The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 8

How did Mina get into this position? She was leaning over the window, wearing her handmaiden's clothes, about to climb down a rope. The princess had had her smarter moments.

She slowly climbed down, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding when her feet hit the grassy ground.

"I'm going to regret this." She sighed, but Nayeon smiled at her.

"No you won't! I'll make sure of it!"

And for some reason, Mina believed her.

🐧👑🐧

The princess began to lead the way, as nobody with even the slightest bit of intelligence would go through the main gates. Mina led her handmaiden through a small, unnoticed space in the hedges, and they found themselves on a path. They walked a little further until the path twisted, leading out to a town.

"How do you know about that path? I thought you've never left?" Nayeon asked.

"Just because I've never left the grounds doesn't mean I've never tried. I can't exactly show up to a village wearing royal attire, can I?"

She quickly stopped talking as she took a look around. There was a market so the street was really busy. Mina's eyes lit up when she saw a stand.

"What's that?" She questioned, and her handmaiden grinned.

"Tanghulu-" She didn't have time to finish, because the princess hurried over to the stand like she hadn't run in a long time. Actually, she probably hadn't, seeing as she was royalty. As Mina raced around the market, Nayeon only then realised how much money she would be spending.

🐧👑🐧

"You really want to buy more?" Nayeon questioned, tired out from all of the running around. Mina turned back to her.

"They're selling flowers." She shrugged, and they both walked to the stand together. She quickly looked over them, before picking out a peach rose and a red rose.

"Flowers have meanings, you know." Mina said quietly, when they'd left and were strolling down the streets. They'd left the busy market behind, and were in a much more peaceful part of the village. She quickly handed the roses to Nayeon.

"Oh yeah? What do these mean?" 

"A peach rose means thanks and gratitude...Thank you, for taking me here." The princess explained, and Nayeon raised her eyebrow.

"Don't red roses mean love or something? Who are you giving this to?" She asked, and Mina blushed.

"I'm giving it to you." There was a pause when the princess realised what she said. "Don't get me wrong! Uh, they don't really mean love, it's a common misconception..." Mina was babbling at this point. Red roses definitely do mean love and admiration. "They actually mean friendship!"

"We're friends?" Nayeon asked, and the princess nodded quickly, relieved that her handmaiden believed her. 

"Yes!"

"So do I still have to call you 'Princess'?" She questioned, and Mina shook her head.

"No. I'm fine with you calling me by my name." Wow. The princess only then realised how long it had been since she'd said this to someone. How long it had been since she'd last trusted someone so much.

"That's good! I feel like 'Mina' suits you better than 'Princess' anyway."

"Is that a good thing?"

"If it wasn't before, it's a compliment now!"

Suddenly, in that moment, the feeling that Mina rarely felt for anyone other than her sister came back to her. She really wished she could smile for Nayeon.

🐧👑🐧

The two girls were sitting on a hill, looking up at the sky. The handmaiden stood up, and offered her hand out to the princess.

"It's almost midday. We need to get back to the palace."

Mina sighed, before taking Nayeon's hand hesitantly.

"I wish I didn't have to return." She whispered, and Nayeon felt sorry for her. She couldn't imagine being locked up for her entire life, much less going through the things that Sana had mentioned the day before.

"We can go out again another time. Don't worry." She smiled, and the princess simply nodded. It was hard to tell whether Mina was internally smiling, or whether she was still upset. They hurried back to the palace, and the princess climbed back up the rope, only to be startled by knocking on the door.

"Mitang? Are you in there?" Sana's voice.

"Um, just a second!" Mina had to change, and quickly. But of course, that process always took too long, so she didn't bother. "Is anyone with you?" She hoped her sister would understand.

"No. Just me. Why?"

"Don't be angry."

"Why would I be angry? You're scaring me."

Mina slowly opened the door, and Sana gasped.

"You're wearing...What are you wearing?" She looked Mina up and down, only to be dragged into the room. 

"NayeonhelpedmesneakoutsoIworeherclothespleasedon'thatemeIjustwantedtoseewhattheoutsideworldislike!" Mina rushed the sentence out all in one breath. Luckily, Sana was used to Mina's outbursts like this and knew how to decode the message so the younger girl didn't need to say it again.

"Nayeon helped you sneak out so you wore her clothes?" She repeated, and Mina could only nod. Sana then burst out laughing. "Why would I hate you for that? I'm proud of you for taking that chance. Honestly, I thought you did something terrible!"

Mina then looked closely at her sister.

"Are you okay? Your eyes are red..."

"Oh, yep!" Sana giggled, breaking eye contact. "You know, allergies and all that!"

The younger princess couldn't inquire further as Nayeon appeared, and Sana quickly rushed them to hurry up.

As Mina walked to the dining room with her handmaiden, she couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't paying enough attention to her sister. She'd always perceived her as the happy and bubbly one, but maybe Sana was going through something Mina hadn't noticed.