They were back in the arena, in a face-off strikingly different from their previous one. Debonair in his red sparring dress, his deep dark double-lashed eyes a vast sea of the inscrutable, Hwan was almost poetic in his aggressive stance, one leg elegantly bent at the knee while the other extended as an unending stretch of muscle, the wooden sword an extension of his long, long hand, pointing at Jay Yi. In contrast, her skirt billowing around her, Jay Yi extended the long wooden sword with both hands, her wide stance resembling the industrious energy of a jungle cat defending its territory.
For a moment, she had considered giving in and forfeiting the match.
"These are the most trusted, handpicked and carefully selected people around us, Jay Yi. And you have already weeded out the spies from your retinue. Even if you did not, you do not need to fear them. Nothing breaches any code of conduct because you are sparring with your King on his order," Hwan's logic was hard to refute.
Seeing Hwan in the arena in his warrior dress that clung to his sculpted physique like a second skin, his intense eyes under the royal red bandana throwing her the gauntlet, she had felt an unholy thrill, and she knew she could not pass this opportunity to spar with him, something Jay Yi had wanted since the time she had watched him from the sidelines as his eunuch.
Her martial arts expertise could always be explained away later, she supposed.
"Bin-ssi, a longer sword?" Master Shin had stuttered.
"Yes, the longest one you have," Jay Yi had smiled. "I am no match for His Majesty; he is too tall for me, so if I use a sword for my height, I will never reach him."
"But why did you agree? That, too, two more! Bin-ssi, you can hardly wield the shorter one," Master Shin had grumbled but complied.
"How can I defy His Majesty? Do not worry, Teacher Shin. I am sure His Majesty will be gentle with me. And I know it's hard to believe, but I can do better than I did -"
Master Shin had bowed, his disbelieving grunt saying it all. "Please do not get hurt, Bin-ssi. I do not know what has overcome His Majesty."
Gripping her heavy and long sword tight, Jay Yi scanned the arena for places she could use as leverage. She would never win just by sparring alone. Master Shin had looked positively unhappy, not realising what Jay Yi told him about her ability to do better was the understatement of the year. She was here to win.
Neither her defensive stance nor her petite feminine appearance deceived Hwan. With her cat-like eyes focused, full lips a thin line of determination, and her chin stuck out, Hwan knew she was as agile as a snake-hunting mongoose.
"Your Majesty, why did you choose freestyle? She will not use a knife in this bout, will she?" Kim Joo Hun had asked worriedly. At Hwan's dead cold stare in reply, the poor man had stuttered, "J-Just making sure, I am sure she will never hurt you," the man declared without conviction.
Dumbfounded, Hwan had stared at the man. "You really think I will lose to her?"
"She has never defeated Royal Guardian Tae Kang," He reflected in what he thought was a reassuring tone.
Hwan looked at him with more disbelief. "She never fought him."
"True."
Hwan advanced on Joo Hun, using the advantage of his height, "I have no intention of losing this fight."
"She does not do well when she is emotional about you," Kim Joo Hun had informed Hwan helpfully.
Turning on his heel in exasperation, Hwan grabbed his wooden sword and faced his future wife.
He wasn't sure he would win either.
It was no wonder when she made the first plunge, a loud audible gasp following them in the arena at her bold move. Hwan's reach was easy, his strength no match for her as their wooden swords clashed.
However, what she lacked in reach, height and strength, she made up with lightning-fast foot movement, easily dodging him when he brought it too low, sidestepping his direct thrusts, her body a licking flame of fire, jumping up, parrying back, thrusting, deflecting, losing no opportunity to find openings to slide in, while she gave him no opening to strike her. To his amazement, she used her skirt as a weapon, swirling it to create a buzz of colour while her sword sliced in close to his hip that he barely deflected.
His heart thumped as he made a calculated thrust, and she responded with a deft sidestep and a precise twist of her shaft, redirecting the attack while sailing past him. She came back immediately, and he deflected with a smooth circular motion, almost succeeding in dislodging her blade.
Beads of perspiration glistened on her forehead, resembling tiny diamonds in the reflecting orange sunlight. They had sprung apart, and he had managed to drive her near the spectator stalls, the silence from the people standing there so loud that it rang like a bell.
