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The prince and his princess spent a lovely morning enjoying the fresh air and the delicious breakfast that the chef had prepared for them.  Jong Su convinced Sook Myeong to sample at least one bite from each of the dishes.  Even while he pondered how he could get her to trust him fully.  He rather suspected a lot of patience would be required. 

Finally, he packed up the leftovers and tethered the basket to his saddle once more before helping her to get back in her own saddle.  She, of course, protested that she did not need his assistance.  And set out to prove it.  He simply chuckled good-naturedly before climbing atop his own mount. 

He convinced her to take the long route back to the castle.  And she didn’t admit it, but she had thoroughly enjoyed his company this morning.  Every single minute of it.  From their extended ride to their picnic breakfast.  He had spoken of several subjects that interested her.  And listened to her expound at length her own viewpoints of those topics.  He had seemed genuinely concerned with her perspective.  She couldn’t think of another man who had ever taken the time to listen to her thoughts.  She wasn’t quite sure what to do with him.  Sometimes, she wondered if she had simply dreamt him up after breaking her heart over Seon Woo.

As they rode up to the palace stable, her brother met them.  He was grinning broadly. 

“You’ve been for a ride, eh?  Would you care to go on a hunt through the forest this afternoon?  I’ve been in meetings all week.  And I am longing for a bit of fresh air.  Sook Myeong, you’ll get a chance to practice with your bow.”

Her face lit up.  “That’s a great idea!”  She turned towards the prince.  “Do you want to go?  Or did I already wear you out today?  Would you rather stay back while we go?”

“Stay back?  And miss another chance to see you use your bow?  Not on your life.  I’m coming!”  He shot her a brilliant smile that made her heart do a funny, little dance. 

Stop that!  Stop getting excited simply because the man glances your way.  Remember: he needs an alliance with this royal house to strengthen his brother’s kingdom.  All of this could just be an elaborate game to him. 

And her, a simple pawn.

But the thing was…it didn’t feel like a game.  It felt real.  The warmth in his eyes when he glanced her way felt real.  The solace in his voice when he spoke to her felt real too.  The sweetness of his kiss tasted genuine enough.  She didn’t feel like a pawn either.  He had made her feel like the very center of his world.

And it still scared her.  Because she was pretty sure that she wasn’t built to be the center of his world.  That sounded like an awful lot of responsibility.  Responsibility which she was fairly certain she wasn’t up for.  She couldn’t even make her own self happy.  How was she supposed to please him all the time?

“Excellent!” Jin Heung exclaimed.  “Can we meet here in an hour?  We’ll set out early so that we can bring dinner home!”

She beamed at her enthusiastic brother.  He seemed so much more at his ease since he’d come firmly into his kingdom.  And now knew for certain that the hwarang – and Seon Woo – were backing him.  Their influence had been enough to sway most of the royal council in his favor.  He had only had to deal with Minister Park, who was still awaiting his execution, and a couple of other elderly councilors who had been plotting with the cruel man to overthrow Jin Heung and place someone they could control on the throne.  They had made a fatal error when they’d mistakenly pinned their hopes on Seon Woo.  He had decided not to betray the young king who had appealed to him as a friend.  Instead, Seon Woo had given up any right he had to that throne and pledged to serve the king with his dying breath.  They were fast friends now.  Jin Heung had even forgiven him for falling in love with the same girl.

Though, now that he had Eun Sook, that whole scenario seemed of little import.  How fickle could a man be?  Flitting from one girl to the next?

Sook Myeong stared at her brother as she wondered how he could so easily forget the beautiful doctor, choosing instead to pin his hopes on an indigo-eyed girl with snowy hair.  But then she upbraided herself gently as she realized that she had begun to transfer her affection from Seon Woo to the prince.  Was she just as fickle as her brother?  Did it somehow run in the family?

The true question was: would Jong Su be faithful to his love for her?  She had no desire to transfer her devotion to anyone else.  But she still wasn’t sure about the prince’s motives.  Even though he seemed to be genuine.  His tears had definitely moved her.  As had his words.  And his embrace.  And his kisses.

Ugh!

She was so confused!  How would she ever determine for certain where his true allegiances lay?

She dismounted as her head seemed to spin with perplexity.  Maybe spending more time with him this afternoon, in her brother’s presence, would clear up some things.  Perhaps she would come back with some clarity of thought and purpose.  And some idea of what she should do about this gorgeous prince.

––

They met an hour later as agreed outside the stable, all mounting their horses and preparing to head for the forest. 

Jong Su glanced at the king.  “Where’s my sister?  Isn’t she going with us?”

Jin Heung shook his head.  “No.  She hasn’t learned to ride a horse yet.  I’m arranging lessons for her.  Starting tomorrow!  I hadn’t realized she couldn’t ride.  I stopped by her rooms a couple of hours ago to invite her to go with us.  She informed me that she hasn’t spent a single second on a horse!”

