It's Definitely You|| PSH

20.

Pearl waited eagerly in the grand palace of Nashira. Today was supposed to be the day Seonghwa and Yunho returned. Jongho and Yeosang had successfully managed to get the trio past the border, some of their men already in wait for their arrival just as Yunho had explained. It took them a week to reach the capital but they managed, building a good friendship with the two guards along the way. They both were of the quiet type; Yeosang fell on the shy end of the spectrum while Jongho chose to only talk when necessary. But they were both good company. Pearl honestly found Yeosang's awkwardness a bit cute if she was being honest.

It was when they reached the palace and had a long-awaited reunion with her mother that Pearl got to know what had happened back home- somehow one of the guards regained consciousness and reported the incident to Ember. To add to the flame, Mingi, Wooyoung and her were found missing with no trace left other than some signs of violence caused by the fight that broke out that day in her room. The same night, announcements were made about the intruders that broke into the palace, stole state secrets and kidnapped the crown princess and prince Mingi (Wooyoung was quite disappointed that they deemed him not important enough to announce about him too). A price was set on the head of the two spies and the search began. Luckily, the two comrades were already out of the city's walls but a manhunt was already in action. Seonghwa and Yunho had decided to take the longer route, comparatively much safer than what they initially planned yet it would take them half a month to reach the safety of the palace, and anything could happen in half a month. That thought sent a shiver down the princess' spine.

'You look eager today.' Pearl turned to Prince San who dismissed his guards as he entered the balcony that overlooked the road to the palace. He had decided to stay at Alhena till all suspicions towards Nashira subsided; which were barely even there to begin with considering how peace-loving the nation was. He returned from a much faster route through the northern borders- the official one which took less than a day to reach the borders. Seonghwa and Yunho chose to take a detour, travelling further to the detached northeast where things were much more peaceful compared to the centre. The last time she heard from them, they were near the outskirts of the woods only a few kilometres away from the Nashiran soil. Unfortunately, Ember had decided to tighten the security around the borders as an obvious measure to keep the two intruders from crossing the border and disappearing. That meant that now Seonghwa and Yunho had to be extra careful here as well. Pearl was nervous, hoping for the best yet preparing herself for the worst. She did not even want to consider the possibility of them getting caught but this was an occupational hazard that followed them everywhere they went.

'I just hope they're okay.' She turned back, fixing her eyes on the road as if staring at it hard enough would make the two magically appear there somehow. 'How's Mingi doing?'

'Could be better,' San answered, pouring tea into two cups. 'He did look a little bit hopeful earlier when I met him, though.' Pearl smiled at the news, accepting the tea the prince offered and taking a sip. Mingi took the news much worse than Pearl did, turning more and more sombre as the days passed. There were nights when he used to wake up and start sniffling silently beside her, worry overtaking his mind. During those times, Pearl used to hold him close, shushing him as she assured him that the two would be fine even if she herself had a hard time believing her words. Hearing that her dear cousin was beginning to come back to his cheery self again made her a little more optimistic.