Post by ajk on Sept 7, 2012 21:30:22 GMT -5
Daenambo is watching that hut from a short distance away, and two of his subordinates find him there. He sends one of them to keep an eye on Seolwon's Hwarang, and then he and the other subordinate creep closer to the hut. Then charge up to the outside wall...just as Alcheon emerges! Whoops. Awk-warrrd. Cheonmyeong stares at him and hilariously asks, "Why are you here? For pleasure?" The guy actually answers "Yes, my lady. What about you?" An impertinent question to a princess--she shouldn't answer it, but she does. "For the scenery, of course." And then she and Alcheon just walk away, leaving the two Hwarang standing there outside the hut. Have to think there's nobody left in there or they wouldn't have done that...but wait, now what's that? A smoke signal. One of Seolwon's search teams has spotted Deokman. "Near Yangji," the subordinate observes. Daenambo tells him to go check it out while he follows the princess.
On the mountainside, the other Hwarang searchers see the signal and all head for it.
"This is fun--I've always wanted to do it. You know--secret stuff." Well of course, who else lit that smoke signal but the weird guy. Actually he's with Alcheon's subordinate, who told him to do it, but he's having a great time, goofy grin and all. "Why are those three so pouty?" Bidam asks; "Is is because Deokman dresses like a guy?" He gets a little annoyed because the Hwarang won't tell him anything...but then the two of them leave (before anybody can find them).
Cheonmyeong and Alcheon are approaching another hut out in the countryside. Daenambo is tailing them and they obviously know it. They go inside. And then shortly after, they leave again and head out in the direction from which they came. Or at least it looks like them; we don't see closely....Carefully, Daenambo approaches the hut, then reaches the threshold and flings open the door...to find Cheonmyeong staring at him, and Alcheon wearing Yushin's DFer uniform. Meaning, what we saw a moment ago was Deokman in the matching robe, and Yushin in Alcheon's clothes. Furious, he turns and runs, and Alcheon runs to follow him. Daenambo manages to knock Alcheon down outside the doorway and run towards the fleeing Deokman and Yushin. Loads up a poison arrow, aims...and misses, because Alcheon has thrown a rock and hit him from behind. And then catches up to him and knocks him down as the pair flee.
Well, the fire is still smoldering (naughty naughty, what would Smokey Bear say) and lots of Hwarang converge to find nobody around it. And something written in the dirt. "Joke's on you!" Well, we can guess who wrote that. Bojong and Seokpum don't like it at all.
Somehow Daenambo got away from Alcheon and vanished. Seriously?! (UGH.) "I should have had him," he tells Cheonmyeong, "but he's slippery." Cheonmyeong wants to run ahead and try to stop him, but Alcheon stops her and says there's nothing she can do now. I'll go, he offers.
The second subordinate who was supposed to keep watch on Seolwon's men, has gone right to Seolwon and told him what Daenambo's doing. (WHAT?!? This is supposed to be secret--why is he doing this?!) Daenambo saw Deokman escaping, dressed as Cheonmyeong, he explains. Seolwon is furious that he wasn't notified the moment Deokman was spotted...and then realizes that none of the White Fox Hwarang shouldn't be here; why are you here? "I can't speak to that at all," the subordinate tells him, with amazing impudence, "but we must hurry."
Well, Alcheon did go looking for Daenambo, and Cheonmyeong went with her. And apparently Yushin and Deokman were hiding somewhere along the planned escape route because Alcheon and Cheonmyeong have caught up to them. Deokman's in her Hwarang uniform again. They're standing out there in broad daylight, in plain sight in a grassy plain, which frankly seems awfully unwise. Alcheon warns Yushin that Daenambo is out there somewhere with poison arrows. Not a pleasant thought...but Bidam is waiting at the meet-up point with a boat, so it's time to be moving on.
