mindwomanjigrave
(The Witch's Cat)
-The Witch's Cat-
W. Seolha
Trigger Warning,
There are numerous scenes of violence and some graphic depictions of gore that some viewers may find offensive.
Please be careful.
The dream was in disarray.
Hongwol, drenched in cold sweat, opened her eyes and groaned as she sat up. Her vision, previously hazy from sleep, cleared, and she saw moonlight streaming in through the small window in her cell. Ah, this was a dream. It was a dream. The bent iron bars, the blood-stained stone floor of the prison, everything that entered her sight was familiar to Hongwol. She sighed deeply, leaned against the wall again, and closed her eyes. These were memories from her childhood. Memories she had tried so hard to forget. She wondered why they had come to her in her dreams, but she couldn't deny that it was nice to see faces she hadn't seen in a long time.
After a childhood dream she barely remembers, Hongwol would blankly gaze at the moon. Perhaps it was because the dream was set at night, or perhaps it was because the moonlight always shone through her eyes when she opened them, drenched in cold sweat. Hongwol weakly lifted herself from her position leaning against the prison wall. She longed for the moon. Each step, each step, as she approached the bars, was so precarious that anyone who witnessed her would have involuntarily held their breath at the sight. Gripping the bars, Hongwol gathered a crimson aura in her hands, and the bars, once bent by Jimin, easily warped. Hongwol stretched her foot beyond the bars. The security at dawn was so lax that Hongwol, having escaped without even using her own strength, walked on. The morning dew felt cold against her bare feet. Occasionally, when the palace guards would approach, claiming to be on patrol, all I had to do was silence their presence and hide in a corner. Sleepy eyes couldn't spot Hongwol, who was tucked away in the shadows. Even under the bright moonlight illuminating the path, Hongwol roamed freely. He walked wherever the moonlight led, wherever his steps took him.
Hongwol walked and walked. The palace he arrived at after such a aimless walk was strangely deserted. Built behind a tranquil lake, the palace was splendidly magnificent, but despite its splendid exterior, not a single person ventured near it, not even a tiny ant. The splendid villa, surrounded by a desolate bay, was a truly paradoxical sight, and no one could stop Hongwol from walking near the vast lake. Inside the palace, by the lake, right beside the lake where the cold air had turned white and floated above, stood a large willow tree. Standing in this bleak place, its leaves drooping, the atmosphere was utterly ominous, yet Hongwol found this palace quite appealing. The willow leaves swayed in the wind, casting eerie shadows. Hongwol stepped into the shadow, and sat down on a rock that had been hidden in the shadow. The view of the palace seen from under the willow tree was so pleasing to Hongwol that he quietly took in the palace. Was it an abandoned palace, or a forgotten palace? As the cool night air blew, a person who had not forgotten this palace approached him.
"Who is that?"
It wasn't just the night air that was chilly, Hongwol's body froze at the cool sensation on her neck. "Who are you?" a low voice rang out again. It was a voice both unfamiliar and familiar.
"If you don't reveal your identity, I will kill you."
I felt blood trickling down my long, cut neck. Why, not a single day goes by without blood. Blood seeped into my white robe, already soaked in blood. Unlike the man aiming for my throat, I didn't have a single sword. Feeling overwhelmed, Hongwol slowly turned around.
"...you,"
"...Well, I'm so sorry."
"Why are you here, you little bitch?"
The man's face, facing the red eyes revealed without filter in the dim moonlight, was distorted with a fierce expression, and Hongwol's words, which clearly had the intention of being sarcastic, were followed by a "dap-dap-". The man's voice, speaking in a cut-off, murderous tone, was so low that it seemed desperate. The gleaming eyes were dyed gold, and they began to swell with merciless anger towards Hongwol. It was a completely different appearance from the man at Walnutak, when he had grabbed the emperor's arm and cried out, "How can you be so cruel?" while shedding tears.
