Cheondeokjeon
Later that evening

So rubbed his eyes as the hanja began to blur, setting the decree aside he smiled as his thoughts drifted back to earlier that day at Manwoldae. Upon hearing the melodic lilt of feminine laughter, he quickly glanced at the far left pilar to find wide brown eyes peeping around the edge. Soo's peach chima swayed as she playfully approached the throne.

"I see Eunuch Kim is derelict in his duties." So said, as he raised a regal brow.

"Aigoo, everyone knows Pyeha indulges me." Soo mocked back as she rested her arms across his desk, grinning up at him. So laughed as he grasped her hand and guided her around the table to sit next to him. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Have you discussed organizing the move with Lady Han?" He asked as he rested his head against her. Soo sighed as she leaned her head back and relaxed in his arms. "Yes, I did that once we returned." She grinned at the thought of her head lady-in-waiting's ability to smoothly coordinate such a formidable endeavor. "She would make a wonderful general."

"I'll keep that in mind." So quipped. "Speaking of generals, Jung has requested to marry. She's from a small clan. He will be returning to the palace sometime today and will formally make the request tomorrow."

"That's wonderful news!" Soo turned in So's arms to meet his eyes. "You will approve of the marriage?"

So smiled at the stubborn glint showing in her eyes. She always wanted the best for everyone, his soft-hearted Soo. "I am planning on it." He replied and chuckled when Soo nodded, then settled back into place with a satisfied grunt. "It will keep him from moping around my woman."

"Pyeha!" Soo gasped, wide eyed. She attempted to turn around when So squeezed her, kissing the nape of her neck. "You are mine. I don't like sharing either." He growled mildly in her ear before capturing her lips, kissing her hard.

"Pyeha, eighth prince, Wang Wook of Hwangbo clan, wishes an audience with your majesty." Eunuch Kim's voice rang out from the other side of the closed door. So pulled back from Soo with a grimace. "Duty calls." He whispered in Soo's ear. With an annoyed sigh, she stood up, descending from the throne to stand to the side as So announced. "Let him enter."

With a stoic mein, Wook walked toward the throne, bowing to So. "Pyeha, I would like to speak with you alone." He turned to Hae Soo, his facade of calm not entirely reaching his eyes. Soo blinked when her eyes met Wook's gaze for an instant, confused by the obsessive malice he kept in check. A slight shiver of apprehension coursed through her as she gracefully turned to So. "I will have dinner served in your chambers, Pyeha. I'll wait for you there." She bowed before So, attempting to pretend she had not seen the look of betrayal in Wook's eyes.

"I won't be long, Soo-ya." So smiled warmly at her.

"Wangja-nim." Soo nodded in parting as she passed by Wook to leave. He caught a glimpse of the tiny mark on her neck as he nodded in kind.

Hae Soo took a deep breath and composed herself as Eunuch Kim closed the doors to throne room behind her. "Nui!" A genuine smile crossed her face at the heartfelt greeting form So's youngest brother, Wang Jung. "Soo-ya." Baek Ah grinned at her as he accompanied Jung as they prepared to report to the king.

"Baek Ah-nim! Jung-anim, I'm so happy you are here." She laughed as Jung pecked her cheek. "I hear you will be requesting to marry. I can't wait to meet her. What is her name? What's she like?"

Jung grinned at Soo's enthusiasm. "Her name is Moon Sun Hee and she will arrive with her parents tomorrow. She reminds me of you sometimes." He answered, then paused. "Pyeha has to approve of the marriage first, Soo-ya."

"Don't worry, he will approve." Soo answered with a happy confidence. This is the family So has longed for for most of his life. They are my family too, she thought as she felt the prick of tears. She turned to Baek Ah. "I want to surprise Pyeha with a family dinner. Please tell Woo Hee. We have so much to celebrate."

"Yes, we do, Soo." Baek Ah agreed with her. "However, you might not be able to surprise Pyeha. Although, he will love the sentiment." Soo glowered in frustration at Baek Ah until he coughed and Jung grinned. "He won't hear about it from me."

"At least he can pretend to be surprised." She sighed in exasperation at both men, "I expect to meet Lady Sun Hee and her parents. I would love for them to dine with us."

Jung nodded but his happy mein faltered at the thought of family. "Of course, Nui."

"I heard about your mother." Her kind eyes reflected the concern in her voice. "How is she doing?"

"She's not good." Jung answered, resignation in his tone.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Soo touched his sleeve in sympathy. "I truly am, Jung-anim."

"Is Pyeha alone, Hae Soo?" Baek Ah inquired as she dropped back.

"No, your eighth brother has requested to speak with him alone." She attempted to brighten her smile as she bowed to the princes. "I have to attend to Pyeha's evening meal so I will bid you both a good night." Then she said to Jung as she departed. "I'm truly happy you are safely home."

