Blessed Moon: The King's Seer

by L. S Bethel

  ***

  Kang-Dae stared down at the calendar his scholars had presented him with. The date of the blessed moon had been found. A ball of dread formed inside him as he stared at the markings. He had hoped he’d have more time. He’d been taking Jung-Soo’s advice to heart doing his best to show Serenity she had a place there with him, but he didn’t think it was enough. Despite his efforts, there was a wall between them, a wall Serenity used to keep him from reaching that special part of herself reserved for those she loved most. If he was unable to break through, the consequences of his failure would haunt him for the rest of his life.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Katsuo has been pushing further inland,” Advisor Min said. The council murmured amongst themselves. Serenity looked over to Kang-Dae who appeared slightly distracted.

  “If we send the army, we may stop him from overtaking us,” Yu said.

  “We can’t send out all our forces without knowing exactly where he has positioned his army. We could end up in an ambush.” Nasim spoke.

  “If we do nothing, he will think us weak. He’ll push his boundaries even more,” Kyril claimed.

  “Has there been any reports that can give us a better idea of where his main forces are?” Serenity asked.

  “Not yet, my Queen. So far people have just reported factions of Katsuo’s army” Nasim answered.

  “If we can map out all the factions, it could give us a possible idea of where he could be,” Serenity suggested.

  “What do you know of war strategies?” Sun sneered from his position by Yu. His tone shook Kang-Dae out of whatever thought he’d been stuck in.

  “General Sun!” The shout brought a tension-filled silence in the room. The general didn’t move at first, he stood clenching a fist around the hilt of his sword. He finally moved to the center of the room.

  “I think perhaps you are mistaken. You seem to have forgotten who you address,” Kang-Dae said in a low voice that made Serenity shudder.

  “I meant no offense, my King,”

  “Yet I am offended.” General Sun went to his knee.

  “Apologies, my King.”

  “Why do you apologize to me?! It is the Queen you should be bending your knee to!”

  “It’s alright,” Serenity chimed in not liking the anger coming from him. “I’m sure he meant no harm.” Kang-Dae kept his gaze fixed on Sun. The general wouldn’t meet his eye.

  “My King?” Serenity called out to him. Kang-Dae finally turned his gaze and sat back against his throne. Serenity let out a relieved sigh. “That’ll be all general.”

  Not wasting a second of his reprieve Sun quickly rose and returned to his position.

  Amir was the first to break the silence bringing them back to the matter they were discussing before.

  ***

  Whatever had been bothering Kang-Dae through the meeting was still bothering him during Serenity’s lessons. He was barely present staring off into space several times. Becoming annoyed with his lack of focus and hating to see him so out of character, Serenity stood and went over to him. Before he could comprehend her movement, she plopped herself down in his lap.

  “Wh-wh-what are you doing?” He stammered. It felt good to throw him off balance once in a while Serenity thought.

  “I was trying to work on my grammar, but my teacher doesn’t seem to be paying attention.” She shifted a bit and Kang-Dae cleared his throat and fidgeted as if he were suddenly very uncomfortable.

  She put her paper in his face. “Is this correct?” she asked in Xianian. He swallowed as he glanced down at the paper. He nodded wordlessly. Serenity smiled and grabbed another from her position to begin to write. Kang-Dae was still as a stone as she wrote paying him no mind. When she was finished, she read what she wrote aloud. Kang-Dae’s focus returned but not on her pronunciation or speech, but on her lips. Serenity took notice of where his attention was and sighed dramatically. “Seriously? It’s like you don’t want me to learn at all.” Kang-Dae dropped his gaze and Serenity grinned to see his reddening ears. “Should I go back to my mother-in-law?” She questioned again in Xianian. “At least she knew how to keep the lesson on track,” she continued in English. She moved to get up only for him to grab onto her, keeping her in place.

  This time, when he looked up at her, it wasn’t with the distracted gaze or the anger he had for Sun earlier. It was 100% him. The playfulness and sincerity had returned. She smiled to see it glad to have him in a better mood until her gladness turned to alarm at the realization that he was back to his old self and she was currently in his lap. The moment Kang-Dae saw the awareness of her situation hit her he let loose one of those smiles of his. She tried once more to get up only for his hold to tighten around her. “You have progressed well in your studies,” he told her. “So much so I believe a reward in order.”

  “I don’t need a reward,” she squeaked.

  “No? Well, what about me? I think the teacher who is responsible for such great progress should share in the spoils as well.” Serenity was playing with her hands as her breathing increased.

