Walking the Path Chosen
Chapter 8: The Request from the King
by deadkitty1
Author's Notes: Editing is a pain. I always feel like I missed something. If I did, please drop it down in the reviews. I'd be happy to fix it.
Upon entering the king's chambers, Choi Young notices the royal doctor tending to the child king with care. The captain bows respectfully and kindly excuses himself to come at a later time, so as not to interrupt the king's privacy. Before he gets a foot out the door, the king orders him to stay until the doctor finishes the treatment. He seats back with his eyes to the floor, sneaking looks up as the doctor applies needles to certain points on the king's legs. Slowly, the pain on the king's face diminishes but only slightly. The doctor takes his leave, telling the child he'll be back with some more herbs. He passes the Woodalchi commander and nods in recognition.
The doctor has been a new addition to the palace as of late, but the commander has known him for quite some time, healing his men and him out on the battlefield. He was an apprentice then. It seems the old master doctor has passed and the new one takes the lead. The doctor is a mysterious individual. Although the man is a native of Yuan, Young knows with time the doctor will be a useful ally. For the minute, the healer's gaze warns against the use of his temper against the boy king. He glares in return, knowing better than to take out his anger of the Red Moon Crescent Army against a boy, even if the boy happens to the spawn of the former mad king who murdered his teacher.
"Woodalchi, as you can see, I am not well. I haven't been since the time I was born but I summoned you in hopes that I can see this sickness gone forever," the king begins. He's straining to hold himself up but in order to keep the king's pride, the warrior doesn't help. He begs to come closer though, seeing as the boy doesn't have the energy to talk louder and the boy agrees.
"What do you ask of me? Cast me an order," the captain implores.
"I-ugh-"
The king groans in pain, clutching his ears. Upon instinct, the Woodalchi instantly rises up to help only to be stopped by a guard from touching his majesty. He glares at the annoying guard but knows the man is just doing his duty. The boys cries in pain loudly as the Woodalchi forms a new plan of action.
"I will fetch the Royal Doctor. Please hang in there your majesty!"
The king hisses despite the pain, "No. You-you will stay. P-please. It will pass."
Young struggles through the wait, not accustomed to doing nothing to help. He is a servant of the Royal family, but there is nothing he can do. He watches as the king breathes through the pain and sweat pours from his knitted brows. Nobody dares to touch him. Nobody can. Even the servant left behind by the doctor watches in dread at being commanded to stay.
It seems the rumors in the kingdom are right. The ill king is closer to death as much of the exaggerated gossip make him out to be. With the way he's not asking for help, he's had to deal with it every day. The pain should become familiar or even an annoyance. Instead, it turns into a painful reminder of the king's constant weakness and eventual death. Once the boy has been crowned, advisors and family members instantly took charge of the kingdom without one say from the boy who let it all happen. The pain of his illness got the better of him.
The boy stays in his room and wonders why fate granted him this curse. A king by name for he's not been trained to live up to it, and many don't expect him too, so why should he? It won't be long until he's replaced, but he cares for surviving and fighting for his life more than taking the throne. His life has been a constant battle since the beginning and he's not one to give up. It's unfair how the most powerful man in the country, with all the money and people he has in his possession – not one knows how to take the pain away from him in order to live a normal life. It's all he's ever wants and wishes from the very start, to be a regular child, never a ruler.
Finally the pain subsides and the child asks the captain to step closer to talk. The child speaks in a tiny voice as Young listens attentively.
"In the forests just north near Yuan lies a small village rumored of a plant that can ease pain. Woodalchi, you are the fastest rider. Fetch me the plant before the end of three months and I will reward you highly."
The king hands him a map and Young agrees. He bows in reverence but the king issues one lasting statement before he leaves.
"Woodalchi, you are not to speak to anyone about this. Understood?"
"Yes, your highness."
The captain knows about the rumored plant and didn't believe in its healing properties at all. He'd attest to the legend as just a myth, but he needs to follow orders. The king did not ask for his opinion, just to fetch a plant.
He plans his leave early the next day, informing the rest of the Woodalchi he will not be back until three month's time. The captain only needs to mention it's a Royal Order and they quit their pestering questions as he rides off north towards a trail. Through the journey, he contemplates about the people close to him whom he's lost and his role now as the stooge of a child king.