"What do you need to say that was not addressed during assembly, Wook?" So asked in a dangerously soft tone after Soo closed the door behind her. Wook's mask fell back into place as he faced the king. So leaned back as he observed his half-brother standing calmly before him, suspicious of the reason behind this sudden visit. "You have something you must tell me."

Wook drew in a breath, his eyes on So. "I have something to confess about my relationship with Hae Soo." His tone determined. "There seems to be something you are still unaware of, Pyeha. I thought I should let you know the two of us…had promised to marry one another." Wook paused, then quietly confirmed. "Long before she became your woman. Soo-ya was my person."

So closed his eyes, then opened them to gravely stare at Wook. "I know." He replied as Wook frowned, confused at the revelation. "Do you think she would keep your relationship with her a secret from me?" So's expression grew grim as he contemplated Wook's confession. "Did your sister put you up to this? Is she willing to throw you away, Wook, just to become queen?" He smirked as Wook paled. "I guess your life means so little to her."

"I thought you should know, Pyeha." Wook continued, his eyes downcast. "I know she is carrying your child, but she loved me once." He closed his eyes in pain as he tightened his jaw. Suddenly, his head shot up as he realized So had descended from the throne and stood in front of him.

"Do you take me for a dull-witted fool?" So grounded out, rounding on him. "I knew you were the one she meant that day when you stopped us on the way back to the Damiwon. Why do you think I gave you the evidence against my mother to save her life? I figured since you loved her too, you would fight for her!"

He grabbed the front of his brother's robe, seething from the memory of Soo's imprisonment for his poisoning so long ago. "I was wrong. You threw her away and I had to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Her love for you ended the day Court Lady Oh died."

"There was nothing I could do for her." Blanching, Wook quietly said as So flung him away. His eyes not daring to meet So's tightly controlled rage.

"No, you did more than enough to her over the years." So snapped back and Wook said nothing in defense. "I have noticed that you have not inquired about the welfare of our brother, Wang Won." So stated as he walked back to the throne and sat down, his attention focused on his brother. "I think we have said enough. I do not want to see you in front of me ever again. You may leave. Now."

Wook opened his mouth, then thought better of his decision. Bowing low, he strode out of the room.

Baek Ah frowned as he watched Soo head toward So's quarters. What was Wook up to? He motioned for Eunuch Kim to remain silent. Jung stood next to him, patiently waiting. "It will be good to see Wook hyung-nim again." He commented to his brother then quieted when Baek Ah shook his head at him, listening to So's voice rise from behind the door.

"I was wrong. You threw her away and I had to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Her love for you ended the day Court Lady Oh died."

Jung frowned at Wook's answer. He remembered the day he took Wook to see what their father had done to Soo. He thought of Wook's indifference to the abuse. "There is nothing I can do. I cannot die with her." Wook had told him that day. Why was Wook telling Pyeha that Soo loved him? Embarrassed at his treatment of his fourth brother, Jung's face flamed as Wook suddenly appeared before him.

Wook halted as he faced Jung's accusing eyes as he turned from him, then Baek Ah's hooded gaze. "Eunuch Kim, you may announce us now." Baek Ah coolly ordered.

Soo tried to shake the dread Wook's visit had instilled within her. Making her way to the king's quarters, she instructed the attendants to have a light meal served that night. The routine they had set within the palace made her feel calmer as she methodically headed to her quarters.

"Lady Hae Soo." Lady Han greeted her as she walked into her bed chamber. Two other attendants bowed before efficiently preparing Soo to attend to the king for the night.

"The moving arrangements are in order. Chun-ja and Da-ye will begin packing your room and they will be sent ahead to Manwoldae to prepare your living quarters. You should not overexert yourself." The head lady-in-waiting informed Soo as the younger women pulled out an egg-shell white silk chima and jaegori. Soo sat before the mirror at her vanity, carefully taking her hair pins out of her braid. "Pyeha has instructed us to have you moved within a month."

"That fast." Soo blurted out, blinking up at Lady Han as the woman put away the hair pins and pulled a brush through her lady's long black hair. Exasperated, Soo sighed at her reflection. "The man doesn't waste any time when he has his mind set on something he wants."

Lady Han's eyes met Soo's in the mirror and with a womanly smile. Soo applied a drop of distilled rose perfume to her pulse points, then stood up, allowing her ladies-in-waiting to help her into her evening garments.

King's Quarters

Her nerves got the better of her after the servants laid out the evening meal then left the king's chambers. Soo bit her lip, nervously pacing about the room, too anxious to keep still. What would Wook say to get his sister what she wanted most? She trusted So not to believe him, but her mind returned to the threat he had issued the day after Hyejong was coronated. "I will make you return to me."

