Masters of the Sea

017

"Did you manage to get the letter back to Sunghyun?" Hoya asked Sol urgently.

The duo were standing in the midst of a bustling crowd in one of the capital's largest temples, which stood at the outskirts of the city. Today was the Festival of Giving and the temple was packed to the brim with the devout, all rushing to give thanks to the gods for all the blessings in the year past. Instead of meeting at quiet locations, they had opted for the city's busiest place in hope that the crowd would help provide cover from any prying eyes.

Sol nodded quickly. "There has been no reply though. I worry..."

Without having to hear her complete her sentence, Hoya already knew what the princess was worried about. It seemed unlikely that there would be no response from the White Knights, which could mean that the letter had been intercepted. Even though Hoya had taken care to ensure that the letter was coded, there was still a chance that the code could be broken and then the Black Knights would know of Sol's involvement in the matter, which would place both of them in danger.

"Have the Black Knights questioned you about anything?" Hoya asked.

Sol shook her head. "No, everything has been rather calm in the palace. The Black Knights haven't seemed to be making any moves."

Hoya heaved a sigh of relief. "In that case I doubt they have intercepted the letter. If they have, then the first thing they would probably do is question you in one way or another to find out whether or not you have information of my whereabouts. If they haven't approached you yet, it probably means that the letter is not in their hands. Another possibility is that something is happening in Baekje, which is why the others have not been able to reply." It killed him to not have any idea what was going on back home, because he wanted nothing more than to re-join the others in his rightful place. Instead, he was all on his own in the quest to complete the mission that the knights had originally been tasked with.

The upside of the matter was that he was this close to finding the Oracle. In Myungshin village he had been so close to capturing her, but somehow managed to let her slip through his fingers. The second time round, he was confident that she would not escape.

Hoya quickly took a piece of rolled up parchment from his pocket and shoved it into Sol's hand. "I cannot stay here long. Princess, please get this to Baekje as soon as you can. It is of utmost importance that this message gets to Sunghyun and the others. Can you do that?"

Sol nodded in agreement. "Hoya, are you still not going to head back to Baekje? The longer you stay here, the more dangerous it will be for you."

Hoya gave her a weak smile. "Don't worry about me. I will return to Baekje once the time is right. In the meantime, do take care. You are alone in the Goguryeo palace, without any of us by your side to protect you. I fear more for your safety than for my own. I have to go now." Giving her a respectful bow, Hoya took a couple of steps back and then quickly turned on his heels, vanishing amidst the deafening crowd.

Turning to face the giant statues of the gods that lined the temples hallway, Sol placed her palms together and bowed her head in prayer. Please protect Hoya and keep him safe from harm, he has already endured too much... Please protect the White Knights and the kingdom of Baekje, so that our people will not need to face the dangers of war... Sol was only a girl who had lived her entire life in a sheltered existence, but even she knew that something serious was brewing underneath this facade of calm.

Hiding behind a pillar on the opposite end of the temple, two men had their eyes trained on Sol who was deep in prayer.

"What should we do now? Should we question her?" Rei asked. He had been standing in the shadows with Go Yeon for a while now, having followed Sol from the minute she stepped foot out of the palace till now. It was now evident that Sol was in contact with Hoya, and if Rei had his way, he would have swooped in immediately and arrested them both. However, Go Yeon seemed to be of a different opinion.