Away from the palace and the nobles, he's in unfamiliar surroundings with people who speak a different language. Yuan citizens. In a strange way, they are alike. Like the Goryeo people, they have families, eat rice, and yet, once he starts asking for the legendary village with his native language, he immediately notices the change in their demeanor. Most reply gruffly to the translator, avoiding eye contact with the captain. They would refuse to take back the things he'd touch in curiosity. He thought it might have been a nice lapse of Yuan hospitality until he sees the disgust readily in their gaze. He didn't need the translator to help him understand what they meant by giving him their things to him. To the Yuan, anything a Goryeo person has touched is tainted goods. They're a diseased creature best suited as a pet they can control. As long as they do what needs to be done, the Yuan citizens could care less whether his people are starving or mistreated. It reminds him again of the importance for Goryeo to become an independent nation. Maybe the whole rebellion groups would not have formed if Yuan had just treated them with respect and let them keep their heritage. The two nations could have become friends, but it's too late for that now. The conflict has reached pass a compromise.
Through the rainy days, the illusive village with the mysterious plant refuses to be uncovered. Many of the Yuan people have heard of the tale of the powerful healing plant, but the location constantly keeps changing as he travels in circles through the country. He traverses across the rice fields one day as he gets word of a tribe down south. Seeing as his trail runs cold, he decides to follow the rumor while the deadline of his travels begin to loom upon his head. No matter how persistent he is, without any results, he may as well be walking back to his death at the palace.
Death is a constant thought in his head. It's a taunting promise ready to seal its kiss, but only when he doesn't desire it so. A lifetime's rest would be a gift after the hard years of fighting for his pledged siblings and the Royal family he's bonded to by oath. Although he feels responsible for the Woodalchi, they have done well with the vice captain before he was assigned captain than they would ever do with him. He hasn't gone through everything in his teachings, but they have the essentials down. Once he's gone, he'll finally be reunited with all his pledged siblings along with his wise old teacher. He'll be able to see Chang and Ho Min who'll likely be the same old crazy brothers fighting away. Those two together always spell trouble. Mae Hee. He'll be able to see her again too.
On a return from a fishing break, he spots his translator playing with the other Yuan natives. Young goes to inspect the unusual gathering in the woods to see a kid with a sharp end of a stick that used to be attached to a chair. Many of the men around the circle jeer for the fight, particularly a brutish man in the middle of the circle. Jars of alcohol litter at their feet as the Woodalchi commander surmises the scene.
The wild kid slashes erratically while the drunken fool laughs in the boy's face, easily avoiding the thrusts. The kid gets annoyed as he charges out of nowhere and the man trips on a jar, falling on his back. Everyone laughs except Choi Young. If the man didn't fall when he did, the kid would have plunged the stick through the man's torso. Taking advantage of the man down, the wild child stabs the fool's arm who luckily moves it in time as the gnashing wood grates through the lower part of his arm. The man curses, holding his arm in pain. Tossing aside his own stick, he takes out his knife.
While many of the men still jeer in drunken laughter, the atmosphere has changed. This man means to kill. He strikes diagonally, cutting the boy's shirt instead of his chest. In a grizzling yell, the man looks above his shoulder to see the boy slash the jutting wood against his ribs. It leaves horrible splinters on the skin as the man shouts in outrage. Clutching his ribs and his injured arm, he moves uselessly on the ground in futile attempts to stab with his dagger. The boy kicks the weapon away with ease. It's over. The boy has won. The child looks down with a menacing smile, breathing out the alcohol from earlier. With great agility, he pounces on the man's chest as he gets ready to bash the jagged stick straight into the shocked man's face. In one sweeping instance, Young slams one of the jars straight across the boy's head as he topples over, limp on the ground. The man turns to the warrior in awe and gratitude then reaches for the dagger to finish the job. Young halts the fool, digging his feet on the weapon. Confused, the man turns up to look at Young as the Woodalchi commander points at the wild boy asleep.
"He's mine," Young announces.
The captain can't say for sure what made him save the boy from killing the man. From the looks of the situation, the man was plainly the owner and the boy a slave. The boy could have saved himself by killing the owner with his bare hands but that didn't sit well with the captain. Death would be too much of a gift for the noble. Having been maimed with splinters and taking his property in one night would be far more satisfying a punishment for the Yuan man. The captain just didn't think ahead of the responsibility that would come with owning such a boy who by all definition is untamable.