(Soldiers can be heard yelling orders around)

Soldiers: We are here for the 10^th Prince. Find him now!

(Sounds coming from all directions. At that moment Eun thought to himself, he’s done for.)

Soondeok: Haesoo.

Haesoo: Yes, My Lady.

Soondeok: Take the prince another way.

Eun: What?

Soondeok: They won’t be able to kill me because of my father. They are after you, Your Highness. You heard what they said back then, they’re here for you.

Eun: No, you can’t.

(Eun grabs her forearm, holding onto his wife as if his life depended on it)

Eun: Let’s go together. Deok ah…

(Soondeok brushes him away with a stab in her heart, forced to hide behind her smile)

Soondeok: I will follow you soon. I promise you.

(Then she turns to Haesoo)

Soondeok: I’m trusting you.

Eun: Wife-

Soondeok: Remember what I said last night, Your Highness?

(Eun bites his lower lips, holding back her tears, Soondeok runs out. Haesoo pulls Eun over to take him to safety)

‘Listen to your wife and run, Your Highness.’

(But Eun won’t budge)

‘I can’t do it, I can’t hide behind my wife in shame like this.’

‘Lady Soondeok knew you would say that! That’s why she’s asked me to take you there, trust me, she will follow us soon, we have to ensure your safety first!’

‘I appreciate that, Soo ah, but…I can’t.’

(Haesoo tries to hold him back)

‘Your Highness!’

(She shakes her head, tears about to gush out of her eyes – she knew how things would end if Eun steps out of the teahouse, she had foreseen it, she had foreseen it all. Eun looks back at her and grins)

‘What can I do? I’m her awesome person now. She’s my wife, and I’m her husband, I vowed to protect her, and protect her I shall. I lived like a useless prince all my life, for once, I’d like to die like a real competent prince, one who’ll risk everything to protect the woman he loves. After all…I’m all she has.’

(Eun chases after Soondeok, if it’s death that awaits him, then death he shall meet – face to face, like a man, like Soondeok’s man. He takes the pill out as he makes his way out and puts it in his mouth, holding it under his tongue like what Soondeok had taught him to do earlier in the morning. The game is on, the bet’s been placed, it’s all up to fate now.)

--------------------------------------

(Eun and Soondeok laying still on the floor, Haesoo and Prince Jung go up to them after the king and his soldiers have all left, crying for the passing of their beloved. It didn’t take long for Soondeok’s father, the Grand General, to arrive and see the scene, he drops onto the ground and hold her daughter in his arms. After much silence, he finally spoke.)

Father: ‘Someone once read my fate and told me…that no one from my family should ever marry into the royal family…that it’d lead to nothing good, she said. That if Soondeok marries into the royal family, she will live a short life, she said. But I didn’t listen to her…I let my elder daughter marry the former king, and she died – weak, in sorrow and childless. On her wedding day, my youngest daughter saw the prince for the first time…that’s when she started to daydream about marrying the prince one day. I said to her…The 13^th Prince is handsome. The 14^th Prince is talented in martial arts. I told her to marry one of the two. Yet this girl insisted on marrying the 10^th Prince. She said he was her first love. If I knew this would happen, I would have stopped her. I suppose she would have married him even if she knew this would happen. My Soondeok was that kind of girl. She is true to herself and doesn’t know how to change.’

(Jung looks up to the sky, trying to blink the tears away. Haesoo doesn’t even try to stop herself from crying, there’s a storm inside her, storm of emotions, of sadness, of anger, of regret…of helplessness. She could’ve stopped this tragedy from happening, she could’ve, but…)

Father: ‘I’m sorry Soondeok…Now your father can’t do anything for you anymore. Soondeok ah…’

(The grand general holds her daughter tight, wailing for the loss of yet another one of his children. Prince Jung stands up, vowing to kill Prince So, but Haesoo holds him back, begging him to stop, telling him that the 4^th Prince too didn’t want this to happen, that Prince Eun had insisted his ending of his life. Just as Haesoo was sobbing while holding onto the prince, half a dozen palace guards surrounds them, with Bogum leading them as captain.)

