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The day began well enough.  Everything went as planned.  He ascended the throne.  Seon Woo and the hwarang arrived and bowed before him.  They pledged their allegiance to King Jin Heung, claiming him as the ruler they chose.  After Minister Park stepped forward to interrupt the pageantry to announce that he and the royal council had chosen another king.  Jin Heung’s own cousin and most faithful friend, Seon Woo.  But due to the warrior’s faithfulness to the king, Jin Heung’s deadliest enemy had his power ripped away from him as his treasonous plot was unveiled.  Even as it unraveled. 

Then the queen dowager abdicated.  And Jin Heung was crowned king.  With the full support of both the council and the hwarang.  And Seon Woo had proven to be his righthand man.  Giving up his own right to Silla’s throne. 

But the euphoria that had filled Jin Heung during those victorious moments in the throne room soon died away later in the day as he faced some of the most difficult news of his entire life.  A great personal tragedy.

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Jin Heung came to his room that night with an oddly vulnerable expression on his face.  He didn’t greet Eun Sook but crossed the room silently.  But, as he passed her, that tenderness in his countenance drew her heart towards him.

She reached out to still him as her hand touched his arm gently. 

“Jijin?  What’s wrong?” she gasped.  After a quiet moment, she probed, “Is it your mother?”

His eyes met hers, and his face suddenly crumpled.  He paused for a moment before admitting, “She’s gone.”

Then he reached for her.  She melted against him, her arms coming up to slip around his waist and pull him close.  She squeezed him tight.  Feeling the same overwhelming depth of sorrow that she’d felt a few nights ago when he’d told her his mother had been poisoned.  Again tonight, she was overcome by the desire to bury him within a bubble of peace, completely surrounded by her heart.  Invulnerable to the world and all its pain.

Her heart overflowed her mouth as she exclaimed softly, “Oh, Jijin!  I’m so sorry!”

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and sobbed against her skin as he had the other night.  He craved her comfort, but he didn’t attempt to kiss her this time.  She’d made it abundantly clear that she didn’t desire his kiss.  So he would have to make do with her embrace.  He stood for a long time, burying his grief in her shoulder.  He felt her warm hand moving slowly side to side against his back, her sweet attempt to soothe him.

And, oddly, it worked.  He didn’t feel so alone anymore.  It did, in fact, seem that he had gained a special friend.  In addition to the crown.  And Seon Woo’s allegiance.  And the support of the hwarang.

In some ways, today had been an excellent day.  His worst enemy defeated.  His best friend firmly established.  The rallying of many of his fellows around him.  The comfort of this woman’s arms and her sweet words.  If only he could completely bury himself in her and let her absorb all his grief….

“Stay with me tonight,” he murmured.  “I don’t want to be alone.  I need you to help me sleep.”

Though, right now he wasn’t sure he’d ever sleep again.  The weight of an entire kingdom had fallen squarely on his shoulders today.  And even with Seon Woo’s help, he knew that this challenge would continue to trouble him for a very long time.  Until he had made a lasting peace with the neighboring kingdoms, Goguryeo and Baekje, he would not be able to rest.

He wasn’t even certain that one of her stories would help him tonight.

“Come,” he tugged on her, pulling her towards the bed with him.

She was even more in love with him now than she’d been the last time he’d coaxed her into his bed.  She was terrified that she’d do something stupid if she stepped into his room with him.  Wildly, she glanced up into his face.  But what she saw displayed there stilled her racing heart.  He appeared to be the tiniest of boys tonight.  That aching vulnerability had broken afresh in both his countenance and his eyes.  Suddenly, she didn’t fear him.  Not one bit.  She sought only to comfort him.

So she allowed him to draw her into the bed with him.  His arms slid strongly around her, and she pillowed her head on his chest.  Wrapped in his secure embrace.  She closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart.  And wondered what it would be like to have a permanent place here.  By his side.  In his arms.  In his heart.

Mentally, she shook herself while she painted herself a fool.  She still wasn’t sure who this man was.  But, clearly, he held some power.  And he must believe her to be from the lowest of the peasants.  There was no way that he’d be considering an honorable relationship with her.  Her simple presence in his rooms this week was proof that he had no special respect for her position or person.  Anyone in the palace who knew of her existence must believe her to be his concubine.  She winced as she considered this.  Then she sighed.  It was far too late to be concerned about that now. 

