Kingdom

153. Clocks (4)

A shift in the magic pulls the Princess out of her sleep. Yoongi is waking up. It feels like he is right next to her, yet when Nori opens her eyes, she is alone. She snuggles under the sheets and shuts her eyes, wishing she could fall back asleep. Yet, she cannot.

Her mind fills with thoughts about the upcoming day, about everything she has to do. Somewhere far away, Yoongi is getting ready to restart his journey. Nori should get ready, too. The best way to make time move quicker is to get busy.

She forces herself out of bed and gets dressed as quickly as possible, choosing a beautiful green hanbok with yellow top. The day is hot and she wishes she could wear nothing but her light nightgown. But that is not an option. Especially not today. Today she must look presentable.

She ties her hair into a long braid and adds a flower pin to finish her look. She checks herself into the mirror a few times, making sure she looks neat and pretty.

She finds Minju and Yojin in the main room. The court ladies are arranging white and blue flowers into tall vases. They are startled by Nori's sudden appearance, but dare not to scold her for getting dressed without their help. Instead, they bow low and ask what they can do to please the Queen.

Nori scrunches her nose, looking at the flowers. They are gentle and beautiful, yet they smell a little strange. She asks the court ladies to open the doors towards the garden and to prepare a rich breakfast for her guest.

Once left alone, Nori is unsure what to do. There are many letters to answer, and boxes to unpacked, yet she is too distracted to start any of those tasks. She paces around a room, unable to stand still.

Yoongi will be back soon. Of course he will be back. His magic is around her even now. He is doing okay, going where he needs to go. There is no need to overthink everything that happened between them and to worry about his return. Nori has to find something to do. She picks up the book of legends Jin brought her. A little note falls from it. Nori picks it and reads it.

This book is addictive, be careful.

Nori smiles at the note. This seems to be Seokjin's writing, looking as pretty, elegant and bold as he is. Nori sits by the open doors, facing the garden and breathes in, enjoying the fresh air. The day is getting hotter and hotter, but the trees shade her from the scorching sun.

She opens the book. It's not one of those modern printed books, but an older, handwritten one. Inside of it there are sketches of dragons, wizards, nine-tailed foxes and other magical creatures. Nori flips through it, recognising many of the ancient legends she read as a child.

One particular story catches her attention - the myth about the creation of Daegu. Nori has heard different versions of it, yet this one seems longer and more detailed. She starts reading it, her imagination painting vivid pictures of the old times, when dragons inhabited the lands.

They say dragons were the wisest and most powerful beings in all the realm. Humans feared dragons for their might, yet they often used trickery and magic to submit the mighty creatures to their will. Very few people befriended dragons and managed to understand their language and behavior.

One of those few was a powerful wizard King, called Asul The Great. He managed to unite the entire Gojoseon peninsula into one mighty Kingdom called Goreo, but after his death the Kingdom fell apart. Azul's heirs fought for generations, reshaping the map of the peninsula again and again.

As she reads the legend, Nori forgets where she is and who she is. The room around her vanishes and she sees a different world. Like a bird, flying over the burning lands, she observes the armies of marching soldiers and the many explosions of magical weapons. The cries of agony and the songs of triumph merge into one single melody of chaos.