Many people, especially women, consider their wedding day as one of the happiest moments of their life. The time when a chapter closes and a new, refreshing, and exciting one opens. A portal to a never-ending world, full of love, passion, commitment and of course, adventure. Suppose this wonderful idea was running inside Jin Ri's head as she strolled down the courtyard with her retinues. It must have been a pure bliss of imagination.

She was going back to her chambers, after having a tea party slash chit-chat with her girlfriends. Daughters of noblemen who were loyal to her father. They gave her gifts, sang girly sing-songs, and talked about the Prince. Mostly, it was the third. She was cautious of the tales she told them, filtering every detail. She protected his image to safeguard hers. If the degree of closeness would be considered, they would be on the borderline between casual friends and acquaintances. Knowing her attitude and sense of entitlement, fueled by the position of the powerful prime minister, it would be quite understandable if she did not have a single close friend. The result of her blind idolatry and overdependence on Jung Ho. She mingled, but she never did trust.

As she was about to pass through the man-made pond, she saw Sae Joo walking across the bridge, alone. She swung her hand and waved at him. At first, the Prince gave nothing but a decent nod, but when he was a meter close, she scurried and bowed in front of him. "Your Highness, hi. How do you do?" Her cheekbones inflated in a big grin.

"Jin Ri, hello," he mumbled.

"I'm glad to see that you were getting along with my father. Suppose this is the start of the harmonious relationship between our families."

"Just doing my duty as his future son-in-law. Your father is an excellent man. A true reliable source of life wisdom. I see myself talking and discussing with him in the future. Perhaps tactics on how to rule the kingdom."

"That's what he truly is. My father is not a hard man to deal with. When you get to know him, you'll realize that he's a normal person after all. When he loves you, then he loves you. Nothing can change that. But let me tell you, he has a strange way of giving out knowledge and advice. He does not give it to you on a silver platter. You have to peel the skin gently to expose what he means.

He scoffed internally, but smirked on the outside. Peel? How much more do I need to reveal?

"It must have been a difficult decision for you, knowing what had happened in the past. I don't have the right to convince you to forget about trauma and move on. Nonetheless, I wish to thank you for choosing me as your bride. I promise not to bring dishonor to the royal family, especially to our subjects."

Sae Joo almost regurgitated upon hearing the angel's promise as sweet as ambrosia. His stomach clenched, the chyme hoisting up to his throat. An innocent cherub, all dressed in snowy white hanbok could not just simply hide her faux halo. The Prince thought that she was not utterly truthful with her words, that those word junks were pungent steams from her nose. Why? Well, for him, she exactly sounded like she was a hundred percent certain that she would be Queen. Nothing wrong about that, but if the desire for power overshadowed the beam of love, that was when it would become poisonous. Never in her life she cared for the welfare of the people. For her, they were like dolls. Dress them, feed them, pamper them, so they worship you. Then throw and replace them when they break or die. She worried about having a perfect image before the people and not as a woman—certainly not as a wife. He wanted to break her assumptions as the following thoughts ran through his mind: How sure are you that you'll be Queen? That I'll be King? Or let's put it in the simplest way—How sure are you that we're going to get married?

For the last one, Sae Joo abhorred admitting that he did not know if that would be possible. Though he chose to push through with the nuptials, he could not cheat on what his heart truly screamed—freedom! His soul was disgusted, repulsive to an extent. If he listened to his brain, do what was right according to Heaven's will, he should prepare to wrap his neck around the tightest noose while his body dangles mid-air and his lungs scrape for air.

His heart had been seeking for signs from above. Shall I stop this or not? As of that moment, right before the eyes of his fiance, the skies were still eyes shut.

Jin Ri cast a puppy gaze at him. "See you later, Your Highness."

"You will." Then Sae Joo went on his way.

When he arrived at his chamber, he saw his table strangely arranged. Over the maroon, satin cloth were tangerines, persimmons, and rolls of rice cakes. Beside them were six covered cup-like porcelain containers. "Isn't it too early for this?" he wondered.

He studied each one of the mysterious vessels. "They all look the same." His finger hopped in the air, playing eenie, minnie, miny, moe. One round, then back. And another one, with a different pattern, then another one. After the third try, his index landed on the fourth from his left. He pressed the lid hard as if his life depended on it. After one big blow of warm breath, he opened the cover.

