It was a cool July morning in the year 2015 when Go Hajin awoke thinking nothing was ever going to change. Her fiance had left her for her best friend, leaving her with nothing but a pile of debt, a broken heart, and massive trust issues.

“Your life won't change simply because you wish it,” Professor Choi had told her sadly a week before.

“I want to forget everything,” she had cried, burying her head in her arms. “How did my life turn out like this?”

The professor sloshed his drink around in thoughtful silence. “You need a break. Tell you what… my friend and I are going on a trip next week to study a newly dug up historical site. Why don't you come with? Fresh air and a change of scenery might do you some good.”

Staring out at the ruins of Cheondeokjeon palace, Hajin was glad she agreed. While the professor and his friend went underground to the royal catacombs, she opted to roam the grounds above.

The complex was huge, the grounds full of overgrown grass, wild flowers, creeping ivory and the sound of birds. Abandoned rooms, with gaping doors and smashed-in windows, surrounded her on every side. Despite how derelict the place looked, Hajin found it beautiful. The mystery of the lives lived and lost within these grounds made her feel insignificant… and in her insignificance, she forgot her problems.

Remembering all the things the professor had told her of the history of Goryeo, Hajin stepped out of the complex, and the sight that greeted her immediately took her breath away.

Early morning sunlight glinted off the large lake’s surface, making it shine like diamonds. The lotus flowers were in full bloom for the summer and the majestic willows dipping their boughs into the water provided much-needed sanctuary.

She saw a strange, solitary figure standing on the banks across from her. She watched him for a while, wondering who he was and what he was doing, but then the man turned and sunlight glinted brightly off something he held in his hand, causing her to blink. When next she opened her eyes, the man had gone.

Shrugging, Hajin slipped off her pack and shoes and slowly waded into the water.

It was a cool July morning in the year 2015 when Hajin awoke thinking nothing was ever going to change. It was in that same morning when everything did.

The lake, which had been bright only seconds before, had started to dull. Reflected clearly on its surface, the solar eclipse progressed slowly. Fascinated, Hajin took one step closer, then another. She wanted to reach it. Touch it. She waded farther and farther in, the water reaching up to her thighs, soaking her dress. She didn’t mind. She had spare clothes in her pack.

One more step and she would be standing at the very center of the dark moon. One more step and the light of the sun would disappear completely.

One more step and she found herself endlessly sinking to the bottom of the lake.

Frantically, she swam upwards. She reached around her for something, anything to hold onto, but despite being constantly buffeted by things unknown, there was nothing. The dark waters closed in, the loud buzz in her ears grew louder and louder until she could no longer hear the professor’s voice, calling out her name.

“Hajin-shi! Go Hajin-shi!” The voices grew distant with every passing second.

Am I dying? Hajin had to try harder. She had to swim higher. I’m here. Help me. Someone. Anyone.

Her lungs aflame, she looked up in desperation and saw the total eclipse right above her. She stared at the halo, bright and distorted and radiating. She saw the precise moment the moon moved again, inching past the blinding sun.

She was grateful she would at least die looking at the light.

And then, just when the buzzing was at its loudest, just when her lungs were about to give in, everything stopped. The force weighing her down let her go, her senses met with absolute silence and stillness, and her floating hand brushed against a hard surface. She grabbed it and pulled herself up, higher and higher until she finally met air.

Her first instinct was to inhale as deeply as she could, and in her haste, she swallowed a mouthful of water and ended up in coughing fits. She brushed her tears and crawled back towards the shallows. The air suddenly seemed much cooler than it had been earlier, and though she was sure she had seen the eclipse ending, her surroundings remained dark. Chilled to the bone, she got to her feet and ran to the banks of the lake, finding to her dismay that her pack and shoes were nowhere to be found.

