This chapter will just help build the plot, so it won’t be overly exciting. The next chapter will sort of be the start of everything (and all of the excitement!), so please bear with me until then. I have high expectations for this fanfic, so it should be really good, I hope. ^^ Please enjoy!! ^^p

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Sandeul sat cross-legged in the middle of his small family garden. Sighing, he ran his hands through the soft blades of grass, throwing his head back to feel the rays of sun softly caress his face. He closed his eyes in complete bliss, falling back against the hard Earth. Lying still as a rock with his body pressed firmly to the ground, he could almost feel the humming vibrations of the life underneath him. “Sandeul!” He heard his mother call from inside their cramped little cottage. He blew a breath of defiance from between his lips, yearning to stay nestled among the lush foliage forever. His mother called his name once more, and then he reluctantly stood up from the ground and dusted his hands off on the seat of his coarse tweed trousers. “Coming!” Sandeul shouted as he sprinted towards his mother, who was standing in the doorframe of the cottage with her hands on her hips. “Where have you been? You know you have chores to do,” she said as he approached her. “I’m sorry mother,” he frowned, clasping his hands behind his back. “Ah, well, it’s fine, but you still have chores to do, so hurry off!” she chuckled and slapped him lightly on the to usher him inside. “Mum!” he groaned. “Go! Hurry! If you finish quickly, then I will give you one shilling to go to town with.” He gasped in delight. “Really?!” he shrieked as he scurried off to complete his chores. Exactly one hour later, Sandeul seized a single shilling from his mother and bounded out the door.

Half an hour later, Sandeul reached the small village, skipping joyfully down the rutted cobblestone street. He was animated with excitement. It had been nearly a year since Sandeul had been allowed any money to himself. He lived in a rather poor family, so there was very little money to spare for pleasure. Sandeul slowed his pace as he neared the village bakery.

“Greetings Sandeul! How are you today?” an old lady behind the counter greeted gleefully as he walked into the bakery, allowing the door to bang shut behind him. “I’m great! How are you, Miss Abell?” Miss Abell flashed a sweet smile before gesturing that Sandeul come closer. He rushed over to her immediately. When Sandeul was right beside her, leaning across the counter anxiously, she glanced from side to side before leaning close to his ear and cupping her hands over . “Did you hear that the prince will come to town today? He’s coming in honor of his father.” Miss Abell said excitedly. Sandeul furrowed his eyebrows. “What is he coming for?” Miss Abell answered enthusiastically, “It’s a royal meeting he’s coming to! It should solve some political, economical, religious, and poverty related problems in our village.” She said, ticking off the benefits on her fingers. Sandeul grinned widely at this. “Oh! That’s great! Maybe something will finally change for me and my family. Maybe we will finally have good food and just enough money!” Miss Abell seemed to grow glum. “I hope so, Sandeul. I hope so.” Sandeul cocked his head in confusion, but suddenly Miss Abell seemed to perk up. “Oh, Sandeul! Your mother’s birthday is soon, isn’t it?” He nodded, and she continued. “Here. You give this to your mother, okay?” Miss Abell reached into her apron and pulled out a small bundle, handing it to Sandeul. “It’s not much, but I thought your mother might enjoy some of this homemade sweetbread. His eyes lit up. “Oh, thank you Miss Abell! That’s perfect!” he thanked her, gripping her frail hands in his. “Oh, you’re welcome, dear Sandeul.” As Sandeul darted out the door, he yelled behind him, “Have a nice day, Miss Abell!”