Feeling cornered, Jay Yi measured their distance. Hwan was too big for her to match in strength. Her lashes hooded her eyes as she pulled a trick Shim Young had taught her long ago.
She turned and ran from him, opening up the space and the distance. Hwan chuckled as he followed. She circled him while he turned around with her, looking for an opening. She gave him one. Stepping closer to his left, shifting her sword to her left hand and breaking eye contact, Jay Yi feinted. Hwan fell for it and lunged. Jay Yi dropped the sword.
Taking advantage of the momentary lapse of concentration as Hwan's surprised gaze followed the sword to the ground, Jay Yi leapt and fell to the ground behind him and latched her hands around his hips. Hwan staggered, and she let go, immediately locking her ankles around his knees like a scissor and sending him off balance towards her. Hwan reeled backwards, trying to break his fall and landed awkwardly, trying to prevent his upper body from almost crushing Jay Yi. She disengaged and rolled, and he rolled with her, a twine of flurry fabrics and long legs. Hwan tried to grab her while making a desperate attempt to hold on to his sword, but Jay Yi was already rolling from under him, coming up on top, her knee in his chest as she brought her hand down in a chop to his wrist, the sword loosening from his hand.
They fought over it for fleeting seconds, his hands gripping her waist to hold her back, but she wrestled it and pressed it down lengthwise on his throat, the wooden blade sitting snug on his impressive collarbones. "You lose!" She declared triumphantly.
They stared at each other, breathless and heated.
To her horror, Jay Yi realised having Hwan at her mercy was incredibly arousing. A forbidden frenzy coursed her veins, making Jay Yi shake.
Inflamed and embarrassed, she immediately removed her knee.
"Please forgive me that I inappropriately hit you, Your Majesty. I apologise." She stood up and bowed, his sword in her hand still pointed in his general direction.
Hwan folded one knee and raised himself on the opposite elbow, his posture a reclining sprawl of coiled muscles looking deceptively at ease, and looked at her, pride, amazement and mirth glistening in his eyes.
"Should I be glad you did not whip out your knife? Our wedding night would have been very uncomfortable," Hwan said lazily as he got up, his curvacious lips lifting in a half smile.
Jay Yi flushed beet red as she stood with her head bowed, quickly dropping the sword, her hands almost reaching out to dust his tunic out of habit before she caught herself and retreated them behind the flaps of her cream jeogori, adrenaline and desire still rushing her blood channels like swollen rivers of monsoon.
The first thing that popped into her mind came out of her mouth, which seemed to have lost its sense of reasoning. "We are now equal in scores. The winner has not been decided yet," She warned him.
Hwan was openly laughing at her. "Do I need to stipulate a 'no knife' clause for the next bout?"
Pursing her lips, she shook her head before her fuddled mind processed he was joking. She returned his smile sheepishly.
He looked around and noticed the frozen faces of their audience in the arena.
Master Shin was rooted to the spot, his round face so white it could replace the moon in a few hours. "Looks like Master Shin has seen a ghost," Hwan informed Jay Yi.
Jay Yi did not dare look at him. "Can we finish the third one quickly?"
"No, first we exchange the notes. Remember, we both get the notes if you win the second bout, but only the loser will open it once the battle is decided?"
Neither Master Shin nor Lady Kim looked at either of them as they brought over the notes, their head bowed and eyes completely averted.
Hwan pocketed Jay Yi's sealed envelope, and Jay Yi followed suit with Hwan's.
"Do not worry about hitting me because I assure you, Min Jay Yi, I do not intend to be the one opening the envelope. So you better give it all you have," Hwan addressed Jay Yi's bowed head.
Master Shin gasped and cleared his throat before quickly retreating. Court Lady Kim brushed Jay Yi's dress, straightened her jeogori, and said calmly, "Please ensure your skin does not show, Bin-ssi."
Eunuch So, who was straightening Hwan's dress, chuckled. Hwan stared at the retreating back of the court lady, "She is unbelievable!"
Jay Yi laughed. "She sounds like my mother."
Eunuch So suddenly beamed at her and bowed with a flourish. Jay Yi blushed, nodding her acceptance of his greeting.
