The Light

Previously:

In a flash, Prince So seemed to come out of nowhere, now standing in front of her, moving her further away from him, effectively cutting her off.

"Let's go Hae Soo." And before she or Wook could say anymore, he grasped her by her arm and pulled her out of the room without another word.

At last I see the light

It's like the fog has lifted

No one could know that the slightest misstep and the tiniest of changes could send everything they had ever known to veer off course.

Just the smallest turn of a leaf to a giant storm could erase and rewrite all that ever was; for nothing is ever set in stone.

When Prince So pulled Hae Soo away from the gardens, effectively ending her talk with his brother, he had continued moving her inside the Damiwon palace towards her own rooms. "So….it is Wook who has your heart?"

He waited for her response, seeing the wave of emotions that fluttered over her snow white face before she finally responded, "Yes and no."

"Yes and no?" His eyebrow quirked in interest.

She sighed softly, "He has changed."

Prince So moved closer, "He wants the crown now." He had overheard the entire conversation before stepping in. He knew his brother was going down a different path and unfortunately there was nothing he could about it. It all started the day Lady Oh was accused. He had a feeling his brother had a hand in her death, he just could not prove anything yet.

She nodded, eyes sad; "I do not see the same man that used to be there. So to answer your question, yes he had my heart and no, he no longer has it."

There was a chance then…. he felt his own heart shine with a strong pulse, a sliver of hope now.

He would not waste this opportunity. He closed the distance between them and hugged her before she could move away. "I am not my brother. The only thing I want is you. I said it before and I will say it again, you are my person."

She opened her mouth to argue but he pressed a finger to her lips; "You will be mine. We are bound together you and I."

Before she could even so much as protest a word of what he had said, his finger fell from her lips and he kissed her in the blink of an eye. Then his lips were gone, "You promised you would not kiss me without my permission again."

He smirked, "I lied."

She now openly glared at him as he attempted to kiss her once more, watching in amusement as she covered her mouth from him.

He grinned at her and watched as she moved away, "I will go tend to your room now Prince So." And with that, she gave him a small bow and quickly walked away.

He watched her go, smiling as he watched her almost run down the corridors.

He leaned against the door frame, silently watching as she finished dusting the room, unnoticing of his presence until he moved inside.

She let out a small gasp of surprise and bowed slightly before glancing up at him, "I have finished straightening up your room. Thank you for taking care of me. I will take my leave now your highness." And with that, Hae Soo attempted to walk past him out of the room.

He deliberately blocked her way now. "Stay." He commanded.

"Prince So I cannot stay in here with you." She responded, "I refuse to get myself or you into trouble. I have caused enough trouble as it is." She spoke softly, eyes refusing to meet his. Her tone held sadness in it.

He moved closer, lifting her chin; "You have done nothing wrong." His voice was firm and he forced her to make eye contact.

"I appreciate what you are saying and I thank you for everything you have done for me." She bowed her head before turning to leave.

His hand grasped her own, pulling her backwards into him, arms wrapping over her; "I told you to stop bowing to me." His breath tickled her neck as he spoke.

"I am sorry Prince So." She responded before repeating herself once more, "I do not wish to get either of us into any trouble; I will go back to my room today."

He knew this was one battle he would not win but nonetheless he couldn't resist the enticement of getting her to blush a fire red for him.

Spinning her in his arms, his lips merely inches from her own, he watched in amusement as her doe like eyes widened in shock and then that blush he so loved began to spread from cheeks to neck.

"As you wish, but I will be calling on you soon Hae Soo." He smirked, releasing her and watching as she composed herself before quickly walking out of his room.

This woman he was sure would be the death of him but every moment spent with her was worth it.

6 Months Later:

The arrow was poised at his backside and she screamed out, struggling to move out of her captor's grasp.

And then it was all a blur as she freed herself, jumping forward; she felt her heart racing and lungs burning as she hit the ground.

Crimson. She could see it sprayed on her, it painted her hand that clutched the earth beneath her.

But she didn't hurt.

A hand lay beside her, unmoving and her heart broke.

