Brand of the Desert

The Emperor's Messenger

The dark, stifling shadows that had filled the commander’s tent slowly began to soften. As the first traces of morning sunlight crept in beneath the canopy’s hem, the space was filled with a cool, pale blue haze. The air inside lay utterly still, and a quiet, heavy warmth lingered like an echo, as if perfectly cut off from the brutal chaos of the battlefield raging outside.

I was comfortably resting on the low mattress, keeping the thick blanket tucked firmly up behind my shoulders to fend off the early morning chill.

Right beside me, Hyunjin lay like a heavy, reassuring anchor. He was stretched flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, utterly relaxed even in sleep, his long body still holding me tightly against his chest and wrapped fully around me. His large arm was wrapped perfectly around my waist, and his face, tilted down, was drowsily buried near my shoulder. The fierce, imposing traces of armor that had commanded the battlefield last night were gone completely, and in the dim light he looked unbelievably soft and peaceful. His breathing was slow and steady. Clinging to me as if trying to hold on to the final moments of this first quiet night we had spent together, his face was finally free from the heavy burdens of the front lines.

At that moment, the peaceful silence was brutally shattered.

The heavy front canvas flap flew open with a wild scraping sound, and a sharp shaft of morning sunlight poured straight onto the bed. A young guard, pale with fear and flustered, rushed all the way to the middle of the tent in one breath. His voice was loud and ragged, completely out of breath.

"G-General! The imp—"

The guard who had been speaking froze in place. The instant he saw our bodies tangled together in close contact on the low mattress across the dim room, and the general with his bare upper body holding me tightly against his chest, his eyes widened in absolute terror. In an instant, a vivid deep crimson flush rushed all the way to the tips of his ears. He spun around so fast he nearly tripped over his boots, then babbled wildly into the air and turned his back on us completely.

"I-I deserve death! I’m truly sorry, General! I... um... General, the official imperial messenger sent directly by His Majesty the Emperor is waiting at the main gate of the territory! The edict bears a crimson seal! Should I tell him to wait in another tent while you... while you get dressed?!"

Hyunjin sat straight up on the mattress in a single heartbeat. At the rough voice that had cut through his deep sleep, his dark eyes snapped open in a dazed, confused shock. He stared blankly at the trembling back of the guard, who was frozen and unable to look forward, and a clear, hazy pink flush bloomed at once over Hyunjin’s high cheekbones. He let out a breathless, completely flustered sigh, and before he could find his voice, he looked over at me with wide eyes and hurriedly dragged the sheet up, completely losing the gentle authority of a commander.

Hyunjin quickly cleared his throat. Fiercely glaring at the guard’s trembling back, he desperately tried to gather the scattered authority of a military commander once more.

"Escort the imperial messenger to the central command tent." he ordered. A low, subdued note of embarrassment still slipped through his deep voice, impossible to fully hide. "Tell him I will receive the edict shortly."

"Y-Yes, yes, General!" The guard let out a sharp cry, visibly relieved to have survived the incident. He bolted outside so quickly that the tent flap whipped violently behind him, and the space shut back into darkness.

The moment the flap fell back into place, I leaned against the low pillow and let out a low, muffled laugh, quietly watching Hyunjin turn his head toward me. The bright morning sun filtering through the edges of the tent wrapped around his face and made the vivid, hazy pink flush that had climbed all the way to his ears stand out even more.

"Don’t laugh, Chaewon." he muttered breathlessly, sounding like he was pouting in a fake, exaggerated way. Throwing away the composed confidence of a commander, he buried his face in both hands for a moment. Then, sliding out from under the bedding, the broad, sturdy shoulders of his bare upper body caught the bluish softness of dawn as he hurriedly reached for the finely woven indoor robe and tied the thick silk sash with quick, precise motions.

Before going out, he stepped right back into my personal space and lowered his upper body over the edge of the mattress. Then he pressed a deep, lingering kiss to my lips.

"Stay within the inner quarters. I’ll be back as soon as the palace seal processing is finished."

-----

The atmosphere inside the central command tent was heavy and stiflingly dense. Powerful morning sunlight, rich with gold, poured in through the wide canvas entrance and filled the space. Along the sides of the wooden table stood the older advisors, lined up in a row, their expressions frozen in deep, reverent awe.

At the place of honor in the tent stood the imperial messenger, solemnly dressed in the ornate, flowing silk court uniform used by the central capital’s court. In his hands he held a huge, heavy scroll tightly bound with crimson silk, and at the center of the anchor-shaped braided cord a solid imperial seal made of pure gold gleamed brightly.

The instant Hyunjin stepped over the threshold and strode in, every gaze in the tent turned to him at once. He was dressed in a spotless, dark commander’s uniform, his long hair neatly tied back, and his dark eyes had once again settled into the perfectly solemn bearing of a commander. He walked to the center of the wooden floor and knelt on one knee with flawless, traditional etiquette, lowering his head toward the throne without a single error.

The messenger unrolled the heavy crimson scroll and began to read the edict aloud in a grand voice carrying absolute authority, shaking the quiet interior of the tent.

"By receipt of His Majesty the Emperor’s supreme and exclusive authority," the messenger declared solemnly, carefully and precisely reading the charcoal-written words. "In recognition of the feat of utterly repelling and annihilating the desert tribal alliance in the basin, and of the unparalleled courage, honor, and loyalty shown by the shield of the frontier... the Emperor has made an absolute decision. Since there is no direct blood heir to inherit the throne, the Imperial House hereby appoints General Park Hyunjin as the lawful and official successor. Accordingly, you are hereby invested with the title of Crown Prince of the Empire, and ordered to present yourself immediately at the capital to receive the transfer of imperial authority."

A sharp intake of breath swept at once through the line of older advisors. Hyunjin froze completely on the wooden floor. As the empire’s weighty edict settled heavily onto his broad shoulders, his dark eyes widened in utter, unblinking shock. He was no longer merely a frontier commander—the entire empire had been placed in his hands.

He slowly raised both hands to receive the heavy crimson scroll, and his gaze stretched across toward the direction of the inner quarters where I was hiding. Over his handsome features as he accepted the crown, a fierce, protective wave of realization washed over him.