※ This is a Korean Historial/Romance fan fiction. There may be multiple information that aren't familiar.
※ Information about korean historical items, settings, etc at the bottom. -I recommend reading that before the story.
Withered Moon
―iReii
"The moon is crying sadly. The moon is smiling sadly.
The moon withers away, leaving traces of flowers behind."
一
Dreams are withered away. Family is withered away. And so is her identity. Who is she, she questions her own existence, perhaps the moon high above the sky knows. She asks every night, yet only a silence is whispered back. The snow gently falls from the branch above her head and lands on top of her tangled hair.
Whenever there is sorrow, the moon gracefully shines upon you. Be the flower of the night sky.
The same words echoes into her mind every night as she glanced upon the flowers of the night sky― stars. Mother, the one who left unforgettable pain behind, the one who left unforgettable love behind, she is gone. Maid― the title that was given to her as her mother breathed her last breath. She now serves the royalty of the Joseon empire.
"Get a move on!"
Her senses rushed back to her mind when she heard another maid from behind her yelled at her. Aisha glanced down, her hands were gripped tightly onto the wooden basket before her, princess's clothes were packed on top of one another and the scent of freshly cleaned clothes wafted into her nose. Indeed, a terrible nightmare has passed and it somewhat still exists to this day, mistreatment. The reason behind all the mistreatment could possibly because she's an orphan, that she only became a maid so she can take advantage of living in the palace. However, those harsh words never scarred the innocent female's pure soul. Perhaps because she faced incomparable pains previously, and that's the reason why Aisha is ever so grateful for being given a second chance in life― life inside the empire.
"Hey you,"
As soon as Aisha placed the wooden basket on top of a table to take a quick rest, her name― no, not even her name― was addressed, however Aisha knew the Sanggung was calling on her. Perhaps because Aisha is the only person who is addressed by "Hey you" instead of an actual name. She would think to herself at some times, does she even know my name?
"There's an errand I have to do, but I'm busy with other stuffs. So you'd have to do it,"
Not even a request, a firm statement. The Sanggung handed an unknown item wrapped around in a silk that consisted of soft blue color embroiled with patterns of golden and pink flower, which was tied off as a knot on the top. Without even giving Aisha a quick glance, the Sanggung placed the item on top of the table, next to the wooden basket she just placed. Without a single sigh or a mumble, the innocent female grabbed the unknown item.
"Deliver to the herbalist in the next village,"
With those words, Sanggung walked outside of the room. Aisha silently glanced at the door the Sanggung just passed through, then without a word, Aisha walked outside as well.
Next village― she would have to cross the forest that's placed in between the empire and the village. The village consists of citizens, innocent and sinful, rich and poor, just anyone that wasn't part of the royal court, including the herbalist Aisha has to deliver the unknown item to. The mage left the empire without a complaint.
The dirt was dense, perhaps because of so many citizens and royal courts traveling back and forth the same road. The wind was swirling through as it fluttered the leaves locked on a branch above Aisha's head. Her violet locks, which was tied up on a low ponytail was also moving to and fro. A gentle smile played on her thin lips as her cheeks flushed a slightly pink hue. Being part of the environment in the most natural way was one of the things she absolutely cherished, however it wasn't something that was granted at often times.
Then she heard a rustling noise from nearby. Her head jolted back toward the source of the sound, toward the bush located not too far away from her. Suddenly, a hint of sweat trickled down her back as her violet eyes was shaken with fear. A bear? She thought to herself, then came another rustling noise. Before she could actually take a glance of the mysterious animal inside the bush, her feet was already pounding violently and swiftly on the dirt before her. Her breaths became shallow, yet the adrenaline was pumping through her bloodstreams. This situation is definitely fight―or―flight, and Aisha choice the flight within a matter of a second.
BGM The Second Moon ― 달빛이 흐른다 / Moonlight Drawn By Clouds OST / Special BGM
on Youtube
》
"Whoa!"
The sound of a horse forcefully pounding on the ground and the sound of horse's cry rang into her ear, as well as a young male's surprised yell. Due to her fast running it was difficult to make her legs come to a halt, and instead, she stumbled after tripping from an unseen tree root.
"N― No!"
She yelled out, but it was too late. The unknown item that was wrapped around carefully with silk was thrown out of her hand as it tumbled out, and the silk unwrapped itself, revealing the mysterious item. A mysterious herb laid itself on top of the silk, fortunately it wasn't dropped to the dirt. Aisha let out a sigh of relief as she tried to raise herself from the ground, but the mysterious man's palm was placed in front of her. She glanced up and realized he wasn't even staring at her, his glance was toward the mysterious herb spread across on the ground. Just when Aisha grabbed the man's hand, the grip was released as he rushed over to the herb on the ground.
"Western herb…?"
Her balance was toward his hand that was grabbing on her slender fingers, yet the balance was lost when he decided to release his grip.
"Wha― What the heck!" She yelled out as she clumsily tumbled on the dirt once again. However, the male did not even give her another single glance, instead, he was carefully examining the herb.
