Jaeho Fanfiction - A Girl Named Hera (Chp 1/?)
Thank you very much for all those who have commented! You have no idea how all of you have brighten up my day (esp since it's hailing down under). Ok, this is Chapter 1 for "A Girl Named Hera". After this, the next update will be a while, since I haven't written it yet. Whereas chapter 1 has already been written ages ago.
But, seeing how it's cold and windy and raining all the time, and that I'll be cooped up indoors mostly anyway, I think I'll be rather productive. =)
Title: A Girl Named Hera - Chapter 1
Author: whiski01
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jaejoong (Hero) / Yunho
Genre: Romance, Humour, AU
Author notes: I give up in trying to find out the names of the sisters... so... I won't even refer to their names at all... =P
“You are going to WHAT?”
The young man cringed at the tone of his sister’s voice. As beautiful as his sister is, she could be downright scary when she gets in one of her ‘I’m your eldest sister and hell annoyed so don’t mess with me’ moods. And right now, she’s not the only one currently in that condition.
The young man lets out a deep sigh. There were another seven girls in that small room with varying states of distress, all staring at him with either shock, amusement, or just plain horror on their expressions.
“Hero…” that would be his second sister now joining in, “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You do realise that concubines are supposed to be… well…” she looked at him with some sort of hesitation and confusion,”…girls, right?”
The young man, whose being referred to as Hero, rolled his eyes.
“Which is exactly why I am going to disguise myself! Hasn’t anyone been listening to me?” He said in an exasperated tone.
It all started with the arrival of a royal steward at their village. The mayor called for an emergency meeting at the central clearing, claiming that the king has an important announcement to make. Everyone was anxious and slightly nervous, because all throughout the history of the village, the mayor never really called for an emergency anything. Hero and all of his eight older sisters rushed out from their family restaurant as well, all wondering about what news might the Royal steward bring to warrant such emergency.
They were not left waiting too long, since the Royal steward immediately took his place at the centre of the clearing and proceeded to read out from the parchment he held open in front of him.
“By order of the King, one daughter of every household who has not seen their 25th summer must gather at this very place tomorrow before sunset to be brought over to the castle. The chosen ones shall stay at the palace as concubines for Crown Prince Yunho. All those who are not chosen will be returned home within one week of their arrival.”
By this time murmurs and gasps were heard all over the place. The rest of what the Royal steward said was a blur to most people as their minds were immediately occupied by what this might mean to the future of their village. It is well known throughout the land that the young Prince Yunho is reaching his 18th birthday really soon and that not long after his birthday he would be expected to marry. But no one has ever thought that the King would actually take in concubines as well for the young prince. It is not common to take in concubines before the marriage takes place. That is, if there was to be a marriage at all.
Although it has not been done often, in the past some of the old kings actually favoured one of their concubines as opposed to taking a queen from another country. It never really imposed any problems to the kingdom itself, as the chosen concubine was usually quite queenly herself. Nevertheless, such practice was very seldom and for the King to make such announcement very sudden, it can’t be helped that the people of the village show such differing reactions.
While half of the population looked excited and curious, the other half wore worried and half-panicked expressions. Hero and his sisters were of those latter half.
All eight of his older sisters are some of the most popular girls in their village. Not only are they beautiful, they also have lovely personalities. Both of Hero’s parents have made sure of that. The number of men who have tried to court them is a lot more than enough, and those ones lucky enough to capture the hearts of Hero’s sisters are said to be some of the luckiest men.
This, however, brought problems given the current situation. All eight of his sisters have got boyfriends already and though there was that slight chance of one of them being chosen as the prince’s favourite concubine, they are a very close-knitted family and therefore loathe to be forced to leave each other without knowing when they could return. Concubines don’t exactly have an annual leave.
It is the result of these series of events and reasoning that has brought Hero to put forward his proposal later that evening. A proposal which is currently receiving a lot of protests from his sisters.
Hero looked at his sisters wearily. “Look,” Hero tried one more time, “you and I know that none of you want to go to the palace to become a concubine. Yes, there’s always that chance that you won’t pass as a concubine, but let’s face it. All of you are pretty enough to ensure a place in the harem.”
This remark brought a blush to his sisters’ pretty faces, because really, none of them are completely immune to praises, even if it came from their own brother and having heard enough praises to last them a lifetime.
