Night had fallen and the guests had long departed. The lone moon cast shadows on the floor, dogging the King’s every step, as he paced around the room like a caged animal. He could not believe it. The brat had thwarted him. Again.

 

“That pompous little ! How dare he give my daughter to a soldier!” he raged, throwing his glass of wine against the wall.

 

Like you care about your daughters. Out loud, Son Dongwoon said simply, “Which one are you going to marry off?”

 

King DongMin threw his hands in the air. “Does it look like I give a damn? Pick one!”

 

Dongwoon nodded. Exactly as I thought.

 

Muttering more curses, King DongMin finally sat down. He poured himself another glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. “I can hear him laughing at me. He’s probably boasting to his people now how he had tricked me. That damn bastard. He’s making a laughingstock out of me and the whole land! And what do the clan leaders do? Celebrate! Congratulate each other, patting themselves in the back like they actually accomplished something! The old fools. They’re even stupider!”

 

Dongwoon remained quiet. In his years of service to the King, he had learned it was best to just say nothing when the man was angry.

 

“My King.”

 

Dongwoon raised an eyebrow and looked towards the monk as he stepped out from behind a post.

 

“My King,” the monk repeated, his lips. “If you let me, I have a way to turn the tables around.”

 

“What are you talking about?” King Dongmin said gruffly.

 

“I can make the King of Seoul pay.”

 

~

Choi Junhong could not believe what he was hearing.

 

“…and besides it’s time for you to settle down. There’s no more threat to Seoul, Junhong-ah. You can lay down your sword now and rest. Be with me as we raise our families together, brother.” King Yongguk said softly, holding his friend’s shoulders.

 

“You promised me off to marry a daughter of that man?” A statement. Soft. Lethal.

 

Yongguk let his arm fall to his side. “Look at me, Junhong-ah.”

 

Junhong continued to stare at the ground, refusing to raise his head. He was afraid of what he would do once he saw the King’s face. His fists hurt from being balled too tightly, for too long. He could feel the anger running through his veins, at his very core, raging through his soul…

 

He felt betrayed.

 

“Junhong-ah, please.”

 

Please.

 

At that one word, his fists slowly loosened and his rage cooled. He suddenly felt cold, . He longed for anger to fill him again. He needed the warmth it gave him. But he could not bring it out. Not after hearing that one word.

 

“Please, brother. I need you to do this.” Yongguk said gravely, looking at his friend’s bent head.

 

After a stretch of silence, Junhong slowly faced him. His eyes were deep pools of night. He had hidden himself again. He nodded. Once. And turned around, leaving Yongguk behind.
 

The King of Seoul never took his eyes off the retreating back of his friend. His breath turned into a swirl of mist, as he whispered into the cold air, “I’m doing this for you. Brother, only for you.”

 

 

~

 

Six days later
 

Yoo Youngjae tried to peek through the veil but it was too heavy to reveal even a trace of the woman’s face.

 

Clearing his throat, he said, “We’ll be arriving soon, My Lady.”

 

The princess simply nodded.

 

Youngjae sighed. He had tried in vain to get her to speak ever since they had left the palace. For some reason, he felt sorry for her. The King of Ilsan had not even been present to hand her off. One of the advisers just pointed him to a door, telling him to “fetch” the princess from there. His exact word. Youngjae scowled. He announced, with as much gravity as he could muster through his frustration, “I am here to take the Princess’ hand in behalf of Lord Choi Junhong.” The adviser just shrugged and went about his business. Youngjae thought he was far from understanding a woman’s mind but even then he knew the young lady must have felt horrible to be so unceremoniously given away as she had. This was why he was now trying to befriend her.

 

“I know you’re nervous, My Lady. But don’t worry. Seoul is not as bad as you think. You might have heard stories about us, but some of them are pure fiction. Others, just exaggerated.”

 

The princess nodded and turned to look outside the window.

 

Youngjae persisted. “And we have lots of wonderful gardens. Do you like gardens?”

 

Again, the princess nodded.

 

I’m asking the wrong questions. He gave it another shot. “What’s your favorite flower?” Aha! You cannot just nod now!

 

The princess pointed to her sleeve. It was covered with water-lilies.

 

Damn. You’re good. Youngjae opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted when the carriage came to a halt. He looked outside the window and saw the familiar flags whipping atop the towers. They had arrived.

 

“Welcome to your new home, My Lady.”

 

He pushed the door open and stepped out. Turning, he offered his hand for the princess. She took it and stepped down from the carriage. Youngjae signaled for the waiting women to stand on each side. He smiled at her, not knowing if she could see him or not, and then turned around towards the opened gates.

 

They were greeted with loud cheers. Everyone had come to greet the new daughter of Seoul. And she was not just any daughter. She was to be the wife of their honored Son. This granted her an even more curios audience. They were politely skeptical. She was, after all, the daughter of their nemesis. They knew it was unfair to pin her father’s sins on her sleeves, but still…

 

“Welcome to Seoul, Princess,” Choi Eunji greeted, smiling warmly. She opened her arms and hugged the woman. “Welcome home.” She took her hand and led the way up the long flight of stairs to the Kingdom’s House of Advisers.

 

On the top step stood the King of Seoul.

 

King Yongguk bowed to her and smiled. “Welcome.” To the people he declared, “Behold, your new Lady.”

 

The cheers grew louder.

 

Yongguk turned around and motioned for the princess to follow Eunji inside the building. After making sure they were out of earshot, he hissed under his breath to Himchan, “Where is he?”

 

“I asked Jongup to find him,” Himchan replied. Looking at the princess’ back, he said, “I have a bad feeling about this, my friend.”
 

Yongguk followed his gaze. Softly, he murmured, “It will be alright.” It had to be alright.

 

 

~

 

She was in his room.

 

The nice lady who had said, “I’m Choi Eunji. Just call me Eunji,” had brought her to his room after she had met everyone inside the House of Advisers. She was about to ask her to stay but Eunji had gone before she could even open .

 

Dear Father, what have I done? What have I done to deserve this fate?

 

She looked around the room. It was a man’s room. Anyone who saw it would say so. From the dark mahogany walls, to the big black bed on a dais in the middle of the room, to the black furniture arranged in controlled discipline… Yes, she was now trapped in another dungeon.

 

She took off her veil and breathed deeply. The heavy garment had almost suffocated her but she had refused to take it off earlier. It had served as her barrier from her new strange world. Now, in the privacy of her solitude, she allowed herself this small reward of being able to breathe freely.

 

The friendly knight had told her in the hall that the lord of the house would not be able to meet her until probably tomorrow morning. He was sorry. She certainly was not. At least, she had this one night all to herself.

 

She moved towards the balcony, spying a full moon hanging low in the sky. She loved the moon. She felt a sort of camaraderie towards it. Like her, it was lonely, solitary. She placed her hands on the railing and stared at her heavenly friend, asking for the constant wish in her heart.

 

Please watch after my brother. Please. Yoogun-ah, I will find you.

 

“So, you’re my wife?”

 

She spun around quickly at the sound of the deep voice. And when she saw to whom it belonged, her breath caught in her chest.

 

“What do I call you?” Junhong said carelessly.

 

It was him. Him! The man who had saved her life…

 

“Yooee...” It was a prayer. Breathless. Hopeful.

 

The moon smiled.