Till The Ryu Tree Blossoms

**** (Heaven)

Royal Infirmary, the Palace

"WE NEED TO BABYSIT?"

Yoon-ki sighed. "It's not babysitting. You're going to be guiding and teaching the princes. The King's sons."

"Yes, and one of them is only eleven."

"The youngest prince won't be hunting. The King would never allow." Yoon-ki looked at Ryu and cracked a smile. "But he could always pick up archery if he liked."

"This isn't funny, Yoon-ki." The dislike in Taehyung's voice burned. "When the party was first made, the King promised us freedom outside of these walls. You know that. Now not only are we stuck here, you're telling us we need to teach those pretentious snobs how to hunt? Those blue-blooded, smooth-skinned spoiled brats who've never done a day's work in their lives? Who'll probably run away screaming at the first sign of a rabbit's blood?"

"You're exaggerating, Taehyung. They practice sword fights and martial arts. Blood isn't something they aren't used to."

"But have they ever killed? Have they ever knowingly, consciously, murdered a living, breathing creature?"

Silence reigned in the infirmary. It was late noon of the second day since Ryu had awaken, and technically the fifth day she was spending in the palace. She had never been here this long. They had finished burning the last of the bodies earlier that morning, and now the court was struggling to return to its previous semblance of order. Through the window of the infirmary, Ryu spied harried ministers nearly tripping over themselves as they conversed urgently with the King, carrying documents and reports and whatnot in their hands. She could only imagine the stress the King had to be going through.

How can you convince an entire kingdom that there was nothing to panic about, when the entire kingdom now knew that there were monsters roaming the woods? Monsters that were supposed to have existed only in the past, in woods that surrounded the kingdom on three sides.

Woods that had once given this place the name Suicide Cape.

Yoon-ki exhaled, patient, and Ryu tuned back into the conversation. The royal magistrate was one day away from being given a clean bill of health, and he was itching to jump out of bed and get moving. Ryu could see it in the relentless drumming of his fingers on the bed sheets.

She spoke up. "I don't understand. Why did the King suddenly banned us from leaving? Surely we're needed now more than ever to hunt and get rid of those things. He shouldn't be restricting our movement."

"That is the whole reason why we have to stay." Yoon-ki spread his hands. "We are extremely needed now, and the King wants us close. Everyone knows that we're good in the woods, and the King is hoping to use that to his advantage."

Yoon-ki's eyes flickered around, determined that it was safe to speak, and went on.

"The King is going to tell everyone that we, the hunting party, will take on the responsibility of getting rid of those creatures. Because we're experienced in the woods, so we have an edge, and we're going to try to hunt those demons like how we hunt our usual 'animals', except - well, we're going to try harder and be more clever. That way, we can get all the resources we need, without revealing that we have already been hunting demons in the first place."

There was the slam of a palm on the table, making Ryu jump, and Taehyung laughed. It was a sound utterly devoid of mirth, close to losing it, and completely chock-full of disbelief.

"So let me get this straight. When the people didn't know they needed us, we were kept hidden like some shameful secret. Now that the truth is out, instead of getting our full acknowledgment, we're supposed to keep up the pretense to facilitate the King's deceit? Don't give me that crap!"

There was a vein bulging down the length of Taehyung's neck, and his fists had curled into themselves like stone.

"The whole reason why Sansuri today has gone nearly catatonic from shock is because they didn't know anything about it in the first place," he hissed. "If we had just told the truth from the beginning, told them that yes - demons exist, but there are people trying to protect you from them, and here's a bunch of things you can do to protect yourselves; if we had just said that from the beginning, we wouldn't be so unprepared. But no. No, we had to get a King who was so afraid of the damn things he hired people to keep them out of sight, before keeping those same people out of sight themselves!"

Taehyung stepped forward till his knee knocked the side of Yoon-ki's cot. Each syllable that came out of his mouth dripped with venom.

"Let me tell you what I really think about the man you like to bend your knee for, Yoon-ki. Let me tell you who your glorious employer really is."

A heartbeat of silence. Ryu's heart had flown out and into her mouth.

