Labyrinth of Love

You Can Feel It

The night of the welcoming party arrived a little too fast for Diya's liking. She was dreading to attend the ceremony since this would be the stepping stone of her new life. Diya was still uncertain about the sudden turns her life had taken in the past few days. She was yet to get used to the idea of leaving behind her previous life and getting accustomed to the lifestyle of the palace. Thinking about it only gave her jittery feelings.

The palace intimidated Diya and the people residing here were even more fear inducing. She was a simple country girl who had very normal dreams regarding her life. All that was happening were way beyond her imagination and this scared her. Frankly, she was not ready at all and here she was thrown into the lion's den without any preamble to find her own way out.

Furthermore, she had heard how cold the king was and that he was a philanderer. Diya never liked guys who indulged into too many casual affairs. She always had dreamt to spend her life with a man who would only love her and remain loyal to her. But at this point, it felt like a distant dream. She had very little idea of what a concubine was supposed to do but she understood this much that she would be forced into a relationship where she would have to give too much and get very less in return.

On the other hand, Diya's roommate Hae Ra looked very excited. During the span of the time they spent together, Hae Ra did not even spare a glance at Diya. Diya however, tried a few a times to communicate with Hae Ra which proved vain. Diya easily concluded that the other woman was an arrogant and self-conceited person so, she left Hae Ra alone.

During the afternoon of the day of the welcoming party, a band of six maids came into their room to help them dress up and get ready for the party. The maids brought with them dresses, jewellery collections, shoes and other things required for the ladies to hone their beauty.

It did not take too long for Diya to choose an attire for the evening. All the dresses brought by the maids were amazing. She had never seen such expensive and wonderful clothes in her entire life so, each of the dresses impressed her. She randomly chose one from the pile.

On the other hand, Hae Ra kept rejecting one dress after another saying those were too plain for a lady of her stature. She kept on trying one dress after another and threw the rejected dresses across the room. The maids had to bring more dresses to keep up to her demand. At last she chose one deep blue strapless gown for the night. The maids sighed in relief.

After that, some of the maids quickly fixed their hair and helped them put on the jewellery and did their makeup. When the maids were done with them, both Hae Ra as well as Diya were glowing. Looking at the mirror, Diya was stunned. Never in her life, had she looked so pretty ever.

The grand royal garden where the welcoming party for the concubines were arranged was magnificent both in size and grandeur. Diya was at awe watching the decoration of the garden. Even the ever complaining Hae Ra had to shut up and watch the décor. It was indeed a place suitable for the royal family.

Diya was feeling a bit out of place as she knew no one except Hae Ra and of course, Hae Ra being an arrogant girl never spared a glance at Diya. She simply ignored Diya. She found few other ladies making conversations with each other. Meanwhile, Diya just stood alone at a corner sipping apple juice.

Diya got a bit distracted while looking at the happenings of the party. She did not really realize when she started walking around the garden. Suddenly she collided with a female figure who looked very elegant and certainly very beautiful. She was dressed like a queen more or less and was followed by a few attendants, one of whom carried a new born baby.