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The fateful day that Mi Sook had been dreading for nearly a year had finally come.  But oddly, she found herself, though nervous, not afraid.  She did, in fact, feel like she might just be able to breathe finally.  For the very first time.

In a couple of hours, she and Dan Se would speak their vows.  Then she would legally be his wife.  A few hours later, they would be alone together.  In his bedchamber.

That’s what was making her truly nervous.

But she cleared her throat and faced her maid.  It was time to get dressed.  She had a wedding to attend.  The future was coming for her.  Whether or not she was ready for it.

––

All of the festivities had come to an end.  Their part in them, at least.  Dan Se was leading Mi Sook away from the assembled crowd of well-wishers.  And she was grateful to be leaving them all.  She hated being the center of attention.  And she was no good at making small talk.  Or at receiving praise.  Or good wishes. 

When he reached for her, she slid her hand along his until his fingers curled around hers.  And she felt oddly comforted by his quiet presence again.  He tugged on her hand and pulled her through the doorway and out into the warm evening air.  They walked in silence until they came to his father’s house.  Her family had hosted the wedding celebration.  So they had left everyone behind as they approached her new home.

Dan Se had barely spoken to her today.  Or to anyone else either.  Although, she had noticed that he seemed most at ease around his fellow hwarang.  They had been there today.  Most of them, at least.  He had introduced her to Seon Woo, Soo Ho, and Ban Ryu.  The king had not been in attendance, though.  Pressing matters had kept him away.

She had also met the wives of Dan Se’s closest friends.  All three of those ladies had seemed kind.  Soo Yeon appeared to be a bit spoiled.  Which was easily explained.  Her husband, Ban Ryu, seemed to dote on her.  Especially since she was obviously about five months pregnant.  Seon Woo’s wife, Ah Ro, had been polite enough, and she seemed to be a skilled storyteller.  But Mi Sook had felt the greatest affinity for Jung Sook, Soo Ho’s wife, though she couldn’t have explained why. 

Though his friends and their wives had been welcoming, Mi Sook breathed a sigh of relief when she and Dan Se escaped the party.  She had few friends.  And none with whom she’d been comfortable enough to share her deepest pains.  She’d revealed her scars to no one.

Except for Dan Se.

––

He led her to his bedchamber.  He didn’t use it anymore.  He hadn’t occupied it in over a year.  Except for the occasional visit home.  To check in with his father.  And months ago, to face his grandfather.  But those days were, thankfully, over.  Such a truth also saddened Dan Se, though.  In twenty-two years, he had never possessed the power to make the old man proud of him.  No matter how he had tried.  And now, he never would.

There was both freedom and a prison in that truth.  For he was now a slave to all his failed hopes.  Yet he was free to pursue his own future without fear of that man’s recriminations.  In the end, Dan Se had felt mostly a lingering sadness.  That his grandfather had been so humiliated by Minister Park.  And to what end?  That villain had been executed.  And Dan Se’s grandfather had lost all that he’d worked so hard to gain. 

Dan Se’s father had a little wealth still.  Brought to him through his marriage to Han Sung’s mother.  It was enough to keep them afloat.  Nothing more. 

Dan Se would not have cared but for the sake of his own wife.  He had all that he needed at the hwarang house.  Elegant robes and three square meals a day.  A roof over his head and a comfortable bed.  Enough exercise to numb his mind to the pain most days.  Still, he found it hard to sleep at night.  And he didn’t expect that to improve.  Perhaps Han Sung’s shocked face would always float against the darkness of his consciousness.

He opened the door to his room and led Mi Sook inside.  He wasn’t certain what to expect tonight.  He was attempting to take his cues from the girl at his side.  To whom he had spoken all his vows.  And long ago realized that she was something special.  Of course, back then, she had belonged to his brother.  Another cruel twist of fate.  But he was used to that by now, wasn’t he?

Life was strange.  He still couldn’t believe the horrific turn of events that had eclipsed his existence last year.  And today was even more unbelievable.  That the girl whom he had admired from afar for nearly a decade had pledged her life to him this morning.  Of course, he wasn’t about to hold her to it.  Not in the way which she likely expected anyway.

He turned towards her as they stood a couple of feet away from his bed.

“My dear,” he whispered gruffly, “where would you like to begin?”