She closed the door slowly, curled up in her bed, smiling to herself, she felt fluttery inside and didn't know why.
Unable to sleep, Eiden carefully made his way outside and sat on the ground. The lit lanterns weren't the only luminated body, the moon shone really bright, basking the garden with its warm glow.
As he took in the scenery, he sighed into the cold air. He couldn't sleep, his mind kept trailing off, thinking about his mum. Was she Looking for him right now? She must be so worried and lonely.
Eiden tried to think of a way to get back home but nothing made real sense. He missed his mum.
"Eiden?" He looked behind to find DoHyun, his expression softened.
She was covered with floral embroidered sheets, probably because of the cold outside.
She sat beside him.
"Did I wake you?" He asked, his voice low and gentle
She shook her head in response.
"I couldn't sleep" he sighed
Adjusting the sheets she held tightly for warmth, she voiced "I think I get it, Gabbie said earlier that you guys are some of the rescued refugees. You must miss your home" she said
He paused before mumbling "yeah…", he already imagined a scenario where he would explain to her that he's not from this time and it didn't end quite well…. For now they'll just pretend to be refugees.
"What about your family?" She asked. Her question forced Eiden to remember his mother and how lonely she must be without him.
He casted his gaze downward and sighed "my…mum and I got separated, same with the others". It was practically the truth, at least he didn't feel like he was lying to her.
The inflicted look on his face made her drop the rest of her questions about him, she place her hand gently on his "it'll be okay" she assured and retrieved her hand.
There was a lengthy silence between the two. The serenity of the garden was soothing plus the cool breeze blowing with a hint of rainfall and the distant chirping of birds.
"You know," she started, "my name isn't really Chinese, my parents were diversity interested and gave me a foreign name instead"
Eiden watched her calm face from the side, she was truly a beauty. "Were?" he asked
"They're dead now, because of me". He watched her body tense up, her voice barely above a whisper. she was reminiscing about the day her parents were killed in front of her.
Eiden's eyes widened, he was reluctant but asked anyways, "do…..you wanna talk about it?" He asked
She shrugged "I don't have a choice really, it's connected to everything, I as a flower maiden and the garden too".
Exhaling, she braced herself, preparing to tell one of the ugliest stories of Jingwu.
"Every now and then, a girl child is born with a seed. The seed tells the kind of flower maiden she's supposed to be",
DoHyun pulled the sheets covering her neck and exposed a small peach colored diamond on her neck.
Eiden stared wide eyed at it, he hadn't noticed anything there before.
She continued, "I'm a peach blossom. We all possess our seeds on different parts of our bodies" like her Jie for example had her orchid seed on her left thigh.
"The imperial family owns the night bloom garden and commands that all flower maidens should be cared for here and nowhere else".
"When my family discovered I was born a flower maiden, they hid me, I was cast out from the entire world in order to keep the secret and I safe but when the imperial family found out, they burned them alive and brought me here to spend the rest of my days".
Eiden didn't hold back his disappointed look, "what right did they have to do that?" He asked
She smiled wearily "every right. Some who don't know assume life as a flower maiden to be the best but it's not. Our true nature is being a Kisaeng"
"A Kisaeng?" Eiden repeated her words
"Kisaeng, a tool for pleasure alone, trained for the sole purpose of serving and fulfilling the desires of men. We have no destiny, no life, our happiness lies in those whom we serve"
Eiden felt a clutch in his heart as he watched her speak, she was clearly hurting on the inside but he didn't know what to do except watch.
No wonder her parents tried to hide her, who would want such a life for their daughter. "That's not fair, you're human too, you deserve a life of your own"
"Kisaengs cannot make decisions, we simply serve, we're a gift from the goddess" she said
Eiden objected "the goddess must be unfair then"
"She knows what's best for her people, she cares for us….but that doesn't mean I'll accept the fate she has bestowed on me". She said with a changed facial appearance.
Eiden stared at her determined expression, she definitely had something planned. "You want to escape?" He asked in a whisper
She looked up at the moon "not just escape Eiden, I'm going to rewrite my destiny and chase my dream"
"Which is?" He inquired
"I'm…going to be a warrior" she responded with a smile
Her response threw him speechless, "a warrior?" He said again
She chuckled "Sounds impossible doesn't it?, I know I was given my gift for a reason, I can't just sit here and waste it. I'll find my purpose"
"You sound like you've got a plan already" said Eiden, he just discovered she wasn't as delicate as he thought. She wants to change her fate as a courtesan, she'll need all the courage she can get.
"Yes and I need to get out of here before…" her smile turned to a frown, a sad frown "before my coming of age ceremony"
"Huh?" Her sudden change of mood was surprising
"At the age of eighteen, a flower maiden blooms and I'm turning eighteen very soon. I'll be tied here forever if I bloom so I have to get out soon"
DoHyun was deterred, she refuses to settle for the fate as lowly as a Kisaeng. She was often advised by other maidens to accept her life there but she had long decided to escape and if she can't do it peacefully, she'll just have to expose her powers.