~ a lily among thorns~

"thank you"

The first thing she saw when she reached that last step made Nari's body freeze. She stared wide-eyed at the scene before her as her heart beat loud as a drum. The black hooded man had removed his disguise and was kneeling next to her little brother, talking softly. Nari breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself. Her heavy breath caught the attention of Poong-yeon, who was quick to address his sister.

"Nari!" he exclaimed, standing up. "This man says he's your-"

"Father," she said quietly, unable to keep her eyes from the man before her. He stood up, looking back at her with gentle watery eyes. Nari examined him closely as her childhood rushed back into her mind. His face was slightly more wrinkled, and his skin tone a little darker. But his eyes were still the same, kind as the morning sun and blue as the sky it lived in. His dirty blonde hair hung just above his shoulders, like it had always done. And the corners of his mouth curved upwards in a small smile, exactly how they'd done when he'd watch her fly kites on the hilly outskirts of Silla.

"It's really you," Nari choked, tears streaming down her face as she stood there in shock.

Her Father nodded. "It's really me."

Without a moment to spare, Nari dropped the bag she was holding and ran into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I've missed you!" she cried, clutching onto him tightly. She hadn't realised to what degree she'd actually been yearning for her Father, for in that moment, her heart felt more unbearably pained than it ever had before.

"I've missed you too," he replied, his voice cracking with emotion as he stroked the back of his daughter's hair soothingly. "More than you can ever imagine."

Nari tried to muster a smile as she listened to his familiar accented voice, but she couldn't hold back her sobs. She finally had him back.

The pair lowered to the ground, emotions becoming too heavy to stand. Eventually, Nari was able to raise her head, still weeping hysterically. "Where have you been?!" she wailed, clenching her Father's coat.

He placed his hand on her cheek, his own face wet with bitter sweetness. "I've been here," he spoke softly, placing his other hand near her heart. "Always."

Nari wiped her eyes uselessly, looking firmly at her Father. "Th-there's so-something you ne-ed to know," she mustered through her crying. "I-it's about Mother."

Her Father shushed her tenderly, pulling Nari back into his chest. "I know," he breathed sadly, closing his eyes as more tears trickled down his own face. "I know."

"How do you know?" Nari snivelled, her voice muffled by her Father's coat.

"I've been watching over you. I saw you at the Hwarang performance. I was there when you came to the forest one night."

Nari raised her eyes, her sobbing ceasing for a moment. "That was you?" she questioned quietly, remembering the man she'd accidently run into in Silla and the rustling bushes in the forest with Ban-Ryu.

Her Father nodded. "I couldn't bear not seeing you."

"Why didn't you come talk to me?!" Nari exclaimed sadly, knowing how much better she'd have been with her Father in her life.

"It wasn't safe for me to come back then," he replied regretfully. "You were already in enough danger without me. All I could do was watch and wait."

Nari sighed, still sniffling. "I got your message," she said, choked with emotion. "With the hairpins...and the necklace."

She hesitated, suddenly becoming overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow.

"I tried to come!" she sobbed bitterly. "I really did! But something happened and I- I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologise for that!" her Father insisted, holding her face in his hands. "That was not your fault."

"I know, but-" she continued to stutter, but her Father cut her off.

"Let me see how you've grown," he urged, pulling away to get a good look at his long-lost daughter. "My beautiful lily."

Nari laughed with embarrassment, sitting up straight and drying her face with her sleeve. Her Father looked at her lovingly, a glimmer of bittersweet pride in his eyes. "You're still the sweet little girl who hugged me tightly on the day I had to leave."

Nari nodded, taking a deep shaky breath. "I've been waiting for you ever since." The girl smiled, pulling Poong-yeon into her lap. The boy had been sitting nearby silently, frightened by all the crying. He felt better now he was in his sister's arms.

"This is Poong-yeon," she said, tapping his nose. "Mother took him in not long after you left."

"We've become acquainted," her Father chuckled. "Any child of your Mother's is a child of mine."

Nari exhaled, happy to know her little brother finally had a father to love him. Poong-yeon, too young to understand complex sentences of the such, continued to fiddle with Nari's fingers.

"Why?" Nari suddenly asked, her voice still delicate and unsteady. "Why...or how...are you here in the palace?"

Her Father lowered his eyes, his half-smile still lining his lips. "Ah, yes," he sighed, before looking back at his daughter. "That's thanks to your royal friend."

"Ji-Dwi?" Nari inquired quietly with a sniff.

"Ji-Dwi. King Jinheung. That day you were arrested, he came to me in the forest. He told me everything, including what happened to your Mother. He made a plan with me, to get you to safety. That's how I found you tonight."

"He did this?" Nari asked, her eyes large with inquisitiveness.

Her Father nodded in reply, before solemnly running his hand with his hair. "I know...that his actions caused your Mother's death. I know you're really angry about that."

He paused, searching his daughter's eyes for understanding of what he was saying.

"I'm angry too. But how can I act upon it after all he has done to protect you, Nari. Do you understand what I mean?"

Nari hesitated, before nodding slowly. "I do."

The three sat there in silence pondering for a moment, before her Father stood to his feet. "We should hurry out of the city. It'll be easier to get out in the dark."

He helped his two children to their feet as well, Nari picking up the bag Ji-Dwi had left her with. "I have provisions here," she said, opening it up and looking inside. "Food, money and-"

Nari stopped in her tracks as her eyes met a small familiar object sitting inside the satchel. Slowly, she pulled it out, revealing a small wooden carving of a lily.

"Hey, that's mine," Poong-yeon declared, grabbing it swiftly. Nari's mind flashed back to the night Poong-yeon had been held at knife point by the Command. He'd dropped this on the ground but she'd never had been able to find it. It was then that Ji-Dwi had saved her little brother's life.

"Nari, let's go. We have to hurry," her Father urged, taking her hand and pulling her towards the tunnel.

She let herself be dragged along as her thoughts ran rampant. She suddenly came to a realisation...

That Ji-Dwi had atoned for the death of her Mother.

He'd saved her own life from the wrath of the queen. He'd given her back her Father. And he'd protected little Poong-yeon from meeting a bloody demise. For the death of her Mother, he'd saved the lives of everyone else she'd ever truly loved.

This conclusion moved her deep inside, and she looked longingly back at the staircase she'd ascended from. There at the bottom, stood Ji-Dwi, watching her as she drifted away.

As Nari found herself being pulled in a hurry towards the tunnel, she mouthed something at him before disappearing.

"Thank you."