now

Wheein braced her hand against her aching shoulder, her breath wreathing around her face like a veil in the winter chill.  She leaned against a tree as she tried to fight the pain, alone save for the forest around her.  But when she pulled her hand away for a moment, her hand came away dark red and sticky. 

She saw the main road a few paces away, the dirt well-trodden by horses and human feet alike.  If she followed that road down one way she would be at the palace.  The opposite direction led to a harbor with plenty of boats that could take her away from the unavoidable consequences of her actions.  And yet she tossed her short hair out of her eyes and stared toward the direction of the castle, the red banners barely visible through the sleet gray clouds.

“You always made me a fool, Your Majesty,” she whispered bitterly, a smile twisting .  With a grunt, she staggered away from the tree she’d been using as a crutch, limping past the last of the undergrowth toward the main road.  She gripped her shoulder again as she continued her slow trek through the snow.  The winter chill grounded her in the present as she put one foot in front of the other.

And then she heard hoof beats.

Wheein paused, shoulders tensing.  She could feel the tremors of the earth as the horses cantered toward their destination.  Her eyelids fluttered closed as she listened to the sounds get closer and closer.  Tossing a look behind her, she saw the shapes of riders off in the distance.  The banners were of course Her Majesty’s. 

She stayed still, returning her gaze to the castle off in the distance.

“Halt!”

Wheein merely smiled, her back to the men that had caught up to her.

“Are you Jung Wheein?”

She glanced over her shoulder, the only thing visible being the upturn of her lips and the shadow of her profile hidden by her chin-length hair. 

“Are you Jung Wheein?” the young knight repeated.  Wheein’s grip on her shoulder tightened as she imagined how easy it would be to rush forward, throw off the boy on his horse and escape from this mess.  And yet Wheein could not help but see the fluttering of the Queen’s banners in the winter winds, a regal golden lion embroidered on scarlet.  How could she abandon her duty?

“I am,” she replied, pivoting on her good leg to face the squadron.  Although the knights were younger looking, they were a sizable amount.  Her reputation as the Queen’s fiercest bodyguard seemed to have warranted a large party. 

“You are under arrest for high treason against Her Majesty, the Queen Ahn Hyejin.”

“I am?”

“Y-you are accused of attempting to organize a coup.”

Wheein tilted her head a little, shifting her weight to her good leg.

“Oh? And who dares to accuse me of such a crime?”

“Kim Yongsun.”

Wheein laughed.

“The Queen’s most trusted advisor?  Is that why there are so many of you? Kim Yongsun never underestimates an enemy.”

“We have orders to bring you to the royal dungeons for an interrogation!”

“Well then what are you waiting for? Arrest me.”

The young knight swallowed and there was a piece of Wheein that hated him for looking so uncertain.  He had the privilege of being soft and getting to debate the right and wrong of this situation.  Morality was something that Wheein had not been allowed to ponder as a pickpocket or the Queen’s bodyguard.  There only was survival and protecting what she valued most.  It had once been herself. 

But now, as she stood boot deep in snow with a bloody shoulder and a bad leg, all she could do was look at the banners with a smile before falling to her knees. 

“Arrest me, young knight.  Serve your Queen and do your duty.”

When they were upon her with rope and one man kneed her so hard in the back that she fell face forward to the ground, she kept her eyes trained on the bit of scarlet cloth fluttering in the breeze.  As the snow burned her face, she smiled and wondered if she would get to see her Queen one last time.

then

Everything was falling apart and Wheein was forced to stoically watch as Hyejin flung herself onto her bed, weeping.  She could only bite her lip and exchange a sad glance with the stationed court lady that stood waiting to be called on by the princess.

“Princess,” Wheein murmured when she could no longer take Hyejin weeping on her knees for several long hours.  The other girl raised her head, eyes and cheeks red.  Wheein chanced a glanced at the court lady who gave her an understanding nod.  She bowed her head and retreated, sliding the main door open and closed to leave Wheein and Hyejin alone.

“Princess,” she tried again, walking slowly to Hyejin, kneeling at the side of her bed.

“Wheein-ah, he’s really dead.”

“Princess.”

“My father is dead and my sister wants me to go be with him.  Hyemin…. Hyemin really wants me to be snuffed out like some candle.”

Wheein grit her teeth as she slowly knelt down by Hyejin’s side, eyes carefully trained downwards on the other girl’s hands that clenched her bed sheets.

“Princess.”

“My sister is the Queen.  I would never dream of treachery to steal the crown from her!  I love her more than anything.  And yet she would kill Yongsun’s whole family at the mere threat of treason and she even… she even cancelled Yongsun’s engagement to Byulyi!”

“Princess, please.”

Hyejin raised her head and Wheein let herself reach forward and run a warm thumb along the curve of the princess’ wet cheek.  The other girl’s bottom lip trembled at the contact and suddenly Wheein had an armful of sobbing princess.

“What if… what if she takes you away from me?”

“Princess.”

“I’ll be all alone, Wheein-ah.”

Wheein sighed into Hyejin’s sweet smelling hair.  Just the thought of being separated from her made her chest ache.  She held Hyejin close and kissed her temple. 

