#etxbora

The days go by painfully slow for his liking, but he goes through with it on autopilot, like he always has for weeks now. Everything just felt too dull, looked too plain, and it does nothing to give him the motivation he had lost when he had heard of the news of his father's passing. He feels like a puppet, the strings attached to his limbs severed and is stuck in a knot, forcing him to move on his own or he would rot, alone and forgotten. He feels lost, sometimes stuck with no way out. These days he feels both.

Kyungsoo shakes the negative thoughts off of his mind and continues to stare at the weapon resting on the table in front of him. He had lost track of how long he had been staring, willing his mind to work but it refused to do so. The sigh he lets out after is long and tired, but it's the only thing he could do as he finally decides to finally grab the weapon and continue with his training. He's done all the chores anyway so there's nothing to do at home for him, and his mother not seeing him mope inside the house would be good for her sanity.

There was a short moment in his life when even the thought of practising makes him want to curl into a ball and stay like that until he feels ready enough to face the next sunrise. He owes it to Bora, really, his wonderful sparring partner who had found a way to whisk him out of his bubble of missery and got his limbs moving again. His skills are still as sharp as ever even after weeks of neglect, each target aimed and fired at, but the lack of drive and enthusiasm shows in how many arrows he shoots and how many times he lets his sword get thrown off. It's probably she's ahuffing and groaning at him everytime, but right now the clanking of metal and the thud of an arrow to a wooden board is just something that helps him clear his mind.

Kyungsoo keeps to himself when he gets there, playing with the bow in his hand to keep himself busy. He watches the other trainees practice with a blank face, each cut and swing of their weapon tugging at his heart with a longing he couldn't quite place.

ft. @etxbora.

finery, decadence, and painted smiles–the party, hosted at the main castle of the knowledge kingdom, almost reminds wonho of home. and yet the main difference between the two lies in the quality of conversation: no gossip of lady turbolt’s torrid affairs or the state of lord kim’s hunting dogs can be found. instead, the guests engage in rapid-fire debates on any number of subjects such as politics, economics, philosophy, etc. it is invigorating; each discussions hovers on the edge of an academic debate, and the exchange of informed opinions is endless and (mostly) civil.

out of the five kingdoms of eutopia, knowledge is the one wonho favours the most–after his own, of course. at the risk of sounding like a cliche, there is always something new for him to learn during his visits. the age old adage of “knowledge is power” rings true, and wonho considers intellect to be a powerful tool in achieving his goals. his attitude while in the kingdom is more businesslike as a result, but every so often, an event falls into the category of  pleasurable business, giving him the opportunity to have a bit of fun. 

dressed in secrets kingdom finery, the deep red of his clothing accentuating his pale skin, wonho finds himself in a deep discussion on the subject of ethics. it is far from his favourite topic to talk about. stimulating, but the slightest bit uncomfortable seeing as his personal opinions stray from the norm. the minute he sees an opportunity to escape with grace, he takes it. bowing with a glass of wine in hand, wonho steps away from the group of nobles and strides over to a figure he recognizes from an earlier meeting.

Well, hi, my name is Emma and I'm an ominiscient narrator in the knowledge kingdom.… I... Hm... I like the mirror of wisdom, scketching and tea, but there's one thing little thing that can really make my day.

It's when the cold wind blows thought my hair, specially in the morning, when I just woke up. My messed hair getting even more messed up, the smell of fresh air, the cold wrapping my body. I really love it.

I left the bed with a smile on my face and, since it was cold, I decided to put one of that dresses that you can't wear when it's hot or you'll melt inside it.

Although I merely had a normal routine, it seems like even ordinary things are better when the weather is just fine. I even decided to play that rematch against a royal advisor even thought I'm already tired of chess.

Everything was going just fine, but unfortunately, that day was going to be ruined soon...It started when I was going to see the mirror, it's just a normal part of my routine, a part that I love. I love to be with the mirror, I love the knowledge I can receive from it, I love how it's always something different and unpredictable.

Sometimes more than I want it to be...

The mirror often tells me storys, about someone, something, sometimes even about a whole kingdom. And this time, the story was about a princess. A smart princess, a kind and lovely one, I already knew a lot of this story since I almost saw her growing.

But I wasn't expecting this end.

The mirror showed the princess lying on the floor surrounded by trees, probably in a florest, her hair was blonde, her eyes blue, and I knew what it meant... The princess was dehydrating, and she would need help.

But the sun was shining bright in the mirror’s prediction, so it probably won't happen today, right?

