Eun Chen sat up on the bed still thinking of what Lee Kwon had said earlier, did she say anything wrong that he had to cause such an outburst, she didn't know what he was doing outside , but she knew it was really cold out there , she was contemplating whether she should go and check on him or not , she finally heaved in defeat as she stood up ,holding unto his black cloak at that moment the door opened and there stood the person who she had almost gone in search for.
Lee Kwon looked at her then he looked at the coat he was holding before travelling back to her face , looking at her with curiousity, " where are you going?", he asked quizzical, Eun Chen looked away , " I.....I wanted to check on you but you are already back", she said awkwardly , Lee Kwon nodded slowly as he placed his hand on the head of a chair, " don't you want to know what I was doing outside?", he asked looking at her almost eagerly, Eun Chen looked at him not more than a second before she bluntly answered , " no", before quickly crawling back into bed and covering herself with the blanket while backing away from his sight, Lee Kwon heaved in frustration, " what was I expecting ", he mummured pulling the chair which made a screeching noise as he sat down , the house was as silent as a grave yard , Lee Kwon looked over at Eun Chen who was backing away , was she asleep?, or she didn't just want to speak to him , Eun Chen on the other hand was clenching her blanket , should she say something, why was it so quiet?, he wasn't planning to sleep on that chair , was he?.
They were both proving to be stubborn, the tension and silence was getting to an uncomfortable reach, Lee Kwon heaved et the same time Eun Chen heaved, as they both stood up at the same time to approach the other but we're both startled , as they looked away, it was akward , then finally at the same time they both said , " I am sorry....", they said in unison , Lee Kwon cleared his throat gesturing for Eun Chen to go first , she looked down on her feet , " I wasn't being considerate, I centered this duel on my freedom forgetting you were also aiming to get something from the outcome of the duel , I'm sorry", she said apologetically, it surprised her how she could apologize to someone this easily,Lee Kwon heaved , " I'm sorry too ,....for getting angry at you for what wasn't your concern , don't take anything I said to heart", said Lee kwon apologetically, Eun Chen smiled softly, " since when did I start taking your matters into concern", she said , Lee Kwon couldn't help but smile, " you are the second person I have apologized to sincerely", said Lee Kwon, " and I am glad you took my apology to heart and didnt brush it off", said Lee Kwon coming near Eun Chen , softly placing his hand on her forehead, he smiled softly , " you are warm now", said Lee Kwon, Eun Chen looked up at him , placing her own hand on his hand that was placed on her forehead, " but you are cold", she said ,then she placed her hand on her chest using one of her finger tracing the outlines of the spiral marks that had been branded on her chest , " this mark was warming me up", she said stepping closer to Lee Kwon and unexpectedly she hugged him , Lee Kwon was surprised at this move but at the same time he liked it, " let's stay like this and warm you up,..., if you are uncomfortable, I will back away", she said , but she felt Lee Kwons arm embrace her , " no....., I like it", he said softly , he was really cold , he pulled her closer to himself embracing her more as she also embraced him , since he was too tall , he resulted to partly sitting on the side of the table , burying his face in her neck , as Eun Chen softly patted him on his back, she didn't know why she was doing this , she felt her neck was getting wet, he was crying , she could hear those sniffles, he finally let it out , those deep hidden scars that he had buried within himself , his empty eyes that hid many emotions, she had been waiting for the day he will break down , the day she will see his weakness, but seeing it now all she could feel was pity.
