Jo Han Wu had been on the King's side ever since he was too young to remember. He had been his Guard, his friend and at times the only person who dared to offer him council. He watched the King grow into the man he was today and Han Wu was personally not happy about how he ended up.

Lee Kwon had always been a stubborn and intolerable on whatever he thought was not the way it should be. Once he had a servant flogged in from of the entire court, in the palace entrance to demonstrate how these who dared touch him would be punished. Han Wu had despised the punishment, a simple firing would do, but his King rather had the flair of Drama deeply imprinted in his bones.

The captain of the royal guard was very much aware that he was serving a Tyrant and he wouldn't think twice to shoot when commanded to kill on his behalf, his loyalty was not questionable. But he sometimes found himself wondering if everything he did in his name was right. Or even acceptable. 

Lee Kwon was perceived to be a cold-hearted leader, but Han Wo had once seen his kind side and knew that his King could have a better side than this. He had blamed the Prince his entire life for turning his best friend into a monster. He hated him for manipulating him into decision that were, in his opinion unnecessary. He even blamed himself for not being noble enough to advise his King against following his greedy uncle's plans and almost getting killed in wars that he had started.

The night of the Great Storm, when the King lost his parents to the invaders that snuck into the castle and tried murdering them into their beds while they were sleeping, that night, his King changed forever. Han Wo blamed his Unkle for that change. To this date the resentment he felt for the Prince was very real, but by his King's rules he had to protect him. So blind was his devotion that when the King asked of his opinion, he'd always try to let him decide on his own fearing he'd give his highness a biased opinion on the Prince.

So tonight, when the girl had tried to murder the prince, for a fraction of a second he had considered letting her do it. But that second flew by and he was left with the shame of his thinking. Perhaps he didn't deserve the King's trust if he let what was left of his family get hurt.

He wondered again who she was and how she'd end up here. Her blood tests run negative. She was not related to anyone in the Kingdom of South Korea and it was nearly impossible to deflect from the North. People tried to deflect all the time, but it was usually from South to North, not the other way around. Some of them deflected to Japan, most of them got caught and executed in the Townsquare in front of their families. Now, according to the new law the king had passed, people who deflected, once caught would first watch their family being beheaded and then be beheaded themselves.

He passed by the room the strange girl, Jung Tae-Eul, was staying previously and stopped when he heard a calm sweet voice, he knew all too well, asking questions she shouldn't be asking. He decided to go inside to demand from her to mind her own business. He walked in, glaring at the girl in the grey maid's dress, her eyes widened and she immediately bowed down to him, reciting his name as if it was a terrifying prayer. Myeong Nabi, who until then had her back turned at the Captain, realized he was present and turned around to face him.

Unlike the spineless little girl following her around Nabi was a beautiful butterfly that spread her wings high and proudly, thought the captain. She showed her respect to him with a small bow, but she didn't cower in the Captain's present nor did she scanned the roon for every possible exit for her to bolt with the first excuse she got. No, Nabi bowed and straightened up quickly, meeting Han Wu's glare head on. These piercing brown eyes of her cutting through his resolve with ease. Her dark, green, modernized hanbok embracing her in all the right ways around her small waist, showing just enough of her arm to drive a man crazy. 

"Captain," she said brightly, keeping a professional face at all times. "Is there something you need?"

The Captain of the Royal Guards tilted his head to the side, examining her from head to toe. She returned his stare with curiosity dancing under these thick lashes. Han Wu closed the distance between them to a step's worth of space and stared her down more firmly.

"What would I need from you, Nabi? You're a mere Court's Lady," he said dryly watching the anger lit the fire in her beautiful eyes that were now sparkling. "On the contrary it seems you're the one who needs information. I heard you asking about our captive."

Nabi should knew that she was in trouble by the tone of his voice and the intensity of his stare. Han Wu could see the other small court girl tremble at her side, terrified of his harsh words and he tried to resist laughing.

"There was a girl my age injured and I simply wanted to offer some hot soup, I see no harm in making new friends," Nabi answered shortly but sassily. "As for what you would need from me captain, I'll be sure to remind you of these very words the next time you come to me to collect intellect about the inner workings of the palace. Now if you'd excuse me, I have a palace to run."

Nabi went to pass him by but Han Wu was quick to grab her arm and hold her to her spot, inches away from him. He could hear the gasps of the other palace girls but paid no attention. Instead his full attention was captured by the beautiful noblewoman who looked at him as if he was a pile of dirt under her shoe. 

