Chapter 1 - Unusual Encounter at Night

The Golden Capital, like any other day, was bustling with people inside and out the royal palace's walls, on the outside vendors and merchants were astir, flaunting their new items and goods. The roads were crowded with all sorts of people traveling near and far, staying for short and long, bracing sacks, cloth bags, and pushing wheelbarrows; carrying out the basic activities of life. Conversely, inside the palace walls held a different ambiance, impervious to the outside world, a certain peace was observed by the people of the palace. Despite noblemen entering and exiting on their horses, palanquins carrying esteemed maidens, princes learning the art of the swordsmanship in the courtyards, and servants cleaning every nook and cranny, it was all an orderly noise.

From the far northwest region inside of the palace walls was that mutual peace nothing but disturbed, ignored, and shamelessly disregarded. Residence of Prince Dohyun, First Grand Prince of the Great Kingdom of Joseon.

"I'm telling you if you don't give that book back right now, I will have you rolled-up and flogged for an entire day, An Byungho!" Prince Dohyun shouted from his wooden desk raising his brows at the seemingly amused guard of his.

"Tsk! As if!" An Byungho retorted, flipping through the pages, ten at a time.

"Why do you even bother to read that anyway? Practicing your swordsmanship could do you much better" another guard said. Standing in the corner of the room examining the patterns on the walls, giving little regards to the other two, Yang Minhye.

Baffled, Dohyun rolled his eyes again uttering the words, "Tsk? Since when did mere guards have the right and face to talk back to their prince? Are you completely unaware of the sin you're committing, the great treason you're committing?"

The three people in the room met gazes, one second, two seconds, three seconds passed, and they all collapsed laughing till their stomachs ached.

Yang Minhye, on the floor curved into fetal position, waved one arm in the air while using the other to clutch his stomach mused, "Dear Prince, it might be better you stay mute and say little in front of the royal officials or you really might lose face saying such things."

"Couldn't have said that any better" An Byungho added, "By the way, you were the one who threatened us to never call you 'dear prince' alone like ten something years ago, you really can't blame us."

"Ah, thanks for enlightening me", Dohyun said incredulously, "I seem to have remembered, I am the one to blame for such ruthless, mannerless, brute guards of mine."

Yang Minhye rolled over and pointed to the walls he was just looking at, "The detailing gets to me every time, maybe I should retire early and take on wall designing as a hobby. By the way, do you guys know what the wall said to the other wall?"

Byungho gave a single glance to Dohyun before they both gave the other a very forced smile. Minhye quickly replied to himself through a series of suppressed laughs, "I'll- I'll meet you at the corner."

The other two sighed but Dohyun was kind enough to fake a laugh for his friend's sake. As they were picking themselves up, three knocks came from the door, followed by a younger boy's voice, "Your highness, it is almost time for your studies."

Dohyun straightened himself "Understood, you may leave."

Facing the other two, he asked, "That should have been the newest recruit for the scholar's assistants right?"

An Byungho, "Yes, as I was informed, he should have started attending three days ago."

Yang Minhye shook his head with displeasure, "Poor kid, he's only to become the scholar's department errand boy for now." Dohyun sighed, "I'll see what I can do."

The other two exchanged a look equally knowing that he wouldn't stop meddling till he felt that all working conditions were acceptable. It was well perceived and widespread that the royal scholars had a substantial distaste for recent recruits and thus, more often than not, poured tons of workload on the newcomers, often ending with them giving up their position and returning to their homes.

It was all part of the so-called "training and selection process" to see who had the competence to handle the job and life as a royal scholar, educating and supporting the royal family, if one had it in him to be able to answer the questions of the nation's king.

An Byungho picked up his sword and headed towards the door, "We'll see you off to the library."

Dohyun gave him a sore look and shook his head, "Forget it, you guys are going to the fields later anyway. I can do as much as walking by myself."

Yang Minhye, now standing beside An Byungho at the door said, "Yeah, and walking into your brother alone would be splendid right?" Adding extra emphasis to the 'brother' while minding his tone.

Dohyun grimaced and weakly shuddered at the thought.

'Exactly' Yang Minhye and An Byungho exchanged glances.

Despite eliminating all concepts of social status and positions when alone, none of the three dared act so comfortably in public. An Byungho and Yang Minhye walked uniformly behind Dohyun; though they were able to joke about such things when alone, they all knew the consequences were nothing to take lightly if they were caught goofing around carelessly.

Real enough, Dohyun was a prince and a grand prince at that, a legitimate son of the king and queen. Though he never thought much of it, he did have to him the air of royalty, the face of an esteemed prince, and the demeanor of a ruler. Only, he couldn't care less about that.

