A/N:

Trigger warning for depiction of domestic abuse, please read with caution.

The dream was different this time. 

Instead, it was a memory.

The floor was cold as it made contact with her cheek. It was a position Chaeyeon knew all too well. Even if she had the courage to get up again, even if she wanted to be a petulant child just to annoy her father, the stinging of her cheek was still burning her skin. Like a brand to remind her to not be foolish, especially not when her father is in one of his moods. 

Chaeyeon didn’t even have her brother to intervene this time. Seoho was out having his sword-fighting practice and won’t be back until late before dinner. There was nothing to come between her father’s wrath and her this time.

Chaeyeon was fourteen when she once again learned how unfair her father could be as he scolded her father for something petty. For venturing out of the palace to roam the nearby village. The smell of freshly baked bread had called to her senses and Chaeyeon ran there to buy it with the money she had managed to stash away. The princess thought to buy ithe baked goods and share it with her family, her father especially, thinking how he might have appreciated it. Instead, she was scolded for it.

“You are a princess, you should have demanded the bread instead of buying it!!” He yells, throwing the bread to the corner of the room, making Chaeyeon gasp in surprise. “And how dare you leave the palace on your own?!”

“I-I wasn’t alone, I went with Hitomi...”

Her father’s eyes squinted. “Who?”

“My maid, Hitomi...”

That’s when the slap came down, making thundering contact with her cheek. “How many times do I have to tell you, they’re your servants! Not your friend!!”

Chaeyeon remembers what happened afterwards, but instead of reliving it, the images changed and warped. This time to something that’s more akin to her other dreams, those she never remembers experiencing.

It was that boy again. She knew it was about him just like all her other dreams.

Chaeyeon has never seen his face in her dreams before. Only shadows, warmth, and a kind presence. Not like this. A face came into view. Still, it was hard to see him. Her tears made her eyes glassy and blurry. The only thing she can actually see is his eyes. Those kind eyes.

“You’re hurt again, Your Highness.” There was anger hidden behind the words that Chaeyeon felt rattling her bones.

Chaeyeon shakes her head. “I fell,” she lies, the words so easy and rehearsed.

“I don't think you did.” His voice was calming but strong, like a blanket of safety. Chaeyeon felt her heart longing for him, even if she didn’t know who this person was, or if he even existed. “...Run away with me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll keep you safe from your father.”

“How?” Her sobs became louder.

“Take this ring, I––”

The dream ends abruptly as Chaeyeon’s eyes shoot open. The bright light coming from the open window shined right at her eyes. She strained to look at the shadow of a figure standing beside it. Sakura.

Her lady’s maid smiled warmly at her. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

Chaeyeon could only groan in response.

Her dreams had taken whatever restful sleep she could have had. Instead, it left her tired and weary. It was almost unheard of for her to wake up so late, to have been woken by Sakura. Usually by the time Sakura and the other lady’s maids came, Chaeyeon would already be fully dressed and waiting in the sitting room next door, contemplating another day of her lonely, married life, in a kingdom that cared little for her, maybe one that still sees her as an enemy for her father’s crimes. Chaeyeon could not blame them.

But things had changed, didn’t it?

For it was only yesterday that Chaeyeon spent her time with the enigmatic Queen. Alone, together, nonetheless. The whole interaction was tentative and awkward, but somewhat pleasant all the same. Chaeyeon could not stop thinking of the Queen at all even after parting ways, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the feeling was mutual. But truly, she knew she was only hoping for something impossible.

“Shall I help you dress for the day, Your Highness?”

Chaeyeon banishes her thoughts and starts to get up from the bed. She nods. “Yes, thank you.” She moves to walk behind the folding screens in the corner of the room.

As Sakura helped her change into today’s dress, Chaeyeon’s mind wanders again. She would think it wasn't real, the dream, that is. That’s what it was supposed to be. Dreams were only meant to be figments of her wild imagination and not a memory.

For some unknown reason it felt real, so real, even if the scenes were something she could not remember. It wasn’t something Chaeyeon was aware of having happened in the past. But as she looks at the mirror in front of her, she focuses on something.

The ring. 

She knows her dream was real. Because there was a ring hanging on a chain around her neck, something she hid from her father for the longest time, not even knowing when or why. It was the same exact ring as the one from her dream.

Of course, the thought that she only made up the dream was possible. And she was more willing to believe this reason than any other. But alas, Chaeyeon doesn’t know what to make of it, not when it felt so undeniably real.

“There,” Sakura says, satisfied, smoothing down the last creases on her dress before taking a step back.

“Thank you, Sakura,” Chaeyeon says with a smile. As she sees Sakura about to ask the question that she asks every morning, Chaeyeon beats her to the thought. “I’ll have my breakfast in the garden today, if you don’t mind.”

Sakura purses her lips, making Chaeyeon curious as to why. “Actually, Your highness, the Queen has requested your presence to have breakfast in the dining hall.” 

“She did?” There was absolutely no masking her surprise, her eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat, her voice carried. Chaeyeon knew that Eunbi would always eat alone for every meal. Not