Travel Through Time

Travel Through Time Chapter 34

  I wake on my own, and see that the sun is long in the sky.  I wash and dress and go to the main room, Keon-hi is the only one there.  Ri-na brings in some food for me, and I nibble on it while I watch Keon-hi practice writing.  I slip a blank piece of paper over to her.  "Can you write 'hello my name is Keon-hi' keeping your letters the same size?"  I ask.   She takes the paper and dips her brush in the ink before writing.  I clap my hand "well done, at this rate you'll be able to write letters to people" I smile and tap her shoulder.  "Happy Birthday" I say leaning over and kissing her cheek.  "The Prince told me to tell you, "that he will not be far away today and should be home for lunch" I nod and blush a little thinking of last night.   Keon-hi's cheeks flush pink "can I ask you a rather personal question?"  I nod and wait to hear the question "when you first lay with your husband does it hurt?"  I choke a little on the water I was drinking.  "I... well... it did, but just for a second.  I think it was because the Prince made sure I was ready before going in"  I finish my cheeks a bright red.  Keon-hi nods  "I heard some of the servants talk before and some said it really hurt and others said it didn't."  I'm shocked "here? You heard the servants talking about it here?"  I demand.  "Oh, no at the scums house" she clarifies "oh thank goodness, I thought!  Well it doesn't matter what I thought" I mutter.   Keon-hi smiles "the Prince only sees you when you're in the room and when you're not, he is looking for you and listening to see if he can hear your foot falls." I give her a shy smile "where is Jin-hyeok?" I ask "he said he was going to finish a book and retired back to his room" I nod.  Ri-na comes to collect the tray from breakfast and gives me the thumbs up letting me know that Keon-hi's birthday is all prepared. I take a piece of paper and start to fold it, then I draw a butterfly on it and colour it blue.  I place it under the table to dry, I then draw a horse without his tail.  I then draw a tail and cut it out.  I put all the things I'd just drawn on a shelf, and then leave the room on the hunt to see if I can find a flute or anything else musical.  I pop my head into Jin-hyeok's room and find it empty so I go out to the garden and walk round till I find him in one of the out houses, painting a bird box.  "Hi, this is wonderful" I admire.  He smiles before saying "I was lucky the wood was laying around and I found this paint in here." "She is going to love it" I tell him.  "Un is going to make a bird bath and feeder.   I think he was up early making them" I blush a little remembering he was guarding the door last night. "I'll see you later" I tell him as I walk out and back to the main house.  I wave as the Prince rides in on his horse followed by Un.  I look away shyly as the Prince jumps down and walks up to me and picks me up by wrapping his arms around my waist. "Put me down everyone is looking" I mutter.  "So, they already know I love my wife" the Prince says proudly.  I groan and hide my face into his neck.  He laughs and twirls me around.  I laugh with him and then kiss him before he puts me back on my feet.   "Your Majesty, I need to finish Keon-hi's present" Un says.  "Yes, go on" the Prince tells him our eyes meet and we both blush.  Un bows and walks towards the back of the house.  "I wonder if there is something I can do?" the Prince asks "there is? I have a great idea" I tell him, I pull on his hand.   I take him to our bedroom and pull out some thin white silk and sticks "while I draw a butterfly you glue those sticks together in a diamond shape with support sticks in the middle.   We are going to make her a kite" I explain.  The Prince gets to work gluing the sticks together and I draw one big butterfly which I colour blue and then two smaller ones on each top side and the bottom sides. I colour them brightly, put the silk on the floor where the sun is shinning in.   I cut some thick strips of silk and tie them to the string near the top.   The Prince puts the glued sticks in the sun to dry, and helps my whine the sting around the holder.  Once the sticks and paint are dried. I sew the silk to the sticks and tie the string to it.  I pull out the hair ribbon I made and the Prince takes the kite, we meet Un and Jin-hyeok in the hall.  They have their presents covered with silk, Ri-na walks out holding the cake and we all walk through the door singing Happy Birthday. Keon-hi smiles and her eyes fill with tears.  We give her the present's, she cries over every one. "I've never had a cake made or been given any presents, this is lovely, it's like a dream" she sniffles. We enjoy our lunch and have a piece of birthday cake, I help Keon-hi put her hair ribbon in and feel my eye lids getting heavy.  "Sorry I'm going to have to go and take a nap" I apologise.  "There is the game pin the tail on the horse, you blindfold a person and turn them around three times give them the tail and point them in the right direction of where you've hung the picture of the horse.  The one that pins the tail nearest to the right spot wins" I instruct and then wave as I leave the room.  The Prince follows me out and tucks me in, he stays with me until I fall asleep. Laughter wakes me, I stretch my back and then get up wash my face and follow the sound of the laughter out into the garden.  They have the drawing of the horse hung up on the side of one of the out buildings and one of the guards is being turned around while blindfolded.  They stop him facing the picture and he wobbles towards the picture. He sticks the tail where he believes it should go and everyone laughs.  I see a number of tails pinned on the side of the building not many of them on the picture, they have their names written on the tails.   I look around but don't see the Prince "where is everyone?" I ask "they are in the house" the guards tell me. 

  I walk back through into the main room and find Keon-hi sleeping leaning against Un. The Prince and my brother are not there, so I go in search of them.   I find them in the study "they have all sorts of hiding places, some hidden in the floor.  I've seen hidden compartments in walls and book shelves.  Even whole rooms but they are easy to find you count your steps along length and width of the house and then count for steps once you're in the room.  If they don't tally you look for the hidden room. Some even build basements in their out houses hidden by straw mats or rice sacks.  I've hidden things in a tree that had been struck by lighting, some outbuildings have a second wall built so they can have the space between the outer wall and the inner wall.  You need to walk around a room and look at the walls and floor see if there are scratch marks" my brother informs him. "Did you sleep well?" the Prince asks looking at me. "Yes, I did thank you" I answer.  The Prince pulls me onto his lap, and wraps his arms around me. "We have had the order to search all the properties of the left secretary, I want to write instructions on how to search properly.  Two of his women have already fled, they are being searched for."   I nod "tell them to search the brothels, he would have kept a woman at each one"I suggest.  "I need to write out these orders and then I will come and join you" the Prince tells us. "Tell them, that each person must get out of the box or carriage as more often than not they are sitting on the hiding place" I add.  Jin-hyeok goes to his room and I go back to ours.  I write in my journal and draw the presents Keon-hi got.  "Ri-na heat the tub please" I call "Yes your Majesty" she calls back.  I rub my flat stomach "it will be nice to have a soak, "Ri-na don't add scents I'll do that myself" I tell her"Yes, your Majesty." I pick up the book I'm reading and get lost for a while as the story comes to life in my mind.   The Prince walks in, "are we having a bath?" he asks "well I feel like one" I tell him.  He comes and lifts me up walking into the bedroom he places me down next to the bed.  He unties my outer clothes and lets them fall to the floor, he unties the under clothes and lets them pool at my feet as well.  I'm now standing naked.  The Prince takes his time putting my robe on.   "I love seeing my marks on you" he murmurs.   I look down to see red marks on my breasts, the Prince strokes my neck "here as well." I grab the mirror and look at the spot he touched and see a bigger darker mark there. "Everyone can see this?" I state "they know your taken" the Prince says with pride.  I laugh and shake my head, "he'll want to put a collar on next" I mutter under my breath.   The Prince starts to strip and then looks for his robe. I sit and watch as he opens up doors and draws looking for his robe, naked.  He stops and turns towards me hands on hips feet slightly apart "have you seen it?" he asks.  I get an image of his robe folded on a tray in the connecting room. "Stay there I think I saw it."