The prince, Taehyung, removed the knife from Hongwol's neck. He knew that using it to decapitate the witch would only result in defiling his own blade. Taehyung had personally witnessed the witch's head being cut off countless times. The sickening images of it growing back, then growing again, then again, then again, flashed through his mind. He felt sick, as if he was about to vomit.
"This is not a place for you to walk around carelessly. Get out now."
Despite the clear order to evacuate, Hongwol's steps remained steady, her long black hair fluttering in the night breeze. Her red eyes, like the blood-soaked red robe I wore, studied Taehyung. The feeling of those sharp eyes searching my body was so disgusting that Taehyung's face contorted into a pitiful grimace.
Hongwol burst out laughing. Ah, I'd been drawn to his gleaming golden eyes, but I'd thought he was the culprit, but he was a true maggot. Deep within those golden eyes, those rage-filled eyes, there was no way she couldn't sense a hint of emotion hidden within. It was definitely fear, a dread of him. His spines were raised, his voice crackling, threatening, like a hedgehog.
"I will step aside." Hongwol bowed deeply. Taehyung ground his teeth, feeling even that slow movement as a mockery directed at him. As Hongwol slowly passed Taehyung, the pungent scent of blood lingered in his nostrils. It was incomprehensible how someone who should have been imprisoned could be out and about, and it was also incredibly strange that a witch known for her cruelty could so meekly retreat. Taehyung followed Hongwol's retreating figure. At Taehyung's words, "Let's go," the man who had been guarding him from hiding revealed himself.
"...."
The man's gaze also lingered on Hongwol's back for a long time.
* * *
Hongwol, who had spent the rest of the night upright, awoke to a commotion outside the prison. "No!" Judging by the desperate cry of someone, the source of this commotion must be the Emperor, Hongwol thought, blinking slowly with red eyes. The prison door opened. The sudden blast of bright sunlight made Hongwol squint.
As soon as day broke, the Emperor, putting aside all other matters, headed straight for the prison where the witch was to be kept. "Your Majesty, why should you not attend the morning service and instead wander aimlessly? Leaving behind countless courtiers who had approached me, I finally entered the prison. A woman, seemingly just awakened from a deep sleep, frowned and stared at me.
"Get up,"
"...."
"I will give you a place to stay for two weeks."
Those crimson eyes widened. Perhaps it was because the unexpected words had spilled out. Hwang Ge's face was beaming with a smile, and Hongwol suspected he was teasing him. Needless to say, the ministers who had been following the Emperor, chanting countless times, "You must attend the morning service!" jumped in surprise. "How could such a lowly, treasonous criminal be granted a place to live?" The Emperor frowned at the raised voices.
"Now then, open the prison doors."
"Your Majesty! That man is a traitor who has disrupted the order of the nation and harmed Your Majesty's health! How can you give a place to such a man! That is unacceptable!"
"Open the door."
"Your Majesty, please understand!"
The gatekeeper who was guarding the door to the prison that held the witch also shook his head and stepped back. The emperor was very upset, and even though he told them three times to open the door, they did not move, so the emperor's hand went to his waist.
"Your liver must have swollen to the point of bursting."
"your majesty,"
"Is there anyone here who dares to disobey my command?"
A sharp sword pressed against the gatekeeper's chest, and red blood spurted everywhere. When the emperor pulled out the sword, a stream of blood flowed from the body that collapsed helplessly to the prison floor. "It's not that desperate, please understand!" Those who tried to dissuade the emperor shut their mouths tightly, as they knew their own lives were precious. The emperor, who was searching for the key on the gatekeeper's body, frowned. His brow furrowed at the sight of the sticky blood.
"Okay,"
Hongwol stood up and spoke. The Emperor, who had been rummaging through the gatekeeper's body, stopped. As his eyes, which had been searching for the bundle of keys, turned to Hongwol, Hongwol placed his hand on the iron bars again. The iron bars bent helplessly under the immense force, causing those who had been watching, holding their breath, to scream. Hongwol pulled himself out through the gap in the iron bars and faced the Emperor. "Go away," those words were so bold that a smile appeared on the Emperor's face once again.
