*WARNING: DARK. ANGST GALORE. HIGHLY ADDICTIVE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK*
"Lady Soo!" his voice boomed through the royal throne room.
She froze in her tracks. By his jovial tone, one would surmise they were old friends.
Standing stock still, Hae Soo glowered at the painted patterns on the floor. Refusing to look him in the eye, she bowed her head respectfully, thick lashes casting a shadow on her cheeks.
"Is that the way to greet your new king?" he smirked, hands clasped behind his back as he stalked towards her, ever the predator.
Murderer. You are no king of Goryeo.
He was suddenly close enough for her to trace the outline of his aristocratic features in her peripheral vision.
"Kneel."
Hae Soo slowly lowered herself to the floor, fingertips grazing the cold marble that her eyes remained glued to.
Wang Yo chuckled to himself, clearly amused by her obstinacy. He leaned forward and reached out with long elegant fingers, forcing her chin up till her back arched from straining to meet his gaze.
"Look at you," he mused, his dark brows knitting as he studied her expression.
She glared at him with unrestrained fury, enough to burn through his skull.
What was it about this girl that had all his brothers running amuck, he wondered. Risking their necks for hers?
She was no great beauty - that much was obvious - nor was she at all remarkable when compared to the likes of his half-sister Yeon Hwa or his wife. Growing up in the royal palace, he had had his fair share of beautiful women and yet…there was just something magnetic about her, wasn't there? In the way her wide brown eyes bore into his in defiance, almost…in challenge?
He smirked slightly. Oh, this girl was brave indeed. Save for the slight quivering of her pink mouth, she seemed practically fearless at his feet. He could almost laugh at her audacity to be irate.
This was no mere cowering servant of the Damiwon and he had heard tales of her unpredictable disposition. Her bravery, innocence and blind selflessness – a combination some would otherwise deem pure stupidity – seemed to draw everyone he knew to her trajectory.
This was the girl who had supposedly carried out a kneeling protest for three days and nights under scorching heat and unforgiving rainstorms. The girl who had sliced her own arm open with porcelain shards to evade marriage to King Taejo. The girl who survived leg screw torture and lived to see another sunrise. Her stunts would never be forgotten. No, they would surely live on for many reigns to come.
He knew nearly all of his brothers were smitten with her or at least held some degree of affection. Even the indomitable Lady Oh had been moved by her charms, sacrificing her life in return for the girl's. His informants warned him that the late king had regarded her as a confidant and had treated her as the prince would a younger sibling. This had only set to puzzle Wang Yo further.
"You know," he drawled, "my brother never knew what hit him when you poured mercury into his bathwater. You poisoned him…every day," he noted conversationally as he gripped her chin.
His gaze darkened as he watched her intently, drinking in the sight of her flushed cheeks. Her quick breaths fanned across his face.
"Yet he never suspected it. I am certain even the 4th prince was not expecting him to die by your hand," he said, hoping to provoke a reaction, "but then again you did take us all by surprise. Tsk, tsk. How very treacherous. Who would've thought…"
Angry tears sprang to her wide brown eyes at his accusation. "But I didn't—"
"You play your part so well." he remarked, quirking up a thick brow. His eyes fell to her full mouth.
"So obedient," he whispered almost pensively, running the pad of his thumb across her plump lower lip.
Her chest heaving, she looked up through tears at the man hovering over her.
"Your Majesty! The 9th prince has arrived!" the guard announced.
Wang Yo huffed in annoyance at the interruption, dropping her chin. He glanced at the door and sharply exhaled.
He looked back at her as if contemplating whether he should let her go just yet.
"We'll talk later," he promised, the threat imminent his voice. "Stand up."
They both rose to their full height just as his brother strode in with a warped smile.
Eyes cast down and hands delicately clasped to keep them from shaking, Hae Soo bowed and primly shuffled out of the room as quickly as possible. She did not miss the malice in Won's eyes when she spared him a glance as she walked past him.
"Don't stray too far, Lady Soo!" she heard Wang Yo call out. She did not have to turn around to know that he was smiling. "I have a feeling I'll be craving tea soon."
Even as she stepped through the golden doors, blinking away tears, she could still feel their stares burning through the back of her head.
Jackals, the pair of them.
Hope y'all enjoyed that!
Go check out Part II :)
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