Black and White «COMPLETED»

Chapter One- A Prince and a guard

Chapter One- A Prince and a guard

150 years later...

The Nobleman, Sang Yoo Jin, Prime Minister of Eondeog Mun, looked out of the palanquin window at the blackened hill before him. He wasn't sure if it was the right one, because his findings- at least his servants' findings- revealed there were four such "black hills" in Eondoeg Mun. This particular one was the closest to the Capital, but he could not make any sense of it. 'What did it all mean?' He asked himself. Why was he having nightmares about a curse, a dead king and a white hill turning black? He was a simple man. He merely sought to seize power from the current King, and he was not the first, nor would he be the last to try. So why were things so difficult? 

He looked up the hill, which loomed darkly over its surroundings. Nothing seemed to live on it, the trees seemed black to their very roots, and he could not see any sign of life, present or past. Then again, he considered, he was seeing just a small location. The hill was very big, looming over the surrounding hills. For some reason, he did not dare approach the hill and preferred to view it from a close, but respectable distance. In his dreams, he had watched this hill- or one of the others- or all of them! He simply did not know. He had watched it change from a snowy white hill to the haunting blackness that it was now. It made no sense to him, but he intended to dig deeper and uncover the secret behind the four black hills. He would have to bribe the Palace Head Librarian......

"Daegam". His thoughts were interrupted by his chief aide, Joo Chung Jae. He looked at the young man as he bowed. His hair was pulled together at the nape of his neck, where it fell down his back. He had a handsome face, marred slightly by furrowed eyebrows that spoke of maturing too soon. He wore a black and red yungbok and on his forehead was a matching headband bearing the Prime Minister's crest.

 The Prime Minister often envied Chung Jae his youth, since he wasn't exactly young anymore. "What is it?" He demanded a little coldly. Chung Jae, unfazed by what he considered normal behaviour, bowed, handing him a sealed scroll.

"We have received word from Lord Cha Byeong Su. His servant just handed this to me." Sang Yoo Jin accepted the scroll, broke the seal and read it. He smiled widely. It was time to put aside nightmares and curses and black hills. The scroll contained what he wanted to hear. He gestured to Chung Jae.

"Let's go back to the Capital at once." He ordered, and soon they were well on their way. Inside the closed palanquin, he smiled to himself again. It was time to kill the Queen and the young Crown Prince.

Eleven years later...

Choi Eun Chae sat before the Grand Prince of Eondeog Mun. He was an extremely handsome man, with an enviable height and physique, long dark hair and an annoying smirk, which seemed to make him more attractive. Adding to that, he was well dressed in a quality hanbok of deep blue, lined in red with white flower patterns. A golden sash- which bore the Royal family emblem- was around his waist. She had just handed him a wedding proposal.

Jang Tae Jun opened the flowery scroll, read it dismissively and set it aside, looking down on the open book before him to continue reading. He knew Eun Chae was probably nervous, and he also knew she did not want this marriage. He, however, was not going to make it easier for her.

        Eun Chae twiddled her thumbs nervously, then proceeded to clench and un-clench her fists, subconsciously wrinkling a part of her beautiful robes in the process (somethings never change, the prince noted silently). She had known this would not be easy; he was probably still angry at her from all those years ago. She studied him again, wondering if she should take this seriously and try to marry him and become the Bubuin (Princess Consort). But she shook herself. Her heart was firmly with another man, and she had been forced to come here. She remembered her mother's shrill voice all too clearly....