But this did not lessen their onslaught in the slightest.
“But Hero! Disguising as a girl?! That is completely insane! How on earth are you ever going to pull it off?”
“You are going to live day in day out with all those other girls. What makes you think that no one is ever going to find out?!”
“Imagine putting on a bra and having to stuff it with old cloth every single day. Will you be able to stand it?”
“And…and…” his second youngest sister joined in, ”…what if the prince called for you and you’re expected to perform… um…your duties?”
The room was suddenly silent and a lot of faces turned green.
“You did not…” Hero’s oldest sister almost growled, “…just mention the possibility of our only brother to be doing it with the only heir of our kingdom.”
“Er…. Well…”
The oldest sister gave her the look (made perfect through years of training that only came out of having 7 younger sisters and a brother).
She blushed and only muttered a soft, "Um...he is going to be a concubine..."
Hero threw his hands up in the air in a fit of frustration and exclaimed loudly, “Will you all please listen?! Aside form the fact that the chances of the prince wanting to bed me is next to nothing," here he looked at his sister, "I’ve been living in the same quarters with all of you for close to 18 summers. What makes you think I really can't act like a girl? Heck, I even waxed my underarms!”
All eight sisters lifted their eyebrows.
“Huh…that explains some of my missing wax strips” a small voice piped up.
Oblivious, Hero continued on, “And my face is girly enough to be passable as a girl. All of you know that. All I need to do is wear loose clothing around me to disguise my body temporarily and fake a cold or fit of coughs. That would excuse my low voice. I then have to pass a test to be befitting enough to be a concubine. Even if my face is girly, my body is obviously not. I’m way too broad shouldered for a girl. I’d never pass the test. I’ll make sure I act girly enough only to ensure people that I am a girl and therefore no one can say that we haven’t carried out the King’s orders, but not ladylike enough so that I won’t be acceptable as the prince’s concubine. And when I don’t pass,” Hero stressed the word ‘when’, “I’ll go back home and we could resume our old lives as normal.”
To his satisfaction, all his sisters have turned quiet and it seemed that his words have started to sink in. Hero looked over to his oldest sister who appeared to be deep in thought.
A look at her expression, Hero felt a pang of sympathy and regret. He really didn’t like putting his oldest sister in this position. As the eldest, their parents have given her the responsibility to take care of the household while they are away for a holiday. But no one expects this to happen. No one expects that she would be forced to make decisions of this magnitude during their parents’ absence. Hero understood the weight of this responsibility and knew it is not easy. He disliked being the cause of all those frown lines now marring his sister’s pretty face. But time is running short, and they have to come up with a solution fast. His sister’s decision would be the final hammer on what action they’re going to take.
“Alright.”
It was said very quietly Hero almost missed it.
“Alright?”
“You heard me. We’ll go with your plan. But that means one of us would have to go in hiding as well. If the other vllagers noticed that all eight of us are still in the village, they will find out that you were the one sent. If word reached the king, we would all be doomed.”
Hero was silent. He did not think that far ahead.
“I’ll go into hiding.”
Hero looked in surprise to his third oldest sister. She was usually the most soft-spoken one. It is then a surprise to hear her volunteering in this matter.
She glanced at Hero and smiled. “Don’t worry. One of my best friends has moved to another village a fair bit away from here. She would take me in and it would be fine. On the other hand,” here her smile grew into a grin, “I must say, I‘m quite proud of you. Never thought I’d see the day where my baby brother will stand up against his sisters to become a woman.”
Hero blushes and bit back a soft curse while his older sisters chuckled.
“Hero,” his oldest sister took on a sombre tone again. “You do realise that this is a huge crime. I won’t let you do this unless you’re very sure that you could pull this off.” She stared at him and Hero had to force himself from fidgeting.
“Yeah… I’m sure. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
She looked at him for a while longer, as if trying to find a loophole out of this. But she’s stuck for ideas as well. She gave her youngest sibling a measuring look. She knew that Hero does stood a big chance to be passable as a girl. While the girls in the household are pretty, her brother is downright stunning. His jet-black hair and full red lips have often fooled strangers to think that he was a girl when he was younger. His soft, porcelain skin has not helped matters any. Of course, at 18 summers of age, Hero is showing to be a much more masculine man. But his face is still more beautiful than most girls in the village.
