.eighty eight.

-

"I love you with all my heart, Hak Soon-ah. I wanted us to be together for one thousand years. You're my best friend, and the only person I will ever love. But its time for me to go."

-

There was a momentary instant of relief for them when they found it was only Hae Soo that was on the other side of that door. But she did not have good news for them, and it was evident in her expression. She was winded and her hair all over the place, as she had ran all through the palace to get to them before the guards could find them. "You have to get out of here right now." She explained through a bated breath, her eyes darting both ways down the hall to make sure she was not being followed. "Yo knows you're here and has sent his troops to search the entire palace."

She didn't know how he had found out so quickly. Hae Soo and the two other princes had been careful to make sure they were not being followed whenever they went down to the caves. Perhaps, it came to her, it had happened when Yeon Hwa went to take her morning bath. Hajin had been unable to clean the bath in time, and there was no doubt the princess had probably seen it. But Yeon Hwa loved Minji, considered her a friend. It would have been cruel of the princess to turn her best friend in like that, even if she was considered an enemy of the kingdom. Hajin was sure Yeon Hwa knew they were innocent. It had to have been someone else who would have something to gain from all of it. But it didn't matter anymore. Yo knew they were there and was having the entire palace searched from top to bottom. All they could do now was to make a hasty escape.

Eun had the three older children in his hold, while Minji held their baby to her chest, grateful that she was like her father. She could sleep through anything, and it that moment it was a blessing. Not even Minji's cries, nor the sounds of boots on the ground were enough to wake the baby from her sleep. Or perhaps she sensed the danger she and her family were in and she was able to keep quiet. Minji could not tell, but she was grateful, and she hoped they could make it out to the docks in time. 

While she continued explaining, Hajin stepped forward to take Soo Hyun from Eun's arms, as he was carrying three children so that his wife could take better care of their infant. She wanted to help him, since they would need to run long distances to get to the tunnels and with all the extra weight on his shoulders, he would quickly grow tired. 

Soo Hyun jumped into her arms without question and hid his face in the front of her dress in fear. Both Eun and Minji knew their son had the star of a king, which meant that the skies had already decided he would be king one day. That meant that he would make it out of the palace alive, but she was not sure about the other children. Their futures were written out in the stars above, but they were not as clear or easy to read as Soo Hyun's. Their first born son would be an important man one day. Minji felt sorry for him in the sense that all of this hate and chaos would be a part of his life forever.

With Soo Hyun in her arms, Hajin informed them of where the others were. Jung had been the one to find her just moments before, after taking to Baek-ah. "Baek-ah went to find Soon Deok and Han. He's leading them to the caves where they will wait for you to go down to the docks." She paused for an instant, recalling what Jung and Minji had, and not wanting to stir up old memories or feelings by saying his name. But she had to let her friend know that Jung was helping too, and that he still cared about her, even though Minji was now in love with Eun. "Jung is leading the troops through the house, and he will lead them in the opposite direction of us for as long as possible. But as soon as Yo finds out Jung is leading them, he will interfere, so we have to hurry."

The couple nodded in agreement and followed the court lady out of the room and down the hallway. The palace was silent for the most part, as they made their way across. But that had been, because of what Hajin said, that Jung was leading them away from where he knew the family would be.

They had been able to get all across the house, to the private baths, just a few more feet to the hidden entrance of the caves, when they heard the soldiers getting closer. They were just a few hallways down from them and the three stopped in their tracks. Minji could already hear Jung's voice, instructing them where to go. He was trying to get them to go in the opposite way, but they declined, telling him that they had already checked those other hallways. They only had the private baths left.

Minji felt her heart drop as she could hear them in the distance through the thin walls of the palace. "I have checked the baths this morning, and did not see any suspicious activity there."

One of the soldiers replied, "His majesty wants us to search every part of this palace. And we have permission to arrest anyone suspected of helping with their escape. Please step aside, your majesty."

When Jung refused, to buy them some more time, she heard how there was a struggle, as he was being arrested. Jung tried to fight back, getting some soldiers out of the way, before he was finally overpowered and dragged off. The new general in charge of the search instructed the troop to take the prince away. He would come back momentarily with a new group of soldiers. 

Eun, looking down the hallway and then to his wife, made a decision that was a life and death matter in that moment. Without thinking it any further, he handed Eun Bi over to Hae Soo and unstrapped Jinki from around his chest in a few swift movements. He handed the three year old off to his wife, taking her by surprise, since she could not see what was happening. Then he quickly cupped her face in his hands and gave her a kiss that lingered just a bit longer than he normally did. But she felt the sacrifice in it, the love for his family and her, and a deep sadness. She figured it all out as he said to her, "They are here because they want me. Because they think I want to be king." He started, and Minji could not stop the stream of tears as they rolled down her cheeks.

