Split reactions pervaded between the nobles and the slaves. Thinking about the Tang Prince's deal, the mixed-race slaves felt torturous pain, piercing their weary hearts and poor souls. On the other note, the noblemen did not feel even a drizzle of fear inside them for they were confident that their Prince could win this game, and they would be able to get their free slaves in the near future.
The teenage Tang Prince was known to be ruthless and extremely arrogant. Despite his small face and stature, his personal ego was even taller than the highest tower in the world. He was known to be a person who does not accept defeat and thinks that no one with the same age as his was stronger or more intelligent than him. A positive trait? He keeps his words.
A guard untied him Shun, and he spoke, raising his voice a bit to resonate properly, "Explain the mechanics. Where are we going to do this?"
The eccentric young prince stepped closer to him, surveying from head to toe. "Sure. This is my game, so I will set the rules. The battle will happen there." he pointed at a medium-sized beach area with two huge boulders between it.
He continued, "That will serve as our arena. The rule of the battle is just simple. Within half an hour, using wooden sticks as weapons, we shall fight to the end. The one who has the most number of hits loses, and the one with the least number of hits wins. Eunuch Xing here would be the one to monitor our actions. Worry not, he is experienced. He will be keen and fair."
Frowning, Shun bit gritted his teeth and cursed the arrogant prince in his mind. You bastard! I will make you eat those sands.
Meanwhile, Sae Joo was actually worried about the setup. He thought that something was not right in the rules, as if there was something missing. He kept on thinking at the back of his mind while looking at Shun and the Tang Prince. In the middle of his thinking, he got distracted by the old woman beside him—the one who had stomach cramps back on the ship. The woman was leaning on another captive as she was staring at the skies, saying the words, "Forgive me, Your Majesty! Forgive me!"
Curious about the seemingly unhinged old woman, he moved closer to her and asked, "You are from Silla, right? Err, may I know why you keep on saying, 'Forgive me, Your Majesty'
"Just do not mind her. I think it is just due to hunger. When she heard that a prince was on the ship, she kept on saying that. She also mentioned something about a ceremony, that she had done something wrong and unforgivable," said the woman beside the old lady.
"Poor lady. Please take care of her. Her pale face transpires a lot of hardships," sighed Sae Joo.
When he looked back at the starting battle, the Tang guards had already given wooden sticks to the two. The Tang nobles arranged their chairs, positioning themselves into their preferred view of the battle.
Raising an arm, the Tang Prince announced, "Is this not a little bit bland and boring?"
"What do you mean?" asked Shun, eyebrows arched.
"More sense of entertainment, perhaps. Ah! I have something in mind." the Prince grinned and whistled, signaling a young South-east Asian captive, wearing a long, colorful tube skirt. A guard pushed the terrified girl forward.
"I know that your little brain could not understand our language, so I will use hand gestures. Go up to that dais!" pointed the Tang Prince.
"What are you doing?" asked Shun, he stepped forward and clenched a fist.
"Shut your mouth and watch!" warned the Tang Prince, pointing a finger to Shun. He scanned again the group of captives and picked three more young girls. When the guards had dragged the ladies up to the dais, he noticed Sae Joo, cocking his head to the girls, pinching his palms—restless.
"You! The boy with a small face, get up! Go to that dais as well."
For the sake of preventing a dirty explosive temper to get triggered, Sae Joo walked up to the dais and lined up with the girls.
"There! Now, if I win, there will be a banquet for all Tang people here, and those captives up there will provide us with casual entertainment."
Shun's eyes narrowed in confusion.
The Prince continued, "You will dance while stripping your clothes." he smirked, and the Tang nobles cheered, with eyes full of lust, staring at the teenage girls, and unbelievably, including Sae Joo.
Shun stepped forward and protested, "This is too much!"
"Again, my game, my rules! If you do not wish to abide, it will be very easy for me to kill all those people. Do not forget that you are in this remote island; your salvation depends on me," glared the Tang Prince.
"I think it is unfair. I would suggest that suppose you lose, all those noble men will strip and dance, and you will free us all. How is that?"