Besides…nothing could be worse than the ridicule which she’d already endured.  Simply for being born with white hair and blue-violet eyes.

After a few silent moments, she whispered, “Do you want me to tell you a story tonight?  More of the king’s story?”

“No,” he croaked roughly.  “Tell me a story you would tell a child.”

Her lips twisted as her heart also bent.  His heart was aching so.  He sought the comforts of a tiny boy.

Once again, that vision of the wee king bubbled up from the depths of her consciousness.  And a new tale was born in her heart.

“There was once a very tiny lad.  He’d grown up in the palace.  But he was banished before his eighth birthday.  Sent to live hidden in a little village with only his guard to protect him.  And to comfort him. 

“But this small boy loved the stars.  And the village to which he’d moved lay on the edge of a vast piece of farmland.  Under a rich midnight sky.  At night, when everyone’s lights were extinguished, he would steal outside and lie down on the ground to stare up at the inky curtain that had fallen over the earth.  In those moments, the stars glowed with a holy light.  Or so it seemed to this tiny boy.  

“He would lie still there for a couple of hours.  Trying to count them.  But he always lost count around a thousand and had to begin again.  He often fell asleep on that cool ground.  Embraced by the summer’s breeze and the chatter of crickets.  As he lay quiet under the glow of the rising moon.”

Eun Sook paused for a moment as she felt him relaxing beneath her.  His breathing was becoming steadier too.  She smiled.  She was lending him some comfort.  Her heart rejoiced to hold such a simple power.  The ability to solace a man whom she was coming to care for.

She took a deep breath and began to speak again.  “One night, he slipped off to sleep under a full moon.  Half an hour later, he was surprised awake by several persistent drops landing on his cheeks and forehead.  As he began to regain consciousness, another bead of moisture hit his upper lip.  Which he curled under as he licked that lip to discover the water now beginning to fall in steady droplets from a dark sky. 

“He sat up abruptly as the hovering heavens suddenly unleashed a mighty torrent of grief down upon the earth.  Instantly soaking both it and him.  Shivering, he jumped to his feet.  That downpour had brought a chill wind with it.  The warm air that had embraced him as he’d drifted off to sleep a little while ago had dissipated under the influence of that cool deluge.

“He turned towards his house and prepared to race for it.  But he was shocked to discover flames curling around the ledge of the back windows.  That steady fire was licking at the strong timbers that had sheltered him for many nights already.

“‘Joon Ho!’ he cried out as he ran towards that burning house. 

“But with every passing second, the planks of his home seemed to become more overwhelmed by the strength and scope of that terrifying blaze.  The little boy stood a few feet from his bedroom sobbing.  Absolutely certain that his protector was trapped within that inferno.

“However, a sound was suddenly borne on the chill breeze blowing through him.  ‘Sung Soo!  Sung Soo!  Where are you?’

“The child sighed with relief as he recognized his guard’s voice.  ‘I am here!’ he yelled at the top of his lungs. Trying to overcome the noise of the storm surging around him.  He was positively drenched now.  But he was oblivious to his discomfort.  Every cell bent on his concern for his protector.

“His friend appeared around the back corner of their tiny home.  The man ran towards him and scooped him up in his arms. 

“‘Sung Soo!  Thank God!  You are here!  I awoke fifteen minutes ago and went to check on you, but I couldn’t find you.  So I ventured outside.  Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck behind me.  And the house caught on fire!’

“Both the little boy and the strong man sighed in relief as they hugged each other tight.

“Had Sung Soo’s love affair with the starry heavens saved them both?”

She paused to glance up at Jijin.  But he must have been overcome by the exhaustion caused by his burdensome grief.  For in the next moment, Eun Sook was perfectly certain that he had fallen asleep.  She lay listening to his deep breathing as her head rose and fell infinitesimally with every breath he received and released.  Her lips curled upward as she allowed her own eyes to flutter shut. 

Wrapped in Jijin’s warm embrace, she soon entered dreamland too.  Content to fall asleep in his arms.