We're by a shallow river, and yes, Bidam is there with a small sailboat. Good work. The four arrive at the shore--Alcheon and Yushin have swapped back their uniforms--and now we dawdle and waste precious seconds while Deokman and Cheonmyeong have another good-bye that's pretty much just like the one they already had. Tick, tick, tick...."Ugh. Enough already. We gotta go!" Bless you, weird guy. Tearfully the sisters part...and now here's Daenambo, headed to the riverbank and concealing himself within shooting range. Draws an arrow, loads up and gets a nice clean look...Deokman turns back to stare at Cheonmyeong one last time, wastes a few more seconds...Daenambo hesitates as he scans the scene, remembering that Deokman is disguised as the princess...Cheonmyeong turns away, too sad to watch her sister board the boat...and takes Daenambo's arrow, square to her chest! Everyone runs to her as she falls. No sign of where it came from or who shot it. They rush to get her into the boat, and then another arrow thwacks into the boat's sail. Still can't see the shooter, but Bidam can tell generally where it came from...so he picks up six arrows, loads them all into a bow, each hand bracing three between the fingers, and using his foot to brace the bow, fires them all at the shooter's general direction. A neat trick, and it works--one of them nails Daenambo in the shoulder. Disabled, he watches as the five make their escape in the boat.
Seorabeol: "Still no news?" Sorry, king--Eulje and Yongchun have to tell him no. The queen runs in; some sort of bad dream she's had has traumatized her. All of this is really wearing on her, and now the king asks her if she's been taking her medicine--for what? And she doesn't answer--why not? Uh-oh, whole new can of worms here, maybe.
Mishil's cabal isn't faring much better; they're all crawling the walls with anticipation, and are particularly worried because tomorrow is the Council of Nobles meeting and they're supposed to deliver the evidence they promised. Even Mishil is fraying.
Daenambo is headed back to where he came from. He's bleeding and in some serious pain. He manages to pull the arrow out of his shoulder (Just now?). He tosses his two remaining poison arrows away--don't want to be caught carrying those (Just now?). Shoulda done that stuff earlier, dude, because now look who's found him--Seolwon, Bojong, and Seokpum. He's in big trouble and he knows it.
The boat has landed in a secluded spot safely far away, and a feverish, bleeding Cheonmyeong is lying in a cave by the shoreline, next to a small fire. Bidam inspects the wound, and simultaneously places a heated knife blade on the wound to cauterize it while carefully pulling out the arrow. Ouch, that's GOTTA hurt--BIG-time, but Cheonmyeong takes it like a trooper. Practically convulses from the pain but barely makes a sound. Wow, tough princess. Bidam inspects the arrow. "It's wolfbane," he tells the others, and yes, it's poison, and it's slowly traveling through her entire body. "I'll need licorice root and siler (a/k/a Ledebouriella root, a traditional Chinese herb), he says, and we can't even move her because it will spread the poison through her body faster. Fortunately, there's a market not too far from here that should have what he needs. Deokman says she'll go, but Cheonmyeong grabs her hand and begs her not to leave. "There's something you have to hear," the princess says, apparently thinking she's going to die and needing to spill something first. But Deokman tells her she'll listen when she comes back with the medicine, and runs out of the cave. Bidam follows, telling the two Hwarang to apply some violets to the wound in the meantime. (Umm...isn't Deokman the worst possible person to go back out there? Why don't either of the Hwarang go? Ugh.) As Deokman and Bidam scramble up the rocky bluff that borders the river here, Alcheon goes to search for violets. Cheonmyeong begs Yushin to stay, so he does. "I feel so strange," she says; "Am I dying?" "You'll be fine," Yushin tells her. "We'll move you as soon as we get the herbs." But she has that off-in-the-distance stare that makes us think she's not long for this world. Wow, this is starting to look like it might be really serious. She asks him to hold her hand (which he should already be doing, and aggressively talking her through this, rather than sitting there like a lump with a sour look on his face!).
Bidam and Deokman run into the local village...
"My family was trying...to force us to marry. Some kind of...political marriage." She's trembling a little now, and her breath is getting shorter. Not good at all. "Something about Gaya...gaining more power. That's all it was. But..." she turns to look at him..."I'd have been happy." We could tell, princess. "I didn't know until now...how much I cared for you. Now I know. When it's too late." Too late? Naaah, can't be...
Exhausted, Bidam and Deokman run to the marketplace's herbalist and demand the herbs they need. He hands it to them and they run away--apparently without paying!
"Too late for me--but not for Deokman. Her life is so sad...." Yushin encourages her not to talk and simply to stay still, but Cheonmyeong needs to finish. "Look after Deokman. Help her to be a good person...a good woman. Forget Shilla. Forget Mishil. Go somewhere far away. Live normal lives. Will you?" She's already said all of this, but needs to say it again. Yushin just stares at her silently. "Can you?" Still nothing. "Answer me." Nothing. "Tell me." Finally. "Yes, I will."
