Arrow on the Ground

The World They Create Together

Through some sort of strange coincidence, the group's aimless stroll led them to the wild gardens near Damiwon where coincidentally, they met the King, Ji mong and the Crown Prince all travelling back to court. The moment, Wang So notices his father's presence, he greets the king with a bow as his wife and his people around him follows him in greeting the king. When the king acknowledged their bows, they straighten their backs though still kept their head a little down.

The Crown Prince was the first one to break the silence by asking what they were doing, and that was all the permission that Wang Eun and Wang Jung need to began to relate the tale to the King and their eldest brother. All about the visit of South Goryeo officials, the games they played together in the garden and so forth. The young prince's enthusiasm led to all of them relaxing slightly. Even the King starts to smile, when Hae Soo joins in to add on to the 10th prince' tale by telling the Crown Prince and the King some funny things that had happened since the last time she had met them, all of them were relax with a comfortable atmosphere surrounding them..

Prehaps because of the comfortable air around them Lady Hae Soo did not notice that in her happy monologue, she had let it slip that she went to see the palace physician yesterday because she had been feeling a little sick, but turns out it was a simple cold. She forgot completely that she was in the 10th century where even a little cough and throwing up was a concern, and all of them had recently lost a family member due to a disease.

"Soo-ya, why did you not tell me?" Soo finally notice the silence around her when her husband Wang So stand in front of her with his arms on her shoulders, looking directly in her eyes.

"Tell you what? That I had a little cold, but I am fine." Lady Hae tries to calm down her husband, but now her friends, her brothers-in-law were also worried and were questioning her.

Why did she go to the physician alone? If their Hyungnim was busy, they could have gone with her. Are you sure that the doctor said you were alright? Did you actually go to the physician or was it one of the assistants?

"Hae Soo," when the King spoke up all of the princes went silent and now turn to face where their father was standing, "why is it that I always hear the 4th telling you to be careful of your health so often. Just what reason is behind it that you even hid a sickness from him, when even I can see how much the 4th cares about you?" It was a demand for an explanation, even if it was spoken like a request.

"Pyeha," Hae Soo turns to face the king as she spole but did not shake her husband's hands from her shoulder. "It really was nothing, Pyeha. Your son is just worried about something a doctor told him about my health in the past. When he knows that it will be fine." But that reassurance did not work at all on the skeptical crowd, even more so when the 4th prince who was silent during his younger brother's panic speaks up.

"Soo-ya. You know that I just wish for you to be careful." Then with a sigh, the 4th prince takes a look at his surrounding and sensing no one suspicious and all of the guards around them were the ones truly loyal to the King, he speaks out the truth, at least the truth mixed with a little bit of lie to hide their greatest secret.

"My Apologizes, Pyeha. I hid something from you though it was unintentional." Letting go of his wife, the 4th prince turns to face the King, staring at him with a defiant look in his eyes. Rather than wait for his father to reply, Wang So begins to explain.

"When we were escaping on horseback, before reaching the old hut, we encountedI a doctor by chance who offered to examine my buin to make sure she was alright. I was the only one that heard what the doctor said, though I shared with Lady Hae at a later data. I did not want to remember the words of that doctor so I did not think to let you know about when I was reporting to you. Though I did take those warnings to heart, and that is why I am always so concerned about my wife's health."

"What did the doctor say about Lady Soo, that made you so unwilling to even think about it, Hwangjanim?" Ji Mong was the one to ask the question that was burning on the tongue of the men present around the 4th Prince and Lady Hae. All of these royal men cared about Hae Soo in their own way either as a friend, adaughter, or a sister. As everyone seems to stare directly at them, Lady Soo simply looks down at the ground though she does forward to be close to her husband's side who seemed to be trying to be calm as he went on with his explanation.

"Lady Hae Soo had a body that was a bit weak from birth, but it was not that huge of a concern to her daily life. But the poisoning had affected her body, not to mention all the pain she went through as she was fighting off the poison. According to that doctor, her body is more immune to poison, her heart and her knees were deeply affected by the side affects of the poisoning. Thus now both her heart and knees are weak, and there is a need for caution." The 4th prince was talking in a firm but a soft voice, making sure that only his family members and his true allies could hear the exact details.

