Although her eyes were closed, Yeon Joo was awake. She lay next to the prince with her head on his chest and he had his arm around her. She wasn't sure what she was meant to do now that morning had come.
Should she wait for the prince to wake up and dismiss her or should she simply get dressed and leave. Would she even get to keep the lovely hanbok she'd been given?
She opened her eyes and turned her head upwards and was so surprised to find that the prince was staring at her. She blinked rapidly unsure of what to say or do.
“You look so beautiful when you're sleeping” he said. Yeon Joo smiled shyly “Thank you your highness” she whispered.
The prince kissed her forehead and stroked her arm. “I was the first man to lie with you, and because of that I want you to remain in the palace as my concubine. I don't want you to go back to the gibang”
Yeon Joo sat up abruptly and bit her lip, this was completely unexpected. “I don't know what to say your highness, is it even allowed? I'm a gisaeng” she said.
“And I'm the crown prince, I can have anything I want” he said. Yeon Joo wondered if he was actually asking her or if he was telling her. The prince seemed like a good person but life in the palace was a trap, that much she knew. Once you go in you can never leave, as a gisaeng, somebody might buy her freedom one day or if she really wished she could save it herself even if it would take years.
“As my concubine, you'll be treated as my unofficial wife. You'll have your own quarters and servants, you'll have all the money you require at your disposal. You can go to the market to buy anything you desire, in a palanquin of course and if you bear me any children I will make them legitimate I promise you” prince Yong jae said.
“Your highness all of that sounds wonderful but I don't think I could accept that. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being trapped here. I dream of traveling one day to find my parents and I won't be able to do that if I'm stuck in the palace. At least as a gisaeng I can buy my freedom”
“I would give you permission to leave if you really wanted” he said.
“Thats just the thing your highness I don't want to have to need anyone's permission to go where I please when I please”
“But if you stay with me in the palace I could provide you with all the money and other necessities you'd need to travel”
“Your high-”
“Your highness, the King has asked that you come to him at once” a voice outside the Prince's room said. Yong jae sighed and got out of the bed and dressed up. “Please Yeon Joo, this isn't just because you were a virgin but it's because you saved my life, let me take care of you and treat you like the princess you are” he said and left the room.
Yeon Joo scratched the back of her neck and got out of the bed, her life was extremely confusing at the moment, could she afford to just move into the palace?
As she was dressing up the doors opened up and she found herself staring at that woman with a dark soul. The woman smirked at her “How wonderful, you're already awake” she said and walked further into the room.
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“But father!”
“Enough Yong jae, that girl is not human and her power could be a danger to us all if she isn't controlled. She's already been moved to sogyeokseo, now I will hear no more of this nonsense about making her your concubine, you are dismissed” the King said and Yong jae knew there was no winning this argument, he stalked out of the throne room full of rage. He had to see Yeon Joo, she had to know that he had nothing to do with this.
“Well, we should've seen this coming. Of course Ji Soo was going to convince the king to move that girl into Sogyeokseo, she's a powerful being and if Ji Soo has control over her then she'll be the most powerful human being to ever live” Jong Kyu said .
“Why is that our problem? The curse has been lifted and we don't have to serve as the Prince's special guards anymore, human terrorism here I come!” Daeman said and rubbed his hands together excitedly. Chang sun scoffed “Could you be anymore of a moron, do you really think that crazy witch is going to let us go?” he said and cracked his knuckles, something he did when he was irritated.
“Why wouldn't she, the deal was to protect the prince until the curse was lifted and in case you didn't know Chang sun the curse has been lifted as of last night so there's no reason for her not to hand over our talismans and let us walk away” Daeman said.
“You idiot, we're talking about a witch who sold her soul to the king of demons just to get enough power to get our talismans and summon us which may not give her the power to kill us but they do give her the power to subdue us, making us as powerless as humans until we do what she wants. Do you really think she's dumb enough to let us go” Jong Kyu said.
Chang sun cracked his knuckles again and looked around the palace training grounds “Where is Taehyun, I haven't seen him since last night” he said. Jong Kyu and Daeman shrugged, Taehyun had been a little off since that night at the gibang but they didn't really think much of it.
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“A part of Sogyeokseo, what are you talking about?” Yeon Joo asked as she was taken to a room lined with shelves that had books, bottles and jars. Ji Soo gave her a white hanbok outlined with black and blue lines.
“This is the Sogyeokseo uniform, you're to wear it at all times except of course when you sleep. Your hair must be kept in a bun at the nape of your neck and you're to keep away from the Prince's quarters, do you understand?” Ji Soo said and smiled .
“Why is this happening, I don't want to be in Sogyeokseo. I don't want to use my powers I just want to find my parents and live a normal life” Yeon Joo said and stared at the uniform in her hands, this woman had an ulterior motive for putting her in Sogyeokseo she needed to figure out what her real plans were.
Taehyun stared at the blue corpse at his feet and frowned. This had to be the work of Jin ho, a corpse only turned blue when the soul had been sucked out, devoured by a demon. What Taehyun couldn't figure out was how he got to the forest, he remembered being in the palace with one of the gisaeng and now he was standing in the middle of the forest with a corpse at his feet. Something dangerous was going on and he didn't like the looks of it.
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YOU ARE READING
Divine Joseon Warriors.
General Fiction"One must die in order to be reborn. Your destiny may have been written by the gods but it is up to you to fulfill it" April Summers is very much used to the weird things that happen to her on a daily basis, however, one encounter forces her over...
