The Rebellion – Chapter 1 Preview
“You can’t take him!” I screamed.
The guards grabbed me before I reached the door, pulling me back into the living room. I was strong, but not strong enough to twist from their hold. My younger brother looked at me over his shoulder as the emperor’s guards dragged him outside into the darkness. They forced him to his knees, pointing a sword at his throat.
A man in heavy boots stepped between us, his broad shoulders bringing back memories I had thrown away long ago. He had once been a shadow of my past, but now, he was a shadow that divided me from my brother.
“It’s too late, Jaehwa,” the shadow replied, not turning to face me.
I narrowed my eyes, the guards’ hands gripping hard into my arms as I struggled to step forward.
“You expect me to back down?” I asked. “He’s all I have left, Saejun! You know that!”
The shadow turned and stepped back into the house, his dark eyes showing no regrets nor sympathy as the living room candles lit his face. The crimson robes of the emperor clung to his skin like blood, a testament to his position of power. He stood tall and arrogant, as if he had never been the poor farmer’s son he once was.
“He’s a murderer,” Saejun said. “He brought this upon himself.”
“You’re wrong!” I tried to twist out of the guards’ hold, but they held fast. “Kiwan would never commit treason against the emperor! You know that. How can you take him away to be executed?”
I tried to catch my breath, my eyes beginning to burn. Saejun stepped in closer, but I only stared at his expensive boots, refusing to let him intimidate me. His fingers curled under my chin, lifting my head up to look at him. His features were just as I remembered – his sharp eyes and strong jaw – but there was a new darkness in him that wasn’t caused by the late hour.
“Stop fighting against me,” he replied. “You won’t win. You know that.”
I jerked my face from his hand. “Get out of my house.”
“I hate to say this,” he said, his hand dropping to his side, “but this house is no longer yours.”
I looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
His jaw clenched before he opened his mouth again. “This house was in your brother’s name. Now that he’s been arrested, it has defaulted to the emperor.”
“Saejun –“
“You can live here for the time being,” he continued, “but you can be thrown out at any time. These are the orders of the emperor.”
I twisted hard, breaking free from the guards, but only for a moment. They pulled me back again, bringing me down to my knees.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” I spat at Saejun.
“Enough,” he warned.
“You disappeared for five years, become captain of the guards, and then show up at my door to take my brother and my home away from me?” The guards twisted my arms in an attempt to silence me, but I continued. “Who the hell do you think you are? What right do you have to come back here?”
“Put her under house arrest,” he told the guards, not even blinking. “Secure the first floor.”
He turned his back on me. It was something he was good at.
“Saejun!” I called.
He stopped. With two heavy footsteps, he turned back.
“That…” he said, “will be the last time I allow you to say my name and live.”
Before I could say anything else, he stepped out and slammed the door behind him. A new guard blocked the door, his face as hard as the walls that were now closing me in.
“Unhand me!” I yelled, throwing the guards off. They stepped back, not attempting to handle me again. Instead, they went to block the entryways.
“You are under strict house arrest by decree of the emperor,” one of the guards said. “Should you oppose this, we will have to take physical measures to subdue you.”
“Of course I oppose this, you wolves!”
I spun towards the doorway to escape, but pain exploded in my side before I could take a step forward. I crumbled to the floor in pain. The guard towered above me, holding his spear.
“Be grateful I didn’t use the sharp end,” he muttered.
Pain echoing in my side, I came to my feet.
“You can move about the house as you like,” he continued, “but you can’t leave.”
I took a deep breath to ease the pain. “And how long will that be?”
“Until Captain Kim has signaled for your release.”
Captain Kim. I wanted to vomit at the title.
Saejun. His name is Saejun.
At least… it used to be.
“Do you understand the rules as I’ve stated to you?” the guard asked.
I nodded, not looking at him.
“Good. You can move freely now. Take care not to ruin that freedom.”
He narrowed his eyes. I returned the favor.
I tried not to show how much my side throbbed as I sat in the chair next to the window. There was nothing outside but darkness, not even a trace of my brother being arrested and dragged off in chains. My baby brother was gone.
And Saejun was gone. Again. He returned as easily as he had left… only to leave again.
“I hope you’re living the life you always wanted,” I whispered bitterly.
“What are you muttering to yourself?” the guard next to the door asked. His head cocked to the side as his eyes raked over me.
“Nothing,” I replied. “I simply said that I was hungry.”
I stood and started for the kitchen, but the guard’s fingers snaked across my arm before clasping onto it.
“You’re not allowed to do whatever you want, you know,” he said, eyebrow raised.
“The rules were that I’m allowed to move about my home freely. Were you not here for that exchange?”
His jaw ticked, but he smoothed it out into a smile. “In that case, I’ll take whatever you’re having.”
“Get your own food. I’m not your servant.”
The guard gripped onto me harder. “But you’re a servant of the emperor, aren’t you?” He pulled me in closer, his rancid breath curling my toes. “Let me explain it this way. Captain Kim obeys the emperor. We obey Captain Kim. You obey us.” He smiled, his lips pulling back to show the yellow of his teeth. “I suggest you listen if you know what’s good for you.”
“Kyungsuk,” another guard said. “Back off the girl. Captain Kim doesn’t allow us to touch women.”
The guard didn’t take his eyes off me as he spoke. “Yes… Captain Kim doesn’t let us do a lot of things.”
He released his grip and shoved me forward, biting his lip at me as I went to the kitchen. Disgusting. The thought of him and others like him watching me as I slept made me want to slit my own throat before they had the chance.
Dinner was the usual: a quarter bowl of rice and a handful of half-rotten vegetables. Crops were low this harvest, and everyone was struggling on the same diet. Not that the emperor gave a damn. The more people that died the better, as far as he was concerned. Less people to feed. Less people to plot against him.
Boots echoed behind me as I ate. “Smells good.”
It was the guard who had been staring at me earlier. No doubt wanting to harass me any chance he got. What was his name? Kyungsuk?
“If you’re hungry, I suggest you call your superiors,” I replied. “It’s not my job to feed you.”
I stood to leave. The guard jumped forward and slammed his hand against the wall to intimidate me. How childish.
“Are you saying you wouldn’t offer the emperor a single grain of rice?”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “Since when did you become the emperor? You’re just a subordinate. All you can do is submit.”
He grabbed me by the waist. “I’ll show you submission.”
I elbowed him hard in the stomach. He doubled over, and I struck my elbow against his forehead. With a grunt, he landed face down on the floor. I ran out of the room, only to be faced with two more guards who were drawing their swords.
To hell with them.
I bolted for the door. One of them stepped in to grab me, but I jumped back, sending a low kick to his gut. As the other lunged forward, I grabbed him and kneed him in the chest. I turned and ran back up the stairs. There were muffled yells and angry words below, but it didn’t matter. I had to escape.
I ran past my room and into my brother’s, a small ache wishing I had enough time to take something of his with me.
Instead, I kicked open the window.
A spear hit the wall next to me. I turned back to the guard standing in the doorway.
“You’re sentencing yourself to death,” he said.
I looked at his spear deep in the wall.
“Then consider this my seal,” I said.
I jumped out the window.
