Just when Seulhee thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.

She was in town, running an errand for her mother. She had to pick something up from a shop, and she was waiting, bored and distracted. That was when the herald rode onto the scene of the town square, dressed from head to toe in black. He dismounted and called for everyone’s attention. It didn’t take long for the crowd to quiet down since everyone was curious as to what was going on. They could already tell that the news he brought would not be good.

Once again, someone brought forth something for the man to stand on and be seen and heard. He climbed into the wooden box they gave him and didn’t even bother to clear his throat. He simply said, in a somber voice that somehow carried across the crowd despite his lack of volume, “It is a terrible day for this kingdom. Her Majesty the queen is dead.”

Gasps broke out everywhere, and some women actually began to cry on the spot.

“May she rest in peace,” the herald continued, ignoring the crowd’s increasing noise. “Long live the queen.”

“Long live the queen!” everyone repeated. People dipped their heads in solemn reverence.

“The whole kingdom shall go into mourning. Everyone is expected and required to wear some sort of black cloth in remembrance of the late queen. Violators will be fined.” That said, he began to walk back toward his mount. Nobody had taken the opportunity to steal it, even though it had been there for the taking. The news was that disturbing.

For a moment after hearing the announcement, all Seulhee could do was stand rooted to the spot, shocked. Then, she stumbled forward. “Wait, what happened?” she yelled. But her call was lost among the roar of the crowd’s reactions, and the herald rode away.

The king and queen had only been married for about six months. What had happened? How had the queen died? Nobody could explain that. She knew it obviously wasn’t childbirth, but she hadn’t heard anything about the queen being sickly either. It was a mystery.

She wondered if the king would remarry. Perhaps he wouldn’t for a long time, if ever. Then again, he would have to. He would need an heir. The kingdom would need an heir.

It was at that point that Seulhee realized how difficult it must be to be a king, having little free will. He had power, but he didn’t have full control over it by any means. Any feelings he had were set aside for the sake of his kingdom and his people. She felt sorry for him and hoped he would weather the storm of this loss well.

When she brought the news back to the village, everyone was just as dumbfounded as she was. She had no explanations to offer since she had heard none herself.

For the first week of mourning, everyone wore all black. After that, they took to wearing a piece of black cloth tied around their arms.

***

The death of the queen took its toll on the kingdom, and that effect became noticeable about two months after the fact. Taxes were raised, more crime was committed, more people were jailed.

At the same time, Seulhee noticed even more of a change in Sungyeol.

Lately, when she asked Sungyeol about his friends, he seemed to dodge the question. She wondered if he was being ostracized because of his background, but then she remembered there were several dozen others at the Royal Academy with a similar origin, so that couldn’t be it. That was when she began to worry he was mixed up in something bad.

On the surface, he seemed fine. He hadn’t ever come back with any sort of injuries or anything. However, that meant very little since his personality seemed to have warped. She couldn’t imagine what it might be, and whenever she pressed him for information about what was troubling him, he never gave a straight answer. Mostly he made excuses about the workload at the Academy. When she asked if he was learning interesting things and doing well, he said yes, and he sounded truthful, so she doubted it was the academic aspect either.

She knew of nothing she could do to help him, and by the time she received the letter from him, she knew it was too late.

Dear Seulhee,

I think during the past few months we have grown apart, and you don’t seem to enjoy my company anymore. I am sorry that I have been a bad friend. I have a life here in the city tying me here and very little back home. In fact, I’m not sure I can even call the village my home anymore. Anyway, I don’t know when I will be able to visit again, and I almost don’t see the point.

I take back what I said before. Don’t wait for me to come back and marry you. Go find your own happiness with someone you love. Forget about this friend of yours who cannot keep his promises.

Sungyeol

When she finished reading the letter by the creek, she crumpled it up and began to cry. She’d held back these tears of frustration and worry and sadness long enough, and it was time to let it all out.

The marriage part, she didn’t care so much about. She had never loved him in that way in the first place. What hurt more than anything else was that Sungyeol had become a different person and she had never once done anything to prevent it from happening. Guilt and self-admonishment overwhelmed her. It was a terrible feeling, one that would stay with her for a long time.

As she turned to walk back inside, though, the world began to melt all around her…

The girl with no memories realized something weird was going on, and then she heard the rumbling and knew what was coming.

Moments later, the train crawled into view, the door to the first compartment stopping directly in front of her. She took a step forward, and with that step, left behind Seulhee. Her foot touched the first stair, and the conductor appeared before her to extend a hand to her. She looked back at the village girl, who was frozen in time, her eyes stained with tears. The masked man grabbed her hand and pulled her away from that life. It was hers to live no longer.