Where I came from,....., we had a field of hyacinth , we were told to wear overcoats when we ran through the field , because eventhough they radiated of beauty they were still considered mildly toxic, I never listened and always came home with a rash .....", she said with a smile as she softly patted his back, " anytime my mother treated the rash I always cried out loud , but what she told me was if I close my eyes and remember how beautiful the hyacinth was , you would forget the pain ", she said pulling away from his embrace , seeing his tear streamed face, she gently wiped the tears from his eyes , " did it work?", asked Lee Kwon curiously , Eun Chen pursed her lips and nodded, " it did,.....I forgot the pain and the only memory I had was that of the beautiful flowers", she said her hand softly caressing his face as she came closer to him, her hand slid from his face to his shoulders, her two hands softly grasped her broad shoulders meeting his gaze,it was soft and gentle, he could tell from her eyes that she was going to do something, something that could also break every walls he had built for her sake, " so now ,...I want you to forget the pain , and only this memory ....., should be on your mind", she said raising one of her hand and closed his eyes with it, he didn't know she could be this bold , but he wasn't going to stop her, Eun Chen eyes scrolled to his lips , she came nearer him, no space between them now , she slowly tilted her head and leaned in, softly claiming his lips with hers , Lee Kwon clenched his hands which were beside him , Eun Chen slowly departed from his , slowly removing her hand from his eyes , and meeting his gaze , her hands still on his shoulder, you could literally hear the word "tension" whispering in the air , Lee Kwons once clenched up hand released , looking at her as if he was peering into her soul, he leaned closer to her , "this won't be considered a spur of the moment ", he said softly , the chilly atmosphere but the warm embrace , the steel cutting silence , but the loud vigorous beating of ones heart , each contrasting against each other, the flickering flames danced in their enclosed space casting shadows on the walls , Lee Kwon gently placed his hand on her face , " this isn't the spur of the moment , it's not because of this moment nor the next", he said and without a second thought, without hesitation, he gave her back the kiss, but it was more passionate, more fierce , his hand crept onto her waist and pulled her closer to himself, her hands encircled his neck , as he constantly and gently grazed her lips with his, she departed only an inch, his lips still on hers , he carresed the side of her face and claimed it once again, it felt like they were in their own world , one hand on her waist , the other entangled on her hair, Eun Chen slid from his shoulders to his chest , not planning to stop him , the kiss intensifying at each pace , both their bodies exerted of bread heat , as they both departed at the same time panting, after a while of panting , they could finally feel themselves breathing again , Lee Kwon gazed at her for a while before breaking into a soft smile and bending his head, Eun Chen looked away, her face was steamy red, he looked up at her face in amusement, it was funny how this woman who was considered the most dangerous could be this shy, but...it was cute , he bit his lower lip, in a seductive manner and then he pulled her in and hugged her, Eun Chen hands lazily on his sides, and just like that her duties were sold and her desires had won.
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Morning
The whole assembly was silent, the Queen biting her lips and continuously tapping on the arm of her throne , the King clenching the arm of his throne , they were obviously waiting for someone , at that very moment the man of the hour appeared, the Queen adamantly stood up from her throne , " you...."," when we signed the duel there was no mention in the scroll that you could forcefully take one of my helps , hold them hostage and torture them", said Lee Kwon walking in the middle of the throne room, there was something different about him, his aura perceived of that of confidence and authority, " you are in no place to tell me the rules, I am the Queen, u make the rules ", said the Queen in angst , Lee Kwon stopped close to the Queen , " I am their master, I am the one who employed them, so when I see they are being treated unfairly I have every right to break your rules", he said looking up at his father , " move the date of the duel", said Lee Kwon , the king stood up almost immediately hearing what his son had just said , all the elders began to mummur but Lee Kwon didn't care of anyone's opinions, " let's have the duel tomorrow ", said Lee Kwon seriously, leaving all the assembly men, the King and Queen shocked.
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Lee Kwon was walking out of the palace when he heard someone calling his name , but he didn't stop walking , he knew who it was that was calling him but he chose not to answer untill the person held him by his arm stopping him instantly, " if you are here to convince me not to go through with the duel , you are only wasting your time", said Lee Kwon turning his head and meeting his father face to face , " why are you doing this, do you really want to die !", said the King almost in a panic , Lee Kwon smiled briefly , it's my choice if I want to die or not , and my choice is not to die tomorrow....", said Lee Kwon, the king in rage furrowed his eyebrows, hitting Lee Kwon slightly on the shoulder, " do you think you are immortal or what, death is inevitable, it can never be avoided,.....I have tried everything,all these years I sheltered you, saving you from the palace conflicts but what are you doing...., throwing it all away for some stupid duel", yelled the King , Lee Kwon scoffed , " yes ....., yes ,you protected me keeping me away from palace issues ,....but you were never there for me , you were never there when I needed you , you assumed you provided me with a house, I had servants , sending the best teachers to teach me maths, history, language, science so that I could be a teacher, so that you can sail me off to another country", said Lee Kwon in anger , " that was my way of protecting you", said the King in a commanding voice , " does protecting me also mean that you are a coward", yelled Lee Kwon in anger , silence bestowed upon them , the king stared at Lee Kwon, his gaze softened turning emotional, but all that could be seen of Lee Kwon was pure resentment, " I didn't want to say it, I just ignored it, but...., but all this speech about protection is nerve racking , all you do is make me feel indebted to you , to make it seem that I am grateful that I am not dead , you treat my birth as of something that is my mother and I fault.....", he said , his voice cracking leaving his father speechless, " every night ,...I have nightmares of someone calling my name , I see blood everywhere, clouds covering the moon and a huge storm , the air stinks of torn flesh, it's so vivid, like I had experienced it before, I can tall that the woman who calls my name every night ....is mother", he said , the unclogged tears finally falling out , " I could feel her presence even if she is dead ..., but all as for you.....", he said pointing out one of his fingers tot he King's face, " you were not around , and now,..., I am the one suffering more for your infidelity", said Lee Kwon forcefully wiping the tear away from his eyes , " so ....from the moment I was born...., you never acted as a father,.....this duel is no longer about me, I made a promise , and I will keep it , so don't interfere", he said and with that he left , leaving histhe King astonished by what his son said.