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 nowhere and was always traveling, that her father always said would be happy to spend more time with her, but who never came close to his youngest brother house, and was almost 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 when her father took her to Songak to visit his brother, sometimes bringing some of her other siblings. She would always tell Seol 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 was why she ran away.

Of course, she didn't intend to run away forever. She just wanted 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 wanted to feel like a child when she was visiting her favorite uncle.

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

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

And there was where she found him.

Her uncle was sitting on the ground, his legs stretched and his arms crossed, as he leaned against the big stone. Seol was pretty sure that he had been sleeping until she came stomping to his side, and his surprised expression after seeing her seemed to confirm her assumption.

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

She straightened her body after he acknowledged her, but her curiosity prevented her from running away immediately, so she just stood there awkwardly, her head tilting to the side as she tried to figure out how to ask the man what in the world he was doing in the garden.

Before she could come up with the words, though, he questioned her first.

"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 explained slowly and she shrugged, 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 answered him, readily and swiftly, "I was allowed to leave the room, but I couldn't go very far." That was a little lie, but it was better than saying she had disobeyed her parents and sneaked away. The King was nice, but he was also an adult and he might take her back if he knew she was roaming around without her parents' supervision.

"Aren't you far?" He narrowed his eyes when he asked, and she knew he knew she wasn't allowed to leave her room.

She had already started her story, though, and she was not backing down now.

"Of course not," she said 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 asked, smiling, and she knew he was 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 looked at him dubiously, then around to their surroundings before raising a point with him, "Aren't you far now?"

The King looked at her mischievously and leaned in a little closer, so she knew he was about to tell her a secret.

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

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

"From my wife."

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

"Huanghu?" she asked for clarification before speaking any further, "Well, she's beautiful, all right. But she does look a little intimidating." She shouldn't say anything remotely bad about the Queen, but since the King started it and didn't seem to be very attached to her, she felt safe to voice her opinion out loud.

"You've met her?"

"Just once, briefly," she shrugged, 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 knew he might be thinking she ran away that time as well, so she complemented her explanation quickly, "And I was walking around with Eomonim."

The Kings nodded seriously, and she knew he believes her word. That was 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 was not wrong to say her mother took care of her. But every time people used the word 'always' or 'only' to refer to the attention she received from her father's wife, she felt obliged to make a small correction.

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

The King's face went 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 explained 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 smiled, 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 laughed a little bit, looking amazed at her words, and she smiled as well. Even though it was a little sad, she was glad she had the mother she had now. Rather than being alone with her father, she liked 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 were 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 came to her and she blurted out, as she did when she remembered something that made 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 pointed to the bun in her hair, happy to have something that connected her to her deceased mother, and to know that it once belonged to her, "That's why this hairpin is my favorite."

He took a closer look to the jewel in her hair, and his gaze softened, "It is very beautiful indeed."

The King fell silent for a moment, as if his mind was caught in the past and he couldn't see her anymore. But then another thought came to her mind and she blurted out again before she could even stop herself.

"Did you know my first mother?" Her question was also a hopeful wish, because there weren'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 excited her.

"Why do you ask?"

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

"I did," his eyes lighted up as he looked away to the distant lake, his expression merging into one her mother likes to call nostalgic, and she was sure he was about to tell her something fascinating, then he sighed and his face fell 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 wanted to keep asking questions. She liked to talk about her first mother, even though her father – and now the King – looked sad when she was mentioned. However, her mother had told her never to push someone to tell a sad story until they are ready, so she stood silent and looked away to the lake as well.

Seol thought she could stay right there forever. The adventure and the exploration of the palace could wait for another day, because she was sure this brief encounter with her uncle was a rare occasion. The King was busy, and even though he liked to, he couldn't stop everything just because his niece wished to see him.

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

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

She stood up, but hesitated on walking away just now, "What about you?"

"I'll be leaving too," he answered 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 started to dash away, before her mother called the guards to look for her, but stopped on her tracks, turning around to face him one more time.

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

The King smiled, though. And she felt herself smiling as well.

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

Seol didn't stop smiling even after she went 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.