Being a boy with a towering pride and enormous grandiosity, he agreed to the deal—confident that he could defeat Shun within a few minutes.
"We have a deal then."
"Let the battle commence!"
A gong was ranged, and the two walked to the opposite sides of the arena.
Calculating the amount of blow that he would give, Shun locked his eyes on his opponent's body while standing in a fighting position. He stretched his arm to the side and twitched his sword stick. He dashed to the Prince but instead of a counter-attack, the Tang Prince leaped, rolled in the mid-air and landed behind him.
It surprised him, but before he could take a look behind, the Tang Prince smashed his right leg, which made him trip on the sandy ground. He accidentally dropped the stick, and when he was about to get it, the Tang Prince kicked it to the boulder in front of them and stomped on his hand.
Shun screamed in pain as his enemy twisted his foot on his palm on repeat while hitting him with the stick.
"Let me go!"
"Why would I? It seems like all those girls will be dancing later!" the Prince burst into laughter, and the Tang nobles followed.
"What you did was below the belt!" roared Shun, gathering his strength and trying to escape.
Grinning, the Tang Prince rebutted, "It was not on the rules." he winked, letting the swelling palm go. He stroke Shun with an overhead attack, but the young boy rolled quickly, grabbed his weapon and attempted to kick the Prince on the stomach. Unfortunately, he failed to score a point because the Prince had managed to leap, thanks to his agility and heightened alertness. Like a stinging wasp in the field, the Prince's entire body was light as a feather, and his limbs were actually invisible wings.
All Shun had to do was to dodge almost all of the Prince's hit, while enduring all the pain, hoping that his opponent's energy level might deplete eventually.
Time was actually a sinister foe of Shun. For a span of almost fifteen minutes, he had been hit on different parts of his lower body. He needed to think of a way to hit the Prince even just once—a hit that could knock him down and finish the entire stupid game.
Standing back on his feet a few distances away from the Prince; with a racing heart and dams of sweat flowing down his body, he mustered some power again for his next attempt to hit his enemy while recapturing the moves of the Prince.
He likes to attack from behind. Now, I must do the same. Heavens, please help me to do this move with accurate timing. Forgive me, Father, for I am going to unlearn the basic etiquette in fighting that you have taught me.
"Come on. Attack me!" snarled Shun, chasing his breath.
As soon as the Prince sprinted to his position, Shun bent backward as his knees smacked the sandy beach, and he slid very slickly to the back of the Prince. Without any hesitation, he cudgeled his ankle and smacked the back of his head. The Prince yelped in pain as he stumbled on the ground.
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Two hits!
However, it seemed like the Prince was not affected at all. It even fueled his raging pride and fury inside him because he expected that Shun would not be able to hit even the ends of his hair. He quickly got up, tottered a bit, and attacked Shun, swinging the stick on random directions as if he was losing control. This time, Shun was able to block the attacks—dancing with the Prince in the devilish arena. The vexed prince screamed like a child while striking. Shun just did what he had to do, even though he knew that he had already lost in accordance with the rules. Based on the number of hits, his was obviously more than of the Prince's.
Then, there was a bang of the gong, ending the battle.
~~•~~
Two things had finally ended: the battle of Shun and the Prince, and also, Jin Ri's punishment. The young lady's attendants applied herbs to her deep-violet bruises on her lower extremities while lying in prone position.
"My lady, the Prime Minister wishes to request an audience."
Jin Ri nodded, and one of the attendants opened the door.
The Prime Minister strode inside the room, worrying about his daughter's condition. "My dear, how are you feeling?"
"Leave us," croaked Jin Ri. The attendants left, and Jung Ho sat on the bed.
"I am at fault. You have been punished because of me," said Jung Ho.
"Do not blame yourself, Father. It already happened. Let us just think of a way to find Sae Joo as soon as possible," Jin Ri murmured.
"Right. His safety will be a good thing for us now. Can you tell me what happened that day?"
Jin Ri sighed, remembering the day of Sae Joo's supposedly staged kidnap. "The mission was almost finished. After all the acts that those bandits and I have done, after I fell into the stream and swam back, I saw a teenage boy who saved Sae Joo.