"He's a freaking coward, dear Royal Magistrate, and you're a fool to follow him."

The nurse who came bearing Yoon-ki's medicine was nearly knocked off her feet as Taehyung whirled around. Ryu watched him stomp angrily out of the room.

No one said anything as the nurse checked on the bandage and gave Yoon-ki a nasty-smelling potion. No one spoke up as Yoon-ki finished the drink and returned it to the tray. No one gave even the slightest indication of sound until the nurse had picked up the tray and walked away.

"Well!" No-mu said. "That went quite well, don't you think?"

Yoon-ki rubbed his temples. "He'll come around. He always does."

"I'm not sure. He looks beyond pissed this time. And you have to admit, the King can really be a douchebag."

"He told an entire mourning crowd that there was no more hope for us," Faye added drily.

"Thank you Faye," Yoon-ki said, sounding almost exasperated. "Thank you for that helpful input. It was much needed in the situation."

"You're welcome."

"I do not judge the King's actions. And this is a decision that has been made. In hindsight, yes. Keeping us secret seemed a futile and pointless thing to do, especially since in the end the truth about demons existing was outed anyway. But a decade ago His Majesty couldn't have know that, and in that moment, preventing panic such as one on our current scale was the main focus he had in his mind. Ill-informed? Probably. But with the people's best interest at heart? Definitely. Right now, all we can do is salvage what we have."

The magistrate grumbled. "Perhaps the wound has made me soft. But I would have you all know that I need every last one of you, right here, right now, and that none of you are dispensable. So even if you may not agree, at least go along with it until normalcy has been re-established."

No-mu frowned. "Did you just . . . showed your appreciation? For us?"

Yoon-ki laid back on his pillow and closed his eyes. "I need to rest and get well as soon as possible. Begone, the lot of you."

He turned over, back facing them. Faye picked up her sword and left. Ryu followed. No-mu stood by the bed, and stared at Yoon-ki for a moment.

"You just appreciated us! You just said it out loud, vocally! Holy crap."

The magistrate's voice was muffled. "Go away, No-mu."

☯

"Why does Taehyung hate the palace so much?" Ryu asked Faye.

They were standing in front of the charred and blackened banquet hall, just looking at it. In the daylight it no longer looked scary, but was instead pitiful. Ryu wondered what they were going to do with it. Rebuild? Would anyone even want to have dinner in there again?

"Because of his mother," Faye replied. "She was a concubine of the previous King. This King's father."

Ryu's eyes goggled in their sockets. "Are you serious? What happened?"

"She was naive, and deeply in love. It's a common mistake. When the King chooses you as his bride and lavishes on you his attention, you began to think that you're different. That you can break free from the mold of all those previous concubines before you, that you can be the one to seal his heart. Of course it didn't happen. The King grew tired of her, as he always did, and she became another forgotten lover in his harem."

A bee buzzed nearby and Faye watched. When it came to land on her shoulder, she didn't even flinch.

"By then she was with child. Taehyung grew up watching his mother try everything she could do to catch the King's eye once again. He watched her dress up for him, only to be disappointed when he didn't come; he watched her cry as the King went into a different concubine's chamber every night, and he watched her get mocked by others as she kept trying, and trying, and trying. Most of all I think he hated the way she groveled at the feet of a man who gave her nothing in return. They said the King's name was the last thing on her lips when she passed away. She never once mentioned her son."

"Oh." Ryu's voice was small. "That - that's really sad."

"It is. And it's the reason why he's blown his fuse. To him, it must seem as if he's repeating his mother's mistake again. Helping a man who refuses to acknowledge him in the slightest."

"But then" - Ryu's eyes widened - "that means Taehyung is a prince!"

Faye laughed as she looked at Ryu. "You do not want to let him hear you calling him that. He left the palace as soon as he could and if not for this job, he would not want to have any association with it."

The bee flew away. They both turned their gazes back to the ruined hall.

"So what now?"

"Now we do our job," Faye said. "Find the demons, get rid of them, find out how to prevent a similar thing from happening again. Do it and go home. That's it."

"And this . . . babysit thing?"

