.five.

-

"All went well. He slept peacefully and so did I. He seems to be doing better."

-

The court lady led them through the halls of the palace expertly. That is until they reached a more secluded hallway towards the right wing of the palace. There were no other servants around and there were guards who bowed at them out of respect, at the entrance of the hallway. The court lady explained to them that no one was allowed to set foot there without permission, as it was the east wing, where the princes and princesses' quarters were. It was where they slept at night whenever they spent the day at the palace. The servants were to set foot there, only if instructed to do so by a prince or princess. The court lady also explained that they had recently just posted guards there for extra protection. With a new king about to sit on the throne, everyone was paranoid that someone would want to do something to hurt him.

They walked down the hallway together and stopped at one of the doors towards the back. The court lady gestured to the closed door, saying to Soohyun. "This is where the doctor is tending to him. It used to be your father's room when he was a boy wandering the halls of this palace."

As a court lady, they got to see everything. This particular court lady was only fourteen when she started working in the palace in exchange for a monthly stipend for her family. She was now twenty nine and had seen many people come and go from that place. She was there when King Taejo was still in power. She was there and saw the sadness in his sons' eyes as they buried and mourned him. She saw Wang Mu take over and saw the way his health slowly deteriorate until Wang Yo overthrew and murdered him. 

She had seen how Yo turned against his brother, this boy's father, and had him murdered along with his wife. Then Wang So took over, later his son did. Then the plague happened which wiped out all possible heirs to the throne. Or so everyone thought. Now these teenagers had resurfaced, heirs to a throne they didn't even know about. 

Her words made Soohyun flinch at the mention of his parents. He remembers them in hazy snippets of memories. He was only five when they passed away, but even then, he remembered that they loved him. His mother was beautiful, and sweet as rain. That was how her father always complimented her. By comparing her to the rain. A rain that had washed over his soul and made him happy, a better person even. But there was always something different in her eyes that he could not understand. As he grew up and Soon Deok told the kids stories about her, he found out that she had been blind. She had been made to go blind by Eun's own father, for something she didn't even do.

His father was tall, or Soohyun only remembered him tall because he was a child. But his father was always smiling, except he never smiled around Jinki. As a child, Soohyun always though that maybe Jinki was the problem. Maybe Jinki was bad. But Soon Deok explained that nothing was Jinki's fault. He was merely a child and he was innocent.

Soon Deok and Han often mentioned to Soohyun that he was nearly identical to his father. There were minor differences, and also there was the fact that Han mentioned Soohyun was much taller.

He had just been shaken because he had never heard anyone else mention his parents. Then there was the fact that he very vaguely remembered that hallway, that bedroom, even the palace. He remembered being in a room for several days and how he;d grow impatient because he wanted to leave. His parents would then cheer them up with games and stories. But he remembered being desperate to leave that room. When they finally did, they did so without their parents.

The court lady slid the door open and there was Jinki on the bed. The doctor was already tending to him and checking him all over. He looked at the three people that entered the room. His stare lingered a bit longer than a moment on Soohyun, since he seemed to recognize him, or he thought he recognized him. "Your majesties," He greeted the two teenagers. "Prince Jinki has a very high fever. So I would like to focus on that first. Once we can lower it, then I will prescribe medicine for him."

Heiran brought her hands to her face in worry.

The doctor continued, now making some form of casual conversation with them. "I used to treat your mothers during their pregnancies. I saw each of you being born." Looking to Soohyun, he said, "You must be Soohyun, the future leader of our country. You know, you look just like your father."

Soohyun replied with a nod of his head, his voice gushed with pride. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

The doctor then instructed the court lady to bring him buckets with water and ice with them, and some rags. As she left the room, he instructed Soohyun and Heiran to help him get Jinki down to his undergarments. They needed to lower his body temperature to reduce his fever. As they helped him, the doctor continued to tell them what he knew about Soohyun's parents. "When your parents passed away, the king had their home burnt down. Then he had all memories of them burnt too. He didn't let anyone mourn them because he considered them traitors of the kingdom."

This was the first time Soohyun or Heiran had ever heard about that. Soon Deok never mentioned that they were murdered because they were considered traitors.

"Then when Gwangjong came into power, he had them absolved and remembered as victims of his brother. He had a special day set to mourn them each year." The doctor continued. He only paused for a moment when the court ladies returned with cold water and rags. He grabbed one, then instructed the teens to grab one as well. Then they dipped the rags in the water and pressed them against Jinki's body. Even unconscious, he was shivering and drenched in a cold sweat from head to toe. "He had your house rebuilt and I believe the only remaining painting with the tenth prince in it is in his room. He had it restored. A portrait of all the royal siblings."

-

When it seemed that Jinki's fever had gone down significantly, the doctor said he would return to his home for some medicine and he would be back in the morning. But he warned Heiran and Soohyun that it was very important to keep his fever down until his return. Through the afternoon, they took turns watching him. In between that, they were getting some sleep, food, and were going outside for fresh air.

