"Are you feeling better, Ophelia?" Jisoo asked me after the next morning's briefing when Inei suddenly got up to tend to some miscellaneous matters, and Seiji accompanied him on his way out.
Turning to see bronze lace, I replied with suspicion, "I'm doing well… How about you?"
It was rare for her to seem so kind, so I was taken aback. She was nice but never in the way of jolly greetings and small talk.
Keeping herself beside me as we sauntered down the halls, she said, "I'm fine. Thank you, but I wanted to check up on you. The king said you were out sick last night."
"Oh, did he?"
I recalled the web of lies Koharu spun in front of Akiyoshi, figuring she only trapped him within to appease him as she ate her fill.
"Yes." Jisoo became skeptical as she narrowed her eyes. "Was that not the case?"
Her accusatory nature was, in fact, very justified at that time. Guilt prevented me from acting with malice towards her because she could easily turn the situation around on me if I wasn't careful. I wasn't sick last night, but hadn't Inei approved of my absence?
*Maybe he lied to not make the other advisors feel jealous…? I think I can tell Jisoo the truth, though. I trust her enough. She never cares enough to bother spreading rumors.*
"It wasn't." I gulped before confessing to my crimes as she glared wordlessly. "Listen. I wasn't supposed to mention this much, but I travelled somewhere."
"Travelled?" We stopped walking, and she turned to me in anger. "The king let you off for that shit? What the fuck is this? Nepotism?"
I set out with the intention of never upsetting her based on the stories I heard, but I accidentally brought out this side of her like a lion behind iron bars. A poor zebra, I backed away with both steps and words in hopes she wouldn't charge on me to bring me to my demise.
I shook my head. "To my knowledge, yes, but I wasn't the one who told him, Jisoo."
She snapped, almost driving me into the wall.
*Please don't slam your forearm into my neck over this. I value my voice box.*
"Then, who did?"
I gulped, but hoping to placate her, I said, "Princess Koharu."
Her eyes narrowed. She backed away with a huff. "She sure likes to bluff, doesn't she?"
"What are you accusing her of?"
I started snapping back. I didn't realize I could get so protective in this regard, but I wasn't going to tolerate Jisoo insulting someone so dear to me.
*You're a good friend of mine. You would have me beheaded if I said something bad about Sera, so why don't you try to understand me?*
"She likes to lie to her parents. A lot." Jisoo shook her head, placing her hand against it. "She quit it for a while when the two of you started talking, but she's right back to that crap again. I really thought she changed."
"She's not a liar," I said to defend Koharu.
After all, I agreed to everything, so I was an accomplice in whatever felony we carried out. There was no way to blame Koharu for the whole ordeal when—if Akiyoshi's reaction was indicative of anything—she was pushed to the brink through years of relative isolation. I still doubted she said anything false to her dad, and perhaps Jisoo's response was formulated by the misinformation.
Jisoo snickered. "To you, maybe, but she's crafty, always trying to get out of the castle. Ask Asahi if you want. Hikaru asks me and him to keep a watch on the girl."
"Curious, has he ever told you why he tries to lock his daughter in the castle?" I asked, nearly yelling, and I thought about how her judgment was null if she didn't know the entire situation.
Jisoo looked vaguely intrigued, but she was still perturbed. "No, he hasn't."
"Strange. He's usually pretty upfront. Look," I began calmly, knowing I only had to play dumb, "I apologize about that. I'll apologize for Koharu, too. She, well,"—I scratched my neck—"I guess she didn't lie to me, but she omitted the whole 'I can't leave the castle because the generals are watching me' bit."
*I guess I should have listened to Akiyoshi. Though, I can still dig my way out because she doesn't know Koko already filled me in about why the royal children are stuck inside.*
She cut me off. "Lying by omission, but proceed."
I wanted to glare, but she was intimidating. "Can you not mention it to the king?"
Though I wanted to say I was acting, nervousness welled in me. I didn't want to consider the consequences *if*—on the slim chance—Inei was clueless.
*I need to check with Koko.*
I hoped Jisoo would pull through, but that feeling sank like an anchor when she deadpanned, "I don't have any incentive to do that. If he knows I'm hiding something, I'll lose my job on the spot."
"Can't you reason with me on this?" I asked as I pulled her arm when she began to stomp off.
She sighed. "No one's going to get fired if something's said, anyway, and it's not completely your fault."
*I'm glad you acknowledge that last part, but how can you be so sure about how Inei will act?*
"This is about Koharu! I don't want King Inei and King Hikaru to become even stricter."
"I don't care!" she retaliated. "The king has a right to know. This is about his family."
She zipped away in anger, likely en route to Inei's chamber.
I groaned.
*I'm screwed.*
Because Jisoo was a snitch.
I chased after her, gripping her shoulder when I caught up.
Panting, I made one final attempt to dampen the situation by asking, "Wait, could you calm down a bit?"
Doing the exact opposite, she removed my hand from her body and continued storming off.
***
During a meeting not long after, I anticipated with bated breath how I would be pulled aside or scolded by the king for sneaking off with his daughter. I felt guilty beads of sweat under my arms that would be a dead giveaway about my current state as the perspiration collected like on the underside of a leaf. My foot anxiously tapped, the sole of my boot creating an erratic rhythm that pissed off Jisoo beside me.
Calm Jisoo was terrifying; I had no idea what she could be plotting, especially after earlier. She was capable of anything from a verbal pinch to physical annihilation.
I waited.
And waited.
Yet Inei kept talking, grinning, and joking like nothing happened.
*I bet he's waiting for the perfect moment to strike.*
However, even by the end of the briefing, he smiled gently and waved me goodbye. About to leave the room, I let out a sigh of relief.
*How lucky did I just get?*
"I didn't tell him, by the way," Jisoo muttered in my ear as she hovered over me while I was seated.
I was doubtful, but joy rose in me. "That seems rather unlike you."
She shrugged. "Someone talked me out of it. Sera said I shouldn't act like an elementary tattletale when you haven't betrayed me this entire time."
"Normally, I'd tease you about that, but thank you. Really." I grinned at her earnestly.
*Wow. She saved my ass.*
She barely acknowledged me and managed to disappear as quickly as she had popped up right beside me.