Soo was not asked to have dinner with the king that night, and she ate alone in her quarters, her windows open to the night air. The court maids shuffled in, bearing food and tea, and when one of them bent over to serve her, she met Soo's eyes, smiling shyly. Soo gasped delightedly. "Chae Ryung!"

Chae Ryung smiled, her cheeks dimpling. "Lady…!" she exclaimed, putting down her dish on the table. "How are you feeling? Are you alright, Milady?" The concern in her eyes was palpable and the other court maids exchanged looks; saying nothing, hanging back slightly.

Smiling, Soo nodded, taking both Chae Ryung's hands in her own. "I'm feeling better, now that I knew I have a friend here."

The younger woman teared up, her lips crumpling with feeling. "Oh, Milady!"

When the court maids left, Soo began to eat, watching the moon rise and the 'stars that shone only in Goryeo' rise above the lake and into the sky. Despite all of Goryeo's drawbacks, the sceneries, the architectures and the clothing of this time period were absolutely beautiful. It was a pity that in modern times, there would be pollution that kept people from seeing the stars. At least people could take better care of historical places. She was still in a good mood from her meeting with So, and from the fact that she could avoid the king for today at least.

If she did things right and lived carefully, she could live well, she realized. The king did not seem to know about her meeting with So, as he did not call her, so if she kept 'sneaking around' they could see each other more often. She had Chae Ryung, just like old times, Jung would probably learn how to fly just to bring her a few rice cakes and have a relaxed talk together, and she could probably see Baek Ah if she was careful. There was a way to thrive, and like a flower growing in a crack between concrete slabs; she could flourish.

She would try, and be careful. It was all she could do, but it could possibly be enough; for after seeing So, she could finally sleep peacefully in her luxurious bed. There was hope, and it was more than she had ever expected.

So, in the end, Wang Yo could not take that which was most important away from her.

Her hope, and her belief in better things to come.

/

As she leafed through a book on acupuncture and pressure points to alleviate headaches, a court lady entered the library, stopping a polite distance away, bent forward at the waist, eyes trained at the floor in the perfect posture. "Milady Hae," shesaid, her head bowed, "The king requests your presence on the training grounds for some target practice."

Dryly, Soo thought, 'I wonder, is he going to use me as a target? I don't even want to know how fun he'll find that.' Out loud, with a forcedly pleasant tone, she said, "Very well, thank you for relaying the message, Junior Court Lady Park. I will be there soon."

She noticed the slight widening of the eyes as Soo addressed the woman by name, and Soo almost sighed. She had worked with this girl for years. Her brain did not just automatically wipe out of all her memories when she became the king's wife. It would have been almost amusing, if it had not been yet another proof of her isolation. She resolved to keep reminding them of her ties to the Damiwon, until they realized she was not only a noble – and she had some sort of allies in the palace.

Soo arrived at the archery grounds in the company of Chae Ryung and several other court maids. She watched the king take an arrow from the trestle table, nock it, draw his bow, narrow his eyes, smirk, then release the bowstring. His arrow hit the middle of the target on the other end of the field, and his shoulders dropped.

Forgetting herself, Soo clapped her hands in appreciation – for, at that distance, a shot like that was quite phenomenal. Yo turned back at the sound of her clapping and raised an eyebrow.

Quickly, Soo looked down and folded her hands in front of herself, maintaining an empty facial expression. Yo smirked. Soo pursed her lips and glared at the ground. Yo waved her over with two fingers. "Come here," he ordered.

Wordlessly, Soo bowed and approached to stand to Yo's right side, hanging back a little.

"What do you know of archery?" he asked.

Soo shook her head slowly. "Nothing at all, Your Majesty."

Yo selected another arrow and held it up for her to look at. "Look. They're different to the arrows used in warfare, or the ones used in hunting small game, or birds." He nocked it, and drew his bow again, speaking all the while, his eyes fixed on the target. "They're lighter, for one – and shorter, for another. That makes them easier to shoot, but harder to aim." He let the bowstring go and it snapped back with a 'twang', the arrow thudding into the target across the practice field.

A flag was raised. In the middle, again.

"The difference is most obvious in the fletching – see," he pointed at the feathers at the top of the arrow, "The fletching is wider and larger, so that it flies further and higher. They are meant for distance."

