A\N: FINALLY! IT'S OVER!
Honestly, last chapter was all of the last tension, and this one is more like tying the remaining knots - but I just couldn't end the story in the previous one. So here it is, the actual final chapter.
Also, yes, there will be an epilogue. I'll be posting it in a few hours.
And if you're confused, yes, I changed my username. I had been using the previous one for a decade now, and got tired of it... So I just went ahead and got a new one :D
Enjoy your reading!
"Greetings, Huanghu!"
The 13th Prince bows deeply, his face in a solemn expression.
"Don't do that again or I'll hit you," Soo scolds him but is unable to contain or hide the large smile that spreads in her lips after hearing the royal title.
Baek Ah smiles as well, not feeling the slightest dread from her threat, and argues.
"But it's what you are now."
"No one has been crowned yet."
"Well, the coronation is in a few hours, so I'd say that this technicality doesn't matter anymore."
"There are still a couple of obstacles to go through," Soo explains, letting the smile falter for an instant as she sighs, fearing what may still happen. Then she sees the funny look the prince has and frowns confused, "What?"
"Who'd say you were such a good manipulator?"
The word may sound a little mean, but Soo can see that he actually meant it as a compliment. He stares at her in awe, and Soo remembers how he always had to explain things in detail to her in the past. Both he and Oh Sanggung used to sigh exasperatedly whenever she tried to use the 21st Century logic in Goryeo's Court intricacies, and now look at her.
Now she's the wife of the new acclaimed King of Goryeo. The woman who helped the late King to disclose his heir, divorced a prince only to marry his brother the next day, and that single-handedly sank all the clans in confusion and chaos.
Baek Ah looks proud, and Soo would be lying if she didn't feel a bit satisfied herself.
"I just fought for my freedom and his. And yours as well. Actually, I feel I fought for freedom in general, and I only gave one step forward. There are still lots of work to do." She sighs, dreading and anticipating the time she would be getting busy in the palace again. The work would never really end, not in the 10th Century, and she would have to step one step after another. But that didn't mean she couldn't relax and have fun from time to time, so she smiled, "Also, who'd say you were such a fine warrior? The armor looked good on you, by the way."
"Looking good is the only thing I can do in an armor, I assure you."
They both laugh, and Soo remembers how a few months before they had to act with ultimate care, even having to hold back spontaneous words and actions like these. Actually, with how things were those days – him secretly bringing messages, her avoiding her ex-husband – it could be said that happy moments, like two friends drinking tea in the shade of the Damiwon, were too rare.
And as Soo's mind gets dragged to the past, she pauses their friendly conversation and inquires a bit anxious.
"How is the 14th Prince?"
"He refuses to talk to me," Baek Ah says and sighs, looking down with a sad and dejected expression, "Thinks I should have been neutral in this."
"He won't even look at me then." Soo pours another cup of tea. She had been anticipating that sort of reaction from Jung after things had calmed down, but it still hurt.
"He'll come around eventually. He just needs time."
Baek Ah's reassuring words are optimistic and ease a bit of her grievance, but she is also annoyed.
"He knew all that his family had done, and yet he always blamed the 4th Prince. Somehow, I think it's not that simple for him."
"He only needs some scolding," the 13th Prince explains goodhumoredly, although his tone is a tad too serious to be considered just a joke, "Apparently his mother was too indulging on him and he finds it hard to believe he might be wrong about a few things."
"Well, I'm not his mother to lecture him on such basic topics." Soo mumbles, still feeling bitter because of Jung's attitude; even though she could understand where he was coming from.
"Look, Soo-yah, I love my fourteenth brother, but he is too much of a fool for his own good. He's a good person, though. Just has a bad habit of blaming the wrong people for the wrong things."
"Wangjanim," she replies in the same tone, showing that, even know she's angry, she's not about to desert the 14th Prince, "I know all of that. I care about Jung-Wangjanim as well. I won't let them become estranged."
After all, even with all that has happened, they were still brothers, sons of the same mother. Blood would surely speak louder, and Jung just had to get over his grudges and the lies his mother fed him. He would be fine.
They would all be fine; she would make sure of that.
"I can say with no doubt that this family doesn't deserve you, Soo-yah."