It wasn’t long before Sandeul reached the market. He browsed for nearly an hour, weaving in and out of the inflated crowd of people as he attempted to find his mother the perfect gift. Just when he was about to give up his fruitless search, he noticed a silver gleam out of the corner of his eye. When he turned towards the object emitting such a bright light, he immediately perked up. The object was a short silver necklace with a colorful rock charm on the end. He was instantaneously drawn to it. He could tell that it was made of real, true silver, but the rock didn’t look real. It was probably just costume jewelry, which was good since that meant it would cost much less money. Sandeul was completely entranced by the gorgeous ornament. He’d never seen anything so lovely. It was just perfect for his mother, in all her poverty-stricken elegance. “Excuse me. How much is this necklace?” Sandeul addressed the lady at the stand, holding up the necklace. “Oh, that’s two shillings,” she responded, deflating Sandeul until he was akin to a popped balloon. “I only have one shilling. Can I just buy it for that? Maybe I can pay you the one shilling now, and I can bring another later.” The lady shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that. It’s two shillings, nothing less.” Sandeul stared pleadingly at her. “Please! It’s my mother’s birthday. I have to buy her something!” The lady sighed in exasperation. “Why don’t you just get her something for less money?” She made a good point, but Sandeul knew that he would never find anything else for his mother that would satisfy him. “I’m sorry, young man. I need to make a living, though, you know?” Sandeul nodded to the lady and began to walk away, but suddenly had an idea. He swiftly turned around and cleared his throat loudly. “Ma’am, I noticed that you had dropped something underneath your stand,” Sandeul told the lady. “Really? What was it?” she asked, examining the area around her stand. “Oh. It’s right there, at the back of your stand,” Sandeul told her, pointing. As soon as she turned around, he snatched the necklace off the table and quickly hid it in the folds of his shirt. Before the lady could realize that there was nothing dropped under her stand, Sandeul sped off. As he darted towards the exit, he could faintly hear a woman’s voice shouting, “There! That boy, he stole it!” Sandeul began to panic, picking up the pace as he rounded corner after corner towards home.

Sandeul sat in the floor, reading the one book that he possessed. He had managed to make it home a few hours ago without event. Thankfully, no one knew where he lived. It might be a small village, but Sandeul and his nother kept to themselves, for the most part. Therefore, very few people actually knew who they were.

Sandeul nearly leaped out of his skin as he heard a strident banging at the front door. He tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity, picking himself up from the floor to peak out the window. A man of about 40 years of age stood on his doorstep, dressed sharply in fancy clothing the color of the sea. Sandeul stared inquisitively. That man was dressed in the clothing of the royal court. Suddenly, Sandeul realized why this man was here. Sandeul had committed a crime, and the man was here to convict him! He was sure that was the reason. Sandeul began to breathe heavily, clutching his chest as his eyes darted around the small room. There was nowhere to hide! He tried to calm himself. Maybe that wasn’t the reason. He should just open the door and innocently ask the man what he wanted. I mean, there was no way that anyone could know who he was and where he lived. Taking a deep breath, Sandeul approached the door gradually. He gripped the doorknob, and began turning it inch by inch. As soon as the door opened a crack, the man on the other side forced his way in, pinning Sandeul against the wall and calling out the door. Immediately, dozens of officials poured into the small cottage and grouped around the door. Meanwhile, Sandeul was going into shock as an alarming number of people gathered, shouting and causing a riot. He struggled to free himself from the man’s grasp, screeching and thrashing about as two large men grabbed him, while the other man let him go and walked a few feet away. Sandeul spit vehemently at the fancy man, kicking and punching irately at the men holding him back.

"LET ME GO!" Sandeul shrieked as his hands were tied behind his back. He jerked around in the clutch of the burley men.  At the same time, his mother ran into the crowd, shouting at the men to let her son go. “What’s going on here?! I demand to know!”  "Mum! Mum!" Sandeul sobbed as he was dragged away. "Sandeul!" she screamed, attempting to get at him through the crowd, only to be held back by yet another large man. "Sandeul! No! Let him go, please let him go!" she pleaded. One man calmly stepped up, straightening his royal blue waistcoat and clearing his throat. "Miss Lee. Your son, Junghwan Lee, has committed the unforgivable crime of larceny. For this, he will be executed immediately." He said this in such a composed way that Sandeul's mother couldn't quite comprehend it. She stared dumbfounded at the man. "W-what?" she managed to choke out. "Junghwan must go to the guillotine today. We do not tolerate thievery. I am very sorry Miss Lee. There is simply nothing to be done." With that, the man spun on his heel and began to walk away. "Wait! Stop!" Miss Lee ran up to him, tugging on his arm. "Please, sir. Isn't there anything that you can do?" The man coldly shrugged her off. "Good day." With that, he strode off, taking the desperate mother's sweet little boy with him. Miss Lee was left to drop to her knees in defeat, weeping and furiously banging her fists against the ground. She gripped the sides of her head and shrieked dementedly. "Sandeul!" she screamed at the sky. Far off, she could hear Sandeul screaming, "Mum!" Miss Lee cried harder at this, knowing there was nothing she could do. She slumped onto the ground for several minutes, until she was able to formulate a plan. Determination and resolve overtaking her, she rapidly stood up and wiped away her tears. Then, she made a mad dash in the direction that Sandeul was taken.