The Royal Wedding

Chapter 0.4

The kingdom of the Lapin Islands only learned of the letter days later.  Due to bad weather and the wars still ongoing, it took the councilor and his small troop some time to arrive in the kingdom.  As soon as there was any trace of it, the king came forward asking what the purpose of this disturbance was for a letter of minimal importance.

"Our king accepts your truce on the condition that you give us your most beautiful daughter as a wife to the heir to the throne" said the principal advisor, sweating and exhausted from his long toil.  The king looked at the group of men in shock.  The queen stood still as if someone had just shot an arrow into her heart.

Their daughter was the only thing that kept the castle moving and was the only thing that cheered the warriors on to fight for their country.  The kingdom of Kot wanted so much from them and also wanted to take a daughter away from a family.

"Chaeyoung, we should talk about it privately first" the woman said in a whisper in her husband's ears who immediately nodded at the woman's comment.  "I must apologize to you good-natured gentlemen, I will offer you a generous dinner tonight if you give us time to reflect" said the man, immediately receiving a yes from the group of men.  It was too complicated and difficult a matter to be accepted on the spot. 

Perhaps it was of less importance to the king of Kot since the princess, as well as their daughter, would be brought to their kingdom, but for the royal family it was something imaginable.  Their daughter had always lived there within the castle walls, making her sweet voice and harmonious laughter heard. 

Making them disappear like this would have been a shame.  The mother could do nothing but cry in the sun, she would think that her sweet daughter could have gone like this.  Her husband reasoned instead.  The truce was a good thing at that time and after all it would have made their daughter the queen of the kingdom of Kot, one of the most powerful kingdoms of Novus, but the nostalgia of a daughter abandoned in a distant kingdom made that idea go away. 

Perhaps they would have to move there for their entire lives too, but their people would live independently.  No, it was a matter of choice.  So they summoned the councilors trying to have a type of logical conversation with them but the latter seemed confused and almost undecided about the letter commissioned by the group of men which almost seemed like a joke to them when they looked at it.  The only thing to do was to call the interested party: Princess Hanni.

  "Did you summon me, father?"  asked the princess, making herself present to the figure of her father who was sitting on one of the armchairs in the room trying to be as familiar and comfortable as possible in such a serious and arduous speech.  Her daughter seemed like a goddess, she gave her grief, made her slip in such a terrible way into a family that she didn't even know.

Her sweet girl greeted her with a light heart as if she were about to tell him to sleep when in fact it was much more difficult.  Her pink night dress was adorned at her red knees that she felt seething with the anticipation that she felt coursing through her veins.  Her father had never been so anxious in front of her, something must have happened to him.  The presence of her mother didn't even help, in fact the woman seemed more destroyed than her husband.

"Adored daughter, read this letter" said the father, offering the girl the same letter given to him by the group of men who were now dining down in the guest room like pigs ready for death.  Hanni took the letter, feeling how it was thin to the touch but heavy to read.  As soon as she looked at her content her eyes trembled and her body suddenly stopped as if she had been chained. 

"What does it mean?"  the girl asked, returning the letter to her father for fear of tearing it up out of fear of her.  Hanni's eyes looked for an explanation from the two parents who could do nothing but shrug their shoulders and stammer in an attempt to say something to end the silence.  "Forgive me my daughter, but I don't know what else to do" the father said honestly, placing his hands on his lap waiting for his daughter to say anything else.

The mother looked at her, hoping that she hadn't cried when she saw her daughter's lost face.  "It's your choice, Hanni. We will always love you, from the choice you make" the mother said taking her husband's hand hoping that it would reassure her daughter. 

Only then did Hanni look up at the two, feeling the anger rising to her brain, "How can I refuse?"  she asked, pointing her finger at the letter as if it were her fault.  "Should I let this kingdom fall to ruin on my own whim?"  she asked again making the two parents think about their words.  Moreover, the girl did not want to be guilty of the war, as she could refuse the letter if it would bring the long-awaited peace that the people desired. 

Her parents' request was not plausible to listen to, they also knew what their own daughter would choose, it was useless to make her choose.  Maybe it was out of a sense of helplessness in wanting to let things be chosen by them or that the life of their leaf was based on a war?

The sincere thing could not be seen from any other point of view other than Hanni's that she had to accept this request so that her people could live peacefully as before. 

Then the king and queen announced their decisions to the group of men, causing them to leave the next day with their news.  The people were warned days after Kot's acceptance of the kingdom. 

The people seemed happy upon hearing the news of peace but at the same time they were unhappy that their only treasure had been taken away.  There was a brief discussion with the two kingdoms about meeting the two, and in the end priority was given to the kingdom of Lapin's Isple as the wife had accepted the request.

So Kim Minji set out with a group of advisors and soldiers to go to the kingdom of Lapin Islands to see his future wife.  From how Haerin spoke of her, the princess was of a beauty never seen before but which was possible once in a thousand years due to her majestic naturalness and physical composure. 

She wondered if she measured up to the woman she mirrored in her thoughts through Haerin's comments.  There was no way for her to be a good husband as she was also a woman, how could she meet the expectations of a girl so beautiful that her eyes would pop if she didn't even know how to behave in front of a woman.

With each passing day, the carriage became more and more silent despite being guarded and surrounded by several men.  Minji didn't seem in the mood to talk to anyone not even her faithful friend and dueling swordsman. 

She would have liked to have Haerin with her, but that was impossible for the moment.  She let herself be distracted by the sunrises and sunsets in the days that followed, imagining the princess every day, hoping that in addition to her beauty, she had a good heart towards her.