Jung Ho scoffed, "A teenage boy?"
"Yes. Surprisingly, that boy defeated all of those useless fools. I have never seen a boy as skilled as him at his age, even the junior hwarangs will not stand a chance against him." she rolled her eyes.
"So it is possible that Sae Joo is with that boy right now."
"Yes, Father. I left already after they had a short argument whether to save me on that water or not before someone else sees me."
"Hmm, so assuming that the boy was kind-hearted for saving Sae Joo, where is the Prince right now? Something must had happened after you left... This is bad! We need to find the Prince as soon as possible in order to finish this mess once and for all," worried Jung Ho and a frustrated exhale escaped from his lips.
He continued, "I did all of these to collect more funds, to threaten the King and for him to give ransom money for Sae Joo, but it turns out that the Heavens shambled all my plans. I guess I am getting rusty nowadays; must be related to my age. Tsk tsk!"
"Worry not, Father. We could still use Sae Joo."
"A realization crossed through my mind," claimed Jin Ri, pursing her lips into a thin line.
"What do you mean?"
"I realized that he is the one who could only give me what I want now... I want to be a queen, Father!"
Jung Ho's eyes grew large, and a sly smirk flashed on his lips. He then chuckled, "Very good! Very good. I will make sure that you will get what you want. You will be Silla's queen, my daughter." he held Jin Ri's hands assuring what he would do everything for her.
He continued, "Rest well, for now, my dear."
"Yes, father."
Jung Ho tapped her hands, stood up and left the room.
~~•~~
Jae Joong, on the other hand, seemed to be restless while pacing back and forth in his chambers waiting for any updates about his son's whereabouts. He had lost his focus the entire day thinking about Sae Joo. While being distressed, Dae Wong and Yeol requested for an audience.
"Sire, the Prince's portraits have been posted all over the capital," reported Dae Wong.
The King, who looked like lost in his own thinking, just nodded. "All right. Very good. Any updates on the Prince?"
"None yet, Sire," answered Yeol.
Jae Joong got hysterical as his steps became heavier and louder. He clutched his head and blurted, "What if something bad happens to my son?"
"Please calm down, Your Majesty. The hwarangs are doing their best in order to find the Prince," begged Dae Wong.
"How can I calm down? My son is out there, in a place where I do not have an idea where! I do not even know if he is safe or what—and then, you are telling me to relax?"
The minister just dipped his head in a bow and shook his head. "My apologies, Sire. I am just concerned about your health. Too much stress is bad for you."
Yeol supported Dae Wong and advised the King, "Minister Dae Wong has a point, Your Majesty. Please do not stress yourself too much. Do this for the sake of the whole kingdom."
"Huh—for the kingdom, for the kingdom. It is too easy for you to say that since you have never experienced losing a child. Fifteen years ago, I lost Sae Yoo for the sake of the kingdom! Now, I might lose the only son that I have." Jae Joong sat down and burst into tears, leaving the two ministers speechless and regretful of what they just said.
"You have no idea how painful it is for me," he murmured repeatedly alongside with continuous sobs.
A dark sheet of misery and despair swaddled in the entire chambers as the King's sorrowful cries reverberated on its four corners. After all those years, despite the stronger facade that Jae Joong showed among all people, he was still the same person fifteen years back—a father with a tender-soft side for his family.
~~•~~
The son that Jae Joong was worried about actually was in the edge of life and death as he spoke with the ministers. The poor prince broke down on his knees when he heard the last ring of the gong, marking the end of Shun and the Tang Prince's battle. The teenage girls beside him burst also into tears, knowing they would face a very humiliating experience.
Cheers and waves of laughter of the Tang nobles overshadowed the sobs and cries of the helpless captives, for they knew they could now select their own servant for free, and they could do anything whatever they pleased to them. Turning these people into either toy, helpers, or even human glory holes would be one breath away.
The eunuch announced the official end of the battle, "The battle has ended, and we have a winner. With a score of thirty against fourteen, clearly, our Prince has won!"
