Queendom

Requests and Ultimatums

"Reports say that there has been an attack at the forest again. They say a beast has been seen lurking around the kingdom almost every night. But every time a knight goes to investigate the area, they find nothing." Kim Seokjin announced. He is Yongsun's distant cousin, and second-in-command to the general commander or Commander Grand Cross.

"Has anyone actually seen the beast and survived?" King Moonbyul queried.

"Negative, Your Majesty." Seokjin states, forlorn with his answer. "My men are already camping in the forest just to catch the beast but to no avail; we did not have any sightings of the said beast.

"Then we have no reason to believe yet that it is indeed a beast." Moonbyul concludes.

"Are you saying those brutal attacks are from humans?" Yongsun didn't know if this was a good thing; beasts are easy to identify. You'll know one when you see one. But with people, it's different. They could have the most angelic faces and they could still kill just for the thrill of it without mercy.

She then looks at Moonbyul, her reputation plays in Yongsun's mind. She wonders; she wonders if Moonbyul could possibly be one of those people. She wonders if the Moonbyul that she knows is any different from the Moonbyul that they know. She wonders which one is her facade. The Queen could only hope that the Moonbyul beside her is her true self.

The king shakes her head. "We cannot know for sure. But I hope you're training your men, well, Seokjin. This is going to be a big problem. The attacks are well within the forests now...but for how long?" Moonbyul asks, implying that soon enough the 'beast' might attack their cities too.

"We are doing everything we can to apprehend the beast as quickly as possible, Your Highness." Seokjin promises.

"We can only hope that your best is enough." Moonbyul remarks, standing up from her throne. She acknowledges the effort of the Solarian troops, but she's not seen any positive results as of date. And Moonbyul's disappointment did not go unnoticed by Yongsun and Seokjin.

The Knight Commander bows his head as he places his fist against his chest before standing up from kneeling.

"You're dismissed." Queen Yongsun says, a queue for Seokjin to make his exit glancing at the King apologetically before making his way out.

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Queen Yongsun was in her study room when both her sisters approached her.

She offers them a smile, and then a seat. "What can I do for you, dear sisters?" she asks, not needing formalities knowing that it's just the three of them inside the room.

"I want to train archery, Unnie." Wheein stated. "Please allow us to train on the castle grounds." The princess petitioned. She could see Yongsun already protesting the idea so she explained herself before the Queen could turn down her request. "There's a beast on the loose, Unnie. The least we could do is learn to protect ourselves. We can't reason with beasts or animals." she reasoned.

"It hasn't been confirmed yet if the attacks are indeed from beasts." Yongsun said sternly.

"That doesn't change anything. We can't wait for that confirmation. We must be ready." Hyejin protested. "I want to train as well."

Yongsun sighs. She knows her sisters have a point. But as the eldest, she wants to shelter her younger sisters; she wants to protect them from the violence and harshness of the world as long as she's able to. Learning to wield a weapon is one thing, but it's the first step to eventually using it to hurt someone. Yongsun doesn't want any of her sisters' hands to be tainted with blood. She knows she's probably overthinking and thinking way ahead, but she can't help it.