks on end, as I silently attended to my one-sided attraction.

He called for tea I rushed to give it to him, for his scrolls, I laid them in front of the chamber before he awoke.

At last when a break came I spent time with Mi-ra who pointed out the level I've reached, calling out how simply crazy I was as a method of helping me get over such a crazy ideology of a sudden romance. Only for me to return to his service and forget her rant about how unacceptable my thoughts had become.