.twelve.
They arrived at the palace and were greeted by General Park--Hak Soon and Soon Deok'ss father. He had returned from the battle fields for the ceremony and he informed them that he would be leaving again in the morning. General Park linked arms with his wife and Minji and the family walked past the front gates of the palace. He led them to their assigned spots, near the front where the King would be sitting with his family.
Most of the other noble families were already there when they arrived. Minji waited anxiously for the ceremony to start, and she couldn't help but crack a smile when she saw the princes--particularly Jung. Soon Deok smiled wide too, but for another prince. The one Minji didn't get along with, the one who was her sworn enemy. Prince Wang Eun. The princes took their places and there was a series of rituals, followed by a performance which would show the princes as the heroes, chasing away the evil spirits so that they could start off the new year on the right foot.
Everything had been going well when several men dressed in black showed up to attack King Taejo. The palace guards immediately took action to protect the king, while some of the princes fought back as well. Minji couldn't help but think how brave Jung was to step forward and fight, while Eun hid behind his younger brother Baek-ah.
From out of nowhere, someone threw a sword at her feet and shoved her forward. They had done the same to Soon Deok. "You two are the general's daughters and have been training to be soldiers your whole lives. Do something!" They urged them.
Knowing her condition, her sister stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. "I'll take care of this." She said, and rushed forward to help the princes. Her father joined her soon after.
Minji had been standing with her mother, with a sword at her feet. With her father and sister gone, someone else picked up the sword and shoved it into her hand. Minji was surprised at how heavy it was and how she was barely able to lift it. It was one of the palace guards who had seen her there and knew that the general's daughter knew how to fight. But this was a different person and Minji hardly even knew how to throw a punch, much less how to carry a sword. Despite her protesting she was shoved forward where she collided with one of the attackers whose face was covered by a mask.
The assailant quickly got on his feet and was about to strike her with his sword. Minji closed her eyes tight, feeling her end coming, when instead she heard metal clashing with metal. She opened her eyes to find Jung had stood in the way to protect her. With his sword, he pushed the attacker back and easily subdued him, slicing him across the chest. He then turned toward Minji and offered his hand.
"What are you doing here?" He was out of breath from the fight, but he still found a way to tease her.
She took his hand and he helped her get back on her feet with ease. She rolled her eyes at him playfully and dusted herself off. "I don't remember how to fight after my accident. But someone recognized me as the general's daughter and tossed a sword at me. Next thing I knew I was in the middle of the fight." She explained with a shrug of her shoulders. She had given up on trying to lift her sword and let it drag on the floor now.
He heaved a sigh and quickly picked her up like she weighed nothing more than a feather. He had placed her over his shoulder to allow him to still be able to hold his sword while Minji blushed madly at the sudden contact. He hurried to the stairs to the palace, where the Queens and the King were sitting, full of worry. Baek-ah and Eun were there too, surrounded by guards. Jung hurried over to his brothers and set Minji back on her feet in front of them. "Take care of Hak Soon while I help our brothers fight off the intruders." Jung asked of them and Baek-ah agreed with a nod of his head.
The thirteenth prince grabbed her by the arm and pushed her behind him. The force of his push had sent her tumbling into the tenth prince's arms, who repelled her like she was a deadly disease.