Finally, she sat down at the dining table, frowning at her unbidden thoughts. Had I ever really known him? A shiver raced through her and she rubbed her arms. Quietly she asked the spirit of Lady Myung Hee to bring peace to Wook's heart. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay by him, Unnie." She looked up from her prayer as So entered the room, ordering everyone out.

"Pyeha...please." Worry creased her brow as Soo began to explain.

So walked to her, kneeling down in front of her. "Stop, Soo-ya." He carefully bid, taking her hands in his. "You don't have to say a word. You are too good for either of us." He rasped out. "Don't ever doubt my trust in you. I love you."

With his words of reassurance, she burst into tears and dived into his arms, sitting on the floor with him. "I never doubted you!" She wailed, sobbing against his neck. "But I don't understand what I ever did to make him hate me so much. What did I do to wrong him?"

He soothed her as she cried, rubbing her back, cradling her in his arms. "It's not about you, Soo. He made his choice to abandon you, but he never thought you would come to me. And he can't accept that you don't love him anymore."

She pulled back to peer into his eyes. "I don't know if I ever did love him. I think I just got caught up in my emotions of gratitude for taking me into his home. I trusted him." So tenderly wiped her tear stained cheeks. "I guess I never really knew him at all."

"He never really knew you either, Hae Soo." So said, softly. "Otherwise he would have taken into consideration how stubborn you are. Or how keen your sense of justice is within you." He smiled fondly at her, cocking his head to the side. "Or how much you have been enjoying lecturing me over the years."

Soo scoffed, indignant at his teasing. "Maybe if you had not dumped me off your horse like a sack of potatoes, I would have fallen in love with you sooner." She pouted at his laughter.

"If that is so, then I promise in our next lifetime, I won't toss you off my horse, Soo-ya." Getting to his feet, he grinned at her as he helped her to stand up. "If I had known then, what I know now, I might have ridden away with you and never come back to Songak."

"Pyeha!" Soo gasped, blushing as she remembered the first time her eyes met his, the feeling of turmoil and desire she had experienced that day when he saved her from falling into the moat. Never mind the fact that the near accident was his fault in the first place. "I wish you had." She admitted under her breath as she sat down in her chair, avoiding his eyes.

So gave her a heated look as he sat down across from her, watching as she lifted lids from the various dishes. "How was your visit with Jung and Baek Ah?" She inquired, changing the subject as she placed a piece of succulent meat on his rice.

He used his chopsticks to pick up a mushroom, holding it up to her mouth. "Open, Soo-ya." She obeyed, chewing slowly. He smiled as he ate the meat she had given him. "It went well. Jung's young bride-to-be will arrive in two weeks." His affable mood faltered as a shadow fell over his face. "However, he asked if he could introduce her to our mother. Her health is declining rapidly and she won't last long."

"I'm sorry, So." She said, placing her hand over his as he drew in a breath.

"I haven't given him an answer yet, Soo-ya." He replied as he laced his fingers with her, still frowning as he added. "I want to deny his request."

"I understand how you feel." Soo said gently, love in her eyes then she shook her head. "As a woman who will soon be a mother, I will never understand her. But for some reason, she treated Jung well and he loves her. She is his mother even if she's not a good person."

"I know." So released his breath with a nod. "I have tried to come to peace with my feelings, Soo." He smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "I have you and a family. You gave me that gift. I don't need anything more."

Damiwon

Jung stood staring out over the lake, outraged by Wook's message to meet him there. Righteous anger filled Jung as his older half-brother stepped out of the shadows. "Hyung-nim, why are you trying to hurt Hae Soo?" He demanded an answer from Wook.

"Jung-a, you know I wouldn't do anything to harm Soo-ya." Wook gave him a pained expression. "I'm trying to help her leave the palace as she wanted me to do."

"I don't understand. She told me she loved Pyeha." Jung said, confused. "Why would she want to leave him?"

Wook sighed, "It's not safe for her in the palace. This place is poison to her." He frowned as he peered into the black, reflective surface of the water. "She never wanted to be a king's woman." Turning to face Jung, he added with conviction. "She might care about his welfare, as she does with us all, but she deserves to be free. Free to raise her baby outside these walls."

Silent, Jung mulled over Wook's words, his gut twisting at the thought of Soo giving birth alone. Meeting Wook's eyes, he replied. "What you are asking from me is treasonous. Soo has already made it clear to me what she wants and I will honor her wishes to remain with our brother." Jung grimaced, feeling only disappointment in Wook. "I don't believe we have anything further to say to each other." Then turning around without a backward glance, he walked through the gate heading to the Damiwon.