A/N: I apologise sincerely for taking almost 20 days to upload the second part. I did not expect life as an exchange student here in Japan could be so hectic. Then again, I guess it's my fault for joining many events, but hey, I'm here for an experience, so I'm doing all that I can!

[My King At Night (Part Two)]

Lee Daehyun sat at the edge of the pond in the garden between the King's quarters and the Ladies quarters, tears dripping from her eyes as she sniffled. It had already been half a month since she moved into the palace grounds and even though she had been prepared to do anything as long as her family lived more comfortable lives, the life that she was currently leading now was not exactly the way she had imagined.

Sniffling and wiping away the tears despite the fact that they were overflowing, Daehyun thought about her parents and little brother and hoped that they were doing alright because she did not really enjoy her situation at the moment. Because she was the only commoner who had been called into the palace ground to be a part of the King's harem, that had attracted many insults from the other ladies already within the harem who were all from important families. Then, as if the disdain from unhappy officials' daughters was not enough, Daehyun supposed that the biggest slight she felt was the fact that the King had made her a trophy. She had never seen the man ever since coming into the palace, and despite the fact that she could clearly hear him engaging his nightly activities with the other ladies within the harem, he had never asked for her.

Was it because he doubted her service? Even though Daehyun had no experience engaging in such nightly activities and probably would not do it well on her first time, she was still rather affronted at the fact that the King had made her a harem lady, and then completely ignored her presence once she had moved into the palace grounds.

"Lieutenant General!" The call, followed by sounds of many rushed footsteps made Daehyun look up from her introspection, but it was too late, because a force bumped into her from behind and took her by surprise. And because she had been sitting at the edge of the pond, Daehyun gave a short shriek as she fell into the water.

She struggled in fear, gasping for air as she waved her hand around in hopes of grabbing something that could give her buoyancy. Swimming was a skillset that was not required for daily life and Daehyun had never assumed that she needed to learn it to save her life; at least until now. She had been prepared to die by her disease in the next 6 months, but drowning to death here was a little bit...

"I've got you, Lady, so can you please stop struggling? You're splashing water everywhere." A voice sounded close to her, and she startled when she spun around to see the face of a stunning man with stunning blue eyes and white hair clinging to his face.

"Lieutenant General! Are you alright?" Someone asked with worry, and Daehyun turned around again to see a small crowd of soldiers still standing safely on the bank of the pond, looking down at them with worry.

"I'm fine, and I've got the lady. Hold her; I don't think she knows how to swim." The man behind her replied, and it was then that Daehyun realised that arms were actually wrapped around her waist, and her back was being propped up in the water by a sturdy body behind her, keeping her head above water.

She was all too glad to reach out her hands to grab the helping hands reaching out from the soldiers on the bank, and soon enough she was safely on land again, her legs too jelly to stand up and feeling cold and just shocked.

"T-Thank you for saving my life, Sir..." Daehyun stuttered a little from the cold, looking up at the man who was walking himself out of the pond, dripping water from his impressive uniform. She remembered the soldiers calling him Lieutenant General, and he was clearly dressed the part. The only surprising part of his image was his white hair and blue eyes, as well as the sword that hung on his back.

"Don't thank me. I'm sorry for sending you in the water. I wasn't looking ahead. These guys were chasing me, and I wanted to get out of the palace." He answered with a look of apology.

"Lieutenant General, we need you at the meeting." The soldiers were clearly eager to get back to business now that their target had finally stopped for them.

"Fine, fine..." The white haired man answered with a grumble. "At least let me escort the lady back to her quarters and change out of my wet clothes. I'll join you guys once I'm done."

"Are you sure you will do that, Lieutenant General? Will you not go running off once we return?"

"Yes, yes. You guys are going to report me to His Majesty if I run away again anyway, and I think I've done enough to get on his nerves the past week." The Lieutenant General, despite his clear authority over the men, sighed in defeat.

"We will be waiting for you, then." The soldier -most probably a Captain -answered with a satisfied smile, then looked back down at Daehyun, where she sat cold and wet, watching the conversation ping-pong in front of her eyes. "I apologise, Lady. Please allow Lieutenant General to escort you back to your quarters."