As they walked along the stone paths adorned by small budding flowers on the sides, they passed the queen's court ladies, servants, and some eunuchs on their way to the Golden Hall of Everlasting Glory; all of them bowing ninety degrees to greet the prince.

Wearing a light blue and green hanbok made with the finest silk and delicately embroidered patterns of cranes and mountains and a black silk- gauze hat, one could only secretly gaze at the prince's beauty as he passed by. It was common for all the princes to have appealing and handsome faces but Prince Dohyun was unparalleled, with a tall and lithe body yet with a feminine face, subconsciously, people who had the opportunity to meet him would rank him number one among the other princes in terms of beauty.

Upon arriving at the Hall of Flowing Wisdom, the royal library, An Byungho and Yang Minhye departed for training in the fields. At once, Dohyun was met with other familiar faces.

"Brother Dohyun!" young Prince Yejoon called from behind him also just arriving,

"Yejoon-ah, come now the rest are probably waiting for us." He said as the library guards opened the doors for them.

The exterior of the Hall of Flowing Wisdom was nothing astounding, the building looked plain and rather old, the usual wear and tear of time prevalent; yet from the inside, everything was well maintained. Perhaps, one of the best-maintained buildings in the vicinity of the royal palace. Light wooden walls and large windows to let the light seep in, the familiar scent of paper and ink flowed through the air, and isles upon isles of history and literature all organized by the royal scribes and scholars, earning its title, the Hall of Flowing Wisdom.

At this time an elderly scholar wearing a blue hanbok approached the newly arrived princes, with the slight hint of a smile on his face he greeted them with a bow, "Your highness Prince Dohyun, Prince Yejoon."

"Master Seo" the two responded with an equal bow.

Master Seo was the chief scholar in charge of educating the young princes ever since they were old enough to understand the human language. He was their mentor and teacher.

Further into the room were the other princes in their seats waiting for them, as they arrived they called out "brother" and waved their hands. Another younger boy clad in vibrant purple cloth, Prince Hajoon, motioned for Dohyun to sit next to him. Dohyun walked over when he spotted a certain vacant seat to the far right. A seat reserved for only one person and that person being the crown prince or Dohyun's direct older brother, Crown Prince Yeongchul.

Seeing his expression, Prince Hajoon whispered, "He won't be coming today, I think I heard mother talking about other matters with him this morning." Dohyun mouthed a silent 'Ah' and sat down next to him.

"Dohyun hyung can't you help me out a bit?" a high-pitched voice whined from behind him.

Again, it was prince Yejoon whom he had already met while outside. With both hands covering his face he whined not wanting to go to class anymore. He was the youngest followed by Hajoon and Sanghoon. Three of the six princes were not his direct biological brothers but sons of the king's concubines; nevertheless, they were all equally treated as royal princes and had the same education, training, and privileges.

All in all, there were six royal princes, but only three had the right of being called 'heirs' to the royal throne. They were the legitimate sons of the king and queen, Crown Prince Yeongchul, Grand Prince Dohyun, and Grand Prince Hajoon.

"Ahem" Master Seo coughed from the front.

Picking up a scroll from his table, he read, "When whales fight, the shrimp's back is broken", taking his seat he continued, "Prince Yejoon, what is the meaning behind those words?"

Yejoon hurriedly opened his book trying his best to hide behind Dohyun.

"Master Seo, why must we talk in proverbs again? I wish to study other things" Yejoon wearily said.

"Study other things" Sanghoon laughed, "The only thing you want to study is how to sneak into the kitchen and steal all the goodies."

"Hyung!" Yejoon shrieked as he was suddenly exposed. No longer having any face left in front of his other brothers and master, Yejoon shrunk down in his seat, a faint pink spreading across his cheeks.

"Let him be Sanghoon, Yejoon-ah, this hyung will send you many treats all from the best kitchens in the Golden Capital" Hajoon casually said while giving him a wink. Hajoon and Yejoon naturally got along the best due to their similarity in personality and age, but Hajoon still had a thing for being impressive to his younger brother.

At this juncture, Master Seo was already rubbing his temples thinking of ways to keep the boys concentrated. 'Perhaps it is time I resign, at this point I'll no longer have any black hair left on my head in three years!'

"A proverb used to depict how smaller kingdoms are affected by the conflicts of the greater, more powerful ones", Junwoo stated.

If there was one way to describe Prince Junwoo, it would irrefutably be that what he valued more than his title of being an esteemed prince, would be his education. At the ripe age of eight, he had already passed the military and scholars exam for leisure, had read more than one fourth of the scrolls and books in the royal library, and had complex conversations with the royal scholars and historians about political affairs.

