-5-
The Doctors DaughterIt was finally the day of the proposal and a group of guards and royal servant women came to their home and called upon Jinhee and her mother. The two of them knew it was going to happen so they were already dressed and ready to go in the early morning. Her mother had gotten new hanboks for them and Jinhee could tell that she spent a lot of money on them and the jewlery they were drenched in. For good luck, Jinhee had snuck her fathers pin into her hair right before they left because she knew her mother would have stopped her since it looked cheap compared to the rest of the outfit. Jinhee walked behind her mother while the guards surrounded them. All of the people working on the palace grounds stopped what they were doing and was watching the group closely as they made their way to the palace meeting room.
Every glance made Jinhee nervous but she knew that if she was going to marry a prince she had to be used to the constant stares and whispers so instead of hiding within herself, Jinhee stiffened her shoulders and walked with pride in her steps. As the ascended the stairs into the meeting room that had its doors wide open, Jinhee heard someone gasp and say her name and it took her a second but she recognized the voice as Chanyeols. She looked from the corner of her eye and saw him standing there with his mouth hanging wide open as he watched her walk into the meeting room. As quickly as she spotted him, she drew her eyes away because she knew if she looked at him any longer she would break down. It didn't matter what anyone else said in the palace but seeing Chanyeol so hurt, broke her heart. They walked into the meeting room and sitting atop his throne was the king and all of the princes were standing off to the side in a row from eldest to youngest. Jinhee and her mother knelt before the king and bowed with their faces almost touching the ground, he grunted in approval and told the women to look up.
"I have decided for one of my sons to marry Jinhee. I would be very pleased to have her as a daughter-in-law." The King said and Jinhee's mother thanked him graciously. Jinhee kept stealing little glances at the princes, trying to figure out who she would be marrying and sadly since Suho was already married it would most likely by Kyungsoo since he was the next in line after his brother.
"The one you will be wed to is..." The King waved his hand toward the princes and one stepped forward. "My second youngest Jongin." Jinhee was shocked and looked to Jongin who looked as if he had swallowed a peach seed. "He is a very skilled warrior and I plan for him to lead my army one day but before that I wish to see him wed and produce strong children just like himself." The King looked to Jongin with an approving smile on his face. Kyungsoo couldn't bring himself to look at his brother as he felt the twinge of jealousy in his stomach but knew he should be feeling releaved. At the mention of children, Jinhee lowered her eyes from Jongin and felt her neck burning with embarrassment.
"We happily agree to the proposal your greatness." Her mother spoke up and the King happily laughed and clapped his hands together.
"Then it is settled. They will marry at the end of the month." The King snapped his fingers at his assistant and they hurriedly began writing and making lists to prepair for the royal wedding. Jinhee tried to bring herself to look at Jongin again but her weak heart couldn't bring herself to do it. "That's all, you may leave." The King waved the two women off and they bowed again and back out of the meeting room. Standing outside the door was a paitently waiting Chanyeol who had a million questions rushing through his mind but when Jinhee's mother saw him she grabbed her daughters elbow and guided her away quickly before the boy could talk to his childhood friend. Jinhee looked over her shoulder at Chanyeol whose face was burning red with anger and when their eyes met Jinhee thought she was going to shatter into a million pieces.
"Never talk to him again. You're practically royal now. You can't talk to boys alone anymore do you understand me?" Jinhee's mother hissed at her and Jinhee looked away from Chanyeol and stared at the ground ahead of them.
"Yes mother." Jinhee coldly agreed and once they were far enough away her mother let go over her but she knew that there were going to be nail marks dug into her skin. There were still two guards following them around and Jinhee knew it was because she now had a large target on her back for jealous women and treasonous men. They made it back to their homes and Jinhee felt the tears begin to well in the corner of her eyes, her mother said she would make them tea and shooed her daughter off to her room. Once inside Jinhee threw herself onto her bed and began sobbing into the pillow. All of her emotions were flowing out at once. The embarrassment, the pain, the hopelessness and the knowledge that her life would never be the same after this month. By the afternoon Jinhee couldn't stand to be locked away anymore and asked her mother if it would be alright to walk around the palace grounds and she agreed but only if one of the guards followed her around. All she wanted was a moment of peace but Jinhee accepted and she and the guard headed out. He kept his distance which pleased Jinhee and she hoped it wasn't because she looked like she was in a sour mood.
