The ruthless assassin and his gentle prince

Chapter 48

Yihwa came home with the sudden meeting with the human prince still troubling her. Shade whispered to her: "Let's tell the queen who we saw. She will like it." And Yihwa went straight to her mother's room. She knocked and entered the room where she found her mother sitting on her bed, gazing lovely at a photo album. Yihwa sighed. She knew whose photos was Diana looking at. She walked to her and her mother smiled at her. "How are you, sweety?", Diana closed the album to speak to her. Yihwa smiled back at her and sat on the edge of the bed. "I just came back from the Union. The commander had requested me once again to review the agreement. Mother, why are you still refusing?" The queen's eyes shone with anger and she got up, clenching the album to her chest: "I trust no one!! Till Kongpob does not come back home, I'll continue to refuse any alliance. Any agreement. We are fine on our own."

Yihwa stared at her mother's back and opened her mouth to speak but Shade stopped her: "Don't argue with her. She still is very upset with her nightmare where she dreamed that Kongpob died in that ship." Yihwa took a deep breath and decided to cheer her mother up. "I met with someone special today." Diana turned to look at her questioningly. "The human prince.", she said and her heart filled with content when she saw her mother's eyes twinkle in excitement. "Really??!" She moved forward and grabbed Yihwa's hands: "How is he?" Yihwa said: "He looked fine enough. I mean physically, he is fine. But Mother, he had such a sadness in his eyes. Like he was searching for something precious and could not find it." The queen's eyes filled with tears: "I so want to meet him, Yihwa. He is my best friend's son. He is like my son. I want to help him." Yihwa rubbed her mother's arm and said: "I am sure he will want to meet you too. Do you want me to set up a meeting?"

The queen shook her head. "I- I- we can't.. I promised Robert that I would never try to meet with him. Neither him nor his son. So, I can't meet Arthit anymore." She moved away from her daughter and sat back on the bed to look at the photos. She said softly at Yihwa: "Look. My Kong. He has always been so mischievous." Yihwa blinked away her tears. Her mother kept hoping to get her son back. A son who everyone thought had died so long ago. She smiled weakly at her mother and sat near her to look at the pictures too. These were her mother's only consolations for her kidnapped son. She rested her head on her mother's shoulder and thanked the gods for not making her mother's condition worse. She had seen how other mothers who had lost their children were and she was grateful that her mother was fine. But then the hope that her mother had kept her going. 

Diana broke her thoughts as she said: "You know baby. I am happy that you came into my life. You were like a godsend." Yihwa laughed softly: "It's more like you were a godsend, Mother." The two ladies smiled at each other. Yihwa was five years old when she was taken to the grieving queen whose son had disappeared. Her parents had just died. Diana's soulmate's sister and brother-in-law. They were bonded to each other and they died together. She was left all alone. The queen had come forward. She had knelt in front of small Yihwa and said: "Can I be your mother?" Yihwa had stared at her and nodded with tears in her eyes. The queen had hugged her and both of them felt that warmth that they were missing so much. Even the demon king had brushed his tears away as he reached out and held his soulmate's shoulder. And hence, Yihwa became the princess of the demon planet. 

After a while, Yihwa went to see the royal advisor to review the security of the planet. Since the disappearance of the prince, the queen had ordered her soulmate to cut all the access to their planet. They were allowed to go outside but the inside pathway was protected. No other species were allowed to enter. Yihwa sat down and whispered to herself: "When will the misery be over? Mother keeps on hoping that P'Kongpob is still alive. Then why is he not coming back already?" She sighed and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened her grey eyes and glared at the chief of the demon army. "What's wrong?", she asked coldly. Cho bowed to her in respect and said: "An oracle demands entrance."