The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 9

Later that day, Mina saw her sister leaving the palace. Normally she wouldn't find that weird, but they weren't making a huge fuss about it. It was almost secretive, in a way. Sana was riding in the same carriage they used for more confidential trips as it was less lavish and, overall, more basic.

Nayeon also seemed to be quieter than usual. The princess could understand how people were feeling by observing them, but she couldn't get her head around why she seemed so down. It was an understatement to say that Mina was frustrated.

"It's my birthday soon." Nayeon smiled as she sat down with the princess.

"Oh? September, correct?" 

"Yep. The 22nd." The handmaiden kept wiggling her eyebrows, and Mina got the not-so-subtle message.

"You want me to buy you something?" The princess asked, and Nayeon's eyes lit up. She nodded hastily like a happy puppy. "I won't. I'll make you something more special."

"Because we're such good friends?" 

"No. Because my parents cut me off."

"Since when?" Nayeon cocked her head to the side in confusion. This was news to her.

"Since I was born." The princess replied simply.

🐧👑🐧

Mina was wandering around the palace, contemplating what to make Nayeon.

"Should I knit her a hat? Would that mean that her hair's ugly?" As soon as she thought of a good idea, all of the possible negative outcomes appeared in her mind. "Should I make her something penguin related? Wait - that's what I would like."

As she was walking, she heard yelling coming from a room. She recognised her parents voices, so she assumed that they were shouting at a servant. She was wrong, because they happened to be arguing with her sister.

"WHY CAN'T YOU COOPERATE?" Their father shouted.

"I don't want to marry him!" Sana replied, and Mina raised her eyebrow. She hadn't heard of a marriage arrangement, especially not one including her sister. "I'm nineteen!" She shouted.

"And you were supposed to be engaged at sixteen! We gave you an extension because we thought you weren't like your sister!" Her mother yelled. "We didn't think you would disappoint us just like that mistake!"

Sure, her words did sting, but Mina was used to it. She just didn't understand why Sana was getting in trouble when she never did.

"Why are you bringing Mitang into this?" 

"That's not the point! If you don't go through with this, you'll not only disappoint us, but the entire kingdom! Do you want that?" Her mother asked, and Mina could tell Sana had gone silent. If there was one thing her sister hated, it was disappointing others. Mina hated how her parents were taking advantage of that.

"But...That's not what I want." Sana spoke, her voice low. 

"So when will you learn that it doesn't matter whether you agree with this or not? It's not your decision to make!" Their father had lowered his tone, but it was still harsh. "If the prince agrees, then you don't have a say in it."

"And why don't I?"

"You know why..." Her mother muttered.

"No, I don't. Please, enlighten me." The princess said sarcastically.

"It's because you're..." Their father began, before trailing off.

"Because I'm what? Because I'm a girl?" Mina could imagine her parents nodding.

"But, also because you're the younger one." Her mother tried to defend their argument, but Sana scoffed.

"Oh, so I'm not old enough to make a life-changing decision, but I'm old enough to get married off to somebody ten years older than me against my own will?"

There was a strange noise, but Mina recognised it well. 

"Get out." She heard her father spit out. Soon, Sana opened the door to leave. She had her head down, but her younger sister could clearly see a bruise around her eye.

"Satang..." Mina whispered, rushing over to her sister. Sana smiled, though her eyes were teary.

"Hi, Mitang. Did you have a nice day?" She asked. "I know it must be hard for you, you might be worried that somebody noticed you sneaking out."

The younger princess was at a loss for words. "Hard for me? What about you?" She questioned, brushing some hair away from Sana's face with her fingers.

"Don't worry about me! I deserved that anyway, I stepped out of line."

Mina shook her head, and firmly held her sister's shoulders. 

"Stop acting so strong, Satang. I know you're fragile. For once, I need you to forget about pleasing others. For once, I need you to forget about my childhood. For once, I need you to forget that I'm your little sister."

That triggered Sana's tears. She began to sob, and although it took courage, Mina pulled her older sister into a hug. This made Sana cry more, and they soon both slid down to the floor. While Mina was used to her parents' verbal and physical abuse, her sister's case was quite different. 

She was always the loved sibling, getting new clothes whenever she wanted, getting a nicer bedroom, practically everything that her younger sister didn't have. This obviously meant that getting yelled at and, even worse, getting punched was completely new to her.

"Why do I have to do this, Mitang?" The older princess asked, hiccupping.

"I don't know, Satang. I know it's unfair..."

"I'm scared!" Sana wailed, gripping onto her sister. "What if...What if he-"

"Stop with the 'what if's." Mina had to stop her because she couldn't bear to listen to the words that were going to come. "Everything will work out, I promise."

"But I'm not ready to get married...I'm not ready to do any of that with him..."

"I know you're not, Satang. I know you're not."

 Another thing Mina knew for sure, was that if this 'prince' did anything to her sister, she wouldn't hesitate to commit a crime.