Sook Myeong frowned.  “We don’t have to ride.  We could take a walk.  Or,” her face brightened, “practice archery.”

Her brother argued, “No.  It’s all right.  Sookie has a headache today.  She just wanted to lie in bed and take a nap.”

“Oh.  I see,” she murmured as she watched his face.  She could tell that he was disappointed to miss out on the rare opportunity to spend some time relaxing with his fiancé.  “I’m sorry that you can’t be with her right now.”

Jin Heung glanced sideways at her.  Startled.  Since when was Sook Myeong so sensitive to the needs of another?

Jong Su took a deep breath and directed his reins towards the forest.  “Shall we then?”

The king nodded, and they were off.  Headed to track down some dinner.

They had spent a couple of hours, stealthily tracking their quarry.  When suddenly a dart came whizzing by the king’s head.  Alerted, Sook Myeong pulled an arrow from her quiver and swung towards the direction from which the dart had come flying.  But she couldn’t see anything.

A moment later, a man appeared from behind a tree, and his arrow came flying so fast that Jin Heung didn’t have time to react.  But, somehow, Jong Su did.  He urged his mount forward in the nick of time, shielding the king’s body with his own.  At the same moment, the princess loosed her arrow straight into the heart of the culprit.  She then spun around in time to see the prince clutching at his shoulder. 

While she watched the blood seeping out between his fingers, she gasped and flung herself down from her horse.  As he slid to the ground, crumpling into a pile near his horse’s hooves.  She was there a moment later, her fingers reaching for the arrow.

“Don’t,” her brother urged her.  “Leave the arrow in.  We need to get him to safety first.  Once he’s immobile, then we’ll remove the arrow and treat the wound.  I’ll call for the doctor as soon as we reach the palace.”  He glanced towards the body now lying along the tree line.  “I need to go check on him.”

“If you must.  Feel free to put him out of his misery,” she uttered bitterly.

“I think, my dear, that you might have already done that.”

She gasped as she glanced up at him.  “You think I killed him?”

“Quite possibly.  You have splendid aim all of the sudden.”

She glanced down at the unconscious man lying before her.  “Because of him.  Jong Su taught me how to perfect it.”

“He knew what he was doing.” 

She couldn’t help but catch the double meaning of those words as her brother marched off towards the still figure lying on the ground several yards away. 

But, for her part, Sook Myeong bent over her beloved Jong Su.

“Please wake up,” she begged him in a whisper.  “You can’t leave me.”

“I would never dare.  You’d probably raise me from the dead just so you could shoot me.”  The nearly silent words poured from his lips as he grimaced.

“You’re awake?” she asked in cheerful shock.  “I thought…I thought…”

“I was dead.  I know.”

“No.  Just unconscious.”

“No.  I was just resting.  So I slid down here on the ground.  It’s a tad more comfortable than leaning forward over my horse’s neck.”  He reached up to touch the arrow.

But her fingers followed his, grasping his hand and dragging it away from that cruel dart.  “Don’t disturb the arrow.  It’s stopping the bleed right now.”

He sighed and let his hand drop.

“Does it hurt terribly?” she asked in sympathy.

“Not when I look at you,” he smiled flirtatiously at her, but she could see his eyes glazed with agony.

“We must get you back to the palace.  Can you walk?  We’re really not that far from the stables.”

“I can walk.  Can you help me rise?”

She bent over him and slid her arms around before tugging him up.  She wasn’t really helping him much, but he leaned on her anyway, being careful not to move the arrow.  They began to lurch awkwardly towards the palace.

A couple of minutes later, her brother caught up with them.  The reins of three horses within his grasp.  “I’m going to run ahead and call the doctor.”

“Is he badly wounded?” she asked, referring to the man whom she’d shot.

“Aye,” her brother muttered succinctly.

“Dead?” Jong Su queried.

“Aye.  My sister’s a right good shot now.  All thanks to you, I hear.”  Then Jin Heung was gone, hurrying forward.  Three horses in tow.

But Sook Myeong had stopped walking, drawing the prince to a halt too.  “I’ve done it.  I’ve killed a man,” she whispered in shock.  “It doesn’t feel at all as I thought it would.”

“It never does,” Jong Su murmured.

Her eyes found his.  “Have you…killed a man then?”

He bobbed his head. “Several.  In battle.  And today…this was definitely a battle.  You saved my life.  And your brother’s.”

Her eyes filled with tears.  “You saved my brother’s life!  Thank you!” she whispered fiercely.  “I couldn’t have borne the loss of him.  Not after so much time lost between us already.”

“I know.  I understand.”

As she gazed into his pained eyes, she knew he did.