16

Karin sits next to the landline phone. She grips her teacup firmly. The heat from the hot tea warms her body.

It's cold, here in Fransco. Yet, there is no sign of whether the snow will fall soon. By this stage, it should be. However, the land is still green.

"Still waiting?"

Ivry comes from the next room. Karin nods softly. She sighs as she takes a peek at the phone.

"I can't take it anymore! Let me talk to The Queen one more time!"

"Don't! Please... I don't want her to think that I'm using you. She'll hate me even more," Karin stops her.

"Karin, it's about your family! She should understand it well. She has one!"

Karin softly touches Ivry's hand.

"I'm her subject. She's my queen," she replies to Ivry.

Ivry has no choice but to respect Karin's decision. Deep inside, she admires the lady for being patient, especially when she's going through a hardship like this.

Khittan is lucky to have someone like Karin in his life. Fransco is lucky to have such a loyal subject like Lady Karin.

The world isn't fair for her to be honest!

The door suddenly wide open. Both Karin and Ivry glance at the figure in front of the door.

"Karin... Let's go!"

***

Khittan and Karin walk calmly towards the royal suite ward. There is a line of bodyguards in black suits along the corridor. All heads down as The Crown Prince marches towards the room.

"Your Highness... Milady..."

"How's she? Can I meet her now?" asks Karin to the guard.

The door is open and comes out a man from the room. As soon as he sees Karin, he immediately grabs her hand and squeezes it tight.

"Milady! She's been waiting for you. She calls your name over and over again!" the man is on the verge of crying. He is the personal man waiting for Karin's grandmother.

"I'm sorry, Sorga..." Karin softly pats his hand. Sorga takes a glance aside. He immediately bows when he notices Khittan.

"Your Highness..."

"Sorga, can Lady Sun meet her grandmother now?" asks Khittan.

"Yes! General Sun and Our Lady Sun will only come back tomorrow morning. Right now, there is no one allowed to visit The Lady. But, as I promised on the call just now, you have my permission," Sorga replies.

"Karin, I'll wait outside okay?"

"Your Highness..."

"Yes?"

Sorga looks hesitant to continue, but then he shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"She wants to meet you as well, Your Highness," Khittan frowns, almost in disbelief at what he heard.

***

As soon as Karin sees her grandmother, tears flow from her eyes. She's trying to be as quiet as a mouse, but she can't suppress her emotion.

"Grammy..." She holds the old lady hand's tight. Slowly, her grandmother opens her eyes.

"Ka...Rin..."

That's when both of them burst into tears. Her grandmother hugs Karin so tight. It's been years since she ran away from Fransco. Since then, they never met face to face. Only phone calls connect both of these ladies from The House of Sun.

"I'm sorry, Grammy... I'm sorry!"

"That should be me, my child..."

"No. I'm the one who left you!"

"Karin..." her grandmother holds her hand tight. The other hand touches Karin's cheek softly.

"I have something to tell you..."

Karin looks at her and waits. She glares to the other side. Khittan is there, respectfully giving them a space to talk.

"Your Highness... Come here..." she calls Khittan. The man slowly walks towards the bed.

Karin's grandmother takes his hand with her remaining energy. She grabs both Khittan and Karin's hand stimulus.

"I'm sorry to both of you. The idea of the royal conjugal... It was my idea..." the old lady talks in a weak voice.

"Nothing is wrong with that, Grammy..."

"Everything is wrong... My intention blurred my judgment. Everything that happened to both of you, was the punishment for trying to fight against destiny..."

Karin and Khittan exchange looks.

"I hate the treatment that we, the ladies of The House of Sun get from your patriarch father. Ever since he was a child, your grandfather had poisoned him with the thought that women should obey men. Your stubborn grandfather taught your father a wrong concept of life, making him disrespectful towards women. Even his mother... Me..."

Karin's throat feels sagged. She silently agrees with the claim. Whether she likes it or not, it's the reality that she has to face for her entire life as The Lady of the Sun. All this time, Karin feels alone, facing the bad treatment by her father. Little that she knows, that her mother and her grandmother also face the same fate as her. She can't help but feel sorry for them!