"Flattering your Queen? How smart!" Soo congratulates him jokingly and he makes an affronted face in return before scolding her.
"I'll have you reminded that no coronation ceremony has taken place as of yet."
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"I can't believe either of you. He's a murderer!" Jung's words are accusatory, but he's the only one who looks and sounds guilty.
"So was the late king, and I didn't see you opposing him."
"What about you?" the 14th Prince ignores his brother and turns to Hae Soo, still livid, "He left you behind to suffer. He didn't even blink when you were given to our eighth brother."
"There are things you don't know, Wangjanim," she tries to explain patiently, but that only makes him blow up again.
"That's what you keep saying! What is it that I do not know?"
His question is purely rhetorical, Soo knows. It's just an attempt to make a point, to make her and Baek Ah question their own arguments. But she takes the opportunity to reply and refute him.
"You don't know that he didn't just leave me behind, that he suffered just as I did this past year," her soft voice makes Jung stop walking around the room, makes him freeze in place and stare directly at her in silence, so she continues, "You don't know that he cares deeply for you and that he would take the burden of the throne just to make sure you and the rest of your family may live in peace."
The 14th Prince sneers.
"He seemed pretty eager to take this burden."
"Jung-ah!"
"Come on! Don't you think it's too convenient?" He questions his brother, but both Soo and Baek Ah notice how he's faltering.
"Isn't it always? What? Is this change of power any more suspicious than the previous ones?"
"Well, you might be willing to turn a blind eye, but I'll get to the bottom of this."
Jung fumes, still refusing to sit down and talk properly, and Soo has no doubt that he hasn't been moved by the slightest. No, none of his arguments are convincing, and none of his points will be valid for taking So out of the throne. But that doesn't mean he won't stop looking, digging until he finds something.
He's too blinded by his bigotry to see the bigger picture around him.
"Wangjanim," Soo interrupts the brothers' discussion with a stern and reprimanding voice, "I know your fourth brother. Out of all people that come and go from the palace, I'm the one who knows him best. Therefore, I'm the only one here who has the authority to say, with full confidence, that your brother has earned the throne without any sort of foul play."
"Then there will be no problem if I do investigate this matter, right?" Jung retorts smugly, and Soo shakes her head.
"Not for him, no. At most he will only be annoyed, which will end up with him punishing you. For me, however..."
She pauses, lets the implications of what she's saying hang in the air. Watches as his outraged expression fades into disbelief.
"Soo-yah..."
"Your brother could do nothing in Songak while living in Seokyeong. Me, on the other hand… Well, let's just say I put my faith in him, and I made sure he would get the throne," she explains it a bit further without actually going into details; the boy seems to be disenchanted enough already, "He'll be a good king, Wangjanim. He's a good man, on a good path with only good intentions on his heart. He wants to make this country a better place, but he needs you on his side rather than against him."
For a few torturing seconds, Jung doesn't say anything. The silence is almost deafening as the young prince looks away from his brother and his friend. Then he collapses on a chair, letting his shoulder rise and fall with a deep breath.
At last, he turns his eyes to Soo, his voice speaking in a more restrained tone.
"You'd put your life on the line for him?"
"I would. I did," she answers without hesitation, without batting an eye, "I'd do it all again, just to see your fourth brother being crowned, and not because that would be advantageous for me. It's because I know him and know what he can do. I will fight to keep him on the throne, even if it is against all of the clans, against his family, and against you. I would do all of it even if he hated me and never looked me in the face again."
The 14th Prince looks at her and then at his brother, his eyes storming with conflict. Then he looks back at her and stands up slowly, calmly.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Just give your fourth brother a chance," Soo asks with eagerness, and Jung nods slowly, grudgingly and compliant, "Get to know him a little better. And learn more about those things you do not know about."
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Gwangjong.
He is the 4th King of Goryeo.
He is Gwangjong.
A thousand years in the future, you'll be remembered in history as a bloody monarch. But the future doesn't matter. All that matters is here and now, this life we'll spend together.
Let them think what they want, I know the real you.
Through it all, I will help you.
I'm not going anywhere.
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"What else was a lie, Chae Ryung?"
Soo sits motionless on her chair, not even bothering to look at the young woman who's now on her knees, crying her eyes out.
