Heart of Ice

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It had completely slipped her mind that Wonwoo was there that day in the battle. She was too caught up in thinking about Seungcheol, the hostages and her own circumstances that Wonwoo did not cross her mind once in the past few days. Being reminded of him made her blood run cold, and she felt stifled with concern for him.

What had happened to him? Haein was worrying about him, and so it must mean that he had not written to her in a long time.

If he did take part in the battle, it could mean that he was one of the hostages...

But it could also mean that he was... Yewon gulped as she considered it. No, it couldn't be, she told herself. It didn't make sense that he would be gone so soon and so suddenly. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. She found herself wishing that he were one of the hostages so that she could forget that other possibility and not even consider it

That seed of doubt in her heart was pulling her down into miserable places. Just the possibility that Wonwoo was no more made her feel sick.

-

The trip back to Galacia was far from comfortable. She worried a lot about Wonwoo and felt queasy all throughout. She couldn't tell whether the nausea she experienced was a result of her anxiety for Wonwoo, the sea or perhaps even a potential baby in her belly, but whatever it was, it made for a very uncomfortable journey.

To add to that anxiety, she eventually learned that the nausea was not because of a potential baby. She cried when she saw the blood on her undergarments. Everything that happened between her and Soonyoung– for nothing? The lengths that she had gone to avoid the situation she was currently in– all in vain. She didn't know what she was going to do now. What made it worse was that she had no one to talk to about it, no one to ask for advice. She was all alone in this, which it made it even more unbearable.

-

She could have never imagined how hollow she would feel when she arrived at her home for the first time in months.

As she stepped onto the Galacian port with the Solenese delegation that escorted her, she was not consumed by any kind of pleasant nostalgia like she had expected. Everything felt darker all of the sudden. The familiar frigid air no longer felt homely; it simply felt cold.

When she arrived in the palace, the Solenese guards suddenly drew their swords and pointed them at her, and she knew why that was happening. She was the hostage which was precious for the enemy, i.e. Galacia; one wrong move from that enemy, and they would use those swords against her.

She did miss her home. No matter how horrible the circumstances, the familiar Galacian palace halls alleviated the strain in her heart just barely. She missed the floors and the walls and the familiar faces of the staff. She missed the scent of burning logs in the fireplace.

Her family was in the throne-room when she entered. There were her parents, her sisters, her brother, Tati and Don. But she could hardly pay them any attention, and that brief blissful feeling of being back in her home was instantly crushed when she saw Seungcheol.

He looked so much skinnier, so much paler and most shockingly, hurt. He was sitting on his knees, his shoulders hunched and his head down, chained to her father's throne like a dog. The metal around his neck and wrists left red marks. He was dirty and his clothing was in tatters. And through the holes in his clothing, Yewon could see bruises from numerous beatings he had acquired in his time here. His arms and legs were wrapped with cloth that was stained with blood.

She felt her heart sink to her feet. How could her people do this to him? He was her husband. She was truly surprised, for she had somehow thought they would treat him like a royal guest, not a prisoner. She was so troubled by the sight of Seungcheol like that, that she wasn't even comforted by the smiling faces of her family who were happy to see her again.