“Princess, they could never take me away from you.”

“Do you promise?”

She pulled back a little and they were a breath apart.  There was something so sweet about how big Hyejin’s eyes were as she asked the question.  It made Wheein’s teeth ache.

“The Queen would have to kill me first, Princess.”

Wheein smiled as she took Hyejin’s free hand and pressed it against her lips.  Brushing a feather-light kiss against her knuckles, Wheein gazed into the princess’ soft eyes. 

“I’m afraid of my sister, Wheein-ah.”

“Then I will protect you.  I will protect you from anyone and anything that could ever try to harm you.”

Even though she wasn’t a knight, Wheein sealed her promise with a kiss.  But unlike those knights, she pressed against Hyejin’s without a thought for chivalry .

now

Wheein let out a wheezing laugh as she saw who lurked at the entryway to her torture room in the Royal Dungeon.  The two guards who had been alternating between fists and cattle brands stepped back and bowed.

“Leave us.”

“B-but we have been instructed to watch the prisoner-”

Kim Yongsun simply tilted her head a little and gave the two men a puzzled expression like she was surprised they were even capable of talking back.  

“You dare to interfere with an order from the Prime Minister?”

The two guards exchanged uncertain glances.

“I am well-aware of the Prime Minister’s temperament,” joked Wheein through bloody teeth. “I would not test her temper if I were you.”

“Well?”

“We will give you time alone.”

Wheein watched in amusement as they bumbled out of the room, careful to give Yongsun a wide berth as they left.  The prime minister stood tall under the torchlight, seemingly unbothered by the smell of blood and burnt flesh that filled the small room.  She instead smoothed out her rumpled robes and took a step closer to Wheein’s chair.

“They tied those binds well.”

“I think they were only listening to your orders, Your Grace.”

“One can never be too careful.  I’ve seen you kill someone with your teeth.”

Wheein raised her head a little, peeking at Yongsun through her hair.

“Then I’d suggest you give me a wider berth.  If you get too close to me, I could lunge forward just enough to leave my mark.”

Yongsun smiled at the comment and took a challenging half step forward so that she barely brushed the front of Wheein’s knees.

“In the current state that you’re in, I doubt you’d be able to do much.”

“Moon Byulyi isn’t here to protect you from whatever I’m capable of.”

Yongsun’s face twitched and Wheein felt a bit of satisfaction in knowing that she could make the usually perfectly composed prime minister break her façade.  It was the benefit of knowing each other for nearly ten years.

“Don’t bring her into this, Jung Wheein,” Yongsun muttered darkly, suddenly reaching downward and dragging a slow fingertip along her bloody knee.  She hissed at the contact and tried to ignore the way her eyes watered.

“T-touchy.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re being very cooperative with the interrogators.”

“You’ve seen an interrogation I’ve done before.  They’re usually more bloody than this. I think that the interrogators were told to prioritize the torture over the actual questioning.”

Yongsun hummed at the wry observation.

“Do you know what I promised myself after my whole family was executed for treason?”

“You told me.”

“Say it again.”

Wheein huffed and leaned back against her uncomfortable chair to look up into Yongsun’s contemplative gaze.

“You promised yourself that you would make Hyejin the Queen regardless of the cost.”

“Yes.  And you agreed with me.  We’ve worked together for a very long time, you and I.  The dragon and the wolf.”

“I know.”

“And yet,” Yongsun’s jaw clenched and her eyes flashed in the torchlight as she suddenly slammed her hands on the armrests of Wheein’s chair, effectively caging her in.  “And yet you continue to not tell me what the hell you were doing there.”

Wheein tilted her head back so that she could better see the frustration twisting Yongsun’s usually expressionless face.  She tried to ignore the hint of tears at the corners of the other woman’s eyes.

“Your grace,” she murmured with a bit of a sad smile.  “I cannot tell you why I was at that meeting with the plotters for the coup.” 

“Why? If you just told me and worked with me like we always have I could-”

“Your grace.  We had the same promise but our motivations were different.  You love this kingdom and you wanted to put the best monarch on the throne.  That happened to be Hyejin, not her sister.  But I…”

Wheein swallowed and she observed the way Yongsun’s mouth twisted downward, recognizing the weakness of love coloring her tone.

“But I wanted her to be Queen because I loved her.  This kingdom could burn to the ground but as long as she was happy and alive… I would be fine with living like this.”

“Like some wolf in the night, lurking in the shadows to do the bidding of the dragon? Trying to sneak glances of the back of the Queen’s red gown?”

Wheein let out a wheezing laugh.

“Is that how they all talk about us? The court has even better storytellers than the jesters I’ve heard.”

“Wheein-ah.  Please.  I want to help you.  But I cannot give you my hand if you refuse to hold it.”

“The difference between you and me is simple, Your Grace.  You wouldn’t die for Moon Byulyi because it isn’t your duty.  But dying for Hyejin is mine.”

Yongsun reared back like she’d been slapped, her eyes suddenly wet.

“Jung Wheein… you… did you-”

But Wheein just shook her head, silencing the other woman.

“As long as the Queen is safe it doesn’t matter.”