She must not move; she must not falter. She can no longer ignore all of her sister's sins, even if it breaks her own heart to do so. She must not even cry; she will not shed a single tear.
"Nothing else, Huanghu," Chae Ryung says eagerly, "I meant no harm for you."
"But you knew what his death would do to me. Not just emotionally, you knew I would be implicated in the murder."
"I was too blind. And I didn't expect that it would be the third prince to take the throne. Wook-Wangjanim wouldn't ever hurt you, so I... I thought it was..." the servant tries to find words, tries to explain logically, but what comes out is just another display of delusion, "I couldn't say no to him."
"What is that you see in the 9th Prince?" Soo mutters; the question is rhetorical, her voice dripping with sarcasm, but the girl answers it anyway.
"I owe him. My life, my family's life. We would all be dead long ago if it wasn't for him. My love and devotion are the only things I've ever had to offer, I..."
"He used you, Chae Ryung-ah," the recently crowned queen lashes out, repulsed by her kind words when talking about such a vicious man.
"I know," the girl nods, smiles, cries, all at once, "And yet, I can't hate him. It was my choice to follow him in the first place, and it was my choice to poison the King. I can't hold a grudge against anyone for that."
"Even now, facing certain death, you'll hold your feelings for him?"
"That's just the kind of person I am, Huanghu. I just don't know how to love in any other way that is not complete and unconditional."
Hae Soo had heard what happened to women in abusive relationships. It's like being addicted, she remembered reading it somewhere. It's like the brain is conditioned to come back for the kind lies and empty promises, even though the pain and the suffering never stops. It's like the person is condemned to love their abuser, no matter how many reasons they have to not to.
She wonders if Chae Ryung is just a fool in love or if she's someone who really needs some psychological help right now. But no matter what the girl needs, none of it could be truly possible in Goryeo.
"You know what I must do, right?"
"It's alright, Agassi. Forgive me for causing you pain." Chae Ryung doesn't beg for mercy, doesn't ask her former lady to spare her life. Even after Soo stares into her eyes, she has nothing but affection to offer, "I understand. It's not anyone's fault but mine."
"Then you know what I'm risking by helping you to run away, don't you?"
The court lady's eyes bulge and her mouth hangs open. She struggles to find words, but the only thing that comes out is a broken murmur of an old title.
"Agassi..."
"I'll show mercy to you, my little sister, who had none for my brother," The Queen explains and stands up, offering a hand for Chae Ryung, even though the girl may not deserve it, "I'll help you to leave before the man I love has no choice but to kill you."
"Agassi, don't send me away..."
"Let go of him and leave," she interrupts the girls in frustration. How come the court lady asks for death instead of exile, just to not be sent away from a cruel man, is beyond her understanding, "It's the only way I'll forgive you. If even for my forgiveness you can't depart, think of your family."
"But Agassi, I'm ready to die."
"Listen to yourself!" Soo yells, yanking the girl's arm until she stands up, urging her friend to come to her senses, "Don't die! That's an order, don't you dare die! If you want to repent for all the wrongs you did for him, you'll leave. I won't have it any other way."
"That would not be fair..."
"It will not be fair if you stay either."
No matter what sort of investigation is conducted, no matter how much So and the rest of the court knows. No matter what the evidence says, Chae Ryung will have a far more abhorrent punishment than the 8th Prince and the 9th Prince.
Nothing is ever fair for a woman of low birth in Goryeo.
"I won't see you again either?" The girl inquires with tearful eyes, and Soo calms down for her not mentioning Won again.
"No. Never again. The palace has no mercy for people like you. Leave Songak as well." She reaches for a box on top of the table, lifting the lid just enough for her friend to look inside, "This is more than enough to begin anew someplace else."
"Agassi!"
Soo raises a hand, not letting her friend refuse her money.
"Another time and another place, none of this would have happened, and we could continue as sisters. Now, you must go if you're to live. And I won't have nobody else dying for or because of me, you hear?"
Chae Ryung seems to hesitate. She looks to her former lady, her former Sanggung, with unshed tears in her eyes. Then her lips slowly form a smile, a truthful smile, despite the situation she is in now. She smiles at the master that was a friend, and despite not smiling back, Soo feels that at least that part of her little sister was always honest and sincere.
