Baek Ah, Woo Hee and Soo sat in a restaurant by the river, watching the lanterns being lit around the city as the bright moon rose into the sky. Baek Ah picked at the strings of his lute, cheeks red from drink, head bowed solemnly. Woo Hee had her arm around Soo, her face drawn with sadness. Soo shook her head. "I've managed to sneak out this once, but I don't know what I will do when he marries me. Will he send me away? Will he keep me locked up in the palace?"
The thirteenth prince swore and downed an entire cup of soju in one swig. "I can't believe- I'm your weak spot? That's ridiculous."
"Anyone who I care about is," Soo said.
Woo Hee's grip tightened around her friend's shoulder. "House Hae is either being threatened or rewarded," she said. "First Hae Myung Hee and the eighth prince, now you to the king, for the second time. There have been others, but with less status. The Hwangbo are cautious."
Shaking his head, Baek Ah set his instrument aside and put a hand on Soo's knee with a spark in his eyes. "I just had an idea, Soo," he said excitedly. "What if we fake your death?"
There was an edge in Woo Hee's eyes as she looked at Baek Ah. "Don't give her hopes with ridiculous ideas," she hissed. "You're drunk and everything seems possible." She looked at Soo. "Believe me, if there was a fail-safe plan, I would be all for it. But I know what it's like to sacrifice your freedom to protect your important people," she said.
Until the moon sank down into the river, the three friends – the gisaeng, the prince, and the court lady sat together, their hands linked – for they did not know if it would be the last time they would truly be able to be together and spend time this way.
/
Soo sat perfectly still on the red-curtained marriage bed in all her finery, waiting for the king to come through the doors and- She sucked in a shuddering breath and her hands twisted in her sleeves. She could only imagine how cruel he would be. Soo swallowed and tried to breathe slowly. When he chose to 'claim his rights' as a husband, she did not know what she would do.
But she waited for a quarter of an hour and the doors did not open. She waited for a quarter more, and nothing happened. Perhaps he would not come at all-
The doors opened slowly and Soo clenched her teeth together, looking down. 'I'm not going to cry,' she silently promised. 'If anything, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction-'
Yo strode through the doors, barely sparing her a glance. He threw off his heavy, gold-threaded over-garments onto the back of a chair and kicked off his boots. He unhooked his long, dangly gold earrings and set them on top of his clothes, then began to take his rings off. Soo's hands clenched into white-knuckled fists inside her red sleeves as he moved closer to the bed.
But, "Move over," he rumbled, falling into the bed and rolling over to the end farthest from her, pulling the silken sheets up over himself. Soo stared with disbelief at his back until, finally, she heard his breathing even out. He was asleep, thankfully, peacefully asleep. She slumped with relief against one of the posts of the bed, reaching up to cover her face with one hand. Not tonight, it would seem.
After several minutes when she heard the sound of Yo shifting she looked over at him with a barely audible gasp falling from her painted lips. He had not been asleep at all, and had rolled over onto his stomach looking at her from half-lidded eyes, an expression of amusement on his face, his arms folded under his chin. "Don't look so disappointed," he said, his low voice dripping with sarcasm.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"You're just not my type at all," he said.
Soo said nothing, searching for words. "Y-Your Majesty," she opted to say in a flat tone.
Yo rolled his eyes. "Oh, cut the courtesies, woman. If I gave you a chance, you'd run me through, just like anyone else."
"…I-I wouldn't do that." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she brought her fingertips up to her lips in horror.
He raised an eyebrow, meeting her eyes. "Oh? And how would you? I'm curious."
Realizing that anything she said could be counted as treason, she stayed silent, her eyes downcast.
The king smirked. "…Poison? Mercury, poured into my bath, perhaps?"
Soo's eyes were blank and she said nothing.
Letting out a dry laugh, Yo shook his head slightly. "I suppose I'll find out soon enough, Hae Soo. Unless, of course, you have other plans for me."
"I am but a simple noblewoman," Soo said quietly, her gaze trained on her hands folded in her lap. "What plans could I possibly dare have for the king of Goryeo?"
He sighed with annoyance. "Don't play the fool, woman." His smirk was back and he was studying her very carefully.
Without realizing it, Soo looked over at him and met his eyes. He held her gaze for a moment, seeming to make sure of something, searching for something in her eyes. This scrutiny meant something – but what…? "Your Majesty?"
"What are you, Hae Soo?" he asked softly, his eyes narrowing.
