When Peony Blooms #AMBW

Chapter 11: "Whispers of Love's Redemption"

As the veil of the night shrouded the palace, Consort Ji-yun finally found solitude in her private chambers. A day filled with unfulfilled plots and the sting of the King's anger had left her exhausted. As sleep finally took her, her mind began to weave vivid dreams. She found herself walking amidst an ethereal forest, the moon casting long, eerie shadows.

Suddenly, she felt a chilling touch, like the cold slithers of a serpent, curl around her leg. A familiar voice echoed around her, the tone imperious, laced with a protectiveness that was both comforting and terrifying. "Get away from my son!" the voice of the late Queen commanded, the words hanging heavily in the midnight air.

The dream scene shifted abruptly, casting Ji-yun into a memory that felt like a lifetime ago. She was seated across from the late Queen, their conversation flowing as smoothly as a river. The Queen's eyes held a question, her voice trembled with an inexplicable sadness as she asked, "Where did it all go wrong?"

The sudden shift from the menacing forest to the intimate, familiar conversation shocked Ji-yun awake. She sat up, gasping for breath, her nightclothes damp with cold sweat. The eerie words of the late Queen echoed in her ears, leaving her with a disconcerting chill that she couldn't shake off. She clutched her heart, the lingering fear from her nightmare still present as she gazed into the depths of her dimly lit room.

Just as Ji-yun mustered the strength to call for her servant, the chamber doors creaked open. Her heart pounded against her ribs, her breath hitching as she saw the figure that stood in the doorway. Bathed in the soft glow of moonlight, it was the late Queen. An ethereal, almost otherworldly aura seemed to surround her, her figure standing tall and poised as ever.

Ji-yun blinked, disbelieving her own eyes. Fear gripped her as the image of her nightmare overlaid the real world, like a sinister echo. She watched, paralyzed, as the spectral figure of the Queen glided towards her, her robes flowing like water.

The reality around her had once again slipped into the realm of dreams, trapping Ji-yun into a waking nightmare. She wanted to call out, to scream for help, but her voice seemed to be trapped in her throat. She was ensnared in this dream within a dream, a prisoner to her guilt, fear, and regret, with no sign of waking. Once she did wake, she continued staring at the door as she refused to call out, not knowing if she was further trapped in a dream within a dream.

With little to no sleep, she watched as the night woke up into the day. After the sunlight streamed through the delicate lattice of the palace windows as So-ra entered Consort Ji-yun's quarters.

"You look tired, Consort Ji-yun," So-ra noted, her voice tinged with a semblance of concern.

Maintaining her usual sharp demeanor, Ji-yun shot back, "Oh, this is how a woman looks when she's appreciated by a man. Not that you'd understand."

Laughter burst from So-ra, unfazed by Ji-yun's jab. " Oh, when did you get so funny?" So-ra asked sarcastically. "Appreciated, you say? Isn't it more like chastised?"

" Aren't you the concubine to your lover's father? At least I get appreciated" The consort stated, she looked to So-ra with an observant gaze. She was only a few years older than she was, making it easier for her to find herself lost in So-ra's childishness.

So-ra's laughter grew heartily at her companion's audacity, having been privy to the loud altercation between the King and the Consort the night prior. "Yes, we all heard how much the King 'desires' you last night," she quipped, her banter lightening the room's atmosphere momentarily.

A heavy silence hung in the air as the conversation took a serious turn. So-ra, sighed, her gaze dropping to her hands as she confessed her growing insecurities about the Crown Prince.