"Thank you, Agassi. Thank you for offering me a chance of forgiveness."
"It comes with the condition that you will live." Soo can't resist bringing the girl to a close and brief hug. And she struggles to let her arms fall back and step back.
"Farewell, Agassi." The girl bows and, hugging the box of gold close to her chest, walks away.
Hae Soo sits back down and diverts her gaze. If Chae Ryung is to live, she has to let her go.
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"Please, grant me justice, Pyeha!"
Everything immediately goes quiet when the yell is heard in the palace. It's a chilling and frightening shriek, one that expresses pure agony and outrage. And the fact that it comes from the Queen only makes the present atmosphere even heavier.
No one fears for the Queen, though. If anything, everyone present in the audience fears for their own lives, as they try to remember if any of their recent actions could have offended the woman. Because everyone knows that the King never denies something to his wife, especially if she demands it with tears in her eyes and a shaky voice.
After barging in, Hae Soo falls to her knees. But, more than a reverent gesture, all the present can see that her strength is failing her and that she can no longer stand on her feet.
"What is going on here?" The King eyes every single person suspiciously, ready to impose his judgment on whoever deserves it.
The Queen starts sobbing and they all feel the tension thickening, the icy glare of Gwangjong piercing them like blades. But before the man can say anything, his thirteenth brother comes running in, tailing after his sister-in-law.
Wang Baek Ah bows beside the woman, looking much more composed and collected than her, but still very stressed. He even has to take a few deep breaths before speaking out.
"Pyeha," the man's voice echoes in the silent room, "Court lady Chae Ryung was found dead in her quarters at the Damiwon."
The members of the audience are stunned for a few moments, confused by the sudden outburst of the noblewoman for a dead servant. And they are even more surprised when the King nods gravely and speaks firmly.
"I'll assign Royal Guards to investigate her murder and..."
"She hung herself," the Queen interrupts and surprises everyone once again, as they all wonder why is she asking for justice when the servant girl clearly committed suicide.
"She used her own clothes to do it," the 13th Prince gives more details and raises a hand with a folded paper, "This was in her possession."
A eunuch steps out and receives the paper with a bow, then solemnly passes it over to the King, who unfolds it with an intrigued expression. Meanwhile, the rest of them collectively hold their breaths in apprehension, as the man's expression slowly merges into one of fury.
And no one can withstand Gwangjong's fury.
"This..."
"Court lady Chae Ryung has committed crimes of treason against the crown," the Queen interrupts him, declaring, in his stead, the contents of the letter, "She confessed all of them in there, including the poisoning of the late king Hyejong."
The people then gasp, almost in sync, as the shock hits them. Now it all makes sense, now the commotion that the woman just raised in the palace seems to be completely justified. Of course Hae Soo feels distraught for finally knowing who was the criminal responsible for the late King's demise, especially one she was so close to.
On his throne, Wang So frowns.
"These are serious claims."
"And the first lead on the case after three years of silence," the Astronomer Choi Ji Mong finally speaks in the middle of the turmoil, "This might be the answer the late king Jeonjeong could not find."
The King nods. And while no one in the court read the contents of the letter, they can see from the man's expression that things aren't as simple as they seem.
His next words just confirm everybody's suspicion.
"13th Prince Baek Ah. I'll be putting you and the 14th Prince Wang Jung in charge of this investigation. It is vital that we capture the person behind the death of our first brother."
"Yes, Pyeha," the two men bow and say in unison.
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None of them think things are simple, but no one is expecting things to go as deep as they do after the young princes' investigation is over.
Sure, a dead court lady admitted to being guilty, and although everyone was sure that someone with a high position and vast resources was behind it, they were sure that whoever it was, would never be found. Especially because such acts, although not that recurrent, weren't exactly rare, and they all knew the drill. The King would order the truth to be found, the investigation would hit a dead end, and the girl would be the scapegoat and the only one to be blamed for it all – never mind the fact that there was no way for her to get the mercury used in the poisoning in the first place.
Technically, it isn't right. It's just how things are.
