Forbidden: Part 12b
Title: Forbidden
Pairing: YunJae
Rating: PG-13
Length: Part 12(b)/13
Summary: Jae is concerned about the attention his sister is receiving from a dangerous man but he isn't in any position to take care of it himself so he turns to the king. However, the King, Jung Yunho, presents unforeseen complications...
Some time later…
They arrived in Ruan just after sunset. They’d kept a constant pace since leaving Yunho, not stopping to rest or water the horses or even to catch their breaths and have a bite to eat for more than five minutes.
The Queen took off across the courtyard as soon as she alighted, leaving Jae to try to keep up with her in this new, strange place. Her own maid was having a hard time as well, only MinWoo seemed to know where he was going and TaeHun kept stride with him.
“Where’s my father?” she demanded of the first servant that came rushing to greet her.
The poor woman seemed flustered at her mistress’ sudden appearance and barely managed to get out “War Room” before the Queen sped up, leaving her staring after her in confused disbelief.
The Queen paused outside of the War Room to gather herself, making sure her hair and clothes were perfectly in place. Her father was going to be displeased about her intrusion as it was so the least she could do was look presentable. Taking a deep breath, she threw open the double doors and calmly walked in.
King SooWon watched as his daughter entered the room, one sharp, gray brow lifting in both curiosity and irritation. She was the last person he expected to see.
Though he hated disruptions, he couldn’t squash the pride that surged through him at the elegant, graceful, regal manner in which she strode down the aisle towards him, her eyes daring those watching to question her right to do as she pleased. She had more brains and inner strength than any man he knew and he would have been proud to have her succeed him. Pity she was female and couldn’t inherit the throne. He’d always regretted that she wasn’t a boy, sometimes he wondered if he hadn’t neglected her because of it, but he’d made up for it, he thought, by marrying her to Yunho. Yunho’s father had been one of the few men he trusted with his life and since he’d seen to Yunho’s education, he knew that he could in turn trust the son with the life of his only daughter. He wasn’t able to make her king but he did make her a queen.
She stopped at the bottom of the platform upon which he sat on his throne and bowed deeply.
“Your highness.”
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, daughter?” he asked, his voice gruff. He might have missed her but she had interrupted an important meeting and her insolence couldn’t be overlooked.
She lifted her chin, looking him straight in the eye. Again, he felt pride at the strength of character she exhibited. Most men were too intimidated to meet his eyes.
“I’ve an important matter to discuss with you, Father.”
“I’m busy,” he said simply.
Impatience flashed in her eyes and her chin thrust out stubbornly. “It can’t wait.”
The king’s brows shot up. She’d never spoken to him so rudely before. That alone told him she wasn’t going to budge.
“Well, what is it?”
Turning to Lord Yoo, who sat at his customary seat at the front, she looked him dead in the eyes as she said, “The Minister of War, Minister Lee, is dead.”
She felt instant satisfaction when Lord Yoo’s eyes widened, all color draining from his cheeks.
“Minister Lee?” her father repeated, genuinely surprised. “How?”
“He was struck down while attempting to kill the king,” she answered, eyes never leaving Lord Yoo’s.
“What?” her father balked.
She nodded, finally turning back to her father. “It was all part of an elaborate scheme that the Minister hatched to assassinate the king, my husband. His plans were discovered in advance and when confronted, he took a chance and decided to dispatch the king right then and there.” Her lips quirked into a smile. “Unfortunately for him, my husband is faster.”
King SooWon suspected that she didn’t find the Minister’s fate so unfortunate at all.
“I’m alarmed by what I’m hearing, daughter, as it shows that the king has been lenient in handling his affairs,” he began, raising a hand to stop her when she started to protest, in defense of her husband he assumed. “However, I’ve yet to hear anything that would warranty your rushing all the way to Ruan to see me.” He could tell that she had, though he knew, given how prideful she was, that she’d tried her utmost best to hide it. She was his daughter after all.
Stifling the words on the tip of her tongue, the Queen nodded. “You’re quite right, Father. I just thought you should know that Minister Lee wasn’t alone in his scheme. He had help.” Her eyes dropped to Lord Yoo again. “From one of Ruan’s very own.”
“Now see here, my lady,” Lord Yoo sputtered, jumping out of his seat. “I don’t know what exactly it is you’re accusing me of…”
“She hasn’t accused you of anything,” King SooWon said mildly. “Yet.” But the man’s agitation clearly showed that he had something to be nervous about. Giving his daughter the floor, the king decided to let her play it out as she saw fit. “Continue,” he permitted with a wave of his hand.
The Queen turned on Lord Yoo, the full extent of her rage snapping in her eyes like hell hounds, fueled by the harsh words he’d spewed at her and the humiliation he’d subjected her to.
“You knew what kind of animal he was and still you got into bed with him. How dare you bring shame upon my father’s kingdom?! And how stupid are you to attempt to take the life of a king, my husband no less? You’re a disgrace to your title, my lord. It makes me sick just to look at you.”
The king’s eyes widened in mild shock at her vicious attack. He could almost feel the venom of her bite and it wasn’t even directed at him.
Lord Yoo buckled down and went into self-defense mode. “You know not of what you speak, my lady. Everyone knows the king doesn’t include you in any of the official aspects of the running of the kingdom. You are merely a showpiece, a symbol of the bargain as it were.”
King SooWon took offense to the man’s words since he’d made sure that his daughter had the best education available, despite being female, and he knew first hand just how smart she was but he needn’t have worried because she dealt with it quickly on her own.
“It seems my husband has a higher regard for my talents and input than you do, my lord. But that’s why he’s king and you’re…well, you.”
Genuine dislike and hatred sprouted in Lord Yoo’s eyes. “There’s no evidence to support anything you say.”
The Queen cocked her head to the side. “A smart man never goes into battle unarmed, my lord, and I am as intelligent as ten smart men put together. Do you really think that I would burst in here with the slightest doubt as to your guilt and participation in this matter? Did you really have such blind faith in Minister Lee that you didn’t think he would sacrifice you to save his own neck? If you’re really that dumb then I honestly gave you more credit than you deserved.” She was lying, of course, but she had no doubt that Yunho would find the mythical evidence she spoke of. He would want to put as many nails in their coffins as he possibly could to ensure that a situation like that never arose again.