Bidam steals a horse! Grabs Deokman's arm to lift her up, and they're off. Shrewd thinking, but is it enough?
Day has turned to night. Apparently a lot of time has passed; where the heck is Alcheon with those violets? "Give this to Deokman." It's a small hair-comb ornament; the princess weakly hands it to Yushin. And then remembers her son. "Chunchu...What will happen to my son?" His body and heart are frail, she says (don't know if any of that is literally true). "And he's not bright." Well THAT must be true if his own mom would say such a thing. "Everyone will try to use him. What about my son?..." She drifts off and looks up. We see that the cave has a hole in the roof (Seriously?) and she looks up at the full moon as its light shines down on her. Yushin, still holding her hand, just keeps staring at her with a sorrowful look on his face (Knock that off, idiot!). Now the fire is starting to flicker. Same with Cheonmyeong? "Deokman..." she asks weakly, "Where are you?"
Wait, now it's daytime again! Good grief; what a screw-up. Bidam and Deokman are galloping on the horse. They reach the rocky ledge and scramble down, and run towards the cave. Alcheon is standing there, holding a handful of violet leaves--which he proceeds to throw to the ground in frustration. Uh-oh...no, it can't possibly be. He can barely even look at Deokman. She screams and runs into the cave...and sees her sister's face covered by a cloth. She drops the medicine; the sound of it hitting the ground echoes through the cave and pierces the stark silence. Yushin, in tears, is kneeling by the body. Yes, the body. They're too late. Deokman slowly approaches her sister, takes the cloth off her face, and then crumbles into a screaming, crying mess. Wow--she actually died. No more Cheonmyeong.
"What were your orders?" Daenambo has been taken into a small room somewhere and is getting the third degree from Seolwon. "Who gave them to you?" Not a word out of him. Accusing him of desertion, Seolwon holds a sword to his throat. "One thing I'm sure of," Seolwon says. "You didn't get your orders from Mishil. She never countermands her own orders. If you didn't get your orders from her, you're dead." And then asks him again who gave him his orders--like he's going to tell now, after that? But to our surprise, he does! "The high priestess and my father," he says (remember, he's one of Misaeng's many kids). Ordered me to kill Deokman. "And...did you?" "I think so," he answers, telling them that the arrow was poisoned.
Bidam and Alcheon respectfully place Cheonmyeong's body on the boat. Alcheon tells Yushin he'll escort the body to the capital. "And you," he tells Yushin, "you've got to do as she asked. Her dying wish." As for Alcheon, he says he'll perform his "last service as a Hwarang" by returning the body to the royal family. Sounds like he's had enough of all of this too. The two Hwarang embrace, both acting dazed like they've been through a complete nightmare. Alcheon boards the boat, and Bidam pushes it away from the shore. He and Yushin and Deokman watch as it floats slowly away.
"We've got to find Deokman's body." Seolwon is addressing the Hwarang and the soldiers who have been searching for him. (Whatever happened to those black-masked guys?) They all leave to start searching...and run into Seohyeon, with Imjong and his own men. Seolwon offers a few pleasantries and tries to walk past him, but Seohyeon stops him! "End his now," he tells Seolwon sternly, "or I won't answer for the consequences." Seolwon plays dumb and deflects him, claiming ignorance, but Seohyeon warns, "This can only get worse." Seolwon has had enough and decides to leave, and suddenly this is all getting all-hands-on-swords tense. But it's interrupted by the sight of Alcheon, walking into the scene--not just walking, but pulling a cart. Everyone stares silently as he approaches; Daenambo's face reveals a flicker of satisfaction at what he's sure is on that cart. "She's dead," Alcheon tells Seolwon, and Daenambo practically beams. Seolwon seems to be content as well, which seems a little odd. "Dead?", he asks blandly. "Who is?" "The princess. Our princess...has been murdered." Okay, that didn't sound very definitive; princess, as in...Seolwon goes over and pulls back the white cloth covering the cart, and reveals Cheonmyeong's body. Everyone immediately kneels, whether out of reverence or simply out of not knowing what else to do from their stunned disbelief.
Separately, Imjong and Bojong mount horses and gallop back to Seorabeol.
Imjong has to deliver the news to the king. What a task. Jinpyeong doesn't believe him, to the point of screaming at him. "That's ridiculous!" And then grabbing the poor guy and shaking him. "Is this some kind of sick joke on your king?" Eulje is there and tries to calm him down, but he angrily insists that it just isn't possible.
