Arcus // ATEEZ ✔

2: tales under the moonlight

Moonlight bathes them as Serim pushes the wheelchair Narae is on, up the ramp that will lead them to the pavilion, a relatively quiet but open place the princess has requested to be at. The pavilion instantly comes to her mind at the request, as she knows that this is the place where the princess likes to spend her time alone when she needs it. A place for deep reflection, a place to ponder for a troubled mind.

The princess had never allowed anyone to be with her on the pavilion, the bottom of the steps the limit at which her guards or lady-in-waiting can wait, or anyone else for that matter. It's a public space in the palace compound, but it might as well be her private one. It's the sanctuary she had decorated by herself, putting hanging pots of lavenders with some motifs painted on the railing.

Everything on the pavilion breathes the personality of Princess Narae, but today she is not herself anymore. As the clock strikes 12, the princess seemed to change into a different person. She doesn't know whether she'll get back to who she was, now that she doesn't remember how she used to be.

Serim stops her wheelchair at the place where she likes to be at whenever she's on the pavilion, overlooking the lake with water that ripples with the soft breeze. With her sitting on the wheelchair, the woman lets go of the handle before standing beside her, looking at what she thinks is the same direction as the princess.

"Not here," Narae announces before lifting up her weak hand to point to a place where there's a bench. "Let me sit there so that you can sit too. You can't be standing for too long if you're about to tell me long stories."

Again, the care the princess has for her astounds her. "Your Highness, you say that you don't like sitting there because the view is not as beautiful as this. You..." she pauses, debating on the need for the reveal of this particular information.

"I what?" She looks genuinely curious, and for a second she looks like a child begging for candy but not getting it right away.

She sighs. "You threw a tantrum because it was not constructed the way you wanted it to be. You told the workers that you specifically wanted the bench to face the lake, but there was a miscommunication and it ended up being on the opposite side."

"Ah..." the princess' eyes dart towards the bench. "I must have been really... bitchy and whiny."

The strong description of herself makes Serim let out a light laugh but she quickly covers it up, knowing that she shall not let her guard down in front of the princess. Maybe the princess is only acting this way because of her month-long coma, but if she ever does return to her original demeanour when she gets back her memories... the woman shudders at this thought.

"What happened to the workers? Did I order them to be fired and immediately looked for a replacement?"

She blinks. "You did not simply fire them, Your Highness. You ordered for them to be executed, right in front of your eyes."

This time she doesn't manage to hide her own surprise as her jaw hangs open and she shakes her head. She laughs an awkward one before saying, "Come on, have mercy on me. Don't joke around like that, my heart is still weak. I know that we're best friends but this is not it."

Her expression is unfaltering as she relays, "I'm not joking. When you found out that the bench was constructed facing that side, you immediately called for the soldiers, had the workers gathered and executed. The king and queen knew of this, but they did not intervene. Park-" she catches herself before the full name of the prince slips out of her mouth, praying that Narae did not hear it, "-Prince Seonghwa, His Highness was shocked but could not offer anything besides compensation to the families of the workers. They were asked to keep news about this in the low. No one outside the palace knew what happened to the workers except for their families. Things like this, were what made people started talking and assuming. But it later went unspoken because people got tired of speculating."