@hakyonaweeks Day 5 Confess prompt
“Yona dear,” Jaeha scolds the new Queen, “you really don’t need to help us in here. We can get this room reorganized.”
“I don’t mind,” she smiles, but defers to him and sits down on a stool. Everyone wants her to resume palace life and behave as a normal royal, but after the life they’d led for so long, it was difficult to simply go back to that. Frankly, she had no plans to stay cooped up in the palace like she once was. “I’ve almost forgotten what it was like to be in the palace.” She chuckles, “it’s a bit boring.”
“What’s this,” Shin-ah cuts into the conversation. They turn and see him running his hand along an old, deep gouge in one of the wooden columns. It sits horizontally about three feet off the ground and extends about four inches long by half an inch deep. Someone had painted over the gash, but it clearly looked like a weapon made it. “Did someone hit this?”
It takes Yona a few seconds to remember that long-ago afternoon when she was maybe 8 or 9 years old and playing where she shouldn’t have been. Her father abhorred the idea of her even touching a weapon, but how could he blame her from being curious. She would watch Hak or others training and sometimes it looked fun.
“Yeah that,” Hak scratches his head. “Somehow, I got blamed for it, but it wasn’t me. I bet one of the soldiers was goofing around in here and nicked the column.”
“So, it’s old?” Yoon questions, “it looks like it’s been here awhile.”
“Been about 10 years maybe,” Hak answers.
As she listens to the conversation, Yona shrinks back in her seat. She had forgotten about blaming Hak and now she felt bad. She was young and more afraid of getting in trouble with her father. So, when the weapons keeper found her in there and asked about the fresh gash, she panicked and said she saw Hak accidentally swing a sword and hit it. The man didn’t even question whether she’d been telling the truth or not, and she never went back into the room again.
Hak turns to look at the girl to see if she remembers, “do you…” But when he notices a cringing expression on her face, he knows something is up. “you know something, don’t you?”
“I…. maybe do…” Yona’s cheeks flush from being caught. Based on the new glint on her husband’s face, she knows that Hak knowsshe had something to do with it.
“You little brat!” Hak laughs and grabs his wife around the waist, pulling her off the stool. “It was you wasn’t it playing in here when we were kids!”
“Yes! I’m sorry,” she’s half giggling and half shrieking to be put down. “I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble because of me!”
Their friends are all in hysterics watching the young couple bicker bantering because it was nice to see them being silly.
“I had to clean the whole room and make all the weapons shine. It took me a week!” He tickles his wife. “What were you doing in here anyways?”
“Stop! I was just curious, but the swords were so heavy! Stop, please!” Yona’s crying from being tickled and laughing so hard. “I’ll make it up to you!”
“Oh, you definitely will,” he finally relents, letting the poor girl catch her breath.
Jaeha cuts in and places a hand on his King’s shoulder, “Hak, why don’t you two get out of here, we’re almost finished. In the meantime, you can go think up her punishment.”
“Not a bad idea,” Hak scoops Yona up, “thanks guys, we’ll see you at dinner. And as for you,” he gives his wife the most sinister of grins, “I know just the thing.”