For a minute, King SooWon feared that Lord Yoo would jump on his daughter and start strangling her, his face was so red with outrage, but somehow he managed to keep himself in check.
“When I first found out that you were paying us a visit, naturally I assumed that it was by my father’s request. We hadn’t had anyone from Ruan visit for a while and were due for a check-in, I presumed. So I wrote home to my mother, asking her to send me some herbs and such that I wanted but weren’t available in our land. Imagine my surprise when she sent my supplies with a note saying that she knew nothing of your impending visit.”
Lord Yoo’s brows narrowed. “No offense to the Queen but she is hardly one to know the inner workings of the kingdom and the duties of the king’s loyal servants.”
King SooWon chuckled, immensely enjoying the show. “Clearly, you don’t know my wife, sir.”
“So it would seem, Father,” the Queen agreed with a small smile. “Being the curious individual that I am, I immediately found that peculiar. I wrote back to my mother asking her to tell me when it was made known that you would be visiting us but not to let anyone know that something was amiss. It wasn’t for another week that we finally got notice saying you had suggested, offered even, to check up on my husband and I as a favor to my father, knowing that he would agree since he hadn’t seen or heard from us in so long.”
Lord Yoo’s expression relaxed marginally. “That’s hardly conclusive evidence, my lady.” Turning to King SooWon, he smiled as he said, “I knew there would be no reason for you to negate my suggestion, your majesty, since it was a favor to you, after all. But I took into consideration that the Princess and King Yunho would need ample time to prepare for my arrival so I sent word ahead of time. You were also dealing with an important matter at the time, I did not want to distract you from something so important for such a trivial issue as this. Please forgive me if I stepped out of line.” He bowed his head apologetically.
The King regarded the man for a moment but said nothing, then looked at his daughter. He wanted to laugh when he saw her eyes roll, remembering how she used to kick men in the shin when she was young and didn’t have the patience to deal with ‘simpering idiots’, as she put it. He imagined she would very much like to kick Lord Yoo in the shin just then.
“Like I said, Father,” the Queen began, turning away from Lord Yoo before she gave in to the urge to pummel him, “I found it peculiar. So I instructed my mother to have someone she trusted keep an eye on Lord Yoo prior to his visit. And wouldn’t you know, he was discovered at a brothel in a town not too far from here on several occasions, meeting with a man of high importance. As it turned out, that man was Minister Lee.”
“That’s hardly condemning, my lady. I’ve known Minister Lee longer than you’ve been alive,” he said contemptuously.
The Queen nodded. “That’s true but why the sudden meetings, why so many meetings, when you haven’t been to our kingdom for years, as far as I know and likewise, Minister Lee hasn’t been to Ruan, officially at least, for just as many, if not longer? And why meet in a brothel when either of you could have simply invited the other to your respective kingdoms? You’re both men of power and position, it wouldn’t have stood out except for the secretiveness of it all.”
Lord Yoo flushed. He couldn’t deny the truth of her words. “Nothing you’ve said so far implicates me in the attempted assassination of King Yunho.”
“No, but I also found it curious that, when you visited, you seemed to know so much about what was going on in our lives, considering you haven’t been in our lives for all these years, as I already pointed out. But what clinched it all for me was something interesting that you said. Do you remember what it was?”
Lord Yoo’s jaw tightened but he said nothing, merely shaking his head.
“You said, and I quote, ‘Until a child is born, there will be uncertainty about the strength of the alliance between the kingdoms.’ Do you remember that?”
Lord Yoo relaxed, latching onto the opening she’d given him. “Yes, I do. I felt like it was very representative of what the King thought and felt.” His eyes met the King’s. “Everyone knows how important it is to you that you have a grandchild, your majesty.”
“Maybe if you were king,” the Queen spat. “My father, on the other hand, isn’t so fickle. Or should I say, insecure? Yes, a child would strengthen the alliance between us but you forget that he and the old king were allies long before either of them had children. Their alliance was strong enough then, why wouldn’t it be now?”
“King Yunho is not his father.”
“No, he’s better. My father, your king, saw to his training himself. In essence, he created him. Would you tell him to his face that he failed in making a decent king out of my husband? A king worthy of being called his son-in-law?”
Lord Yoo looked like he was about to burst, realizing now how he’d fallen into her trap.
“You seemed awfully convinced that the alliance between the two kingdoms could be easily broken. You even made me think that our marriage really wasn’t enough and that if something happened to me, Yunho would become my father’s enemy.”
Hearing this, King SooWon frowned. It was true that he’d always expressed his desire for a grandchild and perhaps made it seem more pressing than it actually was. The truth was, he didn’t want a grandchild to strengthen the bond between the kingdoms, he wanted a grandchild because he felt that having a child would make things a little easier for his daughter, and perhaps a little less lonely. He knew it couldn’t be easy for her, leaving all that she knew and going to an unfamiliar land. Also, both of his children were grown, though his son was still a few years younger than his sister, and he missed having a baby to play with. There was nothing like a child in the family to remind you of your own mortality but they also made you feel younger than your years, cherished and needed. He’d been a sentimental old man hiding behind the dictates of a king but he’d never intended to put such a burden on his daughter.
“All emissaries before me have relayed your father’s message of wanting a grandchild,” Lord Yoo reminded her.
“But none have made it sound so urgent, as if it were a matter of life and death.”
“How does this relate to Minister Lee?”
Realizing that she’d strayed, the Queen went for the jugular and hoped that Yunho found proof to back up her words. “Before he died, he implicated you in the plot to kill the king. What confuses me is what you hoped to gain from it and why you would even get involved with someone of such low, moral character. I may have had my issues with you but never would I have suspected that you of all people would associate with someone like him. Do you know the things he’s done, how many innocent people he’s hurt?”
“He killed my sister!” Jae cried from where he stood against the wall.
