Day 23
Marry the Princess, they Said
Day 23.
We had managed to calm the Prince down yesterday, with his foster mother explaining the exact situation to him. I could tell that he was thoroughly confused, as he obviously completely believes that he has not seen me before in his life; however, since it was his mother explaining the situation to him and he figured that she would not lie to him, the explanation seemed to placate him as I hurriedly contacted the Royal Sage Dongwan to seek for his help.
The Royal Sage Dongwan looked panicked and surprised as I explained what had transpired to him. However, he quickly got his act together, as he explained to me carefully how to get the Prince's memories back.
I exclaimed in surprise. So there was a way to get his memories back that easily! He explained that he did not tell me, as that method was only reserved for the most dire of situations. It could only be used once and is extremely dangerous if done in the wrong way, which is why he had not bothered mentioning anything about it, as it was kept as a spare plan.
I understood his intentions, though I am still quite upset that he would hide such a thing from me. It bothers me that he did not trust me enough to persevere through this quest and not be tempted to take the easy way out (besides, telling me that it might be detrimental to the Prince would have kept me away from it overall, as I am not tempted to do anything that is remotely harmful to Royalty). I leave that thought for later though, as I dealt with the more pressing matter at hand: getting the Prince's memories back so that I may swiftly bring him back to Shinhwaland, where I can properly defend him from the clutches of the evil Lord Minwoo should it be necessary. I am powerless in this world; but in Shinhwaland, I have every imaginable weapon at my disposal. If I defeated him once (with the help of the almighty King Eric, of course), I surely can defeat him again.
However, before he told me of the method that I needed to employ, he asked me how the evil Lord Minwoo had casted his spell upon the Prince. I did not understand the question at first, then he made it clear through asking what medium the evil Lord Minwoo used. I told him that he kissed the Prince on the lips, which must have transferred the manipulating spell straight into his system, allowing the evil Lord Minwoo to control the inner workings of his brain and make him forget about me.
The Royal Sage Dongwan merely nodded, looking as if he was assessing the situation. However, he told me nothing about it, so I assumed everything was all right. He then assured me that everything will be, as he then proceeded to tell me how to undo the spell.
He told me to find the Prince's locket (the one that the crystal ball secretly held and was revealed when I found the Prince and made him hold the crystal ball). Once I have done so, then he will give me the next instructions.
I pulled the Prince's foster mother over, telling her of what I need to do. She understood right away, and told me that she would keep the Prince here while I went over to the house we shared and searched for the locket.
I bade goodbye to them, the Prince still shooting me a suspicious, unwelcome look (that, undeniably, tugged painfully at my heartstrings), as I quickly made my way to the house. I was worried that the evil Lord Minwoo would be in the vicinity ready to pounce on me, but thankfully, he was not. I reached the house not long after, practically turning it upside down as I furiously tried to locate the object of interest.
At last, I found it hidden in the very corner of the Prince's armoire, puzzled that he had intended to leave it here. I thought that maybe he might have forgotten it. It seems as though a good thing came out of this whole ordeal, as if the evil Lord Minwoo had not attacked we would have forgotten entirely about this precious locket, and I do not know what would have been the consequences for that. I contact the Royal Sage Dongwan once more, and thus he instructed me to open the locket.
I protest, saying that it is only the Prince who may open the locket as it belongs to him. However, the Royal Sage Dongwan says that it now belongs to me as well, as I have forged a forever unbroken bond with the Prince the moment we declared our feelings for each other. Since his heart is now effectively mine, I now partly own the locket as well.
I tried to open it, hesitation still coursing through me; however, to my surprise, it opened smoothly almost as if it opened for its true owner. Sure enough, inside the locket was still the intricately designed key, which the Royal Sage Dongwan explained could 'unlock' his memories once more.
He told me that the next process is going to hurt the Prince a bit, but I must not hesitate.
I am to drive the key directly into the Prince's heart, and turn it three times in a clockwise direction. At first I thought that this was an easy enough task, when the Royal Sage Dongwan explained in complete detail what I had to do.
Drive it into his heart, meaning that I had to physically stab the Prince, and even in his agony, turn the key three. painful. times.
I felt faint even just thinking about the task. I know that I had stabbed many, many enemies with my sword throughout my lifetime. Stabbing a person is not a new thing to me; it is my livelihood. However, to stab the one I love; no, not even that, a member of the Royal Family, is blasphemy to me. I cannot do it. I will not do it!
However, the Royal Sage Dongwan assured me that this is the only way to bring his memories back, and it is a surefire way. He promised me that once the deed is accomplished, the Prince will turn back to normal and would not even have a trace of the wound on him, and it would not affect his system in any way, except to give him a momentary bout of pain, which is unavoidable but necessary. He also told me that doing this is by no way betraying or defiling Royalty, which is perfectly all right. And he assured me by saying that he trusts me, as I am an excellent swordsman who can hit the exact point in one try.
I decided to take a day to clear my mind and convince myself this is for the greater good. Because if I fail... it is not only I who is doomed, but all of Shinhwaland.
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