Sweat poured from her, threatening to get in her eyes. She stood across from him, imitation short sword in hand. Her body trembled from fatigue but she kept her stance. He was fighting harder today. He wasn’t being so careful as he normally would be. It was almost as if he were really fighting her. But she could see it in his eyes. The same fatigue that mirrored hers. But there within existed a fiery passion, a determination that hadn’t been there in their younger years. This time, she might not beat him. This time, he might actually gain the upper hand and cause her to admit defeat. 

    “Come.” He rasped out, jaw tight. She inhaled through her nostrils deeply before charging at him. He parried her attack and stooped low, twirling his body, leg extended. The force of his kick knocked the sword from her hand and she barely blocked another hit from his hand. She took a couple steps back, chest heaving. 

    *** 

    Eyes watched the two spar and a slow smirk lifted onto lips. The two of them were fascinating to watch. He had been right about her. She was indeed impressive. For the tiniest moment, he lamented in the lack of female warriors in his army. Not all women would be welcome. None of them at all. Except her. She’d probably gain the title of Captain fairly quickly. 

    “Yeobo,” Turning, he faced his wife who approached him. 

    “What is it?”

    “The other two men that you requested are here. They await your arrival in your parlor.” 

    “Very good.” The woman’s eyes fell onto the scene at hand. The pair were now on the ground. The woman pushed down on the imitation sword, down upon his neck. He held his sword upward, trying to prevent it from coming closer. 

    “The way the girl fights. It’s… interesting.” She commented as she took in the way the woman sat atop her son, body pressed against his. 

    “Erotic.” He spoke and before he knew it, his tongue had drifted outward to slide across dry lips. His wife’s eyes found him. Yet she said nothing. 

    “With her body she is offering pleasure and seduction. However, her intent is to kill and she will see it realized. She’s coaxing Cheol Su to accept death.” Her interest was piqued. Why did Cheol Su not overpower her? He could easily dominate her but yet he didn’t. It was quiet except for the panting coming from the two. He must have decided enough was enough because he turned her underneath him and pinned her down before she had a moment to react.

    “Good. Now, finish her.” His wife pressed her lips together and left the scene in front of her, hands pressed together tightly.  Sooner or later, he would leave, the excitement would wear off and he’d find his way to the concubines to relieve his frustration. And as for Cheol Su…sooner or later he’d have to make a choice just who he desired more. The woman. Or his future Kingdom. 

*** 

    His proximity had made her breathless and she couldn’t will her eyes away from his. The imitation swords had been tossed aside and forgotten. He’d gathered her by the wrists and had forced them upward. They’d been close before but never like this. He partially rested in between her legs careful not to completely crush her with his weight. Just enough to be effective.

    “What would you do next?” He asked, wet messy hair shielding her view of everything else. 

    “What?”

    “How would you gain the upper hand? How would you kill me?” Dumbstruck, she couldn’t speak for a moment and he tightened his grip on her wrists. 

    “These things you must account for Tiye. Men will use everything they have to gain victory. If they can use their body weight to crush the life from you then they will.” Taking a few more deep breaths, she lifted up her body with all of her strength and forced him back to the ground. Reaching behind her, she grabbed one of the swords and firmly pressed it against his nether regions. The look of surprise soon turned into a grin and he flashed her a smile, chest heaving. 

    “Good. Very good.” With that, she rolled over onto her back with a groan. She turned to look at him, chest full of exhausted air. 

    “Will you now ride Dong Il?” She asked, voice quiet. His dark gaze opened and slid over to hers. 

    “Yes.”Leaning her head back, her eyes found the sky. 

    “I will wait for you. In your chambers.” 

    “Good.”

    “Take care not to over exert yourself.” Her body screamed so many things, loud things that threatened to overwhelm her. 

    “When I return, we shall eat hm?”

    “Okay.” He lifted up and helped lift her to her feet, gently pat the top of her head before heading away from her. 

    *** 

    She’d drawn up a bath, shooing the girls away. She knew some of them lingered by the door but at the moment, she didn’t care. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she pressed her forehead against the tops of them. Before she could control it or stop it, she began to cry. For his sake, she’d tried to keep calm. But it threatened to drown her… the reality of what happened. A part of her felt fury…a fury she’d only felt once before. When her Baba had been murdered. That was the first time and she had hoped that it would be the last. Caught up in her emotions, she let out a frustrated scream before sinking underwater, allowing the warmth of the water engulf her. Many dark thoughts traveled through her head and it pained her to entertain them. But even more so… she was more grieved for the reaction of Wangja-nim… should he find out. 

    She knew him. Knew that the two had never much cared for one another, even though they were related by blood. She knew that their friendship was one that he took of utmost seriousness and he valued her well being sometimes more than his own. When he could help it. Sometimes, his hands were tied. Sometimes, his duty and role as the future King of Goryeo outweighed his role as her friend. She understood that. Lifting from the water, she inhaled deeply. 

