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Jin Heung settled in next to his new wife.  They had just spent a blissful hour together.  But now he wanted more of her story.

“My dear, you have not regaled me with a tale in many days.”

“That’s because you were too busy to see me,” she responded dryly.

His face fell.  “I do beg your pardon.  I am most sorry that the affairs of the kingdom have dragged me away from you for so long.”

“I’m just glad that you could find the time to marry me,” she mumbled.

“Sookie!  You know I love you,” he gasped.

Her lips quirked upward in a reluctant smile.  “I sure hope so.  You did marry me after all.”  She narrowed her eyes.  “Or did you do it just to gain a lasting peace with my brother?”

His eyes flew wide.  “You know that is not the reason!”

Her face broke into a wide grin now.  “I do.  I’m just teasing you.”

He grumbled.

“Hey, you left me hanging for days on end.  Don’t I have the right to be a tiny bit disgruntled?” she asked as she held the pad of her index finger a mere centimeter away from the pad of her thumb.

He reached for that hand and used it to drag her up close to him again.  He bent his head and ravished her lips until she was sighing with satisfaction.

“I swear I’ll make it up to you,” he murmured tenderly.

And she giggled.  “You promise, Jijin?”

“Absolutely,” he growled. 

After another delightful interlude in each other’s arms, he pillowed his head against her chest.  “Tell me my story, Sookie.”

She chuckled.  “Actually, Jijin, it’s not your story anymore.”

He glanced up at her in surprise.  “It’s not?”

She shook her head.  “No, no.  Then it would be quite boring because you would know how it ends.”

“Would I?”  He reached for her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers.  “Because I’m pretty sure that I don’t know how our story ends.”

“Sure, you do.  You marry the princess.  And live happily ever after.”

“Oh, right.  Silly me.  How could I forget something as important as that?”

“I do not know,” she uttered with humor lacing her tone.

“Tell me your story then,” he whispered, his breath teasing her skin and making her remember several delicious moments in his embrace.

Smiling, she picked up the thread of her story where she had left off.  Many days ago.

“‘Your father was a king!’ Yong Joon gasped.  ‘What king?’

“Did she truly trust him?  Because if she did, she was about to put her entire life into his hands.

“She wished that she could see his eyes.

“Just then, a commotion reached their ears.  Some drunken men were stumbling down the street, appearing over the rise in a distant hill.  Alarmed, Yong Joon reached for her hand. 

“‘Where can we go?’ he wondered aloud.

“‘Come!’ she tugged him down the street.  In the opposite direction.

“When they were alone again, she turned towards him.  ‘Where do you live?’

“‘What?’

“‘When you’re not with the hwarang, where do you live?’

“This would test him surely. 

“He continued to stare down at her in the close darkness.

“‘I want to see your eyes,’ she murmured suddenly.

“And he made up his mind.  He drew her farther down the street before turning a corner.  They walked in silence for a while.  Then they came upon a tiny house.  Nestled near the forest.

“‘You live here?’ she gasped.  ‘So close to the castle?’ 

“Who would have thought that the true king – hidden in obscurity – would have chosen to live so close to his real home?

“‘Yes,’ he whispered.  Then he knocked lightly on the locked door. ‘Chang Bok, open the door,’ he called quietly.

“A moment later, the door opened, and Chang Bok gaped at him.  ‘What are you doing here?’  His eyes flew to her face.  And his own hardened.  ‘Who’s the girl?’

“‘My bride.’

“Both Su Bin and Chang Bok gaped at him.  Right before Yong Joon pulled her inside the house and shut the door behind them.  He locked it.  Then he yanked on her hand, drawing her towards his bedchamber.

“‘She and I need to talk.’

“It was all he said before he reached for a lamp and dragged her into his room, shutting the door in Chang Bok’s face.

“Yong Joon turned to face her.  He held the lamp up near their faces.  ‘You can see my eyes….  What king?’

“She swallowed and glanced down.

“‘Don’t you trust me yet?’ His heart was thundering.  ‘You know my deepest secret.  You could put me in danger with one word.’

“Her head flew up.  ‘As could you if I reveal my identity to you!’

“His eyebrows slowly crawled up his face.  ‘But you must already trust me to have told me half of it.’

“‘I do trust you,’ she admitted grudgingly.  ‘It’s just that I’ve spent seven years keeping it a secret.’

“Seven years? 

“That time frame niggled at a far corner of his mind.  Why?

“She took a deep breath. 

“At the same moment, they both gasped, ‘Baekje!’

“Her eyes flew wide.  ‘How did you guess?’ she asked in astonishment.

“‘Because seven years ago, the king of Baekje was ambushed on the road to Silla.  He was on his way to make peace with our kingdom.  But before he could even leave his country, he was set upon by violent men.  Everyone in his party was killed.  There was a simultaneous attack on his palace.  Where he had left his children.  None of them escaped alive.’

“‘That’s not strictly true,’ she whispered sorrowfully as she thought of her brothers and sister.  And had to squelch a sob that began to rise.

“‘You escaped!’ he breathed in shock.

“She nodded.  ‘My mother smuggled me out of the gates directly after my father left.  She was taking me to see my grandmother.  You see, she was the least of Appa’s wives.  And looked down upon by the others.  She wasn’t a sacred bone.  Just a true bone.  But she was beloved of my appa.  He fell in love with her the very first moment that he saw her. 

“‘He wasn’t free to make her his queen.  But he didn’t care.  He married her anyway.  Setting her up in the palace.  But my mother had a hard time conceiving a child.  And his other wives all gave him sons.  

“‘He grew tired of my mother’s sorrow and spent less time with her.  He didn’t understand why he wasn’t enough for her.  But, truthfully, she had always wanted a child.  And she loved him – she did – but not to the extent that he had once loved her.  She was heartbroken that she was barren. 