"This palace is hardly fitting for a place to stay for only two weeks," Hongwol thought. The emperor strode ahead, and he followed, only to find himself halted in front of the Hwabin Hall. What emperor in the world would dare bestow his concubine's residence upon a traitor? Staring blankly at the emperor, bewildered, the smile on his face so repulsive that Hongwol sighed and said,
"No need."
"It will be necessary."
"If you just take one corner of the room, it's overflowing."
“It’s a palace that’s left over, so think of it as a small room and live there.”
"I'd rather live in prison."
"I don't like that,"
“I can’t keep going in and out of that dirty prison just to have a talk with you,” said the emperor.
"Behave yourself."
"...."
"It's only been two weeks-,"
Hongwol sighed. Feeling the reproaches and resentful glances directed at him, something he dared not send to his lord, Hongwol trudged along.
"Hwabindang (化彬堂), a palace where flowers shine, has a master who doesn't live up to its name," Hongwol muttered. The blood-soaked, sticky robes that clung to her body had long since been replaced with exquisite silk, and her unwashed, tattered exterior had shed its husks and become clean, thanks to the hands of the palace maids. It wasn't familiar. Perhaps she never would. Where could someone called a witch receive such honorable treatment? Who would bestow such a palace upon someone labeled a traitor?
"Yes, if you're going to stay here, you'll need a maid too."
"Okay."
"Send the palace maid to Hwabindang."
When Hongwol remembered the emperor who had not even listened to her words, a sigh escaped her lips. Looking at the young court lady standing motionless in her quarters with her head bowed, her sigh grew even deeper. When Hongwol said, “You should go now,” the court lady bowed and quickly closed the door behind her quarters as she left. Hongwol could not help but notice the contempt in her eyes, and as the malice pouring down on her subsided, she felt a relief. Although Hongwol was treated as a distinguished guest by the emperor’s orders, the gazes of the court ladies were not those of one who served her master. There was nothing he could do about the overflowing malice, and ever since he set foot in this Hwabindang, Hongwol had been forced to endure such gazes.
The young court lady left Hongwol's quarters, biting her lip as she walked. Anger welling up within her, her steps through the corridors of Hwabindang were incredibly loud, thump, thump. The young girl's eyes brimmed with an indescribable murderous intent. In an instant, she had become her master. The grief and resentment were indescribable, and tears welled up in the young court lady's eyes.
For a witch, she had a beautiful appearance. After washing off her grimy appearance from rolling around on the dirty floor of the prison, she looked almost human. She took off her blood-soaked robe and dressed her in silk robes bestowed upon her by His Majesty the Emperor himself, and fixed her long, jet-black hair. Her appearance was so splendid that no one dared call her a "witch" upon seeing Hongwol. It was clear she was possessed by an evil spirit. Even her crimson eyes, so often pointed at, seemed mysterious, perhaps because her witch appearance was that of a young and beautiful girl.
But the witch was just a witch. Outwardly beautiful, but inside, as black as overflowing ink, the crimson moon was nothing more than a scentless flower. The young court lady's pace gradually quickened. Clutching a scrap of paper from the bosom of her jacket, she began to sprint. A long figure leaning against the wall of Suwoldang (垂月堂) caught her eye.
"Your Majesty!"
As the young court lady cried out in a small voice, the man who had been leaning against the wall rose up. His entire face was covered with a mask, leaving only his eyes exposed. Nevertheless, the young court lady ran towards the man in one stride. “Your Majesty, why have you called me?” the man put his index finger near her lips and handed her a piece of paper. The young court lady, relying on the dim moonlight, quickly read what was written on the paper.
"Have you read it all?"
"Yes, sir."
A blue aura flickered from the man's hand, instantly burning the scrap of paper the court lady was holding. The court lady, who had been mesmerized by the sight, accepted the pouch he offered and quickly hid it in her bosom. With a low voice, "I believe you'll do well," the man disappeared. The court lady, left alone beneath the wall, hurriedly quickened her pace. Her sprinting was headed toward Hwabindang.