CASSEY
That same night, after the party was over, I was drunk—and still drinking.
I went to my mother's tomb in the palace with a bottle of liquor and a small glass, and I sat down close to it.
I always went there at night to talk to her, hoping—somehow—she could hear me.
I poured a bit of the liquor on the ground in front of the tomb, then filled the cup, raised it in the air in a silent toast, and drank. I sighed deeply.
"Mother... today was a wonderful day."
I sat back, letting the silence linger.
"Can you believe your fifth daughter just got married? I believe you'd be happy wherever you are. now…"
Tears rolled down from both eyes.
"I really wish you were here to experience all this—seeing your daughter married to a different kingdom. Did you know your first daughter is now a queen in another realm? They were all present today… with your grandchildren. They were happy."
I wiped my tears and continued.
"And guess what? I was called an uncle today." I gave a soft scoff and rested my head.
"I'm an uncle now… and if you were still alive, you'd have been called Grandma too."
I drank the last drop of liquor.
"Oh, it's finished. I don't even know if you liked alcohol like I do." I sighed and leaned my head back, gazing toward my mother's old room across from the tomb.
I kept staring, and slowly, the memory of what happened that night began to replay in my mind…
until I drifted off to sleep.
NICHOLAS
I came into Cassey's room, and he was still sleeping.
I often wondered why he always visited his mother's tomb at night. That wasn't the first time I'd seen him there.
It was clear—he missed her deeply.
I felt pity for him, of course. It was obvious he was sad, even though he always laughed, acted playful, and pretended everything was fine.
But one thing I didn't like about him was how he constantly disrespected his father—for reasons I couldn't understand. That was something I'd never do to my own parents.
Cassey finally woke up with a jolt, like he'd had another bad dream.
I was sitting close to his bed.
"Good morning."
"There's nothing good about the morning," he groaned.
"You haven't even started it yet," I said, handing him a cup of tea. He sipped it, then immediately spat it out.
"What's that?!"
"Lemon tea. You need it—you were drunk last night."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I'm not taking it," he said, placing the cup down.
"Suit yourself. I'm only doing my job as the royal doctor."
"Fiiineee, I'll take it," he said, then gulped it down and ran to the bathroom.
Thirty minutes later, Cassey had bathed and was getting dressed.
"I wanted to tell you something yesterday," I said.
"What is it?"
"My father wants me to get married."
He burst into laughter.
"Married? Why? You're way too young for that."
"Young? I'm older than you, Cassey."
"By just a year."
"Hmmm..." He walked closer to me. "So, which girl do you have in mind then?"
"None, Cassey. I hardly even talk to girls."
"Oh yeah, right. Or do you want to marry from the royal family?" he said, heading to the mirror.
"Royal family? There's no one." He looked at me through the mirror.
"Irene?" he said, raising one eyebrow.
"No way. I can't marry Irene."
"Why? Don't you want to be my brother-in-law?" he chuckled.
"That's not what I'm saying. I mean—"
"Irene has a crush on you," he interrupted.
"Ew. No way. I don't need royalties. Besides, she's older than me. I want someone intelligent and smart—"
"So you're saying my sister isn't smart?" he interrupted again.
"You didn't let me finish. I want a common girl—someone skilled medically, like a nurse. Someone modest by instinct." I explained.
"Oh really..."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Yes, come in," Cassey called.
It was the king's eunuch.
"Your father requests your presence, Your Majesty."
"Okay," he said, and the eunuch left.
Cassey turned to me.
"How about we go into the kingdom and look for a smart, medically-skilled girl?"
"But… your father asked to see you," I reminded him.
"He didn't say when I should come," he said, clearly unconcerned.
"But he's expecting you..."
"To hell with his expectations. Let's go."
He grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
JADE
I appeared in the kingdom, in a quiet area, and tucked the bottle safely into my inner pocket.
"Now, where do I start from?" I thought, sighing.
"I need to get to the palace and get this done immediately, so I can have time for myself before heading back."
I pulled my cape over my face and began walking.
When I got to the marketplace, I scanned the area. I thought I recognized him—those dimples. My mother had shown me his face long ago in the spirit realm.
A few minutes later, I saw two young men coming out of a clinic, arguing playfully. One of them looked so familiar. The dimples when he laughed—they matched the image I remembered.
"But anyone can have dimples," I thought, still, something told me it was him. I followed them discreetly, noticing a group of thuggish boys following them too.
They strolled into the forest. By the time I got there, they were already fighting the thugs with swords. I quickly hid in the bushes and watched.
The fight dragged on for over thirty minutes, and no one had been killed yet. I grew tired of watching.
I stepped out and joined the fight—within minutes, I killed all the thugs.
"Piece of cake," I muttered. "They weren't even skilled."
But surprisingly, he put up a fight with me.
I had to defend myself hard, completely caught off guard by his strength. In the end, he defeated me. I fell to the ground, and he pointed his sword at me.
"Who are you?" he asked.
I said nothing. Then he pulled off my cape.
"Hmm… Never seen you before. Are you from here?"
"Cassey, you've defeated her; that's enough. In fact, she helped us," his friend said.
"And killed them, which isn't right," Cassey replied coldly.
I stood up. "Is that the thanks I get?"
"Thanks for what, exactly?"
"Cassey, let her go. They were thugs—they deserved it."
"Yes, they deserved to die, but in a lawful way. Not some stranger showing off her sword skills," he snapped.
His rudeness made my blood boil. I nearly slashed his throat right there.
"You have no manners. You're supposed to thank me for saving your life."
"Manners? Do you even know who I am?"
"I don't care who you are. I have just as much right to be here as you do," I shot back.
He stepped forward as if ready to retaliate, but his friend held him back.
"Cassey, that's enough. We should head back to the palace before it gets dark."
He pointed at me with disgust.
"You... I don't care who you are, but pray I never see you again."
He brushed past me, bumping my shoulder aggressively. His friend followed him.
I stood there, scoffing.
"'Pray I never see you again.' Please. You're living in the palace—the very person I need to complete my mission. I have to see you every day."
I smirked to myself.