I left the mirror's room with this thought in my mind, but as soon as I left, I looked through a window and saw... nothing less than THE SUN SHINING BRIGHT.

Oh god! How much time I spent in the mirror's room? I still don't know if what I saw will happen today, but I can't risk it. Let’s just check if the princess is in the castle....SHE ISN’T!

I started running downstairs, there's one florest near the castle, and if my memory is not fooling me, I believe already saw the princess walking there before.  I asked some employeers if they saw the princess, none of them knew where she is.

Due to this situation, I would need water, but I was running against time, so I picked one bucket that a employee left on the ground and just said thank you without explaining anything, I also caught the papers that I left prepared for writing the mirror's wisdom.

Getitng to the florest wasn't difficult, I could run without bumping into someone easily since I already know the routine of almost everyone in the castle, I know what they will do, which path they usually use, and other things like Emily, one of our maids, she always avoid the stairs when she's with a headache, so she usually washes the first floor twice just to delay when she is going to go upstairs. I only had only “problem” I was leaving ice footprints in the floor, and some ice stains on the walls.

Anyway, this is not the point, I started running through the forest, there's a trail so I believed that following it would lead me to the princess. I also took some time to write a small letter.

Even running, I still managed to move in my systematic and metric manner, but the uneven ground of the forest has given me some distress, like when someone drags an iron fork in the botton of a pan.

Luckly, I found a guy in the forest, he was chopping trees, and his face wasn't strange to me... Yes, I remember now, he's the princess's guard right? ... Hm, maybe it'll be a good idea asking him for help.

I approchead running, oh, how I'm hating my dressing choice, these clothes are making my movimentation so difficult.

- Hi. - I smiled, gave him the letter and then started running again.

My bucket if half empty right now, but I believe it can at least give us some extra time.

Letter:

Headcanon - Send me one of the following. Status: Accepting.

Dongwoo falls in love far too easily. The flowers that bloom and reach for the skies, to their buds who wait to bloom upon the glorious day when they can finally search for the sun. To the little ants who trickle in a line, carrying items to produce for their queen. To the small turned rocks, scattered upon the earth by unfortunate souls who have treaded ever so carefully in it’s wake. To the tea cup with the chipped handle that no one ever chooses. To the sad knight who’s friend has died in battle for the mad prince – yet no one truly consoles in earnest.

However. But. There is always the exception.

He once fell in love with a young woman. Her beauty held no words that his very heart stopped pounding, the blood had stopped flowing in his veins and his brain had ceased functioning. His rhymes were lost in the bobbing of his adam’s apple – he was ensnared by her eyes and trapped by her words. She was a goddess yet she was the simplest of all beings he had ever encountered. No. Yet he could not have her.

At the time, he was simply a man who could not touch her without her father’s permission or look at her in the amorous ways he had did for those days. For he was following the chivalrous footsteps of his father, who had taught him the ways of the world. 

So he did not say a word to her regarding his feelings and so she never knew.

There’s actually two that she lives by “When you judge another, you do define them, you define yourself.” And “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

“i am everything you should have been.” — i think wonho would consider himself to be better than bluebeard. his past self had wealth and status but did nothing with it. he could have been more than just a strange aristocrat ostracized for his strange blue beard if he’d tried. it’s disappointing to think that in his past life, he had no real ambition or drive. at the end of the day, it amounts to lost opportunities and a wasted life. 

@etxbora

The duties of her being a princess included going forth to the different kingdoms to establish relationships within said meeting kingdoms. A responsibility Mina couldn’t care less about. What she was excited about was all the traveling and the meeting of new people. The trip they were taking this time was to the Kingdom of Knowledge. She has heard that they had a princess a little bit older than herself and she couldn’t wait to meet her. She couldn’t wait to go period, this would be her first trip there.

The nineteen year old wanted to make a good impression on the other girl. She figured a little ‘thank you for having me in your kingdom’ gift would do nicely. Mina thought long and hard a couple of days about what the gift should be. Then it hit her as her official suggests what better gift than an animal friend. She chose the gift of a squirrel, which they have an abundance of, and made the necessary cage for it and made sure she had a supply of the creature’s food to give the other princess as well.

Once they finally set sail and reached their destination they had to sit through a boring meeting as soon as they got in. It felt like hours and the girl was honestly on the verge of falling asleep. The meeting finished and she was finally introduced to the princess and left alone for some bonding time. “Well even though they already introduced me, hi I’m Mina and it’s really a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled brightly and handed the other the cage she was carrying.