The King was her favorite uncle.

Of course, he was the only one she actually knew, the other brothers of her father only a tale for him to tell her from time to time. Some of them had already passed away, and the remaining ones were separated, each of them in their own place.

There was her eighth uncle, who lived nearby the palace, but who her father never took her to visit, even though he always told her about the precious moments he lived in that house. There was also her thirteenth uncle, who lived in nowhere and was always traveling, that her father always said would be happy to meet her, but who never came close to his youngest brother house, and was never at the palace when they went to see her fourth uncle.

Her mother's brothers didn't really count as they were either too old or too young to be a fun company.

Maybe the King was her favorite uncle because he was the only uncle she truly knew, but she knew she would have liked him anyway, even if he wasn't her uncle at all. That was why she always got really happy whenever her father told her to choose her clothes for packing, and that they were going to the palace.

Her mother would get anxious any time an invitation came for them to attend to the palace, or her father took her to Songak to visit his brother, sometimes bringing some of her other siblings. She would always tell her to remember to be discreet while walking around the palace, and to be extremely polite to everyone she met there, especially the queen. She couldn't run in the hallways, nor could she go too far in the gardens. She had to always be with her mother or father

Honestly, she was getting tired of all of those restrictions. She was almost ten years old, she knew how to take care of herself, and the King had already given her permission to explore the palace, so everything was fine. Her parents didn't have to get so worked up over something so simple.

That's why she runs away.

Of course, she doesn't intend to run away forever. She just wants to see the place properly without her mother or her father hovering around and giving her boundaries as to what to do, what to say, what to touch and where to go.

Seol just wants to feel like a child when she's visiting her favorite uncle.

So she waits until her mother's attention has been stolen entirely by her crying baby brother and slips away from the room quietly without anyone noticing and dashes to the high bushes next to a big stone. It's closer than what she would have liked, but it's farther than what she usually could go, so she counts it as a victory.

She runs through the grass and the flowers, not minding if she'll stain her hanbok or her shoes until she's around the big stone and safe from the vision of anyone passing by.

And there's where she finds him.

Her uncle is sitting on the ground, his legs stretched and his arms crossed, as he leans against the big stone. Seol's pretty sure he was sleeping until she came stomping to his side, and his surprised expression after seeing her seems to confirm her assumption.

"Pyeha!" She exclaims, still surprised, but quickly remembering the proper etiquette and bowing, "Greetings."

She straightens her body after he acknowledges her, but her curiosity prevents her from running away immediately, so she just

"When did you arrive?"

"In the morning. Didn't you know?"

"I was in a meeting then. And I can't really know who's here if I don't see them," he explains slowly and she shrugs, seeing the logic of his argument, "Where's the rest of your family?"

"Abeoji left a while ago to send a message. I think he went after you. Eomonim is with my younger brother now, so she has to stay inside," she answers him, readily and swiftly, "I was allowed to leave the room, but I couldn't go very far." That is a little lie, but it's better than saying she disobeyed her parents and sneaked away. The King was nice, but he was also an adult and he might take her back if he knows she is roaming around without her parents' supervision.

"Aren't you far?" He narrows his eyes when he asks, and she knows he knows she wasn't allowed to leave her room.

She has already started her story, though, and she is not backing away now.

"Of course not," she says stubbornly, crossing her arms in an imposing manner, "And besides, I'm not little anymore. I know how to go back."

"Are you sure?" he asks, smiling, and she knows he's not mad nor about to send her back, "I live here and I get lost every time."

"Really?"

"Yes. That's why I always stay close to my room."

She looks at him dubiously, then around their surroundings before raising a point with him. "Aren't you far?"

The King looks at her mischievously and leans in a little closer, so she knows he's about to tell her a secret.

"Today is different," he whispers confidentially, "Today I wanted to get lost."

"Are you hiding?" she asks with a shocked voice, but whispering as well, "From whom?"

"From my wife."

She blinks, never expecting an answer like that from him. She comes in closer and crouches next to him. She would have sat down on the ground just like him, but her hanbok is new and her mother would give her a punishment that would last until they came back if she got it dirty.

"Hwanghu?" she asks for clarification before speaking any further, "Well, she's beautiful, all right. But she does looks a little intimidating." She shouldn't say anything remotely bad about the queen, but since the king started and doesn't seem to be very attached to her, she feels safe to voice her opinion out loud.

"You've met her?"

