Preparations started immediately.

Mingi had the guards digging long trenches along the borders of the palace and the surrounding town.

Seonghwa headed the evacuation, helping the young and elderly as they made their way to the palace. He would comfort those who were worried about losing everything and do his best to coax the reluctant out of their homes.

Hongjoong and Yunho spent time getting to know the navy, going over layouts of the cove and how they should set up the few ships they had in their possession.

Jongho introduced himself to the men he was in command over and started going over tactics, informing them of everything he knew about his old king.

Kita, Wooyoung, and Yeosang had secluded themselves in the wizard's room to work on coaching Wooyoung.

It wasn't going well.

Kita could tell that he was getting frustrated. His face was getting redder the longer he couldn't summon a shield.

"It's something you've got to feel." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You almost have to say a prayer, or wish for it, whenever you go to call upon it."

"Right. Ok, ok, ok." Wooyoung bounced up and down, shaking his hands. Then he closed his eyes and scrunched his face.

Kita had to turn and cover her mouth at the adorable sight. Yeosang also had to duck behind a book.

"Anything?" Wooyoung asked, not opening his eyes.

"Not yet, Baby." Kita said, looking back at him in time to see his shoulders slump.

"What if it was a fluke? What if I'm not really who you think I am?" He said, looking at Kita with a pleading look. "If I'm not then..."

"Don't go there." Yeosang said, stepping forward. "What were you feeling when you created the shield on the ship? Think back. Go through all your steps."

Wooyoung looked at the floor, his eyes flicked back and forth. "I... remember feeling the pain for a moment, then something told me I had to get on deck. I knew someone was in danger. I don't know how, but... I just knew."

Kita smiled at him. "It's an instinct. I get it too, when I know someone's been hurt."

"Let's test this, shall we?" Yeosang said, picking up some of the stones on his desk.

"What are you talking about?" Kita turned to him.

He didn't respond, instead he threw one at the ground in front of his desk, a few feet away from her. She yelped and jumped back.

"Sangie! What are you doing?" Wooyoung cried out, pushing Kita behind him.

Yeosang just threw another stone, causing it to land closer to them.

The third stone got even closer. They could feel the heat burst off it.

The fourth stone seemed to be thrown in slow motion. Kita watched as it flew through the air and Wooyoung raised his hands up.

A perfect shield surrounded them, deflecting the stone across the room and back at Yeosang, who caught it easily, so it didn't explode.

"There it is! Remember that feeling right there! Hold it for as long as you can." Then wizard said, clapping his hands lightly.

Kita looked up at Wooyoung as he closed his eyes. She smiled at him, proud of what he had accomplished.

"Should we try again?" Yeosang asked, tossing the stone in the air and catching it.

Wooyoung shot him a glare and closed his hands, turning off the shield. Then he held up his hand again and formed one around the wizard, who looked at him in shock. He reached out to touch the barrier, pressing his hand against it and pushing. He smiled and clapped his hands again.

"That's it! Keep practicing!"

They spent the rest of the day throwing things at Wooyoung or each other, trying to test his abilities. He reaction time slowly got better, and he could hold the shield for a little longer each time. But after a while, Kita could tell he was starting to get tired, so she called it off.

Yeosang bowed to them as they left, electing to stay behind to do some research on other possible defenses.

Kita grabbed Wooyoung's hand as they walked through the palace, letting some of her gift flow into him, hoping it would refresh him. They met up with Jongho, who smiled brightly and jogged over to them.

"I have the archers prepared. Everything is situated there. They are working on making more arrows as we speak. The gunners are also stocking up gunpowder and bullets."

"That's great, Jongho. Thank you so much." Kita smiled and gave him a hug.

"Th-Thank you, Princess." He slowly brought his arms up to hug her back.

"I told you, you can call me Kita." She stepped back and smiled.

"Yes, Prin... Kita. Sorry." He flushed a little and looked at the ground. "Um, if I may, K-Kita? I'd like to request that I stay by your side when King San gets here. I know His Highness wanted me to direct the archers, but... I would feel a lot better if-if I were there to help you."

Kita smiled, feeling honored that he wanted to protect her. "Let's run it by my brother, ok? He's the one in charge right now."

He nodded and fell into step behind the couple as they made their way to the main dining hall. Food had been placed there for anyone who wanted to eat it. There were so many people in the castle now it had turned into a free for all.

As Kita walked by, many people would reach for her, wanting words of comfort.

Out of habit, Wooyoung kept his distance, letting her tend to her people. She knew the timing wasn't right to announce his heritage, so she let him. At least he was used to the crowds already, so that wouldn't come as too much of a shock to him.

After greeting several people, Kita noticed Mingi leaning against a wall in the corner of the room. He looked exhausted. She made her way over to him and took his hand, letting her energy flow to him.

"Thank you, Princess." He sighed, a wide smile crossing his face. "We've made good progress today, but there is still a lot of work to be done."

"Don't push yourself too hard. At this point, whatever happens... Happens. There is only so much we will be able to do. You need to take care of yourself too."

The tall guard smiled at her and let his head lean against the wall, closing his eyes.

The next few days passed quickly. She hardly saw anyone outside of Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Jongho. The young guard was getting jumpier every day. Seonghwa had agreed to let him protect Kita, which basically meant he never left her side unless it was to sleep.

She didn't mind though. It was comforting having him around. She had grown used to it when she had been San's captive. It seemed to comfort him too, she could tell he still felt out of place in her kingdom.

The trenches came along slowly, as did the stone walls. Able-bodied men from their kingdom all volunteered to help.

Twilight soon began to show signs that it was prepared for war.