Hwarang and The Jewel.

Chapter 3

The following days that came blurred together in a peaceful sort of confusion. Every morning A-ro would wake me up, we would wash quickly with a wash cloth and a basin full of water, get dressed and do chores. Ahn-ji would be home most of the time, and when he wasn't treating people inside his little medicine room he was watching A-ro and I.

We spent the day mostly cleaning the medicine room after every patient, cutting strips of cloth for bandages and organising the unbelievable amount of healing herbs that Ahn-ji kept in his medicine room. 

So far, the extent of our communication was a comical amount of arm waving and hand signals, although I had taken the opportunity to point at various objects with a questioning face and A-ro would happily tell me what it was. So far I had learned I, cushion, table, knife, please, thank you, chopstick, mattress, broom, pillow, house, path, road, tree, bowl and a small amount of adjectives. I figured the quicker I learn the language, the easier it would be for me to ask where I was and how I got here.

"I go, I broom." I said to A-ro, waving over to the house. She nodded at me and continued to tie various plants together to dry out.

As I was finishing sweeping the last of the dust out of my room I heard A-ro call for me. She was waiting for me at the entrance of the yard. When I got closer she handed me a wicker basket like the one she was holding.

"We are going to the market. Father needs more linen to make cloth bandages." She spoke very slowly for me, and mimed walking and putting things in the basket, so it wasn't hard for me to guess she was taking me with her to go shopping. It was the first time I had stepped foot outside Ahn-Ji's house, and for a moment I paused. If Ahn-Ji and the people here had kidnapped me, why were they letting me go outside the property and into the town, with only A-ro to keep an eye on me? Maybe they're just as confused as I am.

"Alice," A-ro tugged at my sleeve, "let's go". I let her gently tug me out of the courtyard and into the street, I walked in step with her she linked arms with me.

"I, go you go, walk?" I said questioningly, A-ro nodded happily back. Satisfied that she seemed at ease with taking me with her I relaxed a little and enjoyed the walk into town. 

Other people were also walking into town, but they looked significantly better dressed than A-ro and I, but that didn't mean they were rude to us. In fact, A-ro seemed to have a lot of friends. The only problem with this was that I was stuck to A-ro's side like a limpet, so whoever so much as glanced at A-ro got an eyeful of me, the outsider.

I had taken to tying my hair in a ponytail at the nape of my neck and knotting it into a bun, but I still stood out. Women whispered to each other behind delicate hands, men either scratched their head or turned away, and the children just pointed and made whatever remark that had formed in their head half a second before it burst from their mouth. I didn't understand what everyone was saying, it was either too quiet or too fast. It was probably a good thing though, because the looks that A-ro gave them if she caught wind of it would make them turn away.

The more we walked the busier the road became, until finally we were approaching a long stretch of road full of shop-like buildings and stalls. I stared in wonder, each stall was enthralling. A-ro tried her best to pull me along but she slowed after a while to let me enjoy the sights. Trays and trays of jewellery and knick-knacks, bowls full of herbs and spices, dazzling bolts of fabric stretched out in the sun and yards of ribbon dancing gently in the wind.

When we reached the stall A-ro wanted to visit she immediately picked out a roll of linen and began haggling with the shop owner. Taking a moment to look around the stall while A-ro was busy I stepped closer to get a better look at some pretty green fabric that glinted gold when the sun hit it. Looking closer I think it must have been green fabric and gold silk embroidery. It looked very pretty, but I didn't dare touch it. The only ladies I had seen that wore such pretty fabric had been very few, and they looked very rich with their pearl earrings and silk fans. 

The fabric intrigued me the most, mainly because back home it was all over my house. Mom was a clothing designer, and she would have loved to see the fabric at this market. It all looked hand made, there was no edging with manufacturer stamps. Mom had taught me how to sew before I new how to ride a bike, but I guess that sewing was probably one of the biggest things we both loved. The art of taking a flat piece of fabric being cut into various shapes and then stitched together to make all and anything you could possibly want to wear, that was what Mom and I both thought was a manner of great accomplishment and pride. It was why I volunteered for the arts department during plays. I could never act, but give me some fabric, thread and a needle and I was set.

Looking back at the table A-ro was still haggling in front of, I spotted boxes full of neatly packed sewing needles, and wooden pikes loaded with threaded cotton, silk, and twine. Looking closer I noticed they didn't have any polyester thread, and everything was either spooled around wood or... whipping my head back to the needle box I gasped. Some of those needles were made from bone!

I must have zoned out after making that startling discovery because A-ro was tapping me repeatedly on the arm. "Alice, let's go".

She linked arms with me and we moved through the market again. We stopped several more times and A-ro bought a wide array of items. Some oranges, a loaf of bread, a bag of rice, various amounts of herbs and, oddly enough, we went back to the first stall and she purchased one of the bone needles. She took my hand and placed the wrapped needle in it.

"I could tell it interested you, you can have it." A-ro smiled at me as I thanked her sincerely, then linked arms with me again and led me back towards the house.

Just before bed that night, A-ro handed me another small bundle of cloth. Inside was some fabric scraps and a bundle of thread. "Thank you". I smiled at A-ro, a little teary and very homesick. She gave me some soothing pats on the back before leaving to get ready for bed herself.

The next morning I handed A-ro and embroidered hand cloth. She was surprised and gave me a double take before looking back at the cloth. "This is very good! You did this?" She mimed me sewing with the cloth and I nodded. I took the cloth from her and placed it in her little satchel. "Oh, you're giving me this? Thank you Alice, it's very pretty!" I smiled back at her and we both got started with a new day of chores. 

Later that day after I had finished storing the fresh cuts of cloth we had cut that morning, I spotted A-ro showing her father the embroidered cloth I had made. He seemed inquisitive about the design, and A-ro seemed happy. I'm glad she liked it, it took me forever to try find something to hold the cloth stable while I was embroidering, in the end I just put one corner of the cloth under a table leg and went for my life embroidering as many flowers, vines and leaves as I could.

Smiling to myself I turned and started sweeping the room. As I swept I thought about how this could help me. The embroidery I had done for A-ro seemed like a pleasant surprise, maybe I could make some more and sell them. I could gain customers, build connections and maybe find out some answers to my questions.

Satisfied that I now had a game plan, my mind finally became at ease, and I spent the rest of the afternoon figuring out how I was going to ask A-ro for more cloth and thread.

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AN: hellooooooo just wanted to know what everyone thought of the last couple of chapters. I know it feels super slow right now but I promise it's going to pick up in the next couple of chapters! I would really like my character to make her own input in the story before throwing in such interesting characters like the Hwarang and the royal family. Anyway please let me know how you feel about my writing!!!!!!! don't be afraid to comment!!!!!! I haven't gotten any yet :'(