Surprise! Astoundingly empty.

He opened the runners-up (from left to right). Red wine, handful-ish rice, gold coin, big nothing, a blue thread, and water. When he closed the cups, he heard an announcement from the door. His father was outside. Sae Joo quickly grabbed a book from his drawer, placed it on top of the table, and he stood for his final act. He bowed when his father entered.

Jae Joong moved closer to the Prince and hugged him. "Sae Joo." The Prince gasped, his eyes goggling while permitting his father to wrap him in a warm embrace. "Your Majesty, heh!"

"Was that unexpected from me?" asked Jae Joong, letting go.

"I think I would say, yes."

"I just miss you. That's all."

"Why would you miss me, Your Majesty? I've never left you..." His eyes rolled skywards, fingers. "Well, yes, I did, when I was fifteen. Usual teenage problems." chuckled him.

"I miss the old you. Happy, innocent..."

"Gullible, naive..." Sae Joo continued. "Father, with time and the things that I've been through, you should've expected me to be a new person, not necessarily better but far from the way I was. People change, and we can't change that. We grow with that. Even my love for you has changed. It became deeper. You know, when I discovered the truth, at first, I didn't know what to feel. Should I be angry? Should I be sorry? Sad? But after having a couple of talks and processing with myself, I realized that I shouldn't be blaming anyone about what had happened. Me, Sae Yoo, the Prime Minister, and yourself, Your Majesty. We are entangled with each other in the string of uncertainty and misery. As long as we live, we'll strive with the constant battles not just between our enemies, but also within ourselves, like what you did twenty-three years ago. You had to do what you needed to do, and I don't take that against you."

Jae Joong closed his eyes, indulging the beauty of his son's bright and optimistic mind. "Thank you, son. Your assurance means a lot to me. I am happy that you have this openness."

"I can't say the blow wasn't painful. It definitely was, and I guess it still is. But that pain is nothing compared to what you have felt as a father. This bite won't kill me. I am trying to paint everything with the warmest colors possible. The deities must have their reasons why they did this to us—to me."

"Whatever that reason is, one thing is for sure. It made you sharper and stronger. I will do anything on my power for you to remain that way. Not only for yourself, but also for the people who depend on you, and will depend on you, which brings me to my true purpose here."

"True purpose?" Sae Joo's forehead crunched.

The King picked a small box from his pockets and opened it. Sae Joo's mouth almost unhinged from his jaws upon seeing a green jade with glimmering golden vertebrae-like neck chains. From a jewelry expert's point of view, the piece was below average, design-wise, but as an artist, the Prince recognized the necklace's representation of the magnificence and irony of life.

Jae Joong handed his gift. "This belonged to my mother. She had this when she was married. It has been passed through hundreds of generations, a family fortune. Now, that you're transitioning into manhood, I suppose that you deserve to have this kind of honor."

Sae Joo gazed at the dazzling stones. Detail by detail, he examined every stone and spike. He could not see anything spectacular. The usual color combination of any jewelry in Silla. His clothes-hanger collarbones highlighted when he wrapped it around his neck. He stroked it and smiled. "This is beautiful, Your Majesty. Thank you so much."

"You deserve it, son. Come here!" Jae Joong held the Prince's shoulders. "I don't know if I have said this to you, but I would still say it. I am so proud of you, Sae Joo. If I had the chance to go back in time, I would still do the same. I don't regret any of my decisions because they brought me to you. I love you. Don't you ever forget that."

"So do I, Your Majesty." Sae Joo dunked his head, a certain urge to look at the necklace buzzing in his head. His eyes directed on the green centerpiece. An outlier among the group of conventionally-exquisite gems. The one that owned the spotlight unexpectedly, hanging on the threads of blinding glamour of the significant.

And that was his much-awaited signal.

~~•~~

When the moon resurfaced above the partially-cloudy, starry sky, people from different regions of the kingdom stormed inside the palace grounds. Palace officials, especially the Hwarangs assigned on the gates, organizing and assisting guests and their corresponding masks, moved off the hook, with no point of stopping. Their fingers numbed, their voices dried, arms strained (giving instructions especially those who fell in line—commoners, though). The horror of meticulously listing down names of more than hundreds of guests would transcend to their memories in their next lives.

