Crowned Prince | hendery

29: You Have Been Ordered Not To

"I did not expect for the crowned prince of Hwei to drop the marriage this early." Juna was an old friend of the princess. She has been there during their youth and has seen it all with her. From her romance with the current count of Hwei and the last gathering of the lands she partook in as a member of the Sui royal family.

Juna was a lady, but she acted nothing like one. She was initially a rowdy lady, known throughout Sui as the lady often in mud during their youth, now she's fighting her way through the military of Sui. Much of the realization of where she is right now can be attributed to the former princess of Sui. As her right hand person, she was often in charge of the planning and making sure the princess was safe. It was through their number of sneaking out and scheming that she realized that she could put those talents into good use.

"He can no longer drop me without a divorce."

Juna's ears immediately turn warm as soon as she hears this.

"Explain further in detail." She runs towards the princess, who was in absolute spite of the same prince she consummate with.

"Juna," Taeha sighs, "don't you have to get married as well."

"No man would like a military wife." She shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe I should just get myself a wife."

When Taeha didn't respond to her statement, she knew what was going on was very serious for her. To be fair, if Juna was in the same situation as she was in, she would have already lost her cool. How the princess was handling this situation was already commendable, she wasn't spiraling into desolate places in her mind– only proving that she is indeed unlike everyone else.

"There must have been a reason that you decided to ask for me as soon as you arrived?" Juna takes a seat on the princess' rather sparse furniture in the old room she used to live in.

The princess stops walking back and forth before turning towards Juna and sitting down beside her, but with the way Juna sat and the princess sat they were facing each other.

"When will you depart to Maha'ali?"

"Maha'ali?" She snickers. "The prince of Hwei is in charge of leading the efforts in Maha'ali. I will not be going until I am instructed."

"And when shall that instruction be?"

Juna moves back and sighs. "Do you not understand that the prince does not want you there?" She sighs.

"It seems that you have your answer as to why I have called you as soon as I arrived." Taeha turns the other way.

"Yet, I no longer am the person who you should call in situations where you plan to break order when I now enforce it."

Taeha lets out a frustrated sigh and stands up from the couch and walks towards the window. The room was no longer the solstice she once remembers, she found herself now much more comfortable in her room in Hwei– one she has not seen since the wedding. Yet, it was rather calming to see that not much has changed in the scenery outside.

"Princess," Juna sighs standing up from her seat, "I could get you whatever you wish for, that is where my loyalty is, but this is a war."

"I am aware."

"Wars show no mercy whether or not you are noble or a commoner. Just as death does not choose who it shall pick up first. The crowned prince of Hwei only wants that you shall not be harmed–"

"Then what about him?" Taeha turns around. "Will he not be harmed? Killed?"

"There is no guarantee–"

She sighs again. "Why is that man's sense of duty so strong?"

"Is that not wonderful?" The clear confusion echoed in Juna's voice.

"Not for him."

Taeha only received silence from Juna and possibly a confused expression playing on her face.

"He does not want to be king."

She hears Juna snicker, immediately the princess turns back. The smirk on Juna's face told her so much about what she thinks of that sentence.

"It is the truth! What is it that you're laughing about?"

Juna shakes her head, the ornaments at the top of her top echo inside the room. "What man does not want to be king? The glory? The money? The women? They are basically divine humans."

Taeha shakes her head. "There is so much more to it than what you have mentioned." Her voice is soft.

The two fall quiet. They always have when it comes to talks of nobility.

At the end, the silence was broken by Juna moving away from the princess and began walking around the rather empty room– that she too was once familiar with. The room would probably be given to one of the crowned prince's children eventually, but for now it was empty.

"Since we've met, you have not gushed about your marriage with the crowned prince of Hwei. Numerous nobles would adore being in your position, married to a future king–" Taeha does not want that, "and born not too far from your age."

"Our marriage did not last for more than a week before he threw me back here. What is there to gush about?"

Juna nods her head in agreement. "Then why do you want to be beside him, through a war that could possibly end your life?"

Taeha opens her mouth before closing it. She then looks away from Juna's gaze, suddenly feeling conscious about the way she was looking at her. She was not a child for her to be acting like this, but all of a sudden she feels like she was fourteen again being intimidated by the same girl about sneaking out during a party and how she had to lie about knowing where the princess was, when in reality she had no idea.

"You can lose your life out there." As if the statement has not been implied enough with their conversation. "Yet you treat your life so lightly for the crowned prince?"

"I do not treat my life so lightly–"

She stops talking.

"Then have you not pondered on the idea that quite possibly you are–"

"There's no need to confirm things with you when I know enough of what it is this feeling towards the prince."

Juna raises her eyebrow at her. "I do not enjoy taking part in your romance." She stands up and stands by the door. "Even if this may cause my entrance to Hwei, I shall not condone your actions until you have calmed down, your highness. We are no longer children to be acting so ruthlessly."