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This time, none of them wasted any time. Hwan lunged first. Jay Yi sidestepped and brought her blade up, which he struck down. She pivoted, and Hwan almost caught her between the shoulder blades, but she was too fast, and he arched back as her sword almost sliced his neck. Jay Yi dropped to the ground, pirouetting on her heel, one leg extended to take his legs off the ground, and he jumped cleanly over her, turning to shove his sword down into her, but Jay Yi leapt away nimbly, standing up in one fluid movement. How does she manage all that in those skirts? Hwan thought in wonder.
He used his long reach to thrust and strike, and her weapon flew from her hand as she staggered back.
He had her. Extending his sword, Hwan closed the distance, and she - cartwheeled! His mouth fell open. Her legs cut a perfect arc in the air, toes pointed up, the hem of her skirt stretched taut between her stockinged ankles, the fabric forming a fine, deep lavender fan as she landed lithely on her deep pink daintily embroidered shoes quite a distance away, successfully reclaiming her sword.
He had seldom seen a move so breathtaking. His pulse kicked up a storm.
They circled each other, a hunter, and his huntress matching wit for wit, sometimes in tandem, sometimes in disarray. He was stealthy as a panther; she was willy as a fox. He moved, she slithered. He leapt, she slid. They became the assailant and the victim, the predator and the prey, the tormentor and the tormented, their roles interchanging as they played the game without rules.
Hwan had always been extraordinarily competitive, but this was much more than that. All his predatory senses had sprung to life, his male instinct ferociously overtaking every sensory feel. Hwan was powerfully aroused, a primitive urge to dominate and possess her flooding his body.
Breathing hard, Jay Yi's body reacted viscerally as she recognised his predation.
He had become the poacher. She had become the game.
Jay Yi was a fiery lava in motion, flowing in and out of his orbit like fire and ice. They clashed, they chased, they teased, they thrust. Hwan used his strength and classical techniques to his advantage as he consistently parried Jay Yi, her weakest point. He again cornered her near a stall, this time ready for her tricks.
Unsurprisingly, she changed tactics. She feinted, distracting Hwan and then sprung on her back heels and arched her leg at his torso. In reflex, Hwan bent back, dodging to avoid her blow. She quickly placed her hand on the ornate balustrade and swung her legs over the wooden fence separating the spectator platforms from the arena, landing on the wooden planks with an elegant flair as the eunuchs and the court ladies gasped and backed away. Jay Yi paid no heed, her mind focussing obsessively on Hwan as he chased her, heady with excitement, her senses alive and heightened.
She ran past their shell-shocked retinues, weaving in and out, with Hwan trailing her along the outer edge of the spectator's platforms. Jay Yi hid behind a post as he scanned the wooden grandstands. He moved, and she jumped up the parapet and flew off it, her sword coming down on Hwan with her full might.
He saw a swirl of lavender on his side. His sword caught hers in a fierce clash. Jay Yi's jump had thrown her off-kilter, and his brute strength easily destroyed her strike, two swift circular motions dislodging her sword. Lightning fast, Hwan grabbed her wrist. She bent down, meaning to use her head on the soft spot under his chest, but he read her too well. He easily blocked her move, dragged and turned her around, his hand clamping around her waist and slamming her back against his body, her wrist captive in his large hand at her upper waist under her breasts, his other hand holding the wooden sword across her throat, her other hand squished between his arm and her body, hanging limply.
He owned her. A powerful, satisfying rush gushed through his body.
"Min Jay Yi, you lost. The battle."
Jay Yi panted, his husky tenor sending goosebumps chasing the delicate pores of her skin all over, and realised three things: One, his chest felt solid, reassuring and safe against her back, and she did not want to move away. Second, she had just lost the bet, and she did not mind it because being overpowered by Hwan made her blood sing.
And third, she did not want Hwan to know about any of the above two.
"I know!" She stiffened her shoulders.
A deep laughter rumbled from his chest as Hwan almost immediately loosened his hold, releasing her, mindful of their audience, his sword still pointed at her throat in mock warning.
The adrenaline and her madly racing pulse threatened to explode her heart into smithereens.
