The Royal Concubine (please read edited version)

By The Shore

I don't know where I am. All I know is that we have traveled for days. Worry scratches at my heart as my mind continues to be drawn back to the safe arms of the emperor. Did he discover I'm gone yet? Is he even safe? And what about my son- is he safely guarded in the walls of the palace? All these questions and more consume my sole existence.

My lips are chapped, my throat is dry, and my whole body aches with exhaustion. I have never felt as helpless as I do in this moment, but I don't regret it for a second that I had saved the queen. The queen has to live, there is no other choice. I know that my life as sacrifice will ensure that the Korean kingdom wouldn't fall into the hands of a faulty queen, for there could only be one Queen Min.

I feel as though the end is coming; the end to my rather short life as I have only lived less than 20 years. But what a wonderful time I have experienced. In only a few years, I met one of the greatest rulers of the world and had fallen in love with all the passions and grievances he had to offer. I know that it won't be long now, soon I will be in the sky with all the stars looking down at the people I have loved in this lifetime. The love I feel for Min Yoongi is vast and I know that it will never be forgotten in this existence. I worked hard in the time I spent in the cold palace to chip away at his hard exterior because, without knowing it on our first meeting, there is something so much more beautiful on the inside.

However, I will say that it depresses me that i will never know the man my son will become. He'll be criticized for not being a pure bred heir due to his mother being a concubine but I have high hopes that that won't harm his upbringing- that he'll rise above it all and he'll become the greatest future king under the guidance of his father. I hope he'll always be surrounded by true friends and loyal subjects. Wishfully, I believe that the queen will take my act of courage as an encouragement to treat my son as if he were hers.

Another subject of thought that haunts me greatly in this time of reflection is the death of my best friend scribe Hoseok. He really had been one of the most loyal person in my life. Never in his friendship with me had he betrayed my trust or had malicious intentions. He had been the ultimate form of gentleness and kindness in one human being.

The tragic scene replays over and over in my mind, but I must muffle my crys, my oppressors will only beat me again. But it's hard to imagine that someone so bright is dead and will never come back- will never meet me again on earth. I know that I will be joining him soon wherever he is and that simple thought makes me smile- I will see my best friend again.

The ruckus above my enclosement grows louder as the night wears on. A feast seems to have started with the arrival of the Japanese troops to a large fort on the edge of the sea. Sometimes a cloth was wrapped around my eyes to prevent me from trying to escape with the knowledge of where I was located. But the scent of the salt from the ocean is unmistakable.

It's quite funny, I have become unfamiliar with my own voice; I haven't spoken since I was grabbed from the palace. Anything leaving my lips cannot be trusted to these soldiers. They have tried to talk to me, always with sweet words as thought they are speaking to a kitten. It infuriates me.

"Ahhhhh, we shouldn't wake up the girl," a sluggish Japanese says in Korean, though it's rough. The man beside him just laughed in response. I recoil to the back of the cage as his drunken footsteps echo down the stairs. His friend doesn't make the journey down the stairs and instead turns back to the party, probably for more sake. "Hey girly."

I stare back at the man as his hands grab onto the metal bars of the cage. His mouth doesn't open for sometime other than to take deep breaths. I know those eyes, full of lust and alcohol.

"I can't kill you, but." his fingers jingles the key in the metal lock. "It wouldn't hurt to have my fun with you."

My heart quickens to match with my racing thoughts. My hands cling to the cold stone behind me, as though it will shield me from the man's reach. Of course, it can't. I hold back a scream as the Japanese guard's hands grab my legs and peal up my dirty dress.

"Please, stop," I grumble out, but my weak voice and hands do nothing to counter the drunken man. No food or water in days limits my capabilities drastically.

He removes his hands on me to mess with his pants. My eyes sway to what's behind him: the door that is still cracked open. Adrenaline courses through me and gives me to stab my heel into the man's smug face. A quiet crack from his nose sends me forcing my way towards the door. A yell follows me up the stairs to another door.

My focus leaves the pained man and to the now opening wooden door, light streams into the dim room. My feet almost slip from under me as I try to escape from who ever is in front of me. I only stop when I see a young boy, as most 10 years old, carrying a boil full of scraps of meat and bread. His eyes mirror my fear and despair. The boys hand quickly grabs my arm tightly as I pull back.

"Come quickly," he whispers.

I wouldn't have followed his command if it wasn't for the noise of the metal cage door slamming shut behind me, out of view from the door. I scramble into the hallway the boy leads me in. The bright light is gone as he pushes me under a food cart that has cloth draped from all sides, hiding me completely. Dirty plates and bowls are piled on top of the food cart and the boy rolls it down the hall.

I cover my mouth as the loud voices of the Japanese soldiers comes closer. If I am caught, I'm not the only one facing severe punishment. The cart bumps along the wooden floor in the dining hall. The fear leaves my body shaking uncontrollably.

"Hey boy!" I hear from the other side of the room. The cart halts. "Get me another cup of sake, this one's empty."

In a quick motion, our path changes to go towards the beckoning officer. My face digs into my bent legs as my arms grip tighter around my thighs. I pray for the thick white cloth around me not to become translucent in the middle of enemy territory.

The dishes above me clatters as another cup joins them. The bench were the officer's sit creaks as some weight is lifted from it. Some words are said in Japanese, but I can only make out the word for bathroom in the sentence. A few stumbles for the man's feet spook me as the cart tilts to support the hands of the officer who loses his balance. I quickly hold onto the white sheet to keep my sitting form from not tumbling out from the underside of the food cart.

A silence in the vicinity of the boy and his cart makes my heartbeat pound. "Boy, is there an animal under the sheet, I thought I saw it move weirdly," a Korean-speaking man says. I figure that some of the enemies here are my own brethren.

The boy is silent for a moment, "Don't let the sake affect your eyesight, officer." The cart begins to move again, away from the catastrophe that could have happened. That was close.

Maybe, just maybe, this boy will be my savior.

AN- It's been a long time but winterbreak has given us the chance to finally update this story. We won't promise the updates from now on will be constant but we will say you lovely readers will hear more of Hye-Rin's adventure in the coming days. -