Jiyeon POV

"What is her problem?" I asked Daeun as I watched the maid storm off. Daeun giggled as she turned to face me. "What?"

"Apparently....." she paused a moment before whispering "she is afraid of ghosts" then she giggled some more.

"Really?" I huffed. "The maids these days have no sense of humor." Daeun and I chuckled together. "Well, let's get inside. We wouldn't want them thinking you've gone crazy." Daeun nodded and we both went inside.

"How have things been?" she asked me.

"The same as always."

"So no one has cleaned the place all year?" she sighed heavily. "You think they would get over the fact that the place is haunted by now."

"Can you really blame them though? I was pretty harsh in the beginning. Even now, there aren't many people I'd actually like to come and visit."

"Still, you should allow them to at least clean the place."

"I know," I pouted "but they always try to steal something whenever they come to clean. That's why I don't like them coming."

"I guess I understand. I wouldn't want someone stealing my belongings either."

"I wouldn't mind so much if they at least asked me if they could look at it like you do, but they just come barging in and try and open everything up. It makes me so mad. I don't like it. That's why I won't let anyone else but you come in here."

Daeun smiled and I couldn't help but remember the first time I saw her. She has really grown into a beautiful young lady.

1000 Years Ago

Jiyeon POV

Myeongeun, Sujeong, and I had all been invited to the palace by Queen Soojeong. We all knew that it could only be for one thing: to find a bride for the Crown Prince Sungyeol. Sujeong and I both knew that the Queen favored Myeongeun, but we could not disobey a summons from the Queen or our families would suffer.

The Queen quickly dismissed both Sujeong and I, because she only cared for Myeongeun. The only reason we were invited in the first place was to give the illusion that there was no favorite among the potential brides, but we all knew that wasn't the case.

Once I was dismissed from the Queen's chambers, I was allowed to walk through the palace gardens. As I was coming to one of the large ponds, I saw a young boy jump into it. I was afraid that he might be hurt so I quickly rushed to where I last saw him, but just as I arrived, I saw him pull a young lady out of the water.

"What are you doing?" the boy screamed at the young girl he had just saved.

She coughed up some water and said "Thank you for saving me."

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"What were you doing in the pond?" he asked.

"I fell" she replied.

"You're lucky I was here" he smiled. "By the way...... who are you?"

"Forgive me" she quickly apologized. "My name is Jang Daeun. And you are?"

He looked a little surprised, but smiled none the less and said "Lee Sungyeol."

"Lee Sungyeol?" I whispered to myself. "The Crown Prince?"

The young girl smiled and blushed. "I like it. That's a nice name."

"Your's is nice too" he nervously said. "What are you doing in the palace?"

"The King invited my father and I to the palace" she replied.

Her father is an Official? Why don't I remember ever seeing her?

"You know" he nervously coughed a little "my parents want me to get married in the next few years."

It looks like he wants to marry her instead of one of us.

She looked shocked by his statement "Really? Already? But you are so young!"

"Yeah. You wouldn't want to be my bride, would you?"

She blushed a little "Me? You want to marry me?"

"Compared to the other girls in the palace, I like you best."

I guess I can't blame him for liking her. She probably doesn't even know who he is. I think that is why she can act so normal around him. I wish I could act like that around him.

"If you are okay with me...........then I would be happy to marry you" she blushed back at him.

"Great!" he jumped up in excitement. Then he pulled out a jade norigae and held it out towards her "Take this."

She blushed "Why?"

"Because you will be my bride!" He pushed the norigae into her hands "I'll be right back!" he screamed over his shoulder as he ran off.

It looks like he really does want her to be his bride. I knew I wasn't going to be chosen from the start because his mother favored Myeongeun, but seeing him like another girl like this broke my heart. The truth is, I had once seen the young Crown Prince in passing and fell in love with him. When I was chosen to be one of the three potential brides, my heart soared because I knew that even if I didn't become his bride I could always be one of his concubines.

As I walked away from the pond with a broken heart, I heard a splash come from behind me. I rushed back to find the Queen and Myeongeun standing by the pond and the young girl missing.

"Did they push her in?" I whispered to myself.

Suddenly they turned around, so I ducked behind some bushes.

"That should put her in her place" Myeongeun laughed.

"Did she really think she could seduce the Prince without my knowing?" the Queen huffed. "I hope I never see her again!"

After they left I quickly ran over to the pond in the hopes of finding the girl, but she had disappeared. "Where did she go?"

Sungyeol POV

A few days after I had met Daeun, my mother called me to her chambers.

"You really should get married as soon as possible. If you don't make the right connections now, the officials will have a hard time recognizing you as a King later."

"I understand what you are saying, but I'm still too young!" I whined.

"Your father and I were married at your age. It's time you start taking your responsibilities more seriously. You have a duty to your family and the nation to carry on the royal family linage."

"I don't want to get married!"

"I'm afraid you do not have a choice. The selection is already underway and the final three will be invited into the palace to train for their final assessment tomorrow."

I left my mother's chambers and ran to the pond. "Why was I born into this god forsaken family!" I screamed.

The next day, I watched from a distance as three young girls were brought to the Queen's chambers.

"I feel bad for them. My mother can be really mean." Just as I was about to turn away, two of the girls were already coming out of the room. "Are they done already?"

I crept a little closer to see if I could find out what was going on.

"I don't know why they are going through all these formalities if they are just going to choose Myeongeun" one of the girls said.

"I know what you mean" the other girl sighed.

"Well, I'm just going to go back to my room and rest. Do you want to join me?"

"No thank you. I think I'll just take a walk around the gardens before going back."