"Just once, briefly," she shrugs, remembering the encounter with the woman on one of her visits, "I don't think she paid attention to me."

"Was your father with you?"

"No, I think he was with you at the time," Seol knows he might be thinking she ran away that time as well, so she complements her explanation quickly, "And I was walking around with Eomonim."

The Kings nods seriously, and she knows he believes her word. That's a relief, since Seol didn't want him to think she was a rebellious child, or that her parents neglected her.

"So your mother is always looking after you."

He's not wrong to say her mother takes care of her. But every time people use the word 'always' or 'only' to refer to her father's wife care for her, she feels obliged to make a small correction.

"Well, actually, Eomonim is my second mother."

The King's face goes from solemn to confused at her differentiation, "How so?"

"You see, my first mother couldn't stay with me even if though she loved me a lot. She passed away when I was a baby, and she left me with Abeoji, so I wouldn't be alone and he could take care of me," Seol explains easily, "And see, Abeoji was worried about me, so he found a second mother to help him raise me. That's why I have two mothers," she smiles, raising two fingers to him to abridge and exemplify her long story, "I have the one who gave me life, and the one who takes care of me."

He laughs a little bit, looking amazed at her words, and she smiles as well. Even though it's a little sad, she's glad she has her mother now. Rather than being alone with her father, she likes her new family very much.

"Who taught you all of this?"

"Well, Eomonim explained better. She's way smarter than Abeoji." Her father was always a mess when he tried to clarify anything other than fighting and war, so all of the sensitive and delicate conversations was left to her mother, "But he's the one who tells me stories about my first mother, because Eomonim didn't know her."

"Do you like her?"

"Eomonim? Of course. I like my two mothers." A sudden thought comes to her and she blurts out, as she does when she remembers something that makes her happy, "Did you know that my first mother also like flowers? Abeoji always told me that peonies were her favorite. Just like this one." She points to the bun in her hair, happy to have something that connects her to her deceased mother, and to know that it once belonged to her, "That's why this hairpin is my favorite."

He takes a closer look to the jewel on her hair, and his gaze softens, "It is very beautiful indeed."

The King falls silent for a moment, as if his mind is caught in the past and he can't see her anymore. But then another thought comes to her mind and she blurts out before she can even stop herself.

"Did you know my first mother?" Her question is also a hopeful wish, because there aren't many people around her who knew the woman who gave her life, and the possibility of the King telling her stories from the past excites her.

"Why do you ask?"

"Is just that Abeoji told me she lived in the palace before," she justifies herself in a small voice, trying to gauge his mood to know if she said something she shouldn't, "And since you live in the palace, then maybe you saw her once."

"I did," his eyes light up as he looks away to the distant lake, his expression merging into one her mother likes to call nostalgic, and she's sure he's about to tell her something fascinating, then he sighs and his face falls into a somber expression, "But she left to marry your father right after I became king. So we couldn't spend much time together."

"Oh, I see." She wants to keep asking questions. She likes to talk about her first mother, even though her father, and now the king, look sad when she's mentioned. However, her mother told her never to push someone to tell a sad story until they are ready, so she stays silent and looks away to the lake as well.

Seol thinks she could stay right here forever. The adventure and the exploration of the palace could wait for another day, because she's sure this brief encounter with her uncle is a rare occasion. The King is busy, and even though he likes to, he can't stop everything just because his niece wishes to see him.

However, less than one minute later, she hears a distant sound of a mother calling out for her child.

"You should go back now," he says after a few seconds of her trying to pretend she didn't listen, "I think your mother is looking for you."

She stands up, but hesitates on walking away just now, "What about you?"

"I'll be leaving too," he answers with a soft smile, gesturing for her to leave with his head, "I think the queen is tired of looking for me, so it's safe for me to leave."

Seol starts to dash away, before her mother calls the guards to look for her, but stops on her tracks, turning around to face him one more time.

"Can I come here again if I need to?" She asks breathlessly, afraid he'll say no, but hoping he'll say yes, even though he knows she'll most likely come after running away, trying to hide from her parents.

The King's smiles, though. And she feels herself smiling as well.

"Sure. But you can't tell anyone."

Seol doesn't stop smiling even after she goes inside her room to face the wrath of her mother.

The King was definitely her favorite uncle.

Myrka
Sí, una lástima. Fue así que senti cuando escribi el capitulo. Feliz por la niña e su padre, pero triste por Soo ter morrido. Gracias por tu comentario.