Still a little stunned but recovering slowly, Daehyun nodded to show that there was no harm done, watching the group of men leave quickly.

"I'm sorry for sending you in the water. I swear it was not intentional. Not that I ever had the intention to send any women in water. I like to keep beautiful ladies like you dry and with a warm embrace." The Lieutenant General now squat down to be on her eye level, and once more she was taken aback by how sharp his blue eyes were.

"You apologised already. It is fine." Daehyun replied softly. "Thank you once again for saving me."

"Can you stand?" The smile written on the man's face strangely had more amusement than kind apology.

"It will still take me a short while. I will be fine, Lieutenant General. You don't have to send me back, I can go back by myself once I am well again." Daehyun said quickly. "Please do not let me hold you back."

"What kind of a man will I be if I leave a vulnerable girl like you shivering from the cold?" The man answered with a growing grin, and before she could react, the man had reached forwards for her.

She gave another soft shriek when she found herself back in the arms of the man, except this time they were on land and she was somehow manhandled to fit nicely between his arms and his chest. Once more, she felt his warmth and strong body pressed up against him, and looked up, startling all over again when she saw his face up close once more.

"Put me down!" She exclaimed quickly.

"I'd like to get out of this cold myself, Beautiful. Do work with me." He answered; unrepentant as he took his first step from the pond's bank. "Now, which direction do I have to bring you? Or would you rather I bring you back to my quarters?"

This time, Daehyun could not mistake the cheekiness in the man's tone. To be honest, this was the first time anyone within the palace had held any proper conversation with her, and despite how mischievous the Lieutenant General seemed, she felt a little bit better.

"You will not, Lieutenant General, bring me to your quarters. I am currently making residence in the Ladies quarters."

"You're a Lady?" The man asked in surprise.

"I am surprised that you could not guess from my clothes and features that I am one of the fairer gender." Daehyun answered with the beginnings of a small smile. If she could ignore the fact that the man was currently carrying her in his arms, she would have been rather glad at having someone that she could share such a playful conversation with.

"I was referring to the fact that you are one of the King's harem ladies. I know them all; am quite familiar with all of them, actually. You don't look like one of them." The Lieutenant General answered, and Daehyun found that fact unsurprising. The other ladies in the King's harem loved being reminded that they were beautiful flowers stationed in the royal palace grounds, prettier than anyone else. The Lieutenant General's glib tongue would surely have gotten him into their good graces.

"I am new. I came in 2 weeks ago."

"2 weeks ago? I don't remember..." The Lieutenant General put on a thinking face shortly as she silently worried about how the man was not paying attention to where he was walking. It would normally be fine if he tripped and fell, but not while she was still draped across his arms.

"Wait, I remember! You are that Lee Daehyun that His Majesty told me about, aren't you?"

"I was not aware that His Majesty talked about me to anybody. Actually, I was not aware that he knew me personally at all." Daehyun admitted. It was currently still a cause of utter confusion as to why she had been singled out of so many women in the capital town to be the newest woman in the King's harem. How did the King even get her name in the first place?

"Well, His Majesty and I go waaaaaaaaaaay back, and trust me; you are literally the first woman that has made him make a decision based on his feelings and instincts rather than careful thought. You're like a legend to me."

"A legend?" Daehyun asked in disbelief. "I am just a physician's daughter who doesn't even know how she got in contact with His Majesty, much less why he chose me to be a woman in his harem."

"He just wants to protect you. Funny; I think you're the first person I've heard him want to protect."

"It is nice to know that His Majesty wants to protect his people, but it would be nice for me to get to see him even once." She answered. "I have seen neither face nor shadow of His Majesty ever since coming here."

"You are just a special little lady to him. But now that I've talked to you, I think I know a little bit of why. I like you; you are smart and you have a proper brain inside that head of yours. The other ladies in the Ladies quarters are more preoccupied with their external appearance. Still, it's quite a sore place for His Majesty to put you in his harem. He should know better." The Lieutenant General shook his head in judgement -the first time Daehyun had ever heard anyone impose a judgement on the King.