"If Hae Soo's experiences an intense shock, it can cause her heart to be strained and that could lead to her having trouble breathing. In plain terms, the more distress and strain her body goes through, the more it will affect her heart. Right now, Soo is healthy and just need to be careful to avoid extreme shocks, but the doctor said that if ever Soo develops heart palparations then her life span will diminish. I do not wish for that to happen, that is why I let her relax as much as possible, and let her be free to move about because making Soo stay in one place for a long time will make her furstrated and it could affect her heart." All the men were shocked and were either expressing it openly with a shocked look on their faces or with a silent glance towards the silent Lady Soo.

"And her knees?" Ji Mong did not forget that the 4th prince had mentioned both his wife's heart and her knees.

"The pain in her legs when she was fighting the poison had made her knees a little sensitive. Any severe pressure or a repeat weight to her knees, such as being on her knees a lot or standing too long, even riding a horse, it is possible for her knees to cause her pain. The doctor said that if it gets bad enough, Soo will have trouble walking or may lose the ability to walk in the future." It was obvious just how much the 4th Prince hated that fact, by the slight waver in his voice as he continues to speak. "Both her heart and knees will not affect her health as long as she is careful and she will be able to live a long time. That was what that old doctor said."

"That's why you were so furious that day, when you saw Soo on her knees looking for her fallen jewellery." the 13th prince Baek Ah said as he was stare at his dear friend. A friend that his first love Myung Hee left for him to take care of, and here he was, not even knowing that she was at risk of developing such a terrifying condition.

"Noonim, you could have been seriously hurt if Hyung did not carry you, and make you sit down," the 14th prince Jung look at his sister-in-law. He had thought it was funny to see his calm older full-blood brother act frantic that day, not to mention thinking that he had been scolding the servants a bit too much. But now he knew that if his Noonim had stayed on the ground more longer that day, she could have hurt her knees.

"Soo-ya, why did you not let us know? Did you not trust us?" All the 10th prince could think about was that his dearest friend could be hurt. Could have been strained her heart due to shock by some of his tricks he did.

"Agasshi," Park Soon Deok who had been silently listening till then speaks up, "from now on you are not allowed to go anywhere without me. I know you love to take walks and I will not stop you but I have to be with you. Also don't use your knees, if you need to dig a herb, just tell me I will dig it up for you." In the time, Soon Deok had spent guarding Lady Hae Soo, she had grown to care for her like a wise older sister. She had seen death due to war, she did not wish to see the death of her sister-like figure by something that she could help to pretend it from ever happening.

"Everyone, seriously. You worrywart of a husband, I told you already that I do not plan on getting into any kind of trouble that will hurt my health, and we will live a long life together. Why did you need to tell them? Now there are more people that will worry needlessly." Before the exasperated, but clearly touched, Lady Soo could continue on, her eldest brother-in-law Wang Mu speaks up.

"Hyungsu-nim, my brother did that so we all can be careful about your health and be able to help you. Which physician did you see yesterday who told you that you were alright?" The Crown Prince personally love this new sister-in-law of his because she treated him as a person. Her actions were never calculating and she genuinely liked him. Lady Soo had made his fourth brother happy, and had made him smile. He wishes to always see that smile on So, therefore the fact that the source of So's happiness could be harmed was something that he will try to stop it from happening.

"It does not matter who she saw yesterday," when the King spoke everyone turns towards him, "4th Prince, I understand the reason that you hid the truth. Now, Soo-ya, you said to me to treat you like you were the daughter-in-law of Wang Geon not the daughter-in-law of the king. So I am asking you to take care of yourself. I will also send the best palace doctors together with Ji Mong to Byul tonight after swearing them to secrecy. Do not talk about what you learnt here, unless you want to be charged with treason."

"Thank you for your grace, Pyeha." as both the 4th prince and his wife Lady Hae Soo made a full standing bow towards the King. The stalled atmosphere around the group was broken as a strong gust of wind blew through the garden, and everyone turns away from the wind and covers their faces. Wang So stepping in front of his wife and gathers her in his arms so she could hide her face in his chest. The strong winds continued for a few moments, close to a minute, rustling everything around them, before it stops leaving a deadly silence behind.

"Pyeha, are you alright?" Ji Mong asks the King just to be sure and when the King gives a nod, he looks over everyone else and sees that everyone was alright.

CLANG

The sound. The sound that everyone present have by now been warned and for some, they had it committed to memory. All the palace guards have drawn their weapons and were now surrounding the royals. Right next to the King, there was Lady Soo as she was the only one that had no martial art training. Then right around the two was Wang Eun and Wang Baek Ah, the two princes with that had the least experience with a sword. Wang Mu, Wang So and Wang Jung were on the outer layer of the circle of royals each looking all around them as Ji Mong, Seon Deok and the guards surrounds them.