He’d slipped into the room unnoticed, shortly after the Queen started speaking. He’d been fascinated by the way she played Lord Yoo, by the merriment he’d seen in her father’s eyes, but then he remembered how cold Lord Yoo had been with her and his association to Minister Lee. They were cut from the same cloth, he decided, and he was ashamed by the urge he felt to throttle the man. He’d never felt like killing someone before Minister Lee but the fact that none of these men took responsibility for their actions disgusted him and he wanted them all to pay. Especially now that he knew that his father had died because of them. He didn’t know if Lord Yoo had been a part of the plot to kill Yunho’s father but what difference did it make? He’d planned to kill Yunho, his life was forfeit as far as Jae was concerned.
“You!” Lord Yoo shouted. Pointing at Jae, Lord Yoo looked at the King and said, “There! That is the reason why you don’t have a grandchild, sire.”
King SooWon looked at the slight figure standing by the wall curiously. She was very pretty, no doubt. But she looked oddly familiar… Had he seen her somewhere? And what exactly did Lord Yoo mean?
The Queen’s eyes widened when she spun around and saw Jae and she wanted to shake him for complicating things. It would have been better if he’d stayed silent and not drawn attention to himself.
“He has nothing to do with anything, your highness,” she quickly assured him.
“He?” the king inquired, brows raised high.
The Queen blushed. “Um, it’s very complicated, Father, but it was pressing that we get him to safety while Yunho dealt with Minister Lee and the other Ministers who were behind his attempted assassination. He couldn’t be seen so a disguise was necessary.”
“He’s the king’s lover, sire,” Lord Yoo said factually. “Minister Lee told me so himself.”
“What rubbish are you spewing?” the Queen accused, though inside she was panicking. “Are you really so desperate to save your own skin that you would accuse a young boy of something so vulgar? And yet you can’t understand why Minister Lee would sacrifice you to save himself. Oh, the irony!” She smiled, exposing neat pearly whites. “But at last you admit that Minister Lee was giving you information pertaining to my husband. What else has he told you? What lies did he feed you to get you to betray your king and his allegiance?”
“If someone else hasn’t been warming the king’s bed, your majesty, then why hasn’t she graced you with a grandchild yet? Ask her that.”
“Like I told you when you visited, Lord Yoo, my father will have his grandchild within the year,” the Queen growled. Turning to her father, she placed a gentle hand on her stomach and smiled. “As it is, it seems the heavens have decided that you’ve waited long enough and decided to give us a blessing even earlier than I’d anticipated.”
Jae’s jaw dropped in surprise, his doe eyes going unbelievably wide.
Lord Yoo gasped. “She’s lying!”
Looking intently into his daughter’s eyes, King SooWon asked. “Is this true?”
The Queen blushed, dropping her eyes as she nodded. “Yes, Father. He should arrive by next spring.”
The King turned cold, hard eyes on Lord Yoo. “You’ve made harsh allegations against my daughter this day, my lord. Explain yourself!”
Lord Yoo felt his courage wane under the weight of that gaze. “Everything I’ve done, I did for you, your highness.”
“I would never ask you to kill an innocent man. You’ve served me long enough to know that.”
“I knew you wouldn’t and that is the very reason I had to take matters into my own hands. You are too kind, my lord. King Yunho is not a bad man, but a weak one. I feared you would not see the weakness in him due to your affections for your daughter and the loyalty you still feel towards the late king. Minister Lee expressed his lack of confidence in his king to me and the things he said were very worrying. Yunho was neglecting his duties to the throne in favor of spending all his time with his lover. Was it any wonder he hadn’t produced an heir until now? How do we even know if it’s his? Perhaps, like me, your daughter took matters into her own hands and did what she thought was best for both kingdoms.”
“How dare you!?” the Queen demanded, walking up to Lord Yoo and slapping him hard across the face. “You’ve already accused me of being a prude, as well as barren, now you’re questioning the legitimacy of my unborn child? A bastard may be acceptable to you, my lord, but it is not to me. I would never break my vows, to my husband nor to my father. Since you’ve been hanging out in brothels, I’ll just assume that you’ve forgotten what a virtuous woman looks like.
“I will have no more of your aspersions against my daughter’s character, my lord,” King SooWon warned. “Choose your words carefully.”
“And as for my husband,” she continued, “you’re a bigger fool if you bought everything Minister Lee told you, hook, line and sinker. Yunho has known of his treachery for a while now, he was simply making sure he had proof before he laid his cards on the table. Unlike you, he isn’t willing to condemn a man simply by word of mouth.”
Lord Yoo held the King’s eyes, his gaze clear and unbending. “I have nothing further to say, your highness. Everything I did, I did for the good of the kingdom and as your servant. Before you and before God, I do not regret my actions.”
King SooWon regarded him pitifully. “Then I hope that God forgives you because I certainly don’t.”
He gestured to the guards, who Lord Yoo was surprised to turn and see standing behind him, and watched as they took the man away.
With a sigh, he turned back to his daughter. “You’ve caused quite a commotion here today, my dear.”
The Queen blushed. “I’m sorry, Father.”
The King cocked a knowing brow. “Are you really?”
The Queen’s blush deepened as she chewed on her lip but said nothing.
Turning to Jae, he waved him forward. “What is your part in all of this?”
The Queen rushed to answer. “He’s the son of the late scholar and adviser to the late king, Professor Kim.” Sadness clouded her eyes as she added, “His sister was also one of Minister Lee’s victims. The last, thankfully.”
King SooWon nodded, his eyes sympathetic. Professor Kim had been a cherished acquaintance of his as well. He didn’t deserve what had happened to him.
Jae’s eyes filled with tears and his lips trembled at the reminder of his beloved sister. “First they killed my father, now my sister. There’s no one left…”
“You still have me.”
JiHye stood behind Jae, watching as he turned around achingly slow. She knew he recognized her voice and the shock of it must have him doubting his very sanity.
She’d been alone in the back gardens when the maid assigned to her approached, asking why she’d been out in the courtyard where everyone could see her when she knew she was supposed to remain in the shadows. She’d immediately known that Jae was there. If she hadn’t had a twin, she would’ve said it was a case of mistaken identity but she did have a twin, an eerily identical one, and she knew that King Yunho wouldn’t keep her existence hidden from him for too long. He loved him too much to make him suffer like that.
