Chaeyeong, be good
Description
“Do you see that girl over there?” the mother pointed to the young lady standing on the platform. Her once smooth, silky black hair had lost its luster. The mother would’ve been envious of the girl’s pale and unblemished skin, yet now it was a sickly yellow. But even more so, the mother would have been envious of the splendid silks that hung over her bodice. Such luxuries were beyond the proletariat’s wildest dreams.
“Yes, Mom,” the young boy said. The long months the girl had spent rotting away had taken their toll on her complexion, her youth, and her splendor. Yet everyone watched the girl slowly make her way to the center.
“She may have a nice face, but she’s a cold blooded killer. You better avoid people like her in the future,” the mother said, turning her son away from La Guillotine. He nodded, lost in innocence and ignorance.
It wasn’t a place for children, yet many were brought there anyways. Taehyung wished that he could trade places with the young boy, wished he could remain in the naïve phase of his childhood. Oh, what he would trade to be young again!
Foreword
Author's note:
I believe it's important to have some background about the era that this fic is being written in, as there are quite a bit of underlying messages in the plot. That being said, you just need to know a few basic ideas which'll briefly be described here.
Chaeyeong and Taehyung live during the French Revolution, a time of regime change. Poor workers were angered that the aristocracy held all the power in government affairs and wanted to see change in the crumbling economy. They were heavily taxed because King Louis XVI splurged all the government funds on unnecessary luxuries. Most of these peasants were small farmers who owned little land and were barely able to pay for their daily bread.
The Jacobins (an extremely influential political group) harnessed the working class's anger to initiate the Reign of Terror (1793-1794). It was a dark time for not only the aristocracy, but everyone in France. Any suspected of going against the revolution was subjected to death by the guillotine. An estimated 40,000 people died from accusations without a trial. Although mainly the rich were targeted, the peasants couldn't escape if someone called them out.
Taehyung's beliefs align with the Jacobins; he strongly believed that the monarchy had run its course and that it was time for change. He does not, however, realize the injustices or the extent of the violence prevalent in France. He just knows what he sees. As a young boy, he'd learned the harshness of living in a working class family. While the King enjoyed an extravagant life consuming money like air, Taehyung's family lived off scraps of moldy bread and could only afford to focus on surviving till tomorrow. Now twenty, Taehyung joins the political group and gets assigned to watching the prisons and directing executions.
Chaeyeong never chose the life of an aristocrat, but she'd been adopted by a stepfather who managed the economic affairs of France. He'd been close friends with the King and was promptly given the position once he reached adulthood. He was one of the first to die by the guillotine, even before the King himself.
The story will be written in three part installments in the third person point of view.
Note two: Hello hello! I've decided to challenge myself with this fic:D This story will be entered into a 10k/20k Word Writing Contest: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1125311/word-count-writing-contest-writingcontest
Special thanks to Bassbot Garphics Shop for another amazing poster and background! Go check out her shop:D
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