The Prime Minister's last words resounded throughout the King's head, causing him to totter as he walked across the palace grounds. The memory of Jung Ho's sinister grin and scathing eyes had seemed to seem into Jae Joong's very bones and starting sucking out his life force. The hwarangs and the court ladies behind him got worried at his blank face and increasingly wobbly movements. He finally lost balance and tripped on the ground.

A hwarangdo grabbed his arm, holding him firmly before he could fall. "Forgive my insolence, Sire. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I am," Jae Joong replied. "People are watching. I can walk to my bedchambers."

The hwarangdo let his arm go, and the distressed king continued walking towards his chambers, thinking about his twins' fate now that the Prime Minister knew everything. He reached his chambers and sank into one of the chairs at his table. His head hung, and he clutched it with his hands in despair.

One of his ladies-in-waiting distracted him with the announcement, "Sire, Minister Dae Wong wants to have a word with you."

"Let him in," he responded softly.

Dae Wong noticed the King's troubled face. He asked him what was wrong, and the King explained everything that had happened between him and the Prime Minister. Dae Wong was not totally surprised. He had expected that this day might come, considering there were many eyes and ears in the palace. Like birds, news was also winged creatures that could travel as quick as a lightning bolt. No secrets could be kept in the palace forever, especially from the Prime Minister.

"What shall we do? I am pretty sure that he will target my sons the moment they are born on the same day as the eclipse."

Jae Joong stood and walked back and forth across his room. He was very anxious and hysterical at the same time, fidgeting. Dae Wong leaned an elbow on the table, rubbing his temple. He was distracted when the King snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his mind.

"We need to hide the Queen! I will send her to a faraway place to deliver the babies. After that, no one can discover that we had twins."

Dae Wong gazed at the King, listening to his interesting plan. His pupils goggled, and he exclaimed, "Sire, I have a better idea. We will plan this ahead!"

The King beamed. Dae Wong interrupted the moment and proceeded with his main concern, "Sire, regarding the..."

Jae Joong's eyes widened. "Oh yes! Now, how was it? Have you gotten any information about the almanac from your surveillance of Lady Jang?"

Dae Wong removed a black covered book from his sleeve, "Here you go, Sire. I already have the almanac that she used to predict the solar eclipse."

"How did you get it?"

The minister smiled and told the King his story. "I went to the royal library to look for any books with a plain black cover. Then, I went straight back to the temple, hoping to find Lady Jang there. The monks said that she might finish the ritual and go somewhere else after two hours. That is why I waited outside the temple until she got out. Luckily, I saw her leaving, carrying a lot of things piled up on her arms. I saw the book that you described. I instructed one of my nangdos to bump her intentionally in order for her things to scatter on the floor. He secretly switched the books hidden in his sleeve with the black book on the floor."

"Wait, did she not even check the book?" Jae Joong asked.

"I doubt, Your Highness. She seemed to be in a hurry at that time. There is a little possibility that she will randomly open that book."

He paused for a while and gazed straight into the King's eyes. "Unless she will give it to someone else."

"Right. Possibly to Jung Ho or any of his minions... Well, it would not matter anyways since I am the one who has it now. Would they even dare to do treacherous things to me?"

"Sire, we both know that they could not do that directly. However, you know what your brother is like as well. Just be very careful," Dae Wong warned.

"Fine. Will do. By the way, job well done! Very clever! So, did you open this almanac?"

"Yes Sire, but I could not comprehend a single word. It is written in a strange language. I have a feeling that it is like a combination of... Göktürks and Tang handwriting, just like what you have told me."

"We need to find someone who could read this," Jae Joong firmly said.

"Ah! One more thing, Sire. I have ordered two nangdos to follow Lady Jang. They should be coming to report to me any moment from now."

A few moments later, two nangdos with yellow headbands, with falcon insignia, fitted robes, loose pants, and high black, leather boots came to the King's chamber. They were panting like running dogs. The King frowned in disgust at the sweat dripping onto his rugs. Dae Wong asked them for any reports about Lady Jang, and the two nangdos reported right away, discovering that she was meeting with Lady Min in her house.

The minister jerked his fist. "I knew it!"