She run out into the courtyard and saw no one that looked like Jae but she could feel the excitement in the air. Someone important had come, something was happening, so she followed the chatter and then she’d seen him.
Her beloved TaeHun.
He’d been there, standing in the doorway of the War Room looking at what unfolded within. She’d instantly felt her heart kick, then shame overcame her. She wanted to see Jae but she couldn’t face her husband yet. She’d been about to leave when he’d turned. And when he said her name and took her in his arms, she cried. She’d been so stupid to think he wouldn’t love her if he knew the truth. She’d never forgive herself for almost abandoning him and her precious brother. But she was thankful that she had the rest of her life to make it up to them. She’d never failed at anything she’d set her mind to before but this time, she was glad she did.
Now as she stood face to face with her doppelganger, seeing the shock and disbelief in his eyes, she regretted what she must have put him through. TaeHun hadn’t had time to give her the entire rundown but he’d told her enough. Her brother was now a murderer because of her. She wondered how he’d feel now that he knew she wasn’t actually dead.
“Am I dreaming?” he whispered.
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.
He lifted a hand, hesitantly cupping her cheek. “You’re really here?”
Nodding, she leaned into his touch.
They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, then they wrapped their arms around one another and held.
“Twins…” the King observed, remembering where he’d seen the girl, the real girl.
She’d been walking stealthily down the hall, looking over her shoulder as if expecting someone to rush out and stop her. He’d followed her all the way to the gardens where she’d sat staring forlornly at the pond. She seemed harmless enough, she was just a mere girl after all, plus there was a sadness about her, so he’d left her alone and gone to his meeting. Shaking his head, he smiled as he watched the two striking creatures locked in their embrace. Life was full of surprises.
Glancing over at his daughter, he was surprised to catch her staring intently at him as he looked at the twins. She blushed, her gaze lowering.
“MinAh…” He spoke her name softly, searching for the right thing to say.
She looked up at him and he didn’t know what exactly she saw in his eyes but apparently it was enough because she nodded, a small smile settling on her lips.
Sometimes words just weren’t necessary.
Jae sat on a bench by the pond in the garden, staring at the water. It had been an eventful couple of days. First JiHye had died, next he’d killed Minister Lee, then he’d told Yunho he loved him and was forced to flee for his life. Afterward, on his way to Ruan, he found out that his father had been murdered, only to arrive at Ruan and discover that JiHye was alive after all. He shook his head in wonder. Some days it was hard to accept his reality. It all seemed so fantastical at times.
A slight movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye and he turned to see the Queen sitting beside him.
“Is it true?” he asked.
She nodded, not needing to inquire what he meant.
“Does Yunho know?”
She nodded again.
“How long have you known?”
“About a week. I didn’t tell Yunho until after JiHye’s…incident. I guess that’s why he never got a chance to tell you. You’ve been pretty broken since. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that she was alive. I can’t say there was no opportunity to since we spent the past twenty hours cooped up together but…I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, after everything that’s happened.”
Jae smiled. “It’s okay. I was definitely surprised. JiHye explained that there wasn’t much time to fill me in on everything. She didn’t really know what was going on either. One minute she was ‘floating’ as she put it, then she briefly remembers waking up for a bit and her chest hurt. She thinks Yunho and the doctor were there and they asked her if she wanted the pain to end and she said ‘yes’. The next thing she remembers is waking up here. The guard who accompanied her tried to explain it as best as he could but it seems that he didn’t know much either.”
“Yunho got the idea of using a sleeping draught, a specialty that he’d learned here, to make it seem like she was dead.”
Jae raised a brow. “I don’t think I’m ever going to drink another potion or draught ever again. You people are deadly.”
The Queen chuckled. “Ruan is known for its medicinal herbs and brews, many of which have…alternate uses if one is clever enough to know how to use them. He thought it would be good for her to get away for a while. It might help her heal faster if there was distance between her and Minister Lee. Once the potion had taken effect, he had her quietly removed from the women’s quarters and brought here. He knew people would just assume the worst, since that’s human nature at its most basic. He’d intended to tell you when you woke up but I think TaeHun sort of slipped his mind. No one matters except you, or rather, you’re always first and foremost in his thoughts, often to the exclusion of all others. He’d thought that if word got out that she was dead, and how, it would make Minister Lee sit on his plans for a while, giving him enough time to finish up his own plans to move against the Ministers. However… well, you know what happened next,” she finished pointedly.
Jae blushed. “I can’t say that I’m sorry he’s dead, even if JiHye isn’t. He still hurt her, took something from her that she’ll never get back. And at least he’ll never be able to hurt anyone else ever again.”
The Queen nodded. “It’s understandable after all the suffering he’s caused your family.”
Jae looked back down at the pond. “What now?”
“Well…” The Queen stretched her legs out in front of her, glad to finally be out of the cramped palanquin. “I’m going to stay here for the duration of the pregnancy, or at least until Yunho is confident that all traces of Minister Lee have been completely unearthed and eliminated. We had already planned for my departure, I assume that’s why he sent JiHye here as well, knowing that she would be under my care when I arrived. MinWoo and the others have already set off. I don’t think TaeHun is going to be leaving any time soon, though.”
Jae thought of his brother-in-law and how he’d clung to JiHye’s hand once she’d let go of Jae. No, TaeHun definitely wasn’t going anywhere.
“He wants you to stay here, until he says it’s safe to return. I think you should honor his wishes. You’re the most important thing to him, it’d only distract him if you returned while things are still unstable. If any of the ministers have the same doubts and opinions that Lord Yoo does, he’s going to need all his strength and energy to win them over.”
Jae knew she was right but now that his world was right side up again, he couldn’t deny that there was something missing.
“He’ll come for you,” she said softly, placing a comforting hand on his thigh.
Jae looked up at the sky, at the stars and the moon. Somewhere out there, Yunho was probably looking up at the same sky thinking of him.
“He’ll come for you,” she said again, giving his thigh a little squeeze.
He placed a hand over hers and squeezed back.
He hoped she was right.
