The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 16

"I can't believe you woke us up in the middle of the night with a princess beside you." Nayeon's mother sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What to do with you and your impulses?"

"You could have warned us! We aren't at all prepared for any of this." Her father shook his head, but her little sister seemed ecstatic.

"What are you talking about? This is so cool!" She squealed, bowing repeatedly for the princess. Mina simply stood there awkwardly, as she wasn't used to so much respect.

"Uh- It's alright, you can stop now..."

"I can show you around, Princess!" Seoyeon excitedly offered, and Mina nodded timidly.

"You really don't need to call me that...Barely anyone in the palace does that anyway." She hesitantly commented and Seoyeon seemed irritated.

"Are they rude or is everyone there your friend?"

"I mean, I'd say that it's neither-" She was interrupted.

"So they're just rude! Well, if you want me to call you 'Mina', then I will!" Seoyeon replied determinedly.

"We apologise for her stubbornness..." Nayeon's father nervously said, but Mina just pouted, her eyes shining. She found Nayeon's sister as adorable as her handmaiden.

"It's okay! Your daughter is very kind." 

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"What's being a royal like?"

Mina froze. She didn't know how to properly answer Seoyeon's question.

"Well, I often forget that I'm a princess..." She said, looking down.

"You never show up outside of the palace. Are you shy, or-" Nayeon's mother was stopped by her daughter.

"Okay, what's with these questions?" She hissed, glaring at her family. Mina patted Nayeon's shoulder, shaking her head.

"It's alright. I can answer. I'm not allowed to leave the palace. Rightfully so, anyway." She explained, but none of them understood.

"What do you mean? Aren't you a princess? You shouldn't be locked up." Surprisingly, Mina's comment was what got Nayeon's father interested.

"I'll ruin my sister's reputation." 

"Your sister? If you going outside is so bad, what about the King and Queen?" Nayeon's father asked, and Mina's eyes darkened.

"I couldn't care less about them." She replied, her tone firm.

"Okay, am I missing something? Why would you ruin anyone's reputation?" Seoyeon asked, and Nayeon turned to her. She forgot that she wasn't born when everyone was talking about Mina's mother's execution. Nayeon only knew about that because of Sana.

"Because I am not seen as a true royal. But that doesn't matter, it's nothing." 

Nayeon felt bad, because Mina was obviously avoiding the subject.

"Anyways, we're going to go see Hana later. Is it alright if we stay here for a bit?" The handmaiden asked, and her mother nodded.

"Of course. Although, our house isn't lavish like the palace."

"I don't mind."

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"How did you get here? Our village is quite a way away from the palace." Seoyeon questioned, and Mina bit her lip nervously.

"Well, it was hard as I've never walked so far, but-"

"She got tired after half an hour and I had to carry her the rest of the way." Nayeon explained, smirking at the blushing princess.

"I'm not good with long distance..." She muttered, crossing her arms.

"Is your sister really as nice as she seems? I'm guessing your parents aren't, seeing the petition you wanted us to sign, but what about Princess Sana?"

"She's really kind." Mina said, her voice low. "We're so lucky that we'll live to see her queen."

"Do you sometimes get jealous?" This time it was Nayeon who asked. She had been wondering this for a while, but never said anything.

"Of Sana? No. Sometimes I get upset that she's favoured, but there's no point acting like that. She would be a better queen anyway." The princess answered, the thought of her sister suddenly worrying her. She didn't want Sana to realise she wasn't in her room and get scared. She hoped her sister would just hang on until she returned.

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Although it was a little selfish, Nayeon was disappointed that Mina forgot her birthday. She knew that at the end of the day, she was a princess and she was just a handmaiden. Nayeon was hoping that Mina would give her something, though.

"Why is Hana living near your village anyway?" The princess asked as the pair were walking. It was before daybreak, and they'd just started the trip.

"I was running some errands when I saw her alone. Hana told me that she was struggling so my family helped her find a job not too far off. I guess that was after she quit." Nayeon sighed. "It was hard to find somebody who wasn't sceptical."

"She didn't quit." Mina quickly added.

"Hm?"

"Hana didn't quit her job. She was fired." 

"How come?" Nayeon asked, and Mina hesitated.

"It was my fault."

The princess was clearly uncomfortable, so the handmaiden decided not to inquire any further. She tapped Mina's shoulder, and pointed in another direction.

"I know a good place to watch the sunrise! We can go there, if you want."

There was no way in hell that Mina would refuse that. So there the girls sat, over a hill, watching the sun. As the princess marvelled at the beauty of nature, she felt somebody's fingers interlocking with hers. She looked over at Nayeon who was watching the sky like she hadn't just taken Mina's hand in hers.