The Commoner (hiatus)

Chapter 7

“What do you mean?” Calinda asks, her voice hurt. Suho remains firm. “I’m your wife!”
    “Princess Calinda, just because we’re married doesn’t give you free rein to do whatever you want,” Suho explains. “I’m the second prince, not the first or the emperor. Just because you’re married to me doesn’t mean you’re automatically in charge.”
    “The Empress is dead!” Calinda whines. Suho stiffens. Her true colors were showing. “And your brother is delaying his marriage, so there’s no one else who can be in charge.”
    “Emperor’s mother is in charge of the harem, then his wife when she dies, crown prince’s wife when she dies, head eunuch if she dies or is unavailable. The power never goes down to the second prince’s wife. Just like I have no real power, neither do you.”
    She slaps him. He holds his cheek in shock. She’s panting as though she’s just run a race.
    “Princess Calinda, I’m confining you to your chambers until further notice. Meals will be provided and you will still have access to your servants. Concubine Mieko is not to be treated as one of your servants or we will reassemble and the punishment will be more severe. Eunuch Sehun will be reporting your daily activities to me, which will help me determine when your punishment will end."
    Princess Calinda's face contorts into an ugly scowl as she is led away by Sehun. He sighs and turns to his desk. Trying to tell that girl that she had done something wrong was like trying to tell a monkey that they couldn’t have a banana. Nearly impossible. Suho isn’t even completely sure she knows that she’s in the wrong. He’s not going to keep her confined to her room for long though: it’s her first offense. He’s not his father.
    “You could have married Princess Liana,” Chen comments after a week. Suho leans back in the pillows and munches on another slice of saereng. Chen had been spending his time in Suho’s room since Suho had announced that he would be taking a month-long break to heal. It hadn’t gone as smoothly as Suho had hoped but he managed to get his way in the end. He had still been working, just not as much. “I’ve heard that she’s as kind as she is beautiful. I’ve seen her portraits and while she’s not as pretty as Calinda, she’s still very beautiful.”
    “I didn’t have a choice in my marriage, Chen.”
    “I know,” Chen sighs, taking a bite of his porridge. He fans at his mouth and pants at the heat. After he finally manages to swallow, he continues, “I didn’t know girls could be such bitches.”
    “You didn’t?” Suho jokes half-heartedly. Chen gives him a look.
    “Suho, I can count the number of times I’ve been out of the palace on my hand. My concubines mind their own business and cater to me whenever I see them. The only women I’ve ever been close enough to know is Mother, Yerim, and now Mieko. They’re all angels.”
    “H--”
     “Prince Suho, Prince Chen!” several guards bursts into the room and surround the men. Suho stands in confusion.
    "What's going on?" he demands.
    "There's been a murder within the palace walls. You must stay here until every nook and cranny has been checked."
    "Where was this murder?" Chen asks. The younger man is clearly in shock.
    "In Prince Suho's concubinal chambers."
    "What?!" Suho roars, grabbing the guard who answered by his shirt and yanking him close. Mieko is the only thought running through his mind. Had she been hurt? Did Calinda kill her? Oh, gods. "Take me there immediately."
    "Your Highness, it's not safe--"
    "This concerns me. Take me to my concubinal chambers immediately." Suho points at another random guard. "You protect my brother."
    "Suho, maybe--" Chen tries, but Suho shuts him up with a glare. He is led out of his rooms and escorted down the halls. They pass through the greenhouse and Suho's legs freeze when he arrives. Two guards had been strung up by their legs in the rafters, their necks slit like a slaughtered animal. Blood stained the plants and the cobblestones beneath them. He shudders as he snaps out of his miniature trance and catches up with the guard. Suho looks around. The haram is far more… Dull than he initially thought. The ground is unpolished and the individual rooms are built of wood rather than stone. Nobody except for eunuchs and Suho and guards are milling about. There are no women to be seen.
    Suho can tell when they are drawing close to his concubinal chambers; the air smells decayed. Eunuchs, including Sehun, were filtering in and out of the room. They bow when they see him and Sehun dismisses Suho's guard. The man hurries out, obviously not wanting to be caught by the Emperor. Suho didn't care if he is caught or not. He didn't care if his father gets angry with him or not for being in the harem. He needs to know if Mieko is alright. No matter the cost.
    "Who has died?" Suho asks anxiously, grabbing Sehun by the shoulders. Sehun removes his hands calmly.
    “Mieko’s alive, your highness.” Sehun cracks his neck. “Unconscious, but alive. Princess Calinda was murdered in their room.”
    “What?” Suho takes a step back. “Who killed her?”
    Please, not Mieko.
    “We don’t know,” Sehun shakes his head and gestures for Suho to follow him. They walk into the concubinal chambers together and Suho gasps. Princess Calinda is dangling by her neck from the ceiling, a braided silk noose around her neck. She had been beaten severely before her death. Blood pooled beneath her dead body, dripping from the ends of her toes to the ground. Some of it had been used to write on the walls. The language looked familiar but Suho couldn’t name it.
