Chapter 14 – Siberian Tiger

[아무렇지 않은 것처럼

담담하게 잘 지내왔어

널 데려갔던 바람이

돌아올 때면 너의 흔적을 찾아

As if it doesn’t affect me

I lived nonchalantly

The wind that took you away

When it comes back, I search for your trace]

(Twenty years ago…)

“What do you see?”

The small room was dark, with the only source of light coming from the tinted windows from above. The King looked around, taking in the ornaments decorating the walls, mostly consisting dragons and some sort of ancient writings. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably as the Oracle before him let out a loud sigh of disapproval.

“I see two dragons in the sky. Be cautious of the younger dragon. If they are both revealed to the world, the younger one will bring chaos.”

“What kind of chaos are you referring to?”

“The demise of the older dragon.”

“What can I do then?”

“If you want the older dragon to survive, you must keep the younger one hidden, away from the eyes of the world. As long as the younger one remains unseen, there shall be no trouble.”

The King frowned. If the older dragon is in reference to his son, then the younger dragon must be none other than the baby in the Queen’s womb. It was intentional, he wanted another child born in the dragon year, just like his son but now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

If this child turned out to be the cause of his dearest son’s death, then….wouldn’t he hate this child? But then again, should he just blindly trust this Oracle’s words?

“How do I know you are not lying?”

“From the day it is born, that younger dragon will cause demise.”

The Oracle said as she pointed to the crystal ball on the table, as the insides turned black. The King wanted to ask more but the sound of footsteps approaching made him decide otherwise. He quickly turned to see the small door opening with a group of servants exclaiming with excitement in their eyes.

“Your Majesty, her Majesty is in labor!”

The head eunuch announced loudly as they all gave a deep bow to the royalty. So it’s time. The royalty stood up almost immediately and headed straight for the door.

∞∞∞

(The very night the coldest winter had begun…)

“Your Majesty, the Queen is losing too much blood!

“Let me in.”

“Your Majesty, I don’t think you can do that. It is against the palace’s…”

“Move.”

The King easily pushed the frail head eunuch from the door and quickly rushed to the Queen’s chambers. Almost immediately, the sight of blood filled his eyes as he looked at the pale female royalty lying on the bed. She looked weak and she was sweating profusely as the servants around her were all teary, doing their best to keep their Queen alive.

It was the first time he has seen her like this. Throughout their entire marriage, she was always very calm and collected. She never once shouted, vented or even complained. She had always stayed by his side, no matter how much nonsense she had to put up with. He thought about how she had agreed to this arranged marriage without much resistance and how she had given him two heirs now without complain.

How it didn’t matter to her that he was a completely obvious being who only had eyes for someone else. How she never expected him to love her back and that she was willing to be his Queen and nothing else.

“Why did you say yes?”

“Yes to?”

“Yes to this marriage.”

“Because the country needs a Queen and I am ready to be one.”

“Does it not bother you that I do not have feelings for you and I probably never will?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. We didn’t marry for love. This is a union for the betterment of the country. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

He remembered her saying very calmly, almost as if she didn’t have any feelings. He will admit that she was undoubtedly the ideal Queen. She was intelligent, composed, and perceptive. Whenever he tried to undermine her, she was always one step ahead of him. As a matter of fact, she was so brilliant that whenever he was absent from his duties, she was there to pick up the broken pieces, which is why he depended on her so much that he wasn’t bothered about the country’s affairs.

Which is also why he kept on seeing his first love and sneaked out whenever he can to meet her. The Queen wasn’t foolish, she knew that he had never stopped seeing her. All those nights when he was not in the palace, all those times he disappeared for no apparent reason, she must have known.

But she never asked.

Where did you go? Why did you go?

Who is she?

Sometimes on nights when he is sleeping on a different bed, he wondered if the Queen was lonely, sleeping alone in the palace. Then with that in mind, he thought about being a better husband to her, but, unfortunately, he was still very much an immature man who wanted a woman to give all of her affections to him. He wanted a woman who was inferior to him, like his first love who treated him like he was her everything.

Because unlike his first love, the Queen intimidated him and knew that she is much more superior. If only she was a man, he thought, she would have been an amazing King. Sadly, his country have him for a King instead.

A selfish and ungrateful royalty who did not realized what really mattered until it is too late.

“Your Majesty, it is a baby girl.”

The midwife announces with a wide smile as she carefully handed over the newborn to him. The King took a moment to process the fact that the baby was finally here. He gently adjusted his grip as the baby let out a loud cry.

“What a beautiful baby girl, Your Majesty. She looks just like you.”

He took note of her features and realized that indeed, she looked a lot like him. He looked back at the Queen and heard her calling for him softly. It was a voice he had never heard before. She sounded different.

“Your Majesty, I have something to say. Please come closer.”

He moved closer and sat next to the teary eyed Queen, as he let her take in the view of her newborn.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry…but this is as far as I can go.”

“What do you mean?”

He asked with puzzled eyes as he watched her smile weakly. She reached out her right hand to caress the newborn’s cheek and blinked her eyes, letting the tears in her eyes finally fall.

“Please take care of them, for me.”

Those were the last few words she said, before her eyes closed, and her hand went limp. The King immediately motioned for the midwife to carry the newborn as he screamed at the doctor to do something. This cannot be happening, what would he ever do without her?

The whole room was frantically wailing at the sight of the unconscious Queen so the doctor ordered for everyone to leave the room with a heavy heart. The King was no exception.

After what seemed like forever, the door opened. The doctor stepped out with a solemn face and quickly bowed down in front of the King, apologizing profusely.

“Your Majesty, we tried our bes