When Go Ha-Jin was young, her mother used to tell her stories about a damsel in distress and how a young man could come and save her. Said young man would almost always be a prince, they would fight off evil together, fall in love, get married and live happily in a castle. She had held onto the belief that her prince would appear on the day she needed him the most. Unfortunately, in that brief moment between drowning and waking up in Hae Soo's body, Ha-Jin believed that her prince might have gotten lost in Seoul's traffic and was too stubborn to ask for directions.

Given the state of her pre-drowning life, Ha-Jin thinks being Hae Soo wasn't bad. She gets to not live in a box she calls an apartment, she doesn't need to do chores or work, and the cherry on top? Douchebag ex-boyfriend and vicious ex-best friend does not exist. That was something she could live with. Now, as she felt herself fall backwards into the stony creek, all she could do was prays that Hae Soo's prince is not caught up fighting some war. (Her prince had come in a form of a half-a-mask donning man wearing black robes and riding a horse. He then proceeded to throw her off like a bag of potatoes. What a jerk.)

The second time Hae Soo's prince saved her, it was to escape an arranged marriage by her uncles. It had been an elaborate plan by the princes to get her out of the palace, which surprised her. Yet, nothing could beat the surprise of seeing the 4th Prince, Wang So riding the same horse through the woods in their attempt to outrun the royal guards. Even though it had been short-lived, she had felt thankful then. Not everyone would be willing to defy the royal decree and offer her a solution to run away together. Never mind what the palace rumors had to say about Wang So, to her, he was nothing like that.

"A man in his 60s with many sons? It's the king; the king!"

It seemed trouble never seem to stay away from Hae Soo. Through the years in the palace, Ha-Jin had endured so much. From Wang Wook's betrayal, to the death of Lady Oh, Hyejong and her first friend with his wife, Ha-Jin felt like she had one way or another influenced these deaths. It was on her, and it was burdensome. Yet, despite all these, she had found love in Wang So at the most unexpected time. Hae Soo's prince had been there for her through the years, and now, as she tends to Wang So's wound, she thinks that he could have been Go Ha-Jin's prince too.

Before he got married, Wang So had once said she was his only queen. Then, it was all she needed to hear. She knew Wang So would have given up everything in a heartbeat to be with her, but Korean dramas has taught her that in any sageuk dramas, the lover of the emperor will always be used against the emperor. He was going to rule for a long time, and deep down, she knew that she was already playing with fate, against what Jimong had warned her time and again.

The death of Chaeryung, however, turned out to be the last straw for Ha-Jin. Hae Soo, Ha-Jin decided, has had enough of the palace. There has been too much blood shed. When the opportunity presented itself in the form of Wang Jung, she decided she will take it.

"I want it"

Ha-Jin knows Hae Soo is no princess, her prince is the 4th King of Goryeo, one of the many responsible in shaping the world she will live as Go Ha-Jin in a hundred years later, and unlike her mother's stories, they did not live happily ever after.

Thank you everyone who has reviewed my previous two fics! Your reviews are really appreciated and encouraging and I am super grateful for them3