Jia generally enjoyed the end of the day, the peace it brought at times, but more often that's not she just sat outside like this, restless and unsettled. The cold air couldn't really clear her head nor drive out the ants that seemed to crawl around inside her clothes. So she sat on the steps of path leading to the main house, lost in thoughts as she scribbled loose shapes and curves into the dust with a stick. Odd forms, waves, lines and fishes appeared and were brushed away again, unruly and random like the clouds in the sky forming momentary pictures before disappearing again.

"You still need some practice drawing dragons, you know?"

Jia flinched and looked up to a young man who, instead of looking back at her, eyed her 'drawing' curiously. Hansung once again managed to just appear right next to her out of the blue and stun her with a random question. "What..? I didn't draw a dragon."

"Yeah, it looks more like a snake. Or a dog. That's why I said that you need more practice."

A snake or a dog? What do those two even have in common despite the fact that I tried to draw neither of them? The accumulation of lines and circles in front of her barely resembled anything found on earth. "I wasn't trying to draw something specific, I was just scribbling without thinking about it," she shrugged and dropped the twig down. "Why are you out here anyway?"

"You didn't come in like the others. So I wanted to know what you're doing, whom you're waiting for." His tone seemed to say 'Isn't that obvious?' as he dropped down next to her and picked up the twig.

Jia shook her head. "I'm not waiting for anyone."

"What are you waiting for then?"

"I don't know. Nothing, I guess. I just didn't want to go inside yet. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway." She sighted and leaned back against a pillar, looking up to the sky and it's changing colors. She allowed herself to relax her muscles for once and closed her eyes, just listening to the whispers of the wind in the trees and the scratching of the twig in Hansung's hands on the dusty ground.

"You look pretty tired for someone who said that they couldn't fall asleep right now."

"I'm just...a bit on the edge," Jia said without opening her eyes.

"You always are. Whenever I see you, you're on the edge. Back when you entered the marked you weren't as calm as you wanted others to think. The first night in here you seemed like someone was chasing you. And now you're restless again." He was just stating facts but something about his voice irritated her. A bit puzzled maybe, like he wasn't exactly sure what to make of all of this, couldn't quite figure her out.

You're right. But instead of answering the unasked questions he had she changed the topic. "Long first day, wasn't it? And then the fight... Not how I expected this to go."

"It was obvious that something like this was going to happen."

"Was it?"

"Everyone in here is the son of one of the high ranking advisors. And they're just like their parents. Soo-ho's father used loyal to the queen and so is he. Ban-ryu's step-father Park Young-shil on the other hand is one of those opposing the queen. This is just a proxy war and as the Queen's Hwarang, Sun-woo is at the center of this conflict. It was rather a matter of time," Hansung explained.

"And who's side are you on? Ban-ryu or those loyal to the Queen?"

"Definitely not Ban-ryu... I don't like him."

Jia hummed in satisfaction. Hansung was the only one in here besides Sun-woo who was neither a stranger nor her enemy. If he turned out to be on the opposing side, her stay here would be even more unpleasant. For a few moments both were quiet but then another thing came back to her mind. "Suk Hansung... Descendant of King Heul-hae. I remember your grandfather, he's part of the Hwabaek on the side of Park Young-shil. But still you are friends with Soo-ho and hate Ban-ryu."

Hwabaek = 화백, Council to the king/queen made up of nobles. They also have a say in most important matters

"It's not always that easy with loyalty. Friends, family, old feuds..." His voice sounded heavy all of a sudden as he got up and turned to walk away. "But I think I made the right choice."

She listened to his steps getting quieter as he walked away back into the house. It was only as his steps had completely disappeared that she opened her eyes again. The last few rays of sunshine disappeared beyond the horizon and darkness spread upon the sky. He's right about loyalty. My mother, my kingdom, Sun-woo... I yet have to make my choice and I'm not sure that there even is a right one. This feeling of something crushing her chest, pushing her down to the ground, had returned. Unable to get up yet unable to sleep she just looked up to the stars. One after another they appeared in the sky to bring light to this dark, silent night.

~•~•~

Only 4 weeks into the next school year and the exams are already staring! Love it... =.=
I really hope this won't cause delayed uploads frequently cuz I really enjoy writing this and I don't want to let you down.

Silent night || HwarangWhere stories live. Discover now