"The King wants to prepare the army. The princes need to chip in once in a while as they're the faces of the country. Also because they need to show the King they can sit on the throne. So we're supposed to teach them what we know."

"We need to teach the entire royal army how to hunt a demon?"

"Yes." Faye smiled, wide. "Isn't that exciting?"

Ryu stared. "I really hope you're being sarcastic."

"Now wouldn't you like to know?"

☯

They were given a room each just outside the Inner Courtyard, and when Ryu entered hers she tried not to look impressed. It was exactly what she'd imagine a court lady's bedchamber would look like, except perhaps smaller. Her things were in neat boxes at the side of the door, and she recalled how Faye had been missing for a good part of the morning. Probably went back to the Residence with some men to grab our stuff. She felt a pang of sadness. She'd wanted an excuse to go back to the place one last time.

Her bow was the first of her possessions she saw, and she stilled. Carefully, she walked over and picked it up with her left arm.

It felt wrong. She placed it back down and tried not to look at it further.

A shower. That was what she needed. Three days in bed, mixed with the smoke from the funeral that seemed to be everywhere had made her all filthy and uncomfortable. What she needed now was a good long shower, preferably in a hot bathhouse, alone with no disturbances. Her eyes lit up at the prospect.

A passing maid outside gave her instructions and she soon found herself standing in between two corridors, one branching to the right and the other branching to the left. The smell of soap and water wafted out invitingly.

"Well it's just one gigantic bathhouse," she muttered to herself, "shouldn't matter which one I take."

She took the left and didn't notice the small metal plate on the wall, bearing the inscription - *.

Male.

Inside a warm fog persisted and Ryu made her way around carefully. There were three stone pools, wide and deep, connected to one another by a narrow channel. The floor was cement and there were lit candles all around, with a central gazebo where Ryu placed her clothes. Standing on the steps of the first pool she felt the warmth of the water lapping against her toes and couldn't wait to dive in.

She tried to remove her clothes with one hand but only managed to get her cotton jacket off. In the end she gave up and just waded in, making sure to keep her sling out of the way as much as she could. Steam was everywhere, turning the world a misty gray, and Ryu laughed, exhilarated. As she moved she caught a whiff of her hair and realized that really, she did need this bath.

For a few moments she just splashed around in the water, humming, and then she decided to try to go to the deep end. A wet sling can be changed any way. She was pretty much past caring at the point, if this was how royals bathed everytime she wondered how they ever got around to getting anything done.

The water rose higher until it was almost at her chest. She stopped, crouching low, and then craned her neck to the side as much as possible while still keeping her sling out of the water. Her entire half body ached and in the end she only gave half of her hair a good soak. She frowned. Perhaps if I go deeper . . .

She took another step forward and that was when her right foot slipped, sending her pitching backward. Exclaiming in alarm, her good arm flailed helplessly and she squeezed her eyes shut as she braced herself for impact.

Which never came.

"If you want to break another arm, you could have just asked me for help."

Ryu's eyes flew open.

Jimin righted her back on her feet and stepped away. His upper torso was bare, exposed to the air and dripping with pool water. Suddenly Ryu was glad for the steam. With his hair down she could now see that it was actually longer than hers, and probably kept even better judging from the look.

Goddamn, she thought, envious.

Panicking for a second she clutched at herself, before remembering that she hadn't taken off her clothes.

"You - you - what are you doing here?" she burst out.

Jimin ran water through his fingers. "Killing a man."

Ryu's eyes widened. Jimin made a sound of barely contained annoyance.

"Showering, naturally. Why, did you come here to find food?"

"I - I thought the bathhouses were segregated by gender."

"They are. Which makes me wonder if you're confused about yours."

"You mean this isn't the ladies bathhouse?"

"You mean you can't read?"

Ryu opened her mouth meekly, stopped, then closed it. Her eyes narrowed.

"What is your issue with me? Every sentence you speak is unpleasant."

"Because the person I'm speaking to is unpleasant." Jimin stepped closer, and now his voice carried an edge. "I told you. Stay out of sight, or face the executioner's axe."