She hadn't saved him.

"Prince …."

Hae Soo gasped and nearly fell out of her bed. She hit the ground with a thud and slowly got up off the floor. It was just a nightmare, not reality. Her heart beat began to slow down to normal and she sighed. This was the third night and the same dream. She could never see the face of who was lying next to her.

Trying to shake off the weirdness of it all she moved to her desk, ready to apply her makeup and begin her chores for the day.

The Fourth Prince watched as his lovely Court Lady tended to the gardens, watering each flower with such delicacy. He moved closer, grinning outright as he spoke and she nearly jumped out of her skin; "Hae Soo."

She almost fell into the water, stumbling and gasping as he reached out, swiftly grasping her waist and stopping her mid fall. "Prince So…."

He chuckled softly, "Clumsy thing." He spoke as he had the first time he had met her but this time, his eyes held a glint of gentleness as he pulled her to her feet.

"You scared me." She raised a finger to prod at him when she remembered her place and put her hand back down. "I thought you were still with the crown prince."

He stared in amusement at her before speaking; "I came back earlier than expected, he is in good health and spirits." He smiled, "Now I have a serious question;" He paused for dramatic effect, "What is your favorite flower?"

"You came out here and scared the shit…daylights out of me just to ask me that?" She forgot the curse words from where she came from were unknown here.

He raised a brow but said nothing, awaiting her to answer his question.

Sighing, Hae Soo responded, "Roses." She smiled a small smile at the Prince whose long hair was now falling into his eyes again.

Prince So smirked, "Of course, you are a woman at heart."

She let out a laugh, "Am I not all woman?"

He rolled his eyes, "Would I be here if you were not?"

She snorted in a very unladylike fashion much to his endless amusement as he smirked at her;

"Be ready for tomorrow." Was his parting words before he strode off towards the king's rooms to seek out the king himself for permission to take the court lady with him on his own personal errands tomorrow.

The idea of getting to know Hae Soo on such an intimate level excited the fourth prince. Normally he would find such a thing tedious and a waste of his time. Then again, he had never been around someone who had no fear of him, someone who looked at him the way that she did. In all his life he had never attempted to court a woman. But for this woman in particular he was willing to do whatever it took to make her his, in the end she would become his and his alone. Tomorrow was the day he most looked forward to however, taking her out of the palace finally, away from everyone…

It had all started two nights ago when he had come into her room unannounced; never one to care about rules and etiquette and such trivial things.

"Prince So!" She nearly deafened him with her shocked yell.

Before she could wake the entire palace up, he swiftly came to her side, placing his hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. "Come with me." He whispered before taking hold of her arm.

She stared like a fish out of water, "We can't! We will get in trouble. I can't get you in any mor…." Sighing deeply, he turned back and grabbed her waist before she could babble any further and hoisted her up into his arms.

"I….what are you doing?!" She gasped sharply.

"What does it look like?" He smirked, "Hush, we have to be quiet." He commanded, narrowing his eyes at her so she got the point as he walked out of her room, her in his arms.

Seeing that she would not win against him, she buried her face into his chest, not wishing to see the guards rushing at them when they saw him carrying her out of the palace.

He chuckled softly at her reaction, walking quickly into the gardens.

Her feet hit the ground gently and she looked at him as he let her go, staring back at her. Turning, she saw the lush gardens he had brought her to. It was very beautiful out here, the flowers and trees seemed to sway with life, glittering against the pond water that gently cascaded through.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Prince So grasped her waist once more, drawing her close. "I want you…to be mine." He spoke softly but firmly.

She could smell his scent in that moment. He had held her to himself many times but she had never bothered to relax, always eager to get away from him. He smelled of wood and some sort of spice. It was a rather comforting scent to her. Her heart began to beat rapidly as it always had whenever he decided to manhandle her.

This time, she could tell she was no longer afraid of him, but at the same time she hardly knew him. He hardly knew her.

"I….you hardly know me to claim me as yours." She voiced her inner thoughts as she pulled away from him, facing him now.