That is why the entire palace is surprised when the 9th Prince is found guilty and condemned to death by poison for conspiring against the throne. That is why the entire palace finds it hard to believe that not all of the silver in his safes could convince the King to spare his life. That is why it comes as a greater shock when Wang Wook tries to drag the 8th Prince down too, claiming a larger plot that involved many other noblemen.
There is a commotion in the palace when the King announces his discoveries. All of the men in the Hwangbo clan fall to their knees and claim for mercy. Shinjeong and Yeon Hwa come later, after the ministers have disassembled, hoping to at least get a more merciful punishment. They don't try to claim that he is innocent, they don't ask the investigation to be remade, they don't attempt to ask for a favor, they have nothing to bargain for Wook's life. But in the end, there's not much evidence to convict both men, and the 8th Prince gets absolved from many of those accusations.
The revelation, however, taints the man forever. And even though he walks away on his own of the throne room that day, the eyes surrounding him aren't the most welcoming.
And all of that happened because some court lady wrote a confession before killing herself.
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"Don't worry. The evidence may not be much, but I'll have his life soon. Jung and Baek Ah said they've found a new lead," Wang So tells his wife that night, trying to calm her down, finally making her stop strolling around the room and sit down for a while.
Soo wasn't at the audition earlier. She refused to see the face of the 8th Prince again, or even to acknowledge his presence, and decided it would be best if she wasn't near him at all. That is why her husband felt obliged to relay the events of the day to her, even though she already knew what was going to happen. And he also felt the need to reassure her, before she starts feeling discouraged at the world.
But she surprises him once again.
"No, don't kill him," she says shaking her head slowly, eyes lost in a jar of flowers on the corner of his room, "Show mercy and gain some love from your ministers. Banish him to his own household, never to step outside again. Let him rot in there."
"Are you sure? I could just as well send him to the Hwangbo lands. Will that really count as a punishment?"
"I'm sure. I want him close, living under the shadow of the palace, watching it from the backyard of his own house. That way he'll continue to live in misery, knowing that, although so close, he'll never have me nor the throne."
She still doesn't look at him, so she doesn't see how his eyes narrow in a mix of concern and confusion. She only listens as So replies, still unsure about her idea of how to deal with Wook.
"I'd rather just kill him."
"Wook is responsible for the death of many. He made Jeonjong send you to hunt down Eun-Wangjanim and Lady Park Seon Deok, and now they're dead. He would have killed you too, you and your third brother. Just like he killed Hyejong. Like he used Won, who manipulated Chae Ryung to do his dirty job." She turns to him with cold eyes, her voice going deeper as she explains, "Just killing him won't be enough, it won't teach him anything. Make him pay for the rest of his life, and there will be some justice for those who suffered all these years."
Soo looks livid, and So knows that there is more than Wook's penalty to her anger. Thus, he asks in a softer voice.
"How was Chae Ryung?"
"Devastated, but at least she'll live." Her eyes wander away once again, "I don't think Wook or his family would sit still and do nothing if she wasn't out of the palace now. They would probably try to use her again, manipulate the girl to do even more crimes for them."
"And are you sure she left Songak?"
"If she didn't, it's out of my hands. But I'm pretty sure she did. We still have to stage some sad scene of me gathering her belongings and sending them to her family," she explains and then resumes the original topic of their conversation, "It's better if you just arrest him at once than delay the investigation and lose the people's interest."
That means that digging deeper to convict him to the death penalty is out of the question; they'll have to work with what they have.
However…
"Will it make you feel better?"
Will it be enough? Will it satisfy your hunger for justice? Will it even be justice at all? Will it be fair to you?
Soo knows all the question he means to ask, but won't say it out loud to not pry open her wounds. She smiles grateful, but it's a sad smile and her words leave a bitter taste in her mouth.
"I doubt any punishment will make me feel better. That's why I want it to at least last. To actually hurt him for a long time, rather than it to be over with a single strike." Her eyes return to him, but instead of miserable, they look determined, "Tarnish his family name if you must. Let the other nobles know that there are worse fates than death."
So nods silently, understanding her point at last, even though he still wishes he could punish the man in the manner he was taught to be the best. But just after a few seconds of contemplation, he chuckles, saying viciously, his eyes glinting with malice.
"Well, I supposed it won't hurt my wolf-dog reputation to impose such a sentence."