Despite the blinding vision of the thronging Tang people and the deafening sound of their annoying laughter, Sae Joo tried very hard to keep himself intact. He observed, and looked around, seeing Shun lying on the sand, panting while the Tang Prince was raising an arm, smiling faintly at the crowd. If there was something that Sae Joo needed to give credit at the moment, it was his keen observation with the face's features which he had developed during his painting lessons. He thought, Thank you, Minister Yoo Min.
He noticed the paleness in the Prince's face and the smile—which seemed a faint expression of just pure fatigue sensed differently for him. Right there, he knew that something was wrong with their conceited foe. Sae Joo also saw the very slow wobbly stature of the Prince as if he was fighting for his balance in order for the crowd not to be noticed. Lastly, those hands (hands which were shaking and rolling into a ball of fist).
What is wrong with him? It seemed like he was the one who is more afflicted with pain than Shun.
After a few moments of thinking, he finally realized that the Tang Prince was hit in the ankle, and worse: he was hit in the head. Probably because of too much adrenaline, he was able to withstand the pain and shock in the remaining minutes of the battle, as seen with his random swinging of swords in different directions, leveling off with Shun. Now that every part of his body was toned down, he must had started to feel the effect of the hit.
Coming up with a sound conclusion, he bravely stood and wiped his tears. "Wait!"
The crowd shortly ceased from what they were doing and turned their attention to Sae Joo.
"The Prince is not the real winner here," announced him, raising a brow and biting his lips.
"What are you saying? Did you not see the entire match? Clearly, our Prince has won! He had hit your Prince many times," defended the eunuch.
"Look at him, everyone!"
The Tang Prince got conscious with a hundred eyes looking at him. He burst out in discomposure, rebutting what Sae Joo had said, "You fool! The rules were clear from the start. Look at your fellow captives out there; they had already accepted their bitter fate. You are just in denial because you know that sooner or later, you will be dancing off your rumps to entertain our men here. So, if I were you, I would just shut my mouth and prepare for my dance routine. You have the guts to talk like that to a royal—who do you think you are? I will have your head for that!"
Sae Joo's eyes narrowed in anger and humiliation as he glanced at Shun, who was shaking his head, telling him not to expose their real identities. "Yes, I am just a mere commoner, Your Highness, but that does not mean that I do not have the right to speak up when clearly there is injustice happening. This has to stop. You know for yourself that you are the one who really lost."
"W-wh-what are you saying?" stammered the Prince.
Sae Joo anchored piercing gawk at the Tang Prince, "You have been hit in the head," he grinned.
"So? That was just one or two hits—one in the head and one in the ankle."
Shaking his head, the Silla Prince explained, "Indeed. It might be just one hit in the head, but you also should know that one smash hit in the head is tantamount to even fifty or hundreds of hit in the other parts of the body. You should know, Your Highness since you are a royal member. What if just in case, with that hit in the head, something bad happens to you? What do you think will happen to these Tang nobles in here?"
The Tang Prince remained silent for a moment, thinking about what a slave just said. "You are talking nonsense to divert my attention!" roared him.
"If a leader like you is wounded or badly hit instead, your subordinates will be in great danger too. Who will lead them then? Did you not think about that? Do you think it will impose a great problem in your nation as well? You will just open opportunities for your enemies to infiltrate your nation, and eventually destroy it. Seeing you right now, how you stand, how you talk and move, I could see that something is not going well with you. You are severely affected with that hit!"
Squinting his eyes, the Tang Prince started to feel a little dizzy. Sae Joo's face became blurry, and the whole island seemed to be circling before him. He also heard the Silla's Prince's voice becoming heavy as if it was accompanied by a strong bass, pounding his ears.
Sae Joo continued, "A wounded ruler would be just as equal as hundreds or thousands of wounded people under his name. So in sense, these people, these Tang nobles, would be affected by your hits as well."
With that of Sae Joo's last words, the Tang Prince could not handle it anymore.
He fell into the sand and collapsed.
__________
__________ [https://em.wattpad.com/7501ef9442104a7e1a3bf8515888f440478fbab4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f78653956764231744430684275773d3d2d3639343337393537302e313538323862613232326663666130343637383037313130343831312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]