A/N: I'm going to do my very best to write and post the epilogue tonight. I want to wrap this up, you know, just in case we all die tomorrow and all >_> If it's already tomorrow where you live, don't get cocky! lol
Epilogue
Pairing: YunJae
Rating: PG-13
Length: Part 12(b)/13
Summary: Jae is concerned about the attention his sister is receiving from a dangerous man but he isn't in any position to take care of it himself so he turns to the king. However, the King, Jung Yunho, presents unforeseen complications...
Some time later…
They arrived in Ruan just after sunset. They’d kept a constant pace since leaving Yunho, not stopping to rest or water the horses or even to catch their breaths and have a bite to eat for more than five minutes.
The Queen took off across the courtyard as soon as she alighted, leaving Jae to try to keep up with her in this new, strange place. Her own maid was having a hard time as well, only MinWoo seemed to know where he was going and TaeHun kept stride with him.
“Where’s my father?” she demanded of the first servant that came rushing to greet her.
The poor woman seemed flustered at her mistress’ sudden appearance and barely managed to get out “War Room” before the Queen sped up, leaving her staring after her in confused disbelief.
The Queen paused outside of the War Room to gather herself, making sure her hair and clothes were perfectly in place. Her father was going to be displeased about her intrusion as it was so the least she could do was look presentable. Taking a deep breath, she threw open the double doors and calmly walked in.
King SooWon watched as his daughter entered the room, one sharp, gray brow lifting in both curiosity and irritation. She was the last person he expected to see.
Though he hated disruptions, he couldn’t squash the pride that surged through him at the elegant, graceful, regal manner in which she strode down the aisle towards him, her eyes daring those watching to question her right to do as she pleased. She had more brains and inner strength than any man he knew and he would have been proud to have her succeed him. Pity she was female and couldn’t inherit the throne. He’d always regretted that she wasn’t a boy, sometimes he wondered if he hadn’t neglected her because of it, but he’d made up for it, he thought, by marrying her to Yunho. Yunho’s father had been one of the few men he trusted with his life and since he’d seen to Yunho’s education, he knew that he could in turn trust the son with the life of his only daughter. He wasn’t able to make her king but he did make her a queen.
She stopped at the bottom of the platform upon which he sat on his throne and bowed deeply.
“Your highness.”
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, daughter?” he asked, his voice gruff. He might have missed her but she had interrupted an important meeting and her insolence couldn’t be overlooked.
She lifted her chin, looking him straight in the eye. Again, he felt pride at the strength of character she exhibited. Most men were too intimidated to meet his eyes.
“I’ve an important matter to discuss with you, Father.”
“I’m busy,” he said simply.
Impatience flashed in her eyes and her chin thrust out stubbornly. “It can’t wait.”
The king’s brows shot up. She’d never spoken to him so rudely before. That alone told him she wasn’t going to budge.
“Well, what is it?”
Turning to Lord Yoo, who sat at his customary seat at the front, she looked him dead in the eyes as she said, “The Minister of War, Minister Lee, is dead.”
She felt instant satisfaction when Lord Yoo’s eyes widened, all color draining from his cheeks.
“Minister Lee?” her father repeated, genuinely surprised. “How?”
“He was struck down while attempting to kill the king,” she answered, eyes never leaving Lord Yoo’s.
“What?” her father balked.
She nodded, finally turning back to her father. “It was all part of an elaborate scheme that the Minister hatched to assassinate the king, my husband. His plans were discovered in advance and when confronted, he took a chance and decided to dispatch the king right then and there.” Her lips quirked into a smile. “Unfortunately for him, my husband is faster.”
King SooWon suspected that she didn’t find the Minister’s fate so unfortunate at all.
“I’m alarmed by what I’m hearing, daughter, as it shows that the king has been lenient in handling his affairs,” he began, raising a hand to stop her when she started to protest, in defense of her husband he assumed. “However, I’ve yet to hear anything that would warranty your rushing all the way to Ruan to see me.” He could tell that she had, though he knew, given how prideful she was, that she’d tried her utmost best to hide it. She was his daughter after all.
Stifling the words on the tip of her tongue, the Queen nodded. “You’re quite right, Father. I just thought you should know that Minister Lee wasn’t alone in his scheme. He had help.” Her eyes dropped to Lord Yoo again. “From one of Ruan’s very own.”
“Now see here, my lady,” Lord Yoo sputtered, jumping out of his seat. “I don’t know what exactly it is you’re accusing me of…”
“She hasn’t accused you of anything,” King SooWon said mildly. “Yet.” But the man’s agitation clearly showed that he had something to be nervous about. Giving his daughter the floor, the king decided to let her play it out as she saw fit. “Continue,” he permitted with a wave of his hand.
The Queen turned on Lord Yoo, the full extent of her rage snapping in her eyes like hell hounds, fueled by the harsh words he’d spewed at her and the humiliation he’d subjected her to.
“You knew what kind of animal he was and still you got into bed with him. How dare you bring shame upon my father’s kingdom?! And how stupid are you to attempt to take the life of a king, my husband no less? You’re a disgrace to your title, my lord. It makes me sick just to look at you.”
The king’s eyes widened in mild shock at her vicious attack. He could almost feel the venom of her bite and it wasn’t even directed at him.
Lord Yoo buckled down and went into self-defense mode. “You know not of what you speak, my lady. Everyone knows the king doesn’t include you in any of the official aspects of the running of the kingdom. You are merely a showpiece, a symbol of the bargain as it were.”
King SooWon took offense to the man’s words since he’d made sure that his daughter had the best education available, despite being female, and he knew first hand just how smart she was but he needn’t have worried because she dealt with it quickly on her own.
“It seems my husband has a higher regard for my talents and input than you do, my lord. But that’s why he’s king and you’re…well, you.”
Genuine dislike and hatred sprouted in Lord Yoo’s eyes. “There’s no evidence to support anything you say.”
The Queen cocked her head to the side. “A smart man never goes into battle unarmed, my lord, and I am as intelligent as ten smart men put together. Do you really think that I would burst in here with the slightest doubt as to your guilt and participation in this matter? Did you really have such blind faith in Minister Lee that you didn’t think he would sacrifice you to save his own neck? If you’re really that dumb then I honestly gave you more credit than you deserved.” She was lying, of course, but she had no doubt that Yunho would find the mythical evidence she spoke of. He would want to put as many nails in their coffins as he possibly could to ensure that a situation like that never arose again.
