Mischief Beneath the Shadow of the Trees
The vow the two sisters made with the Queen Mother was not as simple as they had imagined. While Lee Yan and Lee Fan were weaving dreams of a rose colored future, fate had a different plan, embodied in the never ending squabbles between Prince De Lan and the young, beautiful Jo Ri. Their relationship was like fire and water, they never met without a clash! Whether the quarrel was over a drawing stained by Jo Ri's tiny fingers or a toy De Lan decided was his alone, the Royal Garden was their perpetual battlefield. Their favorite spot for these skirmishes was the small island in the center of the garden, where a massive tree stood as a silent witness to Jo Ri's relentless cries cries that only ceased when she got exactly what she wanted.
Under the watchful eye of the Queen Mother, who consistently took Jo Ri's side, the young girl possessed a lethal weapon: tears. With her weeping, she could turn the tables on De Lan, making everyone cast blame upon the young Prince, much to his utter frustration. He would try to flee from her, hiding in the furthest corners of the palace, but Jo Ri had an uncanny sense for finding him, as if she possessed invisible antennae as if she were a shadow he could never shake.
The Incident That Changed Everything
At the Jo Ri age of six, matters reached a breaking point. De Lan had sat for hours composing a tender poem for his mother, the Crown Princess, pouring his young heart into every word. But Jo Ri, with her usual mischief, reached out and tore the paper into shreds, laughing all the while.
In a moment of blind fury, De Lan could not restrain himself and pushed her with great force. Jo Ri let out a scream that shook the young Prince's heart even before it echoed through the palace grounds, and she fled into the dense thickets.
Terror seized De Lan not just from the fear of his mother's wrath, but from the haunting thought that he had truly hurt her. He scrambled after her, calling her name. In a fleeting second, the damp earth betrayed him; his feet slipped, and he tumbled down the hillside, rolling uncontrollably until he landed beside Jo Ri, who lay motionless on the ground.
Wounds and a Lullaby
De Lan struggled to open his eyes, the sky spinning wildly above him. The reality of what had happened only pierced his senses when he heard Jo Ri's whimpering sobs. He crawled toward her in a panic, reaching out to see if she was alright, but she shrieked at him sharply:
Don't touch me! You're hurting me!
She held up her small arm before him blood was streaming from a deep gash on her forearm. She looked at him with eyes drowned in tears and said bitterly:
It's your fault! All of this is because of you!
A stab of guilt pierced De Lan's eight-year-old heart. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he tried to comfort her with a trembling voice:
Don't be afraid. I'll get us out of here.
A Hero Despite the Pain
He tried to stand, but a silent scream was choked in his throat as a searing pain tore through his leg. He recoiled and sat back down, then tried once more, forcing himself to his feet. But when he attempted to lean on his arm, a jolt of electric pain surged through his body it seemed the fall had not spared him either.
With a resolve that far exceeded his young years, and with trembling hands, he knelt before her and beckoned for her to climb onto his back. He hoisted her up, despite her weight and sturdy health which surpassed his own frail stature at the time. He walked with a staggering gait, leaning his one good hand against the rough trunks of the trees, seeking their support along the treacherous path.
A Song of Innocence
The sweat of exhaustion mingled with the tears of pain on his face, until Jo Ri whispered from above his shoulder in wonder
Are you alright? I am in pain... just like you
He answered with ragged breaths.
Do you want to put me down?
She asked with an innate fear.
He caught his breath and said with grim determination:
.. I am just tired. So, I will sing for you a song.
In that moment, Jo Ri did something he never expected. She didn't wait for his permission; instead, she began to hum a popular nursery rhyme of that era in her small, raspy voice. She sang through her labored breathing, trying in her own way to lighten the burden of the journey for him.
Under the fading light of the sunset filtering through the branches, De Lan struggled against pain and time, circling the hillside with stumbling steps, until he finally caught sight of the Royal Garden path the path that would lead them back to the world of palaces. But this time, they did not return as they were before the fall.