This surprised her very much, because in the palace, she didn't think that anybody who spoke badly of His Majesty -or any decision made by him -could survive. She had never heard of anyone judge the King's decision. To hear it now only meant that the Lieutenant General was either a really fearless individual, or that he was really a close acquaintance to the King -close enough to say such things and not risk being reported or punished.

"You sound like you know His Majesty very well." Daehyun commented with the hopes of encouraging more information.

"Of course I do. He is family. I have known him since we were kids. We have been fighting since young, and I was at his right hand when we took over the palace years ago." The man boasted easily, and she didn't find any reason to doubt him. Besides, even if the man were lying, it still needed a whole lot of guts to lie so ridiculously.

"Then if that is true, then may I ask that when you next meet His Majesty again, may you please ask him if there is anything I can do within the palace?"

"You don't like being a Lady? Is that why you were crying when I bumped into you just now?"

"It's nothing like that." Daehyun could not stop her soft laugh, forgiving the man for his understanding because the situation had been admittedly misleading. "I was crying because I just came out of the kitchen helping the maids chop up some onions. I came out for a breath of air. I don't mind being a Lady, but I want to do more than just stay around in the quarters waiting for His Majesty at night. I want to do something to help out in the day. I used to be a physician's daughter; I could help out at the Infirmary with my basic skills."

"You were cutting onions?" The Lieutenant General was understandably surprised. "Imagine that; a Lady amongst the maids cutting vegetables! His Majesty really hasn't gotten his hands on the wrong woman. You are one of a kind, Lady Daehyun."

"Thank you, Lieutenant General, for you compliment. Please, if you would be so kind to grant me a favour..."

"No worries." The blue eyes sparkled with amusement, almost like they were shining diamonds. "If you are bored, just come down to the Barracks to find me. There is always a soldier, guard or trainee needing to be bandaged and have their wounds treated. I will keep you busy if that's what you want."

"Do you not have to go through His Majesty for permission?" Daehyun asked; surprised.

"One thing I've learnt from growing up with him is that it's better to just do, then tell him later. Besides, he shouldn't have any problems with you tending to the soldiers as long as I'm with you. No one can touch you while I'm around." The Lieutenant General answered. "Come along to find me if you are bored; I'll set you right to work."

"Thank you then, Lieutenant General." Daehyun, for the first time since moving into the palace, found her true smile again as she beamed at the easy-going man. Other than the fact that he was strikingly handsome, strong and amiable, he was also very easy to talk to. Daehyun could imagine herself making a friend out of this man.

"I think we are past the stage of you calling me 'Lieutenant General', Lady Daehyun." The man laughed, and put her lightly on her feet, making her realise that in their conversation, they had reached the entrance of the Lady's quarters without her knowing.

"You did not give me a name to call you by, Lieutenant General. You knew my name before I could give it." She reminded.

"Dan Tae." The man answered with a grin, a hand patting on her shoulder.

"Thank you once again, Lieutenant General Dan Tae, for everything. I promise I will find you as soon as I can."

"Don't let anyone else hear you say that," the man answered with a laugh, turning to walk back to his quarters as he did so. "I don't want to be accused of stealing His Majesty's precious Lady."

Daehyun did not understand why the man was still labelling her as His Majesty's precious Lady when the man in topic had never met her personally even once before. Still, there was nothing more that could be said as she watched the white haired charming man walk away with an easy gait in his steps, his impressive sword still strapped on his back.

Daehyun had been a little bit depressed at her less than ideal lifestyle ever since moving in to the palace, but now that she had met Lieutenant General Dan Tae, and been promised a side job, she could only begin to hope that her days would start turning up.

________________________________________________________________________________

It was a month and a half now, and Daehyun was more or less used to her new lifestyle. Just recently, she had gone to visit her parents and her little brother to check on their lives to make sure that they were happier in their current situation than they were while they still lived together. Her father was enjoying himself learning more about his trade from the Royal Physicians, and her mother was simply much happier to be living a more comfortable life.