"I thought, by matchmaking both of you, at least my granddaughter will have a better future. Your father won't dare to touch you. When you become The Crown Princess, you will have the power to take him down. You will be superior to him..." her grandmother continues, gasping air between her sentences.

"But... Things got even worse... I should listen to the priest..."

"What priest?" asks Karin.

"Before the engagement, I went to this shrine. The Sacred Moonlight Shrine. That's when I met this priest..."

***

I brought along your birth date, along with Khittan's birth date. I intended to get a sacred rope that we use during the conjugal ceremony.

As I arrived at the shrine, I decided to pray first. While praying, I got this vision. There was fire everywhere at the shrine. People screamed and clanks sounded like a sword fight.

I felt uneasy with the vision. It's a bad sign when you see fire in a dream. And I was in a shrine, a sacred place. It should be apparent that I can't take the vision lightly.

But, I ignored them. For the sake of the future of the ladies in House of Sun!

"I believe this conjugal can't be happening, Milady..." I was devastated when I heard that from the priest.

"What do you mean?"

"These two... They were tied in a bond. But, it's not a good bond. It fills with rage, blood, and revenge. The unity between these two will costs lives. Matter of fact, these two shouldn't be together since the first life..."

"First... Live?"

"I don't know if you know. But, Lady Karin and The Crown Prince, are in the fourth reincarnation phase. It all started a thousand years ago..." The priest takes out a royal sacred book from the rack. He opened the book and showed me a tangled family tree.

"Lady Karin of the Sun is the descendant of the Royal Family from the Bening Era. She's the great, great-granddaughter of The Bening King. Her mother is Lady Hari, The Royal Concubine of the House of Jade, where the previous Crown Prince resides," I looked at the picture of Lady Hari.

"Meanwhile, The Crown Prince is the descendant of The House of Sun, the first royal born of Lady Sun... And The Crown Prince. Lady Sun was The Crown Princess before The Crown Prince dethroned her during a coup led by General Sun, your great great great grandfather in law..."

I was shocked to see the picture. The former Lady Sun. She looked exactly like you! And The Crown Prince looked like you as well, Your Highness. It's like looking at the latest family picture.

"The former Crown Princess has been killed by her husband right after she gave birth to a prince during the coup. Her trusted lady-in-waiting took the baby and ran away from Fransco, only to come back, 17 years later to claim the throne. When they failed, they started a war and put the Bening King era to end," the priest explained again.

"So, what does this have to do with the fact that both of them shouldn't be together?" I asked him.

"Something did happen that made their destiny collide and end badly... I don't know anything about that. Except the fact that anyone from The House of Sun cannot be together with the Royal Family. They can work together, but to have conjugal ties, it is impossible, Milady..."

***

"I should listen to the priest. But, my intention made me believe that I can fight against destiny. Something prohibits you two from having a relationship. The result will be dire. But, I dismiss that. And now, look at you two..."

Karin soaks in tears. She holds her grandmother's hand tight while taking a glance at Khittan. The man shuts his eyes tight. Tears flow from his eyes. She knows his pain. They share it. Those nightmares take a toll on both of their life.

"I'm sorry, Karin. I'm sorry, Your High-"

"No... Never regret something that happened in the past, Lady Karin... You just wanna protect your rights in that house. I couldn't blame you for that. It's all for Karin's sake. You love her, and I understand that..." Khittan sobs between words.

The old lady nods in tiny. She stares at the face of the young prince. He is different than the men that ever came into her life. How she wishes the prince is her son, or maybe her grandson!

"Karin..."

"Grammy..." Karin leans closer to her grandmother. She strokes her hair while staring deep into her eyes.

"I want you to be happy... That's all..."

"Grammy, you have done enough. I'm happy all this time when we were together. Even with bad treatment from my father, you always motivated me to move forward and live my life to the fullest. You are the reason why I am strong..." says Karin. She wipes those tears that rolled from her grandmother's eyes.

The old lady softly smiled at Karin. The poor lady who always remains strong. She feels proud of her, seeing her living the life that she deserves.

She's truly a fighter.