Bowing, she dropped the wooded sword and entwined her hands behind her jeogori. "Well played, Your Majesty, I am no match for you."
"I do not remember having ever worked harder to win," Hwan said, earnest and sincere, his voice laced with pleasure, pride and happiness.
A soft blush stained her cheeks at his praise.
"Now, open your note."
"First, can I have mine back?"
"No."
She blinked at him.
"There was no stipulation we needed to return the notes."
The muscles of her eyes squeezed as she scowled at him. He simply gave a maddening smile in return.
Slitting open the envelope, she stared at the note inside and then bunched it in her hand, her heart thundering, not daring to look at him. She quickly folded it and shoved it inside her sleeve.
"Will you, Jay Yi?" Hwan asked, a strange anxiety lining his voice.
"Yes," she answered without looking up.
A puff of relief emitted from him. He turned and walked to the middle of the arena.
Jay Yi followed him, her mind finally registering the forever-frozen-into-shock expressions of all the people - her court ladies, Hwan's eunuchs and his court ladies, Master Shin, his students - and realised they had probably given the most entertaining spectacle of swordplay duel they had ever seen.
"Now that I have won the bout, Lady Min has agreed to honour my request. She will help me translate one of my favourite books to Hangul - Yi Hyŏn-Bo's Ŏbu sa." Hwan declared for all to hear.
She spied her Court ladies hurrying toward her, led by Court Lady Kim, who, Jay Yi observed with sheer amazement, had an expression close to - pride?
"I don't think they have ever seen anyone quite like you, Min Jay Yi," Hwan remarked casually and watched Master Shin shuffle towards them, his facial muscles fixed with deep lines of bafflement.
Neither Hwan nor Jay Yi realised that every man, woman, and child standing there understood that their King and the enigmatic woman who would be their Queen soon shared no ordinary relationship.
That she had been his eunuch might not just be a rumour after all!
"W-Why did you not let me know earlier, Bin-ssi?" Master Shin was finding it hard to voice his disquiet. He sounded upset. Jay Yi suddenly felt guilty for her teacher.
"I did not mean to mislead you, Master Shin," Jay Yi bowed.
"It is my fault. I never thought to put you through an exam to determine your skills. I put you against young boys," Master Shin sounded genuinely remorseful.
Several pairs of enraptured young eyes were following their every movement. While Jay Yi had not wanted to let on how well she could fight, when he had put her up against the young boys, she did not have the heart to break their confidence.
"The first one I fought cried all night because he lost his sword to a woman, and his friends made fun of him," Jay Yi said.
"Your Majesty, I apologise. I made a grave mistake in misjudging Bin-ssi's talent. I am afraid her skills are way past my expertise."
"I disagree, Master Shin. As you must have noticed, I severely lack parrying skills," Jay Yi tried to reassure the poor man.
"I do not doubt Master Shin's skill, Lady Min, but I agree, you need someone like Master Moon Sung Yoon," Hwan interrupted.
"Master Moon, Your Majesty? I do not know if he will accept a female student," Master Shin pondered.
"We shall see," was all Hwan said. "How come you do not have any court ladies practising here?" Hwan looked around, perplexed.
"The previous Queen - the deposed Queen -" Master Shin corrected quickly, reddening, "- did not like court ladies engaging in weapon training, so it was disallowed a decade ago, Your Majesty."
"There must be court ladies who still might remember the skills. I recall Omoni-mama's practice sessions when I was very young. Why do you not find them?"
"I will take the request to the Dowager tomorrow, Your Majesty."
Jay Yi bit her tongue while Hwan sucked in an annoyed breath.
"No need," Hwan said curtly. He closed his eyes, trying to recall the faces from long ago who might have been a sparring partner to his mother.
A faint face floated in. Young, stern, familiar.
Stunned, he turned to court lady Kim. "You used to be one of the court ladies, Her Royal Highness, my mother practised with."
Jay Yi gaped.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I was indeed." To their amazement, a softness transformed court lady Kim's face. "Her Royal Highness, the late Queen Sunwon, had exceptional sword fighting skills. I feel honoured to see we will have a Wangbi who will bring the tradition back." She turned to Jay Yi and stunned her audience with, "You are one of the finest warriors I have seen, Bin-ssi. To do what you did here....this is what Queen Wongyeong must have been like..." Hwan blinked, Jay Yi's mouth fell open, and everyone was momentarily robbed of speech.