He raised a brow, "I know you. You are the woman who spied on my brothers in the royal baths." A smirk graced his face at her faint blush that dusted her cheeks; "You are strong willed and do not do things as you are supposed to do…." To which she opened her mouth to protest when he cut her off, "Which I like."

"You are different from the rest and you the first person who did not, who does not fear me."

She stared at him. She could see how much he cared for her in his eyes. If she was truly honest with herself, she had grown to care for him deeply over the past three years she had gotten to know him. He had been the one by her side through this entire nightmare that had been her life turning upside down since the moment she had awakened here.

The idea of him becoming the tyrant king and slaughtering everyone had even quelled and nearly disappeared from her mind altogether. When she looked at him she did not see a monster, she saw her friend.

But even so, she still hardly knew a whole lot about him and he barely knew her. He had no idea of her secret, of where she really came from.

"You are right I don't fear you. I feared what you could become but I see now that you are not that person, you are different. But you don't know me and I don't know you."

"I know yo- "

"- What is my favorite color?" She cut him off much to his annoyance.

He blinked, not expecting her random question, "Exactly." She sighed. Now that she thought about it, Prince Wook didn't know her either. He had no idea of who she really was and she didn't know him that well either.

He stared at her before speaking, moving closer. "You wish me to court you then before I make you mine?" His voice came out rather husky, making her face heat up as her heart began to speed up at his words. Why was it that with every word out of his mouth he seemed to make her heat up as if she were on fire? She could still feel the ghost of his lips on hers from the day he had kissed her as though it were just yesterday.

"Court?" She stammered, "I …. I ….. yes." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

The fire in his eyes seemed to blaze now as he came closer, sealing the distance between them, grabbing her waist again. "I will do as you request, but know this," His lips were dangerously close to her own and she gasped, recalling he had promised not to kiss her again without her permission this time.

He smirked, "You will be mine in every way. As I said before, you are my person. I warned you to be prepared. And I do not share." The last words were a deadly growl as he buried his face in her hair, inhaling her intoxicating scent, attempting to maintain his self-control.

She trembled but this time it wasn't out of fear and that alone scared her. She could feel her body relaxing against him before he suddenly let go.

"The day after tomorrow is your day when I come back from visiting my brother." He announced suddenly. "I leave tomorrow afternoon to see him."

It was Hae Soo's turn to raise her eyebrows in confusion at his words, "The day after tomorrow? My day?"

He looked at her as a lion would look at its dinner, "You will come with me all day. I will make a request to my father. We will go wherever you want, as my court lady, I will require you be with me."

Go wherever she wanted? Why would he make such a request of the king…? Then it dawned on her. This was his way of courting her, getting to know her. He wanted to take her away from the palace.

She smiled a soft smile to herself, watching as he walked away in a flurry of robes.

The Following Day:

Hae Soo stood in her rooms, looking over her attire one more time. She had chosen a more delicately colored dress, a pale pink and white which seemed to cascade to the ground.

She wished they had more modernized clothing, these dresses itched like crazy. But for now she would have to continue making do with what she had.

Her hair was done up in a bun, the hair clip the fourth prince had given her stayed tucked in place, gleaming in the light of the room.

This was it. He would be here any moment and she was unsure of everything. She had no idea if this was right thing to do but she was tired. She was tired of trying to fight the future and her own heart. If she listened carefully she could hear it telling her to just be.

"Hae Soo." As usual Prince So neglected to knock or announce himself as he strolled into her room. His eyes trailed over her form, his own voice nearly taken by the beauty that radiated in front of him.

He smiled a small smile and moved closer, grasping her arm and pulling her to him; "Ready?"

Not even reprimanding him this time for entering her room once more like he owned it, she nodded, her own voice lost at the moment as he pulled her along the corridors to the palace entrance.

His own beauty was not lost on her. She felt speechless seeing his usual dark attire replaced with light colors nearly mirroring her own mixed with shades of green. His long raven hair cascaded down his back and he had put his own makeup on this morning, scar covered up.

