Sunlight filtered through the cross-hatched wood screens of the windows, driving the shadows from the room. Sang Yung rested on his side, watching Aska as she slept. Lightly brushing his fingertips over her cheeks, he smiled as she shifted toward the warmth of his touch.
"Good morning, sunshine," he said softly as her eyes fluttered open.
"Good morning to you too," she said sleepily, smiling at him as she stretched her arms above her head before relaxing again and snuggling down next to him in the bed.
Tilting her chin up, he kissed he lazily, wrapping an arm possessively around her waist.
"I should go, hime-chan," he said quietly after breaking away. "Ling Ling will be here soon to draw your bath and help you dress."
"I know," Aska answered, her body tensing at the mention of her governess. "It's just...Every time you walk out the door, every night we spend together, the chances increase that we'll be caught, and then..."
"I'll climb down the balcony if it will make you feel better," he said jokingly, gathering her to him in a tight embrace.
"This isn't anything to joke about," Aska said, her voice muffled as she rested her head on his shoulder, kissing it fondly.
"I know, hime-chan," Sang Yung intoned. "I know..."
"Sang Yung?" Aska asked, looking up at him suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"Promise me something."
"Anything," he answered immediately, gazing fondly at her.
"Promise me everything will be all right."
Aska wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he hugged her again.
"I promise," he whispered into her ear. "Everything will be all right. If we lose everything else, I promise we'll still have eachother. And the baby."
"Thank you," she said, pulling back to look at him. "I really needed to hear that."
"Anything for my hime-chan," he said, also smiling. "Now, I think I should leave...And you should put your night dress back on."
"Oh yeah..." she murmured, blushing as she sat up to look around the room for her clothing. She found it under the bed, next to one of Sang Yung's shoes.
"Was it absolutely necessary to throw my clothing so far?" Sang Yung asked, pulling on his breeches while walking across the room to collect his shirt and his other shoe.
"Of course it was," she answered matter-of-factly. "It's a wonderful excuse for me to watch you walk around naked," she said, smiling impishly at him as she pulled her night dress over her head and began to do up the buttons.
"I knew there was a reason," he said resignedly, walking back over to sit down on the bed and put his shoes on.
Standing up and stretching, Aska straightened out her night gown and pulled Sang Yung's jacket off the bed post. Rubbing the silk between her fingers, she stood before him, a sad look in her eyes as he took the jacket from her with a grateful nod.
"Don't look so upset," he said, rising from the bed and embracing her. "What could possibly go wrong in the eight hours we'll be apart?"
"A lot," she said, kissing him gently before he pulled away.
"I'll be careful hime-chan. Don't worry about me," he said confidently, backing toward the door.
"That's like asking a bird to stop singing, Sang Yung," Aska said softly to herself, watching the door close behind him. "It's never going to happen."
*****
Sang Yung's smile faded as soon as the door closed. There in the hallway, as if waiting for him, stood High Councilor Shin and nearly two-dozen royal guards. Lum-lum stood behind Shin, a victorious smirk on her face.
"So it is true," Shin said in an off-hand tone, as if he were commenting on the weather. "The council has been debating on replacing you for so long," he said to Sang Yung, his demeanor remaining calm and impassive. "We knew the Empress was infatuated with you early on, but the other members were reluctant to remove you. Of course now it is too late for such an action." Shin smiled coldly. "Seize him!"
Stepping back into a ready stance, Sang Yung stood poised, six of the two-dozen guards rushing forward to circle him. He could feel his heart pounding through his ribcage. It had been a while since he had last had a good sparring match, and he hoped his martial arts skills weren't too rusty.
The first guard sprang forward, rushing him in a full run, sword drawn. Ducking beneath the swinging blade, Sang Yung caught the man by the wrist, flipping him over his back and sending him crashing into another guard coming from behind. Felling another of the guards with a roundhouse kick to the head, he heard Shin call "Get the Empress! Use force if necessary, but avoid striking her abdomen! We'll need that child if the plan is to succeed!"
Turning toward the door, Sang Yung watched in slow motion as his world crumbled around him.
Throwing open the doors, twelve of the remaining guards entered the room. Aska gave an indignant shout, which turned quickly to a cry of rage. The sickening sound of flesh on flesh was heard through the hallway, and then heard again. One of the guards came out to Shin, clutching a hand to a now-broken and profusely bleeding nose. "I think we need the chloroform," he said, his voice muffled by his hand.
"Indeed," Shin said, raising an eyebrow at the guard. Pulling a bottle and rag from beneath his cloak, he handed both to the man. Wetting the cloth with the liquid, the guard returned the bottle to Shin, turning back toward the room. Before he could enter, Aska was carried through the door by three of the guards, kicking violently at the one holding her legs.
"Sang Yung!" she cried suddenly, a look of horror coming over her face.
Sang Yung noticed distantly that he was no longer standing, but kneeling on the floor. His head was throbbing, and something red and sticky was flowing into his right eye, blurring his vision.
"I demand to know what is going on here!" Aska practically screamed at Shin, looking up at him as the guard holding her feet released her so that she could stand, flanked by two guards who still held her arms.
"You know exactly what is going on," Shin said, smiling slightly as if amused. "You can't claim innocence on the matter, nor indeed on much else since you have been whoring yourself at this...this commoner," he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Sang Yung, who was kneeling between two guards, blood running down his right cheek and into his eye from a large cut on his temple.
Aska bristled at the insult, drawing herself to stand taller as she faced Shin. "How dare you insult your Empress!" she cried, her eyes blazing. "You should be kneeling-"
"Ah, but you are no longer fit to be our ruler," Shin broke in, his features remaining disturbingly calm. "You have dirtied your hands, indeed your entire body, by your act of selfishness. Your womb now carries the spawn of one unworthy of your status, and therefore unworthy of our mercy."
The fire in Aska's eyes died quickly at the last statement. For the first time in her life she was truly afraid. All her hopes had been snuffed out in an instant. Her soul was shattering. She could feel it breaking into a million pieces, too tiny to ever be put back together again. She felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest. Sang Yung was going to die. Her child would be taken from her. And she would never see the light of day again.
"How? How did you find out?" she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.
Shin chuckled - actually chuckled!- and stepped aside. Standing there, as if hiding, stood Lum-lum. Her eyes darted toward Sang Yung, and she winced at the sight of him. When she met Aska's burning gaze, now alight with rage, she took a stumbling step backward.
"You little wretch!" Aska cried, struggling against the guards that gripped her arms. "I'll cut your throat if it's the last thing I do in this life!"
"Empty threats, my dear," Shin said, intervening once again. "You won't be able to hurt anyone when you are unconscious."
Nodding, Shin signaled the guard whose nose she had broken earlier. he struggled against the men holding her arms, beginning to panic. Coming up behind her, the man with the broken nose wrapped one arm around her neck, holding the rag over her mouth and nose.
As blackness swept over her, Aska saw Sang Yung, on his feet again, trying to fight his way to her. She closed her eyes, blinking away tears, as the guards managed to beat him to the ground. She tried to open her eyes again, knowing it would be the last time she would ever see him. Alive, at least. But the noxious fumes of the chloroform choked her, sending her into a downward spiral of darkness.
End Chapter 3
A/N: I'm awfully sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to end at a cliffhanger, and this was the best one I could think of. I'm hoping the next chpater will be longer, but don't look for it too soon. I'm finally getting serious about my schoolwork (I have an english paper to write as we speak) so I want to keep up the good academic work. Please don't kil me...Oh, and don't forget...REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!