"I-I don't understand," she said.
"What makes you so… Desirable?" His critical gaze was sharp and the twist of his mouth bitter.
Soo could say nothing and when she finally managed something along the lines of, 'I wouldn't know, Your Majesty,' Yo ignored her and rolled onto his back. There was a silence, during which Soo returned to staring down at her hands. Finally, "…I despise people who snore," he said, shifting to get comfortable, then closing his eyes and pulling the covers almost up to his forehead. "And if you kick, you're sleeping on the floor."
/
"I congratulate you on your engagement, Senior Court Lady Hae." Wook's eyes were more piercing than his purposely soft smile, and Won peered over his shoulder curiously, also smiling, his eyes dark.
Soo bowed her head, looking down at her folded hands and tried not to clutch her pointer too tightly. Graciously, not meeting the eighth's prince's eyes, she said, "Thank you very much, Your Highness."
"I wish you much happiness."
"I too," Won said, his smile widening. "Who knew that our young Hae Soo would be moving up in the world in such a way?" He sighed, still smiling, looking up at the ceiling and folding his arms behind his back. The mischievous curve of his lips carried malice. "I'm almost scared now, Soo," he said lightly. "…Congratulations. I am sure the king was not mistaken in choosing you as a match."
Soo did not blink at the unsubtle jab. If he said that she was whoring herself out to the king for status and she responded, it would only serve to fuel him further. If Wang So was a wolf and Wang Yo was a dragon – Wang Won was a snake, coiling around the feet of whoever he thought was the strongest. A venomous snake. So, she only said, "You are too kind, Your Highness."
As the princes stepped aside and let Soo and her procession of court ladies by, Soo let out a slow breath. It was time for their round of the Damiwon. All she could do was to focus on doing her work as a court lady. That was all she could do.
'I don't want to live a life controlled by others,' she remembered telling So when she first became a court maid after getting out of her marriage with Taejo Wang Geon. This time, however, if it meant the people important to her were to survive, to live as well as they could – Soo would have to do just that.
Just like she had angrily said, 'Wanting to live is not a crime!' she ate her words on the day Court Lady Oh passed away. 'Because I was too greedy to live…'
So would become the king's dog and she would become the cruel king's bride.
Soo remembered the days when she was still new to this wide, dangerous Goryeo, living at the eighth prince's house – seeing all the princes getting along (more or less). She remembered that the third prince was just as intelligent and bookish as Wook, though much more physical. He would reluctantly laugh and smile with his brothers – a young prince with cold eyes, but a brief, warm smile. He would poke fun at Eun and Jung, converse with Wook at length about military strategy… Had he always been the cruel, smirking man she saw on the throne? She had never known him well.
'Is it my fault?' she wondered. 'If I had not covered the fourth prince's scar on the day of the rain ritual, would all this have still happened?'
After all, the third prince was going to take over on the day So had appeared without a scar, and the sky had opened up. So told her that he had been berated by his mother to no end – and Soo knew how cruel Queen Yoo could be. She had abandoned her third son because of a scar she herself had caused. Was Wang Yo frightened that his mother would cast him aside if he did not please her? What could she do to deal with a powerful, murderous man with mommy issues? How much sympathy and how much hate could she have for this cruel, confusing man she was being forced to marry?
Following her thorough rounds of the Damiwon, Soo rested in her room, kneeling in front of a low table, writing a letter to Woo Hee, detailing her predicament. '…I do not know, dear friend, if I will be able to see you again. But in the case that I will not, there are so many words that I want to say. Thank you for everything, and-'.
There was a knock on her window.
Soo lay down her brush and opened the window a crack. At the opportunity, the fourteenth prince pushed his head in, trying to grin at her. "Heya, sis," he said.
She smiled back, but she must have seemed too tired, because Jung's already pale grin faded a bit more. "Good evening, Your Highness. Are you supposed to be here?" she asked, mild chiding in her tone.
Jung looked over his shoulder at the empty garden. "'Far as anyone knows, I'm not even here, catch my drift?" he said cheekily, then grew more serious. "I just wanted to see you, y'know? See how you're doing after… After, that, and stuff…"
"Do you want to come in?" Soo asked.
Jung blushed. "Like… Into your room?"
Soo shrugged, bowing slightly and stepping back, lowering her voice into polite smoothness. "I suppose it could be very comfortable for Your Highness to stand on tiptoe and stick your head through a narrow window – but then again, this ignorant court lady could be wrong." To further the joke, she looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, her lips twisting to the side in contemplation.