She lets out a long sigh.
This better work.
“Alright. Prepare your belongings. If I’m not mistaken, you have less than 24 hours before you have to leave.”
----- end of Chapter 1 ------------
But, seeing how it's cold and windy and raining all the time, and that I'll be cooped up indoors mostly anyway, I think I'll be rather productive. =)
Title: A Girl Named Hera - Chapter 1
Author: whiski01
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jaejoong (Hero) / Yunho
Genre: Romance, Humour, AU
Author notes: I give up in trying to find out the names of the sisters... so... I won't even refer to their names at all... =P
“You are going to WHAT?”
The young man cringed at the tone of his sister’s voice. As beautiful as his sister is, she could be downright scary when she gets in one of her ‘I’m your eldest sister and hell annoyed so don’t mess with me’ moods. And right now, she’s not the only one currently in that condition.
The young man lets out a deep sigh. There were another seven girls in that small room with varying states of distress, all staring at him with either shock, amusement, or just plain horror on their expressions.
“Hero…” that would be his second sister now joining in, “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You do realise that concubines are supposed to be… well…” she looked at him with some sort of hesitation and confusion,”…girls, right?”
The young man, whose being referred to as Hero, rolled his eyes.
“Which is exactly why I am going to disguise myself! Hasn’t anyone been listening to me?” He said in an exasperated tone.
It all started with the arrival of a royal steward at their village. The mayor called for an emergency meeting at the central clearing, claiming that the king has an important announcement to make. Everyone was anxious and slightly nervous, because all throughout the history of the village, the mayor never really called for an emergency anything. Hero and all of his eight older sisters rushed out from their family restaurant as well, all wondering about what news might the Royal steward bring to warrant such emergency.
They were not left waiting too long, since the Royal steward immediately took his place at the centre of the clearing and proceeded to read out from the parchment he held open in front of him.
“By order of the King, one daughter of every household who has not seen their 25th summer must gather at this very place tomorrow before sunset to be brought over to the castle. The chosen ones shall stay at the palace as concubines for Crown Prince Yunho. All those who are not chosen will be returned home within one week of their arrival.”
By this time murmurs and gasps were heard all over the place. The rest of what the Royal steward said was a blur to most people as their minds were immediately occupied by what this might mean to the future of their village. It is well known throughout the land that the young Prince Yunho is reaching his 18th birthday really soon and that not long after his birthday he would be expected to marry. But no one has ever thought that the King would actually take in concubines as well for the young prince. It is not common to take in concubines before the marriage takes place. That is, if there was to be a marriage at all.
Although it has not been done often, in the past some of the old kings actually favoured one of their concubines as opposed to taking a queen from another country. It never really imposed any problems to the kingdom itself, as the chosen concubine was usually quite queenly herself. Nevertheless, such practice was very seldom and for the King to make such announcement very sudden, it can’t be helped that the people of the village show such differing reactions.
While half of the population looked excited and curious, the other half wore worried and half-panicked expressions. Hero and his sisters were of those latter half.
All eight of his older sisters are some of the most popular girls in their village. Not only are they beautiful, they also have lovely personalities. Both of Hero’s parents have made sure of that. The number of men who have tried to court them is a lot more than enough, and those ones lucky enough to capture the hearts of Hero’s sisters are said to be some of the luckiest men.
This, however, brought problems given the current situation. All eight of his sisters have got boyfriends already and though there was that slight chance of one of them being chosen as the prince’s favourite concubine, they are a very close-knitted family and therefore loathe to be forced to leave each other without knowing when they could return. Concubines don’t exactly have an annual leave.
It is the result of these series of events and reasoning that has brought Hero to put forward his proposal later that evening. A proposal which is currently receiving a lot of protests from his sisters.
Hero looked at his sisters wearily. “Look,” Hero tried one more time, “you and I know that none of you want to go to the palace to become a concubine. Yes, there’s always that chance that you won’t pass as a concubine, but let’s face it. All of you are pretty enough to ensure a place in the harem.”
This remark brought a blush to his sisters’ pretty faces, because really, none of them are completely immune to praises, even if it came from their own brother and having heard enough praises to last them a lifetime.
But this did not lessen their onslaught in the slightest.
“But Hero! Disguising as a girl?! That is completely insane! How on earth are you ever going to pull it off?”
