In the kingdom of Wanglong, slave girls work in the royal palace. Tamie Beanson, Tiegan Brown, and Liz Schettner are close friends with each other. They serve as water-maids in the palace and occasionally do some other work. They get to contemplate...
Tiegan grinned at the fox once she finished bandaging up its wound. Meanwhile, Tamie was shivering, her hands wrapped around her wet body.
"Still, it was a little stupid of you to jump in such a cold river." Liz chuckled.
"This time she saved our butts, not just the fox!" Tiegan laughed. "If she hadn't jumped in the water, the dogs would've caught her scent and we all would've gotten in big trouble."
"Yeah, that's true."
"I couldn't just sit there and watch how those wealthy fools stole lives!"
"We both are on your side, Tamie. I hate it when they hurt animals, too." Tiegan hit her softly on the shoulder in a friendly manner. The fox wagged its tail and licked her and Tamie's hands. Tiegan rubbed its head: "Hehe! You're welcome, little one!"
"Yup. We all are friends and should help each other in hard times!" Tamie petted her too. "Now go back home, little one. Those bad boys won't find you anymore."
"Yeah, go home!"
The fox rubbed them once again and ran into the forest. The maids got back to their work. After doing the washing, they returned to the palace and put the clothes on drying ropes, as always. Once they finished, the Senior Court Lady came up to them - a bad-tempered Wanglongian commoner woman, who hated being looked down upon by the noblemen, so instead she burst out her anger on her inferiors:
"What are you sitting here for? We have a lot of work to do! Other maids have already gone to do their jobs. What's it with you three?"
"We're sorry, Court Lady Om."
"Hmph, 'sorry' won't fix things! I will give you jobs if you have so much time for leisure. Liz, you are from Frankheim, aren't you? His Majesty wishes the snails to be brought as one of the dishes. Go help the cook!"
"Yes, Court Lady Om." Liz bowed, glanced once at her two friends as a sign of goodbye, and went into the palace.
"You, Tiegan, go mop the floor in the main hall! The dinner is going to be held there."
Tiegan grimaced with disgust:
"Why should I always do the mopping? Such a stupid job..."
"Huh? Did I hear anything?"
"Uhm," Tiegan forced herself into a polite grin: "I said, 'Yes, Court Lady Om!'"
"Hmph..." Om distastefully stared at her until she disappeared into the palace. Then, she turned to Tamie and crossed her arms: "And you, Tamie! You..."
She fell into her thoughts - there was no job left to be done since all of the court ladies and other maidservants were already engaged in all sorts of work. However, Court Lady Om would never be Court Lady Om if she didn't come up with a job using her broad imagination:
"You go make the room for the 4th prince. He's going to arrive soon. But pay heed, child - His Highness the 4th prince hates when anything goes against his will or taste, so if you make even a single mistake, I promise you, you won't get away with it!"
"Yes, Court Lady Om."
Tamie darted off to the palace. No matter the Senior Court Lady's threat, she felt joyous within - the 4th prince was none other than Wang Shao! Her secret sweetheart... She was happy to be able to do more for him than just wash his cloak. She rushed into the palace, walked up to the third floor, and entered the black door which led into the prince's room. It was, of course, empty, for the prince hadn't arrived yet, but it was still really messy, because, due to its owner's being away for so many months, it had been left without care. It gave Tamie a little discouragement - such huge work to be done and only by herself! But she lifted her spirits:
It is, after all, for the 4th prince! I should do my best!
First, she cleaned the dust off everything. Then, she changed the blankets, made the bed, and mopped the floor. When she was done, four hours had already passed. She let out a deep breath and looked around, smiling and nodding, satisfied with her efforts:
"This looks excellent!"
Soon, the court ladies and the maidservants had already laid the table. Tamie and her two friends - Tiegan and Liz - attended the feast too, but, of course, as servants and not as guests, which was a pain to all of them.
Emperor Wang Ru - a fair old man with wise and strict expression, dressed in mighty red-to-yellow clothes - walked in together with his two wives: the first wife, Lady Mu - a fair woman looking younger than her old years, and the second wife, Lady Yue - the woman "as beautiful as the moon", as people would often describe her. After them, came in the six princes: Crown Prince Wang Rong in a white kimono-robe - the dignified first-born of Emperor Wang Ru and 1st Queen Mu; 2nd prince Wang Di in a red kimono-robe - the treasured second-born of Queen Mu; 3rd prince Wang San in a yellow kimono-robe (that exact same prince who shot the fox in the leg before) - the most beloved and youngest son of Queen Mu; 5th prince Wang Wu in a green kimono-robe - a playful young man favoured by all of his servants, the eldest son of Emperor Wang Ru and 2nd Queen Yue; 6th prince Wang Hu in an orange kimono-robe - the best friend of Wang Wu and a very bright-hearted person who enjoyed flirting with young girl servants, the second-born of Emperor Wang Ru and Queen Yue; and 7th prince Wang Jong in a blue kimono-robe - the silliest of the six and the most pure-hearted, the third and the youngest son of Emperor Wang Ru and Queen Yue.
The royal family took their seats. Tamie felt a little disheartened when she didn't see her sweetheart among them, but she didn't lose hope - the 4th prince hadn't yet arrived, as it seemed. He should be here any minute...
Indeed, soon, men-servants came in and hit a small gong:
"His Highness, 4th Prince Wang Shao has arrived!"
The royal family members stood up to greet the incoming prince. When all the servants bowed, Tamie glanced at the door. Her heart bounced once she saw him - he was wearing the black satin cloak she had washed for him in the morning... It pleased her greatly, even though she realised he had no idea who had washed it for him. He probably counted it as one of the servants' duties and nothing more. He was of an unusually tall stature compared to other Wanglongians. He wore a black kimono-robe. His hair was raven-black and long, half of it tied in an upper ponytail, and the other half dropping onto his back and shoulders. The right bang was covering his right eye completely, and his left eye was deep blue, unlike the other Wanglongians' brown or black eyes. He was unique in all aspects. He was so dazzling, and yet, his countenance was always so cold and stern...
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4th Prince Wang Shao entered. He silently bowed as a sign of greeting and took his seat amidst his brothers. The feast started.