"It all depends on how you deliver it," Soo adds with a grin, and the concern in So's eyes turn to horror.
"Alright, now I'm worried, you're taking a break."
"What? Pyeha!"
"No, no talking politics at dinner, it's a law now." He starts piling her bow of rice with side dishes to make a point, even raising a piece of chicken to her mouth, in an attempt to silence any further discussion. "Also, no debate on royal edicts and decrees, nor about royal punishments. We'll have our meals like an ordinary couple who doesn't need to worry about plotting and conspiracies."
"We're not an ordinary couple, though." She teases and smiles mischievously.
"Like, Soo-yah!" The King cries out exasperated, and Soo giggles at his reaction, "Like an ordinary couple! Which means, talking about ordinary things. For example, what did you have for lunch today?"
"We had lunch together."
"Well, what was it? I've forgotten already."
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"You don't have to do any of this."
"But I want to!" Hae Soo protests, refusing to accept anything other than yes from Woo Hee. And before the woman can politely refuse again, she starts reasoning, "Truly, I want you close. Although I know the basics of life in court, and how to maneuver around plotting and politics, I still have no practice at acting like royalty. So, actually, yes, I have to do this. I need to have you by my side."
"Huanghu..."
Soo gets up from the table she was making rice cakes, the abrupt movement making Woo Hee freeze her hands in the air at her own table. And before the former gisaeng can say or do anything, the Queen flops down in front of her, pouting; whining just like a kid that insists on asking something from their mother even after being denied, and she won't stop soon.
"You helped me fold sheets on the Gyobang, Woo Hee-yah! Please, don't be like that around me! I already have Baek Ah-nim annoying me with the sudden reverent behavior. Just forget all of that formality and come be my lady-in-waiting."
Her juvenile behavior makes the woman laugh and resume her activity of molding the cakes. It's been a long time since the both of them had a carefree conversation, and even then, they were carrying heavy burdens that they weren't ready to share. So it's refreshing to see Hae Soo acting like the young woman Woo Hee never really had the chance of getting to know before.
And it is amusing for the former Princess that the recently crowned Queen of Goryeo has little regard for royal protocol and etiquette.
"Well, if I were to accept your offer and stand beside you, we would have to follow the proper protocol. And even though I haven't accepted it, I still can't simply ignore your position that you fought so hard to achieve," Woo Hee jests, her elegant posture never faltering, not even when she's teasing her friend, "Which means I will have to call you Huanghu."
"That's not fair." Soo pouts again, and although laughing at others is not ladylike conduct, Woo Hee can't help but giggle at the Queen's reaction to her reminder.
And because she does consider the woman a close friend, she leans in closer and whispers conspiratorially.
"I won't bow in private, though."
Soo grins, happy that Woo Hee is not imposing yet another boundary in their friendship. But then tackles the woman's concession, intentionally misleading it to sound like an agreement to her previous request.
"Then you will accept it, right?" Her eyes shine, making it even more difficult for her to refuse the tempting offer. And Woo Hee sighs, because it's not due to the lack of affection that she feels troubled and conflicted.
"I don't know, Soo-yah. This place... I left Hubaekje to destroy this place and now..."
"Look, I know your people have been suffering a lot. And that, no matter how much Pyeha tries, they'll never trust him. But I can do something. And I will."
The Queen sound serious this time, not petulant nor insistent like before. Even so, Woo Hee has a hard time believing her words, fails to have faith that it could be so easy, it could require anything less than a suicide mission from her.
Her hands stop molding the rice and she lets go of that activity altogether.
"Huanghu..."
"I'm not bribing or blackmailing you, you know that, right? It's just..." Soo rushes to explain herself, even though the thought of it being a bribe did not cross her mind for a second, "You're not in danger anymore. Park Yeong Gyu is gone, and you can help me make things better for your people, even though I can't give them their homeland back. Also, you'd be closer to Baek Ah-nim. People might be against a Prince marrying a former dancer, but I doubt they would bat an eye at a Prince marrying a lady close to the Queen."
"Now you're the one who's not being fair," Woo Hee groans after Soo mentions the 13th Prince.
The Queen chuckles unapologetic, but then goes serious, reaches out to hold her friend's hand and speaks in an enthusiastic and sympathetic manner.
