A\N: I was only going to write a one-shot about Seol meeting her dad for the first time, but then it became another multichapter story... This will be rather short, and instead of following the kid for a long period, there will be only moments of her and So together over the course of years.

Hope you all enjoy reading! :D

The King was not what she had expected.

Of course, she hadn't known exactly what to expect of him, since her father had always told her that they could never visit her eldest uncle. There was some sort of complication that her mother promised she would explain when Seol turned old enough to understand, but that she already knew not to be easy to solve, not even for adults. Therefore, she had always resigned herself to never meeting the King in her life, and because of that permanent distance, his appearance had always been the last thing she ever bothered to imagine, as well as the palace he lived.

But still, every time someone would mention the most powerful man of Goryeo she would think of a stern and old man, sitting threateningly on a golden and huge throne, where no one would dare to touch him. He would also be surrounded by an army and a few advisors as well as servants and court ladies, who would follow him wherever he went to. Her mother would tell her that the King wasn't that old, and that he had been taking good care of his people so far, and no there weren't that many court ladies and eunuchs following him around, but she just couldn't believe that. If he was King, then he should have gray hair, cold eyes, mean heart, and also much wealth and many servants, because that's what most Kings were like in the stories.

All of those tales added to the fact that he forbade his younger brother to ever visit him, preferring to be alone inside the palace, contributed to Seol's image of a dispassionate monarch as the emperor Gwangjong.

So that would explain why she never thought that the man who smiled, kneeled in front at her and caressed her face, was the very King who wouldn't allow his brother to visit him.

.

.

.

.

"Your father didn't happen to tell me your name," the King said after bending down to a knee, her father a few steps behind, watching them silently. She hadn't noticed they had stopped talking until their walk was interrupted and the man came closer to her.

On the corner of her eye, she saw her father observing her, but before he told her to answer the man before her, she did what her mother had taught her to do.

"It's Seol. Pyeha." She placed her hands on her belly button and bowed deeply, because that's how you greet the King.

"He's your uncle, but you have to always call him Pyeha."

"Why can't he be Uncle?"

"Why can't I be Munhye?"

"Because being my mother is more important than being Munhye."

"Your father's brother is the ruler of the entire nation, which includes you. And being a king is more important than being Uncle."

When she straightened her body, she saw the smile on the King's lips and the relief in her father's eyes and she knew she had got their approval.

"That's a lovely name," the man before her said and she fidgeted with her feet, still not sure of what to say or what to do when people complimented her, "Are you enjoying the visit to the palace, Seol-ah?"

She nodded eagerly and relaxed a little bit, gaining confidence. She was good at answering questions and she was good at describing things she liked.

"It's beautiful. And it's huge too!" She turned around and pointed to the direction she believed to be the most correct, "Abeoji and I walked through that forest and I ran really close to the lake, but I didn't fall. But I didn't see any fish today because it's too cold for them to come out. And then I saw a butterfly flying over there to play with her friends, but Abeoji didn't know her name, so I couldn't call her," she said it all before she forgot the things she wanted to say, and then she recalled what she was doing with her father before the King had come to see them, "Ah! Then I went to see the flowers before they withered, I like flowers and gardens very much."

After she was finished, she turned back to the King, who was still smiling to her. Then she smiled back at him, because he also must like flowers and gardens if he had so many of them in his house.

"Since you like them so much, I'll make sure the garden is bigger next time you come," the King said to her and she felt her smile growing even bigger just by imagining a bigger garden, one that she would take the entire day to cross, but before she could voice her expectations the King asked her another question, "Which flowers do you like the most?"

The question was easy, as she had just spent the last moments of her walk deciding which flowers were her favorite ones. So, she pointed to another general direction, but this time with more confidence, as she saw her reference point, and told him, "The yellow ones, near that big stone over there. We don't have flowers like that in my home."

"Really? Take a few of them with you, then."

"Can I?" Her eyes bulged in surprise and delight, and she remembered her mother had told you to always say thank you whenever people gave her something. Then she also remembered that she should always call the King by his title and quickly bowed, "Pyeha."

The King laughed and she knew he was not offended by her forgetting to call him properly before, then she straightened her body once again.

"Of course you can," the Kings said softly, "But know that they will wither eventually."

"It's okay. Then I'll just to come and pick up some more." She shrugged, as her mother had taught her how flowers worked already and had even taught her a little trick to make them live longer after taking them from the dirt. But then something started to bother her, and even though her father had told her not to importune the King, she couldn't help but ask, "Well, I can come back, right? Abeoji used to say he couldn't come to the palace, but we are here, so he can come and visit you, right?"

"Yes, he can," the man said and Seol sighed in relief, "So make sure to always come with him to pick up flowers."

"Thank you, Pyeha," she remembered to say it, and to bow properly, "I'm sure Eomonim will like them a lot. She also likes the peonies we have at home."

"Peonies?"

"Yes, like this one." Afraid that he didn't know about peonies, she showed a small one that she was carrying in her hands and proceeded to explain, "Abeoji planted them in the garden before he got married to Eomonim, but she likes them too. She's really beautiful and nice, and she knows everything about everything, not like Abeoji who only knows things about fighting."

For a second, she saw the King's eyes turning away from her and going to her father. They had a secret and silent conversation that adults seemed to always have when they didn't want her to know what was happening and she feared she had done something she shouldn't.

But then the King looked at her again and she knew everything was alright.

"I'd like to meet her someday," he said and she decided to comply with one of his wishes, since he was already doing a lot for her.

"I'll ask Abeoji to bring her with us next time!"

"Please, do that," the King smiled more and she was glad she had offered it, "And I'll make sure I'll have more peonies in the gardens too, by then."

She was happy to hear that, and if the King was her father or only her uncle, she would have hugged him of joy. But her Uncle was the King and she knew what she had to do.

Her bow lasted a little longer than all the previous ones and she continued to smile after it, even after the King stood up and said goodbye. She saw her father bowing as well next to her, but she still smiled.

The King left through a flowery garden and she continued to smile. Any other previous impression she ever had of him, or the impressions other people had, didn't matter, as she had just testified that the King was, in fact, a good person.