    She’d been forced into a strange land with strange people, ways and customs. But if she had to choose, she wouldn’t complain. Shouldn’t complain. She supposed that her life might have turned out different depending on where she had been originally destined to. Lifting fingers to massage her scalp, she lifted watery eyes to the wooden ceiling. That bastard would get what was due to him in the end, be it by her hand or not. Life worked in funny ways that way. 

    “Tiye-ah, Wangja-nim is back from his ride.”

    “Mm.” 

*** 

    His knuckles were cherry red and starting to swell. His thighs, hamstrings and glutes all felt like a candle had been lit to them. He’d rode longer than he’d anticipated but his mind was full of many things… many thoughts. Something was not right… with Tiye. The little one he’d known nearing 9 years was never this aloof. She tried to hide it but it was plain as day to him. He could see a discord within her and it worried him immensely. 

    “Dong Il, what do you think hm?” The beast blew air out through his nostrils and shook his mane a bit before leaning down to graze. 

    “What could be wrong with our little Tiye?” Lifting a hand to pet the neck of the animal, he sighed in defeat. 

    “I suppose I should ask her then.” Turning to see a lingering Byung-Ho, he flashed a small friendly smile at the boy and lifted his reins, motioning him to take him. Bowing his head, the boy led the horse away. Smile fading, he bit the inside of his cheek. Whatever it was that was going on…. his gut told him…no…screamed at him that it had something to do with Hyung-nim.       As he turned to leave, a flash of light reflected upon him and he squinted his eyes, before kneeling down to it. Picking it up, he brought it closer only to grow cold. Chills traveled down the length of his spine. Tiye’s hair ornament. Glancing down at the stack of hay, he clenched his jaw. What was it doing here? Gathering it up in his hand, he tucked it into his pocket and stood. Questions needed answered and he’d definitely see to them immediately. 

*** 

    She’d just finished slipping into her sok-baji when he entered. She turned once she set eyes on him but the smile soon faded as she took in his expression. 

    “Wangja-nim, what troubles you?” His jaw tightened. 

    “Too many things to name.” His steps were slow as they approached her. 

    “Well, let’s hear them.” She encouraged, crossing her arms over her chest. 

    “Have you found yourself short of something?”  He asked, growing closer by the second. Confusion bled into her features and she glanced up at him as he finally stood in front of her. 

    “Short of something?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the long golden twine, holding it up in front of her face. 

    “I found this in the horse stalls.” She tried to show no emotion but the shock that briefly flashed in her eyes sent a confirmation to his gut.

    “Ah.” Was all she expressed, reaching for it. He gladly surrendered it up and watched as she went to put it with her other belongings, neatly folded by the door. 

    “How did it get there I wonder.” He asked with his eyebrow raised, watching as she fidgeted nervously.

    “It must have come off while I was tending to the horses.”

    “Must have? Or did?” At that, she faltered. 

    “Whatever it is that you’re hiding I want to know.” She took a slow breath. 

    “If you knew what happened then you’d forfeit everything just to seek vengeance. Right now, you cannot afford for that to happen.” His jaw grew tight and his gaze filled with dissatisfaction. 

    “Hyung-nim…did something to you.” It wasn’t a question. A stated fact. Taking a breath, she gave a nod.

    “Promise me that you won’t retaliate Wangja-nim.” Her request only quelled the sudden infuriation that drifted across his features. Reaching for his hand, she gave it a firm squeeze. 

    “Please.” He growled unhappily and with a shaky breath, acquiesced, returning her hand squeeze. 

    “I’ll put it aside…for now. At a later date, we will revisit this. In detail.” And like that, he left her to go to his prepared bath. 

    Pressing her head against the small table housed on the floor, she closed her eyes, tears slipping past.  She couldn’t have him sacrifice everything just for her. No, they needed to keep a level head. Seo Jun wangja-nim’s offense was deeper than just any sexual act. He knew what she knew and it pissed him off. Having his birthright stripped away from him and given to his lesser brother was sure to be an ego killer and any way he could reassert his position, his authority, he would. Any way he could hurt Wangja-nim… he would do it. 

    Sighing, she wiped her tears. Mama once told her that sometimes, you had to do things you didn’t want to. Suffer losses that you could have avoided. For the sake of your people, for the sake of the ones you loved and cared for. It would be worth it in the end. Swallowing, she got up and went over to his bed of furs, pressing her face against them. There was a great ruler, a great king housed in him and she’d help bring it out at all costs. Even if she ended up bruised and hurt in the end. 

