A loud scream reverberated in the birthing chamber.

"Where is Dong Hee? Where is sh... Ahh!" the Queen exclaimed in pain yet no single nurse came inside to assist her as per Dong Hee's orders. Nurses panicked and pointed at each other to assist the Queen. All of them were hesitant to go inside, afraid of losing their jobs. In the middle of their arguments, Dong Hee arrived, running on the hallway with her whole robe and skirt tainted with patches of dried bloodstains.

She asked one nurse, "What happened?"

"Head Nurse, the Queen is screaming for pain. Thank Heavens you are here already," a nurse replied.

Darting her eyes sideways, she ordered all nurses to get out and prepare some calming tonic. The nurses bowed and ran, leaving the Queen's pavilion. Dong Hee slid the door open, and she ran to the Queen who was sweating excessively and twitching in pain.

"Where have you been? You said that you would just clean my baby. My second child will come out... Ahh!"

Dong Hee inserted the white cloth back into the Queen's mouth and positioned herself near the Queen's birth canal.

"Push, Your Grace!"

"Push!"

The delivery of the second baby was a little bit harder because the baby's head moved slowly.

"Again, Your Grace, push!"

The Queen gathered her strength and pushed more. She had breathed heavily, and her sweats got even bigger. She tried her best for a couple of times but the baby did not come out just yet.

"One more time, Your Grace. One, two, three... Push!"

The indescribable pain continued to consume the Queen's whole body, draining her entire energy. Every minute felt like forever. For every attempt that she did, the pain got even worse.

"Come on, baby. Do not let us down," Dong Hee mumbled.

"One more time, Your Grace. At the count of three, please push. One, two, three!"

"Ahh!"

After that scream, the baby finally came out successfully, but the Queen passed out. Dong Hee gasped, and her eyes widened in disbelief. She placed the baby on the table and hastened to the Queen.

"Your Grace, Your Grace!"

She shook the Queen's body and checked her pulse and airways.

Her pulse is very weak. Stay with us, Your Grace.

Dong Hee flinched as she remembered the baby. She went to the table and checked the second twin.

"Strange, why is he not crying?"

She started to feel nervous. Her heart slammed so hard as if it was craving to escape from her ribcage dungeon. Just like what she did to the first prince, she spanked the butt repeatedly, but there was no response. She gulped. Oh, no! This is not part of the plan. You are supposed to be proclaimed as dead, but that does not mean that you will be dead for real.

She pumped the baby's chest lightly using her fingers. Then, she pressed her mouth against the baby's to give some air. She did those things a couple of times, but the baby did not respond. Tears fell from her eyes, feeling a great sense of shame and guilt. She thought that maybe it was Heaven's decision to take his life, just for the palace to remain at peace. The baby did not deserve that kind of fate. He was just a helpless victim of the kingdom's senseless and barbaric prophecy.

Looking around the chamber with a blank countenance, Dong Hee saw a blue silk cloth beside the Queen, which she assumed to be for the second prince. Picking the cloth, she flipped it around looking for a name. She went back to the prince and wrapped him in the cloth.

"Sae Yoo. His name was Sae Yoo. I should at least give this cloth to him."

She walked out of the room, her eyes wet, her vision blurry. Why did the Heavens let this happen? You poor, innocent soul.

While passing through the hallway with a blank mind and a piercing static silence in her head, she suddenly felt a twitch. Unsure about what she felt, she checked the baby and was surprised to see his hands moved. "My Heavens, you are alive!" she exclaimed in a muffled tone. The baby whimpered, and she panicked a bit, "Hush, little baby. Please, hush."

She tucked the baby to her chest, making the poor prince stop whimpering. She threw glances at every part of the hall and walked continuously before she entered the same room she had entered a while ago.

~~•~~

Chil Yook woke up in the underground dungeon. He opened his eyes slowly and squinted due to the light coming from the torches. Just like what had happened to Lady Jang, his hands and feet were tied around in a wooden chair. After having a little grasp of his condition, he noticed Dae Wong standing in front of him.

"Oh, you are awake. It has been an hour since you were sleeping like a princess." the minister smirked.

"Minister, your ways to make me laugh are very petty!" Chil Yook's eyes rolled.

Dae Wong placed his hands on his back and walked around. "I guess this will not make you laugh..."

He paused and leaned forward to Chil Yook. "The King wants your head."

Chil Yook scoffed. "For what grounds if I may know?"

"A lot, but all of them just summarizes into treason!" the minister turned around and walked again.

"You are making this personal. I am just following orders. If you want justice, punish the one who has given me all of those orders. Punish the Prime Minister!" Chil Yook chuckled.

He continued, "Oh, you cannot... Surely, you cannot. You bunch of cowards!"

The minister stomped closely grabbed him by the collar, gluing his burning eyes to him. "Why do you serve the Prime Minister?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Chil Yook cleared his throat and spoke, "Why not? I believe that he is a great man. I believe in his principles and ways. He does not do anything irrational that will harm the kingdom. He is skillful, decisive, smart and most of all, he loves this kingdom very much... How about you? Why do you serve your King?"