"Where did you get this,"
The male questioned, no― not questioned, it was a demanding statement. Aisha frowned her eyebrows with ridiculed laugh. Then she narrowed her eyes as she carefully examined the male in front of her; he was wearing gatkkeun on top of his head, and an elegant burgundy colored gugunbok.
"Soldier…?" She whispered to herself as she raised herself up while trying to maintain her lost balance.
"I asked, where did you get this," The male repeated himself, yet Aisha was offended by his demand.
Fight or flight?
Fight.
"How would I know?" She replied back with a sharp tone filled with annoyance, and with those witty question, the male jolted his back to match his crimson eyes with her violet ones. His eyebrows were frowning with vexation, and without another word, he raised himself up while holding onto the mysterious herbs placed on top of the soft, blue silk.
"Answer me,"
He said with a firm voice, and once again, Aisha had to puff out a ridiculed laugh. He glanced back at her and replied back with his own ridiculed laugh,
"Did you just―" He said,
"Yeah. Anyway, it's not yours so give it back," She interrupted his question and reached forward, but the male has already hid the herb behind his back before she could grab onto the silk. She lifted her eyebrows in irritated confusion, but the male slyly smiled and replied,
"If you don't reply, I will have to take you as a hostage,"
"For what?!"
"This is a western herb, a rare one― and for an ordinary maid... like you to have a such precious item, the government would have to question you,"
"Western herb…?!"
Indeed she was confused. She didn't even have the knowledge that the item inside the silk is a herb, and to find out that herb is a rare western herb, it felt as if her heart was crumbled into pieces.
"Sir.. Sir…. First of all, I had no idea what was inside…" Aisha smiled nervously as she slowly but mischievously reached her fingers out toward the silk, yet the soldier was sharp, he quickly hid the herb away from her fingers. Aisha sighed heavily as she slumped her shoulders down, then continued,
"I really had no idea what was in it. I was just doing an errand for a fellow maid, and she told me I have to deliver that to some herbalist in the village,"
Although she've never even met this solider, she didn't wanted to cause any trouble regarding governmental issues over a mysterious herb, therefore she blurted out the whole truth― a truth that didn't even had to be hidden, yet she didn't wanted to give in to the arrogant soldier standing before her. Yet she finally realized that it was no use. She glanced up, and he was giving her an amused look with one end of his lips lifted up. Then Aisha realized, that his hand that were gripping onto the silk that was tied off with a knot, was placed in front of him, and without a hesitance, she reached forward and snatched the silk away from him.
"Aha―!"
She yelled out with pride, but suddenly heard the sound of a thud, which was followed with the sound of horse crying. Aisha turned around, and realized that she had hit the horse that was behind her with the knuckles of her hand, and the horse ran away with a cry. With gaped lips and bewildered eyes, she slowly turned her head toward the soldier, who was glancing furiously down at her.
"I― I didn't mean to! I apologize, sir!" Aisha rubbed her fingers that weren't holding onto the silk together as she cried with plea. She glanced down, scared of the action the soldier will perform on her for punishment. Yet, there wasn't anything. Aisha slowly opened her eyelids, her violet eyes glistening with hint of fear, yet there was also a hint of confusion. She glanced up and realized the soldier's expression was hollow; he was expressionless.
"Lead me to the herbalist,"
"Huh?"
"I will have to follow you, to find about that herb,"
Aisha tilted her head to the side in confusion as she glanced down toward the ground. Then she broke out laughing with nervousness.
"Haha… I― I have no idea where this village is…."
"..."
She scratched the side of her head with embarrassment. Although she was somewhat courageous enough to walk out of the empire holding onto the silk, she have now realized that she doesn't know what road takes her to the village. The forest consisted of many dirt roads, roads that are used frequently, and she had no idea which one leads to the village.
With a sigh, the soldier took the lead as Aisha trailed along, her cheeks were flushing red with embarrassment as she fanned her face down with her fingers.
》
"Huh? This is just an antidote for laceration,"
"Ha! Western herb my ass!"
The two― soldier and the maid― successfully arrived the herbalist's residence and to both of their surprise and Aisha's pride, the herbalist acknowledged the mysterious herb as a regular, common antidote.
"I mean, because of the season this herb could change color…." The herbalist trailed off as he handed the herb back to the soldier, then as soon as their eyes met, the herbalist's eyes suddenly widened with shock. Aftering seeing his reaction, the soldier said nothing except shook his head in discouragement, and the herbalist slowly nodded, his mouth was still being left to gape in shock. However, Aisha haven't seen their reactions at all, her view was too busy glancing around the residence. She haven't been at the folk village for years, and to be back in a village that somewhat resembles her birthplace left her in melancholy.
"Let's leave,"
The soldier said as he grabbed Aisha by her elbow and dragged her outside. Aisha started to laugh mischievously after seeing his sulky face.
"Quiet,"
He demanded but after hearing his words, her mischievous laugh turned into a burst of laughter. Wiping off a drop of tear that rolled down her cheeks due to continuous laughter, she glanced up. Indeed the soldier was mad, he was rolling his eyes as his expression was nothing but sulky.
