A/N: Hello, hello ! It's been quite a while since I've last been active as a writer on here, but SH:R has recently given me enough energy and inspiration to try myself at a fanfiction again, so here we are.
If isn't obvious already - this fic will focus heavily on Hae Soo and Wang Yo and their relationship but also other characters, such as Chaeryung, Wang Won, etc. I hope I'll be able to do this drama justice with my writing and without further ado, let's start into the prologue!
i. where is a will, there is a way.
It's a pretty night, fit to be mourning the death and pondering over lost opportunities and missed chances; Hae Soo, usually feeling a certain sense of safety within the embrace of the night, cannot help but shiver when she rushes to the Damiwon while silently cursing the new king's moods. It's a secret, though a badly kept one: almost all of the princes alongside Chaeryung and a few quick-witted servants are aware of the noose dangling around the young woman's neck, of the charges of regicide that could be used against her when Hae Soo's done absolutely nothing wrong.
However, proving her innocence to a man whose mind has already been made up is too much of a complicated task and while she's usually not one to give up easily, the years in Goryeo have started to tire her out. The memory of jumping into the water to save a little boy's life seems far too distant for her to completely remember and every once in a while, the darkhaired maiden can't help but think that maybe, this past life of hers has been nothing but a dream as well. To keep up with what is happening in a society that is ever-changing proves to be much of a challenge and occasionally, it leads to Hae Soo missing the home she's grown accustomed to from a young age, rather than the hard comfort of the mattress she finds rest on every night after yet another exhausting day in the body of a woman that does not belong to her.
This girl she has been once upon a time seems like a dream that has failed to come true, and maybe she's slowly but surely starting to lose her mind or maybe it's just the inner loneliness speaking out of her when Hae Soo comes to a halt, a pair of dark hues glued to the flowers that must have been trampled on by some careless brute. So she drops to her knees, dainty fingers motherly reaching out for the remnants of what must have once been such a beautiful sight; she would release a sigh, but the tears prickling in the corner of her eyes are slowly making their way down her cheeks and prevent her from doing so, a silent cry escaping her parted lips instead.
Destroyed, just like she is, and the thought makes her want to curl up somewhere and cry until she feels better, until all the pain and the worries and anxiety have ceased to exist, but things are not as easy because here, she's responsible for others, for their reputation and in some cases, even for their safety. With Goryeo's new king, someone whom she's come to know as a ruthless person, all of her senses are on high alert, constantly reminding the young woman of the possible danger she's in just by pouring him a simple cup of tea.
Ah, the new king. Perhaps, she should have really paid more attention during history classes.
Jeongjong, 3rd Monarch of Goryeo; the name in itself causes for her tears to momentarily stop flowing as childish confusion begins to spread across her features and for a moment, there's the desire to laugh out loud at this ridiculous name and this ridiculous king and these ridiculous circumstances, but in spite of the fact that the king should be fast asleep by now, she does not dare to follow as both her heart and mind command her to do and so, her lips remain closed. There are spies everywhere and if the king heard about her laughing about his name in the middle of the night while kneeling in front of crumbled flower petals, her death would follow quickly.
Then again, she doubts this: after all, there is a reason why he hasn't decided to eliminate her the moment he's had the chance to and that reason is called Wang So and is currently in a place far, far away from her; the thought has her heart aching and the familiar pain settles into the depths of her chest once more as she tries her best to breathe calmly, the previous amusement now completely gone. She isn't foolish enough to believe that the third prince has chosen to let her live out of decency, just so she could continue to serve him tea but rather, so she could be kept as a hostage so that So would do as he is commanded to.
The mere thought of being used against this one person whom she is so desperately aching to see again sends her into a silent heartbreak, the tears now beginning to openly flow down her pale cheeks as she makes no move to hide her desperation. No one is going to be awake to see her pain anyway, and by tomorrow morning she will go back to being the Court Lady that the others know her to be, silent, observing, distant. For this one moment, she allows herself to break apart like this, even if it isn't going to help.
At the very least, it might ease some of her pain.
It's not until she hears a familiar voice calling out for her that she opens her eyes again, while struggling to see through the veil of water; somewhere in the distance, she can hear Chaeryung's voice calling out for her with what she assumes to be worry and concern, though she momentarily remains unable to see with small hands pressed on the ground to support and keep herself from falling down completely while the rest of her body grows weak and somewhat numb, the cold having eaten away at her for the past half an hour.
In ten minutes from now, Chaeryung will have found her, the childish sorrow soon turning into genuine sadness upon noticing the red-rimmed eyes and the sobs that keep on continuously escaping her oldest friend; eleven minutes from now on, slender arms will wrap themselves around Hae Soo's shaking frame to reassure her, to share her pain, to simply be with a friend who is in need of comfort; she will whisper words of encouragement and sisterly love and admiration before bringing Hae Soo back to her feet to accompany her back to the Damiwon, before making sure that they both go to bed with no more tears spilling.
Twenty minutes from now on, a young monarch will remain in the shadow of his balcony from which he can oversee the royal gardens, with a pondering expression painted over tired features as his eyes remain glued to the empty spot and the crumbled petals the young woman has left behind.
A/N: So far it's not a lot, I know, but it I'm just getting an idea of how to write fanfictions again, so please stick with me! If you have any suggestions or ideas or questions, do feel free to message me or leave a review. I would love any type of feedback you guys could give me. :)