"One answer, Chil Yook... I must say that he is not as skillful, decisive, or smart as the Prime Minister, but do you know what sets him above the Prime Minister?"

Chil Yook frowned, waiting for Dae Wong's answer.

"His character. He has a good heart for everyone. He does not do any ill doings to other people. He is selfless!"

Chil Yook raised a brow. "Nonsense! Now what did that so-called good heart do to the kingdom?" he spat out.

"You, poor soul. You will get my point later on. One thing you need to realize is that the Prime Minister is a poison to this kingdom." the minister looked straight at Chil Yook's eyes with a strong conviction. He smiled and left.

Chil Yook roared, "Hey! Come back here! Release me!"

~~•~~

Dae Wong went to his house and noticed the King making the final preparation to leave the house.

"Sire, what is happening?" the minister asked out of curiosity.

"We are leaving right now. I believe Dong Hee has been tailed. We need to get back to the palace right now. By the way, how is Chil Yook?"

"He is at the prison already, Sire. Everything is ready. We need to make sure that Dong Hee gets out safely at the palace before we announce the Prince to the entire palace."

"Yes, she is currently assisting the Queen. She might come out any minute from now. She also mentioned that she will go to Ojin Hill to meet her family."

"Ojin Hill? Why?" Dae Wong asked.

"She said that she would move to Jeonju Province with her family and my son."

"I see." The minister twitched his eyes, thinking about something.

~~•~~

Meanwhile, Dong Hee's husband, Yong Woo and his sister Eun Jung prepared all their things necessary for their moving. They had loaded their carts with their personal things and house furniture and decorations. Eun Jung carried her nephew, Il Woo and gave it to her brother. "Orabeoni, go now. I will catch up later. I have few things to finalize in here."

"All right, but hurry up. Dong Hee might be at the hill any moment from now."

Eun Jung nodded, and Yong Woo saddled the horse and started moving.

The night was stammeringly captivating. The fresh, cold wind kissed Yong Woo's face while passing through a grassland going to the hill. The silhouettes of the grasses danced gracefully as the faint gleam of light coming from the crescent moon shone above them. Yong Woo looked up to the stars and held his baby's hands.

"Il Woo, this will be our new life. You will be the best village doctor, and I will be the best blacksmith."

While some, poor innocent father had dreamed of building a good future for his family, there were people in the palace who planned to destroy someone else's lives instead. The Prime Minister, who was in his dim-lit chamber was thinking very deeply, leaning his elbows on top of his roundtable. Out of a sudden, Lady Min distracted him from his lone moment.

"My Lord, it is ready."

Jung Ho arched a brow. "Really? All right. Let us go."

~~•~~

After realizing the second prince was alive, Dong Hee went through the southeast gate with a pounding heart and a population of negative thoughts inside her. She slowly pushed another cart, but this time it had a blue covering. She strolled until she reached the guards. This time, the guards ordered to open the cart. Following their orders, she opened the cart, and the guards saw the compartments of assorted things. They returned the cloth and let her pass. When she was outside the palace already, passing through a small village, she swiftly went again to an alley and picked a piece of brown paper and quill. She wrote something on the paper very quickly. Afterward, she picked her seal from her pocket and sealed the paper. Then, she rolled the paper and hid it under her bosom. After writing an unknown message, she picked the baby from the cart and cradled it. She did almost the exact thing that she did with the first prince. The only difference was she passed through the southeast gate, in which the guards inspected her cart.

Leaving the cart, she ran as fast as he could, trying to reach the foot of Ojin Hill. She did not care about the cold, spring wind nipping at her skin. Adrenaline rush truly fueled her passionate heart and weary body. She just hugged the baby tightly on her chest, protecting him from the cold winds. The travel took her almost an hour. Unbelievably, she made it despite the distance, the darkness of the night, and the harsh conditions.

While at the foot of the hill, she leaned at a big tree and looked around expecting that her husband would arrive any moment. She panted as cold sweats accumulated her body. Her heart also raced and tried to return to its normal state. No traces of person could be seen on the hill, only a big tree and a vast troupe of dancing grasses. She pressed the baby harder to her chest to keep it warm.

"Yong Woo, where are you?"

She bit her lips, stomping her feet at place hysterically. A few moments later, she saw a small crimson-colored palanquin carried by red grouped hwarangs, from her left, going in her direction. Her eyes narrowed trying to recognize the palanquin. As the palanquin got closer, her heart throbbed faster, seeing a swarm of hwarangs at the back. The palanquin stopped a few meters away from her, and the hwarangs dropped it slowly.

To her horror, she saw the Prime Minister descended the palanquin holding a baby. Jung Ho walked slowly towards her, embossing an evil grin.

"What a beautiful night," Jung Ho greeted.

Dong Hee gasped and froze upon recognizing the baby.

"Il Woo! No!" 

__________

NOTES:

Orabeoni (오라버니) - a Korean honorific term for brother.