As night came around, one of the court ladies came to fetch Soohyun. She explained to him that they would show him to his room and help him ready for bed. He was their future king and they wanted to make him feel right at home. They offered the same to Heiran, but she refused, wanting to stay by Jinki's side.

But she encouraged Soohyun to go with them. "I'll be fine here." She assured him with a sad smile. She looked back over her shoulder at Jinki who was unconscious still. The last time she had seen his eyes open was when they were still on the boat. "I'll take care of him until the doctor comes back in the morning."

Soohyun bit down on his lower lip in worry as he thought about it. He knew that Jinki would not be in better care than with Heiran. But Jinki was his brother after all, and he needed to be there to take care of him too. But the trip had been long, and his arms were lead heavy from rowing that bot for several hours. He just wanted to get some rest. With a sigh, he finally gave in to her. "I will go. But I will be back here at dawn to check on him. Please try to get some sleep too. I'm sure Jinki's fighting to get better as we speak."

Heiran nodded in agreement and Soohyun followed the court ladies out of the room. She then went and laid down next to Jinki, laying her head on his chest as his chest rose and fell very softly. She worried for him and wondered if he would make it out alive. But that was the thing about Jinki. Just when things seemed the most somber for him, he'd always pull through.

She grabbed a rag from nearby and placed it on his forehead. His face was still warm, but it wasn't burning up like it had been earlier. Heiran draped an arm around him and brought her lips to his cheek. 

"Goodnight, Jinny." She whispered to him, though she knew he couldn't hear her.

Then she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up next, it was the middle of the night and she had shifted positions. Now she was turned on her side, with her back facing him. And she felt a pair of arms around her. She also noticed that now she was burning up. But it was the combination of her body temperature fluctuating in her sleep and the fact that she had a body pressed up against her from behind. She tried to turn around in his arms, and she tried to pull away to feel some air and some space. But he just held onto her tighter.

"Don't move...please." He groaned weakly.

She was startled at first, but then she was filled with relief upon realizing that he was at least half conscious now. 

"Jinki..." She complained, trying to pry his arms from around her. "You're suffocating me."

Heiran didn't mean it in a bad way, by any means. But he didn't feel just how hot it was in the room because of his fever. She felt it. He was literally suffocating her. 

He groaned again, not really listening to her words. His mind was clouded with sleep and the fever he had. All that was important to him in that moment was that she was with him and that he was comfortable. 

Heiran heaved a sigh, but she thought maybe a few hours of her being uncomfortable wasn't so bad as long as she knew he was recovering. It took her about an hour, but she was able to drift off to sleep again. This time, she didn't wake until the sun had come up. She felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. As her eyes opened and adjusted to the light, she saw that it was Soohyun. He had been good on his promise to come back in the morning. 

She saw the way he looked at the two, in each other's arms, and she couldn't help but find some judgment in them. He didn't think they were bad people or anything. But he did find it weird that they were sleeping so close to each other. They were cousins after all, and had even grown up as siblings. That was like him having romantic feelings for any of the other girls. It was unspeakable. But perhaps, he thought, it was just a phase and they would outgrow each other once they could see and interact with new people. That was probably what they needed. They were both near marriage age anyway.

This time, Jinki was fast asleep and it was easier for her to sit up in bed, prying his arms away from her. She nervously got up and greeted Soohyun with a hug and a peck on the cheek. 

"How'd you sleep?" He wondered, looking from her, to the seventeen year old still fast asleep.

She smiled awkwardly and replied with a nod of her head. "All went well. He slept peacefully and so did I. He seems to be doing better."

Soohyun offered her a warm smile. "That's good. The doctor is back. But I wanted to see how he was doing first."

With that, he then asked a court lady to escort the doctor into the room. As he came in, the doctor seemed to see a big improvement in Jinki. So much so that he looked to Heiran and asked her, "He's doing significantly better this morning. What did you two do to him?" He was surprised because he had seen the boy's previous state. The doctor didn't want to alarm the siblings, but he wasn't sure if Jinki would even last the night.

Soohyun gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Heiran cared for him through the night."

Now they both looked to Heiran, who responded. "All I did was talk to him while he slept, and I stayed by his side through the night."

The doctor pointed out. "His will to live was probably all for you."

-

im really excited for this story, guys. so i hope you're all liking it. now im going to take a little nap before i have to get ready for work.

my last week at that job, and my last night closing. i feel so carefree and so happy. i hated that job so much. but i hated it so much because they made me close. so they basically pushed me into quitting. but i'll be starting my new job soon.

the only thing that makes me sad is that im leaving my crush behind. and im the super jealous type. honestly, i get jealous when another female even looks at him.

but whatever. if we were meant to be, he will miss me and contact me himself. if not, i dont need him and can find another man. but its cause we're so similar. we like all the same things. we're meant to be.

-clary