"There are a lot of people in the market today..." Mina commented, and Nayeon smiled.
"I know why." She quickly pulled the princess over to a stand and purchased a ceramic penguin. Mina blushed when her handmaiden passed it to her.
"What's this for?"
"We have a tradition in this village, where at the end of every month, everyone gets someone special to them a gift."
The princess went pink, her eyes wide.
"Oh, now I feel bad for not getting you anything..." She whispered, looking down.
"You did get me something! The daffodils." Nayeon corrected her, but Mina didn't want to listen.
"Yeah, that I bought with your money!"
"It's the thought that counts." Her handmaiden grinned, patting the princess' shoulder. "I know that they're special anyway..." She mumbled, but the princess didn't hear. Mina jumped when she felt someone tugging at her arm. She looked down to see a little girl.
"Can we braid your hair? Pretty please?" She asked, and a boy behind her nodded hopefully. Mina cocked her head to the side, confused. She'd never heard of a boy wanting to braid hair, but then again, she fell in love with Nayeon, so she wasn't surprised that this wasn't impossible.
"Why not me?" Nayeon pouted, but the children giggled, ignoring her.
"This lady's prettier than you, Bunny." The boy laughed, and the handmaiden gaped.
"How many times have I told you not to call me Bunny?"
That only made the children laugh harder.
"You know them?" Mina questioned, and Nayeon sighed, nodding.
"Little demons." She muttered. "That's Ari, and that's Eun."
"We have flowers!" Ari smiled, but after Mina examined the plants carefully, she shook her head.
"Oh, purple amaryllises. I'm sorry, but it would be disrespectful for me to wear those."
"Why?" Nayeon asked, and Mina broke their eye contact.
"A purple amaryllis means royalty, nobility. I'm not a royal."
While her handmaiden knew that they had to pretend that Mina wasn't a princess, Nayeon found it obvious that this was what Mina truly believed about herself.
"Who cares? Purple is your colour." Ari protested, and after a lot of back-and-forth, Mina's hair was beautifully braided by the two children. Purple amaryllises were weaved into the braid, and although she disliked the idea, the princess had to admit that she looked pretty.
"Thanks, sweeties." Mina thanked the two, as Nayeon watched in awe.
"How did you manage to befriend the devil's spawn?" She whispered, and the princess shook her head in exasperation.
"What do you mean? Look, they're adorable." She gestured towards the two, who had big grins on their faces. "Should we go now?" She asked, as she began to walk away. However, as soon as Mina turned her back, the pair's smiles faded, and they balled their fists at Nayeon.
"I think they want to kill me..." The handmaiden wailed as she hurried to catch up with the princess who, despite teasing her, patted Nayeon's shoulder in pity.
🐧👑🐧
Mina suddenly regretted everything. As they passed by someone selling fruits, she saw peaches.
"Sana." She thought, her eyes wide with panic. Suddenly, all the princess wanted to do was make sure her sister was okay. Nayeon must have noticed this, as she took her hand gently.
"Do you want to go back?" She questioned, and Mina bit her lip.
"It's selfish. I have to return."
"No you don't. We can go back if you want to, but we won't if you're only thinking about others." Nayeon replied firmly. "I can tell that you want to stay, am I correct?"
The princess nodded timidly, and her handmaiden smiled sweetly.
"And that's okay! Don't forget that how you feel is important as well."
Mina had never heard that before. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Nayeon's beaming face.
"Really?" She wasn't sure why, but the princess felt the need to double-check. Like she'd heard it wrong the first time.
"Really."
"Oh." That was all Mina could answer with. She wondered why, if it was that simple, nobody had ever told her that. Unfortunately, since this idea was so unfathomable to her, she took it the completely wrong way. The princess just assumed that Nayeon was lying to make her feel better, and tried to play along.
"Let's go!" Nayeon dragged the princess along, completely unaware of the debate currently running in Mina's mind.
🐧👑🐧
Mina was so sure that nobody would ever love her. Nobody could blame her if that was what she was told her entire life. There were two people who she always sought validation from. It was only on her tenth birthday when she realised that she would never receive it.
The princess was so excited as she finally finished scribbling down the final words of her letter. It wasn't anything fancy, just to get the child's message across. She'd spent ages on it to make sure there were no spelling mistakes.
Dear Mother and Father,
You never buy me birthday presents, but I want to ask for something this year. If it's alright, could you please hug me and tell me that you love me? Pretty please!
You're always upset with me, so I'm sorry if I'm a bad daughter. But please, just this once? Satang said you do love me, but you never say that.
Lots of love,
Mina
She'd asked one of the servants to pass the letter onto her parents, and went to bed happier than she'd ever felt. Mina was too hopeful to even consider the potential negative outcomes.
The next morning, the princess woke up early. She heard heavy footsteps, and grinned happily. She thought that Ms Red Lips would appreciate the fact that she woke up on time, because if she didn't, the woman would usually beat her first thing.
Unfortunately, Mina was very wrong.
Ms Red Lips slammed the door open, fuming. The little girl froze, her eyes wide. She quickly attempted to shield herself, her entire body shaking.
"Mistress, I'm so sorry for whatever I did! I woke up on time, what did I do?" She cried, finding that her tears were already falling.
"Pathetic." She thought, wishing that she could just stop wailing.
"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!?" Her handmaiden yelled, pulling out what seemed to be her favourite tool. The small whip. "You really thought your parents would take that stupid letter well?" Ms Red Lips scoffed. "Don't make me laugh."
The princess continued begging, pressing herself against the headboard.
"You know what they did? They laughed. And do you know what they told me? Most nights, they dream of you dying, and they wish it could be a reality."
Mina stopped pleading. She just stayed still, her lips parted. That day would forever be documented in her mind as the worst birthday she'd ever had.
YOU ARE READING
The Princess' Handmaiden
FanfictionIm Nayeon was in need of money. When she was fired from her previous job, she was absolutely relieved to come across the job of being the princess' handmaiden. One problem, however. This princess wasn't the bubbly, happy Sana, otherwise known as the...