“You are going to live day in day out with all those other girls. What makes you think that no one is ever going to find out?!”
“Imagine putting on a bra and having to stuff it with old cloth every single day. Will you be able to stand it?”
“And…and…” his second youngest sister joined in, ”…what if the prince called for you and you’re expected to perform… um…your duties?”
The room was suddenly silent and a lot of faces turned green.
“You did not…” Hero’s oldest sister almost growled, “…just mention the possibility of our only brother to be doing it with the only heir of our kingdom.”
“Er…. Well…”
The oldest sister gave her the look (made perfect through years of training that only came out of having 7 younger sisters and a brother).
She blushed and only muttered a soft, "Um...he is going to be a concubine..."
Hero threw his hands up in the air in a fit of frustration and exclaimed loudly, “Will you all please listen?! Aside form the fact that the chances of the prince wanting to bed me is next to nothing," here he looked at his sister, "I’ve been living in the same quarters with all of you for close to 18 summers. What makes you think I really can't act like a girl? Heck, I even waxed my underarms!”
All eight sisters lifted their eyebrows.
“Huh…that explains some of my missing wax strips” a small voice piped up.
Oblivious, Hero continued on, “And my face is girly enough to be passable as a girl. All of you know that. All I need to do is wear loose clothing around me to disguise my body temporarily and fake a cold or fit of coughs. That would excuse my low voice. I then have to pass a test to be befitting enough to be a concubine. Even if my face is girly, my body is obviously not. I’m way too broad shouldered for a girl. I’d never pass the test. I’ll make sure I act girly enough only to ensure people that I am a girl and therefore no one can say that we haven’t carried out the King’s orders, but not ladylike enough so that I won’t be acceptable as the prince’s concubine. And when I don’t pass,” Hero stressed the word ‘when’, “I’ll go back home and we could resume our old lives as normal.”
To his satisfaction, all his sisters have turned quiet and it seemed that his words have started to sink in. Hero looked over to his oldest sister who appeared to be deep in thought.
A look at her expression, Hero felt a pang of sympathy and regret. He really didn’t like putting his oldest sister in this position. As the eldest, their parents have given her the responsibility to take care of the household while they are away for a holiday. But no one expects this to happen. No one expects that she would be forced to make decisions of this magnitude during their parents’ absence. Hero understood the weight of this responsibility and knew it is not easy. He disliked being the cause of all those frown lines now marring his sister’s pretty face. But time is running short, and they have to come up with a solution fast. His sister’s decision would be the final hammer on what action they’re going to take.
“Alright.”
It was said very quietly Hero almost missed it.
“Alright?”
“You heard me. We’ll go with your plan. But that means one of us would have to go in hiding as well. If the other vllagers noticed that all eight of us are still in the village, they will find out that you were the one sent. If word reached the king, we would all be doomed.”
Hero was silent. He did not think that far ahead.
“I’ll go into hiding.”
Hero looked in surprise to his third oldest sister. She was usually the most soft-spoken one. It is then a surprise to hear her volunteering in this matter.
She glanced at Hero and smiled. “Don’t worry. One of my best friends has moved to another village a fair bit away from here. She would take me in and it would be fine. On the other hand,” here her smile grew into a grin, “I must say, I‘m quite proud of you. Never thought I’d see the day where my baby brother will stand up against his sisters to become a woman.”
Hero blushes and bit back a soft curse while his older sisters chuckled.
“Hero,” his oldest sister took on a sombre tone again. “You do realise that this is a huge crime. I won’t let you do this unless you’re very sure that you could pull this off.” She stared at him and Hero had to force himself from fidgeting.
“Yeah… I’m sure. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
She looked at him for a while longer, as if trying to find a loophole out of this. But she’s stuck for ideas as well. She gave her youngest sibling a measuring look. She knew that Hero does stood a big chance to be passable as a girl. While the girls in the household are pretty, her brother is downright stunning. His jet-black hair and full red lips have often fooled strangers to think that he was a girl when he was younger. His soft, porcelain skin has not helped matters any. Of course, at 18 summers of age, Hero is showing to be a much more masculine man. But his face is still more beautiful than most girls in the village.
She lets out a long sigh.
This better work.
“Alright. Prepare your belongings. If I’m not mistaken, you have less than 24 hours before you have to leave.”
----- end of Chapter 1 ------------