.four.

-

"I suppose its at least a miracle that he has lived this long. I will have the guards carry him to the palace, and I'll have the doctor meet us there."

-

Jinki covered himself with the blanket as he changed into his dry set of clothes. But he was already shaking, and his skin was cold as ice. When he was done, Soohyun offered his younger brother his clothes to wear too, so that he could have extra layers for warmth. But Jinki refused at first. He only agreed when no amount of clothing could warm him up and Heiran practically forced him. For the rest of the boat ride to Goryeo, which was still about two more hours long, Heiran spent it cuddled up to Jinki, tears silently streaming down her face. Jinki had his eyes closed and slept for about an hour, but when he woke up and heard Heiran's sniffles, a frown formed on his lips.

He looked down in her direction. She was clinging onto his arm for dear life, and he was still shivering like there was a blizzard outside. Only this time his skin had gone from being ice cold to being blazing hot. A cold sweat was running down his face. 

"Hey," He nudged her gently to get her attention. His throat still felt raw from all the sea water he ingested and it hurt to talk. "Why are you crying? What happened?"

At that moment he was more concerned about her than his own personal well being. He knew that him being sick was a regular occurrence. There was a chance he would die, but he was prepared for that. He was no longer afraid of death. He had learned at a young age that maybe he was not meant to walk the earth for a very long time. But he would enjoy the time that he did have.

Heiran looked up at him, her eyes full of relief at seeing him awake. "I'm just worried about you, Jin. That's all." She said through her shaky voice.

Even through how sea sick and how cold, and how bad he felt at that moment, he managed to force a smile onto his face. He just wanted to make her feel better and reassure her that everything was alright. Even if it wasn't. Trying to make the situation a bit light, he told her, "I was worried about you. Even though eomma taught us how to swim that one time, you weren't exactly very good at it."

His teasing comment managed to get her to crack a small smile. That smile was soon wiped off her face when a gust of wind hit and he trembled a little more violently. He was trying to hard to control his shaking body. But his own body was deceiving him. He needed some medicine, and he needed it quick. But in the middle of the ocean, it was clear he would not be getting any for the moment. They would have to wait until they reached Goryeo, and Han told them that wouldn't be for another hour. 

"You're trembling, Jin. You have a fever." She cried, now burying her face into his chest, her slender arms tightening around him. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't tried so hard to get my bracelet back. But...I couldn't let it go just like that. You gave it to me and it means the universe to me. It only means so much because it came from you."

Jinki closed his eyes and slowly drew his arms around her too. "Everything will be okay." He said to her softly, a voice barely above a whisper. 

Soon, sleep overtook him again, and when he woke up next, he felt a discomfort. Still a terrible cold, but it was to a degree that it was even hurting his bones. His head was pounding, and the sea sickness was coming back. But he was woken by a light thump as their boat reached the shore. 

Already waiting for them was the thirteenth prince, Wang Baek-ah. He was accompanied by palace guards. Ever since So's son had perished in the plague that took the lives of all the other nobles and royals, he had been appointed the temporary head of state. He did not like the title of king and had stated as his only condition for taking on the temporary role that he would step down as soon as his nephew Soohyun was ready to step in as monarch of Goryeo. He smiled when he saw his family, the only family he had left other than Jung. His eyes saw two familiar faces, and then six new ones. Well, they were new to him now, since the last time he had seen them, they were all infants and toddlers.

Only a few of them seemed to recognize their uncle, who looked a lot older, but mostly the same. Even in his middle age, he was still handsome as ever.

Han jumped out of the boat first and jumped into his brother's embrace. They were the same age, as they had been born in the same year, but to different mothers. Han was all smiles as he greeted him. "Brother, it's been way too long."

Baek-ah nodded his head in agreement. "It certainly has. Fifteen years to be exact."

One by one, everyone emerged from the boat, except Heiran and Jinki. Han looked over his shoulder at them to see Heiran still crying her eyes out and Jinki only half conscious. Knowing they had to get him some medical attention fast, he gestured to the two teenagers. "Can you please help me get this boy a doctor? My Heiran fell overboard and he's fallen terribly ill because he jumped in to save her."

Baek-ah looked towards him with worry. "Is that little Jinki?"

Han gave a slow nod of his head. 

Baek-ah then heaved a sigh. It was a mixture of relief, but also pity for the burden that poor boy probably had. He remembered when the children were small and he'd visit his hyung's house. Jinki was hardly allowed out because a small bit of wind could keep him bedridden for months. His body was weak and there was nothing anyone could do about it. As much as Hak Soon took care of him, things always seemed to go wrong when it came to little Jinki. "I suppose its at least a miracle that he has lived this long. I will have the guards carry him to the palace, and I'll have the doctor meet us there."