She smiled to herself and allowed him to guide her out of the palace and towards his horse. "Now tell me where you would like to go?" He asked his lips right next to her ear as he sat behind her.

In the distance, Prince Wook walked by going over his plans to take the throne from their father when his eyes caught sight of her… Hae Soo with his brother.

His lip curled in disgust and he stared, watching as his brother lifted her onto the horse. The smile that graced her face as So spoke to her, sitting behind her, his arm around her protectively.

Wook felt sick. He felt angry. She was supposed to do that with him. That should be his arms around her. Not his fourth brother. He seethed, rage consuming him once more.

He would not let her continue to be brainwashed by his manipulative brother. He would deal with this himself. Just a little more time was all he needed and then he would have the throne. Then he would watch as she came to him, once she saw how weak and useless So was.

Turning, Wook quickly walked away, advisors behind him struggling to catch up with the fourth prince.

They sat at the edge of the shore on the rocks, staring at the waves lapping onto the sand.

So far Prince So had discovered Hae Soo had a fondness for red roses and she hated to be cold. When the moon came out to peak above the clouds, that was her favorite part of the day. She liked to drink sake like a man but held back for the sake of propriety and she was fond of horseback riding at night fall.

Still, he wanted to delve deeper, to know the deepest parts of her soul; "Tell me something about you that I do not know."

Hae Soo thought for a moment, watching the waves crashing through the rocks, "I like to dance."

He looked at her in surprise; "You know how?" He only asked because most of those lower than royalty were never taught how.

She smiled, "Yes."

He smiled back, "Interesting. You will have to show me."

Now she blushed bright pink, the image of her dancing for him popping into her head. "Maybe, one day." She mumbled under her breath.

He smirked at her embarrassment and spoke, "I can dance too."

It was her turn to look at him in surprise. "What? I am a prince; we are taught at an early age." He shrugged.

She smiled for what felt like the hundredth time that day and spoke, "Tell me something no one else knows about you."

He rubbed his chin, contemplating her question before finally answering, "I do not wish to be king. I have no wish to take on that responsibility."

She felt her heart lift hearing him say this. Just hearing the words aloud made her soar to new heights. Knowing he did not crave that kind of power just soothed her to her core. "Your turn." He spoke, staring at her. "I will ask the same question Hae Soo; tell me something no one else knows about you, your innermost secret."

She fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, unsure of what she should say. He had said once before that nothing she could say would shock or drive him away from her.

But she wasn't too sure of that. He would more than likely think her some kind of evil witch or something equally horrible for telling him about the future, of her real life. He could even have her locked away for insanity….

Revealing her innermost secret could truly mean the end of her life. She had attempted to tell Wook when she had first awakened in this life, but he had brushed it aside as mere hallucinations of a girl who'd nearly killed herself.

Would Prince So think the same of her? Would he turn her away? Laugh at her or even worse, kill her on the spot?

She sucked in air, it was now or never.

"I … I am not from here."

He leaned forward, now truly intrigued by her words, expression unreadable.

"My name is not Hae Soo." She took another breath, her heart racing. "My name is Go Ha Jin." After all this time, she still hadn't truly forgotten who she once was, just buried it till the right time.

"I was trying to save a child from drowning." Her thoughts went back to the day she jumped in the water, the day her world crumbled. "I didn't think about what I was doing and dived into the lake…. I died…" She paused, unable to read the Prince's face as he watched her; "When I woke up, I was here 500 years in the past….in the royal baths."

There. She had said it. This was it. She would be hung for being a witch now or just plain crazy. But damn did it feel good to finally tell someone.

He stared at her, completely silent before finally he spoke.

"Does anyone else know this?"

She shook her head.

"I am the first one you told?"

She nodded. "I tried to tell Prince Wook but he brushed it aside as if I were just hallucinating it all."

He snorted, it was just like Wook to do that.

"So do you plan to kill me now or later?"

He stared at her in surprise, "Why would I kill you?"

"Because you think I am crazy."

"Who said I think you are crazy …. Go Ha Jin."

