2 Under the Cherry Blossom

In the late afternoon in the palace, noise could be heard everywhere, court ladies running around to finish errands, soldiers practicing their roles in the ritual that was going to be held later this evening. Even the little ones were busy, the princes and princess…not that they were busy with anything important though.

"1,2,3…here I come!" said Yu Jun hiding his face in his arms that were held against a tree as the rest all went to hide. Ever since the moment that Min Jun came to the other kids with Tari, they have been playing none stop, it's been hours now and magically they all still have the stamina to keep going, the blessing of youth you may say.

Tari on the other hand was also super enjoying her time, back in her home there weren't any kids her age so she had to play with her Nani but there wasn't much that she can do with her. What she always wanted was this, playing with other kids without anyone calling her My lady or Princess, where they all called her by her name. For a moment she forgot that she is a princess.

She had a hard time learning and getting used to the games that they are playing but they were more than happy to help her. Not even long after they started playing that she displayed the brightest smile she had, she never thought she could laugh like this either… but she had a feeling that she is forgetting something, something very important but she couldn't get her hands on it.

"Y-Yah! What are you looking at?" Joon Wo asked Min Jun with a pout on his face, Min Jun has been staring onto the horizon for god knows how long, Joon Wo followed his gaze to find it on Tari…again

He flicked his finger on the younger boy's forehead "YAH! Get a grip. You will make her uncomfortable." He was barely able to that himself.

"Biyanea (sorry)" he said rubbing his forehead where he was hit with a shy smile on his small face.

"I got you!" Tari said as she was grabbing Jin Wo the second youngest among his brothers by the collar.

"Not again!" he protested as he stomped his feet on the ground.

"PRINCESS," said a female voice coming from afar. As it got closer Tari started to recognize whose voice it was…along with the important thing that she forgot.

Damn it, I'm supposed to be lost she whispered under her breath in Hieroglyphic (ancient Egyptian language).

Her maid ran to her falling on her knees to hold Tari by both of her shoulders. "Where have you been?! The pharaoh is looking all over for you" she said.

"I was…" before Tari was able to give her excuse, she heard loud footsteps coming from the direction that the maid came from. Everyone halted what they were doing and turned to look at the source of that sound, it was loud. Like a hundred men running altogether at the same time.

Which it was actually, her father gathered 100 men to search for her. Saints are good!

"NEFERTARI!" the pharaoh said once his honey orbs fell on his daughter, taking quick wide steps till he was on one knee, scanning Tari if she was hurt or unwell. A heavy sigh fell from his mouth as he saw that she is fine and then looked her in the eye.

"I have been looking all over for you," he said, she could hear a faint sign of pain mixed with relief in his voice, she has never heard her father like this that's why it was easy to detect.

"Don't do that again okay" he said with gentle eyes as he stroked his daughter's checks.

She could only nod her head, her heart ached a little to see her father like this since in Egypt she was always within his eyeshot so having her disappear for a few hours in a foreign land nearly gave him a heart attack.

Everyone was standing dead silent behind the pharaoh. Yes, they didn't understand what he was saying to his daughter but at moments like these, the language barrier never mattered.

Wrapping her small arms around her father's broad shoulders as tight as she can "I'm sorry Papa, won't happen again" she whispered in her father's ears, he couldn't help but grin at his daughter's sweet apology.

In one swift move, he placed one hand under her and carried her in his arms.

After being carried by her father she realized the commotion that she had made, as she looked around more than 100 guards were around them. He did all of this for me? By the saints' Papa! She questioned herself but questioned her father even more.

What could happen to her here anyway? She was within castle walls with guards and court maids at every corner. She couldn't get it but still, it felt unpleasant to see that worry on her father's face.

She rested her head on her father's broad shoulder and waved goodbye to her new friends who were standing with the worry of not being able to play with her again. They haven't spent that much time together, but they as well found her to be a great friend. In addition to being beautiful.

"We will play again tomorrow too!" she yelled at them with a smile displayed over her round face making her eyes sparkle, "right papa?"

There was no way he was going to disappoint her when she was this excited with that smile on her face, just like her mother's smile so a rejection had no place at that moment. She is his only beloved daughter after all.

"Sure, you will," he said patting her on her fluffy curly hair.

The boys excitedly waved back a goodbye as they got their worry washed down the drain replaced by a face that was full of excitation for what's going to happen on the morrow.

In the moment that the maid came in his chambers and said the princess is missing! His heart fell to his knees, his head going blank.

No, not her too he whispered under his breath and rushed out to look for her, with the image of her mother spread across his vision. This is a new place for her, she doesn't know anyone, but what was worse, that thought that one of his enemies might have gotten their hands on her. That was the thought that kept running back and forth in his head not knowing what he might do if that was the case, but one thing was certain…if that was true, the culprit would have the most agonizing death humanity has ever witnessed and he wouldn't think twice.

She was the only one he got left. He tried to calm down his nerves and get a grip over his slamming heart as he ran around calling for her despite that hammer that was digging in his heart. And calling all the guards that were within the palace to look for her.

The only memory that he was having now is how he lost his wife…how she closed her eyes drifting into eternal sleep, right there in his arms as the blood drained out of her body on to his hands and the ground. At that moment when he felt himself on the edge of crying, he heard the most calming voice he has ever heard.

His daughter.

The sensation that he had back then was as if someone caught that hammer in his heart, threw it aside, and embraced it tightly.

He saw her there playing around with the brightest smile he has seen on her face, that smile she had on her face melted all his worries away once he lied his eyes on her.

She is the only one next to her mother that can make him kneel in front of all these people without thinking twice, without one bit of embarrassment or shame. Kings from all over were dying to have him kneel beneath their feet, but they never got what they wanted, they always failed and crumbled under his wrath begging him for forgiveness for their foolish acts. And there he is kneeling in front of a 10 years old girl, wrapping her tight in his strong toned arm, promising to protect her until his last breath.

When she asked if she could come out to play again with them, there was no way he could say no after seeing that smile, saints have mercy on him, he was a fool for his daughter.

For only the sake of that smile on this girl's face, for the sake of keeping her happy, he accepted. Rejection had no place at that moment, and there was no power on earth that can make him reject his little bundle of sunshine.

That bundle of sunshine that was shining brighter than that the peak of the great pyramid of Egypt Cheops under the blazing sun on a hot summer morning.