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Chapter Five:

Unexpected Encounters

Over the next few days, Wang So tried his best to avoid her, which wasn't that hard all things considered: first of all, the investigation on the assassination attempt during the rite was still ongoing and second, he still had "classes" to attend with the rest of his brothers. And when he didn't have to go to the Palace, Wang So was good at being invisible when he wished to be. Also surprisingly, he had already learned Hae Soo's favorite places within Wook's household, and he could easily avoid them. In just a few days of acquaintance, he had already learned her routines, infuriating as that was.

But fate would have it that he couldn't avoid her forever.

He and his brothers had been attending lessons in the palace with Ji Mong when Yo began making despairing comments about Baek Ah's Silla family. Since they all had the same father, it was their mother's standing that marked the true rank among his sons.

Although Wang Won was older, his mother was from a lesser family, and thus both Wang Eun (whose grandfather could be considered one of the founding fathers of Goryeo) and Wang Jung (youngest son of the powerful Hwanghu), had a higher standing.

Baek Ah's grandfather had once been the powerful Silla king, but since they had been conquered, the erstwhile king was not even allowed in the capital anymore. Though Taejo seemed to like his 13th son well enough, no one would believe he had any political power.

That day, though, Wang So hadn't been in the mood to hear Wang Yo rant about it and wound up standing up for Baek Ah, pointing out that no matter who their respective mothers were, they were still subjects of the king first and his sons second.

Baek Ah had been thankful, but tensions were high so Wook, ever the peacemaker, said that perhaps there were enough lessons for a day and that everyone was welcome back at his home for refreshments.

Usually, So walked by himself, but that day Baek Ah hung back to walk with him – Baek Ah was a chatter, much like Hae Soo – behind the rest of their brothers.

That's when So spotted her in the middle of an argument with Yeon Hwa, who was intent on punishing that maid that often trailed after Hae Soo. It took him but a second to realize this was not going to end well, so he began to walk faster, with a perplexed Baek Ah in tow.

-00-

Hae Soo knew the Fourth Prince was avoiding her and she felt rather dejected. She tried to keep herself busy and be helpful to Myung Hee to distract herself; but whenever she would come back to her room, her eyes would land on the butterfly hairpin she had yet to return to Prince So; and she would begin thinking of him all over again.

She wondered over and over what could have happened to make him act like he had by the prayer stones. She worried over him.

Finally, annoyed at her own pining, Soo decided to return the hairpin –one less distraction – and sent Chae Ryung to put the hairpin in his room since it would be less suspicious.

But something must have gone wrong because the next time she saw Chae Ryung, she was tied up and being whipped by another maid under the supervision of Princess Yeon Hwa.

"What do you think you're doing?" Soo said, standing between Chae Ryung and Yeon Hwa's maid.

"Punishing this thieving maid. Do not interfere. I'm in charge here."

"Lady Hae is the lady of this house, not you. If you are going to punish someone from her staff, you should at least tell her," Soo said. "And Chae Ryung is not a thief."

"Then why was she in the Fourth Prince's room taking this?" Yeon Hwa said snidely, showing Soo the butterfly hairpin.

"I gave it to her to return to his Highness."

"This isn't something you could own."

"I just told you that it belongs to the Prince. I asked Chae Ryung to return it to him since it wouldn't be proper for me to go into his room, would it?" Never mind that she had been to his room before; the princess did not need to know that.

"If it belongs to the Prince, then why did you have it? Perhaps you are the thief?"

"I can't tell you why I have it, but I didn't steal it. Why would I be giving it back if I had?"

Yeon Hwa was running out of arguments and looking a bit like a fool, which she did not appreciate. "Step aside, Hae Soo," Yeon Hwa said through gritted teeth before ordering her maid to keep going.

But Soo wouldn't budge. "If you so want to hit someone, hit me. Leave Chae Ryung alone."

Yeon Hwa blinked then smirked. "Fine. Tie her up." She ordered the maid, who now looked uncertain. Everyone knew how much Lady Hae dotted on her younger cousin…

But the Princess would not be deterred. When Soo turned to untie Chae Ryung, Yeon Hwa snatched the stick from the maid and struck Soo. Soo flinched and bit her lip. Her eyes teared up, but she would not cry out. Soo braced for the next strike, but it didn't come. Instead…

"That's enough," Wang So said, grabbing Yeon Hwa's arm and keeping her from swinging.

"Orabeoni, don't interfere with household matters; this isn't your concern."

"If I heard you correctly, the issue seems to be about my property. So I beg to differ," So said, letting her struggle to free her arm for a bit before letting her go. "She's mine if there is a punishment to give, of which I'm not sure."