“Professor!” she yelled into the gloom. Hugging her arms, she stepped off the mud and onto dry ground. The tiny pebbles crunching beneath her feet hurt, and her teeth were starting to chatter. She took one last look at the lake, felt gooseflesh ripple across her skin at the sight of its dark waters, and ran for it. “Professor!”

A pair of hands grabbed her and forced her down. She was dragged underneath a bush, where she screamed and struggled in panic, but the man was strong and the hand he kept over was sufficient to muffle her breath. Her frightened eyes met his sharp ones, and that was when she realized that half of his face was covered in a dark mask.

“Silence,” he ordered, voice low and deadly, “if you wish to live.”

Tears blinded her, but they didn’t stop her from fighting. The professor and his team would be nearby… she just had to find them. She would be safe with them. She wasn’t going to die like this. She was going to fight for her life, freedom and dignity.

“I told you to stop moving!” he hissed. He moved to restrain her further, but before he could, another man appeared from out of nowhere, forcing him to let her go.

Relieved, she scrambled to regain her footing just in time to see the masked man slash at the newcomer, who immediately crumpled to the ground, where he lay twitching.

Oddly enough, seeing the dark liquid seeping steadily onto the ground helped to calm her down. The masked man turned to face her then, anger on his face, and she held up her hands in surrender.

“I’m not part of the cast,” she said at once, breathing heavily. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea people were filming here, there were no warning signs. I’ll leave now and-”

She yelped when he grabbed her by the throat. “Who are you?” he asked, looking her up and down.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Angry, she tried to push the man away with all the strength she could muster, but he barely moved an inch. “I demand to speak to whoever is in charge. Where’s the rest of the team? I’m sure they’re nearby, I’ve worked with actors before. Hello? Director-nim? Writer-nim? Hel-”

She lost all of her breath when he shoved her against a tree. “Are you a spy?” he asked, confusion written all over his face. He had never seen such a strangely dressed woman before. He knew the words she was saying but he had trouble understanding her. “Who do you work for? Whose side are you on?”

“I…” she wheezed, feeling dazed, “have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He closed what little distance separated them with a single step. “Do you work for His Majesty, the 3rd Emperor of Goryeo? Are you one of his concubines?”

Anger blazed in her eyes. “Do I look like a damn concubine?”

“Then who are you? What are you doing here?” he demanded. “Speak quickly!”

“I’m a tourist! I fell into the lake and almost drowned. Now will you please take your hands off me?!” she shoved him hard, away from her, not really expecting to be released, but she was surprised when he let go.

She was even more surprised when she saw why. Another man had appeared. This one was regally dressed in a suit of armor, his hair tied high up, above his head, and in his outstretched hand was a sword aimed right at her attacker’s heart.

“Hello, brother,” her attacker greeted, turning slowly around to face the other man. “What brings you all the way out here on this fine evening?”

“So, surrender and come in quietly. I can help you. I can make sure you are pardoned from what you did today.”

The man named So laughed, but it was not a pleasant sound. “You mean rescuing our tenth brother and his wife from certain death, after they were unjustly accused of treason? I knew you were ambitious, Wook, but I never expected you would sell your brother out for a chance at power.”

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is,” Wook murmured through clenched teeth. “Come in quietly with the rest of our brothers, or I’ll have to force you.”

Hajin was surprised when So took a step forward and grasped his brother’s sword. “Will you?”

The air was suddenly filled with shouts and the sound of stampeding feet. The darkness around them erupted as several more armed men arrived at the scene, each sword aimed at So.

The sound of taut strings being pulled alerted Hajin to the archers on the roofs. She stared at the scene before her in wonder, wondering who this So was and why they needed this many militia and archers to subdue him. Then she shook her head and remembered none of this was real. They were shooting a film, or possibly deep in rehearsal. She had to leave quickly before she got into more trouble.

She tried to slip quietly away. Her little movement started everything.

In a whirl of black and metal, the fighting commenced. Hajin found herself being shoved to the ground, one arrow grazing her forearm, a second one striking the ground inches away from her bare ankle. She eyed the stinging gash on her skin in momentary disbelief before she came to her senses and started running.