"Right," Jung said, grinning at her, but worry in his eyes. "Be right there."
In a moment, he was outside her door, then he was inside, sitting cross-legged on the floor and leaning back against the wall, Soo sitting across from him. The single candle was burning brightly, but the moonlight streaming in from the open window made everything much brighter than the candle could offer. Soo could see that Jung had brought a misshapen bundle of something-or-other wrapped in simple cloth. He smiled and pushed it across the floor to her, motioning for her to open it. There were several yakgwa and other sweet cakes usually taken with tea – that looked suspiciously like they had been raided from the kitchen cupboards.
"I brought snacks," he said lightly. "They make everything better, I find."
Soo smiled slightly and bit into one at the same time as Jung stuffed three of them whole in his mouth and began to chew them, his cheeks bulging like some sort of bizarre chipmunk. She could not suppress a giggle at that, and saw Jung's shoulders drop slightly in relief. 'He's trying to cheer me up,' she thought with a twinge in her heart at this kind-hearted boy, forced to grow up too fast by the era he lived in.
"Thanks, Your Highness," she said, and he nodded.
"Soo…" he began. "My brother… He's not such a bad guy, I mean, I grew up with him and all. Maybe... Maybe there's a part of him, deep down that's actually kind of alright..." He winced, trailed off, then his face lit up. "…Soo, I've got an idea. If we disguised you as one of Soon Deok's handmaidens, we could sneak you the hell out of here, and you could live with Eun!"
Soo shook her head. "I can't do that, Your Highness."
The young man looked put out. "Why not?"
"Because His Majesty made it very clear that he would not hesitate to threaten Baek Ah, or anyone else if I ran."
Jung's teeth gritted and he swore, hitting his fist against the floor. "And are you alright with all this?" he asked sincerely. "In your heart, are you alright with marrying Big Bro- I mean, His Majesty?"
Soo smiled gently. "In life, we all have to do things we don't want so that the people we love can stay happy, Your Highness. …I'll be fine. I always am."
The fourteenth prince let out a sigh, then tried to smile. "If that's how you're going to be doing," he said, "That's your choice – and I'm with you all the way, whatever you decide. …You're a really brave lady, Soo, you know that? I admire you very much." He pumped his fist at her encouragingly. "Hwaiting!"
Mirroring him, Soo smiled. "Fighting!"
And they sat together, chatting, and eating sweets until morning – when Jung snuck out.
/
Soo woke alone in the king's bedchamber. In her sleep, she must have slid down from her sitting position and moved into the bed – so she lay there, staring at the ceiling in the strange moments after sleep, but before wakefulness. 'Now what?' she thought. 'What happens now?'
Those musings were cut short when the doors opened and three court maids entered, ostensibly to help her dress. Soo almost laughed as she sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Just a few days ago, her position was so completely different – now she was the one being served, not the one doing the serving. They silently produced elegant, richly patterned silk hanbok, piles of hair ornaments and earrings on little trays, rings for her fingers, an assortment of dainty shoes to choose from.
Her eyes widened as she looked at all this, realizing for the first time, that, 'Wow, so this is what it's like to be rich'. She chose a hanbok of subdued, dark blue and a light gray outer robe with silver thread along its geometrically swirling hems. Her hair was pulled and coiled up in the style of a powerful, rich married Goryeo woman. Soo firmly drew the line at a pair of small pair of silver earrings – no rings, no necklaces, for gods' sake, please no more hair ornaments. She wanted to be able to carry her own weight and not jangle like a metal windchime when she walked.
She relayed this, in slightly more polite terms to the court ladies. "Yes, Milady," they said bowing, but Soo, with her experienced Senior Court Lady's eye could see that they exchanged relieved looks, and one even went as far as to let out a breath of thankfulness. She smiled.
Breakfast was served to her in her new chambers, three rooms down the hallway from the king's. On the table, Soo noticed that there was an envelope addressed to her in neat, elegant brushstrokes. Wondering who it could be from, she opened it and unfolded the paper inside. She began to read. 'House Hae is very pleased with you, little wife. My mother – not so much. Don't do anything stupid.'
It was the king. Soo was surprised to see that Wang Yo's beautiful calligraphy was on par with Wook's delicate script – and a work of art compared to So's careless, endearing scribblings. The style was very sharp and controlled, but seemed to flow easily – and Soo was reminded again that Yo was just as much of a scholar as he was a warrior. At the bottom of the page was a post-script that simply said, 'You managed not to snore.'