"I was just returning the hairpin, really. Neither Chae Ryung nor I stole it," Soo said quickly.

"That's true!" Eun said, jumping in. "Soo told me- I mean, I saw her pick it up after our brother dropped it outside his room last time I was here." It was a blatant lie, but no one seemed inclined to contradict him

"That solves it then," So indicated with a movement of his head that it was time for Hae Soo to leave.

"But-"Yeon Hwa was fuming. She had just been humiliated in front of all of her brothers.

"That's enough, Yeon Hwa," Wook said finally. "I'm sure you have other things to do."

Soo finished untying Chae Ryung and quickly bowed to the princes before she took the maid away to check her wounds. Prince Eun worriedly trailed after them, offering clueless but earnest advice.

-000—

Later that afternoon, once Chae Ryung was safely in the servant's quarters, the wounds on her back bandaged and with Lady Hae's permission to rest for the reminder of the afternoon, Soo decided to take a walk to clear her head. She was angry and worried, and her heart was aching a little. She really needed to calm down.

Soo was looking down, rubbing her chest and muttering to herself when she smacked right into Prince So. Looking up at his frowning face, she quickly reached up to grab the side of her head and went "Ah, ah, aww, aww!"

"You bumped into me," The prince said pointedly.

Soo straightened and defiantly rubbed her forehead for a bit more, sniffling too for good measure. "I really didn't steal the hairpin. You dropped it that time in Damiwon, and you said I couldn't tell anyone I had seen you then so…" She trailed off as he tensed. "That's what happened."

So looked down at her. "Are you all right?"

Before she could prevent it, a small smile formed on her lips. "I'm fine."

"How can you be smiling after that?"

Soo shrugged. "It could have been worse. I'm glad you came when you did."

"You are glad?"

"I'm always glad to see you, your Highness. Haven't you noticed?" Soo pouted, forgetting her troubles in lieu of teasing him a bit.

Wang So shook his head. He would not be distracted by her pout, no matter how cute it was. "Why? Why do you say things like that?"

Soo shrugged again.

"You really aren't afraid of me, are you? Even after what you saw last time?"

"I know you are not someone I should take lightly but no, I'm not afraid of you. I know you won't hurt me."

"How can you be sure?"

Soo paused for a long time; this was the second time he asked her why she knew she was safe with him. And Soo thought of the visions and dreams that came at her from time to time. They were growing hazier and far in between as time went on, but Soo was sure of something: if all of this had happened before and ended in tragedy like she had seen (or remembered or whatever the visions were) this was the one person who never left her side, even when it had cost him.

He had loved her.

And he deserved the truth… as much as she could tell him.

"What if I told you that when I was drowning, I saw how our future would be like if we didn't stick together? That bad things would happen when we are apart? That we spend the next thousand years looking for each other but never see one another again...That this is our chance to make our own stars?"

"Is that why you are pushing for this?" He said, awkwardly waving to the space between them. "Some sort of… fate?"

"Not entirely," Soo said thoughtfully. "That is much simpler than fate."

"What? Do I make your heart flutter every time you see me?" He said sarcastically.

"No," She said succinctly and tried not to laugh at his glare. "I mean, you can make my heart flutter when you smile – which you don't do often enough, by the way; but it's not that. Every day when I first see you, I feel peaceful. Safe. Since the first day when I didn't know you and I was pretty sure you were going to throw me off your horse? I felt it then."

He had been hurt too much in this life to take her words at face value; he wasn't sure if he could believe her, trust her or ever talk about it like her, like it was meant to be, like they were writing it in the stars.

But he had to admit that there was a pull there. That when he first saw her by the riverbank, his first impulse had been to ride off with her and keep her to himself, an impulse that was overruled by his deep instinct to deny himself what he wanted, before someone else did it for him.

There was the fact his feet found their way to her without meaning to, like right now. That when he stood by her side, he felt like he was in his proper place; and when she smiled at him -when she laughed - he felt like he had finally arrived somewhere… where he was meant to be.

"Then should I say you are mine? Call you my person?" he asked dryly, looking closely at her reaction.

Soo gave him one of those smiles of hers that showed her dimples, and his own heart felt pretty fluttery. "Your person? I'd like that."

And when Soo came closer, he panicked, stepped back and left her standing there, not daring to look back in case he was tempted to do something stupid, like grabbing her and never letting her go.

Soo stared after him, smiling. She was wearing him down. Otherwise he would have just called her crazy or mocked her, and not run off like he was doing now.

Feeling quite cheerful, Soo began to hum a wordless tune as she made her way back to her room, pretending not to notice that the Fourth Prince was following her.

-00-