1874 DAYS (An Arranged Marriage Romance)

2

NOW

He bows deeply, then takes a seat opposite me. “Your Highness.” His face is the epitome of seriousness but in his eyes is a hint of barely concealed playfulness.

Assuming a more casual posture, I remove my hands from where they were hidden and adjust my otgoreum and norigae. “When did you arrive at the palace?” I ask without looking up.

“Well, yesterday before dawn, but I left on an important errand before noon and I haven’t been around till this afternoon. I came here as soon as I completed my errand.” He explains without hesitation.

I nod and we sit in awkward silence. Lord Thomas and I haven’t spoken in the last three months, he was always traveling and I was busy with my duties. I look around my waiting room in an attempt to find something, anything that would serve as a conversation starter, but he beats me to it.

“I didn’t see your private guard outside your chambers, is everything okay?” Lord Thomas asks and I smile at the current topic of our conversation. Lord Thomas and my private guard Pierre hated each other’s guts. If Pierre was here, he wouldn’t have let Thomas even cross the threshold of my chambers not like it would have stopped Lord Thomas. But that was how unfriendly they were to each other.

“He traveled due to some important matters, he will be back soon. I’ll tell him that you missed him, and thought about him”

We stare at each other with mock somber expressions for a few seconds then simultaneously burst into laughter.

“You look ridiculous with that expression,” I say, putting my hands over my mouth to prevent myself from snorting.

“And you on the other hand, looked cute,” he says, and I can tell that he isn’t flirting by the honest smile I see on his face. Lord Thomas was a painfully honest man sometimes. I think the biggest lie he has ever told is a lie by omission and no matter how I look at it, that doesn’t count as a lie to me.

“I wish I could travel as much as you do,” I sigh, reaching for one of the biscuits placed on the center table between the two chairs we are sitting on.

“And I wish I was you, enjoying the luxuries of the palace and the authority it brings,” He leans further into his chair, “I guess it’s one of those days.” He says, nodding to the hanbok I’m wearing.

I look down at my hanbok and nod. “Yes, it is.”

My eyes drift to the chessboard sitting in a corner of the room, untouched; I’d been waiting for him to return to the palace for so long so we could continue our game of chess, we had to stop abruptly the last time because an important message suddenly came up and he needed to deliver it to the Prince. I’d been so sure I was going to win that time that I didn’t pack up the chess pieces. Almost as if he can read my mind, Lord Thomas’ eyes drift to the chessboard and a smile creeps to his lips, “You left it untouched.” He observes as he gets up and gingerly carries the chessboard to our table, careful not to shake the pieces.

“How about we finish this game. What do you say, Your Highness?”, he makes to sit but then pauses halfway. I look up from the chessboard to find his eyes on me again. He gives me an intent look like this is the first time he’s seeing me and I squirm uncomfortably under his stare.

“Is there something on my face?” I laugh nervously as I touch my face, but his eyes are not on my face.

“The flower on that hairpin is that…” he trails off, unable to finish his sentence.

“Monkshood. Also known as Wolf’s bane? Yes. Yes, it is.” I pull out the hairpin and observe its design, the flower at the edge of the hairpin is so intricately detailed and formed that it could be mistaken for the real flower.

“A beautiful and seemingly harmless yet potentially deadly flower.” He says but he isn’t looking at the hairpin in my hands but at my face. “Did something happen recently Your Highness? Is it about the banquet holding tomorrow?” he settles back in his chair casually, like he didn’t just poke where it hurts.

“Where are my manners? I’m such a bad host, do you want tea?” I stand abruptly and walk to the door to summon another court maid to bring in tea, but his voice stops me before I can reach the door.

“No, not really. It is too late for that. I won’t be able to drink it when we start the game anyway, please have a seat, Your Highness.”

Lord Thomas observes the game board as I settle back in my seat, “You really didn’t move a piece,” he murmurs to himself but it’s loud enough for me to hear so I nod in reply. “I was a little surprised when I found out you weren’t in charge of planning the banquet.” He moves his knight forward and takes one of my pawns. Touché.