    “The barbarians,” he growls, looking up at her body. His stomach churns and he staggers to the washroom to throw up. Guilt washes over him. If he hadn’t locked Princess Calinda in her room, would she still be alive?
    “Prince Suho, this wasn’t your fault. Do not blame yourself,” Sehun begs, then falls to his knees. “I should have made sure the defenses were tighter, your Highness. Please, punish me as fit.”
    “Sehun.” Suho winces. “Please stand up. I need you to figure out what happened here.”
    “The only witness is Mieko but she’s been unconscious for hours,” Sehun explains, getting up and leading Suho inside. It smells like blood to Suho. “The scent of a strong sedative is in the air and traces to her body. There’s no telling when she’ll wake up or if she will.”
    “What is the sedative called?” Sehun purses his lips.
    “It’s made out of the leaves of a saereng plant.”
    “The leaves of a-,” Suho scoffs and runs a hand through his hair. “She’s allergic to saereng. That and the sedative…”
    “She’ll die if we don’t get it off of her,” Sehun finishes. “I’ll call the doctor…”
    “That old man won’t do anything helpful,” Suho grits his teeth and bounces on the balls of his feet. He freezes when a dangerous, impossible thought crosses his mind. He turns to look at Sehun, calculating. “How difficult would it be to smuggle someone in and out of the palace right now?” Sehun gives him a cautious look.
    “Nearly impossible, why?”
    “Mieko’s father is a healer and he’s known her her entire life. He has to know how to fix this.”
    “And how are we supposed to get to him, Suho? The palace is on complete shutdown. Nobody comes in or out without express permission from the Emperor.”
    “There has to be some kind of way in and out of the palace without being seen. Didn’t the assholes who killed Princess Calinda and poisoned Mieko do so?”
    “The bastards came through the front door by killing sixteen guards and severely injuring five more. There’s not a secret entrance to the palace, Suho.”
    “She’ll die, Sehun. You’ve worked here since we were a child. You have to know something.” Suho grabs Sehun by the shoulders and pulls him down so that they are eye to eye. Sehun avoids his gaze. “Sehun, I won’t lose her.”
    “There’s no secret entrances or exits to the palace, your highness,” Sehun assures again. “I’ll… I’ll do my best.” Suho bites his lip and shakes his head, before looking at Sehun again and nodding. That’s all he could ask.
    He feels strange. He’s concerned about Mieko, yes, but he has an odd feeling of emptiness in his stomach. Princess Calinda is dead. He should probably feel relieved. But he doesn’t. If she’s dead then the treaty between her country and his is broken. His home could go to war. Bile rises in his throat again and he heaves. It’s his fault. He should have let Princess Calinda leave her room sooner. She would still be alive if he had. Suho flinches when a hand waves in front of his face to get his attention.
    “Your Highness, take Mieko to your room. It’ll be easier to bring her father there if I can get him past the front gate.”
    “Ah… yes,” Suho goes over to Mieko and picks her limp body up. She’s always cold but right now she feels absolutely icy. Her breathing is shallow and weak, coming at odd intervals. His heart breaks upon seeing her face scrunched up in pain from being moved. Her eyes flutter open as he stares at her.
    "M-my prince?" she mumbles weakly.
    "Yes, Mieko," he whispers, starting to carry her to his room. She grips his sleeve as tightly as she can.
    "Prin...cess Ca...linda…" she tries, then falls limp in his arms. The walk to his room is painful and he wants to drop to his knees in despair when he arrives. She has gotten even colder and her breathing is even more shallow. She's dying.
    "Is that Mieko?" Chen gasps as Suho lays he her on his bed. Suho nods grimly.
    "She's been poisoned. Princess Calinda was killed."
    "Have they caught the bastards?" Suho shakes his head angrily, clenching his fists.
    "No but once Mieko has recovered and can give a testimony, I'm going to track the bastards down and have them all executed." Chen is silent at that. So silent that Suho actually turns to look at the younger prince. Chen looks a bit taken aback. "What?"
    "Nothing," Chen shakes himself out of his stupor. "You're just… I've never seen you be so aggressive before. You really care for her, don't you?" Suho pauses before shaking his head.
    "I owe her. She's always concerned for me and making sure I'm well, even after I stole her life. The least I can do is protect her and all those who move against her."
    Chen doesn't say anything in response to that. They sit in silence until Sehun bursts into the room. He has a bruise on his temple and he's covered in sweat.
    "I ran all the way there but I couldn't find a way to sneak him in," Sehun starts, then takes a pouch off his belt. A water skin. Suho hasn't seen one of those in a while. Jars were far more efficient. "He said to have her drink half of this now, to gently rub her skin with some kind of exfoliant, and to bathe her. In exactly two hours we repeat. He said that since she didn't actually ingest anything that we should be able to flush it out of her within twenty-four hours and that she should wake up after she drinks."
