.fifty five.

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"The skies are making their announcement. It appears that a king has been born."  

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As more time went by in Goryeo for Minji, her belly continued to grow to the point where she couldn't fit into most of her clothes anymore. She was being helped into a dress one morning when one of the maids grunted with the effort, trying to get the dress to fit around her baby bump. Everything seemed to be going well until there was a tearing sound heard, and the maid quickly began with a stream of apologies.

"I'm very sorry, your highness." She bowed her head apologetically. But she was also afraid that it would earn her a punishment. "Its my fault this happened."

Minji reassured her with a shake of her head, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Its not your fault. My baby's just made me a bit bigger than I normally am." In all honesty, Minji didn't know exactly how much weight she had gained since becoming pregnant with Eun's child. But she did feel heavier, and sometimes she was self conscious about it. She knew that Eun wasn't like that, but she sometimes feared that she wouldn't appeal to him. That she wouldn't be pretty enough. Her husband though, reassured her every day that she was beautiful and that he was lucky to have her by his side. 

The maid helped Minji back into her sleeping robe and left the room with the torn dress. She informed that she would take a similar dress and use the torn material to add to it, to make it bigger. Then she explained that she would be taking her measurements and going into the village to get her new clothes. It would be a very difficult next few months. Her baby would be growing and with that, her body would be adapting to it. She would need to get new clothes very often. 

Her husband walked into the room to check on her, already expecting her to be fully dressed, but was surprised to see her back in her sleeping robe and one of the maids rushing out of the room. "What happened, jagi? You're not dressed yet. Han and Deok are waiting for us to have breakfast." He wondered, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. The moment he said something, Minji felt something in her belly. But she wasn't sure if it was the baby kicking, or if it was the butterflies she felt in her stomach whenever Eun was around. He was having an effect on her that he didn't have before. She was starting to feel something she hadn't felt with anyone other than with Jung.

Minji heaved a sigh and sat on their bed. "I'm too fat for my dresses."

He chuckled at her way of phrasing it. But then he gave her words of reassurance that Minji wasn't sure if they actually made her feel better. "I thought you said pregnant women are supposed to gain a lot of weight."

"Well yeah." She nodded, dropping her gaze when she felt the bed dip down beside her under his weight. "But I don't feel pretty."

He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head so that she was facing him. "There is no one in Goryeo more beautiful than you."

Minji felt shy at his words, and her cheeks tinted in red. "Thank you, my love."

While they waited for the servant to come back, they sat side by side quietly, just basking in each other's company. The silence was broken suddenly by the tenth prince humming a little song, a tune Minji had never heard before. But it sounded beautiful to her ears. At the same time, she felt something in her belly, this time she was sure that it was the baby kicking because it had been a little bit stronger than just a light and nervous fluttering.

A big grin spread across her lips and she reached for his hand, bringing it to her stomach hoping that maybe he could feel the baby too. He stopped humming abruptly, taken by surprise by her actions. But he realized what she was trying to do when he felt her baby bump moving. He was in awe, since he knew there was a living human being in there. But feeling it with his own hands was another thing altogether. It made things all the more real for him. The baby stopped moving when they were quiet again and Minji urged him. "Sing to him again, love. I think he loves your voice."

Eun became nervous. "Now I feel shy."

Minji let go of his hand and placed both of her hands on her belly. She tilted her head down and spoke to her child that was in her womb. "Did you hear that, baby? You made daddy feel shy because you won't move unless he sings to you."

Eun watched her interact with their baby and he wanted to be a part of it. He shifted off the bed and got on his knees in front of her. He cupped her belly in both hands, holding it like it was a ball. Leaning in and bringing his lips to her pregnant stomach. "Do you really think my voice is nice?" He asked the child inside her. The baby kicked once more and he found himself chuckling in delight. "That's a first. My brothers always thought my voice was annoying."

Minji smiled at him. "You're perfect love. We both think so."

-

With just two weeks before she was due to give birth, Minji's sixteenth birthday as Park Hak Soon came around. Now she had been in Goryeo for nearly two years, as she had been fourteen when she emerged in the princes' private bath so long ago. She sometimes thought of her life as Minji something of the past, a distant dream. Perhaps it really was a dream and she really was Park Hak Soon, she just didn't remember it. Eun had heard from his brothers at the palace that many things had happened, including the fact that Hae Soo had been exiled from the palace and was sent off somewhere the princes would never see her again. Eun kept this news from his wife as long as possible, since he didn't want her to worry and potentially this worry could harm their baby.

But he was forced to let her know what had happened on her sixteenth birthday. He had planned a party for her and invited her closest friends and family. Only Han, Soon Deok, Baek-ah, her parents, his mother and  grandfather had been invited. He could have gotten permission for Hae Soo to attend the party, but she was no longer living in the palace.

Minji was already over eight months along in her pregnancy and she was always tired. Her feel swelled up, her belly was heavy, and she could barely walk by then. But her husband was always by her side helping her and that made her endure everything. As long as he was by her side, she was content. Eun had led her out into the yard slowly and when they walked outside, she was surprised by her friends and family members yelling, "Surprise!" 

Minji gasped and brought her hands up to her chest at the pleasant surprise. One by one everyone went to hug her, some of them even rubbing her baby belly. Eun's mother had gushed about how she was so excited to become a grandmother for the first time. Then she had turned to Han and Soon Deok and asked when they would start to have children of their own. Han had been out on the battle fields for the last few months, and had been allowed a temporary leave to be at Minji's party. 