She made her way to the edge of the water and stared at the fish and for a brief moment the throughtof throwing herself in the water crossed her mind. She wondered what it would be like to sink to the bottom of the pond and then realized that she didn't have to wonder as she stood on solid ground, she was already drowning and clawing at the light, trying to catch her breath. She heard foot steps approaching and saw prince Jongin approaching with two guards at his side, she bowed and expected him to continue walking but instead he strode right up to her.
"Good evening your majesty." Jinhee said and she heard a slight sigh come from Jongin which surprised her.
"Are you really the daughter of my fathers old doctor?" Jongin said in a mocking tone and Jinhee held tightly onto the skirt of her hanbok, trying to resist hitting the boy. She had lived along side him for years and he had never taken notice of her. All that time bowing and greeting him was worthless as he didn't care about anyone besides himself.
"Yes your majesty." Jinhee said through gritted teeth. Jongin looked her up and down and put his hands on his hips, letting out another sigh. Jinhee could only think that if he kept sighing that he would run out air in his lungs.
"Our marriage isn't out of love or affection." Jongin for some reason felt the need to clarify this which surprised Jinhee. "My father told me that if Suho fails at being his successor that I would be the next in line for the throne. But he said I must marry first and take control of the army to prove myself." Jongin sounded annoyed as he explained his side of the situation. Jinhee was shocked to hear him so blatantly tell her the inner workings of the palace.
"But what about prince Kyungsoo, isn't he next in line after prince Suho?" Jinhee asked and Jongin looked shocked at her voice, surprised that she was brave enough to as him a question.
"Kyungsoo is too weak. He wouldn't charge into battle for our country but would rather hide behind the palace walls and pretend to lead." Jinhee was surprised at how badly he talked about his older brother but decided to not call him out on it. Jongin reached out and grabbed a loose strand of hair and lifted it and the let it flop back down. "I wish my wife would be prettier, hopefully our children don't look like you." Jongin winced as he thought about having ugly children and Jinhee bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn't take his rude attitude anymore and her words flew out of her like an illness.
"Yes your majesty, that would be a sin against our country and God himself." Jinhee snapped back and Jongin scowled as no one, especially a woman, had ever talked to him in that sort of manner. "Excuse me your majesty." Jinhee knew that she had messed up and turned to walk away from the situation but Jongin grabbed her wrist and forced her to face him again.
"A cheap looking woman like you will never speak to me like that again, understand?" Jongin snarled at her and Jinhee felt a cold wave of death wash over her. She knew that he could most likely kill her with his bare hands and winced with every movement he made. He reached over and yank the pin out of her hair, making her hair tumble out from the bun it had been expertly placed in by her mother. "Look at his silly trinket. How can a future princess wear this."
"Please your majesty, I am sorry. Please give it back." Jinhee's voice trembled as she desperately tried to grab her fathers pin but Jongin held it out of her reach. Seeing how much she wanted it brought Jongin more pleasure.
"You want it?" Jongin asked and Jinhee viciously nodded her head. He pulled back his hand and tossed the pin into the middle of the pond and it instantly sunk to the bottom. "Go get it." Jinhee spun around and saw it hit the water.
Jinhee spun around with tears in her eyes and seeing the wicked grin on Jongin's face pushed her over the edge. In a split second, Jinhee slapped Jongin across the face, sending a loud echo through the courtyard.
"You're a monster." Jinhee sobbed and Jongin grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
"I could have you killed for that you foul woman!" Jongin yelled and the guards stood at the ready to haul her away.
"Kill me!" Jinhee cried out, her body becoming limp in his arms. "Please kill me so I don't have to marry a horrible man such as you. Kill me so I don't have to live in this prison anymore." Jongin let go of her and Jinhee dropped to her knees. The only thing left of her father was now sitting at the bottom of the pond and she would never have it again. Seeing how much pain she was in, Jongin waved at the guards to relax. He crouched down and grabbed Jinhee by the chin and raised her face so he could look at her. Tears streamed down her face, possibly never ending at the rate their were falling.
"I know a punishment worse than death." Jongin said and Jinhee stared him straight in the eyes, she wasn't afraid of him anymore. She wasn't afraid of anything, not even the grim reaper himself. "We're going to be married at the end of the month and you will have the live the rest of your life with me." At the thought of that Jinhee sobbed even harder and Jongin let go of her face and walked away with his guards hot on his heels. He rubbed his cheek that felt hot to the touch. If nothing else her stubbornness matches his own. "Tell no one of this." Jongin warned his guards and the promised. He took one more glance at Jinhee and felt a slight twinge of guilt pull at his heart as she pulled herself off the ground and limp off to her home but he forced those feeling away. She was nothing more than a means to an end. If marrying her brought him one step closer to being the King then that was all he needed.
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