It's left to Manmyeong to tell the queen, who now is starting to look nearly as dazed as Sohwa has been, the poor woman. And then her eyes roll back and she passes clean out.
Bojong tells Mishil and the cabal. Seolwon will give a full report when he returns, he tells them. But Mishil doesn't want to wait that long. "Tell Seolwon to drop whatever he's doing and get back here," she says to Bojong. Even if it means stopping the search for Deokman. "A crisis is coming," she believes, and she actually looks a little scared.
In the royal shrine, Seori has just been told the news by Misaeng. Misaeng still can't believe it, and has no idea what kind of trouble he's in...but Seori seems to know that something is not right about this. "The time has come for me to step down at last," she says, as though she has a feeling her goose is cooked.
Now the news is spreading among all of the Hwarang in the capital. And even Jukbang and Godo, still locked up with Sohwa, overhear Hwarang talking about it outside. Sohwa hears the two of them talking about it and is lucid enough to understand it, as we can see in her face.
Eulje goes to visit a despondent Kim Yongchun, who believes this is his own fault somehow but vows to make it right (somehow). Eulje calmly instructs him that word needs to be sent right away to Sui China, that Cheonmyeong's son needs to come back to the royal family right away. (Didn't know he was that far away.) Yongchun angrily accuses him of not showing proper remorse and of not accepting that he bears some guilt for what's happened. It's way too early to assign guilt or blame, but to our surprise, Eulje admits that he does feel some. But right now, he says, the boy's welfare needs to come first.
"This puts an end to our plans," Mishil tells the cabal. Cancel the council meeting and drop the whole twins issue for now. And maybe permanently. "However the princess died," she says, still looking rattled and scared, "it will come back on us." Which sets off some bickering about whether or not Seolwon might possibly be held responsible for it all and get her off the hook. But Mishil wants none of this and shuts it off. And tells Misaeng, as Minister of Rites, that this had better be one darned good funeral rite, with full honors and "no mistakes." And then she surprisingly instructs, "Send word to Kim Chunchu in Sui China." Why is that their business? It's the king's business, Hajong correctly points out. "WE'VE got to bring him back," Mishil explains; "It's urgent." Who can we trust to do it? Bojong tries to volunteer, but Misaeng jumps up and enthusiastically pushes for Daenambo. And then turns and silently mouths a few words to Bojong--not sure what words but it feels almost like an "I need this one" kind of silent plea (which I may be wrong about). Bojong relents. They all scatter, leaving Mishil alone to ponder the situation--Cheonmyeong having thwarted her attempt to ruin the royal family with the revelation of the twins. "You won," she thinks to herself. "This time."
And what about Three's Company? We find them in a cave somewhere. It's nighttime and Bidam is roasting a couple of small birds over a fire. (No, too small to be chickens.) Yushin won't eat, and Deokman is sitting off by herself. But wait a minute, she's not just sitting there. As Bidam tries to offer her food, we see that she's shaking, feverish and zoned out. Something's wrong. They both put their coats over her, and Bidam runs to get water for her. She looks more in shock than anything else, but maybe she has a bug of some kind.
In the Hwarang ceremonial yard, the funeral is being set up.
The king and queen are alone together, looking and acting like parents who just lost a child. "If we weren't royals," Maya laments, "no one would have cared if we had twins." Rather unwisely, she adds, "You sent a baby into the wild, and Cheonmyeong paid for it." That doesn't help at all. "Everything we've done, Cheonmyeong has paid for." If only you had abdicated "and given Shilla to Mishil," she wonders...but Jinpyeong, with admirable restraint, reminds her that everything he did, it was to protect her from Mishil. Which Maya knows, of course. But she thinks that now he won't even be able to do that, with Mishil close to exposing everything and ruining the family.
Yushin has dozed off. He awakens with a start, and finds Deokman not there in the cave with him anymore. No Bidam either. He runs outside and finds her sitting on a rock by a stream, staring out at nothing in particular. He approaches and feels her forehead--no more fever, at least that news is good. "You were sick three days and three nights," he tells her--wow, we had no idea that so much time had passed. Deokman won't even react to Yushin, though; she's completely lost in her thoughts. "She worried about you to the very end," Yushin tells her, and offers her that comb-ornament thing that Cheonmyeong had given to him for her. She looks at it and doesn't react, so he puts it in her hand. Reminds her about her sister wanting her to find happiness as a normal woman living a normal life. No more Shilla, no more Mishil. "She made me swear again and again that you'd honor her last words." Finally, quietly, Deokman reacts. "I can't." Huh? "My sister's last wish--I can't do it." Oddly, it almost seems like some sort of new resolve has taken hold of her. She suddenly stands up. Looks at the ornament--and breaks it in half! And throws the pieces into the stream. "I can't honor her last wishes. No--I mean...I won't."