One of the things that always intrigued the raven-haired captain about Nabi was her disregard for authority, especially his own. She hadn't exactly gone against the King's will, ever. But that was not the case with him. She spoke to him formally, yes, yet the ways she used her words always left him wondering if she was serious or if she was mocking him. 

He looked at the maid and spoke in a low tone as he kept his hand on her arm. 

"Leave us,"

"Mina stay where you are," she commanded the girl while continuing to glare at him. "It is not proper for the two of us to stay in the same room alone. You know the court rules."

They kept their eyes locked for a couple of seconds. Han Wu saw the determination in her eyes. Yet pushed. 

"Mina leave us," he commanded. 

The girl nodded to them as shooting one worried glance towards Nabi she exited the room with the rest of the group. 

"Traitor!" Nabi whispered without realizing. She didn't expect her to leave. She looked disappointed. 

"You seem to have forgotten your place Myong Nabi," He said in a demanding tone, tightening his hold on her, watching expressionless when she flinched. "You might be valuable source of information but you are not irreplaceable. One word from me is enough to fill your spot with someone else."

Nabi looked at him defiantly. 

"If you could do that, you'd have done it already," She spat back at him.

Han Wu walked her backwards to a wall he threw her against carelessly. He didn't have to cage her between his hands. He knew she wouldn't try to run. This was more of a power play she figured up quite quickly, judging from the hint of fear in her eyes. 

"You seem to have misunderstood my intentions Nabi," his informal language surprised her. "The only reason I didn't replace you so far is because of your status and how good you are at your job, that's the only thing that puts a stop to everything, I want to do to you when you defy me. But don't get too comfortable or I might be inclined to teach you a lesson."

He could see that there were tons she wanted to say to him but bit her tongue not to respond. Han Wu took this as fear.

"Finally, a reasonable response," he whispered grinning from ear to ear. "I'm expecting a report in one hour on the-"

"Listen here Mr. Jo, and listen very carefully," the Lady said proudly. "You might be the King's favorite dog but that doesn't put you above me. I am the descendant of one of the most respected Royal families. I am fully aware why this place in the palace was given to me. I know why the King brought me here. I know why I am the only woman he hasn't touched in this palace. And I am fully aware that to my misfortune he is thinking of making me his future Queen."

Han Wo noticed how she tried to hide her displeasure for the situation she was in. She knew her fate and she was gracefully embracing it instead of fighting something she knew she couldn't win she was making the best of her situation. That was one more thing he admired about her; besides the strength it took to be this graceful about a future you wanted nothing to do with she was also brave enough to speak her mind.

"Don't mess with me Han Wu, the King won't like you playing with his future Queen," the distaste in her voice didn't take from the command in her eyes. She was spiteful about her future post, yet she used it against him all the same.

Han Wu laughed. It had been awhile since the last time he had done that. This woman, his future Queen, had this effect on him.

"You're really funny Nabi," he said brushing a stray hair away from her head. "You really think you know my relationship with the King, don't you? You have no idea of the atrocities we have done together. You can't begin to comprehend my relationship with him. If he makes you his Queen, which I know he intends for purely political and esthetically pleasing reasons, he will only do so to have an heir and a better control over his people."

"If he wants my family's support, he'll have to treat me well," Lady Myong said raising her chin up proudly. "He wouldn't let anyone disrespect me. Now move aside."

She tried to move away but he pinned her to the wall. For the first time using force on her. She didn't even try to resist him, only glared up at him.

"How dare you?" she demanded to know.

"I dare because I can," he said in a hoarse tone that sent shivers down her spine. "The king isn't the only strong pawn in chess, you know. Especially in the chess we play here!"

"Damn you both and your stupid games!" she yelled to his face pushing his chest to make him move. "Get out of my way! I'm the Lady Myong Nabi and I command you to step back, now!"

Han Wu didn't move an inch, his eyes remains emotionless.

"You can scream all you want. At my and Kwon's command everyone will look away," he whispered in a low voice that drove her even more insane. "I've told you many times, Court Lady Myong. Your position only means what the King says it means."

"You're crossing the line," Nabi warned again.

"As I have many times before, yet you've never reported me, why is that Nabi?" asked the Captain mockingly. "Could it be because you know he won't believe you? Or maybe you know even if he does, he won't lift one finger to stop me."

She swallowed hard and Han Wu smiled knowing he hit the nerve. 

"You know, don't you?" he mocked again getting closer. "You've always known. You hear all the whispers in the palace, someone has to have already told you that the King has unique tastes. Tell me Nabi, have your little spies told you how often he takes his girls into his room? Have they told you how these same girls go back home, sometimes without clothes if they fail to please the King, or I?"