"Haha.. I'll stop, I'm done. Anyway… Mr. Soldier, what is your name?"
Aisha questioned the man after realizing that he might not be a bad person at all, he was just simply obeying the rightful actions.
"You, which part of the palace do you serve,"
Ignoring her question, the soldier asked Aisha reluctantly as he glanced around the village.
"I― I… the princess's quarters,"
Is he a high rank that can just bring me to wherever? He's able to roam around inside the empire? Aisha wondered to herself with curiosity as the soldier continued to glance around, then decided to make a decision and said,
"Let us go,"
"It's only because I'm a lost bird…."
Aisha murmured to herself and fortunately to her soul, the soldier did not hear her over the village. Before she enter the forest, she took a quick glance around the village once more. Little children skipped around the tiny roads with a bright smile across their face, there was group of men swearing and laughing at their own jokes while they drank liquor.
"Rice cakes! Buy your rice cakes!"
And the smell of sweet rice cakes wafted into Aisha's nose as she glanced over at a old woman holding a basket of rice cakes.
A gentle smile automatically appeared on Aisha's face unconsciously, and the soldier seemed to notice her light happiness. As he stared at her, there was the slightest hint of a smile across his lips.
》
"I guess… I have to thank you for showing the way…" Aisha trailed off as she was embarrassed to thank the soldier. He replied back with a mischievous smile that Aisha was feeling uneasy about.
"If you're ever so grateful…"
"No― no I'm not THAT grateful…"
With emphasize on 'That', Aisha reluctantly refused whatever the soldier's request may be right away, however he ignored her disagreement. Realizing whatever his request might be, it will possibly an extremely selfish one, therefore Aisha interrupted―
"Hahaha! I have to return to princess's palace or I'll get in trouble! Goodbye Mr. Soldier!"
And with those words, Aisha ran into the palace without a hesitation, leaving the soldier confused and irritated. After couple of seconds, he couldn't do anything except to let out a chuckle while staring at the maid's back fading away― into the palace.
He raised his hand, the sleeves falling loosely down to his elbows. His hands made a fist, and within a matter of second, his middle finger was up in the air.
The prince took his leave.
一
end
information:
Setting- Korea at Late Joseon Dynasty (1850's). One empire ruled the entire country (Joseon). Elsword is the prince, and Aisha is an ordinary maid working in the princess's palace.
Empire- Within one large empire, there are multiple palaces. Each palace is ruled by king, queen, princess, prince, etc. Within these palaces, maids and servants serve whoever rules the palace. Inside the palace, officials that are not considered royalty wear different color of clothing. Red Blue Green. Red being high ranks while green being low ranks. [For males only]
Village- If you are curious of how the village with the herbalist looks like, search up Hahoe Village in Google.
Maids- Sanggun (High rank maid, in this story), Nain (Lower rank maid). Aisha is a Nain, however, I will just address her as Maid. They are called Gungnyeo in Korean, but I will just call them maids. Maids are not allowed to leave the palace according to historical facts, however in this story, they can LOL.
Servants- Prince Elsword has one high rank servant that he keeps by him at all times. Servants are called eunuchs (Naesi in Korean), and there are ranks among them as well. But they do not play a huge role in this story, so I will not discuss. Servants wear Green clothing.
Clothing- The clothing that everyone wear is called Hanbok, wore by both genders, although it looks different on each genders. I recommended searching it on google to see how they look like. Hanbok has various types.
Male:
Gugunbok- Soldier clothing.
Po- Outerwear. Has various types. Dopo, that will be discussed in the story is one of Po.
Sobok- White colored Innerwear. So one would wear sobok, and on top, would wear Po.
Heukryongpo (Black Dragon Robe)- Prince's clothes. Deep navy colored.
Ikseongwan - King & Prince's crown.
Gatkkeun- A hat with a shade on top, has strings attached to both sides.
Female:
Chima- A long skirt that rises up above the breasts.
Jeogori: Upper garment.
Ones inside the empire and the riches outside of the empire usually wear Po on the outside. The citizens outside, the ones living in poverty only wear Sobok.
There is a website where I've taken note of. If you want to learn more about it, please google [Talking Cup Board Traditional Korean Clothing Part 2]
note:
There may be multiple errors regarding the information provided and couple parts within the story.
Although I am Korean, I was never taught Korean History, and I had to search up a lot of stuffs on Google,
so I apologize if there are incorrect facts. If you see any errors, please do correct me and I will fix it after researching!
I've always been interested in Korean Dynasty and I've been wanting to write a fanfiction regarding the genre since long ago,
but it's a such unfamiliar genre to many of you, including myself so I always hesitated.
But after reading/watching/listening to | webtoon: Moon that Rises in the Day | Kdrama: Moonlight Drawn by Clouds | Song: Moon that Has Passed
I was influenced to write this story! Ironic how everything includes 'Moon' LMAO.
Therefore, if you guys have any questions about the setting, items, etc., please do not hesitate to ask me!
update: i realized that the music link does not work even on the review section, so i apologize for that, just ignore the review please!