Bogum: ‘This is the order of His Majesty, pay your respect!’

Father: ‘You…Bogum ah-’

Jung: ‘My friend Bogum, what are you doing here?’

Haesoo: ‘Who is he?’

Bogum: ‘Pay your respect!’

(Obediently, all three of them got on their knees as Bogum reads out the decree the king has just issued.)

Bogum: ‘Sinner 10^th Prince Wang Eun, and his wife Park Soondeok, has committed high treason, and was punished justly by death.’

(The moment those words leave Bogum’s mouth, Jung got furious, he gets up and grabs Bogum)

Jung: ‘HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT? They’re innocent! You know that, Bogum ah!’

(Bogum pushes him away)

Bogum: ‘Are you disagreeing with His Majesty’s words? Do you consider yourself as one of them? If so, I’ll let you join them, Your Highness.’

(Bogum points to the couple laying on the floor. Jung clenches his teeth as he swallows his anger and got back on his knees again. Haesoo shivers next to him, holding onto his arms in fear.)

Bogum: ‘Hence, His Majesty has decided that they shall not be buried in the royal cemetery and no one is to mourn for their death. Anyone seen wearing mourning clothes for them shall be considered as a traitor, and thus be put to death instantly. They are to be left outside the city to feed the crows and stray dogs while the rest is to rot to the ground. This will be a warning to people of this nation, that no one is to stand up against the king himself. LONG LIVE THE KING! Now hurry up and carry out the king’s order!’

Father: ‘No one touch my daughter! Not if you want to keep your arms!’

(The grand general stands up to defend his child)

Bogum: ‘What are you guards waiting for? Hurry! Are you going to disobey your king and listen to the grand general instead? CARRY OUT THE KING’S ORDER!’

(The palace guards rush up to put the couple onto the cart they’ve brought with them, but was, of course, stopped by the Grand General himself. A couple of men had to pull him away by force.)

Father: ‘Bogum! I can’t believe you would do that to someone you grew up with! She was like your sister! You two trained together! I taught you two together! You two did everything together! I raised you like my son! And this is how you repay us??’

(Bogum moves forward to hold him back, not letting him interfere with the guards’ work, then, just as the general is about to pull out his sword – an action that could bring him death for going against the King’s words, Bogum whispers into his ears in haste.)

Bogum: ‘General, Soondeok planned for this. Please, you’ve got to trust me.’

(At that, the general stopped resisting instantly, and when Jung is ready to throw Bogum a punch, the general signals him and stopped him just in time. Bogum secretly slipped a letter into the general’s armor before turning around to give other orders.)

Bogum: ‘Lady Haesoo.’

Haesoo: ‘Yes, sir.’

Bogum: ‘His Majesty has requested your presence, go to him now, he’s in the main throne room.’

Haesoo: ‘Right…right away, sir.’

(Haesoo looks at Eun and Soondeok for one last time, and walks away before she starts choking in tears again. She’ll never see them again…not ever…)

Bogum: ‘Hurry up now! We don’t have all day! We need to deal with them as soon as possible, they’re sinners, and they must not stay in this sacred palace a moment longer!’

Guard: ‘All’s ready, sir!’

(Bogum checks the bodies, then pulls a straw mat over to cover them up.)

Bogum: ‘Move out!’

(Bogum and his men, along with the couple in the cart, leaves the palace – the moment they’re out of sight, Jung follows the general to a corner in the garden, where no one will hear them or see them. There, the general opens the letter and reads it.)

‘General, what does the letter say?’

‘Prince Jung…I can’t believe I overlooked everything.’

‘What did you overlook?’

‘The blood.’

‘The…the blood? What blood? General, I’m not quite following you.’