Finding comfort in spending time in the Barracks rather in the Ladies quarters had done wonders to cheer her up, and she found herself running there every day to watch the soldiers train, to tend and care of the friendly men who definitely enjoyed the presence of a lady watching their manly activities. While she still did get some noses turned up at her for being a commoner who had somehow found her way to a luxurious life as a lady, most of the soldiers in Lieutenant General Dan Tae's team were trained and taught to acknowledge hard work and talents; and they all acknowledged that she knew her knowledge as a amateur physician, and that she patched them up very well. Thus, over time, even the most stubborn of soldiers had opened up to her, and Daehyun had found herself enjoying the company of a group of men who could not exactly see her as a Lady of high position, but rather just as a friend and a physician that they could call for help easily.

Of course, all of these would not have been so had it not been for His Majesty allowing her to leave the Ladies quarters during the day and letting her do whatever she wanted, as well as for Lieutenant General Dan Tae for helping her out. She could not find enough thanks for these two men -one of which she still had yet to meet personally before.

Still, for all her comfortable life that was only occasionally marred by insults and distaste from those of the family of nobility, there was still one thing that troubled Daehyun, and that was the lack of His Majesty's involvement with her. As a harem lady, it was only her job to service the man at night, but he had never asked for her. It had already been a month and a half, and she was still the only woman within the harem who had never been touched. Half of Daehyun was glad that she could still keep some of her dignity as an untouched woman, but the other half of her hated the fact that she had been given the title of the King's woman, and yet she had never done anything proper to prove her title.

This night was no different, and Daehyun was once more awoken in the middle of the night to hear delighted squeals and raunchy laughter of a mature man. A month and a half; and Daehyun had unfortunately learnt how to distinguish between the voices of the women living with her in the Ladies quarters.

It seemed like His Majesty had chosen Lady Hye Won today to be his partner. One more day that the King could have chosen her, but seemed to have not. Had he truly forgotten about her? Did the other ladies collaborate and not tell her about any meeting with the King in which he would choose his partner of the night?

Still, there was no way that Daehyun would be able to fall back asleep with so many thoughts in her head, paired by the background noise of a couple engaging in the act of procreation. Thus, throwing on a light outerwear over her simple nightgown, Daehyun silently stepped out of the quarters and made for the Common Grounds.

She used to hide out in the garden in the King's quarters, but she had been caught once by night guards who had viewed her with utmost suspicion. She could easily guess that they suspected that they might have caught her in the middle of an assassination attempt, but when she told Lieutenant General Dan Tae the day afterwards about what happened that night, the man had only laughed aloud and told her that he would help clear up the air.

Daehyun wondered for a short moment whether she should pay her friend the Lieutenant General a visit before deciding against it. Regardless of how friendly the man was to her, he was still a man, and she did not want to create unnecessary bad rumours about him spending the night with one of the King's woman.

Her parents and little brother would be asleep at this time of the night, and she was sure to be caught by royal guards and mistaken as an assassin or thief if she tried to leave the palace now. Left without much to do at all, Daehyun carefully picked her way in the darkness towards the pond beside the Tea House where officials attended to their guests within the palace.

She was thankful to find the lights of the Tea House turned off, a little bit surprised to see the lights from the Lieutenant General's room in the Barracks turned on instead.

Was the man not asleep at this time of the night? He had made it clear that despite his in depth knowledge about fighting, strategy and war, he actually did not read much at all. He loved sleeping, slack, alcohol and women; and he had been unafraid of declaring those unhealthy habits. Still, the man was a good Lieutenant General, and nobody could deny that the man had talents to get to where he was despite the fact that he was a little bit too lazy at times.

Still, Daehyun did not want to bother the man and thus sat herself at the edge of the pond at the Tea House. She had learnt from her experience with the Lieutenant General to not sit too close to the edge, but Daehyun had always been attracted to sitting near bodies of water to watch the stillness and calm peacefulness of the scenery.

She didn't get the chance, however, to sit down before something shined in the dark night, catching moonlight and reflecting into her eyes. She gasped, freezing up in shock when she saw a sword appearing out of nowhere and stopping dangerously close to her neck.

Darting eyes quickly to the owner of the sword, she blinked to see someone familiar with a distant frown and mostly serious expression hanging on his face.

"Lieutenant General!" Daehyun exclaimed. "You surprised me! The lights to your room were turned on; I assumed you were in your room."

"Lady Daehyun?" The man asked, as if trying to confirm her identity. "What are you doing here in the Common Grounds?"

