Only You

The Court Lady's Talisman

(flashback)

(1 Month Ago)

She was running out of time. The King would be back in the dressing room for his jacket at any moment. The seam was almost finished - a few more stitches and she'd be done.

"What are you doing?"

Undeterred, Court Lady Noh continued with the remaining stitches. She could feel her heart thump in her chest as she worked on keeping her true motives from being sniffed out. "Tsk. What does it look like?" She tied a knot and snipped off the end of the thread. "I'm repairing your jacket, Your Highness. No King should have his clothing in disrepair."

"Ahh, but see, I know you...You're definitely up to something." Coming around to stand beside her, the King seemed to survey the various sewing implements scattered on the table before her. She could read the suspicion in his gaze as he continued to inspect several different implements with feigned disinterest, turning them this way and that.

Not the pile. Not the pile.

As he settled on the very pile of fabric she was hoping he would avoid, Court Lady Noh struggled to keep her expression neutral. As long as he didn't dig too deeply, she would be safe.

As the King pulled on a piece of fabric, a piece of folded paper dislodged itself from amongst the pile and fell to the floor, landing near his feet. The bright yellow paper looked incongruous against the austere grey carpet. "I haven't sewn anything in my life-" His disinterest faded, replaced by an expression of triumph. "- but I do know that talismans aren't used in clothing repair, my lady."

Oh well. He would have found out sooner or later.

"Well, what sharp eyes you have, Your Highness. I am sewing a talisman into your jacket." Court Lady Noh picked off a few stray threads, then gave the jacket a sharp shake for good measure.

He moved to sit beside her on the sofa, taking her aged hands in his. "Why would you need to do that?" She paused, not sure how best to answer the question without possibly hurting him. It was something she would have hoped not to explain, which was why she had planned to sew the talisman in while the King was otherwise occupied. Unfortunately, her plans were thwarted by his early arrival back from his weekly meeting with PM Koo.

"It's a safety talisman." Deciding that honesty was the best policy at this point, Court Lady Noh answered, "I don't want the Royal Heir to grow up without a father. With everything that has happened before, I just want you to be safe."

Now that he had a family to take care of, it wasn't just him that she was worried about. Given the tragic history of the throne, she was fearful of the future heir growing up without his or her parents - or worse still, that the whole family be sacrificed in the quest for power and the crown. She had witnessed her fair share of tragedies in her lifetime working in the palace - from underhanded dealings, to affairs and controversies - the worst of all being murder.

"Why would you say that? You know it's a sad topic for me." At that moment, she almost regretted her words. The look in the King's eyes seemed to reflect the extent of his feelings, full of deep sadness and the weight of trauma. She squeezed his hands, hoping he would forgive her poor choice of words. As if understanding where she was coming from, he squeezed her hands back in response. The King gave her a reassuring smile. "You know I will defeat anything right?"

"I know." Patting his cheek gently, just as she did when he was a small boy, she continued, "Still, it's good to ward off evil and bad luck. You'll never know when you need some extra protection."

"What would I do without you?" The King pressed a quick kiss on her wrinkled cheek. "Thank you."

She only hoped that it would be enough.