‘Exactly! Back then, on that spot they died…there’s no blood on the ground! There’re blood on the bodies, and on the swords that slayed them, but not on the ground.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I taught you since you were 12, Your Highness, and you’re asking me? My my, Prince Jung, that means there were no excessive bleeding!’

‘Then…wait…then that means-’

‘They couldn’t have died! You said so yourself, Soondeok went down after a single blow – something I ought to have thought weird in the first place. Then you said that cut was on her chest, it wasn’t on , her artery was not cut! Then the prince, you said the prince was slashed, again, on his chest – same thing.’

‘But the arrow, general, it went right into him.’

‘Yes, but still, he couldn’t have died so quickly, so…timingly short, unless there’s something else. I taught you about spying before, you should know, Your Highness.’

‘You don’t mean…the pill. Oh my! Did…did they take the pill?!’

‘Bogum said Soondeok had asked him for both the pills and the fabrics – THE fabric.’

‘You mean the fabric that’s especially made to fake death? The ones that our spy wear all the time? The one that’s extremely tough to cut through, and if ever cut, the fake blood concealed within the fabric’s pocket would burst to imitate the person’s blood? The very fabric that saved many of our spies’ lives?! THAT magical fabric?’

‘Yes. My daughter is smart, she knew that the safest way out, is leaving the palace in plain sight, under the broad daylight, by being a corpse. Think about it, see how Bogum got them out in a blink of an eye? No one would even suspect a thing once they’re dead, even the king’s alert would plummet at this point since his greatest threat has now been removed. It’ll be easy job to get them onto the boat now.’

‘So…general, you’re saying that Soondeok knew the guards would come? That…she knew they would have to escape by faking death? But that’s too risky! It’s gamble! What if the king had them captured and beheaded in front of the public instead? There’s no getting away with that!’

‘Ho ho, Your Highness, Soondeok doesn’t just fight like a warrior, she thinks like one too – and places her bet well. She knows your brother the king’s temper, he’s not in the position to show off in public on punishing Prince Eun because the whole riot was fabricated in the first place. All along he needed the prince’s death, not his presence, and because of his ruthless heart, my daughter and son-in-law is now alive. Had he been a little bit more lenient and kind, they would surely meet their end. It was a risky bet, but she placed it well.’

(At this point, the general is grinning with pride.)

‘Then, what now, general?’

‘You must follow Bogum and know where they place their bodies, once the guards are out of sight, bring them to safety. Bogum’s brother Hyungsik and his men will help, as I’m told in this letter, he’ll know what to do.’

‘Then I’ll follow them too?’

‘No, you must stay at that site, and start acting with a shovel, pretend you’re burying them.’

‘But, why? I mean, they’re not even dead.’

‘We can’t let other people know they’re alive, and I foresee that some of your brothers will go out of the city to help with the burial, after all, not all of your brothers are like the king.’

‘So…I’ll have to make a mess with the dirt before they arrive, to convince them that I had buried them there already?? But…will they believe me?’

‘If not, you can show them that.’

(The general points at the arrows in Jung’s hand, the ones that has been in Eun’s body)

‘Tell them that you could not pull the arrows out, so you broke them off instead, and show them should they question you. They’ll be in such great sorrow now, they won’t question anything. Now hurry or you won’t be able to catch up.’

‘What about you, general?’

‘I’ll go home and think of what to do next, the king may still have his eyes on me, I’ll have to be careful not to ruin this…tell Hyungsik to come to my place after he’s done with his job, I might need his assistance.’

‘But…what does this…Hyungsik look like?’

‘Oh don’t worry, you’ll know when you see him. He’s Bogum’s twin brother, you won’t miss him.’

‘Alright sir. I shall get going then.’

(Jung leaves at once. The grand general looks up to the sky, relieved that his daughter and his son-in-law, is still alive – hopefully, and will stay alive, for a long long time.) 

... ... to be continued