Black Dragon

Yun-ho

"Yun-ho, this is Queen Meissa. Please entertain her while the king and I do business."

She nods her head and turns to me as our husbands leave. She holds out a hand. "Hello Your Majesty, I'm Geun-tea's wife, Yun-ho."

I look at her hand and decide whether I want to shake it or not. She was very pretty. She seemed more like the type that should be queen, unlike me. I shook her hand and introduced myself.

"Would you like some tea? Maybe we could talk about whatever seems to be bothering you?" She suggests. I shrug my shoulders. It couldn't hurt I suppose.

We sit down at a table and she pours me a cup and hands it to me. I sniff it. It wasn't the same as earlier but it was similar in scent. I took a sip and nodded my head in approval. It wasn't too bad.

"So, are you enjoying being married?" She asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "I enjoyed the few hours I had with him as my husband before we had to leave before we came here."

"I suppose that would make me upset too. You didn't even get a honeymoon did you?"

I shake my head. "But that's okay, really. I'm not too big on things like that. I just thought I could spend a little more time with him before we had to travel for business."

"Well were you two at least able to consummate your marriage?" She asks with a playful smile.

I feel my face heat up and I try to hide my blush.

"You did!" She exclaims. "How was it?"

"It was fine." I say, but it was more than fine. "I was kind of nervous and I think he was too."

"I remember mine and Geun-tea's first time." She says in a nostalgic tone. "It doesn't even seem as if it's been as long as it has."

"How long have you been together?" I ask.

"Six years."

I become confused. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-five. Shocking, huh?"

I nod my head. "I thought you were around my age, seventeen at the most."

"I get that a lot." She points out. "There's already an age gap between my husband and I, if I was that much younger than him I don't think he and I would be able to find anything in common. I don't think we'd be able to be married in a situation like that."

"You married for what you have in common?" I ask.

"Well that's one of the reasons I suppose. Of course the main reason was for love, but having common ground is good for a marriage. Don't you and and His Majesty have anything in common?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I never really thought about it. When we decided to get married it was mostly so we wouldn't lose the other to someone else..." I say. "But of course we do love each other!" I add quickly. "I love him a lot and I pray that he loves me as well."

"I don't think His Majesty would marry you if he didn't." She reassures me. "He doesn't seem like the type, especially being so young." I nod my head and sigh in relief. I hope she was right.

"You know it took most the kingdom by surprise when it was announced that King Soo-won would be marrying. It was an even bigger shock when it was announced who he married. Geun-tea and I didn't even know until we went to the coronation ceremony."

"It was that surprising?" I ask.

She nods her head. "I don't think anyone was expecting King Soo-won to marry so soon. And when we found out it was the other child of the great General Yu-hon, we didn't know really what to think of it. I think everyone really expected you to be a maiden forever." She explains.

"That was the plan actually, but a lot has happened in the past few months." I sigh. "I wasn't originally planning to marry Soo-won. I was willing to fight Son Hak for my hand in marriage and then everything happened with King Il..." I trail off.

"You were taken from the castle by him weren't you?"

I shake my head, "I went willingly. I took on a new identity as Hak's wife, and we planned on living the life of a fugitive, I just wanted to make sure he was safe, and..." I felt myself start to tear up.

She eyed me over the rim of her tea cup. I knew she was listening, waiting for me to finish so she could give me your insight.

"We- We, uh were cornered by some Fire Clan soldiers. He managed to hide Yona and I away from the soldiers while he tried to lure them away, but he had just been shot, so I ran out and fought with him. I was shot multiple times trying to reach him. Then Yona ran over and they..." She hands me a handkerchief and I dab at my eyes. "They fell off the cliff."

She stares at me. Probably not sure what to say. I didn't really know what to say either.

"But don't get me wrong, I love Soo-won more than anything."

"He wasn't your first choice was he?"

I bite my lip. "I tried so hard to make him the only choice... but something clicked with Hak. And I know he's dead, but my heart won't let him die."

"It's probably because you never got any closure. It's not easy to get over the death of someone you love." She says. "But in time the wound in your heart will heal. And no matter how much you think it won't, it will get better." I nod my head and she changes the subject. "Do you and His Majesty plan on having children?"

I nod my head. "The kingdom has to have an heir." I explain. "I want a boy the first time that way it'll be over with and that way we don't have to keep trying."

"You only want one child?" She asks.

"Well I suppose that I wouldn't mind having a daughter, but I only want one son. I don't want the lineage to the throne to come between my family." I won't allow what happened to my father to happen with my children. "Do you want kids?"

She sighs. "I want as many children as I can bear, but I don't think I can even bear one."

"I'm sure you can-"

"Geun-tea and I have been trying for years. He may not look like it, but he wants a big family too. I feel like I've failed him because I can't become pregnant. I love him so much, I want to bear him a handful of sons."

"Does he want sons?" I ask.

"He says he doesn't care what gender, and that we shouldn't worry about having a boy or girl, that we should focus on conceiving first."

"I think he'll be happy no matter what the gender is." I say.

"I just hope I can have children." She says with worry in her eyes. It never occurred to me that Soo-won and I could have the same problem when we decided to try for children. What if I couldn't bear children? I'd be useless. The one thing I had to do, I couldn't do. I'd be a failure to my kingdom, I'd be a failure to Soo-won.