"You are really good at this, Your Majesty," Soo said, shaking her head.

Yo smirked, but it wasn't an unpleasant smirk – it was the expression of one who knew it wasn't an empty compliment, and was proud of his achievements. "I am," he said, nodding. "…I like it," he added, shrugging his shoulders. He picked up another arrow.

"You must practice often," Soo said, a hope rising in her for a low standard of pleasant conversation.

"Hm," Yo said, drawing his bow and aiming. There was a moment when he was glaring sharply at the target, then he let the string go – and it thudded into the middle of the target again. "It's not practice which makes me this good," he said, putting his bow down to his side and looking over at her.

"Talent?" Soo guessed, an awkward smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"No."

"A combination of excellent vision, upper body strength and a thorough understanding of physics?" Soo hazarded.

"No. You're grasping at straws, just admit you don't know, Hae Soo," Yo said, sounding mildly amused.

Soo raised both of her eyebrows as she lowered her head, saying nothing.

"It's murderous intent," Yo said with a straight face, twirling an arrow in his fingers.

Soo looked at him. 'Is this his idea of a joke? Because with his track record, that's not funny at all.' "Murderous intent?" she asked in too neutral a tone of voice.

"A little bit of imagination, as well." Yo nodded, smirking at her reaction, able to see through her carefully polite front, as always. The arrow spun to a halt between his fingers and he picked his bow up, notching the arrow, but not drawing yet. "You see, Hae Soo," he said in a tone of voice as if he was explaining something entertaining, "If the target transforms into someone – a person I hate, for instance – or just any person – there is a sense of urgency, of actually wanting to hit that target on more than a superficial level."

Soo's eyes widened slightly as she listened.

Yo drew his bow, still smirking, his eyes getting the concentrated, slightly faraway look, narrowing as he aimed. He shot, and was rewarded by a flag signaling 'middle' being waved on the other side of the field. "Like this," Yo said, "I never miss a shot."

Eyeing him carefully, Soo almost smiled. This man was one of the strangest men she had ever encountered. He was someone who could look almost peaceful when talking about murder, riled everyone up for the pure fun of it, never did anything if it didn't bring him or his house gain – but when he was in a good mood (pretending to murder people) he was a lot easier to be around. Soo mentally hoped that all other times she had to deal with Yo were when he was practicing his archery – and they could have relatively calm and (very) relatively calm conversations. 'Somehow, that makes sense,' Soo thought. 'Really messed up sense, but he's a really messed up guy, so nothing's new.'

Yo looked over at her. "You're not going to ask who I was shooting at, little wife?" he asked, his smirk turning back into one boding unpleasantness to come.

"Does Your Majesty really want to tell me?" Soo asked mildly.

"If only to see if your reaction interests me." Yo selected another arrow, twirling it between his fingers again, but slowly. His eyes momentarily flicked to her. "I've kept you out of the loop, Hae Soo," he said quietly, "And as you may have guessed, it has been intentional. I do not intend to make you suffer, but if it is what must be done to keep you from turning the tides against me, then I will do it. You hold no interest for me as a person, as a woman, but in my hands, you are a powerful pawn – and to make sure you stay in my hands, I must needs keep you on a tight leash."

Soo bit her lip as she looked down at her hands, twisting in the front of her skirt; not liking the direction things were headed.

"Have you seen those strange puppets on strings that the commoner street-performers sometimes use?" Yo suddenly asked, snapping his fingers. "It's a perfect analogy." He held out his hand, turning it over slowly. "The king is the all-governing hand, or at least, so it should be. And you – you are the wooden cross-piece that the strings are all attached to." He couldn't suppress a little laugh. "I need to keep you in my grip to pull the strings to keep the show going."

For a moment Soo glanced up, and Yo's eyes seemed oddly sad for a moment. But the moment was quickly gone as he turned to look down at her.

"There's a traitor in the palace, wife," Yo said, a slow smirk beginning spread across his face. "Any time before now, it would have been unwise to tell you, otherwise you and some of the other princes may have gotten into some trouble, trying to do unnecessary things. But now, I have him, courtesy of my loyal Wolf-dog. This traitor, he is someone you may know rather well."