On the mountainside, the other Hwarang searchers see the signal and all head for it.
"This is fun--I've always wanted to do it. You know--secret stuff." Well of course, who else lit that smoke signal but the weird guy. Actually he's with Alcheon's subordinate, who told him to do it, but he's having a great time, goofy grin and all. "Why are those three so pouty?" Bidam asks; "Is is because Deokman dresses like a guy?" He gets a little annoyed because the Hwarang won't tell him anything...but then the two of them leave (before anybody can find them).
Cheonmyeong and Alcheon are approaching another hut out in the countryside. Daenambo is tailing them and they obviously know it. They go inside. And then shortly after, they leave again and head out in the direction from which they came. Or at least it looks like them; we don't see closely....Carefully, Daenambo approaches the hut, then reaches the threshold and flings open the door...to find Cheonmyeong staring at him, and Alcheon wearing Yushin's DFer uniform. Meaning, what we saw a moment ago was Deokman in the matching robe, and Yushin in Alcheon's clothes. Furious, he turns and runs, and Alcheon runs to follow him. Daenambo manages to knock Alcheon down outside the doorway and run towards the fleeing Deokman and Yushin. Loads up a poison arrow, aims...and misses, because Alcheon has thrown a rock and hit him from behind. And then catches up to him and knocks him down as the pair flee.
Well, the fire is still smoldering (naughty naughty, what would Smokey Bear say) and lots of Hwarang converge to find nobody around it. And something written in the dirt. "Joke's on you!" Well, we can guess who wrote that. Bojong and Seokpum don't like it at all.
Somehow Daenambo got away from Alcheon and vanished. Seriously?! (UGH.) "I should have had him," he tells Cheonmyeong, "but he's slippery." Cheonmyeong wants to run ahead and try to stop him, but Alcheon stops her and says there's nothing she can do now. I'll go, he offers.
The second subordinate who was supposed to keep watch on Seolwon's men, has gone right to Seolwon and told him what Daenambo's doing. (WHAT?!? This is supposed to be secret--why is he doing this?!) Daenambo saw Deokman escaping, dressed as Cheonmyeong, he explains. Seolwon is furious that he wasn't notified the moment Deokman was spotted...and then realizes that none of the White Fox Hwarang shouldn't be here; why are you here? "I can't speak to that at all," the subordinate tells him, with amazing impudence, "but we must hurry."
Well, Alcheon did go looking for Daenambo, and Cheonmyeong went with her. And apparently Yushin and Deokman were hiding somewhere along the planned escape route because Alcheon and Cheonmyeong have caught up to them. Deokman's in her Hwarang uniform again. They're standing out there in broad daylight, in plain sight in a grassy plain, which frankly seems awfully unwise. Alcheon warns Yushin that Daenambo is out there somewhere with poison arrows. Not a pleasant thought...but Bidam is waiting at the meet-up point with a boat, so it's time to be moving on.
We're by a shallow river, and yes, Bidam is there with a small sailboat. Good work. The four arrive at the shore--Alcheon and Yushin have swapped back their uniforms--and now we dawdle and waste precious seconds while Deokman and Cheonmyeong have another good-bye that's pretty much just like the one they already had. Tick, tick, tick...."Ugh. Enough already. We gotta go!" Bless you, weird guy. Tearfully the sisters part...and now here's Daenambo, headed to the riverbank and concealing himself within shooting range. Draws an arrow, loads up and gets a nice clean look...Deokman turns back to stare at Cheonmyeong one last time, wastes a few more seconds...Daenambo hesitates as he scans the scene, remembering that Deokman is disguised as the princess...Cheonmyeong turns away, too sad to watch her sister board the boat...and takes Daenambo's arrow, square to her chest! Everyone runs to her as she falls. No sign of where it came from or who shot it. They rush to get her into the boat, and then another arrow thwacks into the boat's sail. Still can't see the shooter, but Bidam can tell generally where it came from...so he picks up six arrows, loads them all into a bow, each hand bracing three between the fingers, and using his foot to brace the bow, fires them all at the shooter's general direction. A neat trick, and it works--one of them nails Daenambo in the shoulder. Disabled, he watches as the five make their escape in the boat.
