The Mercenary

He stood, frozen, staring down at Sook Myeong.  Bent over in grief.  He’d seen her despair sliding down her face before.  But never this perfect storm of sorrow and longing. Could…

…which is why she was shaking in her boots as she strode towards their outdoor sanctuary.If she couldn’t find him…if he left without saying goodbye…if her heart broke and would…

“Stop him!” Sook Myeong ran into the throne room.  “Stop the prince from leaving!”Jin Heung glanced at her.  At a loss.  “I thought you didn’t want to marry him.”“I do! …

In the meantime, Jong Su was growing impatient.“What do you mean: she refuses to see me?”“I think, brother, that she is embarrassed.  She feels that she has put you in…

“He wants to see you,” Eun Sook informed Sook Myeong an hour later.No,” the princess stubbornly refused.  “I will not go near him again.  I hurt him.  I will do…

He was hurting.  But he wasn’t about to admit it. However, he leaned gratefully back against the wall that was now supporting his upper body as he sat back in…

When Sook Myeong arrived at his room the next morning – he had insisted she spend the night sleeping in her own bed and even given her orders to get…

“Tomorrow I will accompany you to your garden,” Jong Su declared after Sook Myeong had spent an hour reading to him.  While he sat up in his bed and stared at…

Soo Yeon waved goodbye to her father as he slipped outside.  On his way to a council meeting.  She sighed in relief.  She waited five minutes before opening the door…

Jijin didn’t return until midnight.  And even then, he had to rouse Eun Sook.  She had fallen asleep waiting for him as she watched the moon rise higher in the…