"I could not sleep, but I could not take a walk in the King's garden again unless I want to get caught by His Majesty's royal guards."

"Ah, yes, I heard about that incident." The man answered, withdrawing his blade and guiding the metal smoothly back into its sheath that he held in his other hand.

"Is that a new weapon, Lieutenant General? What happened to your other sword?" She noted with surprise. Her mental image of the Lieutenant General always came along with the impressive broad sword that he always carried with him -either on his back or in his hand. This was the first time she had seen the man hold another weapon other than his usual sword; not that he had the need to use any other weapons -she had seen him defeat an entire team of Captains in the Barracks single-handedly with just  his one broad sword.

"The other one is still in my room."

"I didn't know you even had another sword. You always just use that one."

"It's my favourite. This one, I just use it sometimes. This one is lighter and more mobile."

"You seemed pretty mobile with the other while as well." Daehyun answered, but a conversation about swords was not exactly appropriate topic for their encounter now. "What are you doing out here? Should you not be in your quarters resting?"

"I am the same as you; I came out to take in some fresh air. There is many paper work for me to catch up on, and you have caught me in the middle of a break."

"You do paper work?" Daehyun was doubly surprised at the man's admittance. "I thought you were too lazy to do it. You always said you had someone else doing the paper work for you when I asked you the last time."

There was a strange short hesitation from the man, and he looked almost annoyed for a moment there, but it tampered back down to a neutral expression -which was in itself a little bit weird, because Lieutenant General was always grinning at her as if he found her a very interest experiment all the time.

"Well, I do some of them at night when I cannot sleep." He answered vaguely.

"I never thought you were the type to do paperwork if you cannot sleep. The Captains would be so happy to hear that you are actually putting in some effort in your job without someone dragging you along." Daehyun teased, laughing when she saw the startled expression hanging on the man's face as if he could not believe her.

"Would you accompany me if not for a short moment, Lieutenant General? I would like to spend some time here before going back to the Ladies quarters." Daehyun asked. It had always been a habit to want to speak to the Lieutenant General politely, but the man had always laughed at her and teased her until she was forced to speak informally with him. They always ended up teasing and insulting each other, and in those moments, Daehyun often felt like the Lieutenant General were like her brother instead of a friend.

What was surprising this time, instead, was the fact that the Lieutenant General did not seem to have anything to tease her about staying out of the Ladies quarters in the middle of the night. Instead, the man with his brilliant white hair shining under the moonlight nodded, and gestured to a seat on the bank. Daehyun made a move to seat, but he stepped up, stopping her temporarily. She was startled when he took off his outermost wear and laid it down on the floor instead, gesturing for her to sit on it after he was done.

"This is a surprise, Lieutenant General. I did not know you were such a gentleman. Or are you trying to make up for pushing me into the pond the other time?" Daehyun teased, taking her seat all the same and feeling the man do the same beside her.

"You might find that I am like a different person at night, Lady Daehyun. The assumptions you have of me may change for the better if you meet me more at night."

"And foster more bad rumours about you flirting and stealing the King's woman? You must be careful of your own reputation, Lieutenant General." Daehyun advised, though she knew the man to be fearless of talk and rumour. He had a reason to be fearless; he was the King's closest aid and friend after all.

"No worries. His Majesty and I go way back. He will be understanding even if I take a woman from his harem."

"Still, that will upset order within the palace. His Majesty might be forced to do something he does not like to you. I may not know much about palace politics, but I do know that the officials here do have much power to sway His Majesty into doing things that he may not like." Daehyun answered. "But I will admit that I do like the idea of meeting you during sleepless nights. You are my only close friend within the palace, Lieutenant General. I do not know what I would do without you."

"Is this place really so horrible for you?"

The sudden question was surprising, because Daehyun had never assumed the man to be the introspective type. Still, he had admitted that he found himself a rather different man at night, and Daehyun was now wary to judge him according to what she thought she already knew of him.

"I do not regret accepting His Majesty's order, but this place... it is very different from the life I have led thus far. Rather than say I hate this place, I think I am just not too used to how things work around here. I feel like everything I thought I knew is different here. In the capital town, even though we were poor, I had my parents and little brother often. I was happier then, but they are happier now -and I don't want to go back to those times when they were less happy."