Seorabeol: "Still no news?" Sorry, king--Eulje and Yongchun have to tell him no. The queen runs in; some sort of bad dream she's had has traumatized her. All of this is really wearing on her, and now the king asks her if she's been taking her medicine--for what? And she doesn't answer--why not? Uh-oh, whole new can of worms here, maybe.
Mishil's cabal isn't faring much better; they're all crawling the walls with anticipation, and are particularly worried because tomorrow is the Council of Nobles meeting and they're supposed to deliver the evidence they promised. Even Mishil is fraying.
Daenambo is headed back to where he came from. He's bleeding and in some serious pain. He manages to pull the arrow out of his shoulder (Just now?). He tosses his two remaining poison arrows away--don't want to be caught carrying those (Just now?). Shoulda done that stuff earlier, dude, because now look who's found him--Seolwon, Bojong, and Seokpum. He's in big trouble and he knows it.
The boat has landed in a secluded spot safely far away, and a feverish, bleeding Cheonmyeong is lying in a cave by the shoreline, next to a small fire. Bidam inspects the wound, and simultaneously places a heated knife blade on the wound to cauterize it while carefully pulling out the arrow. Ouch, that's GOTTA hurt--BIG-time, but Cheonmyeong takes it like a trooper. Practically convulses from the pain but barely makes a sound. Wow, tough princess. Bidam inspects the arrow. "It's wolfbane," he tells the others, and yes, it's poison, and it's slowly traveling through her entire body. "I'll need licorice root and siler (a/k/a Ledebouriella root, a traditional Chinese herb), he says, and we can't even move her because it will spread the poison through her body faster. Fortunately, there's a market not too far from here that should have what he needs. Deokman says she'll go, but Cheonmyeong grabs her hand and begs her not to leave. "There's something you have to hear," the princess says, apparently thinking she's going to die and needing to spill something first. But Deokman tells her she'll listen when she comes back with the medicine, and runs out of the cave. Bidam follows, telling the two Hwarang to apply some violets to the wound in the meantime. (Umm...isn't Deokman the worst possible person to go back out there? Why don't either of the Hwarang go? Ugh.) As Deokman and Bidam scramble up the rocky bluff that borders the river here, Alcheon goes to search for violets. Cheonmyeong begs Yushin to stay, so he does. "I feel so strange," she says; "Am I dying?" "You'll be fine," Yushin tells her. "We'll move you as soon as we get the herbs." But she has that off-in-the-distance stare that makes us think she's not long for this world. Wow, this is starting to look like it might be really serious. She asks him to hold her hand (which he should already be doing, and aggressively talking her through this, rather than sitting there like a lump with a sour look on his face!).
Bidam and Deokman run into the local village...
"My family was trying...to force us to marry. Some kind of...political marriage." She's trembling a little now, and her breath is getting shorter. Not good at all. "Something about Gaya...gaining more power. That's all it was. But..." she turns to look at him..."I'd have been happy." We could tell, princess. "I didn't know until now...how much I cared for you. Now I know. When it's too late." Too late? Naaah, can't be...
Exhausted, Bidam and Deokman run to the marketplace's herbalist and demand the herbs they need. He hands it to them and they run away--apparently without paying!
"Too late for me--but not for Deokman. Her life is so sad...." Yushin encourages her not to talk and simply to stay still, but Cheonmyeong needs to finish. "Look after Deokman. Help her to be a good person...a good woman. Forget Shilla. Forget Mishil. Go somewhere far away. Live normal lives. Will you?" She's already said all of this, but needs to say it again. Yushin just stares at her silently. "Can you?" Still nothing. "Answer me." Nothing. "Tell me." Finally. "Yes, I will."
Bidam steals a horse! Grabs Deokman's arm to lift her up, and they're off. Shrewd thinking, but is it enough?