For a minute, King SooWon feared that Lord Yoo would jump on his daughter and start strangling her, his face was so red with outrage, but somehow he managed to keep himself in check.
“When I first found out that you were paying us a visit, naturally I assumed that it was by my father’s request. We hadn’t had anyone from Ruan visit for a while and were due for a check-in, I presumed. So I wrote home to my mother, asking her to send me some herbs and such that I wanted but weren’t available in our land. Imagine my surprise when she sent my supplies with a note saying that she knew nothing of your impending visit.”
Lord Yoo’s brows narrowed. “No offense to the Queen but she is hardly one to know the inner workings of the kingdom and the duties of the king’s loyal servants.”
King SooWon chuckled, immensely enjoying the show. “Clearly, you don’t know my wife, sir.”
“So it would seem, Father,” the Queen agreed with a small smile. “Being the curious individual that I am, I immediately found that peculiar. I wrote back to my mother asking her to tell me when it was made known that you would be visiting us but not to let anyone know that something was amiss. It wasn’t for another week that we finally got notice saying you had suggested, offered even, to check up on my husband and I as a favor to my father, knowing that he would agree since he hadn’t seen or heard from us in so long.”
Lord Yoo’s expression relaxed marginally. “That’s hardly conclusive evidence, my lady.” Turning to King SooWon, he smiled as he said, “I knew there would be no reason for you to negate my suggestion, your majesty, since it was a favor to you, after all. But I took into consideration that the Princess and King Yunho would need ample time to prepare for my arrival so I sent word ahead of time. You were also dealing with an important matter at the time, I did not want to distract you from something so important for such a trivial issue as this. Please forgive me if I stepped out of line.” He bowed his head apologetically.
The King regarded the man for a moment but said nothing, then looked at his daughter. He wanted to laugh when he saw her eyes roll, remembering how she used to kick men in the shin when she was young and didn’t have the patience to deal with ‘simpering idiots’, as she put it. He imagined she would very much like to kick Lord Yoo in the shin just then.
“Like I said, Father,” the Queen began, turning away from Lord Yoo before she gave in to the urge to pummel him, “I found it peculiar. So I instructed my mother to have someone she trusted keep an eye on Lord Yoo prior to his visit. And wouldn’t you know, he was discovered at a brothel in a town not too far from here on several occasions, meeting with a man of high importance. As it turned out, that man was Minister Lee.”
“That’s hardly condemning, my lady. I’ve known Minister Lee longer than you’ve been alive,” he said contemptuously.
The Queen nodded. “That’s true but why the sudden meetings, why so many meetings, when you haven’t been to our kingdom for years, as far as I know and likewise, Minister Lee hasn’t been to Ruan, officially at least, for just as many, if not longer? And why meet in a brothel when either of you could have simply invited the other to your respective kingdoms? You’re both men of power and position, it wouldn’t have stood out except for the secretiveness of it all.”
Lord Yoo flushed. He couldn’t deny the truth of her words. “Nothing you’ve said so far implicates me in the attempted assassination of King Yunho.”
“No, but I also found it curious that, when you visited, you seemed to know so much about what was going on in our lives, considering you haven’t been in our lives for all these years, as I already pointed out. But what clinched it all for me was something interesting that you said. Do you remember what it was?”
Lord Yoo’s jaw tightened but he said nothing, merely shaking his head.
“You said, and I quote, ‘Until a child is born, there will be uncertainty about the strength of the alliance between the kingdoms.’ Do you remember that?”
Lord Yoo relaxed, latching onto the opening she’d given him. “Yes, I do. I felt like it was very representative of what the King thought and felt.” His eyes met the King’s. “Everyone knows how important it is to you that you have a grandchild, your majesty.”
“Maybe if you were king,” the Queen spat. “My father, on the other hand, isn’t so fickle. Or should I say, insecure? Yes, a child would strengthen the alliance between us but you forget that he and the old king were allies long before either of them had children. Their alliance was strong enough then, why wouldn’t it be now?”
“King Yunho is not his father.”
“No, he’s better. My father, your king, saw to his training himself. In essence, he created him. Would you tell him to his face that he failed in making a decent king out of my husband? A king worthy of being called his son-in-law?”
Lord Yoo looked like he was about to burst, realizing now how he’d fallen into her trap.
“You seemed awfully convinced that the alliance between the two kingdoms could be easily broken. You even made me think that our marriage really wasn’t enough and that if something happened to me, Yunho would become my father’s enemy.”
Hearing this, King SooWon frowned. It was true that he’d always expressed his desire for a grandchild and perhaps made it seem more pressing than it actually was. The truth was, he didn’t want a grandchild to strengthen the bond between the kingdoms, he wanted a grandchild because he felt that having a child would make things a little easier for his daughter, and perhaps a little less lonely. He knew it couldn’t be easy for her, leaving all that she knew and going to an unfamiliar land. Also, both of his children were grown, though his son was still a few years younger than his sister, and he missed having a baby to play with. There was nothing like a child in the family to remind you of your own mortality but they also made you feel younger than your years, cherished and needed. He’d been a sentimental old man hiding behind the dictates of a king but he’d never intended to put such a burden on his daughter.
“All emissaries before me have relayed your father’s message of wanting a grandchild,” Lord Yoo reminded her.
“But none have made it sound so urgent, as if it were a matter of life and death.”
“How does this relate to Minister Lee?”
Realizing that she’d strayed, the Queen went for the jugular and hoped that Yunho found proof to back up her words. “Before he died, he implicated you in the plot to kill the king. What confuses me is what you hoped to gain from it and why you would even get involved with someone of such low, moral character. I may have had my issues with you but never would I have suspected that you of all people would associate with someone like him. Do you know the things he’s done, how many innocent people he’s hurt?”
“He killed my sister!” Jae cried from where he stood against the wall.