The fall of the night had immortalized the seemingly dull decorations of the afternoon courtyard. The festive paradise was filled with bright red and yellow colors, illuminating from lanterns of different shapes. Some clung on the walls while some were hung on the balconies. The eight overlapping colorful silk cloths, crossing from one terrace to another.

Nobles from all over the kingdom exchanged chatters and sweet messages while enjoying the wine and food served by the unmasked court ladies. Statements whether fake or true, one could not ever know. The aesthetic hurdles on their faces kept them from hiding their true intentions. Be that as a secret contempt, lust, or a mere admiration. At the end of the night, who could ever believe the words of a sheep, a goat, or a pig dressed in expensive clothing and fine pieces of stones?

Commoners, on their hemp slippers, were frozen in time as they swarmed to the lovely murals, painted on four-paged divider walls, dispersed all over the courtyard. Nature at its finest. Sparkling, flowing river in the middle of the verdant valley, flowers blooming on a big chocolate cake with melting icing, the enchanting horror of the dark, hazy, woods as the first snow fell, the fall of the last leaf from a sycamore, ready for its journey to the afterlife, and still images of animals in their daily lives—wild, farm, and the human's friendly, cuddly ones.

Some noblemen studied the sculpture collections inside a big hall. Gold, silver, and bronze statues of Buddhas, with different sizes and stages of his life. Live figures of animals made from clay, emerald, porcelain, or glasses. Big and small earthen pots with various designs. Then a little section for those which could not be named. Debates aroused when they tried interpreting those with lesser beauty, those which did not exist in the realm of sanity. One great example: A tall tower of twisted golden wires, entangling from its root-like base up to a red cherry-like structure on its tip. Unknown to them, it was Sae Joo's work, and its name shall not be disclosed. Something to ponder about, a brain challenger—for people to realize that art is not always about beauty and order.

One could not neglect the presence of the special stage, covered with a dandelion-yellow tent, with only the most exquisite chairs and furniture, which were considered as art themselves. Paintings of varying complexity—from the simplest blood daisy in the middle of a dark canvass to the most head-pinging smorgasbord of erotic and erratic colors with no definitive meaning (streak, strike, splash, lash... face flushed)—all stood, embodying grace and elegance, from the support of their triangular easels, for everyone to see.

When a eunuch announced the King's arrival on the stage, all people gathered in the courtyard. Jae Joong, in his red ceremonial robe, towering crown glinting over his head, welcomed the thronging, silent audience. "Tonight is a wonderful time for all of us, for not only this is a time to appreciate the wonders of art but also the moment where our beloved Prince meets his Princess. A match made in Heaven. We are all lucky to witness two souls become one. People of Silla... Prince Sae Joo and Princess Jin Ri."

Behind the maroon curtains, the Prince and his fiancee appeared. Sae Joo in his burgundy robe and red pants, hair pulled up and tucked in his small crown. Jin Ri, the most beautiful woman in that hour, in her white long robe and fuchsia balloon skirt, her lilac satin slippers hiding under. Hair looped in braids filled with golden head ornaments.

Together, they faced their people, the subjects of the generation, and dipped their heads into a low bow. A court lady went up the dais, holding a tray with liquor and two wine cups. Sae Joo picked one, then Jin Ri got hers. They faced each other and gazed fervently, one with a burning passion, while one hanging on its wilting end.

They drank their wines, eyes till glued with each other, and the crowd cheered. Though this was not the formal marriage ceremony, Sae Joo slowly felt the tightening of his belt, the collapse of his diaphragm, and the racing of his chest, chasing the pounding beat of the hurrahs. Eighty percent of his fate was sealed, and no key in the world could ever unlock it; the wedding later would only be considered as a ritual for formality. The Crown Prince was practically married, before the eyes of the clueless people. A monstrous expectation to be completed and never to be broken.

The future King and Queen of the nation.

Above all, that concept worried him down the bone. It was bound to happen, before the eyes of the Gods and Goddesses... And then he thought, This is it. I'm doomed! 

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