A Hero Under the Cover of Darkness
The night was pitch black, so dark that De Lan could no longer see where he placed his feet. The interlaced branches of the trees had choked out the starlight, leaving him with nothing but the sound of his own ragged gasping and the low humming of Jo Ri, which pierced the haunting silence of the woods.
Her humming vibrated in his ears throughout the journey, and he felt a surging urge to scream at her, "Be quiet!" Yet, he bit back his frustration behind teeth clenched tight in agony. He feared that if she grew angry or began to cry, her shifting weight upon his exhausted back would cause them both to plummet into the merciless darkness of the forest.
He walked a distance that felt like an eternity. Over time, her voice began to fade gradually until it vanished completely. De Lan let out a profound sigh, and a pale smile etched itself amidst his pained features, Jo Ri had finally fallen asleep, and that sound, which had only heightened his tension, had finally ceased.
He pressed on, his body trembling, until he spotted a faint, flickering light in the distance swaying toward him. Through the darkness of the night, he heard hoarse voices calling out his name. In that fleeting moment, as he felt safety drawing near, his strength utterly failed him. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, finally surrendering both the weight of the body and the weight of the responsibility.
Awakening in the Den
De Lan awoke to find himself in his familiar chamber, yet his chest felt heavy, as if he were breathing through a thick veil. He felt the chill of fever gnawing at his body, and the sharp agony of his broken arm had become a constant, unrelenting cry for relief.
He felt tender touches and warm kisses raining down upon his small hands, and he heard the voice of his mother, Crown Princess Lee Yan, speaking through her sobs:
My little Prince, are you awake?
He opened his withered eyes to find her embracing him tightly, whispering with a pride laced with sorrow:
Your body is burning with fever, and your arm is broken. Yet, through all that pain, you never let go of Jo Ri. You carried her on your back until you brought her to safety, you are truly my hero, De Lan.
A Wish Upon the Wind
As De Lan lay upon his bed, weighed down by fever and agony, the phantom of Jo Ri drifted through his mind. He recalled her mischief, her piercing screams, and the way she had shredded his poem. With a heart steeped in bitterness, he closed his eyes and muttered a silent, soul deep plea:
I wish I had never laid eyes on that girl I wish she would vanish from my life and become a stranger to me. I wish she would leave me be, forever.
A Wish Fulfilled
He did not know that the gates of heaven stood open, or that Fate was listening with chilling clarity.
It was as if those words were a cruel incantation; from that day forward, her phantom no longer haunted the corridors. Not a single week had passed before the foundations of the kingdom were shaken by news that struck every heart: the death of the King, his grandfather. Overnight, his father became the new sovereign.
But the laws of the Palace were as cold and uncompromising as a blade; the moment a King ascends the throne all extended kin must depart from within the palace walls a law forged in antiquity to stifle rebellion and conspiracy. And so, without a farewell befitting their shared memories, everyone was cast out. Even his aunt Lee Fan, her husband, and their daughter, Jo Ri. They were moved to a distant city, vanishing as though they had never existed at all.
Alone in the Palace
At first, De Lan felt a cold sense of triumph. He lay in the middle of the garden and smiled; all the toys were now his, the sweets were no longer shared with anyone, and the vast garden had become his private kingdom where he could run without being shadowed or having his solitude disturbed.
However, as the days turned into weeks, a chill began to seep into his heart. He would sit beneath their faverite tree, involuntarily waiting to hear a pesky hum or catch a glimpse of a shadow hiding behind the thickets but silence was the only reply. He felt a loneliness he had never known before, a strange emptiness echoing in the corners of the palace.
He tried to convince himself that he didn't care, that his life was better now that he was free from Jo Ri's constant shadowing and interference. But deep down, he began to realize that the palace which now belonged to him had suddenly grown too large, and far too desolate.
Or so he thought...