He’d slipped into the room unnoticed, shortly after the Queen started speaking. He’d been fascinated by the way she played Lord Yoo, by the merriment he’d seen in her father’s eyes, but then he remembered how cold Lord Yoo had been with her and his association to Minister Lee. They were cut from the same cloth, he decided, and he was ashamed by the urge he felt to throttle the man. He’d never felt like killing someone before Minister Lee but the fact that none of these men took responsibility for their actions disgusted him and he wanted them all to pay. Especially now that he knew that his father had died because of them. He didn’t know if Lord Yoo had been a part of the plot to kill Yunho’s father but what difference did it make? He’d planned to kill Yunho, his life was forfeit as far as Jae was concerned.
“You!” Lord Yoo shouted. Pointing at Jae, Lord Yoo looked at the King and said, “There! That is the reason why you don’t have a grandchild, sire.”
King SooWon looked at the slight figure standing by the wall curiously. She was very pretty, no doubt. But she looked oddly familiar… Had he seen her somewhere? And what exactly did Lord Yoo mean?
The Queen’s eyes widened when she spun around and saw Jae and she wanted to shake him for complicating things. It would have been better if he’d stayed silent and not drawn attention to himself.
“He has nothing to do with anything, your highness,” she quickly assured him.
“He?” the king inquired, brows raised high.
The Queen blushed. “Um, it’s very complicated, Father, but it was pressing that we get him to safety while Yunho dealt with Minister Lee and the other Ministers who were behind his attempted assassination. He couldn’t be seen so a disguise was necessary.”
“He’s the king’s lover, sire,” Lord Yoo said factually. “Minister Lee told me so himself.”
“What rubbish are you spewing?” the Queen accused, though inside she was panicking. “Are you really so desperate to save your own skin that you would accuse a young boy of something so vulgar? And yet you can’t understand why Minister Lee would sacrifice you to save himself. Oh, the irony!” She smiled, exposing neat pearly whites. “But at last you admit that Minister Lee was giving you information pertaining to my husband. What else has he told you? What lies did he feed you to get you to betray your king and his allegiance?”
“If someone else hasn’t been warming the king’s bed, your majesty, then why hasn’t she graced you with a grandchild yet? Ask her that.”
“Like I told you when you visited, Lord Yoo, my father will have his grandchild within the year,” the Queen growled. Turning to her father, she placed a gentle hand on her stomach and smiled. “As it is, it seems the heavens have decided that you’ve waited long enough and decided to give us a blessing even earlier than I’d anticipated.”
Jae’s jaw dropped in surprise, his doe eyes going unbelievably wide.
Lord Yoo gasped. “She’s lying!”
Looking intently into his daughter’s eyes, King SooWon asked. “Is this true?”
The Queen blushed, dropping her eyes as she nodded. “Yes, Father. He should arrive by next spring.”
The King turned cold, hard eyes on Lord Yoo. “You’ve made harsh allegations against my daughter this day, my lord. Explain yourself!”
Lord Yoo felt his courage wane under the weight of that gaze. “Everything I’ve done, I did for you, your highness.”
“I would never ask you to kill an innocent man. You’ve served me long enough to know that.”
“I knew you wouldn’t and that is the very reason I had to take matters into my own hands. You are too kind, my lord. King Yunho is not a bad man, but a weak one. I feared you would not see the weakness in him due to your affections for your daughter and the loyalty you still feel towards the late king. Minister Lee expressed his lack of confidence in his king to me and the things he said were very worrying. Yunho was neglecting his duties to the throne in favor of spending all his time with his lover. Was it any wonder he hadn’t produced an heir until now? How do we even know if it’s his? Perhaps, like me, your daughter took matters into her own hands and did what she thought was best for both kingdoms.”
“How dare you!?” the Queen demanded, walking up to Lord Yoo and slapping him hard across the face. “You’ve already accused me of being a prude, as well as barren, now you’re questioning the legitimacy of my unborn child? A bastard may be acceptable to you, my lord, but it is not to me. I would never break my vows, to my husband nor to my father. Since you’ve been hanging out in brothels, I’ll just assume that you’ve forgotten what a virtuous woman looks like.
“I will have no more of your aspersions against my daughter’s character, my lord,” King SooWon warned. “Choose your words carefully.”
“And as for my husband,” she continued, “you’re a bigger fool if you bought everything Minister Lee told you, hook, line and sinker. Yunho has known of his treachery for a while now, he was simply making sure he had proof before he laid his cards on the table. Unlike you, he isn’t willing to condemn a man simply by word of mouth.”
Lord Yoo held the King’s eyes, his gaze clear and unbending. “I have nothing further to say, your highness. Everything I did, I did for the good of the kingdom and as your servant. Before you and before God, I do not regret my actions.”
King SooWon regarded him pitifully. “Then I hope that God forgives you because I certainly don’t.”
He gestured to the guards, who Lord Yoo was surprised to turn and see standing behind him, and watched as they took the man away.
With a sigh, he turned back to his daughter. “You’ve caused quite a commotion here today, my dear.”
The Queen blushed. “I’m sorry, Father.”
The King cocked a knowing brow. “Are you really?”
The Queen’s blush deepened as she chewed on her lip but said nothing.
Turning to Jae, he waved him forward. “What is your part in all of this?”
The Queen rushed to answer. “He’s the son of the late scholar and adviser to the late king, Professor Kim.” Sadness clouded her eyes as she added, “His sister was also one of Minister Lee’s victims. The last, thankfully.”
King SooWon nodded, his eyes sympathetic. Professor Kim had been a cherished acquaintance of his as well. He didn’t deserve what had happened to him.
Jae’s eyes filled with tears and his lips trembled at the reminder of his beloved sister. “First they killed my father, now my sister. There’s no one left…”
“You still have me.”
JiHye stood behind Jae, watching as he turned around achingly slow. She knew he recognized her voice and the shock of it must have him doubting his very sanity.
She’d been alone in the back gardens when the maid assigned to her approached, asking why she’d been out in the courtyard where everyone could see her when she knew she was supposed to remain in the shadows. She’d immediately known that Jae was there. If she hadn’t had a twin, she would’ve said it was a case of mistaken identity but she did have a twin, an eerily identical one, and she knew that King Yunho wouldn’t keep her existence hidden from him for too long. He loved him too much to make him suffer like that.