Thud, right in front of the circle, an arrow struck the ground. Everyone tense and looks around but when no other arrow was shot, one of the royal guards slowly made his way to the arrow. The arrow which the soldier notices had a piece of paper wrapped around it. Quickly getting the arrow out of the ground, the soldier goes back to the group, where now instead of a tight circle around the royals, there was now more of a loose protective stance. The soldier with the arrow quickly gave the arrow to the Astronomer before joining up with his fellow guards, who were searching the ground around them or finalizing the route they need to take in order to get the King and the royals back to safety.

Ji Mong walk towards where the royal family were in a more hidden area near the trees, so they were better covered. Silently, Ji Mong took the paper from the arrow, as the Crown Prince took the arrow and were now examining it for any special markings.

"The paper has only says this Seol's stones, and a week's time" Jimong says quietly. The moment, Ji Mong said the word "Seol", both the 4th prince and his wife turn to look at him in shock.

"Hwangjanim…" Lady Soo speaks in a near whispers as she now grabs her husband's arm tightly. The 4th prince glances at his wife's teary face before a determined expression comes into his eyes, he turns to the King and the Crown Prince.

"Pyeha, I know where those stones are. This letter is not from the assassins. That name is only something that a person only three people in this world now, which is my wife and I, and the person that helped my wife when she found out about the poisoned utensils." It was not a lie, because to know who Seol is, it had to be someone connected to their past lives, the person that sent them here. Squeezing his wife's hands more tightly, the 4th prince continues. "Pyeha if it is possible, please come tonight under a disguise to the prayer stones by the lake, I know that all of my brothers know where that is. Eun-ah, Baek Ah-ya, Jung-ah, you three come with Pyeha, Ji Mong and Crown Prince with full commoner disguise to the stones. Soon Deok-ah, you come with the General. I think we all know that whatever would be found at the stones needs to be discussed in complete secrecy with those who we trust unconditionally."

"Pyeha, Crown Prince," Lady Soo adds on to her husband, "please trust us and come to the prayer stones. Whatever we find, I will insure that there is a quiet place ready for us to talk tonight." Seeing the quick nod, she receives from the King and seeing all the others nod, the 4th prince and Lady Soo relaxes. "The guards are coming, everyone act normal. Hwangjanim...I meant 4th prince….please stop with those glares, no one is capable of hurting Seol, she is not even in this world yet." Ignoring her husband's pouting angry face, Lady Soo reaches up and her husband's face.

A moment later the royal guards comes towards them, and the royals silently let them lead them back to their personal residences silently. But all of them were silently making plans as to how to sneak out in the night to go towards the prayer stones, especially without any of the guards following them, a very hard thing to do for the King especially.

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Tahali #1
Chapter 82: I'm still here, waiting for the continuation of this beautiful story.
Hope you are well and come back soon.
kuroihikari #2
Chapter 82: I wish you could continue this story too!!!
ANNAYUAN #3
I hope you continue this story!! I’ve reread so many times and I love it!
Tahali #4
Chapter 82: hello I really hope you are well and that soon you can follow this great story ....
Sorry if my English is not understandable, I don't speak it well at all and I read your story through google translator
Ahonakh #5
Chapter 82: Please update this book it's so heartwarming and fun to read please do continue it
ggexotica #6
Chapter 82: Hi..
I reread this story n in love with it all over again.
How are you? Hopefully you're doing well especially with this pandemic going on.
It's almost a year since you've updated this story n I wonder if you'll continue this story? I really hope you'll continue, because I love this story. I'm also curious how the story goes, especially after Yo changing his views toward SoSoo n their family and listen well n patiently to Seol. What will happen in the next chapters?
Take all the time you need to update this story. But...maybe a new chapter soon? (。・ω・。)
Naaah. Take all time you need. Stay safe :)
Tahali #7
Chapter 82: Hello
I have reread all the chapters, I hope you are well and soon you can continue it
Nonik1288 #8
Chapter 82: Please continue this story
How are you?
are you fine?
Eva_abril #9
Chapter 82: update please ...
The story is interesting, I love it.
Eva_abril #10
Chapter 36: Actualiza por favor...
Esta interesante la historia..
Ya quiero leer mas