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Jin Heung was disappointed.  He had fallen asleep.  Before she’d reached the end of her story.  So now he had no idea how it ended.  And all his unanswered questions kept interrupting his thoughts while he listened to his advisers speaking about this ridiculous situation with Baekje.  Why couldn’t the crown prince simply accept peace?

The king sighed.  He really needed the friendship of the northern king.  But how could he win the man over?

He had already decided to send an ambassador to Goguryeo’s king.  With a message requesting a meeting with him.  Jin Heung was going to invite the ruler of Goguryeo to visit Silla.  But he was well aware that the king might respond by issuing an order that Jin Heung come to him.  Though such a scenario made him nervous, he would consider taking such a risk.  For the sake of his kingdom.

The skirmishes along Silla’s western border were becoming too frequent to ignore anymore.  Alone, Silla could hold Baekje off for only so long.  And all the while, his citizens were vulnerable to attack.  Not a situation Jin Heung relished.  He loved his subjects.

Again, the sanguine memory intruded.  The blood of his people sprayed on his hand as he stood by – feeling powerless – and watched it happen.  At the command of the crown prince of Baekje.  The king ground his teeth.  That cruel man would pay for that crime. 

Jin Heung would give much to see justice served.  He never wanted to be that powerless again either.  He had no desire to see any more of his subjects slaughtered needlessly.  And if he had another more powerful king backing Silla, Jin Heung would be sure to prevail against Baekje.  At the least, together they could bully the crown prince into submitting.

He sighed as he prepared to meet with his ambassador.  The man had a proposal to deliver.  As soon as possible.  He would be heading out at first light.  Tomorrow.

––

Exhausted, Jin Heung headed for his bedchamber.  More to the point, he headed for the woman he loved.  Who loved him.

He found himself grinning as he approached his rooms.  Even in the midst of all this political intrigue, his heart had one reason to be light.  And happy.  He had finally found a woman to hold close to his heart.  And, in so doing, he had found someone who accepted him just as he was.  The boy underneath the crown.  The man hidden beneath the robes of a king. 

And he was absolutely certain that Sookie loved that boy.  That caring man.  That passionate heart.  One that cared almost too much at times. 

He’d never be as mercenary as his mother.  He just couldn’t pass it off.  He was too surrounded by the waves of other people’s needs.  And their emotions.  He had lived among his people from the time he was a young lad.  He had fallen in love with his subjects long before he’d ever ascended his throne.  He could not forget them now. 

Especially not a certain snowy-haired lass numbered among them.  With great, indigo eyes.  Who often looked at him as though he had set the sun to shining in the sky. 

The sun! 

He groaned.  He still hadn’t made it back to her to take her for a walk in the sunshine.  He hung his head as he opened the door to his rooms.  He strode straight for his bedchamber.  Certain he would find her there…

––

But as he entered his room, he found it – disappointingly – empty.  He sighed in frustration.  Was she sleeping in the other room again?

He marched across the room and flung open the door to her chamber.  And stopped cold as he saw her sitting in her tub.  She was facing away from him, but her head suddenly turned towards him as her eyes flew to meet his.

“Pardon me!” he exclaimed, embarrassed.  He whipped himself back into his room and slammed the door shut.  His heart was racing like mad.

He leaned his forehead against the door.  And wondered if he imagined her laughter floating on the air around him.

––

Eun Sook leaned her head back against the rim of the tub and tried to still her pounding heart.  This was ridiculous!  She was staying in the private chambers of the king.  Sleeping with him.  Yet…not sleeping with him. 

She was going to have to make a decision.  Give up her purity and become his concubine.  A position of esteem among the people.  More importantly, a place in which she could give all her love to Jijin.  And receive his in return.

Or…she could leave.  But she had promised she would not.

Still, she felt torn.  The old woman who had raised her had instilled in her the importance of protecting her chastity.  And she knew that she would not enjoy the privileges of a true wife if she agreed to be his concubine.

If only she could be his wife…

But, surely, that was an impossibility.  Even if he knew the truth about her, it wouldn’t change anything.  She’d still be an albino.  An outcast.  The people would deem the queen a witch and ridicule their king for marrying her. 

Maybe not to his face.  But behind his back, surely.

And she found that she loved him too much to put him in such a position.  Sighing, she prepared to step from the tub and dry off.  They needed to talk.  But she still wasn’t sure which path to take.

As she opened the door to his bedchamber a few minutes later, she discovered that she wasn’t the only one thinking about their relationship….