Soo forgot how to breathe for a second, still fixatedly looking down at her shaking, tight hands. 'The fourth prince said he was chasing down a traitor… But he said not to worry… Who is it? Please don't let it be someone I know…'

The arrow spun to a slow halt between Yo's fingers and he stepped closer to Soo. The cold point of the arrow was put under her chin, and she jerked he face up so Yo could look at her. "I want to see the look on your face when I tell you," he said, leaning in and smirking. "Wang Wook will hang for treason tomorrow."

Her breath caught. All she could think was; 'So he was caught plotting, finally.' She paled. Despite all that had passed between them, Soo couldn't bring herself to feel nothing when faced with Wook's death. She swallowed, not meeting Yo's sharp eyes, gathering herself, trying not to give the cruel king the satisfaction of a reaction. Her chest tightened and began to ache dully.

"You're crying," Yo noticed, drawing back slightly. Soo's hand flew up to wipe away a single tear rolling down her pale cheek. "Such glad tidings, and yet you weep, little wife," he said, shaking his head.

Soo looked down and bowed. "I apologize, Your Majesty." Her voice was weak.

"And we both know exactly how much that means," Yo said dryly, his hands folded behind his back, still holding the arrow. "…You hate Wook, and yet you weep for him. You are a strange woman, Hae Soo."

"I never hated him," Soo said suddenly, as if thinking aloud. "I was deeply disappointed in him."

Yo laughed, shaking his head. "You don't hate Wook. Do you hate me, then?" He leaned in again. "Tell me."

"Your Majesty is a strong and wise king," Soo said with a trembling voice, bowing.

"Such sweet words," Yo said with a mocking sigh. "But coming from your mouth, I wonder, are they tinged with poison?" He glanced sideways at her, smirking. "Maybe the reason I married you was to get you out of the Damiwon, to keep you from poisoning my bathwater, hm?"

"Whatever the reason, Your Majesty granted me the great honor of becoming your wife," Soo said. "I am grateful."

Yo laughed. "You really are good at playing this game. If you were born a man, you would make a good politician – someone whom I would be wise to keep on my side."

"Your Majesty pays me a great compliment."

"I suppose I did."

They stood in silence, Soo's mind furiously racing, and Yo's expression as peaceful as the cloudless sky.

Yo looked over at her again. "You can't save everyone, you know," he said softly, almost gently.

Soo remembered Court Lady Oh, Wang Moo, Myung Hee, So crumpling to the ground with blood spilling from his mouth, the strangled court lady that King Hyejong had mistaken for an assassin in his madness, the scars on Woo Hee's arms…

"I know," said Hae Soo, tears coming to her eyes. "I know."

/

Her body was tense, and the characters on the paper in front of her seemed to blur into nothing as she tried to force her eyes into focus. All she could think of was a noose, tightening around Wook's neck, and that she could not do anything about it.

"Milady!"

At the sound of Chae Ryung's voice crying out, shattering the stifling silence of the library, Soo dropped her book onto the floor, her tense, trembling hands flying up to her suddenly stuffy chest. "Chae Ryung? What's the matter?" she asked, looking at the disheveled court maid.

Chae Ryung looked as if she had been running, her round cheeks flushed and her breath coming quickly. "He's escaped from his holding cell! His Highness, the eighth prince! They say he's a traitor!"

"What?" exclaimed Soo, her eyes widening. 'He escaped?'

"He was taken in right after you and the king were at the archery grounds. But then… He escaped. They say he had a knife in his sleeve." Chae Ryung swallowed thickly. "The whole palace is in an uproar. All the gates have been shut and guards are running around everywhere!"

"What about the fourth prince?" asked Soo suddenly.

"Their Highnesses the fourth and ninth princes have been leading many search parties across the court! No-one's allowed to come or go – and His Majesty is enraged…" She lowered her voice. "Senior Court Lady Kim and Junior Court Lady Park say he hurled an entire tea set across the throne room!"

Soo rose quickly, taking both of Chae Ryung's hands in her own. "Chae Ryung, how long ago was this?" she asked. "When did he escape?"

The younger woman paused to think, finally getting her breath back. "…The alarm was sounded half an hour ago, right before nightfall," she said slowly. "They searched the Damiwon first – because there was such chaos, I could leave and go to you, Milady." Then she looked up at Soo and burst into tears. "I just can't believe he's a traitor!" she cried. "He was so kind!"

