In a kingdom torn by power struggles and political intrigue, Jieun, the rightful heir to the throne of the East, finds herself sidelined as her brother, Jungwon, takes control. Determined to reclaim her birthright, Jieun seeks alliances and forms a...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THROUGHOUT HER LIFETIME, Queen Jieun embraced numerous monikers. Some dubbed her a usurper, others a pretender. Yet, as years waned and Jieun ascended the throne her father once occupied, the masses converged upon a single epithet: the rightful queen. A mantle well-earned, intertwined with her role as a nurturing mother. Skepticism from commoners was rife initially. Could one who had marched to battle excel in maternal tenderness?
Men, after all, bore the standard of war, driven by reason. Brutes, their reputation carried them, stern and distant in their paternal duties. Women, however, were designed for the cradle and the birthing bed. But whispers rippled amongst midwives, loud in their subtlety, proclaiming Jieun's profound affection for her son, her dedication to the art of child-rearing. Little shock in discovering her youthful disdain for the notion of motherhood; rebellion often gripped the hearts of adolescents. Yet, like the tides receding, that phase yielded to growth. Her love for her son grew boundless.
Yet, children, for all their innocence, were a vulnerability. Rumours circulated that following Ser Jake's grim tidings of Lord Heeseung's demise, Jieun suffered a miscarriage. The anguish and torment that shadowed noble Lord Heeseung seemed to materialise within her unborn offspring. That fateful night became etched in memory as the Long Night — a tapestry woven with sorrow and supplication. A night where Queen Jieun staunchly clung to the lifeless form of her unborn child, amidst bloodstained lamentation.
And from those sombre depths, whispers unfurled like tendrils of smoke. As lore would have it, Lord — once Ser — Heeseung, had forged a bond with Jieun that transcended duty. A shield to her vulnerability, a keeper of her secrets; some ventured to say he venerated her as a deity. Speculation unfurled like wildfire. Could the undercurrents of allegiance hold deeper mysteries? Yet, in truth, could they cast reproach upon the departed Lord Heeseung? Noble in every breath, he, the stalwart guardian, adored Jieun with a devotion that even the stars might envy.
Could it be, then, that if men of such esteemed stature, akin to the late Lord Heeseung, were privy to the knowledge of Queen Jieun's bearing a robust heir, their loyalty, too, would have been pledged unswervingly to the sovereign? Beyond even this, the annals of her youth spoke of her allure, a vision of beauty that danced amongst the fairest maidens of the realm. A marvel it was, to some, that she set her gaze upon one such as King Riki.
Such fate's design, it would have been — a son, perhaps a brother forged in nobility's fires. Queen Jieun, that astute sovereign, grasped the perilous precipice. The realm yearned for more progeny. While the crown prince Jihoon sprung forth from a union steeped in ardour and devotion, attributes not granted to all offspring, the lattice of politics woven itself ceaselessly. An eternal dance of power.
Echoing across three centuries, Queen Miyeon's legacy resonated, birthing a lineage of fifteen, each child a testament to vitality, untouched by the bane of stillbirth or miscarriage. A triumph enshrined, admired by many, yet a coveted prize often attained at the cost of life itself. The aspiration: to wear the crown and wear the mantle of nurturing motherhood, a dual honour so preciously entwined. Like Queen Miyeon of yore, Queen Jieun's womb was graced only by love's flame, where duty birthed union, and love cemented it. A timeless harmony.