The eleventh prince nodded and then thanked his brother for the help. Baek-ah then explained to the guards that they had to get Prince Jinki back to the palace as soon as possible while one of them was responsible for fetching the doctor. The guards nodded and hurried forward, taking Jinki from Heiran's embrace. She did not want to let him go at first, but her father explained that it was for his own good. She then requested to go with them, but they loaded him into a carriage alone and disappeared into the forest, in the direction of the palace.

The process was slower for the others. The soldiers helped them get their belongings loaded onto the other carriages. 

Heiran was a worried mess, leaning on Soohyun's shoulder for comfort. He was assuring her that they would get Jinki the help that he needed to feel better. As the carriage made way towards the palace, Han stopped them in their tracks. "Please take us to my grandfather's home." He asked the soldiers.

One of them nodded and changed their course for a different direction while the other informed him. "Your older brother, his majesty King Gwangjong, had the house rebuilt after it was torn down by the previous monarch. He really tried to recreate it exactly as it was before everything happened." Han felt a prick in his chest at the mention of his older brother So. He had always been judged by people because of his scar. But deep down he was a good person who really cared about his brothers. This one act was more than enough to prove it. So had always felt like Han would return to Goryeo, and when he did, he wanted them to find their home exactly like it was when they left.

When they arrived, Han found that everything was rebuilt. Everything was new and slightly different, but mostly like he remembered it. 

The family settled in the main house, where his grandfather and his mother used to live, because there was a bigger living space. He thought about the two other houses though, the ones where he used to live with Soon Deok, and where Eun used to live with Hak Soon. He would probably give one to Jinki, since he was seventeen and would be next in line to look for a wife in accordance to the traditions of Goryeo. There was also Soohyun, who was nineteen and over do for marriage. But he would be king and it would be easier to find him a wife. But Soohyun would likely not be living with them. He would be living in the palace for the rest of his life.

The other house he would probably gift to Eunbi, who was also over do for marriage. Then he would probably have three more houses built on their land which was big. One for Heiran, one for Eunji, and one for Ara.

With the family dropped off at Han's house, Heiran stopped the two soldiers before leaving. "I need you to take me to the palace right now." She begged them through tears in her eyes. "I need to see Jinki. I need to make sure that he's okay. He's...my person."

The soldiers nodded in agreement. They saw her despair and thought they would help her. They were going back to the palace anyway. Gesturing to who they now assumed was Soohyun, their next king, they replied to her. "You can get back in the carriage, and your brother can follow us as well. His majesty, Prince Baek-ah wants him to begin his training as soon as possible." Even though he was king temporarily, Baek-ah hated the title of king. He had asked all the servants and palace guards to still refer to him as Prince Baek-ah. 

Soohyun heard them talking from a short distance away and turned towards them, giving a nod of his head in agreement. He knew what his duties were. The only way they had returned to Goryeo was on the condition that he would be king. 

He returned to his parents side--Han and Soon Deok who had taken care of him for fifteen years after his real parents died. He pulled both of them in for a hug, and assured that they could visit him whenever they wanted. Han smiled sadly, while tears spilled from Soon Deok's eyes. He wasn't going anywhere far. But they would miss him terribly. He had lived by their side for fifteen years, and now he was going to live in the palace all by himself. He hugged his sisters next--Heiran first, then Ara, and last Eunji and Eunbi. His four younger sisters who he adored and protected from everything. He would truly miss them all. Then there was Jinki, but he would get the opportunity to say goodbye to him later.

With that, Han asked Soohyun to take care of Heiran and Jinki at the palace. The oldest of the children reassured him with a nod of his head. Then the two of them went back inside the carriage.

Both teenagers watched the outside world with awe. But they were especially excited to see so many other people around. They had grown up isolated from the world, and now they had gone from that, to being royalty. Soohyun would be king and would lead the people. It was a though that was a bit overwhelming for him. But he kept his emotions at bay. It would probably be another while before he would actually get to interact with the people anyway.

It was a fifteen minute carriage ride to the palace and when the gates opened, Heiran could feel her eyes widen at her surprise. The palace was grand, bigger than even the house her dad had in Goryeo. She had never seen anything like it. Upon stopping, a guard came up to their door and opened it for them, helping them out. One of the guards who had came with them, introduced the others to the teenagers. "This is Princess Heiran of Goryeo, and the boy is Prince Soohyun. Prince Soohyun will be our future king."

At the mention of him becoming king, all of the soldiers there got down on one knee. They all then said in unison. "All hail our mighty king." 

Soohyun could only watch in awe. He and Heiran didn't know how to react. 

A court lade then met with them and led them into the palace. But Heiran didn't waste any time. She asked the young woman. "Can you take us to Prince Jinki? We need to know if he's okay."

-

here's a quick little update for you all and now i will take a nap.

yesterday i went drinking with my sister and her husband, and my cousin and her bf. so that was fun because we got super drunk. and we sang songs and watched the office. i had never watched it before and i thought it was funny.

but anyway, thank you all for reading and supporting this story like you supported "rain of my soul". it means a lot to me.

-clary