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She sits in a pavilion overlooking the palace gardens, a magnificent queenly figure in her elegant silk robes, priceless jewels adorning her hair and neck.
Surrounding her are a dozen ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs, showing her the deepest respect with their heads bowed and bodies bent low. Court ladies from the Damiwon move swiftly towards the pavilion, carrying trays of tea and pastries, enough to feed many, although she is the only one there.
The only sounds are the gentle clatter of the plates and cups being set down on the table. Everything is the highest quality - the finest celadon pottery, carved silver chopsticks, the intricate embroidery on the silk tablecloth - everything is fit for a queen.
One of the ladies-in-waiting raises her hand and music drifts over from a group of musicians are gathered a short distance away.
It is a scene of tranquility – the Queen enjoying the beautiful spring day, taking advantage of everything available to her in her position as the highest lady in all of Goryeo.
But Queen Daemok, once Princess Hwangbo Yeonhwa, knows better. She has less power than the slaves who serve her. In the game of life, she has lost.
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She remembers back to when she thought she had triumphed, when she first became the Queen.
Wang So, the wolf-dog who survived to become the King of Goryeo. She had thought she could control him, that by taming the beast, she would become the power behind the throne, the king-maker. He had not been tamed. Instead, he outplayed her.
She remembers when she tried to seduce him, demeaning herself to pretend to be that common little whore, Hae Soo, hiding behind the mask that she had had stolen from Hae Soo's quarters. The King had been drunk and she had thrilled at what she had thought was her success, but he had not fallen for her trick.
As he had pushed her away from her, his voice had been like a knife, slicing away at her. "Will you give up your family? When you do so, I will give you a Crown Prince."
When the King had returned to her bedchamber a few days later and asked her if she had made up her mind, it had been an easy decision. She was destined to win. It was her birthright, not only to be Queen, but to be the Queen Mother afterwards, mother of the Crown Prince, the future king of Goryeo. She would be the one yielding power and never would anyone ever control her again.
She had thought he would consummate their marriage that night. Instead, he had just looked at her, his face expressionless, his eyes narrowed. Then he smiled, an almost kind smile that contrasted with the coldness in his eyes. His voice had been gentle. "Why should I trust your word? You will wait until you have proven your loyalty."
For the first time, she had felt a shiver of fear, coupled with uncertainty about the man she was dealing with.
So she threw aside Wook, watched and done nothing as he was accused of treason. She ignored her mother even as the Dowager Queen begged for her to save her brother. She thought that Wook was lucky in being put in house arrest and that her influence meant that the King was afraid of executing her brother.
But then she had asked Wook for his help in getting rid of Hae Soo when the King refused to let her go, choosing to ignore the former king's decree, prefering to jeopardise his position. Wook had agreed to help, noting that he owed her a debt. What she forgot was that she owed him a debt too.
Wook paid off his debt to her by confessing his previous relationship to Hae Soo to the King. He also ensured that he collected her debt by telling the King about her collusion with Queen Yoo in attempting to poison Crown Prince Mu and her informing Yo about the location of Eun and Soon-deok,
When she had heard that Hae Soo had left the palace, she had celebrated. As expected, the King had come to her bedchamber. She thought she had won.
She had dismissed her maids and waited for him, perfumed and prepared for him, but he had strode in, looking at her with such contempt that she had cowered back. When he finally spoke, his voice had been deadly quiet, but his tone cut at her like a whip. "Did you know how our 10th brother died? He watched as his wife was murdered, saving his life. He was shot by our 3rd brother twice. That bastard deliberately mis-shot so that Eun would slowly linger in pain. Yes, our little brother who was still a boy, who played with boats and toys still, who needed our protection more than anyone else. Do you know how he suffered, that he begged me to kill him?”
The King had grabbed her neck, his fingers slowly tightening around her throat, her breath gradually slowing as she desperately tried to free herself, kicking and clawing at him.
His face had been contorted with hate, his eyes boring into her relentlessly. She had never felt such terror before. For the first time in her life, she faced death and realised that she feared death. She had thought exile was the worst thing that could happen, but as the King choked the air from her, she knew that she did not want to die.
Abruptly he let go of her so that she fell to the floor, coughing and spluttering. Tears rolling down her cheeks, whimpering, she had begged for her life.
The King had laughed mirthlessly. "I will let you live ... for now. But I will never forget. Death is too easy for you. I promise you that from now on, every moment of your life, you will regret what you did. You will wish that you were dead."
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The King had kept his word.
She was and continues to be treated like the Queen. Her rooms and attire are luxurious. The merchants of Songak send her their most beautiful and expensive goods. Dozens of servants attend her constantly.
Yet she is completely alone.
Everyone surrounding her are the King’s spies. None of them speak to her, other than a quiet "as you wish, your majesty." They do not even look at her - their heads are always bowed, supposedly in respect, but she knows better. The King is ensuring that she has no one to turn to, to speak to, to look at.
She has no visitors. Even if the King allowed it, there is no one who wants to see her. Her mother refuses to speak to her, Wook is under house arrest. She knows that Won attempted a coup and was executed. Baek Ah and Jung have never tried to contact her.
No one from the Hwangbo clan bothers with her. In throwing away Wook, she threw away any leverage she may have had. In removing her brother as a possible rival to the King and her future son, she ensured Hwangbo loyalty to the King. They had followed her lead, pledging their support to support him. His Queen was a Hwangbo after all. Goryeo’s next king would have Hwangbo blood.
The King ensures that she hears about how he has consolidated his power. He has emancipated the slaves and instituted civil service examinations. At first, she thought it was a sign of his ridiculous devotion to Hae Soo and her strange ideas, but now she recognises his cunning. He is fighting back against the clans and is succeeding. She had underestimated him, everyone had underestimated him.
The King now exerts complete control over everything in the palace. Only the news that he wants to send out is sent out. Spies are ruthlessly dealt with. No one knows the truth about her situation. Even if they did, no one cares.
People think that she is content with her position. They believe she is the mother of Crown Prince Ju. What they do not know is that the King brought Princess Gyeonghwagung back to the palace, that he came in with a decree for her to sign and agree to adopt the Princess' child as the Queen's son and Crown Prince. His voice was cutting – “I promised I would give you a Crown Prince, didn’t I?” She has never seen the Crown Prince or any of the children that she has adopted.
She has tried to kill herself, hating her loss of power, her lack of control, her weakness. But each time, she is unable to carry out the final act. She fears death even more. She does not want to die, does not want to leave her life, even if her life is meaningless.
She hates herself. No, she despises herself.
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Queen Daemok looks out at the beautiful palace gardens as she drinks her tea. One of the eunuchs approaches her, murmuring about her needing to return to her quarters to rest. It is not a suggestion, but a command. She, supposedly the Queen and Princess of Goryeo, the daughter, wife and mother of kings, is held on a leash. She makes no decisions. She has no power. She has no choice as to how she leads her life.
The King controls her - this is his vengeance.
She wishes that she could go mad but she does not. She prays for death, but death does not happen.
That is all that is left for her. A lifetime of utter loneliness and silence and abandonment.