Nabi flinched again and Han Wu got closer to her, his wicked smile widening.

"Yes, they have," his voice was cold, his eyes cruel, he could see the terror in her eyes and for some reason that was euphoric to him. "They told you he sometimes like to share with me, didn't they? I often choose them for him when he has had a bad day. His Mistresses can be a little dull sometimes but there are some special ones he doesn't mind sharing with me. He gets bored easily, I give him some pointers on how he can make it more entertaining."

He trails one finger against her chin expecting for her to flinch away. She held his eyes with a murderous glare.

"Who knows?" he whispered getting closer to her. "He might even share his Queen!"

Han Wo saw her next move coming as if it was a slow motion. But he let it happen.

Nabi slapped him with everything she had, then she pushed him away from her and run out of the room before he stopped her. Han Wu let her go, having gotten what he wanted. He knew Nabi hated him and he liked it better this way. The Captain always liked a good fight and the sparks dancing in her eyes were the sun he waked up to see eagerly every morning. He hadn't realized he started obsessing over her until a few months ago and ever since he did, he set a goal of making her miserable. She wouldn't dare report to Kwon, he wouldn't trust her over him and she would only seal her fate.

He knew Kwon might not share his Queen, that status was the only thing he respected. But he also knew that Nabi was only a good match for him. The perfect match that would give him his future heir. Then he would let her be, do her thing as he did his own. He had called him in the office when he was trying to decide on who'd be more suitable, Han Wu was the one who had actually suggested her, and now he wished he never had. Kwon wouldn't harm his Queen but Nabi would never be nothing more than a breeder for him.

Kwon took pleasure in bedding women that knew how to please him. Han Wu knew Nabi was a virgin, as a Lady should be and she would know little to nothing about pleasing a man. That's why she'd be unable to please his King. She'd lask the experience. She'd lack the knowledge.

It was a shame he could not have her to himself, it was a shame he would share her. It was such a shame he could only watch her from afar and tease her. Her anger turned him on, the fire in her eyes fueled his own.

Such a shame. 

Such a waste!

"Captain!" a young Guard busted into the room seemingly out of breath interrupting him from his musing.

"What?!" he demanded to know a little bit too harshly.

The boy took a step back, intimidated by his angry outburst. 

"Captain, t-they send me t-to tell you, the girl is awake."

Han Wu sighted. This boy needed to be trained better. He was showing how intimidated he was by the captain a little bit too much. He couldn't afford weaknesses, he had to teach the boy how to be a man or kick him out. Even normal guards had to be tough. Family name meant nothing to Han Wo, he would never give the title of a Royal Guard to a useless little twat like him.

"What's your name, Boy?" he asked carelessly.

"Choi Taeyong, Captain," he said loudly, straightening up quickly with pride.

"Ah, Coi family," Han Wu muttered to himself. "That's how you ended up here. You want to be a Royal Guard, right?" 

The boy's eyes shone with excitement.

"Yes, Sir!" he bowed nineteen degrees and straightened up quickly. "I'd be honored."

"If that's what you truly want, you'll quit tonight and join the military," Said the captain harshly. "I will see you in two years. If you're competent, you'll be given a chance to train as a Guard, if you're not, your family will be disgraced. Choose carefully Choi Taeyong. You won't get to choose again."

The boy looked crashed but managed to put himself together again. He bowed again in nineteen degrees before he left the room with a grave expression.

_____________

Jo Han Wu walked into the room slowly, approaching the girl with heavy steps.

She didn't move from her spot. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall one knee up her chest, hands behind her back. Her eyes were downcast but her entire form screamed of someone in power not someone that was a prisoner seconds away from being executed.

"Jung Tae-Eul," Han Wu played around with her name rolling off his tongue as if it was an insult. "You know, there's no single soul in this country with that name. Non in the South, not in the North. Not an immigrant nor a fugitive, not even someone dead. No one that matched your face, your fingerprints. Nothing."

The girl remained silent.

"You've already lied to me girl," he growled losing any playfulness he had in his tone. "I will not give you another chance if you lie again. So, I'm going to ask this one more time, and you better be honest; Who are you?"

She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. She looked lost but calmer than the sea in a windless morning. 

"Tell you what, Captain," She said seriously, her voice calm and steady, as if she had all the power in the world. "I'll tell you everything you want to know about me. the only thing I ask for in return is that you answer three questions first."

The Captain thought about it for a minute. He had other ways to get the truth from her, but he was curious about what she would like to know.

"Go ahead," he shrugged. 