He looks expectantly at me, whether to make my move or comment on what he said, I’m not sure so I do both. I smile at the board in excitement, my former ire forgotten. I’ve practiced this game in my head many times, I guess it’s safe to say, I’ve predicted almost all the moves left to be made in this game.

I move another pawn. “How did you know?”

“I stopped at the venue briefly and you weren’t there,” he says and before I can ask what he means, he clarifies it himself, “every time you planned an event, you never left the site of the event; you would stay at the site from morning to night to personally oversee everything because you wanted it to be perfect. So imagine my surprise when I went to the banquet site and you were nowhere to be seen, and the workers said they haven’t seen you all day.”

He moves a pawn, and for the first time, I wonder how much he knows about me, and if has he been monitoring my every move and habit like this? It is not that I don’t trust him, I just don’t trust his loyalty to the Crown Prince. Lord Thomas is the Crown Prince’s right-hand man and I’ve always found it suspicious that he spends more than half of his time in the palace instead of staying wherever the Crown Prince was.

“Ah, before I forget, I got you this ornament as a gift. I’m not good at color coordination but I hope you like it.” He hands me a small lilac-colored box about fourteen inches long and four inches wide, it’s the first time he’s gotten me a gift, so I take it eagerly.

I open the box and a long dark green norigae sits in the box, at the end of its many tassels are tiny beads of various colors, so this is what he meant by color coordination. I pick it up and bring it closer to my face to observe the weaving patterns, I stop halfway when a dark, wet scent hits my nose; I smell a blend of herbs, no not herbs, just one herb coming from the norigae. One that I’m too familiar with. Wolf’s Bane.

I pause, uncertain.

Lord Thomas’ watchful eyes are on me. I stare at the norigae in my hands for a while, praying that I’m wrong, but the burning sensation on my hands tells me how correct my assumption is, if I hold it any longer my hands could get damaged and I would be poisoned, but if I drop it, he would find whatever it is he’s searching for in my expression. It’s too soon for this, I was just starting to have fun.

I plaster a bright smile on my face, just like anyone receiving a gift they like would. I watch him visibly relax with a tentative smile on his face, I gingerly return the norigae to its box and replace its cover. “Are you sure you picked this ornament? The color combination is perfect, I love it.” I smile at him, honestly, I am surprised that my smile is holding up.

“I personally made sure it was to your liking, Your Highness.” His voice swells with pride as his eyes return to the chessboard.

I feel a wave of warmth crawl all the way to my face and it is not because of his words. For once I’m so grateful for the fact that my skin doesn’t change color when I blush. “I see,” I say, but I am not seeing shite. The sound of my heartbeat echoes loudly in my ears, so loudly that I’m scared Lord Thomas will hear it too, the burning sensation on my hands has increased and I’m beginning to feel dizzy. I frankly don’t understand what is going on but I’m not interested in playing this game anymore. I need to lie down.

“It’s your turn to play Your Highness.” His voice is a distant echo in my head as I stare at the chessboard, I recklessly move my knight forward and sit back, tucking both my hands into the long part of my jeogori.

I pull the bell-rope dangling from the wall behind me to ring for Lila and she barges in almost immediately. She takes in my tense position and whispers something to the maid beside her. I watch as the maid simply nods and walks out of the room.

“Lord Thomas, I’m sorry to interrupt your game, but Her Highness has to start preparing for the banquet now.” Lila walks to the chessboard and carefully lifts it, her eyes briefly land on the closed gift box on the table; I watch her eyes narrow imperceptibly as she returns the chessboard to the corner of the room it once was.

Lord Thomas glances at Lila and me in confusion, the nerve of him, and I’m forced to paste an apologetic smile on my face and mouth ‘sorry’ as he stands up to leave.

I remain seated as he bows deeply and leaves. The soft nick of the door as it closes behind him pulls the last thread of my composure and I feel myself falling apart both literally and figuratively. Lila catches me before I make contact with the floor, she yanks my hand from where they are hidden and examines them. I feel her breath still and she murmurs something that sounds like ‘poison’ but I’m not sure because I fade away into nothing as soon as she hugs me.