Then

Wheein watched Hyejin’s back in the softness of dawn.  The other woman’s long black hair was unkempt and curly without the dutiful brushing of a court lady. 

“Hyejin-ah,” she murmured as she reached for warm bare skin. “Come back to bed.”

“Do you think that it’s possible?”

Wheein frowned at the contemplative edge to Hyejin’s voice.  It sounded similar to the time they’d gotten wind that Queen Hyemin would be releasing Hyejin from her imprisonment in the Eastern Keep and Hyejin had spoken of sisterly love that transcended the suspicion of power.  That had been nearly three years ago. 

“You mean what Yongsun said?  About making you Queen?”

“Wheein-ah, not so loud!”

Wheein smiled into her pillow as she slid a warm hand down the soft skin of Hyejin’s .

“My apologies, Your Highness.  Come back to bed and let me make it up to you.”

Hyejin glanced over her shoulder and Wheein tried to give her a disarming grin.

“It’s just… I’ve read her letters about the poor state the country has been in.  The threat of a war with the north is imminent with my sister’s poor attempts at foreign policy and the budget is practically gone.  Not to mention the treatment of commoners and taxes!”

“So you think you being Queen would fix everything?”

Hyejin bit her lip and Wheein sighed.  She to her back and stared at the ceiling, chewing her lip. 

“Wheein-ah.  Tell me what you’re thinking about.”

“I’m thinking about you.”

“Oh?” 

Wheein glanced at Hyejin who had crawled back under the fur blankets and scooted closer.  Her eyelids fluttered a little as the other woman leaned forward until they were nearly a breath apart.  They’d known each other for nearly seven years and yet Hyejin never failed to make Wheein falter.

“I’m thinking… about your kind heart and how much you love your kingdom.”  Do you love your people more than me, Wheein wondered, as Hyejin smiled at her words like she’d been given a compliment.

“Then why are you frowning?”

Wheein sighed and let Hyejin snuggle into her side.  She frowned because she was afraid of that fierce love that would only lead to trouble.  She had seen it in Yongsun’s tears, begging pitifully in front of Queen Hyemin for her life just so that she could continue to work as a low level clerk at the Queen’s court.  She had seen it in the heavy set of Moon Byulyi’s shoulders as she put on a fake smile and continued to work toward gaining titles as a young knight in bloody campaigns to the North.  She had seen it in the late King’s face as he stared out the window of the palace, moved nearly to tears by an inability to solve the suffering of his people.

Duty and power seemed to go hand in hand, yoking its victims to inescapable despair. 

“Jung Wheein?”

She paused, glancing down at Hyejin who stared at her with eyes full of unmistakable affection. 

“Yes, my princess?”

“You don’t have to call me that here, you know.”

“But you like it when I address you by your proper title.  Especially here.”

Hyejin’s face twisted in mock outrage and she turned away, pulling the thick fur covers with her.  Wheein let out a yelp at the sudden disappearance of a buffer to the chilly air and whined into the nape of Hyejin’s neck.  When that didn’t seem effective, she tickled the other girl’s side until they both dissolved into happy giggles, forgetting for a little while longer the burden of the crown. 

now

Wheein tipped her head back, barely able to see out of her left eye. Through a grated window, she could see little glittering specks of stars in the night sky.  She tried to breathe deeply with her nose but the movement made her chest ache so she settle for a shaky exhale.  Wheein shut her eyes as she tried to rest a little before the interrogators’ next session.

“Jung Wheein.”

She tensed at the familiar voice.

Opening her eyes, Wheein saw the Queen’s silhouette in the doorway, the crimson of her royal robes illuminated by the torchlight.  There was something unforgettable about that moment as Wheein watched the Queen enter into her dimly lit prison cell with only starlight to guide her path.  

“Your Highness,” she breathed, not daring to speak so loudly as to break whatever strange dream she must be having. 

Wheein tried to sit straighter in her chair but the ropes at her wrist bound her in an uncomfortable half slouch.  She settled for leaning a little forward despite how much her ribs and legs pained her and staring up at the Queen through her bangs.

“I heard from my courtiers today that you are being detained here for high treason.  You were found at a meeting plotting a coup and fought your way out.  Only to be caught by my guards at the road leading to the harbor.”

“Caught,” Wheein repeated with a bit of a smile.

Hyejin’s gaze was fierce with dark eyes and painted red lips.  But all Wheein could see was the little princess who had shook her head and said no that pickpocket didn’t steal anything from me with round cheeks and a kind smile.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Jung Wheein?”

Wheein squinted as she tried to commit this moment to memory of Hyejin standing in the moonlight, her lovely silhouette caressed by the brilliance of stars and fire.  At least in this moment, for once, she was all Wheein’s.

“Hyejin-ah,” she whispered, the word unfamiliar in since the moment she had gotten on her knees and sworn loyalty to her Queen.  A lowly bodyguard could call an insignificant third princess by her name behind the security of a closed door.  But Wheein could never dare say such a thing to the Queen of her kingdom. 

The Queen paused at the word and Wheein couldn’t quite tell through the haze of pain who started to cry first.