Masters of the Sea

020

The city was abuzz with colourful lanterns and festivities in honour of the Oracle's birthday, and all through the night the city folk revelled in this joyous occasion, partaking in games, theatrics, food and laughter. There was hardly a street in Goguryeo that was not packed to the brim with seas of bobbing heads, and not a single soul would have chosen to stay indoors on a night like this. As it was every year on the Oracle's birthday, security in the capital city was on high alert, lest some devious individual choose to wreak havoc amidst the crowd. Well-disciplined guards stood watch at every nook and cranny, helmed by their respective division leaders, the Black Knights. Today was a day of celebration and nothing would be allowed to taint Goguryeo's most revered of festivals.

It was just as well that city security was on high alert because it meant that security at the palace was consequently at its lowest. In order to deploy sufficient guards to stand watch at every critical point in the city, some of the palace guards had to be relieved of their usual duties, just for one day. Even a good majority of the Black Knights themselves were out of the palace (although some of them were likely making merry and not entirely focused on their duties).

Sneaking back into the palace had become a rather easy feat for Sol, having done so on numerous occasions. Bringing in two more people though was a different matter. She would typically change back into a palace maid's attire and then made use of her lady-in-waiting's entry token, which she pilfered off the unsuspecting lady as and when needed, slipping it back into her pocket the next day. It was a wonder that the poor lady still hadn't realised that her token went missing from time to time. One token would not have been sufficient for three people though. It was just their luck that the guard on duty that night was a greenhorn who really didn't know any better.

Walking confidently up to the guard, Sol flashed her entry token in his face and proceeded to stride through the gate, with Sunghyun and Hoya trailing behind. The two men had traded in their original attire for something more ordinary, much like the cheap linen that most of the city folk wore. Their arms each carried three sacks of rice, piled so high that their faces could barely be seen behind the rice sacks.

"Halt," the guard ordered. "Who are the other two?" He eyed Sunghyun and Hoya suspiciously.

Sol gave an exasperated sigh, walking up to the guard and pointing fiercely at his chest while she spoke, "Excuse me, in case you haven't noticed, I am the lady-in-waiting of Her Royal Highness, the crown princess. The princess ordered me to go into town to buy six sacks of top grade rice because she wishes to personally cook a meal for His Royal Highness. As you can see, I am only a weak lady—how on earth do you expect me to carry six sacks of rice on my own? Do you want to carry them for me?" Sticking her hands on her hips, she stared piercingly at the guard, watching as he squirmed about uneasily on the spot.

"But... they still need entry tokens before I can let them pass..." he muttered, trying his best to avoid her gaze.

"If the rice is any later, the princess will have your head! Do you want your head to be rolling about on the ground? They're just the hired help, they'll leave the palace once they're done with what they need to do. If anyone questions you, just... just say ask them to look for Kim Jongin! He's one of the senior guards in the palace, he'll know what's going on," Sol blurted out. She was lying through her teeth now and despite her confident demeanour, the palms of her hands were sweating profusely in fear that they would get caught. She crossed her fingers behind her back that the guard wouldn't really go look for Jongin. Although she was certain that Jongin would help her, she still didn't want to put him in a difficult situation because of all her lies.

"Fine, go ahead. But make sure you send them out as soon as possible." The guard finally gave in and waved them along.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Sol turned on her heels and walked hastily into the palace, not even daring to exchange glances with the two men in case any tiny action gave them away. With Sunghyun and Hoya hidden safely in the kitchen of her own quarters, Sol quickly changed back into her princess garb. If she looked the part, it might make it easier to conceal the fact that she was leading about two men who did not belong. As they wound their way round the tight passageways of the palace, Sol whispered, "I've never actually been to the Oracle's quarters myself but the palace maids told me that her quarters are in the south wing of the palace. We should be able to get there within the next five minutes or so."