Soo made a face, and set the note aside. She ate slowly, unable to come close to finishing the sumptuous meal she was given.
Unlike the two other rooms, instead of a view of the palace's inner gardens and grounds – this one had a view of the lake from a large window. Her belongings had been moved here from her cramped court lady's room – and seemed so small and frugal on the large, carved shelves. The tapestries on the walls were beautiful, as were the hanging scrolls with depictions of delicate flowers and of far-away landscapes.
What Soo thought she should do next, was take stock of her situation – not just physically, but politically. Wang Yo had two other wives, one who lived far away, and one who lived on the outskirts of the capital. They were both political marriages – the daughters of rich houses, now the first and second queens of Goryeo. One of them had a child, the other was barren and sent away. As third queen, or rather more of a glorified 'consort', Soo knew that while her position was high, she was below one of his other two wives in rank; the one who had his son. 'Her official name was something like Lady Moon- Moon-something. Gang? Gong?'
The king had told her, 'House Hae is very pleased with you'. Which was laughable, seeing as they had disowned and cut all ties with her when she had refused marriage to Taejo by cutting her wrist open. Now that she was the wife of a king, they rescinded their anger and disappointment with her – and were 'pleased' with her, pleased enough to send her a letter by the head of the house on the day of the announcement of the formal engagement. 'You have done well, niece,' the first line read. Soo did not know her house at all, seeing as she had 'lost her memory' when she had arrived in Goryeo – and only knew Hae Myung Hee, the eighth prince's late wife. She knew that House Hae had a reputation for producing, good, dutiful wives – and shared both blood and monetary connection with the Hwangbo.
Woo Hee's words came back to her, 'House Hae is being either threatened or rewarded. …The Hwangbo are cautious.' Wang Yo was obviously planning something, but what, she didn't know.
Yo had confirmed what she had suspected at the wedding – that Queen Yoo was not pleased by her son's choice in wife – but what that meant for her, for the Hae and the Hwangbo remained a mystery. And his enigmatic warning, 'Don't do anything stupid,' could have meant many things. Was he assuming that she knew more than she actually did and threatening her? Was he just being a jerk? Was he warning her? Soo didn't know – and she was beginning to feel cold, whether from the breeze blowing through the open window or from anticipatory dread, she couldn't tell.
She got up to close it, but she noticed something. At the edge of the lake there was a small, dark shape of a man, standing and staring over the water. Soo squinted until she could see that it was the fourth prince. Unable to go to him, Soo just watched him stand there until he seemed to look up and see her, as if they were in some sort of harmony – on the same wavelength.
Even though he could not see her smile from such a distance, Soo smiled and waved, raising her arm above her head and waited until he raised his own in answer. 'Don't worry about me, Your Highness. I'll be fine. Please keep yourself safe, okay?'
/
The king's lips were drawn back from his teeth in what was either a grimace of displeasure or an insincere smirk – he himself didn't know which. 'Simpering fools, the lot of them.' Bowing and scraping, ready to lick his boots if need be – but prepared to turn on him when they found someone stronger. 'And my job,' Yo thought, 'is to prevent them from finding anyone stronger than me. That's what sitting up here means.' He shook his head that was beginning to ache.
He watched as the ministers finally left, then waited until he, Wook and Won were the only people in the room. The eighth prince had quickly gotten over the marriage, it seemed (did he ever really care for the girl at all?) – he was smiling slightly and his posture was less tight; and while the ninth prince was smiling also, his eyes were shifty, as always. "You obviously have something to say," Yo said bluntly. "Say it."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Wook said with a slight bow. He began as if to open his mouth, then looked pointedly at the two servants by the door.
Yo rolled his eyes and made a gesture, the two men leaving the king and princes alone in the throne room. He raised an expectant eyebrow. "Well?"
"Your Majesty has not been on the throne for a very long time," Wook said carefully, casting a glance upwards at Yo. Won nodded in agreement. "And there would be… Certain people, certain groups – that think Your Majesty's position is a little bit ah, unstable, should I say."
Again, Yo rolled his eyes and leaned forward. "Get to the point," he said. "Somebody wants the throne."