    "Then let her drink it," says Suho, snatching it away and propping Mieko up. He tilts her head back and slowly pours the liquid in intervals, giving her time to swallow before he gave her more.
    "I'll take her back to the harem," Sehun starts, moving to pick her up. Suho's glare stops him in his tracks.
    "I'm not letting her out of my sight until those bastards have been caught."
    Sehun and Chen exchange a look. Suho doesn't think Chen has ever been quiet for so long in his life. But quite frankly, he doesn't care much. Mieko is the priority. He'll ask Chen what's going on later.
    "She needs to be bathed, Suho. Are you planning on doing that?"
    Suho opens his mouth to answer, then snaps it shut again so it wouldn't gape stupidly. He sighs and gets up.
    "Bring someone to do it here. I'll wait in my public room. Come on, Chen."
    Chen silently follows Suho to his public area and flops on the provided pillows. Sehun leaves Suho's chambers entirely, probably on a quest to find a woman to bathe Mieko. Suho can't sit, especially when Sehun returns with a mousy old woman whose hands trembled as she walked passed the two princes.
    "You have to start hiding your love for her if you want to keep her."
    Suho whirls on Chen, who was still lounging on Suho's pillows.
    "Excuse me?"
    “You love her, Suho. Anybody can see that from seeing the way you behave around her and treat her,” Chen states. Suho stares. He doesn’t want to admit that his brother is right: what brother ever does? But as Suho opens his mouth to protest, he finds himself unable to protest. Memories of her flood through his mind and he finds himself at a loss. What Chen said makes sense. He misses her when he can’t be around her, he’s protective of her… Suho’s hand flies to his mouth as he stares at Chen, who’s brows are furrowed.
    “Did you not know that you loved her?” Suho shakes his head. He feels like a immature, stupid, idiotic child. He’s in love with her. He’s in love with Mieko…
    “I can’t be in love with her,” Suho’s voice is weaker than he would have liked it to be. But it’s true. He is going to marry another woman, since Calinda is dead. His father would make sure of it. If the emperor found out, he would take Mieko away from him and either kill her or--Suho doesn’t want to think about the other option.
    “You can be in love with her, Suho. You can’t help who you love,” Chen reassures, getting up to place a hand on Suho’s shoulder. Suho shakes his head.
    "I have a duty, Chen. I… I can't love her. I'll be remarrying I'm soon, I'm sure. Then I have my diplomatic duties and father…" Suho trails off. He doesn't need to finish for Chen to understand. "It wouldn't be fair for me to love her."
    Chen doesn't say anything else and they sit (Chen sits, Suho paces) in silence until Sehun emerges from the private chambers with the servant and announces that Mieko is resting in Suho's bed. Suho rushes into his private chambers as soon as Sehun and Chen leave. He can't love Mieko but he is responsible for her. That's why he cares, he tells himself. He cares about anyone and anything he's been put in charge of.
    Mieko sleeps through the night, much to Suho's dismay. She wakes up the next morning just as Suho is finally about to leave her side to start working. She seems a bit out of it, her eyes not completely focusing on him.
    "Mieko," he calls for the third time, softly. "Are you feeling alright? Just nod or shake your head." Finally, she obeys, shaking her head just a bit. "What's wrong?"
    "Princess Calinda," she mumbles hoarsely. He helps sit her up to drink a bit of water. Once she's drunk a bit, her voice is clearer. "Princess Calinda is hurt; they were… They were torturing her, my Prince." Her breathing becomes more frantic as she hurries to ask, "Is she alright? Did the guards get there in time? I saw one entering before everything went black. I must have fainted."
    "Calinda is dead, Mieko," he states bluntly. "The assholes who hurt you killed her  sixteen guards."
    "She's dead?" Mieko whispers, her voice trembling. When he nods, she buries her face in her hands. Her shoulders heave but no sound leaves her mouth than an occasional gasp. Suho isn't sure what to do. He's had Mieko for a while now but he had never imagined how she would cry. He hates seeing it. But he simply rubs her shoulder in an attempt to put her at ease. Finally, she looks up and manages to hiccup out an apology.
    "What are you apologizing for?"
    "I heard her screaming," Mieko sounds haunted. "I heard her screaming, and I ignored her because I thought she was screaming at a rat or a spider. She's done it before. I finished what I was doing in the garden before I went to help… They were torturing her…" Mieko breaks down again. "I went to help then, but something hit me and I fell asleep."
    "Mieko, they knocked you out. You couldn't have helped Calinda; you don't need to feel guilty."
    "I should have gone to help when I first heard her screaming…"
    "So should have every other woman and eunuch in the haram. Don't plague yourself. We'll find the ones responsible and justice will be served, I promise."
    He's not sure if Mieko heard him, as he notices that she's gone limp with sleep. He lays her on his bed gently and leaves the room. He may not have cared much for Calinda, but it is a blow to his pride as prince to have his wife killed under his roof. Not only that, but they hurt Mieko. For that, he would make them suffer.