He exclaimed, "Sire, this might be it! There is a huge possibility that Lady Jang works for the Prime Minister!"

Jae Joong's eyebrows met, and he rolled his palm into a fist as he ordered the minister and the two nangdos to go to Lady Min's house.

"Sire, we will report anything suspicious, and I will make sure to get the black book back before they discover that it was fake. I will also gather information that could be possibly useful to us." Dae Wong guaranteed.

~~•~~

Dae Wong and his two nangdos saddled their horses and left the palace, going to Lady Min's house. Her house was roughly fifteen ri away from the palace gates, in the woods. The house was average sized with a thatched roof made of hay. It was a bit elevated, supported by four timbers rooted in the ground and a wooden porch surrounding the perimeter. Upon reaching the house premises, Dae Wong's group hid on the trees about a few ri away from the house.

"My Lord, someone is coming. I can hear horse steps!" one of the nangdos alerted.

"Everyone, hide properly!" the minister whispered, turning around and leaning against the tall trunk. The nangdos followed, stealing quick, calculated glances towards the house.

When the stomping of the horse stopped, Dae Wong slowly turned around and took a peek. Recognizing that it was Chil Yook who just descended from the horse, the minister frowned in vexation.

As the gust of cold wind nipped Chil Yook's face, he looked around and observed the graceful swaying of the leaves and branches in the woods. He finally cleared his throat and entered the house.

After a few moments, Dae Wong tiptoed towards the house, leaving his nangdos as lookouts. With regulated breaths and calculated rhythms of his feet, he had managed to crawl to the small three-leveled steps going to the porch. He crept silently towards the main door and leaned his head slowly towards it.

~~•~~

"Forgive me for coming over so late. The Prime Minister had ordered me to finish some errands," Chil Yook said. He sat on the floor and crossed his arms on the round table. Lady Jang was biting her lips and tapping her fingers on the table. Her other hand was on top of a pile of books. "Lady Jang, is something bothering you?" he asked.

The Head Priestess's face was ghastly pale. Like traveling towards the complete path of senselessness, she seemed to hear nothing, see nothing, or think nothing. Ignoring Chil Yook's presence, she continued tapping her fingers and biting her lips.

He raised his voice, "Lady Jang!"

The woman turned her head slowly, her face as blank as an unwritten scroll. "Yes? What is it?"

Chil Yook shook his head. "It seems like you are not in a good condition."

Jerking her hands to the pile of books on the table, she quickly pulled out a black book and handed it over to Chil Yook, leaving him in surprise, "What is this?"

"The almanac that the Prime Minister gave to me about two weeks ago. He said that that one is the most accurate almanac that ever existed. He has trusted me that almanac because he could not read it. I have no idea what the Prime Minister has been scheming, but he wants to know if the eclipse will happen or not. If it does, he wants to know the exact date and time as well."

"Why are you giving this to me?" Chil Yook asked.

"Please give that book back to the Prime Minister firsthand."

Lady Min approached them and poured teas on their cups, cutting in and asked, "Why?"

"W-wa-wait! I thought that the eclipse will not happen," Chil Yook said.

Lady Jang did not respond. Chil Yook's mouth gaped as he leaned backward, scratching the back of his head. "I know it. You are a fake. You are fooling the King. You are fooling the entire kingdom. Is that what the Prime Minister had told you? To keep the truth about the eclipse and for the King to declare something false?"

The Head Priestess bit her lips in a silent confirmation. Chil Yook waved his two hands, "No, no, no. You do not need to answer. As if you have a choice. You owe to the Prime Minister your position right now."

"The King is starting to doubt me. He asked me to explain all the things that I use to predict the eclipse. I have no choice but to comply. My only protection would be the Prime Minister since he mentioned that when everything screwed up, he will protect me."

Chil Yook raised a brow and asked, "So, did the King believe you?"

Lady Jang did not respond. In fact, she did not know how to read the almanac. The Prime Minister had delivered it to her through a messenger when he was still in Tang. With Lady Jang's title and connections, he had believed that there was a high chance that she could find someone who could interpret the almanac. But, as the moons passed by and the days went by, she had found nothing. Despite her vigorous efforts asking all abbots and monks all over Silla, she had failed to uncover the secrets of the mighty almanac from the Göktürks and Tang.