  “What kind of reward?” she asked eyes shifting. He pretended to contemplate all the while keeping her close, his thumb stroking the small of her back sending shivers up her spine. His gaze returned to her face, and his playful smile slowly disappeared replaced with a look Serenity can only describe as hunger. His eyes moved once again to her mouth and Serenity felt like her heart was on the brink of imploding. He moved in slowly, almost as if he were savoring his hunt. Serenity’s mind was blank. She couldn’t even make up a reason why she shouldn’t let this happen. She closed her eyes as his lips met hers. This time there was no hesitation or slow build-up. He kissed her like he was starving for her and planned on devouring her. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she held onto him. His hands moved all over her back and a sound escaped from deep in his throat which stirred something inside her. His kisses deepened but Serenity pulled away panting in a desperate need to breathe. They stared at one another breathing in each other’s air. Serenity took in his desired filled eyes and reddening lips. This time she was the aggressor as she launched herself at him joining them together once more. Kang-Dae was caught off guard for a second before he returned her kiss with equal enthusiasm. It was hard to say how long they spent joined together like that. Serenity’s mind was barely forming sentences let alone keeping time. They were both happy to stay in that moment as long as they could. Eventually, they did manage to pull away, resting their heads against one another as they took time to regain their faculties. Kang-Dae was the first to recover. He grinned as he pulled away taking in her dazed expression. Serenity’s face felt hot and it was still hard to focus. Kang-Dae helped her stand. Neither one spoke as he took her hand in his and lead them out of the study, knowing there would be no more work being done in that room that day.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Serenity had just come from having tea with the ladies of the court. She of course had drunk her cup last, still being cautious with what she drank and ate. The women wanted to discuss some celebration that they wanted her to host. It had something to do with the Gi family. Just the sound of their name had her wanting to scream out ‘no’, but she tried to put her biases and extreme dislike of the family aside for the sake of Xian tradition. They spent the time coming up with a reasonable budget. Serenity definitely was not planning on wasting kingdom funds and going all out for that miserable old man and his delusional daughter.

  Serenity spotted Jung-Soo on the other side of the pavilion. She called out to him before jogging over holding up her skirts. “I haven’t seen you in days,” she exclaimed.

  “There was some trouble in villages by An Pang river. I took some men to sort it out,” he explained.

  “You should have told me. I was looking for you.”

  “All that means to me is that I was lucky enough to be gone when you thought to ask me to participate in some task that I have no interest in.” Serenity gave him a dirty look.

&nb
sp; “I wanted your help. I wanted to put some protocols in place in specific areas so anyone can take over the shipments,” she explained.

  “You mean after you have gone,” Jung-Soo completed her sentence. Serenity lowered her head before nodding.

  “I can’t ask him to help me with things like this,” she said softly. “It’ll just put us back in a bad place and I don’t want that.” Jung-Soo was quiet for a second before nodded his understanding.

  “Still, I feel offended,” Jung-Soo said suddenly looking wistfully at the sky.

  “About what?”

  “Do I not merit any special time with the Queen before her departure?” He let out a long sigh. “To think, I thought we were friends.” Serenity rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm.

  “Are you done being stupid?” She asked playfully. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she wasn’t the least bit intimidated. “Come on. I want to get some of it done before dinner.”

  Kang-Dae watched the two from his spot above them on the walkway. They hadn’t noticed him standing there listening to their every word. The darkness in his belly was forming again. Even now, after all they shared, she still would not consider a life with him. She still had every intention of returning home through the unknown to get back to her family. Kang-Dae huffed bitterly. How had he allowed himself to think for a moment she would choose otherwise?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kang-Dae awoke violently out of his sleep, his nightshirt soaked with cold sweat. His eyes were wild as he frantically turned to his left. Immense relief filled him seeing Serenity slumbering peacefully. He reached out to pull her to him, just to hold her in his arms for a moment to settle his racing heart but stopped himself. Despite the urgency he felt, he didn’t want to disturb her peace. He dropped his hand. His heart continued to race as he panted, trying his best to calm himself but remnants from his dream were still in his mind making it impossible. The fear in his gut was making him nauseous. He glanced over at Serenity once more. ‘She’s safe’ he told himself over and over, doing his best to chase that horrible dream away. Unable to stand the thought of sleep, he rose out of bed. Grabbing his robe and shoes, he made the long walk to his study. He sat behind his desk, the silence of the night and quietness of the palace did nothing to ease the tension he felt. Despite his efforts, he could not shake off his dream. It had been too vivid, too possible. He tried to comfort himself by reminding himself he was not the seer. His dreams didn’t come true, but a conversation he’d once had with Serenity when she’d first arrived made him freeze.

  Several months earlier

  “Are there many seers in your world?” he asked while she wandered around looking at the different weapons and artwork decorating his study. “A lot of them don’t even realize it. They think their dreams are just that, dreams. Honestly, that’s how they seem until you start to pay attention.” She ran her fingers along the ancient mask of his ancestor. “You know even those who aren’t technically seers can still have prophetic dreams.”