She'd soon be dead anyway; he might as well tell her whatever she needed to know. She sat up a bit more.

"Where am I exactly?"

Her first question surprised him. She had wasted her question on something as trivial as that.

"You're in Palace, in the Kingdom of South Korea, in Busan," he said simply. "Did I answer your question competently?"

"You didn't tell me what date it is," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's Sunday, December 27th," he responded again dryly.  "You've got one more question left."

"Two," Tae-Eul interrupted him. "I didn't ask for the date. It was an observation."

Han Wu tilted his head to the side and Tae-Eul smiled wickedly.

"Interrogations are my strong suit. I haven't told you yet but in my world I'm a Detective."

"You mean in your mind?" he mocked her. "There aren't any female detectives in the Kingdom of South Korea."

"Which only furthers my suspicion that this isn't the correct Kingdom," Tae-Eul murmured to herself but Han Wu heard her and his brows furrowed even more."

"My second question is the name of the King," Tae-Eul shifted on her chair. "Is it, perhaps, Lee Gon?"

Han Wu was intrigued once more. Her eyes looked hopeful, with a desperate hope in her sparkling brown orbs he couldn't understand.

"His name is Lee Kwon," he said sighting a bit bored. Her questions were no fun. She only asked of information anyone in the Kingdom should know. "But if you repeat the name, you're automatically be sentenced to death. You seem not to know the rules so I'm simply warning you."

She chuckled.

"Their names are so similar," she sighted disappointed. "One last question. Who was it that started the mutiny at the night of the treason? Or did that never happen in this world?"

He looked at her as if she was an alien.

"What?"

Tae-Eul seemed surprised at his reaction.

"The night his father died," she specified knowing the stories might differ from world to world. "Who was it that started the mutiny. Was it perhaps his uncle? The Later King's half-brother? Lee Rim?"

Han Wu looked startled. 

"There was no mutiny," he said astonished. "The King's father died when the North invaded our land. They somehow managed to infiltrate the castle and murder him in front of the King. Our King slaughtered the lot of them. Until the Royal Guards arrived, he was standing in a river of blood, surrounded by his enemies. The whole world knows of this, he video of the slaughter was leaked in the internet years ago, how could you not know about it?"

"Because, Captain, I'm not of this world," she smiled bitterly. "You asked for the truth and I'm going to give it to you, but that doesn't mean you'll believe it."

"Keep your word, Tae-Eul," he warned. "Tell me only the truth, or you'll be treated as a traitor."

The girl nodded sadly.

"I always keep my word, Captain," she said bitterly. "My name is Jung Tae-Eul, I am a Detective in the Republic of Korea and about a year ago, I was unaware of the existence of parallel worlds. Until I met him. The King of the Kingdom of Korea. Lee Gon. The love of my life and the man that I was about to meet the night I carelessly walk through the dimensions. I was confused at first when I walked in the inter dimensions but then I was him walked through a gate and I followed. I guess I was wrong. Instead of Lee Gon or Jo Yeong, I was met with people that look like them but are nothing like them."

Han Wu pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Are you a novel writer or something?" he asked dryly.

Jung Tae-Eul laughed.

"I said the same thing to Gon when he tried to explain about Einstein's theory of quantum physics," she said reminiscing their first meetup. "I suppose I'll be ridiculed by you the same way he was by me. My last chance at returning to him and my world is if I speak to your King. He might know a thing or two about how to open the gate. I need the key and I'm fairly certain he has one."

"A key?" said Han Wu raising a disbelieving eyebrow.

"More like a flute," She said hopelessly. "You don't happen to know where I can find myself a Manpasikjeok, do you?"

The boredom was erased from Han Wu's face. He has heard that word once. He had heard his King mention it in a private conversation with his uncle. How could this little girl have ever known what that word meant. How could she Know of a Royal Treasure only Lee Kwon and the Prince knew of?

He took a threatening step forward, glaring down with disdain. "Who are you?"

"I already told you," she said bitterly. "You won't believe me. You won't even know what I'm talking about. The only one who might know something, the only one who might be able to help me is your King. So please, let me talk to him."

"You already tried to murder the Prince, I'm not letting you anywhere near the King," he said strongly.

"Then you'll never know if I'm telling you the truth or not," she challenged him. "Which one will win captain? Your curiosity? Or your loyalty?"

Han Wu laughed.

"Fine little girl," he said mockingly. "I'll bring you to the King. Just know, soon you'll regret that I ever did!"

_______________

So, what do you think?

In Chapter Four the King will finally meet with Tae Eul in person.

Next date; Sunday, Octomber 11th.