She run out into the courtyard and saw no one that looked like Jae but she could feel the excitement in the air. Someone important had come, something was happening, so she followed the chatter and then she’d seen him.
Her beloved TaeHun.
He’d been there, standing in the doorway of the War Room looking at what unfolded within. She’d instantly felt her heart kick, then shame overcame her. She wanted to see Jae but she couldn’t face her husband yet. She’d been about to leave when he’d turned. And when he said her name and took her in his arms, she cried. She’d been so stupid to think he wouldn’t love her if he knew the truth. She’d never forgive herself for almost abandoning him and her precious brother. But she was thankful that she had the rest of her life to make it up to them. She’d never failed at anything she’d set her mind to before but this time, she was glad she did.
Now as she stood face to face with her doppelganger, seeing the shock and disbelief in his eyes, she regretted what she must have put him through. TaeHun hadn’t had time to give her the entire rundown but he’d told her enough. Her brother was now a murderer because of her. She wondered how he’d feel now that he knew she wasn’t actually dead.
“Am I dreaming?” he whispered.
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.
He lifted a hand, hesitantly cupping her cheek. “You’re really here?”
Nodding, she leaned into his touch.
They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, then they wrapped their arms around one another and held.
“Twins…” the King observed, remembering where he’d seen the girl, the real girl.
She’d been walking stealthily down the hall, looking over her shoulder as if expecting someone to rush out and stop her. He’d followed her all the way to the gardens where she’d sat staring forlornly at the pond. She seemed harmless enough, she was just a mere girl after all, plus there was a sadness about her, so he’d left her alone and gone to his meeting. Shaking his head, he smiled as he watched the two striking creatures locked in their embrace. Life was full of surprises.
Glancing over at his daughter, he was surprised to catch her staring intently at him as he looked at the twins. She blushed, her gaze lowering.
“MinAh…” He spoke her name softly, searching for the right thing to say.
She looked up at him and he didn’t know what exactly she saw in his eyes but apparently it was enough because she nodded, a small smile settling on her lips.
Sometimes words just weren’t necessary.
Jae sat on a bench by the pond in the garden, staring at the water. It had been an eventful couple of days. First JiHye had died, next he’d killed Minister Lee, then he’d told Yunho he loved him and was forced to flee for his life. Afterward, on his way to Ruan, he found out that his father had been murdered, only to arrive at Ruan and discover that JiHye was alive after all. He shook his head in wonder. Some days it was hard to accept his reality. It all seemed so fantastical at times.
A slight movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye and he turned to see the Queen sitting beside him.
“Is it true?” he asked.
She nodded, not needing to inquire what he meant.
“Does Yunho know?”
She nodded again.
“How long have you known?”
“About a week. I didn’t tell Yunho until after JiHye’s…incident. I guess that’s why he never got a chance to tell you. You’ve been pretty broken since. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that she was alive. I can’t say there was no opportunity to since we spent the past twenty hours cooped up together but…I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, after everything that’s happened.”
Jae smiled. “It’s okay. I was definitely surprised. JiHye explained that there wasn’t much time to fill me in on everything. She didn’t really know what was going on either. One minute she was ‘floating’ as she put it, then she briefly remembers waking up for a bit and her chest hurt. She thinks Yunho and the doctor were there and they asked her if she wanted the pain to end and she said ‘yes’. The next thing she remembers is waking up here. The guard who accompanied her tried to explain it as best as he could but it seems that he didn’t know much either.”
“Yunho got the idea of using a sleeping draught, a specialty that he’d learned here, to make it seem like she was dead.”
Jae raised a brow. “I don’t think I’m ever going to drink another potion or draught ever again. You people are deadly.”
The Queen chuckled. “Ruan is known for its medicinal herbs and brews, many of which have…alternate uses if one is clever enough to know how to use them. He thought it would be good for her to get away for a while. It might help her heal faster if there was distance between her and Minister Lee. Once the potion had taken effect, he had her quietly removed from the women’s quarters and brought here. He knew people would just assume the worst, since that’s human nature at its most basic. He’d intended to tell you when you woke up but I think TaeHun sort of slipped his mind. No one matters except you, or rather, you’re always first and foremost in his thoughts, often to the exclusion of all others. He’d thought that if word got out that she was dead, and how, it would make Minister Lee sit on his plans for a while, giving him enough time to finish up his own plans to move against the Ministers. However… well, you know what happened next,” she finished pointedly.
Jae blushed. “I can’t say that I’m sorry he’s dead, even if JiHye isn’t. He still hurt her, took something from her that she’ll never get back. And at least he’ll never be able to hurt anyone else ever again.”
The Queen nodded. “It’s understandable after all the suffering he’s caused your family.”
Jae looked back down at the pond. “What now?”
“Well…” The Queen stretched her legs out in front of her, glad to finally be out of the cramped palanquin. “I’m going to stay here for the duration of the pregnancy, or at least until Yunho is confident that all traces of Minister Lee have been completely unearthed and eliminated. We had already planned for my departure, I assume that’s why he sent JiHye here as well, knowing that she would be under my care when I arrived. MinWoo and the others have already set off. I don’t think TaeHun is going to be leaving any time soon, though.”
Jae thought of his brother-in-law and how he’d clung to JiHye’s hand once she’d let go of Jae. No, TaeHun definitely wasn’t going anywhere.
“He wants you to stay here, until he says it’s safe to return. I think you should honor his wishes. You’re the most important thing to him, it’d only distract him if you returned while things are still unstable. If any of the ministers have the same doubts and opinions that Lord Yoo does, he’s going to need all his strength and energy to win them over.”
Jae knew she was right but now that his world was right side up again, he couldn’t deny that there was something missing.
“He’ll come for you,” she said softly, placing a comforting hand on his thigh.
Jae looked up at the sky, at the stars and the moon. Somewhere out there, Yunho was probably looking up at the same sky thinking of him.
“He’ll come for you,” she said again, giving his thigh a little squeeze.
He placed a hand over hers and squeezed back.
He hoped she was right.
A/N: I'm going to do my very best to write and post the epilogue tonight. I want to wrap this up, you know, just in case we all die tomorrow and all >_> If it's already tomorrow where you live, don't get cocky! lol
Epilogue