Certainly, her time was running too fast. Once the King found out the truth inside the almanac, it will be her end. The moment that the King discovered the true date and time of the eclipse, unfathomable death punishment will be bestowed upon her.

"So you are telling us that you cannot read that? If that is the case, you are not sure if there will be an eclipse or not. What if you the prediction you had given to the King is right? What if there is really no eclipse?" Lady Min asked.

"I have thought of that possibility. If that is the case, then the Heavens has a way to favor the King. So be it. I just do not know what the Prime Minister would do next."

Lady Min nodded in agreement. "By the way, what language was written in there anyways?"

"I am not sure. Judging the strokes of the characters, I think there are elements of Göktürks and Tang's calligraphy in there."

"Hmm, Göktürks and Tang? The only solution to your, and in the near future would be our problem too, is to find somehow could really uncover the truth inside this almanac. I think I know someone who could read those characters. He is an abbot in a small temple, deep in the forest of Anju Village, Jinhae District. I accidentally met him when I had visited a cousin. Though, I am not sure if he still lives there," Lady Min shared.

Lady Jang gasped, "Let us give it a try anyway. Thank Heavens! I spent my time searching through the Northern side of the kingdom. I did not know that the answer to my problem might be living in the most remote area in Silla."

While listening to their conversation, Chil Yook butted in, flipping the book trying to figure out any written words on the cover, "May I open this book?"

Lady Jang nodded her permission. But just as Chil Yook reached his finger underneath the cover to flip the book open, he had a strange feeling that something was outside the door. He stared at it, but instead of going away, the feeling intensified.

"Wait, stop!" he ordered.

The two ladies were shocked, exchanging glances with each other as Chil Yook stood and unsheathed his sword.

~~•~~

Dae Wong heard footsteps approaching the door. There was only a couple of seconds left before someone opens the door. Panicking, he rubbed his temple and looked around. He quickly jumped from the porch and crawled into a small space under the house.

When Chil Yook opened the door, he prowled down the four corners of the house, inspecting the house perimeter, and pointing swords in each of the corners. When he finished surveying, going back to the front door, he jumped off the platform. He walked slowly on the ground, scanning the surroundings intensively. He pressed his lips into a thin line and twitched the sword. Convinced that there was no one in the vicinity, he turned around and walked back to the house.

When Dae Wong caught sight of Chil Yook's legs, he pressed his palm hard against his mouth, trying to muffle any sound. His other hand formed into a fist, nails digging into his tender skin.

Chik Yook moved closer to Dae Wong's hiding place and slowly bent forward, turning his head left, then right. The minister bit his lips and closed his eyes, knowing that he was about to be discovered and killed. He had learned too much to be allowed to leave with his life. Dae Wong's nangdos watched helplessly from the woods. They prepared their swords, ready to attack Chil Yook only if their minister was discovered.

Chil Yook leaned further, and Dae Wong began to shake as the other man's beard came into view. He was so close! Just before Chil Yook leaned completely underneath, Lady Min left the house and asked what was going on. Chil Yook straightened and walked towards her, reporting that he thought he had heard something and that it must have been an animal. They returned to the house, and Dae Wong slowly opened his eyes, and with a shaky sigh of relief left his hiding place and resumed listening at the front door once again.

"Well, so where were we again? The almanac?" Chil Yook asked loudly from just inside the front door.

The two women were confused by Chil Yook's raised voice. They stared at each other for a moment, until Lady Jang answered timidly, "Yes, I told you, the almanac..."

Lady Jang did not have the chance to continue because Chil Yook suddenly re-opened the door, revealing the startled minister, who fell onto the floor with a thump. The women gasped in surprise. Dae Wong stood quickly, flabbergasted upon being caught.

"What are you doing here?" Chil Yook asked, his eyes casting a blazing glare to the surprised minister. 

__________

NOTES:

Ri (리) - Silla's expression of long distances. 1 ri = 350 meters.

Anju Village (안주) - a fictional village in Silla.

Jinhae District (진해) - a district in Modern day Changwon City, South Korea.

Göktürks - the nomadic confederation of Ancient Turkic people in Inner Asia.