Such is our fate (The scholar who walks at night; Gwi x Choi Hye-ryung )

Such is Our Fate

"You wanted to see me?" Choi Hye-ryung questioned quietly, as she stood in the candle lit cave before the beast who had held her captive these last ten years.

As usual he was dressed in a dark robe that was left open to reveal his pale flawless chest and abdomen while he sat idly on his throne.  

It was not a proper way to dress when holding an audience with a young lady of standard, but Gwi was anything but proper and Hye-ryung had long since lost her tendency to blush at the sight of his unclothe body. 

On the outside Gwi looked like a man. A handsome, shrewd, confident man. She had seen many women fall for that alluring face before meeting their terrifying death, she refused to be one of them.

"It occurred to me that tomorrow you will become a married woman and the crown princess, and as such you may not be able to visit me as often as you do now." Gwi told her in his deep timber voice. His usual smirk displayed on his face for a look of casualness but Hye-ryung wasn't fooled. He had used the term "visit" but they both knew that term could never apply to them. She had no choice in the matter, she belonged to him and if he wanted to see her she had no choice but to come.

"As Crown Princess I will be constantly watched and there will be official duties to attend to, so it may be difficult for me to see you." She agreed in a calm voice, not betraying her excitement at the fact.

It was one of the reasons she had wanted to be Queen in the first place. Since her father sold her to Gwi she had met with him almost every day for an hour for the last 10 years with the exception for those blessed days when her blood ran as a woman. On those days he couldn't stand the smell of her and let her stay at home. She had treasured those days... just as she had treasured her days away from him this last week when she had been busy preparing for her wedding..... just as she would treasure the days away from him in the future when she would be too busy in her role as Crown Princess to see him.

"Yes, this perhaps might be our last day together for a while." Gwi smiled wickedly. "I have something very special planned."

Hye-ryung did not bat an eyelid or betray any emotions on her face. There was nothing new that he could do to her, nor was there anything new he could teach her. She had seen it all. 

When she first came to belong to him he had treated her like a prize. A living reminder of just how much a man would trade for power. He would taunt her daily with the fact that her life now belonged to him, to do with it whatever he want. Some days he would promise to rip her throat out, other days he would threaten to eat her whole and then there were the days that he threaten to turn her into a blood sucking vampire and make her his pet. 

The mental torture of it all was almost unbearable. In the end she had to  convincing herself that her life had no meaning, and that it would be nothing if she were to lose it just so that she could cope with his constant threats. Because of Gwi she no longer feared her death.... and she hated him for it. 

When threatening her no longer worked for him- he had sought to terrify her, killing countless men and women before her and then using her to clean him up afterwards. He used to use her dress as a means to wipe away the blood from his hands... and it had frightened and disgusted her. 

When she could no longer face the walk home with blood all over her clothes she took the initiative to wipe the blood from his hands and his face herself. It had surprised him, especially since her hands shook so badly and there were tears in her eyes, but he let her continue.