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Bong Hwan and Cheoljong stride across the large and empty courtyard. They hold hands, taking large breaths as they steel themselves to face the last boss.
They have one chance and they must not fail.
A movement on the roof catches Bong Hwan’s eye. In an instant, he moves - an automatic reaction, shielding Cheoljong with his body.
He watches as Cheoljong reaches his hand towards his. He watches as another bullet hits Cheoljong’s chest and he falls. Inwardly, Bong Hwan’s heart falls too.
Bong Hwan’s body lurches with pain. The hospital room his future body is resting in flashing before him. No this cannot be happening right now . Bong Hwan refuses to leave now - he must see if his Cheoljong is alive.
He reaches out with all his strength. His fingertips graze Cheoljong’s. Then his world fades to black.
---
Cheoljong feels cold fingers in his palms. He opens his eyes. He sees So-Yong lies still next to him, lips tinged blue. Cheoljong releases a frustrated scream. He crawls to her desperately, not even thinking of the sharp pain as he jostles the wound in his chest with every movement. Wake up, my Queen! You cannot die like this!
Cheoljong pulls So-Yong to his lap, shaking her, but she does not respond.
He feels the swish of a sword behind him, and barely manages to roll himself and So-Yong out of the way. It is Kim Jwa Geun.
Cheoljong retrieves his sword from the ground and laughs brokenly. "I am the husband of the Queen you ordered killed. I am the family member of the people you murdered, the King of the people you crushed. I will see to it that you will live a long life full of humiliation and regret and pain."
---
Byul Gam and his brother find him afterwards.
“My King, you must go,” Byul Gam tells him gently. He places his hand on Cheoljong’s shoulders. His brother holds out the Royal Seal beside him.
“No,” Cheoljong says hoarsely, pulling So-Yong’s limp body closer to his chest. “I just-I can’t.”
They tell him he must stop the dethronement, that the Queen would want him to. They will escort Her Majesty to Daejojeon Hall.
The scarf So-Yong gave him comes undone and catches on the wind.
---
Many hours later, the Queen is now with the Royal Healer, Court Lady Choi and Hong Yeon. Bright red blood pools around her.
“I’m sorry,” the Royal Healer says. “There are signs of miscarriage and it seems that Her Majesty - her consciousness is no longer bounded by her body. All we can do now is wait.”
Cheoljong quietly leaves the room.
---
The first time Cheoljong’s heart stopped beating for someone, he was no more than twelve summers old. He was at the bottom of a well holding a trembling girl’s neck in his hands. She was the only bright light in that damp blackness.
The second time his heart stopped beating for someone, the same girl but much weirder, now a Queen, held his face in her trembling hand. She was still the brightest light in the room.
She may have enough flaws to fill a book. Her manners are certainly not the most refined; her temper and alien speech patterns, both vulgar and crude. But she is good, she is kind, and she is the most beautiful thing Cheoljong has ever seen.
She has taught him to be a better person and more importantly, she has taught him to love.
---
Cheoljong waits and waits in Daejojeon’s hallway. Hours pass. The moon rises. Then morning breaks.
The Queen's wounds have stopped bleeding in the night. But she has not regained consciousness.
Cheoljong holds her hand. A sob breaks out of him, sudden and loud. “My Queen, please come back to me,” he pleads.
She stays cold and still.
“There’s so much that I-I need to do. But I cannot do any of it without you by my side. I love you.”
So-yong’s eyes flutter open. Cheoljong’s breath catches.
She looks up at him and smiles brightly.
“I will always row my way back to you, My Cheoljong.”
---
In the future, Bong Hwan had looked down at a familiar swimming pool and jumped.