The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 4

Nayeon could hear someone's heavy breathing. She woke up and switched on the bedside lamp to see Mina. She was still asleep, yet she looked distressed and scared. That was when Nayeon remembered that she agreed to stay in the princess' bed. 

Her eyes widened when Mina unconsciously reached out towards her handmaiden, burying her face in her shoulder. Just like magic, the princess' breathing went back to normal, and her heartbeat slowed. It was like she was calm for some reason. A reason that deep down, Nayeon knew.

As she looked at Mina, Jihyo's words rang in her ears. She supposed that she could find a few odd things about the girl. First of all, she had never heard of a princess who hugged her handmaiden in her sleep. Especially not someone who hated physical affection. Also, it was weird that she never smiled, but Nayeon was sure that Mina had a reason for it. It couldn't just be that she didn't like smiling.

Finally, probably the strangest thing of all, Mina had a different last name to the rest of her family. They were the Minatozakis, while she was a Myōi. The possibility of adoption did run through her mind, but even then, wouldn't her last name be changed anyway? And she looked quite similar to her sister. It just didn't add up. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Mina spoke in her sleep.

"Satang..." 

Nayeon finally understood. Mina must have found comfort in her older sister, which was probably why she was hugging Nayeon. In her dream, the handmaiden's image was probably replaced with Sana's. 

Never in her life had Nayeon ever found anyone more adorable.

🐧👑🐧

"I'm not allowed outside of the palace, you know. I guess I have that in common with the story." 

Nayeon looked away from the cabinet of books. She'd just finished reading Rapunzel, and glanced at the princess. It was her third month on the job, and she'd grown quite fond of those sorts of tales.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused. She thought royalty were allowed to go out as long as they were escorted.

"I'm not permitted to go any further than the ends of the grounds." Mina murmured. "Anything I know about the outside world is what I've heard around the palace."

Nayeon walked towards Mina, sitting beside her. The princess stared at her with soft eyes.

"What do they say about me? The people. I doubt they dislike me any less than the ones in the palace." Nayeon was about to answer, but Mina interrupted her. "Don't lie. I want the truth. Because I know that what my sister tells me is false."

"They have a clear preference of your sister. Many just don't think you exist, and the whole announcement was a plot to mind control the kingdom." Nayeon slowly said, scoffing as memories flooded back to her. She remembered laughing at a protest with her mother back when she had her old job. She'd never thought about how much she missed her family until then.

"Is the kingdom nice? Or is it falling into severe economic ruin that can't possibly be fixed no matter what anyone does?"

Nayeon blinked. She wasn't expecting that sudden outburst of worry.

"Uh, I don't think it is, Princess. I obviously haven't been around the entire kingdom, but I can tell you that my hometown is so cute."

Mina's pupils seemed to dilate as she leaned in close. Nayeon could feel her cheeks heating up.

"Tell me about your hometown. I need to know."

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Nayeon ended up spending her entire afternoon talking about her village. Mina never thought she'd be so engrossed in her handmaiden's stories about the people she knew.

"So everyone likes each other there?" She asked, and Nayeon nodded.

"When someone needs something, there's a good chance someone else will have it for them. We help each other out."

Mina cocked her head to the side, like this was a foreign thing to her. Actually it basically was.

"So...Do you miss your family?" Mina questioned, and her handmaiden groaned.

"Definitely! But I'm grateful for this amazing job opportunity."

"Is it amazing because of the salary or because you see me everyday?"  Those words almost left Mina's lips. Instead, they just stayed as a lingering question in her mind. She thought about how she wouldn't mind it if it was the second option.

"Do you want to see them?" Mina asked, and Nayeon's eyes widened. 

"I thought you couldn't leave the castle..." She was confused, and she didn't know how to react.

"No, not me. I mean, do you want a break? To go back to your home?"

"If that would be okay..." Nayeon stammered, and Mina's eyes narrowed. There was no way that there wasn't a catch.

"Alright. I'll allow it. On one condition." 

Nayeon was correct. She mentally prepared herself for what was to come, and then...

"You are to buy me street food."

"Excuse me?" Nayeon was dumfounded. "You want me to buy you street food?"

"Yes. Not only that. Food that you would eat, in your village." Mina pointed at Nayeon, who continued staring at her like she'd said the most absurd thing known to man.

"I don't think you'd really want that...The food you get in the palace is undoubtedly much bett-"

"Did I stutter?" Mina raised her eyebrow, standing up. "Now, do you want that holiday or not?"

Nayeon was obliged to agree to the proposition, because in her eyes, it was nothing but a bargain.

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"You gave her a holiday? Why on Earth would that be a good idea?" 

Mina rolled her eyes at her mother's question. They were having dinner, and the young princess was seriously resisting the urge to get up and leave.

"How kind of you. The first words you speak to me in years is a lecture."

"And you wonder why everyone leaves you. We didn't raise you to be like this." Her father boomed, already angered.  Mina scoffed, genuinely offended.

"As if you raised me at all!" She shouted, and Sana grabbed her arm.

"Mitang..." She whispered, but her sister wasn't having it.

"I am like this because of you! Because of what you've done to me!"

Their father stood up and loudly banged his hands on the table. "YOU ARE JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!" The room was silent. "You know what she said before she was executed? That whore blamed me for what went wrong. She blamed me for you."

"Don't you dare say that about my mother..." Mina muttered, and Sana had fully given up on restraining her sister. 

"You don't even know her name."

"You're the one who started things with her. It was your fault she died-" Mina was cut off by her mother slapping her, hard. "Well done. That's a whole two years you waited before hurting me again. That's a new record." She said before storming out, despite her sister's calls. She saw Nayeon in the hall and marched up to her.

"New condition."

"Hm?"

"Sign at least one petition for the downfall of the monarchy."

Now Nayeon was absolutely sure that Mina had lost it.