*** 

    When he returned, she was curled up in a ball, face hidden by fur. The food he'd requested be brought was gone and he surmised that her belly was good and full. He licked his lips and lifted his wet strands back from his face. Even so, she appeared like she was on the defense, even in her sleep. Kneeling, he reached down to straighten out her legs before tucking her against his arm. She let out a sigh and turned to press her cheek against his chest. Lifting a hand, he gently ran his fingers across the short coils, still damp from her bath earlier. 

    “Whatever he has done to you eolin-i. I won’t forgive it. I won’t forgive him.” She responded not, simply drifted further into slumber. He watched her from underneath his lashes and drifted fingers across a smooth brown cheek. Times like this made him remember the first time she’d ever been brought to him. The first time he’d gained her trust. And the first time she’d slept the whole night through, the shadows of her past tormenting her no more, at least… not while he held her close. 

*** 

1026 AD

    “Wangja, we have a surprise for you.” The 10-year-old boy turned from his studies and found his father, the King standing in his chambers, two of his advisors at each side. 

    “What is it? I’m studying.” His father motioned a forward motion with his hand and a small girl was shoved forward, hands bound in chains. His breath left his body and his mouth was agape. She was unlike anything he’d ever before seen and the sudden curiosity in his eyes met the fear in hers. Lifting dark watery eyes upward, she turned them up to his father, anger stroking a fire inside of the obsidian orbs. His hand quickly beat the defiance out of her and she curled up into a ball, tears slipping down her deep brown cheeks. 

    “Why have you brought me a girl Father?” He asked, eyes finding her again. Her bound hands tried to cover her face as she wept. 

    “She was a gift from the Arabic trader who brought wonders from other worlds.” His father dropped his gaze onto the girl. 

    “She’s a peculiar one is she not? Skin like the moist dirt of the earth.” The two advisors part the way for the man as he turned his back to him. 

    “The girl is yours to do with as you please. Consider this an early birthday present.” And like that, he was off, the quiet rustle of his robes soon disappearing down the hall. For the longest, he stared at her, fingers suddenly fidgeting. Not quite sure what to do, he cautiously approached her, face still hidden, still curled into into a ball of defense. 

    “He is gone now. You don’t have to do that.” But move she did not. Closer he approached until he stood over her. 

    “Do you understand me?” He asked but no answer was given. Deciding that she didn’t know Korean, he took the time to observe her. Her hair reminded him of thick long ropes and they sprawled out in every which direction away from her. Adorned with gold clips, the strands had a pleasing smell to it. Possibly an aromatic oil used by the trader to make her more pleasing for sale. She wore a light colored robe, dirty and dingy. The ratty ends frayed out from wear and tear. She wore no shoes on her feet and they looked abused and rough to the touch. But as his eyes soaked up the pigment in her skin, he felt a strange stirring in his chest. 

    Kneeling down beside her, he reached out and with a finger, drug it up the length of her arm. At the contact, she shot up and yanked her arm back. She hissed something to him, tongue heavy with a foreign language. It didn’t offend him and rather, he smiled some, making her blink in surprise. The smile soon turned into laughter and once he’d stopped, he found his way back to the small table where he’d been studying with the shake of his head. She was peculiar indeed.

***

    Youngest son to inherited wealth, worldly desires and status, he’d always been told that he was God incarnate, God in the flesh and of the world. All of it was his. Lifting his hand away from the sleeping woman, he swallowed tightly. When Tiye had come into his life… his outlook on everything changed. Too young to truly understand the gravity of his life and what it meant, he immersed himself in the libraries, valuing education to that of violence. The kindness and civility that came almost natural to him was strongly discouraged. Told that he was weak, he tried his best to be in their good grace, their favor. Throat tight, he pressed his face against the plushy hair on her head. 

    She’d come to him in chains, brought as a slave, a person without freedom, identity or humanity. At the age of 12 he’d decided to cut his hair, the first direct sign of rebellion he’d ever shown. He’d done it for her sake. She wasn’t an ordinary girl, that he’d surmised then. She was intelligent and witty, wise beyond her young years with an uncanny ability to see the good and bad in people; something that it had taken him years to develop. It’d taken about a good year of training before she could even hold a small conversation but his patience had proven just. He wanted to give her a bit of her freedom back, teaching her how to read Hangeul and write. 

    Chest full of emotion, he closed his eyes. His father, mother, brother and sister even…they couldn’t see the light that shined inside of her. The utter promise, the victory…the good. And now, now they’d reached this point in their lives where he found himself at a crossroads.

    Pulling back from her a bit, he looked at her intensely for the longest while. It was so hard to balance sometimes…the desire to be free in what he felt and who he wanted to be with her. And the responsibility he knew he’d been groomed for his entire life. Sometimes, he wondered how and why life was so unfair. Why did they have to be born into two different stations, two different destinies? Lifting an arm, he brought it around her waist and soon surrendered up to the warm little body snuggled against him and the smell of soothing spice.