.sixty.

-

"I am happy love. I'm just...scared. He is weak because of me." 

-

For the next couple of weeks, Minji was woken in the mornings by a wave of morning sickness. Eun slept soundly by her side, arms around her small frame, and she always had to pry his arms away gently to get away to the chamber pot they had in another room. More recently she had gotten a new one placed by the side of her bed so she wouldn't have to run off every morning. Her husband was woken by the sounds of her gagging on one particular morning, and he watched her with concern as she held her hair out of her face and spilled the contents of her stomach into a pot next to their bed.

"You've been feeling ill lately, haven't you?" He asked her with a frown on his face. He then added, "Maybe we should call in the doctor so he can give you some medicine."

Minji wiped the residue from her mouth and once again stable and feeling better, she turned towards him with a sigh. "I'm not exactly sure if it's a regular illness, love." He raised an eyebrow at her in question, and when he remained silent, she continued. "It feels like an all too familiar feeling that I've had before...But I don't want to get our hopes up." Her random dizziness, her nausea, her sudden distaste for foods she normally liked and ate before. They all felt like the same symptoms she had a year and a half prior when she was going to have the twins. But she also thought that they could just be common flu symptoms and she didn't want to get ahead of herself. She didn't want to say something was true, when she wasn't sure if it was.

Her husband eyed her with curiosity, not really understanding what she meant.

He offered to call the doctor once more, and Minji agreed. She thought it was for the best to confirm or deny her suspicions. When the maids came in to help them get dressed, he sent one of them in search of the doctor. He arrived with her nearly an hour later. He had other nobles to tend to, but was instructed to drop everything and go to the royals' aide if they were to need him. Royals like prince Eun and his wife were considered in the highest esteem over even the highest ranking nobles. No one could outrank a prince, or the king himself.

The doctor went over the typical tests to check for her heart pressure and heart rate. But then he started getting into the more detailed tests. Eun sat in the room with Minji, still clueless and concerned for her health. He was still a little prince after all who knew nothing about life. 

As the doctor examined her, she began to explain some of her symptoms. "I've been having horrible morning sickness for weeks, and strange dizziness. All of this reminds me so much of when..." She stopped herself short, not wanting to say it aloud. It wasn't because she didn't want it. She wanted more children with Eun. But they had only gotten intimate twice since the twins were born because of her fragile state, and she didn't want to get her hopes up. she didn't want to get Eun's hopes up either, especially not if they were going to be crushed right away.

The doctor only listened silently and continued with his tests. One of the tests included having him rub the crook of her arm, on the opposite end of her elbow, and Minji winced as he dug his thumb into her skin. Eun shot him a glare, but stayed put, as he understood that it was all for the sake of his wife's well being. 

That happened to be his final test, and he jotted some notes in a little book he carried with him. He stayed quiet a few moments longer, evaluating his notes, and then looked at Minji who was sat on her bed, Eun's arms around her nervously. "Congratulations, your majesty." He said to the two of them, although there was a hint of worry on his face. "Your wife is bearing you another child. I will prescribe vitamins for her to take, as he is still weak from her previous pregnancy, and this may result in a sickly child." Minji felt her breath catch in her throat. Though she was overjoyed that she and her husband had another baby on the way, she was concerned that maybe they should have waited longer to have more children. The doctor's warning about their baby's health made her feel like it was her fault.

She was weak and frail after her first pregnancy, and it was going to reflect on her next child's health.

The doctor saw the fear reflected on her face and tried to reassure her. "There is nothing to worry about, your highness. As long as you take care of yourself, take your vitamins, eat healthy, and get proper rest, everything should be fine." Minji still worried. They didn't had the technology in Goryeo that they did in the present time. No hospitals and no expensive equipment that could tell her exactly just how healthy or unhealthy her baby was.

Eun took her hand in his and nuzzled his face into her neck. Minji closed her eyes. He whispered to her, "We will make sure our baby is safe, jagi. I promise. For now let's just be happy that we have another little one on the way."

A sad smile formed on her lips. "I am happy love. I'm just...scared. He is weak because of me."

The doctor wrote out his prescription and saw his way out, handing the specifics to the highest ranking maid at the house. He informed her that all of this had to be followed perfectly to ensure the next royal baby would be big and healthy, as well as his mother. 

Still in the bedroom, Eun shook his head. "Its not your fault, jagi. Don't blame yourself." He assured her, tears welling up in his own eyes. "Perhaps it was me. Because I am a weak little boy. I should have waited longer to have you, but I love you so much. I couldn't bear to wait another moment. I am weak, and I am sorry." Now he was blaming himself for having allowed himself to enjoy the comfort of her body against his, for succumbing to his human needs when the doctor had warned them that she needed more months of bed rest. It had been a tiring birthing process, made even more tiring for the fact that she had given birth to two babies. 