"It's not as if I deliberately run into you. And in case you can't remember," Ryu pointed out, "I saved your ass in the fire."

"The good man Taehyung saved me. And is this how you would talk to a prince?"

"Is this how you would act like one?" she fired back.

Jimin stared at her for a moment. Then without a word, he turned around and began walking out of the pool. Ryu watched him go, and being unable to resist, she raised her voice and asked,

"Why won't you admit you know me?"

Jimin stopped moving.

"We know each other. I don't know how, but we do." The words spilled from her lips like water spilling through a sieve. "And I need to know why. Aren't you even the slightest bit curious? You're a prince. I'm a commoner. But we know each other, without even knowing how. How is that possible? How can I not have seen you, face-to-face, yet still have known you all my life?"

Her voice climbed in incredulity. "Don't you want to find out?"

Jimin said nothing. From behind a white shrub of flowers he retrieved his towel and tunic, which Ryu had missed seeing earlier. Climbing out of the pool, he stopped on the last stone step.

His head tilted slightly over his shoulder, but he didn't look back.

"Some things just shouldn't be."

And with that, he walked away from the stone pool, toward the entrance. Ryu shouted, defiant,

"You might want to leave it be, but I won't. I'll find the truth out, just see if I don't!"

If the prince had heard anything about what she said, he didn't give a sign. She looked down at the pool waters and her eyebrows furrowed. How could someone not be curious as to the reason why this thing was happening? This was the man that had been in her dreams since childhood. She had to know the reason why.

For a moment she just stood there, wondering what to do next. Bathing of course was her main intent, but with her hand in a sling and her clothes still on her -

There was the sound of footsteps and she looked up. Her first thought was that the prince had decided to come back and give her some parting retort, but instead it was a teenage girl dressed in plain white, carrying an armful of folded laundry. Ryu guessed correctly that she must be a palace servant of some sort.

The girl paused, staring at Ryu. Her eyes went automatically to her sling.

"Would you - uh, like some help?"

Ryu replied that she would, thank you very much. Not only did the servant girl helped her with getting her sling out of her tunic sleeve, she also insisted on washing Ryu's hair. Despite Ryu's protests, the servant girl quite firmly sat her down on the stone steps and made her lean back. It was a strange feeling, but it was definitely agreeable, and she found herself sighing in contentment.

Ryu closed her eyes, feeling the smoke and dirt and smell of death leaving her body, feeling the water's warmth kissing her skin, and slowly - she dozed off.

☯

There was no expression on the second prince's face as he stood in the walkway, watching the burned banquet hall. His eyes remained blank as inside he recalled how he had been halfway through the seventh step of the sword dance, when a gigantic claw had slammed right through the wall on his left side, punching him in the gut and sending him flying. In hindsight the blow might have done him a favor - he had landed behind an ornamental folding screen, and hence was out of sight for most of the time when the demons started tearing people apart for fun.

A slight tremor ran along Jimin's fingers and he clenched them, tight. It was harder to control nowadays. Any moment, and he might slip up.

Just like how he had slipped up so frequently in the past.

You might want to leave it be, but I won't. I'll find the truth out, just see if I don't!

Fool. The girl was a fool. Of all the personalities she had carried in the past, this was by the far the most idiotic of them all. But it was of no matter. He had made too many mistakes, too many times, and he had learned. It had taken him three whole lifetimes, but he had learned.

That there was no cure for a curse, and no workaround for fate.

That no tree would ever bloom and no happy ending was ever written.

This was it.

This - was the end of his trying.

"Your Highness. I've went inside and assisted her, as you asked."

Jimin glanced over. The servant girl he had met outside the bathhouse still had her arms full of the folded laundry, now a little damp from the steam. She dipped her head low as she speak, nearly bowing.

"Did you helped her with the hair?"

"I paid the most attention to it, Your Highness."

"Good." From somewhere within his robe Jimin took out a gold coin and flicked it, sending it flying backward into the servant girl's waiting palms. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, Your Highness! May you receive a thousand blessings from Heaven!"

The servant girl retreated and Jimin snorted, bitter.

Heaven?

Heaven had abandoned him a long time ago.