The Queen's Ladies

♛ 1

Hearts beating fast under the colorful lights. Music blasting from the speakers, vibrantly and sweetly. Bodies dancing together in sync as hands wave swiftly in the air. A boy with a red ink tattoo on his neck. His radiant skin covered in colorful hues of light. His fierce, determined eyes piercing into hers. The night is young and free. They were young and free.

Freedom.

"Yeji?"

Yeji blinks open her eyes and stumbles awake on her bed. Karina stands in front of her with concern on her face, noticing how sweaty she is. "Damn, you okay?" Karina asks, hovering over her.

"Yeah," Yeji wipes her burning forehead, beads of sweat attaching to her palms. "Just a bad dream."

She gets up and walks to the bathroom. She turns the sink faucet and splashes ice, cold water onto her face. With both hands leaning on the sink counter, she looks up at her reflection in the mirror. A hint of shame spreads across her face...shame because of that dream. That nightmare. That boy...

That dream was enough to put her behind bars. Music, colors, and dancing are three things that aren't a part of the Queendom. The Queendom is mature and pristine. Every once in a while, a soft classical piece is played, but even then, it was a waste of time. Colors were a waste of ink. Dancing was a waste of energy.

And love? A Queen's Lady can't fall in love.

"You know we're late for our mission, right?" Karina appears at the doorway of the bathroom. She seems jittery and eager to leave.

"Aren't you always late, anyway?" Yeji mutters as she wipes her face with a clean towel and runs a hand through her orange hair. Karina shrugs and quickly walks to the door that leads to the hallway.

"YEJI, HE'S HEADING IN YOUR DIRECTION." It is Lia's voice through a walkie talkie clutched in Yeji's hand.

Yeji places the walkie talkie close to her mouth. "Copy that."

In seconds, she's on her feet, running swiftly in one direction. A man holding a steel gun appears at the end of the long hallway. Before he could even think of using it, Yeji straightens her right arm out and slams it into his chest, causing him to fly back onto the floor.

He tries to get up, but Yeji places her boot on his chest and points her gun in his face.

"Mr. Charles Bancroft of the Bancroft Family, you are under arrest for your crimes against the Queendom." Yeji's voice is stern and steady as she rolls the man over and places handcuffs around his wrists.

A static noise escapes from the walkie talkie.

"chhh... ITS NOT...chhh OVER YET-"

Yeji picks up the walkie talkie, recognizing that the voice wasn't Lia this time, it was JinSoul.

"J, you okay?" Concern shifts into Yeji's voice. The sounds of footsteps from the end of the hallway cause her to turn too quickly in their direction.

Lia, Karina, and Wonyoung.

"We'll take care of him, go find JinSoul." Karina pushes the man against the wall.

Yeji sprints past a few hallways and to where JinSoul last reported, the server room. Drops of blood cause Yeji to stop in her tracks. She studies them, noticing how they leave a trail to the end of one hallway. A metal door cuts off the trail.

She kicks down the door with her leg and enters a room full of computers and blue screens. Yeji whispers JinSoul's name, keeping herself alert in case any threats were in the room with her. She hears shuffling on the floor.

Two untraceable figures struggling in the darkness, their silhouettes glowing from blue light. One of them crumbles down onto the floor. The light from the blue computer screens reveals...blonde hair. Yeji's once squinting eyes widened immediately.

Without thinking, she dashes towards the other figure and pushes him into what sounded like chairs. The figure pushes up and onto his feet and bolts to the door. He looks back at Yeji before slamming the door behind him.

Yeji could barely make out what he looked like, but a healed slash or cut across his left eye left a quick impression.

JinSoul groans quietly and Yeji realizes quickly it's because she was hit badly in the stomach. She helps her up to her feet, placing JinSoul's arm over her shoulder.

"J, what the hell happened?"

JinSoul took a few heavy breaths, her body shaking from both pain and fear. "The Storm...I think he was from the Storm..."

The Storm is exactly how it sounds. A thunderous, wild disturbance with the ability to shake the world. The only difference is that this storm isn't made of rain or snow or wind. It is made of rebels, outcasts, rulebreakers. No order or balance. Just a thunderous, wild disturbance.

It has existed longer than any of their lives, even the Queen's and the Queen before her. A raging, dark clouded ring circling around the Queendom, trapping it inside its white walls. The story goes that the Queendom was built as a sanction against the violence of the Storm, and a monarchy was placed to keep the newly homed citizens safe.

Yeji dreamed about what it would be like more than once...but it didn't matter. She, the girls, and any other civilians weren't allowed to venture out there. It was a crime. Illegal.

And before that mission, a subject of the Storm never dared to enter the Queendom either.

"Did you get any clue of who he was?" Karina asks with curiosity.

JinSoul wipes a cut on her forehead with a wet cloth. She winces as the cold water sweeps into her skin. "I was too busy getting attacked, Karina."

Karina slouches back into a leather chair. The girls were now lingering around in the palace's library, their usual hang out spot. It was grand, with shelves full of books, a piano, a fireplace, and high arched windows with silk curtains.

It was the closest thing they had to warmth and comfort. Their own little version of a real home.

The palace was all they knew their whole lives. The cold, marble walls and icy white floors. The vast rooms and collection of servants and staff in clean suits. There was never anything else for them.

This was all they knew, and they were all each other had.

"I bet the Queen already has people out there looking for that boy." Lia comments.

"Do you think she'll kill him?" Wonyoung turns towards Lia, who shrugs at the question.

A series of knocks at the door interrupts the conversation. A servant, dressed in a black and white uniform and slicked back hair, enters the room with a note in his hand. He hands the note to Yeji and leaves.

Yeji stares at the white paper. It has gold embellishments on the corners, and the words "Queen's Ladies" stamped in the center.

"What does it say, what does it say?" Karina impatiently rushes up to Yeji, in hopes of getting a glance at the note.

"It's a message from the Queen..." Yeji feels the room get colder.

"Ladies, I need to speak with you about a pressing matter. Report to the throne room immediately."