Biting her lip, Soo embraced Chae Ryung, patting her back comfortingly. "…There is always a side to a person," she said slowly, "That they don't show to others."

There was the sound of tramping footsteps and the clanking of metal. By the sound of it, many men were making their way down the corridor; then stopped in front of the library doors. A pause, and then door opened.

Wang Won stepped inside, adjusting his sword-belt. He smiled pleasantly at Soo. However, looking down at Chae Ryung momentarily, his eyebrows raised for a moment, and their eyes met. Chae Ryung bit her lip and looked down. Soo noted the exchange, but Won nodded to Soo and she put it aside for the time being. "Lady Hae, good evening," he said. "There, unfortunately, is a traitor on the loose." He shrugged. "Have you seen one? Because we haven't and we're starting to think he may have flown away."

Soo smiled back, bowing slightly. The effort to keep her mouth stretched, her cheeks up and her eyes curved was almost painful. "Unless this flying traitor has turned completely invisible and decided he wanted to read for a little while, I am sure he is not here."

"Ah, a pity," Won said. "Our traitor was the scholarly type." He looked piercingly at Soo, his smile not quiet reaching his eyes.

'He's trying to see if I know it's the eighth prince…!' realized Soo. "It must not have done him well, then. The traitor must not have read enough to know it is folly to betray Goryeo." Keeping her tone light, she forced a smile again.

Won looked satisfied. "Of course," he said, smiling. "I apologize for bothering you, Milady."

"Not at all, Your Highness. Good luck in your search."

The ninth prince left, the guards with him. Soo sank back into her seat and Chae Ryung on the floor, her face turned down and away from Soo. 'The eighth prince has hidden well. He must be moving hiding places to where the guard have already thoroughly searched.' "Chae Ryung," Soo said out loud, "I'm going to take a walk by myself. I'm tired and sad, and I don't want anyone with me. Is that alright? Can you stay here?"

"Milady, is that safe?"

Soo sighed. "Nothing will happen to me, I'm sure of it. It's just… Back when I was staying at the eighth prince's house, right after I lost my memory… Everyone was so different and everything was mostly alright. I'm sad that things had to turn out like this."

Chae Ryung nodded. "…Yes…" she said slowly. "It is so sad…"

/

The Damiwon was where he would hide, Soo decided. The secret passageway was blocked, but even so, it was possible to hide there without being seen for a short while. Besides that, it had already been searched – and there were many more places where a man could hide. Soo lit a lantern, stepping inside the familiar hallways of the Damiwon. The building was empty, the court ladies all on their duties to calm down fussy nobles who were throwing fits about a traitor on the loose – or cleaning up shards of ceramic from yet another of the king's outbursts. 'Seriously, hasn't the guy ever heard of PR?'

The narrow hallway she was walking down was dark and eerily silent, her footsteps echoing too loudly, and her lantern lighting only half a meter in front of herself. Soo took another step, but something sounded strange. Just as she turned, the rustling of her skirts seemed to mask another sound, that of someone's shuffling footstep. Was she just jumpy?

She continued onward, coming to the royal bath suite. Once more, she turned and heard a similar shuffling sound. Her knuckles whitened around the pole her lantern was affixed to. She whirled around, but no-one was behind her.

Soo ducked into a hallway, then covered the light. There was no sound, but that of her own breathing. 'This is like some bad ghost story,' she told herself. 'He's there but he doesn't trust me.'

Uncovering the light, she took several more steps into the hallway, then whipped around, just as she heard that shuffle again. "Your Highness," she said in a steady voice, "Please come out."

The lone shape of a man stumbled from the dark, faltering at the edge of the pool of light that her lantern produced. Wang Wook was looking every bit the part of a hunted traitor.

Soo's hand did not shake, holding her lantern completely steady, staring at what seemed more like an apparition or a shadow than a real man. Wook stared at her with wide eyes. His hair had come undone from its topknot, his robes were torn and dirty, there was a cut on his cheek and a bruise on the other. There were deep circles under his eyes, and his hands shook as he reached out for her, his legs unsteady with exhaustion. "Soo…" he whispered. "Please…"

She stared at him with a strange mix of pity and disbelief. "You should not be here, Your Highness," she said quietly.