After everyone greeted her, she noticed there was one person missing. One person to complete her happiness. "Love, did you invite Hae Soo?" She asked him, taking his hand in hers. She fathomed that maybe she just hadn't been allowed to attend because the King wasn't very fond of Minji. He also wasn't totally fond of Hajin since the incident in which So and Yeon Hwa were almost poisoned by the tea that she brought. She had been blamed, but in the end, Eun told her that Court Lady Oh had taken her place. She informed the king that it had not been Hae Soo, but her who made the tea, and that she was responsible. The court lady had been executed for attempting to murder a prince and a princess. Eun had just left out the part where Hajin had been exiled from the palace.

A frown formed on the tenth prince's lips as he started to explain to her, "I wanted to invite her since I know you are fond of her." He paused for a moment, debating on whether or not he should tell her. But then he decided she needed to know the truth. "I wanted to invite my brother So too, but he was sent away to China as an ambassador. As soon as he was gone, his majesty sent Hae Soo away. No one knows where she is."

Minji felt her eyes pool up with tears. "Eun..." She paused as her lip quivered. "We should have asked his majesty to give her to us as a personal servant. I would have never let anything happen to her."

Her husband pulled her into his arms as the tears started spilling from her eyes. 

For the rest of the party, Minji couldn't be fully happy. But she put on a half-smile for her friends and family. She didn't want them and her husband to think that she didn't appreciate them celebrating her birthday with her. 

Everyone left the party as the house was setting, congratulating her once again on another year of life well spent. Despite a few unfortunate things happening  to her in that year, she was happy with her life in that moment. She was married to a boy who absolutely adored her, and she wasn't totally indifferent to his feelings for her. He was a very good husband and he treated her like a queen. She sometimes wondered if her life would have had such a good outcome if she truly had gotten to marry Jung as was originally planned. But she was happy with Eun. He made her smile and he had the ability to give her butterflies whenever he said something cute to her.

The two went to bed together, with Eun spooning her back and holding her close to him as he did every night. Minji was exhausted from the day's events and drifted off to sleep quickly. Her mind immediately taking her into the same nightmare which she had often. Although, most recently it hadn't come to her like it did. Instead she'd have dreams of her and her husband, each of them holding a child in their arms while two other toddlers followed next to them. They were dressed in their white silk sleeping robes and they seemed to be in a city in the clouds. Everything was bright and that was all they could see. Clouds.

Tonight she was back to seeing Yo's hate filled eyes and she and her husband drifted slowly into unconsciousness. This time Han and Soon Deok were nearby, also being threatened by soldiers and struck down by them. But they had been more easily able to fight back, as they knew martial arts and had been in the military.

When she woke up at dawn as the sun was starting to rise in Goryeo, the sheets underneath them were soaking wet, and she gasped, feeling around her. She knew that her water had broken when she felt a sharp pain that she guessed was a contraction. Her hands went to her baby bump and she keened forward in pain. Her husband was still sleeping by her side, oblivious to it all. Minji didn't know what to do. If they were in the present, he could take her to a hospital and they would help her there. But they were a thousand years in the past. 

Still, she pushed at Eun's shoulder a bit roughly and startled him out of his sleep. "What's wrong, jagi?" He asked her with concern when he saw the pain reflected on her face. He then came out of his sleepy daze when he felt the dampened bed beneath him. "What happened?" He was completely clueless.

"I think my water broke." She said through clenched teeth because she was in pain. "The baby's coming, Eunnie."

Immediately her husband jumped out of bed, ready to help her with whatever necessary. But his voice came out in a panic when he finally did say something to her. "What do I do? How do I help you?" He had begun pacing on the floor of their bedroom and Minji thought that if there was any real chance he would actually pass out, it was going to be right then. She was the one who tried to keep calm in order to make him feel better.

She tried to breathe and steady her voice. "Go get help, love. I'll wait here."

He quickly nodded and left the room, not before giving her a kiss on the lips. Minji heard him leave the house and then every minute after that felt eternal to her due to the pain she was feeling. 

Eun raced over to his brother's house and asked him for help. Han was more level headed in the situation and instructed his brother to go wake the servants for help. Then he told him to go to his mother's house. She would best know what to do, since she had experience giving birth already. Eun did as he was told and hurried off, leaving Han to wake Soon Deok so that they could go to her sister's side.

At the palace, the sun was rising, but it were still half-darkened skies. Ji Mong was wide awake at that hour, as he had been unable to sleep all night. 

He went out to the balcony, his eyes already looking at the two twin stars illuminating the sky more brightly on that night than on any other night. "The skies are making their announcement. It appears that a king has been born." He observed, and he hoped this wouldn't bring negative consequences for the tenth prince and his family.

-

so another little chapter for you all. 

ji mong says that a king has just been born. so that will surely bring a lot of drama for our story. all of this is taking place around episode 12, so that's like 4 more episodes before eun dies in the series. but, i may stretch out the time line, and make yo become king later than when he does in the series.

this is because i have more information to plant and more drama and maybe revenge ploys. 

according to stuff i have read online, so is 25 when he becomes king. and he is 20 when the series starts. so moon lovers takes place in about the span of 5 years, most of the series. but i'm going to add 1-2 more years in between that time bc i need it for plot stuff.  

anyway, thank you all for reading. 

qotd: do you think eun and minji's baby will really become king? or will yo get rid of him? should he become king?

-clary