"It is the effect of the palace." The man answered, and Daehyun watched out of the corner of her eyes to see a faraway, lonesome expression that she never imagined would appear on the face of someone like the Lieutenant General. "When my brother and I first came in, we had dreams to change things around. This palace was the same one that sentenced my parents to death just because my father was a little bit different and stronger than the average man. I am where I am now, but yet with all my power and after all my struggles, I think that all the palace has done is only to take away what I used to have."

Daehyun startled again, because the man had never willingly talked about his family ever before. She had secretly asked around within his men, but nobody knew about the Lieutenant General's background as well. All anyone knew was that he had appeared with His Majesty to take over the old regime, and had been His Majesty's right hand man.

"You never told me about your family before, Lieutenant General. You have a brother?"

"Yes, and I can see that he is enjoying his life to the fullest. He used to be my only hope; he is the only one enjoying his life within the palace walls, still largely unchanged from his usual self. He used to be the only one I could look towards and hope that I could one day be like him; to accept my place within these palace grounds and forget the past or the uncertain future."

"The way you have acted all this while; it does not seem like you are much bothered about the past or future, Lieutenant General."

"At night, people become introspective. I recently met this lady when I was down in the capital town; she was fearless and even though she knew that she was about to die, a light shone in her eyes. She woke me up from my slumber; I, who still has so much time left on my hands, had nothing to look forward in the future. She, who was suffering and could die any moment, knew exactly what she wanted. Even with death nearing her doors, she still smiled and showed kindness wherever she could find. I thought I wanted to hold that fire; I thought I wanted to discover my light again through her."

Getting the feeling that she really wasn't speaking to the normal Lieutenant General that she had always known all this while, and not sure whether to feel worried that the man might be actually depressed or to feel reassured that he was opening up himself to her, Daehyun was careful to pick her next words.

"Did you discover your light, then?"

"I don't know. I think I might have done the wrong thing, actually. I wanted to protect her light so badly that I kept her safe."

"And that is a bad thing?"

"I met her again, and the light is dying from her eyes." The answer held a little bit of sadness that Daehyun was alarmed to hear.

"Is she dying?"

"She has only a few months left to live. I wanted her to be happy; I wanted to fulfil her dreams for her sake. But instead of putting more shine in her eyes, the fire is dimmer."

"Then have you talked to her about it?"

"I don't think she will understand now if I go to her as I truly am. She is still finding her light again; I only pray that I will be able to see it again before she goes."

"There is nothing wrong in trying to keep what is precious to you safe, Lieutenant General. Even if whatever you did might have contributed somehow to her losing the light in her eyes, it is not entirely your fault. You were trying to fulfil her life for her, and I think she must be struggling to come to terms to accept the fact that someone has reached out a hand to help her." Daehyun answered, surprised at how relatable this conversation was feeling.

"Actually, I think I know how the lady of your topic feels." Daehyun admitted out loud, because if she could not say her honest opinions to the man who not only had opened up to her about his true feelings, but who was also her precious friend, then she didn't know who else she could talk to. "I also had troubles reconciling myself with the fact that someone had helped me even before I could ask for it. All my life I had grown up telling myself that I needed to be independent and be a capable daughter so that I could be smart and make some money for my family to lead a comfortable life. My goals were all rational, and I never allowed myself to ever think that I would ever need help from someone else. But His Majesty... I don't know how he knew about my situation, but without even asking for my permission, he extended his helping hand to me. I was still shocked when I automatically accepted his help, and I think I am still adjusting myself to accept the fact that I can't do everything myself."

"It is okay to receive help at times, Lady Daehyun. There will always be a man out there who is waiting to see the light in your eyes." Lieutenant General's words were soft and nice -a real difference from his usual self where he joked around. While Daehyun was really taken by surprise to find such radically different personalities within the same person, she was glad to have seen the man's other side, and talked to him so tamely.

"Well, if the man out there really exists," She answered with a stretch, straightening her legs out on the bank and looking out at the calmness of the water, and the serene atmosphere of a palace largely asleep for the night. "He better appear soon, because he doesn't have much time to see lights in my eyes anymore."