Jia never had been the one to complain about pain. When she was about 10 years old, she cut her leg on the edges of a specifically sharp stone while playing in the creek. When she returned home to the village at dawn, blood had soaked parts of her garments and was still oozing from that 3 inch long cut. Her guardian scolded her for acting so irresponsible and not coming back right away so he could treat her wounds. Of course, the young girl didn't understand what she was being scolded for. Why should she interrupt her play for such a mundane thing like pain? In that manner, Jia hadn't changed at all in the past 7 years.
"Oh my, you have been messed up quite a bit...," Ah-ro said in a way that strangely almost sounded like she cared about her and started pulling out a set of herbs, needles and bandages. It appeared that the daughter of the city's doctor was the best option available to treat the wounds caused by the fight among the Hwarang.
"Hmm, could be worse." Jia shrugged. She imagined she really must look quite hurt, not really surprising after a fight like this. Blood soaking the fabric of her robe on her arm, cut in her lip, bruises on her skin and her knuckles covered in blood - her own and others equally.
"If everyone looks like this, I won't get home before sundown," she mumbled. "What even caused this fight in the first place?"
"Well, Ban-ryu kept insulting Sun-woo all day and- -"
"Oh him again. I knew he would cause my brother trouble in here. He never lets things go, it's like insulting others is his oxygen. Having him in here is nothing but trouble! But Sun-woo always so calm. I wonder what caused him to snap.." Ah-ro continued her monologue but Jia stopped listening. If Ah-ro just start cleaning her wound instead so she could go and look for Sun-woo...
"I'm story to interrupt your...talking, but could you please take care of my wound? There are others waiting." Jia tried to hide the annoyance in her voice. And Ah-ro seemed to buy it, surprisingly.
"Oh right, I'm sorry." She smiled apologetic and even a bit embarrassed by the fact that she got distracted from her work right away and started to clean of the blood from a cut in her arm, her lip and her hands. Not talking wasn't an option though, even if just to overcome the silence. "How is Sun-woo? Is he hurt as bad as this as well?"
"Last time is saw him? Could be worse. He's tough, you know?"
This actually made Ah-ro go silent for a few seconds while she took out a needle to stitch up the cut. Even though she just knew him for about two weeks, this was something she probably figured out for herself really quick. "Thanks. For taking care of my brother and everything..."
Jia let out a dry laugh. Right. Her 'brother'. And so far I'm doing really good at that or what?
"I'm trying my best"
"I haven't seen him for years. I really missed him... I hope nothing will happen to him in here." Ah-to seemed genuinely concerned and Jia really wanted to assure her that Sun-woo wouldn't be harmed anymore but she didn't want to lie to her...
So Jia chose not to reply at all, something Ah-ro seemed to notice herself, and just clenched her teeth while Ah-ro finished the last stitch and bandaged it.
"So, you're all stitched up. Try to change the dressing every other day and keep the cut clean so it won't get infected." The tone in Ah-ro's voice had changed back from worried almost personal to plain and somewhat distant.
"Thank you." Jia bowed slightly and made room for the next one to get his wounds treated before she distanced herself from the others waiting on her way to find Sun-woo.
The sun was up lowering over the horizon and the air started to cool down as night approached the kingdom of Silla. The world was getting quieter, birds were retreating to their nests and even the young men inside the Hwarang house started to go back to their rooms. The noise and drama that had been the bigger part of the day was fading and now that every last one of them had their wounds treated, they rested in the safety of their new home to lick their wounds. Though one of them didn't share this suddenly found calmness.
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.