His reaching hands dropped to his sides and he looked at her pitifully, stumbling closer. Soo could see more of him now – his split lip, the blood on his clothes, the stolen sword he held in one white-knuckled hand. "Please," he tried again, licking his cracked lips and looking quickly around, "Save me… I-"

"Your Highness is asking me to risk my life for you," Soo said flatly, trying to keep her voice even, her expression neutral. 'Does he realize what he's asking? Does he care?' This was the man who had abandoned her when she needed him most. The man who chose to plot, no matter who got in his way, but had lured her in with sweet smiles, empty sunlit promises, and beautiful calligraphy. She had loved him and would have done anything for him – but things were different now. He wanted her help.

Wook choked at her words, stumbling backwards again and leaning against the wall of the corridor as if all the strength had left him. "Soo, I-" he tried to say, but she looked at him. "I'll- Anything… You-"

She could let him die. She had that power. And she also had the power to try and save him. She had no hate for him, despite what he had down – he did not deserve that much from her, she realized coldly. But she could save his life, because that was what a decent person would do. Maybe that was her reason for coming to Goryeo. To try and save all the lives that she could. For, even though this man was not a good man, he was human – and every human deserved a chance at life that this era may not give to them. Maybe, she could give him that chance. With a cold shudder, Soo realized that the palace had changed her – she who said she would never change. Before, she would not have thought twice about saving a person's life, a person who was begging her. But now, she thought long at hard about it, her heart not wavering in either direction as she thought.

Yo had said that she couldn't save everyone. But she could try.

She surveyed him distantly, then quietly spoke. "Your Highness," she said, "You will we me a life debt. Not one – but two. Once, for the time when you promised you would save me, but didn't – and twice, for the favor I am about to do you. I will try to save you."

He looked at her, and Soo saw fear in him – fear of her. It shocked her, but weeks of dinner with the king had taught her to remain expressionless. "You've changed, Soo…" he whispered.

'How dare he say that…' Soo looked at him blankly, using the same tone she used with the king, bringing the lantern up to illuminate him completely, causing him to squint at her. "Your Highness forgets. The palace is a hard place to survive." She sighed, and against her better, colder judgement, said, "I didn't change enough to ignore your cry for help, Your Highness." Her voice almost cracked, almost betrayed her, and she quickly lowered the lantern to hide the tears building in her eyes.

That was when they both heard two pairs of booted footsteps in the hallway. Wook's eyes widened and he looked around like a cornered animal, knuckles white around the handle of his sword. Soo moved quickly, grabbing his arm and dragging him into a closet, closing the door just as the shapes of two men appeared in the dark of the corridor.

"Sis?"

Soo held the lantern up to see Jung and So, the latter walking behind the former. Her heart sank as she saw the both of them had swords. "Your Highnesses," she said, already knowing the answer, "What brings you here?"

Jung looked confused to see her. "I could ask you the same thing," he said, tilting his head to the side. "We're looking for Older Brother…" He paused. "Wook isn't anywhere," he added, "And we're doing another unofficial sweep of the grounds. How about you, sis?"

So's eyes were sharp over Jung's shoulder, meeting hers with an obvious question. Soo, however, was afraid. So would do anything to keep her safe. And he would kill his own brother under the king's command, and to throw suspicion off of her who saved him. She trusted So, trusted him with her life. But he had not told her the name of the traitor he was hunting, telling her not to worry about it – and she knew to trust his sword and his motivation. Therefore, she only sheepishly smiled, heart aching as she layered falsehood upon falsehood for her love. "I wanted to be alone," she said. "This is the place where I feel most comfortable in the palace…" Her eyes grew sad with true emotion, and her voice quavered a little when she said, "It's just… I remember when I was living at the eighth prince's house, everything was so…" she trailed off. "Everyone got along much better."

Jung looked sad too. So stepped forward and took her hand on one of his own, meeting her eyes carefully. "I'm going to the barracks," he said. "Don't wander around at night with a traitor on the loose, Soo. This isn't the kind eighth prince you remember – this man is vicious."

"What has he done?" Soo asked.

So looked down. "Plotted together with a certain Lord Park Sul Hui to rise to the throne in Yo's place. He killed two guards during his escape." He shook his head, meeting her eyes, and there was sadness in him, eating away at him, but no remorse. "You have to understand, Soo. He is ready to do anything for power. But for you, for what he had done for you, I promise – I will make his death as painless as I can. If there is anything you want to tell him…" His eyes were serious and he tried to speak comfortingly as he trailed off, looking down.