"Eun-ah, my love...Dont." She pleaded, shaking her head quickly in denial. She already knew what was coming next, what he intended to do.

Hae Soo stood off to the side with the twins in her arms, watching them with a deep sadness in her eyes. The children held onto her dress tightly for dear life. The twins were only five and were terrified at what they were seeing going on around them. Hae Soo thought about the prince and her friend. They were the two people who least deserved this fate, of all people she had encountered while in Goryeo. Eun was never interested in the throne, and she knew it for a fact. Everyone knew it, even the general public talked about how it was cruel of the king to do that because the tenth prince was innocent. He lived calmly and didn't bother anyone. Minji had already been punished enough when her sight was taken from her. All they wanted was to live together in peace and to be happy, and they couldn't even have that. Life had a way of being horribly unfair sometimes.

"If I willingly turn myself in and talk to my brother...maybe he will understand. Maybe he will not hurt the rest of you." He told her, resting his forehead against hers. His eyes closed when his vision became blurry with his own tears that were now falling from his eyes.

Hae Soo once again thought that his love for Minji and his family had been enough to change the tenth prince entirely. She remembered him, as a seventeen year old, how he hated training in martial arts and would rather hide behind his brothers in a fight. Now he was willing to put his life on the line, knowing that he might never see his family again, if it meant that Minji and the children would make it out of there alive. It was the ultimate sacrifice that he was willing to make for his family. He truly was not a little boy anymore, as he had told Minji playfully the previous night. Now he was truly a man.

Minji started sobbing as the words sunk in for her that she might have to continue without him. Without her best friend, her husband, her true love. She continued shaking her head in denial, unable to accept what he was requesting of her. "Please, love. Don't leave me alone. I can't do this without you." With the children in her arms, she tried to hold him in her embrace. 

But he pulled away from her, refusing to let her keep him there. 

He shook his head and tried once again to convince her to go without him. At that point, he would say anything to make her go. "I will talk to my brother, and I'll catch up with you down by the docks soon. But please don't follow me. I will do this alone."

Through sobs and tear soaked eyes, she cried and accused him. "You're lying to me, love. You're just saying that so I'll go with the children."

His voice shook now with emotion. He had been trying too hard to hold back his sobs that it was hurting. He felt a prick in his chest to have to let her go, when he himself knew what it was like to potentially lose her. He always said that he would never be able to live without her, and now he was trying to force her to continue living without him. If he were to be the one in that situation, he knew he would immediately follow her into the after live. If his Hak Soon could no longer be by his side, he would follow her so that he could always be by her side.

They could hear the soldiers gaining on them, getting closer. But the seconds seemed to pass by eternally slow for them. Eun wanted that moment to freeze and last forever. So that he could always be by his wife's side. Instead, he continued with his goodbyes, knowing that happiness was fleeting, and their happiness had ended. He was only grateful to the skies that it had lasted as long as it did. He had always been told by his mother that love was a temporary and beautiful thing. He remembered when his puppy died and he was a little boy. His mother asked him to thank the heavens for lending him such happiness, and that they were sending for his puppy now. It was the same situation with Hak Soon, only it hurt a hell of a lot more.

Still, he would be thankful that her love was lent to him for six years, for him to cherish. Now it was time to give it all back to the skies.

"I love you with all my heart, Hak Soon-ah. I wanted us to be together for one thousand years." He said, peppering her face with wet kisses. It was a mixture of both of their tears. "You're my best friend, and the only person I will ever love. But its time for me to go."

Without letting her say anything more, and without letting her stop him, he pulled away from her and made a dash down the hallway. He had taken off in the direction of the courtyard, where he knew Yo would be waiting for him. As Minji stood there crying for her loss, it suddenly dawned on her that this was her nightmare. It had been warning her all along, and she never took it seriously.

That was exactly how it happened in her dreams and it was not coming true.

-

so i changed this scene up a bit, if you all remember it from the drama. but it had to be changed in order to match up with what i had been writing until now.

i really hope you like this update. i will write another one in a couple of hours, so please stay tuned for that. only twelve more chapters before the end of the story. that's pretty exciting. three years of writing coming to a close in a couple of days.

thank you for this journey, everyone!

qotd: any suggestions for the face claims of the children as teens/adults? i am planning to write a spin off involving the lives of the children in goryeo. eun and minji's children, as well as han and soon deok. so i will need three boy face claims, and three girls. soohyun, eunbi, jinki, eunji, heiran, and the un named baby boy of han and soon deok.

-clary