Thank you for reviews! It gives me motivation to write. If you have any suggestions or ideas of which characters you want to focus on, please comment.

I started this chapter, thinking that it was going to be a short snippet of the family life, but it somehow snowballed into something longer and spilled into a few more parts. I hope you like it!

Regard gold like stone. Part I

With the King and Queen as their godparents, or simply royal aunty and uncle, kids had no shortage of intricately embroidered dresses, robes and pretty caftans made out of the finest materials. For her birthday, Yoo Seong always received some kind of a gorgeous trinket from them, arriving in a small and delicately decorated box, which in itself was probably worth a house. Dae Jung was gifted belts, boots and once a knife that rivaled any owned by his father.

Choi Young frowned on lavish gestures of affection, while Eun Soo placated him. The gifts were safely put away as a part of Yoo Seong's future dowry, without the child ever knowing of what kind of treasures she had in her possession. As far as the boy was concerned, he was too busy training, studying or enjoying his solitude to even realize what he was wearing or how he looked like.

Sometimes Eun Soo opened up the chest, containing the beautiful dresses. She caressed them, sighing and daydreaming of her daughter wearing them and everybody turning heads as she dazzled the onlookers. Eun Soo also imagined herself wearing one of the outfits the Queen always gave her for her birthdays and wedding anniversaries. If the mother-daughter couple were to go out together, Choi Young would probably need at least a dozen Woodalchi to make sure they are safe from being kidnapped at first sight.

Her covert visits of the "fashion closet" became more frequent, since Yoo Seong decided "not to be a girl". Despite putting an effort to convince Choi Young that this new phase was temporary, with the way things were going she secretly worried. Would a pretty dress make a difference? If she were a little girl, running around with boys and not caring about her appearances and then suddenly was presented with her beautiful reflection: a flowing gown, shiny shoes and hair clips, she would change her mind in an instant. Only, there were no balls in Goreyo, and her daughter was not so easily swayed by appearances. Maybe, an audience with a Queen would place a dent in Yoo Seong's determination?

She scribbled a letter for Noguk, carefully checking her symbols against the Chinese dictionary she made for her own use. If her plan works out, she will need to have Choi Young on her side.

. . .

The General watched Yoo Seong spar with Dae Jung. Both of them kept looking over to him for approval, but he maintained a neutral expression. This was not a competition. It was training for skill and those with skill survived, when those without perished. It was too early to think of them as future warriors, but he was glad they started now, because in these dangerous times anything could happen.

He felt pride in his children's accomplishments. He was lucky to have such dutiful and talented kids. But he also found himself feeling a strange sense of loss. He could not put a finger on it, but it nagged at him lately, whenever he looked at his daughter. She was healthy and happy, doing well and working hard. What was bothering him continued to be a mystery.

"I miss seeing my girl looking like one," said Eun Soo with a wistful look on her face.

"Me too, very much," agreed Choi Young. "I miss her looking and acting like a little girl." He remembered Yoo Seong in her first pink silk dress, her arms and legs chunky and her body plump, a ribbon on her head. He never imagined having a girl would be such a gift. When she was two, she fumbled into the room, falling with each step and stubbornly getting up, wrapped in one of Eun Soo's pretty caftans, huge for her size, her little feet drowning in her mother's embroidered shoes. Her affection, as her small hands pulled at his beard to kiss him on the nose, "Daddy, look how pretty I am," twirling and twirling till she fell dizzy with laughter. It dawned on him - "That's what's been bothering me Imja."

"I know, honey. But she made a decision."

"Can't we convince her to put a dress on and a ribbon in her hair once in a while?"

"There is a way..." Eun Soo seized the perfect opportunity. "I already wrote to the Queen, if she officially invites us as a family, the kids will have to dress properly and Yoo Seong won't have a choice, but to be the prettiest girl alive."

Choi Young who usually was weary of his wife's plans, agreed to this one. It seemed relatively harmless.

The next hurdle was to convince the steadfast General to at least give the girl access to her hidden chest of presents for a dress or two, even if she did not require jewelry at her tender age. Choi Young was extremely hesitant, but after one of the shortest fights they ever had, Eun Soo managed to break through his defenses and he accepted a deal: he will have a talk with the kids about material possessions beforehand, just like his father did with him when he was young.

. . .

So one afternoon the children were invited to the study and seated on the two pillows in front of their father's large desk. Both of them were a bit confused and a bit scared. Official invitations to the study meant serious business. Since they had not created any trouble recently, they were exchanging looks and Yoo Seong even grabbed her brother's hand, which he held tightly and nodded at her, giving a silent reassurance that they were in this together, as always.

"So, children," Choi Young coughed uncomfortably. He prepared a long lecture, having written down all the important points a night before.

"Yes, father," they responded in unison, looking up in expectation.

"I have called you here today to discuss an important matter," he proceeded awkwardly. He never had a formal speech delivered in front of any audience, other than soldiers. He liked to be concise and to the point and he never got any questions asked, and even if he was, Choi Young could cut them down quickly and move on. Not having any prior experience with a different kind of listeners, he decided to avoid any complications by announcing, "What I'm about to tell you is not negotiable. Understood?"

"Yes, father." The kids nodded affirmatively.

That went well. He let out a slight breath of relief and continued, "Things are not important in life. Material possessions are nothing much, but objects. If you attach yourselves..."

For the first time in his entire life and career the lecture was exceptionally lengthy. As it went on and on, the kids' attention waned rapidly. Their eyes glossed over and they covered up yawns; Yoo Seong almost dosed off and Dae Jung was staring into space, daydreaming about something or rather, blinking once in a while. Such a response was unprecedented! Choi Young was caught up in his righteous topic, which did not seem to grip the audience, interest them or make any impression on them.

"Children, children!" he impatiently banged on the desk, startling them out of their stupor. "What did I just say?"

"Things are bad," responded with a sleepy voice Yoo Seong.

"Inconsequential?" replied with a question Dae Jung.

Now exasperated sigh escaped General's lips. "My point was: regard gold as stone." He tried the last resort – the most important piece of knowledge his father had left to him before death.

"Ah," suddenly brightened up his daughter. "I know, I know. It means that gold is simply as stone."

"Yes, gold is a mineral," concluded Dae Jung, who was a big nerd and was learning about minerals and other cool things from the things he procured in the Royal archives.

"Yes, it is, son. But it is not the point."

"The point is that you don't want us to be lured by the shine of gold. Values and principles or honesty, devotion and integrity are more important," rather casually explored Dae Jung. His sister added, "How we are with others. The relationships we build."

Choi Young's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. These kids were like tiny sages, all this wisdom, put in simple words, while he was working so hard to try and convince them of something they obviously already knew and treated as basic truth.

"The imprint we live in this world is not of our material worth, but our great deeds," concluded his son. "That's what the teachings tell us, father. And that's how you live your life."

"With your example you show us what is right and wrong," reported Yoo Seong and smiled.

The children left their father speechless. He was not sure how to react or what it meant. It was as if they were mocking him, but that would be completely absurd. Still, how such little people knew of such grown up concepts? He never mentioned it before or had any special lessons delivered.

"Father," the girl broke the heavy silence, which seemed to drag on longer than necessary, "can we be excused?"

"Is it a lesson for us to memorize? Will we be questioned later?" wondered ever studious and responsible Dae Jung, but quickly received a hiss from his sister "don't give him any ideas!"

"No, it's not like that." Choi Young was gloomy and waved them off, as the kids hurried out into the sunlight to play.