She stood in shock, hearing him say her real name, unable to move, speechless.

He stood and came closer to her, "I knew there was something different about you. You seem to know things you should not know, to say things as though they may happen later."

He paused momentarily, "This is why you were so wary of me." It was more of a thought than a question.

She kept silent unsure if she should respond.

His hands pulled her towards him, embracing her from behind; "Tell me of this other life of yours."

She felt like she could finally breath and she couldn't believe it. This prince, the one who was called the wolf, the so called ruthless killer, stood here believing her without a second thought. She almost felt like crying.

With a smile she felt him release her as he sat back down on the shoreline, waiting for her to sit next to him.

"Well I did peoples make up for a living." She recalled her old life, remembering the days spent at the cosmetic counter in the mall.

Prince So leaned over, "So this is how you are able to do my makeup?"

She nodded. He mused over what she had told him, both sitting in silence for a while before he spoke up again; "What is your… life like where you come from?"

She thought about it before responding; "Boring. I lived on my own and…"

"On your own?" He interrupted, "That is improper for a woman to be alone like that…. but" He smirked, "I would expect no less from you."

She smiled at this, continuing; "I had a boyfriend for a while-"

"- Boyfriend?" He sounded it out, "What is a boyfriend?"

She had forgotten that such terms were not used back in this time, "My ummmm…. Partner?"

"Partner?" He looked at her now, "You mean your husband?"

She shook her head; "Before you get married in my time, you date someone; You go out with them and get to know them like courting in this time, but instead we call it dating, and then you get married if you both connect on that kind of level."

"Dating." He fumbled over the word and she struggled to hide her laughter at his confusion. "So you do not have arranged marriages?"

"No, we get to choose who we want as a life partner."

"Life partner." He sounded out the strange term.

He smiled, "Then we are dating." He gestured between the two of them. He continued on, realizing what she had just said before; "You had a … partner?"

Someone else had touched her; this he did not like at all but he quelled his jealousy. Obviously the man was not here in this time with her at least.

"Yes…. but we ended it. I ended it…after he went to be with my best friend instead." She sighed, remembering how she had caught the two together outside of her work station, kissing and hugging. How her heart broke and she felt so betrayed in those moments.

Prince So stared at her, seeing the hurt plastered over her face; "You … dated… a boy then." He declared.

She looked at him in confusion.

"Only a boy would play such a game with someone's heart." He spoke, using her modern terms. "This boy and this … friend, did you have them killed?"

She nearly laughed aloud at his serious question. "No. That's not how things are done in my time." She went on to explain the laws of the land in the 21st century and how you cannot just go around killing anyone you want much to the Prince's amusement.

"This place, it sounds so different from here. I would like to see it." He smiled, leaning back against the sandy shore.

She silently wondered how much of this she should be telling the Prince, wondered just how much of the future she was affecting by having told him the truth. But at the same time, part of her felt this was the right thing to do. She smiled and let go of the worry, answering his questions and watching the childlike glee in his eyes as he learned something new.

The days went by and he found himself laughing and smiling endlessly. He began to crave her company more and more.

She was the light in his life and he knew this, every movement and every look, captivated him to his very core.

Hae Soo watched as he tried reading her poor excuse for handwriting; turning the paper this way and that. She chuckled under her breath, seeing him desperately trying to make sense of it.

She grasped the paper and held it in the light of the room, slowly reading it aloud. It was actually the lyrics to a song she had been fond of in her other life. It gave her hope and she watched his expressions change as she read it to him.

His beautiful smile never left his face and she found herself nearly stumbling over words as she gazed at him.

This could not be the tyrant she had read about. The man sitting before her was no monster. His smile could melt the iciest of hearts and his laughter was music to her soul. She still felt the twinges of guilt at judging him before she got to know him.

What she had yet to realize was the more time she spent with him, the more she began to feel for him.

The laughter, the smiles, the slightest touches brought them closer together.

But what neither could know was that another Prince watched on in envy, his anger and jealousy slowly consuming him; rage that would explode and unfold in the most unexpected of ways.