Day has turned to night. Apparently a lot of time has passed; where the heck is Alcheon with those violets? "Give this to Deokman." It's a small hair-comb ornament; the princess weakly hands it to Yushin. And then remembers her son. "Chunchu...What will happen to my son?" His body and heart are frail, she says (don't know if any of that is literally true). "And he's not bright." Well THAT must be true if his own mom would say such a thing. "Everyone will try to use him. What about my son?..." She drifts off and looks up. We see that the cave has a hole in the roof (Seriously?) and she looks up at the full moon as its light shines down on her. Yushin, still holding her hand, just keeps staring at her with a sorrowful look on his face (Knock that off, idiot!). Now the fire is starting to flicker. Same with Cheonmyeong? "Deokman..." she asks weakly, "Where are you?"
Wait, now it's daytime again! Good grief; what a screw-up. Bidam and Deokman are galloping on the horse. They reach the rocky ledge and scramble down, and run towards the cave. Alcheon is standing there, holding a handful of violet leaves--which he proceeds to throw to the ground in frustration. Uh-oh...no, it can't possibly be. He can barely even look at Deokman. She screams and runs into the cave...and sees her sister's face covered by a cloth. She drops the medicine; the sound of it hitting the ground echoes through the cave and pierces the stark silence. Yushin, in tears, is kneeling by the body. Yes, the body. They're too late. Deokman slowly approaches her sister, takes the cloth off her face, and then crumbles into a screaming, crying mess. Wow--she actually died. No more Cheonmyeong.
"What were your orders?" Daenambo has been taken into a small room somewhere and is getting the third degree from Seolwon. "Who gave them to you?" Not a word out of him. Accusing him of desertion, Seolwon holds a sword to his throat. "One thing I'm sure of," Seolwon says. "You didn't get your orders from Mishil. She never countermands her own orders. If you didn't get your orders from her, you're dead." And then asks him again who gave him his orders--like he's going to tell now, after that? But to our surprise, he does! "The high priestess and my father," he says (remember, he's one of Misaeng's many kids). Ordered me to kill Deokman. "And...did you?" "I think so," he answers, telling them that the arrow was poisoned.
Bidam and Alcheon respectfully place Cheonmyeong's body on the boat. Alcheon tells Yushin he'll escort the body to the capital. "And you," he tells Yushin, "you've got to do as she asked. Her dying wish." As for Alcheon, he says he'll perform his "last service as a Hwarang" by returning the body to the royal family. Sounds like he's had enough of all of this too. The two Hwarang embrace, both acting dazed like they've been through a complete nightmare. Alcheon boards the boat, and Bidam pushes it away from the shore. He and Yushin and Deokman watch as it floats slowly away.
"We've got to find Deokman's body." Seolwon is addressing the Hwarang and the soldiers who have been searching for him. (Whatever happened to those black-masked guys?) They all leave to start searching...and run into Seohyeon, with Imjong and his own men. Seolwon offers a few pleasantries and tries to walk past him, but Seohyeon stops him! "End his now," he tells Seolwon sternly, "or I won't answer for the consequences." Seolwon plays dumb and deflects him, claiming ignorance, but Seohyeon warns, "This can only get worse." Seolwon has had enough and decides to leave, and suddenly this is all getting all-hands-on-swords tense. But it's interrupted by the sight of Alcheon, walking into the scene--not just walking, but pulling a cart. Everyone stares silently as he approaches; Daenambo's face reveals a flicker of satisfaction at what he's sure is on that cart. "She's dead," Alcheon tells Seolwon, and Daenambo practically beams. Seolwon seems to be content as well, which seems a little odd. "Dead?", he asks blandly. "Who is?" "The princess. Our princess...has been murdered." Okay, that didn't sound very definitive; princess, as in...Seolwon goes over and pulls back the white cloth covering the cart, and reveals Cheonmyeong's body. Everyone immediately kneels, whether out of reverence or simply out of not knowing what else to do from their stunned disbelief.
Separately, Imjong and Bojong mount horses and gallop back to Seorabeol.
Imjong has to deliver the news to the king. What a task. Jinpyeong doesn't believe him, to the point of screaming at him. "That's ridiculous!" And then grabbing the poor guy and shaking him. "Is this some kind of sick joke on your king?" Eulje is there and tries to calm him down, but he angrily insists that it just isn't possible.
It's left to Manmyeong to tell the queen, who now is starting to look nearly as dazed as Sohwa has been, the poor woman. And then her eyes roll back and she passes clean out.
Bojong tells Mishil and the cabal. Seolwon will give a full report when he returns, he tells them. But Mishil doesn't want to wait that long. "Tell Seolwon to drop whatever he's doing and get back here," she says to Bojong. Even if it means stopping the search for Deokman. "A crisis is coming," she believes, and she actually looks a little scared.