Won cleared his throat. "Wang Gyu, now – the tenth prince's house-"
'They're telling me to get rid of the tenth prince to stabilize my position,' Yo thought and smirked, '…But I have a better plan.' Out loud and in a completely flat tone, he said only, "How interesting." Obviously nonplussed at this reaction (or lack of said), Won and Wook exchanged glances. Yo's smirk widened, and he dismissed the two princes, watching them bow themselves out, then close the door. He rubbed his forehead, trying to dispel the dull pain that was building in his head.
He waved a servant over and told him to call for the Court Astronomer.
Obviously, neither old Wang Gyu nor the childish tenth prince were any sort of threat to Yo, to the throne, to House Yoo – or to Goryeo. What Wook and Won said was true – he needed a scapegoat to show his power – but it would not be the tenth prince. The thirteenth prince's family was weak and pathetic. No, Yo would make sure he gained as much as possible from every movement he made.
That was why he married such a seemingly inconsequential girl, after all. A disowned child of House Hae, a court lady… Oh, there were rumors – the likes of which would probably make those annoyingly large eyes of Hae Soo's widen to take up even more than three quarters of her heart-shaped face. But Yo knew there was something about her even from the beginning, when Hae Soo was betrothed to the king for the first time – the way his brothers had reacted was amazing. The ostracized, snappish So; the childish Eun and easily-riled Jung; the cautious Baek Ah; even the levelheaded Wook – together, they all concocted an ill-advised plan for the girl's escape.
She covered the fourth prince's scar. Senior Court Lady Oh had sacrificed herself for the sake of that girl. Both previous kings had trusted that girl with everything in their final moments.
That stupid important girl had so, so much power – and either she did not realize, or she was too idealistic to use it. Therefore, if she was not going to use them – why should he not? If he did not use her, she would be used against him. Hae Soo was like a leash around most of his brothers' necks – and he had just pulled that leash very tightly.
'Of course,' he thought, 'it is a dangerous leash – one that cuts into your palm if you hold it wrong.' Hae Soo was a very strange, interesting woman. If he handled her wrong, she would take him down, or help his brothers take him down in some roundabout way. 'I know how you work, Hae Soo.'
"Is that what you'll say if you're tortured, I wonder?"
"I'll tell them Your Majesty told me to do it."
"…You really are something, aren't you?"
She was ridiculous. How could one pathetic woman be so strong, yet so weak at the same time? That Hae Soo was very much below him, yet he found himself intrigued by her, curious – as one wishes to examine a particularly interesting animal.
The Court Astronomer, Choi Ji Mong entered, bowing, and cutting off his thoughts. "You called for me, Your Majesty?"
"I did." Yo did not look up from the letters, plans and other assorted papers he was searching through. "I want to know what the… Stars have been telling you." He did not bother to keep the sarcasm from his voice. Wang Yo did not believe in fortune-telling. But under the guise of receiving information from the heavens – Ji Mong often proved to have very interesting insights. 'That was why Father kept him around,' Yo supposed.
Choi Ji Mong spread his arms and smiled. "They've been telling me many, many things, Your Majesty. …Ah! And may I congratulate you on your marriage to Lady Hae?"
"No, you may not," Yo said dismissively.
With a bow, Ji Mong shrugged. "I won't then," he said placidly.
"Tell me about Hae Soo."
Ji Mong looked piercingly up at him, then folded his hands in front of himself and began to speak. "Lady Hae's star shines brightly over all of Goryeo," he said. "It is very close to the stars of the Royal Family, especially towards those of the princes and of the late king – as well as yourself, Your Majesty."
"Tell me something I don't know," Yo commanded.
"…With the movement of planets, Lady Hae's star's alignment is very unstable. As of now, as I look through my far-seeing glass, I cannot tell which way it will go – or if it will go anywhere, for that matter. Perhaps, without moving close to anybody's star, Lady Hae will continue to shine brightly. While she herself is not destined for fame or great recognition – she has… The power to choose power. She is very important in Goryeo's fate." Ji Mong smiled. "Is that what you wanted to know, Your Majesty?"
Yo nodded thoughtfully. Then, his face split into a dangerous smirk. "Tell me, Ji Mong," he said, "Is it true I was born under a traitor's star?"
The Court Astronomer looked awkward. "I am sure Your Majesty believes that one's life is what one makes of it and that the stars are simply very rough, er... Guidelines, should I say. I simply try my best to interpret what the heavens tell me," he said carefully. "There is room for error."
The king dismissed the astronomer and rubbed his temples, taking off the heavy king's headdress. This headache seemed only to be getting worse.