In that sense, he would already be exempted from joining classes but he insisted on helping watch over his brothers.

"Precisely your highness. I see at least some still value this master's teachings enough to do their homework" Master Seo remarked.

The rest of the morning carried on like so, the youthful princes deciphering and dissecting the meaning of various proverbs and aphorisms. Prince Yejoon falling asleep every so often just to be sanctioned by copying the book of royal ethics for ten pages. Prince Dohyun and Junwoo debating on who were the greater writers of the time, and Princes Hajoon and Sanghoon passing around paper notes behind Master Seo's back, copying off each other.

In the afternoon, they presumed with the musical arts in which was presided over by Prince Hajoon who had a talent for such. Skilled in playing the twelve-stringed zither, his musical ability caught the attention of many masters who have all personally wanted to take him as a student. The solemn notes of the zither sounded throughout the room as the rest opted to study the music sheets and theory while he played.

Most of their days were like this, either studying in the royal library under the supervision of the royal scholars or practicing their swordsmanship outside and shooting arrows. There would be occasional banquets when all the royal family members gathered to eat together and discuss official family matters, one of the few times Dohyun would get to see the queen, his mother.

Life inside the palace was prim and proper, almost prudish. Of course, he knew that firsthand having seen the outside world numerous times, or as he would call it being "undercover." Undercover as in switching places with Minhye, pretending to be a commoner and slipping out through a small hole in the palace walls. It wasn't as if just anyone knew the face of the princes giving him the upper hand wandering on and about outside.

Despite his occasional escapes and short-lived adventures, he felt as if there was still more to life aside from flinging his sword around all day and reading scrolls upon scrolls of history in the library. Good enough, there was a selection of fictional books and poems to choose from, all of which Junwoo frowned upon saying that they had little to no academic value.

As the day approached its end, the princes returned to their respective residences, dined, and prepared for sleep. Needless to say, Dohyun never left out the mischievous acts of the day and invited Byungho and Minhye inside for a game of cards, after a few rounds claiming his victory the other two left for the night to their quarters. Dohyun considered them both his brothers just as the other princes, even more so than a certain someone whose name is better left unmentioned to maintain his peace of mind.

Blowing out the last candle, he lay down to sleep.

The night was long and the outside noises of owls hooting and the footsteps of the royal guards patrolling made it impossible for him to get some shut-eye. After a series of tossing and turning, Dohyun finally gave up and opened his eyes, tired of pretending to himself that he was falling asleep, he sat up and was about to light the candle near his bedside when a cool, smooth surface covered his mouth.

Instantly alarmed, Dohyun's senses told him to strike out, as he was thinking of what to do, a deep voice spoke, "Your highness."

Dohyun's body stiffened as he assessed the situation, weirdly enough the tone of the voice held neither malicious intent nor a sense of danger. Instead, the person who spoke behind his ear sounded reassuring and oddly familiar. He soon realized that the hand being held over his mouth was neither fueled with strength nor was it in a threatening position, rather, there was a certain gentleness about it.

The person behind spoke again, "Your highness, do not fret." The other hand of the person seemed to pull something out from behind him.

A weapon? Poison?

But that wouldn't line up with everything else, but who would believe someone telling you they don't mean harm when they have a hand over your mouth?

In no time a piece of paper was handed to him, a letter. With a hand still covering his mouth, Dohyun hesitantly took the folded paper and opened it.

The letter was peculiar and only contained a couple of phrases, 'Follow. They are your people. I will meet you two weeks from now.' And was signed at the bottom, 'Man Cheol Weol'.

Anyone would be confused and at loss with this sort of information but it wasn't long till Dohyun understood what he had to do.

He turned his head to face the person behind him, meeting two obsidian eyes gazing intently at him, the rest of this person's face was covered by black silk cloth leaving only his eyes and forehead visible. For a brief moment, he thought he caught him smiling beneath the black cloth.

"Your highness?" the person repeated.

"Ah, yes I- understand", Dohyun hesitantly said, not quite sure of how to respond. It was a matter of fact an unusual situation, one he never had quite imagined nor anticipated before. Still, certain, he knew that name would never be used unless the situation was dire.

"Then", the person said standing up, "follow closely your highness."

Not having much of a chance to get a full grasp of the person before him since the moment he stood up, the other led the way outside effectively avoiding the palace guards. The man was clad in black, his hair up with some stray strands framing his face.

His movements were precise and discerning, effortlessly calculated.