There could be no greater acceptance of Jay Yi's skills than validation from Court Lady Kim.
Jay Yi blushed in pleasure at her praise, but her following words brought Jay Yi down to earth with a quick thud. "However, forgive me for saying this, Bin-ssi, but your sword skills are indeed quite lacking, and His Majesty let you break all the rules."
Hwan could have happily wrung Court Lady Kim's neck.
Later that night, lying on her stomach in her modest but tastefully decorated room in the detached Palace, Jay Yi smoothed the note.
In fear, I shy from burning you like the sun
My heart is worried
Can you see?
Shadow cannot depart the body
Yet lengthen, shorten, or disappear
Let me light your soul instead
Will you meet me in the morrow ahead?
She blinked back an unexpected rush of moisture. Hwan was still giving her a choice. The sleeves of her pure white night dress blended with the paper, her pale hands breaking the linear pattern thus formed. Jay Yi finally understood what Hwan tried to do today.
He was breaking down the wall she was trying to hide behind.
She had been selfish, failing to see and hear the anguish Hwan had been trying to stem. Because she did not trust herself. The question was - could she throw off the chains she had tied around her own feet?
Shadow cannot depart the body - Is that what she was trying to do?
She worked hard to mould into what she thought people expected of her. Yet no one even blinked when she threw off the binds and did what should have been an unconscionable thing for a Queen to do - she ran!
A breath of frustration blew out from her. She turned on her back, squeezing the note to her chest.
Long, artistic fingers tapped impatiently on the back of the book. Leaning his tall frame against a shelf, Hwan waited. Would she come?
Thinking of the previous day gave him a thrill that still had him in its grip.
Jay Yi didn't realise he had just not won it, but he had won it big. Her free spirit had overtaken her as she had risen to the challenge. She was beautiful, brilliant, and indomitable. And yet he knew when he had finally overpowered her, she had acceded happily and submitted to him wholeheartedly.
Faint voices drifted at him.
Eunuch So. Eunuch Cha. Court Lady Kim. Jay Yi.
A vision in white and the green of the spring entered the spacious chamber of his library, luminous skin folding into an enrapturing smile as Jay Yi spotted him.
"How come -" Jay Yi started before remembering she had not greeted him.
"Would you have really followed through and not seen me till we got married, Lady Min Jay Yi?"
Jay Yi coloured and bowed her head. She heard a snort.
Hwan handed her a copy of Ŏbu sa.
Jay Yi blinked and blinked again, raising her eyes to him in confusion.
"You really want me to translate this?" Caught off guard, her eyes widened in astonishment.
"Any and all conditions," Hwan laughed and patted her head. And left.
Jay Yi gaped after him, holding the book in her hand, utterly dumbfounded.
What just happened?
It was her day off. She looked at the book and sighed. And went to work.
It was noon before she stirred as Hwan's court ladies ushered in an elaborate lunch tray for her. The book was engrossing, and translating it would take time, but it would be gratifying.
"Send word to my chambers. Have them fetch me when the clock strikes six."
She locked the door and settled in to the small settee. Back to the book again, she turned the pages, but a combination of food, the familiar musty, earthy smell, and the comfort of the room lulled her to sleep.
She dreamt of flowers, birds, of Gaeseong.....of Hwan....of feathers, soft, swaying, bursting in a rainbow of colours around her.
A feather wafted down towards her, grazing her skin softly, a whisper. Her skin prickled, her toes curled.
Her eyes flew open. A long finger traced her lips. Another motioned her to be quiet as Hwan placed it on his own lips.
Astonished, she tried to adjust her eyes in the darkened room, trying to pull off the cobwebs of sleep still lurking in her vision. Was she dreaming?
Hwan was no dream, his potent masculine fragrance making a mush of her senses.
"How-"
"Shhh. Your canine-nosed court lady has posted sentinels outside," He whispered. "She does not trust us," Hwan chuckled softly, "And rightfully so."
And gently covered her mouth with his.