"Your Majesty, may I speak with you for a moment?" Jongho said, bowing low before his king.

San inclined his head, and sighed. "What is it, Jongho?" He had been in the middle of looking over maps of the kingdom, wanting to plot out the route he wanted his army to take.

"It's about Princess Lakita. I got her to eat a little bit, but I'm worried about her. She can't be locked in that room all day."

"I haven't locked her in the room!" San exploded. "She's the one who has decided to stay there!" He could feel the heat rising in him.

"Maybe she needs a distraction."

"What do you suggest?" San growled. If he said anything about Wooyoung, San was going to lose it.

"Give her something to do. Maybe she could get out and see the kingdom, meet her new people?" Jongho held his head high.

San arched an eyebrow. It wasn't a horrible idea. "Fine. Take her on a tour. You are never to leave her side. Select a few more men to go with you as well. No more than two weeks. By then I will have a plan to help our kingdom."

Jongho bowed again and left the room.

San sighed and ran his hand through his hair. The boy was right. She needed to do something to get her mind off her mother. Part of him wished he could take her back for the funeral, but there was too much at stake now. Maybe if she got to know her people, she'd start to feel more at home here.

.

.

.

.

"Princess?" Jongho said quietly after knocking on the door and opening it. She was sitting in a chair by the window. His gut flipped when he realized how similar the position was to Wooyoung's.

She turned her head a little and gave him a sad smile. "Hello, Jongho." Her voice was weak.

He bowed to her, then walked over. "Princess, would you like to go on a little trip? His Majesty has given me permission to take you on a tour of the kingdom so you can meet the people."

Jongho couldn't but smile when he saw her face light up at the idea of getting out of the castle. She stood up quickly and ran over to him, flinging her arms around his neck and squealed a little. "Really?"

"Yes, Princess." He chuckled and patted her back lightly. "Pack some things while I go gather some other guards and supplies. I'll come get you when we are ready." He bowed to her one more time and left.

.

.

.

.

Kita felt like she was going to burst with joy. She was so ready to get out of the palace. And if she was being honest, she couldn't wait to get away from San. She wished Wooyoung could go with them, but she knew she couldn't push her luck.

She ran around the room, gathering the clothes San had given her to wear and packing them in a bag she found in the closet. She had just been packing the final few things when the door opened and she felt the room heat up.

San walked in, his hands clasped behind his back and a dark look in his eyes. "Are you ready to go?" He asked quietly, his lips barely moved.

Kita froze. "Yes... Thank you, for letting me go." She offered.

He stood there for a long moment, then walked over to her and ran his hand through her hair. "You're welcome. I just... I want you to be happy here." He said, not meeting her eyes. When she didn't respond she saw a flash of anger. "Stay safe, listen to Jongho. And..."

San leaned forward and kissed her, moving a hand to the back of her head so she couldn't pull away. He forced her back until she was pinned against the wall, his tongue plunging into her mouth. She whimpered a little when he pressed his body into her once, but then he pulled away, placing his hands on her cheeks and brushing them with his hands. "Don't forget that you're mine." He kissed her one more time, just a little peck, before storming out of the room.

Kita placed a hand over her mouth and slide down the wall. She couldn't wait to be away from him. San doing that made her miss Wooyoung even more. It had been days since she had gotten to see him. She hoped he was ok.

Jongho returned a little while later and immediately ran to her side when he saw her curled against the wall. "Are you ok?"

"Can we go now?" She asked, rubbing the dried tears from her face.

"Yes, we are ready." He helped her up and led her through the castle to the stables. She eyed the carriage and grimaced when he helped her inside, but she felt a little better when he came to sit with her after making sure the rest of the guards were ready.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought we'd start with some of the nearby towns, let the people see you and get to know you. We don't have a lot of time, but it's a start at least."

Kita hummed and looked out the window as the palace disappeared from view. When it was gone, she felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you, Jongho, for doing this for me."

"You're welcome, Princess. I'm... I'm sorry about your mother. I know how it feels to lose a parent. I thought that maybe this would help you."

His soft smile warmed her heart. "'You can call me Kita, if you'd like."

He looked at her, eyes wide and a shocked look on his face. "I-I... I will try, Prin... Kita."

---

The first town the visited seemed to be a little wealthier. The people were well fed and seemed happy. The still reached for Kita's touch, but none of them seemed sick or hurt.

The second town, more of a village really, was in much worse condition. The people had rags for clothes, they all looked dirty, and several were sick.

Kita did her best to heal them, staying focused on not using too much of her strength at once. If anything, she felt more emotionally drained. The cries of joy and relief that came from the people she helped made her want to collapse and cry in turn.

It also made her mad. How could San let his people suffer like this? Did he even know that is people were starving?

She asked Jongho this when they were in the carriage rolling away from the village.

The guard bowed his head. "He knows. That's why... That's why he went to go ask for your hand. When he heard that Twilight had been blessed with health again, he hoped you could come back and heal his home. Volkin has been crumbling for a long time. It's why we start so many wars. Our lands are dying. The soil is becoming infertile, grass won't grow for livestock, and even the rivers are starting to run dry. I fear the gods are angry with us."

Kita covered her mouth. So many mixed emotions flew through her, pity, anger, sadness, shame. It was all too much. Her heart hurt.

The rode in silence for a long time.

"I'm sorry." Jongho said quietly. "I'm sorry for the way my king has treated you. I don't think he knows any better." When Kita didn't respond, he took a deep breath and continued. "His father was cruel, because his father was also cruel. I think the need to protect their land forced them down a path they couldn't return from. So in turn, King San was raised to be cruel. He'd watch his father beat people to death who disobeyed him. The kingdom couldn't afford weaklings, he would say. King San hasn't gone that far, at least, but..." He couldn't finish.

Kita looked out the window, finally understanding San a little more. He was just doing what he thought was best for his kingdom. He was going about it the wrong way, but what ruler doesn't think their way is the right way?

"I will help the kingdom." She said, looking at the guard. "I will do what I can. Innocent people don't deserve to suffer, I've always believed that. But..."

"I know." He said quickly. "Thank you."

They took the entire two weeks given. Kita would heal who she could, excusing herself if she needed to rest, and even visited some of the farms. She didn't know if it would work, but she would kneel in the soil for a long time, burying her hands in the soil and just sit there, praying to the gods.

.

.

.

.

Jongho would watch the princess as she tried to heal the farms. His admiration for her grew as she gave her all to try and heal his home. After everything that happened to her, she still put others first.

And she never tried once to run. With so few guards, he figured she might have a least tried to escape. But then he reminded himself that she had someone important to get back to at the castle. His heart hurt at the thought.

He vowed to have a conversation with his king. This had gone on long enough.