Soo shook her head, swallowing and also looking down, ashamed.

So glanced over his shoulder at Jung. "Can you take her back?" he asked. "The king ordered me to search all night."

Nodding, Jung said, "Yes, Brother."

Soo lifted her hand to So's cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm sorry this has to happen too," So said. He drew back turned away and disappeared into the shadows

She noticed that it was strange that Jung did not move until So's footsteps were no longer heard echoing around the Damiwon corridors. Something began to nag at her but he looked at Soo and took the lantern from her, anxiously looking around. "Did you really not see Wook?" he asked urgently, in a low voice. "I know you wouldn't want him to die, right? I don't believe that he's a traitor. And Baek Ah doesn't either." He searched her face for any disbelief, horror, careful blankness – but when he found none and only got only got a soft nod, he continued, emboldened. "…We got him safe passage on a ship to Qing."

"That's dangerous," Soo said, her breath catching. "Your Highness, what if His Majesty finds out?"

"He won't. A-and unless you tell him…" Soo shook her head sharply, and emboldened, Jung said, "We did things really carefully. I got the money easily. Baek Ah went to the gyobang to talk to that Woo Hee woman and gave her the money for passage. She's keeping it until Wook shows up." He swallowed and looked down guiltily. "Older Brother doesn't think…" Jung swallowed again, "So thinks that Wook was plotting, and he said that he planned on scapegoating Eun in his place, even having secret meetings with the king. But he wouldn't do something like that! I never told So…"

Soo's eyes widened. "I see…" she said slowly.

From inside the closet behind her, there came a tap on the door. Soo stepped aside, letting Wook climb out. Jung's eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed in shock, but no sound came out. Tremulously, the eighth prince grasped Jung's arm. "I will not forget this," he whispered. "Thank you."

"Thank Sis," Jung said, gripping Wook's arm in return, getting his voice back. "Not me."

/

Jung had brought water and bandages secretly, leaving them with Wook and Soo in a back room of the Damiwon used as a storage place. He shakily smiled at Soo and said he would wait outside, keeping watch. Soo set her lantern down on a crate and turned back to Wook, who collapsed onto another. He began to wipe his face clean of blood, holding the damp cloth in shaking hands. Soo looked around the room. "Nobody should come here anytime soon, but move a few crates in front of the door just in case." She pushed a roll of thick carpet fabric aside to reveal a door in the back wall. "This leads out to the back of the Damiwon at the palace gardens, and if you cut through the woods, you'll be in front of the gyobang." Not meeting his eyes, she passed him by. "…Stay here until someone comes for you."

He looked at her with dark-circled eyes. "Who do you believe?" he asked quietly.

Soo's hand froze on the door's handle. "…It doesn't matter," she said. "I will save you because I can't let you die. I can't let anyone die…"

"Then…" Wook's voice shook, "You do not love me any longer?"

Soo turned quickly around eyes blazing, trying to hold back tears of disappointment with the man who had cast such an illusion over her. "I did not love you when you turned your back on me!" she exclaimed. "In that moment, I stopped loving you – if I ever even did in the first place. I began to see more and more of you – of what you were hiding from me. On the day of the failed coup – I realized who you were." She caught her breath. "…If you really want to know who I believe, Your Highness, I believe the fourth prince. I know that you want power – and that you want to become king. …But even still, when it is a choice between me saving your life or causing your death, I'd rather save a life."

"Then-"

The cold words spilled easily from her mouth. "It doesn't matter that it is you, Your Highness. It is a human life that I have the power to save, so I will."

"Soo…" Wook said hoarsely, a plea in his eyes.

"I don't want the fourth prince to have to kill his brother," she said.

"You have changed…" Wook said, looking down, his hair falling down to obscure his face. "Even so," he said, "Thank you for saving my life."

Soo nodded. "Sleep well, Your Highness," she said, opening the door, and softly closing it behind herself. 'I have changed. I think it's the only way to live the way you think is right in this palace. I was wrong to think otherwise – but I will save whoever I can when I have the power to do so. Because I can't just turn my back on someone. I can't save everyone, your Majesty, but I can try.'