"I'm just changing the Will of the Heavens, Woo Hee-yah. I'm getting that small piece of happiness for both of us," her hold tightens a bit as Soo implores quietly, "Please, allow yourself to be happy. You've already given too much of yourself to give up now."
Be happy? That's a foreign concept for the former princess.
For so long happiness had been something she had left behind long ago. Ever since the death of her family and the conquer of her homeland, her life goal had been to take revenge, to fight for her people's honor, to die for her people's sake. Personal happiness was always something secondary, something she couldn't allow being distracted with, something that would never come to fruition, that it would be ruined before the end.
That was why it had been so difficult to accept the 13th Prince's offer of marriage, that's why it was the obvious thing to do to leave Songak. That was why, despite how it could ruin her relationship with Baek Ah, she didn't refuse Park Yeong Gyu's and Jeonjeong's offer.
Could she really let go of her past like that? Just for her own personal happiness?
"Soo-yah..."
"I know, I know. It doesn't feel right that you're here when they're not; none of them are. It won't ever feel right," her friend nods, and Woo Hee can almost see tears in her eyes as well, "But as long as you live and fight, then a part of them will continue to live as well. Fight for them and for your people, Woo Hee-yah, but fight for yourself too. We'll help you all the way through. Just take my hand this time."
The young woman trembles under the Queen's eyes, but not out of fear. No, Woo Hee feels like she's being seen through, as if the masks she has been crafting ever since she had been forced to leave Hubaekje were suddenly peeled away. She feels like she's being stripped bare by the woman's words, and that there's nothing left to hide.
But this is Hae Soo, so she's not afraid.
This is Hae Soo, the noble woman who fell to the lower position of the palace only to rise to the highest, just because she cared about the justice for the common people. The friend she allowed herself to trust, because she always saw more than the political pawn she could be.
This is Hae Soo, so she nods. Reluctantly to embrace something so fugal and transitory as hope and happiness, but eager to accept some help.
"I just want to make it clear that I'm doing this for Hubaekje, not myself," she adds quickly, before the Queen gets excited again.
And although that is not the answer Hae Soo was hoping for, she smiles, tightening the hold in her hands even more.
"One step at a time."
.
.
.
.
"Were you waiting for me, Pyeha?"
"Yes, Huanghu. I've been waiting all day," So complains. He had retired for the night a while ago, so he is already dressed in his sleepwear, face bare and hair down, as well as putting at his late wife, "I was hoping for us to have some tea in the afternoon, and yet you ditched me to make rice cakes."
He says the word with loath, but they both know very well he will definitely swallow all the rice cakes up, not leaving a single grain left. He always devours the snacks she makes, and there's never anything left for her to give to others. And he is also very pleased and grateful that she took her time off to make a treat for him, no matter how annoyed he pretends to be right now.
And, because she likes to tease him a little bit, she ignores his outstretched hand, that invites her to lay down beside him. Instead, she walks to the mirror and the stand, carefully removing the last hairpins, accessories and traces of make-up, as well as the heavy layers of her hanbok.
"Well, forgive me, Pyeha," she addressed his complaint with a formal and stiff tone, "I'll make sure I don't make no rice cakes at all, next time."
"No can do. I'll die if I'm not to eat your snacks regularly, Huanghu."
She giggles at the term he uses to address her, feeling butterflies come to life in her stomach, as if that is the first time she ever hears him calling her that. It feels silly, but he smiles back at her, their eyes meeting on the reflection of the mirror.
"It feels weird to hear you calling me like that."
"Really? It feels great to me." So leans on his elbow, supporting his head with the hand so he can look at her properly as he muses with a smirk, "Though, I must say, I'd prefer to call you Buin."
A part of her called Go Hajin also smiles, fantasizing on him calling her Jagiya or Yeobo, but Hae Soo only sighs, trying and failing to look displeased.
"Can't you just call me by my name?"
"Only if you call me by mine."
He teases her, as the King knows very well that, after almost ten years calling him 'Wangjanim', she feels weird calling him by his given name. Even weirder than hearing him calling her anything other than 'Soo-yah'. And she knows that he'll keep doing that just so he can see her blush, so she usually ignored whenever he made such a comment.
This time, however, she feels bold enough to take up on his offer.
