🚨Still on editing with minor changes🚨---
Myths are just stories and folklore are just gossip. Well, that's what people usually believe, until Rose became entangled with her mysterious boss. Arrogant, handsome and condescending, her young boss is e...
"Pindaya", an area on the southern side of Shan state is surrounded by numerous hills and limestone caves. Rich in cultures and mythical beliefs since ancient times, the area had so many to give and so many to tell, especially with the one particular lake, Pontaloke, right in the middle of the vast region.
Known to be filled with magical powers, the immemorial lake was described in folklores as a sacred place for mythical beings where dragons danced and deities bathed, but most importantly, the alchemists "Zawgyis" came to collect the water for their potions.
During 10th century, Pindaya region, an era in which the Bagan Dynasty excelled in power.
A girl in her early teens sat under a banyan tree, looking up to the sky. Leaves swirled around her feet, dancing in the breath of zephyr. Her sun kissed face wore an innocent smile, cracking all the thanakkha on her cheeks. {paste made from tree bark, used as a sunscreen, a traditional cosmetic}.
"Mi Mwae.."
She frowned and refused to answer.
"Mi Mwae!!!"
The second call roared louder. And she realized the severity behind her mother's impatient tone.
"Yes...mother.." With a puerile grimace, she finally responded.
"Come here girl...I have a chore for you.."
Mi Mwae rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Great..not again.."
She got up from her place, walking to the house with heavy, sluggish footsteps. Her steps headed towards the kitchen at the back of their shed. There, her mother was starting up some fire, getting ready to cook something.
"Mother?"
"Mi Mwae..I need you to go fetch some water." said her mother chopping onto some herbs.
"But I just fetched it yesterday...and the barrel is full of it."
Being the oblivious teenager, Mi Mwae didn't like the fact that she's going to have to walk miles up again to carry water. The well is located outside the village area and the presence of a hefty water bucket wasn't doing any better for her.
"No..I need the water from the lake Mi Mwae...your father's caught a cold and I'm making him a soup."
Mi Mwae's little face turned blue.
"The lake..!!?"
"But that's even further than the well..!!" She pouted her lips to her utmost ability to show her rebel against her mother.
"And...speaking of." She looked up the blood orange sky that covered their house.
"It's almost noon...what if I ran into strange things?"
"Mi Mwae...there's no such things around our village..", replied her mother impatiently.
"And besides, the maidens had just left for the lake for shower, if you leave now, you'll catch up to them, so you won't be alone.."
"But...it's still very far.."said Mi Mwae still pursing her lips.
Despite her various attempts to avoid the task, her mother was not giving her an excuse. But Mi Mwae was not moving an inch.
"You better be hurry..or you'll miss the crowd and you'll have to walk back home alone..". Her mother put on a stern face, giving an unwavering command.
Finally understanding that she's not getting out of this no matter what, Mi Mwae sighed, picking up a water pot on the bamboo rack.
"'One pot's enough right?"
Mi Mwae's mother smiled diligently and nodded.
Confirming her mother's order, Mi Mwae rolled her eyes again and walked away from the kitchen.
She left the yard in haste as her mother exclaimed again.
"Stay on the path daughter...!! don't wander off!!"
She completely ignored her mother's words even though she heard it loud and clear. Her footsteps striding down the dusty village road, with the empty pot dangling in her hand.
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A little 5 years over 10, Mi Mwae is a keen teenager who lived in a village with her family.
Their village was just around the hills near the Great Lake of Pindaya.
Her small and humble village only had about 60 residents and they had very little to offer in life.
They lived off of the crops and trees from the nearby forest and raised their own flocks and poultry for food.
She was the eldest daughter with a little 4 year old brother behind her so, and per tradition, she had to take over the household chores to help her mother since very young.
It was not that difficult but young Mi Mwae had always been different since she was a child. She was never the one to live by the rules or standards of tradition which made her the handful of work for her mother and the village elders.
Even when she was a small kid, she would always behave in un-girly ways. That, of course came out as "rebellious" in the eyes of the village ladies. Questioning every customs and never hesitating to show her innovative ideas whenever she felt like it. But on the contrary to her revolutions, Mi Mwae was undeniably beautiful with all the features of a fair maiden in their time.
Her caramel skin, complements her dark round eyes and her ideally curved brows at the corner, not to mention the mesmerizing spark in her optics whenever she find something new to explore. And she likes to crinkle her small pointy nose whenever she gets a scolding from the elders, her soft lips pouted to show her defiance in full.
Even so, out of all her god given natural blessings, her straight sable hair has to be her favorite. With her mother saying that no one in the village had hair that's as luscious as hers, Mi Mwae took pride in her little bob cut, tucked behind her ears. People always see flowers in the tiny bun on top of her head, and wild roses being the regular choice to go.
Defined by a youthful glow, she definitely had a remarkable difference from the rest of the girls in her age.
"You mustn't let her off..." the ladies from the village said to her mother.
"Mi Mwae is born with a rare beauty and has the potential to become a consort to the count or even the Duke himself"
"If only she knew how to behave..." said the village ladies.
Mi Mwae's mother never knew how to reply to them except with a depressing smile. The unbending will and enthusiasm of her daughter, weighing down her chest like a ship's anchor.
Despite all the pressure and talks going around, Mi Mwae couldn't be more ignorant to the elders. She cared less to the gossip or the teachings while the village ladies tried to squeeze them into her ears. She had always believed that there's more to life than just being submissive to traditions.
Being a girl with big imaginations, she was determined that she wouldn't let anyone pave her way except herself.
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