Days passed and just as Akhenaton promised his little bundle of sunshine, he let her play and enjoy what time she had left with her friends.
Every day as the departure day was getting closer, she could feel something tighten around her chest little by little. But she would always shrug away that feeling and convince herself that she should make whatever time was left into moments and memories that she would never forget, just like that night under the sea of stars.
Moments and memories that will forever be engraved in her mind and heart.
And just like her Joon Wo was also having the same feeling, he found himself always waiting and eager for the time that would meet again.
But unlike her, the thought that she would eventually go back was slipping from his thoughts, or more accurately he was letting it slip away on purpose. Because for the first time he had someone he can call a friend. Someone who would listen to him babbling about this and that without ever getting tired of listening to him.
He couldn't help but having a grin spread wide across his smooth face at those thoughts that are running wild inside his young mind.
He was too lost in his world to notice the one that was one his mind a moment ago was now in front of him tilting her down to look him in the eyes as he was looking at the ground.
"Jooni?" she said, "what are you thinking about so hard? I called you a couple of times already." She used the nickname that he wasn't sure when exactly she made that up, all that he knows that he was liking the way it sounds, especially the way it came out of her mouth.
Poor kid, he is too young to realize that feeling that was slowly creeping inside his small child's heart.
You, he thought wanting to say it out loud but thought that it would be weird, he didn't know why though. But he decided to follow his gut feeling.
"N-nothing," he said.
"Let's go to the others they must be waiting for us," she said brightly, unconsciously holding his hand and dragging him behind her.
"B-but" he stuttered, "it's that way" he pointed in the other direction. Even after 2 weeks has already passed since she came here, she still gets lost easily, saying that this place is a maze and that every other hall is the same.
"O-oh, right" she giggled at her clumsiness, still holding his hand. Though he couldn't quite say if she doesn't mind holding his hand or was it that she didn't notice. He couldn't say, but he liked it, either way, the warmth that her hand was radiating was calming his nerves making him feel as if he is floating above the clouds.
"Min-ah!" she called out as she saw the youngest prince walking ahead of them with his oldest sister Jae I.
"Tari!" he said running to her, "I was on my way to the tree you like."
That cherry blossom tree she liked ever since the first day that she wandered around in the palace that tree has found a special place in her heart.
The warm and gentle aura that came radiated from the tree was something she has never seen or felt back home.
Even though the palace had many cherry blossoms trees but there was none quite like this one. Maybe because when she asked, she was told that it's said that this tree was here long before this palace was ever built.
And so every day since that day she would come here with the other princes and stay till dusk when the cool breeze blows softly against the branches causing some of those beautiful pastel pink petals to float around them, making them feel as if they are walking amongst the clouds on a beautiful summer morning.
And so, they walked meeting on their way the others, Jin Wo he was the second youngest, Yu Jun the oldest. And together they went to sit down under that same tree that they all first met at.
"Tari" Min Jun asked, gaining a hum from her as a response.
"I always wanted to ask, why do you always request to meet here?" He said, "I mean there are a lot of other beautiful spots in the palace."
"I know."
"It's just that the feeling I get when I'm under this tree surrounded with all of you," she said, "there wouldn't be another place on earth I will rather be." She finished, not realizing the petals that were stuck in her night-black curled hair as she smiled as gentle as those petals.
Joon Wo didn't know what he was doing until he felt the stares at him, turning to follow the reason why they were staring at him, he found that his hand was on her head making her go wide-eyed at his actions.
"S-Sorry!" he quickly withdrew his hands after taking the petals out, "t-there were petals in your hair s-so I took them off" he was barely saying as his cheeks started to flush from the heat, not believing that what he was doing what he imagined in his mind in real life.
Get a grip already he scolded himself.
If his memory didn't fail him this was the first time that he has ever touched a girl…no more like have gotten within a 2meter radius of a girl other than his sister.
Not that there weren't any girls around him but more like he was never comfortable around them, going all shy and not knowing what he should say. He was a little boy, after all, that phase where kids are still learning about the world and trying to come out of their comfort zone to explore the world, but at their own pace.
She laughed, she couldn't take how cute that expression on his face was, his tinted cheeks making him as red as a tomato was driving her crazy and she couldn't hold it gaining questioning looks from the rest.
She waved them off wiping that one tear that was able to escape her eyes and said: "He was just too cute getting all shy like that" she pointed her point view a little too clearly that resulted in Joon Wo's cheeks to only get redder from the embarrassment that he felt from the heat that was making its way through his whole body.
"She is right," Yu Jun said tilting his head a little to the side, taking a closer look at him before he too couldn't hold the laughter and let it all out.
The others nodding their head as they started seeing where they are coming from and eventually, they all gave in to the laughter making Tari join them again even though she decided that she won't so that she wouldn't embarrass him any further but it was too much for her to hold it in.
On the other hand, the only thing that Joon Wo wanted at that moment was to dig a hole deep in the ground and bury himself right then, right there and probably stay there for eternity he said in the back of his head.
With his brothers and sister, he always wanted to appear as the cool older brother, even though he was only 11 he thought that he held that responsibility of making them look up to him which was not working right now. But right then at that moment when a smile was finding its way to his lips the fact that he knew that later on all of this is going to change hit him right in the face.
All this happiness was going to go away, that's what his mother always told him. She kept telling him that when they all grow up in too full-fledged adults this was all going to change, his brothers who he thinks of now as his only source of comfort and happiness will turn against him one day.
They will betray him to get their hands on the thing that she wants the most, the throne.
He hated to admit it but, his mother was greedy. She was greedy for the throne so much that sometimes he thinks that only reason he was born was so that she can put him on the throne and use him as her puppet, despite him being young of age and not realizing the power behind the throne, that power that many sacrificed their lives for, he knew that this is something he wouldn't want.
If satisfying his mother's greed would make him lose the thing that he treasures and hold most dear to his heart, he wouldn't do it. And looking out at that scene in front of him, that scene that looks as if it came straight from a painting, makes him hold on to his decision even more and promising that no matter what, he would stay true to his word.
Forgetting something important, he forgot that he shouldn't make promises he can't keep.