“‘But, finally, one night when he did come to visit her, I was conceived.  However, after I was born – and his other wives criticized me for being born of a true bone – they claimed I wasn’t worthy to be his heir – my mother isolated herself from them all.  As much as possible. 

“‘But the night they all died, things had been getting worse.  Some of my older brothers had decided to play a trick on me that day.  My mother was furious.  She requested an audience with Appa.  She wanted to see them punished for what they had done to me.  But Appa refused to see her.  He was too busy preparing to strike a peace deal,’ she glanced up at him, ‘with your mother, I suppose. 

“‘Anyway, he left the palace, and Eomma and I slipped past the guards and headed for my grandmother’s.  We awoke the next morning to the news that my whole family had been slaughtered the night before.  The throne had been seized by my father’s enemy.  A cousin who had just wiped out the entire royal family.’  She sighed.  ‘He still rules today.’

“‘You’re the only surviving child of the true king?’ he breathed in wonder.

“She nodded.  ‘Little good that it does me.  My countrymen have lived under that brute for seven years now.’

“‘How did you come to live here?’

“‘My grandmother, my mother, and I fled Baekje.  As soon as we could pack up our belongings.  Grandmother had enough wealth to finance the trip.  She lived on the border of Kaya, so it was fairly easy to escape Baekje. 

“‘Grandmother was a woman of influence.  She made friends everywhere she went.  We passed peacefully through Kaya.  And she bought us a home here.  We found a large village to settle in.  She told everyone that Eomma’s husband had been tragically killed in an accident, and we had all desired a new beginning somewhere else. 

“‘We lived happily in that village for a year.  Then Grandmother suddenly took ill and died,’ she reported sorrowfully.  ‘A few months later, my stepfather visited the village.  And was instantly taken with my mother.  He stayed in our village for a month.  At the end of which, he asked her to marry him.  She truly adored him and believed that marrying him would provide an additional layer of protection for me.  So she agreed.  They were married before we left our village to move here.’

“Yong Joon stared at her.  ‘You’re a princess.  I could legitimately marry you.’

“‘But you can’t tell anyone that I’m Baekje’s princess,’ she argued.  ‘My enemies are still in power.  And Baekje is too powerful for Silla to overcome alone.’

“‘Hmm.  This is true.  But, I wonder…’

“‘What?’ she asked, perplexed.

“‘Baekje has long been terrorizing Kaya.  I wonder if Silla approached them seeking a long-term peace accord, if they would agree to back us in a war against Baekje.  If we removed the pretender king from his throne, our son could rule Baekje.’

“‘Our son?’ she gasped.

“He nodded.  ‘I want to marry you, Su Bin.  None of that has changed.’

“‘You really want to marry me?’ she breathed in awe.

“‘Of course.  I’ve wanted to marry you for weeks now.  I just couldn’t figure out how to make it work.  Unless I gave up my throne.’

“‘You can’t do that!’ she exclaimed.

“He smiled at her.  ‘I don’t have to.  You’re a princess.  I’m free to marry you.  And if I can work out a deal with Kaya and reclaim your father’s throne, bringing a lasting peace between Silla and Baekje, no one could fault me for marrying you.’

“‘That’s a lot of ifs.  You haven’t even taken your own throne yet,’ she pointed out logically.  And softly.

“‘Indeed.’  He sighed.  “I’m waiting for the right moment.  The council still might oppose me.’

“‘But you would have the support of the hwarang, wouldn’t you?  I mean isn’t that why your mother created them?’

“He nodded.  ‘That’s why she created them.  But…’

“‘But what?  Aren’t they your friends now?  My brother sure adores you.’

“He grinned.  ‘Well, he’s only one hwarang.’

“‘Still.’  She beamed up at him.  ‘I adore you too.  I can’t imagine any of them would oppose you.’

“‘That’s because you adore me.  But many of them are sons of council members who definitely do not adore me.’

“She shook her head.  ‘Foolish men.’  Then she stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips across his.

“But a moment later, her smile faded.  ‘How long will it be before you claim your throne?’

“‘A few days.’

“She sighed in relief.  ‘Surely, my father won’t marry me off before then.  Do you truly mean to claim me as your bride?’

“He nodded.  His brow crumpled.  ‘Though it’s more complicated than I would like it to be.  I suppose I shall just have to claim my throne, claim you as my bride, and explain my plan to gain Baekje.’

“‘And if Kaya refuses to fight with you?’

“‘That would be a problem.  Unless…’

“‘What?’

“‘I can win Goguryeo to my side.  With their help, we could definitely defeat Baekje.’

“She leaned forward until her forehead was resting against his chest.  ‘It all sounds terribly complicated.  And precarious.’

“‘Every way forward is precarious.  We haven’t had a lasting peace with any of these nations for very long.  Baekje is a constant source of trouble.  And Goguryeo has always made us uneasy because of their size.’

“He stared down at her bent head.  ‘But what other choice do I have?  I cannot let you marry another hwarang.’

“She lifted her head and looked at him.  ‘You can’t?’

“He shook his head.  ‘No way.  Not now that I’ve tasted your kisses.  I want many more of them.’

“He bent his head.  And took some more of that delightful bounty.  But after a few pleasant moments, he regretfully relinquished her luscious lips and sighed deeply.

“‘But right now, I must take you home.  Before we get caught!’”

Eun Sook glanced down at her husband.  His head was still nestled against her chest.  And he was sound asleep. 

“I guess I will be saving the rest of this story for later,” she murmured tenderly.  Bending her head to brush a kiss across the top of his head.  “I love you, Jijin.  Sweet dreams, my darling.”

Then she relaxed and closed her eyes.  Thankful that her path to peace had been so much easier than that of her story’s heroine.