Though she couldn’t understand how or why, her befuddled brain came to the realization that none of it was an act. It was all real.

She ran for dear life. She ran ignoring the sharp pains on the soles of her feet. She ran past neat rows of hedges and trees. She ran no longer caring why her surroundings only grew darker the longer time passed, until she could barely see where she was going. She had to get back to the palace ruins. She had to hope they were still there.

Please. Please. Somebody help me. Somebody find me.

She reached the derelict complex and ran in, taking a moment to catch her breath. But peace would continue to elude her. Lights suddenly flickered from within the surrounding rooms and she saw to her surprise that the windows no longer had any holes in them; the doors were closed and neatly lined; the path held no traces of the long grass, flowers and vines she had seen only minutes before.

Heart in , she tried to swallow her panic, but it was difficult. What had appeared to be a deserted historical site mere minutes ago now looked like a newly furbished building, complete with blazing braziers. The dark wood of the building gleamed in the candlelight, and when she saw a shadow move in one of the rooms, she instinctively backed away behind a wall.

She took a moment to assess her situation, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t for the life of her understand what was happening. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she brushed it away. She had to find her companions first… they would know what to do.

She turned and bumped into someone she had never expected to see again: not here, miles away from modern civilization… not when the last time they spoke, she had cursed him and her best friend and cried bitter tears as she watched them leave.

“Jiwon-ah,” she breathed.

“What’s this?” the man also had a sword strapped to his waist. He rested a hand on its hilt but made no move to unsheath it. “A gisaeng here? How the mighty Damiwon has fallen.”

She was confused, but so relieved to see a familiar face that she instinctively took a step closer, not pausing to consider his words. “Jiwon-ah, what's happening? What are you doing here? Who are all those people?”

He let her come to him. His eyes took in the sight of her bare skin, milky white even in the dark evening. He had never seen such a hanbok in all his life, but he liked it. He liked the woman wearing it. She had long, dark hair, big, trusting eyes, and full, pink lips. His eyes landed on the graze on her forearm, and his hand reached out without invitation to touch it. It was a fresh wound. Blood trickled out of it at the barest of squeezes.

She gasped and tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. She looked into his dark eyes in confusion; her fear made her body tingle in alarm.

Though he looked like her ex-boyfriend, Hajin realized belatedly he wasn't him. Her ex had been cruel and foolish, but the sinister feeling she got from this man was something else entirely.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

She yelped when he pulled her roughly towards him. His free hand lifted her chin up, and her feeling of unease grew.

“Let go of me. Let go of me at once!”

“A mere court lady dares to command a prince?” his slow hiss entered her ears like poison. “I should cut off your tongue.” He flushed her body with his.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice steady as she struggled. She could feel his manhood pressing itself uncomfortably against her.

“Fortunately for you, the ninth prince of Goryeo is merciful. Earn my favor tonight, and I'll even make you my woman.” Without warning, he claimed her lips in a savage kiss. She screamed and fought to break free, but he was strong. He was rough. Her lips immediately started to bruise. Many times she tried to speak, but he wouldn't let her. It seemed the harder she struggled, the more fervent his desire.

When he brought her down to the ground, she saw her chance. She d around her and felt a chunk of stone come loose in her fingers. Snatching it up, she banged it hard against his head, forcing him to yell and roll away.

“You wench! You dare to attack a prince?” he spat in anger, blood dripping from the open wound. “There is no escape for you now. Today, you die.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She threw the jagged stone at him and ran again. If this man was a prince, then that meant the palace was unsafe for her. There was an army fighting by the lake, so that was off-limits too.

The sound of his footsteps closing in spurred her on.

She had no other options. She prayed to the heavens for the forest to be kinder. She took one final breath and broke through the first line of trees, plunging into the deep darkness.