The next morning, you had gone to your chambers to change. You were ready to leave, when Young-hwan came in with someone beside him. You greeted him and he said, "As you know, you are allowed to do this one thing, I'm sending you with my most trusted guard, Seung-woo. He will keep you safe and keep an eye on you. If you try to do anything stupid, he will report to me and I will try you for treason." You nodded, understanding each and every word of his. He assisted you to the palanquin and soon you were set off with the palace guards.
When you felt the palanquin set down, you realised you had reached your destination. One of your court ladies stepped up to help you out. You saw Seung-woo standing right there, waiting for you to step forward. Yol-shin's parents had stepped out to see who had arrived, seeing the palace guards and the palanquin they understood it was someone higher up so they kneeled to greet you, before standing up again. "I came to give my condolences, Yol-shin was a friend of mine," you said. They nodded, and then the mother asked, "I wanted to ask what had happened? I'm sure my Yol-shin didn't do anything to harm anyone, but the palace guards didn't tell us anything." You looked down before answering, "Her only mistake was befriending the queen." It was like the mother understood immediately and the look on her face was similar to the one that Yol-shin had before Young-hwan had killed her. "Do you know something?," you asked the mother but instead the father replied, "She used to be a court lady to the King's mother, the previous queen." Now it made sense. They must've known the doings of Young-hwan. You nodded to one of your court-ladies and she came forward to give the parents a pouch of gold coins. You said, "This is from the queen. She feels deep regret for what happened because of her befriending your daughter. I know this is nothing compared to your daughter's life but I also know that she was the only breadwinner in your house, so I hope this makes your life a little easier." The mother said, "Thank you, your majesty." You nodded and started your way back to the palanquin, before stopping by Seung-woo and saying, "I would like to go to a temple to pray for the dead and their safe passage. I saw one very close to the palace, it will only take a few minutes." You ended with a smile. He looked sceptical but nodded, and so, you went in to sit in the palanquin.
Once you had reached the temple, your court lady assisted you outside and walked in with you, Seung-woo right behind. You went inside, and the first thing you noticed was the white fabric with red stains underneath it, tied in front of the entrance of the temple, as if there were heads inside. You went inside to pray, and then realised that they were indeed heads, heads of the people the previous king had made his allies, and ones that Young-hwan had made his enemies. He had kept them as sovereigns. You shivered at the thought, but reminded yourself to just pray for the safe passage of Yol-shin and go back to the palace.
You rushed back to the palanquin once you were done, and since the palace wasn't too far from the temple, it didn't take you long to reach back. You quickly went to your chambers to rest. The fear of Young-hwan had increased. You needed to see Queen Dowager, but you also needed to calm yourself down before doing so. So, you took your time before you decided to step out and go to the Queen Dowager. Eventually, when you decided to leave your chambers to go see the Queen Dowager, rain starts pouring. It seemed as if the sky was crying with you. You missed Yoongi and how the rain had never resonated as something sad to you. With Yoongi, every occurrence lead to happiness. You reached her chambers, and your arrival was announced. You went in and greeted her. "I heard about the court lady you had befriended, I'm sorry for your loss, y/n," Queen Dowager said. You gave her a bitter-sweet smile and replied, "Thank you for your kind words, your majesty. I guess a Queen shouldn't befriend her court ladies." "It isn't the best idea I must say, but I have a feeling you are not here for such advises. I heard you went out?" It was more of a statement than a question. you nodded and said, "I saw it. I saw the temple." Her eyes widened with realisation and she asked, "Is it—," she cut herself off and I nodded again, proving her suspicions right. Her hands dropped to her side. She seemed shocked, "I cannot believe my grandson has become such a monster that he would do something like this. He—he has done too many wrongs to be justified but only god can help us now, my Queen. Only god can have mercy on this country." You understood her pain, in a way. Queen Dowager felt like she had lost her grandson to evilness. His craze of being an eternal king had overshadowed his sense of humanity. He had killed his own father to become king. If that didn't tell you his state of mind, you didn't know what would. You stayed with Queen Dowager a little longer, even had your meal with her. You didn't want to be alone, not today. Most of all, you did not want to resort to sleeping in Young-hwan's room again. You were too scared to be around him.
When you headed back to your room, you got your jewellery box out and took out the emerald ring Yoongi had given to you on the last day you had met. You wore it and remembered the words he had said when giving it to you, "Y/n, keep this safe. This was supposed to be the ring I would've given to you on our wedding day. I can't do that anymore, so I want you to have it, so you can wear it when we do get married." The memory made you cry out. You felt pain and fear. You were afraid, for Yoongi's safety was in question at all times, but that did not mean you didn't miss him every second of the day. Your heart ached for him and while Young-hwan had the same face as his, it did not make your heart beat the way Yoongi's did. They were nothing alike and nothing could change that. Muddled in your own thoughts, the guards outside announcing the arrival of the King broke you out. You quickly took your ring off and shoved it in the jewellery box, before Young-hwan came inside. "Your majesty," you greeted him and moved away to let him sit. "How was your outing to the village?," he had asked. You gave him a smile, hating his arrival inside, and replied, "It helped clear my head," 'and my conscience', you wanted to add, but refrained yourself from it. "I heard about your detour to a temple nearby," he added. This startled you, you almost gave a reaction, but decided not to. You could not show him how his lunacy scared you, so you instead said, "Yes, I wanted to pray for the safe passage of the dead." He nodded. "Are you sure it was just that, though? Nothing else?" You replied, "No, your majesty that's it."
YOU ARE READING
THE ETERNAL KING
Fanfiction"I told you you'll be Queen soon. You can go to your room to get changed to your mourning robes now. The mourning period will start soon." "We can't let our country perish at the hands of the King."