"Very well, then," Soo turns around from the mirror, done with her night routine, and walks to bed, "So-nim."
It's not the first time she does this, but his reaction is always the same. He reaches out his free hand to hold hers and pull her closer, holds her face to guide her lips to his. Kisses her long and deeply, voraciously, just like the day she first accepted him. Desperately, as if he could wake up any moment and it all would be a dream.
Soo climbs into the bed with him, and when he breaks the kiss to let her breath, she rolls to his side, as they lay close, facing each other.
"Thank you, Soo-yah."
"What, for calling you by your name?" Soo raises her eyebrows at the unexpected words.
"For everything. Ever since I first met you."
She laughs, despite his sudden serious tone, as the memory replays in her mind.
"You mean, when you pushed me off your horse?"
"Yes, right after I saved you from falling off a cliff for not paying attention to your surroundings."
"Hey, I thought you were thanking me, not making fun of me." Soo pinches his arm lightly in reprimand, but it barely bothers him. It only makes So grins and presses on.
"Thank for not running away, thank you for standing with me, and thank you for fighting with me," he pauses, but immediately complements his speech before she has the chance, "Even though I pushed you off my horse, threatened your life and pretty much acted like an annoying thorn on your side when we first met."
Soo scoffs, but then nods, satisfied by his complement.
"Well, you were pretty thorny back then."
"Said the girl who beat up a Prince."
"But I came to understand that we all grow thorns sooner or later," she ignores his teasing comment and continues her argument, "That's just inevitable, it's how we survive."
"Growing thorns and hurting other to survive," So ponders on her words with a distant gaze, his eyes averting hers for a second, "Sounds like a sad life."
"But we have petals too!" Soo interrupts whatever dark train of thoughts is forming on his mind, caressing his face softly. She brings his eyes back to hers, as a large and bright smile – a rare smile – adorns her face, "Beautiful and colorful petals, as vibrant and delicate as the day they first bloomed! We just need to keep them hidden from the world outside."
"So that it doesn't peel them?"
"So that it doesn't tear us apart." She nods calmly, her arms encircling around his neck, "Our roots will still be firm, So-nim, as long as we keep our petals just for us. Let them have our thorns. Our precious petals are for only us to see, only us to treasure. We won't let them tarnish the good in us, and then life won't be sad."
The it's time for his lips slowly form a smile, and Soo thinks she could stare at him for an eternity.
"Now that sounds like a life I'd want to spend only with you."
She only smiles back, leans in for another long and breathtaking kiss. She doesn't bother correcting him and saying that is not only her, that it won't be just the two of them. She also doesn't try to stop this moment. She decides that it's best to worry about the issues that will soon rise in the palace, the troubles they will face at court, at another time. She does not interrupt this moment of bliss to worry about the future.
Soo only savors the present, the pure joy of holding her precious one so close to her heart. The bliss of caressing his soft hidden petals, certain that no wind and no storm could blow them away.
They'll be fine, she's sure of it.
Their roots are deep in the ground.
A\N: So much that I wanted to write, just one fanfiction...
Yes, I didn't kill Wook. I'm aware you all wanted him dead. But then I thought, why not make him suffer for the rest of his life? So yeah, that's what I did. Also, no redemption for him, like the drama did: this man had one miserable day after another, fulfilled whatever role in history he stil had to, and then died of your preferred demise. And no, there was no final confrontation between him and Soo, because honestly? I just didn't want him to ever see her again, let alone talk to her! Like no, Wook, you're not important at all.
That being said, even though I spared the man, I didn't want Soo feeling bad for him, nor blaming herself for his end. So, yeah, she does not act out of consideration for him, just for herself and So.
It could have been a bit confusing in a few parts, but I hope it was satisfying enough to have a strong and resistant Soo at the end, rather than a broken and fragile one that couldn't stand the dirt of the palace. Because this one is going nowhere!
Hope you all enjoyed it!
...
mikanMD: Thank you so much! And yeah, Soo places all bets on her hubby!
silkyjacob: Yes, the man gives me chills; and YES! the main actors were amazing! I'm glad you could see the conection between FoE and Moon Lovers! Also yes, Soo is in cloud nine with her husband, and will continue so for a long time! Thank you so much!