Until Forever

Part I - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

 

Several days after the Queen’s announcement of her wedding to Bidam, the Queen sent a personal summons to her nephew Lord Chun Chu. That night she went for a lengthened walk in the gardens to clear her mind before her meeting with the young man. When the Queen finally returned to her chambers she was pleased to find her nephew already waiting for her. Their relationship had been quite strange after her announcement and she was quite surprised when the young royal refrained from voicing his opinion. She had actually expected to be locked in debate with him for days over that matter. The only indication of his disapproval of the match was his unusually cold treatment of her. And that, plus the fact that her young nephew had the quickest and shrewdest mind she had ever seen in Silla, was the reason why she personally asked for his presence. She wanted to make things better between the two of them by revealing a secret that had been weighing down on her.  She was glad that the young man immediately agreed to meet with her in spite of his bitterness at her approaching wedding.

The young man rose from his seat when she entered the room and formally bowed before her in greeting. As soon as they were seated, she showed him a copy of Bidam’s covenant. Chun Chu slowly read the document, going over it a second and then a third time. Finally, he handed the scroll back to Her Majesty, satisfied that it was a legitimate document, free from any hidden artifice.

            “Well, what do you think?” the Queen asked.

            “I’m sure it was done in all sincerity. I think he really means to go through with this in due time. However,” he paused, and looked at the Queen, trying to gauge her reaction.

            “Yes?” the Queen asked evenly, trying hard to conceal the wild thumping of her heart.

            “We must remember that he is now a very powerful political figure, with his own sphere of influence. And after the wedding he would be the second most powerful person in the land, second only to you. Even if he wanted to fulfil his oath, will his followers let him do so? Will they allow him to give up his power?”

            “So?” the Queen asked, her heart now beating a painful tattoo inside her chest.

            “You must remember, Your Majesty, that personal desires and politics are not good bedfellows,” Chun Chu said, his cynical smile belying his age.

            The Queen nodded. It was for this reason that she had decided to show the document to Chun Chu. She had come to admire the cunning mind of his young nephew. He can, somehow, look beyond mere appearances and uncover the most concealed subterfuges. His quick wit and, sometimes, brutal frankness had been proven invaluable time and again. And now, he had just validated the doubts that had been troubling her mind ever since Bidam had given her that parchment. Chun Chu had just confirmed that she had done the most logical action she could take to protect the throne. She sighed, resigned to the painful games of fate, and slowly took out a red silk envelope, the envelope that contained a secret so deadly that it could only be entrusted to a member of the royal family. Chun Chu was surprised when she handed it to him; the red envelope was synonymous to a sentence of death.

            “Please read it,” the Queen instructed a confused Chun Chu. Reluctantly, he took out the parchment and silently read the Queen’s order written in her own handwriting. When he finished reading it he could not help but look up at the Queen in shock and utter disbelief.

            “What does this mean? Are you serious about this?” he asked.

            “I was afraid that I would not be able to do it later, so I’m giving it to you now, before I change my mind,” the Queen said.