화랑 - a tale of curiosity [ON HOLD]

🌸prologue🌸

Kim Ji-ae. A young woman of high authority, wanted by all men, however it is her neck they want for a high pay rather then her affection.

She fled her home, from her father who had placed this bounty on her head; it only added to her hatred for the putrid man. A liar, a cheater, a gambler, and a drunk. Anything bad you could possibly be, he was. A murderer at its best.

He killed her mother in plain sight after a drunken mistake. A mistake was not what it was, it was purposefully done however it made his true feelings resurface after seeing his dead wife's eyes draining of they're rare natural beauty of crystal blue. Ji-ae was paralyzed as she watched the scene unfold right in front of her. The pure white of her mother's hanbok, tainted crimson as her blood trickled from the many open wounds he had inflicted into her porcelain body. Ji-ae watched as her father began to cry, cradling the corpse of her mother.

"You monster! You have no right to touch her!" She grabs the nearest thing to her, the expensive bottle of soju that her Father treasured so much since it held the 'power of not being with one's self'. She smashed it over his head without hesitation. He fell to the floor, letting out a shout of pain.

"Mom! Mom! Please, please, please wake up. Please! Mom!" She took the hand of her mother, cradling it but when she felt her fingers twitch she looked into her dull blue orbs.

"My sweet Ji-ae." She spoke very weakly, barely inaudible with the grunts her Father was producing. "My beautiful daughter." Tears rolled effortlessly down Ji-ae's face, making her mom become pained to see her daughter's tear stained cheeks. "You're going to be okay, sweetie. Just run, find your way to Seorabeol. " Her daughter vigorously shook her head, letting the tears stream down her face. She watched as her Mother gave her a pained smile before pulling the necklace off from around her neck. "Use this, find a man named An Ji-Gong, he will help you when you show him this."

"I'm not leaving-"

"Ji-ae." Even though her mothers grip is weak it still holds the power to make Ji-ae listen attentively. "Just like we planned." Her breath hitches and the the constant flow of her daughter's tears were landing onto the silk material bweow her.

"Mum." The sound of struggling takes her attention away to her Father beginning to stand, clenching the broken bottle in his hand. He grits his teeth, raising his hand but before Ji-ae has time to react her Mother sits up, taking the blow. Ji-ae screams in pain as her Father screams in anger. She watches as blood spills from her mother's mouth, tainting her daughter's garments as well as the wooden floor boards beneath them, forever holding this barbaric memory.

"Go." Was all she heard before her Mother fell forward at her feet, drooling the ruby red substance that formed a puddle beneath her. Ji-ae ran, straight into her room grabbing the bag that contained everything that they were going to need to get to Seorabeol. Herself and her mother. They planned to leave this evening but Father caught onto their plans, ending her Mother's life in the process.

"Ji-ae!" She turned on her heel to face her blood soaked Father in the door way. "You will pay for this, I will have your head on a stick for the whole kingdom to see. Like a treasure." Seeing the twinkle in his eye as he mentioned the thought of Ji-ae's head hanging above the door was a cruel thought.

Ji-ae flipped a chair in front of her to prevent her Father coming closer. Not being able to use the door to leave, her Father inched closer with each second she wasted but she heard hooves outside. She quickly glanced, seeing a carriage of hay being drawn along so she stepped to the window, pushing open the sheer screens covering it.

"Get back here, you--"

She ignored her father's shout and jumped forward, clutching the bag against her chest as she fell into the pile of hay. Quickly; she sat up and jumped out of the cart and whistled her horse as she began running away. Her horse then caught up to her, stopping her in her tracks. She clambered onto the saddle, looking back once to see her Father stood at the window, waving his hands towards her, but that's all she could bare to see. A father wanting their own flesh and blood dead, was enough for anyone to run.

She stopped on the outskirts of the forest, following the familiar path and then heading off the trail to a near tree. She looked around her, and dropping down from her horse and headed towards the tree. She observed it's bark and then the engraved symbol on it's surface, signifying it's the one. She placed her hand inside the crevice of the trunk and then pulled out the bow and arrow that resided in it, along with it's quiver. Ji-ae observes the weapon carefully, running her finger along the intricate details on the wooden bow, but her attention suddenly changes to the blood under her nails and the stains on her skin. She wipes the dry tears from her eyes and cheeks as she walks back to her horse.

She then looks back to her horse, grabbing it's reigns - after pulling the bow around her torso and the quiver around her waist - she lead the horse deeper into the forest, to where the small brook ran quietly through the brush. Looking at her reflection in the water, she can see the dried, faint, bloody hand print of her mother's residing on her cheek, she reaches up to it, placing a hand over it before sobbing again.

"Mom." She drops her hands by her side and then looks up to the stars, littering the black velvet sky. "I'm sorry." She whimpered to herself before splashing water on her face and then proceeding to change clothes.

Ji-ae changed from the bloodied hanbok and then into a fresh new one, she couldn't wear anything different because she would be treated like a peasant rather then the noble women she is. She looked up to the half crescent moon and then sighed.

"Let's go." She climbs on top of the horse, pulling at the reigns so that she could lead him away from the brook and into the distance in hope of finding Silla.