𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐨𝐧

(one)

"Mama, I promise I'll be fine. I'll write you as often as I can and I'll send all my pay back home, okay? You're going to be okay."

Oh, how things have changed. Telling my mom I'd be fine working in the palace was wishful thinking and nothing more. Of course, I would never tell her that in my letters; I've made sure my mom never once thought it was a mistake to send me away. Our family needs someone to provide, and I was given a golden opportunity: all girls aged 18 are drafted for the royal service while all boys aged 18 are drafted for military training. The draft only occurs once every five years, and I was lucky enough to have turned 18 the year of the draft.

At least, I thought I was lucky.

My letters to my mom tell her lies about what an amazing life I'm leading in the palace alongside the Princess. I had anticipated being part of the royal cleaning staff, or maybe even kitchen, if i was lucky. But Princess Siyeon chose me of all the girls there to be her personal servant. Other girls told me how lucky I was, fawning over the Princess' good looks and sophisticated charm, but none of us knew what actually awaited me behind closed doors.

I was chosen by the eldest of the three royal sisters, but I did get to see the other two quite a bit as well, along with the servants each of them had hand-picked – servants who were really more like babysitters to the young Princesses. I became well acquainted with Minji and Yoohyeon, the servants of the younger two Princesses. Both of them are always amazingly kind to me, helping guide me through any trouble I may encounter while working for the royal family.

Minji has been especially helpful to me. Being the oldest in my family, I've spent my life constantly looking out for others, but Minji is like an older sister to me, the kind of good example I never had growing up.

Yoohyeon reminds me of my sister Jiwon. As wonderful as Yoohyeon is, my stomach twists at the thought. Jiwon is five years younger than me. She could very well be in my place once she turns 18, caring for one of the younger Princesses, and that terrifies me. I pray I can work hard enough and earn enough money that I can buy Jiwon's way out of the draft. I'm determined to do it.

In the meantime, at least I have kind and wonderful people in my life like Minji, Yoohyeon, and some of the other staff at the palace.

And then there's Princess Siyeon.