Minji heard his voice quiver and her hands reached up to cup his face. It was then that she felt his tears and confirmed that he was crying. She wiped his tears away and brushed her lips against his, giving him reassurances just as he had been doing for her. 

Shaking her head, she told him, "I won't allow you to take the blame, my love. You have never forced yourself onto me. We both wanted it." As they pulled away from their kiss, he wrapped his arms around her and dropped his forehead onto her shoulder, his body wracked by quiet sobs. "Please don't cry, it breaks my heart. If we both really try, I think we can make sure our baby is perfectly healthy."

He just clung to her, his tears staining her beautiful blue dress. "You think so, jagi?" He asked.

She nodded her head, but in her mind she wasn't sure.

-

Ji Mong had been observing the heavens for several weeks now when he noticed a changed in the alignment of the stars. every now and then, a new star made itself known in the spread of the night sky, and it usually meant a new royal was on the way. As the astronomer of the palace, he was to jot down his findings and inform the king about them, but he hadn't been doing so since he noticed the twin stars in the sky--the star of a king, and the star of a princess. He knew that his majesty king Taejo's star was starting to grow weak, which meant that he didn't have very much time left. Therefore, if anyone else knew about the new stars, they might take negative action against them.

The Wang family had been in power since Taejo himself, and they were new to rule. Despite being family, Ji Mong knew that some of them would gladly betray the others if it meant they could be king. 

The only two people he found he could trust were Mu and So. He and Mu had grown up together and were best friends. He had been with Mu since he was on the battle fields, and since he became crown prince. He had been with him through his whole journey, training to be the future king of Goryeo. He had also practically raised So. While Yo was busy hiding within his mother's skirts in the palace, So was watched over by Mu and Ji Mong.

On that night, So was visiting Ji Mong in the tower. He had seen Hae Soo that day and had assured her that he would help her come back to the palace by his side. But she was bent on keeping her distance from him. She was convinced that she was the one bringing him misfortune instead of helping him as she originally instended. So was laid down on a couch by the balcony, while Ji Mong tried to study the newest additions to the cosmos.

"Very interesting..." Ji Mong said quietly, more to himself than to anyone else.

So caught what he said and asked with curiosity. "What is interesting?"

Ji Mong turned, taken a bit by surprise. He had been so immersed in the stars that he had forgotten that So was even there. So had a way of being quiet sometimes, so quiet that people often forgot his presence. But he was like that, and sometimes he preferred being ignored and overlooked than having all the attention on him. 

"I was just looking at the night sky." He explained, leaving the balcony and walking over to So, for them to talk more comfortably. "Every time the formations change, or when a new star appears, it means something. Every little thing has meaning."

So furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't understand how you can tell so much, just from looking at the stars."

"Like I said, every little thing has meaning." Ji Mong repeated.

So continued, still amazed how Ji Mong could read the heavens, as everyone always put it. "Like when you knew about Eun and his wife having children. Remember when you mentioned it to me all those months back? You knew, and you didn't tell anyone." So pointed out. According to Ji Mong, he had been the only person that he told. And that was because he knew that So cared about Eun. He knew that he could trust So enough not to betray his brother.

Ji Mong nodded. "That was for them to reveal." With a sigh, he added, "It was also for the best for everyone here at the palace to be in the dark about it as long as possible. Those children, that boy, will be very valuable to the kingdom one day." He had also informed So of the fact that Eun's first born son was special. He had the star of a king, as Taejo had, as Wang Mu had, and as Wang So had as well. It wasn't the star of an intellectual like Wook, or the star of a musician like Baek-ah, but the star of a king. That made him a target for anyone wanting the throne.

"I take it there has been a change in the stars, since you've been staring up at them for days now." So guessed. He wasn't as interested as Ji Mong was because none of that concerned him at the moment. As far as he knew, he would never be king.

The astronomer gave a nod of his head and he thought about it for a moment, not sure if it was wise to confide something like that in So while other lives depended on it. But he finally decided to share the information. "Two new stars have made an appearance in the night sky." He commented, and So found himself sitting up with sudden interest.

"Eun and Hak Soon are having twins again?" He wondered.

But Ji Mong shook his head. "Not twins. These two stars aren't siblings, they're cousins." 

So thought for a moment, wondering which of his brothers was going to have a child as well. It could have been Mu, Yo, or Won. But maybe it was Han, who had also recently gotten married to the general's other daughter. It was a possibility.

Ji Mong finally finished, "But one of these two stars holds the potential for darkness."

-

so eun and minji are having another baby. and one of the other princes has a baby on the way as well. so that's going to make things interesting for us and our characters as the story continues.

question of the day: who do you think is the other prince who will produce an heir? and also, which of the two babies do you think is the one that has a potential for darkness? that doesn't mean he or she will be bad persay. it just means that they will be more susceptible to greed, jealousy, and anger. 

i'm going to let you all talk it out here in the comments, and then keep it a secret for now. until the baby is actually born in the story.

thank you all for reading!

-clary