Two Kingdoms | Park Sunghoon

35

CASTLE OF BAEKCHE. 

The minute Aeri let him go, the Prince rode as fast as he could back to the kingdom. His heart feeling a sense of urgency as to the situation, not knowing how they can change plans on such urgent basis.

As he reached the castle, he ran through the corridors until he reached my father's throne room, hoping he would be in there. Without alert, the boy bursted into the room as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Sunghoon, is something wrong? You seen troubled." His father spoke, the concern evident in his face and tone.

"Father..." He smiled, "I've just just found the key to our attack." 

"What are you blabbering on about?" 

"Aeri showed me the secret passages. One in her bed chamber and one at the back of the kingdom walls." Sunghoon informed as he grinned uncontrollably, unable to think straight for what kind of praises his father would award him with. Anything to please father of course. 

"There is no way... not even her most trusted advisers know about it and if they did, they didn't dare to speak of it's secrets even with the Grim Reaper in front of their eyes." 

"Well she loves me, does she not? She trusted me and told me to keep this between us. But that is of no relevance; let me get into the details. At the back of the kingdom walls, there should be an oddly placed birch tree. It is a lone tree and should be pretty easy to recognise. Behind that will be an array of bricks a different pattern to the ones that go round the castle, and if you bust through the bricks, it will lead into a passage way that eventually gets you to the community fountain. Meaning, once we take out the watch guards on top, we can easily slip into the kingdom." Sunghoon blurted out in a way that one would assume he did not care an ounce for Aeri: which is very much false. He did love her, every word he said to her was true. Every act of affection for her was and is true. But when it came to his father and kingdom's success, he would  sacrifice even his one and only love. 

"And the bed chamber?" His father pondered.

"Well, it is located inside her furnace. On the roof of the fireplace, there should be a chain and pulling that chain opening a tunnel. You must crawl through that tunnel to reach her secret library. Situated in there are heaps of old books and scrolls containing kingdom secrets, all of the secret passages and other useful information that she has gatekeeped."

The King's jaw dropped as he heard his son's words. He was dumbfounded, to say the least. Watching his son turn into a reliable, useful, strong man brought tears to his eyes. 

"My outstanding son... if only your mother could see what a successful soldier you've become." King Park whispered in quiet dismay, patting Sunghoon's shoulder as his eyes welled with tears too. 

"Go to General Seungri. Tell him everything you just told me. You know what to do after."