  “Really?” he asked skeptically. He inwardly flinched when she poked at the centuries-old cloth painting on the wall.

  She nodded. “Not everyone has the gift of prophetic dreaming but everyone’s capable of having prophetic dreams. Sometimes it’s dreams of warning, to keep you from doing something that would be bad for you or just preparing you for something that’s coming. Unfortunately, a lot of people just think they’re nightmares and dismiss them. They don’t even realize they were given a chance to stop a disaster before it happened.”

  That sick feeling returned full force. With a shaking hand, he poured himself a cup of wine to settle his nerves. He spent the remainder of the evening at his desk with the lanterns burning through the night.

  ***

  Kang-Dae had been avoiding her all day and she couldn't stand it. When she’d woken up to see his side of the bed empty, she was surprised, thinking maybe he had things to attend to. But as the day ran into the next, it became clear to her he was once again avoiding her. She thought they'd moved past this. She couldn't figure out what had changed. She shut her book in frustration. According to Jung-Soo, nothing had happened while he was with him. She thought maybe it was something Katsuo related, but then why did it seem like he was specifically taking it out on her? She thought about confronting him, forcing him to explain himself but she didn't want a fight. The door opened and the subject of her ire walked right in, wearing the same expression of indifference that she’d come to despise. It felt like they were strangers once more. She had hoped he was there to talk and maybe let her know what was bothering him. She watched him with a yearning that was almost embarrassing. How is it possible to miss someone even if they were in the room?

  Kang-Dae stopped right in front of her. “Hi,” she said with an uncertain smile hoping he might return it. No such luck.

  “My scholars have figured out the day of the next blessed moon.” Never had a series of words caused such a competitive state of emotions at once. Elation, despair, sadness, anticipation, denial, she was battling every one of them.

  “So, what happens now?” she asked her voice low.

  “It takes 2 days of travel to get to the lake. We will leave a couple of days before,” he said his tone was flat and emotionless. “Do not worry about the works you have done. I'll make sure they will continue.” His detached explanation of what would happen once she was gone was disconcerting. “The people will believe you are visiting relatives for a time. Soon I will break the news that you have grown ill and then I will tell them you have passed.” As he continued, like he was just planning an uninteresting business trip, she felt like screaming. “I will make all the preparations.”

  An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Serenity didn’t even know how to respond, not to his attitude, or the fact that she would be going home. “Serenity,” he called to her bringing her attention back to him. She was surprised to see that emotionless mask had fallen for a moment.

  “What if-,” he stopped, his eyes shifting to the floor, as he appeared to struggle to find the right words. “It’s possible this may not go the way you think. We still do not know anything about this lake or what might happen to you if you went in. You could get hurt. Who can say this “doorway” only has one destination? How do you know it will take you back to your home? You could end up in a completely different place, a more dangerous one, and no one to help you.”

  Serenity tugged anxiously at her dress as a shudder went through her. She honestly hadn’t even considered any of those things. So filled with the hope that she could make it home she never let any other possible outcomes enter her mind. What if she did end up in some terrifying world filled with monsters? What if she went was sent to a place where slavery hadn’t been abolished? Her blood ran cold at that thought. But this was her best chance, she had to take it.

  “I have to try,” she stated softly.

  “Serenity-,”

  “I have to. I have to believe that if I’m meant to go back, I’ll make it back.”

  “And if you don’t, and something even worse befalls you?” he pressed. Serenity detected a hint of desperation in his voice.

  “It won’t,” she said confidently. She caught it right before he could hide it away. Pain, regret. It was in his face, his eyes. She wanted to take it away. She took a step toward him only for him to step back.

  “I will start making the arrangements.” The coldness returned and Serenity could feel her heart clenching. Kang-Dae turned to leave.

  “When is it?” she asked stopping him.

  “3 weeks,” he stated refusing to face her. His answer made her physically ache.

  “Are you sure?” she asked doing her best to keep her voice steady.

  “Yes.” Without another word he left.

  Once she was alone, she released a shuddering breath. She began to curse him for making what was already a difficult situation even worse. She wiped her eyes angrily. God help her. She would not leave here this way. She woul
d not leave him this way. Maybe it was selfish on her part, but she refused to spend what time they had left as drifting strangers.

  ***

  “Has it been arranged?” Yoon asked in a hushed tone being careful despite the secluded spot.

  “It's already in place,” the conspirator answered.

  “How long will we have to wait?”

  “It's best if we do this gradually. It will be less suspicious that way.” Yoon felt excitement flowing through him at the thought of their plan going into action and what it will mean for him and his family. He couldn't wait to see that false Queen fall and his daughter rise.

  Chapter Fifteen