In the royal shrine, Seori has just been told the news by Misaeng. Misaeng still can't believe it, and has no idea what kind of trouble he's in...but Seori seems to know that something is not right about this. "The time has come for me to step down at last," she says, as though she has a feeling her goose is cooked.
Now the news is spreading among all of the Hwarang in the capital. And even Jukbang and Godo, still locked up with Sohwa, overhear Hwarang talking about it outside. Sohwa hears the two of them talking about it and is lucid enough to understand it, as we can see in her face.
Eulje goes to visit a despondent Kim Yongchun, who believes this is his own fault somehow but vows to make it right (somehow). Eulje calmly instructs him that word needs to be sent right away to Sui China, that Cheonmyeong's son needs to come back to the royal family right away. (Didn't know he was that far away.) Yongchun angrily accuses him of not showing proper remorse and of not accepting that he bears some guilt for what's happened. It's way too early to assign guilt or blame, but to our surprise, Eulje admits that he does feel some. But right now, he says, the boy's welfare needs to come first.
"This puts an end to our plans," Mishil tells the cabal. Cancel the council meeting and drop the whole twins issue for now. And maybe permanently. "However the princess died," she says, still looking rattled and scared, "it will come back on us." Which sets off some bickering about whether or not Seolwon might possibly be held responsible for it all and get her off the hook. But Mishil wants none of this and shuts it off. And tells Misaeng, as Minister of Rites, that this had better be one darned good funeral rite, with full honors and "no mistakes." And then she surprisingly instructs, "Send word to Kim Chunchu in Sui China." Why is that their business? It's the king's business, Hajong correctly points out. "WE'VE got to bring him back," Mishil explains; "It's urgent." Who can we trust to do it? Bojong tries to volunteer, but Misaeng jumps up and enthusiastically pushes for Daenambo. And then turns and silently mouths a few words to Bojong--not sure what words but it feels almost like an "I need this one" kind of silent plea (which I may be wrong about). Bojong relents. They all scatter, leaving Mishil alone to ponder the situation--Cheonmyeong having thwarted her attempt to ruin the royal family with the revelation of the twins. "You won," she thinks to herself. "This time."
And what about Three's Company? We find them in a cave somewhere. It's nighttime and Bidam is roasting a couple of small birds over a fire. (No, too small to be chickens.) Yushin won't eat, and Deokman is sitting off by herself. But wait a minute, she's not just sitting there. As Bidam tries to offer her food, we see that she's shaking, feverish and zoned out. Something's wrong. They both put their coats over her, and Bidam runs to get water for her. She looks more in shock than anything else, but maybe she has a bug of some kind.
In the Hwarang ceremonial yard, the funeral is being set up.
The king and queen are alone together, looking and acting like parents who just lost a child. "If we weren't royals," Maya laments, "no one would have cared if we had twins." Rather unwisely, she adds, "You sent a baby into the wild, and Cheonmyeong paid for it." That doesn't help at all. "Everything we've done, Cheonmyeong has paid for." If only you had abdicated "and given Shilla to Mishil," she wonders...but Jinpyeong, with admirable restraint, reminds her that everything he did, it was to protect her from Mishil. Which Maya knows, of course. But she thinks that now he won't even be able to do that, with Mishil close to exposing everything and ruining the family.
Yushin has dozed off. He awakens with a start, and finds Deokman not there in the cave with him anymore. No Bidam either. He runs outside and finds her sitting on a rock by a stream, staring out at nothing in particular. He approaches and feels her forehead--no more fever, at least that news is good. "You were sick three days and three nights," he tells her--wow, we had no idea that so much time had passed. Deokman won't even react to Yushin, though; she's completely lost in her thoughts. "She worried about you to the very end," Yushin tells her, and offers her that comb-ornament thing that Cheonmyeong had given to him for her. She looks at it and doesn't react, so he puts it in her hand. Reminds her about her sister wanting her to find happiness as a normal woman living a normal life. No more Shilla, no more Mishil. "She made me swear again and again that you'd honor her last words." Finally, quietly, Deokman reacts. "I can't." Huh? "My sister's last wish--I can't do it." Oddly, it almost seems like some sort of new resolve has taken hold of her. She suddenly stands up. Looks at the ornament--and breaks it in half! And throws the pieces into the stream. "I can't honor her last wishes. No--I mean...I won't."