Crimson Petals ambw ( 18+)

8•

The early morning sunlight greeted through the windows, casting a warm tickle of warmth over the prince's study. Sena stood before Wonyu, hands clasped neatly in front of her as she ran through the day's language lesson.

"Repeat after me - 'The gilded phoenixes took flight at dawn,'" she enunciated carefully.

Wonyu furrowed his brow in concentration, struggling slightly with the lyrical phrasing. "The...gill-ded...furn-icks...took..."

Sena lifted a hand. "No, no, Your Highness. Curl your tongue here." She demonstrated the correct pronunciation. "Phoe-nix-es. Let us try again from the beginning."

As she was guiding him through the line once more, the study door slid open without preamble. A shimmer of silk preceded the entrance of a strikingly beautiful young woman. Her painted lips curved in a demure smile as she swept into the room.

Before she could even open her mouth, Sena was already moving towards the door. With one fluid motion, she slid it shut again, cutting off the unwelcome interruption.

Turning back towards the young Prince she sighed. "Shall we continue, Your Highness?"

Wonyu blinked for a moment before regaining his composure, cheeks flushing slightly. "Y-Yes, of course, Master Sena."

From the other side of the door, the young woman's muffled tones could be heard, incredulous. "How dare she--"

But Sena paid the words no mind, refocusing on the language lesson with sharp efficiency. "Very good. Now from the beginning once more..."

Sena continued guiding Prince Wonyu through the linguistic intricacies of the court poetry, rather quickly.

The young prince, fidgeted in his seat before blurting out an oddly pensive question.

"Master Sena, do dreams mean anything? Or are they just imaginary?" He asked while playing with the sleeve of his robe.

Caught slightly off-guard, Sena paused, considering her response carefully. "While dreams themselves may be products of our unconscious minds, they can often reflect very real thoughts, fears or experiences we grapple with, Your Highness."

She tilted her head inquisitively. "Why do you ask? Are you having trouble sleeping again?"

Wonyu's small shoulders lifted in a shrug, but there was a faintly troubled air about him now. "No...just strange dreams. Confusing ones."

Noting his distracted demeanor, Sena set the poetry book aside, giving him her full attention. "Would you like to discuss these dreams? Sometimes giving voice to our visions can help illuminate their meaning."

The prince worried his lower lip for a moment before nodding slowly. "I...in these dreams, I feel like I'm watched. Followed, almost? Even in the palace." He shivered slightly. "It's a feeling... it feels like I don't... I don't know."

Immediately concerned, Sena leaned forward intently. "Has anything occurred recently that may have prompted such dreams? An unusual incident or--"

"I think someone wants to hurt..."he paused not finishing his sentence.

The softly uttered admission sliced through her questioning. Wonyu met her widened gaze steadily, jaw set in a way that seemed too grim for one so young.

Sena felt her heart stutter at the baldfaced declaration. "Your Highness..." She shook her head slowly. "Surely that cannot be. No one would dare--"

"Do you promise?" He cut her off, something haunted flickering in his eyes now. "What if...if they wanted to?"