by Zola Tau
“Are you even doing your job? You have me wrapped in the same dirty cloth.” Ada mumbled in effort to speak past the issue.
" Princess, if you continue on this path to keep me in fear I'm afraid I won't be able to get married because I'd look like an old widow to any man that may come for me, due to the stress you give me. Do you know the fright you gave me? When I came into the room you were laying down on the ground, unmoved... Princess, you can't kill yourself in your father's place! "The servant boldly said raising her voice, ignoring, and Ada’s effort of avoiding the very subject she yelled about. Like a disappointed mother would scold at her child Nari shook her head..
"Goodness.....princess, please" The young servant pleads while she melted down onto her knees as if she ran out of breath.
"You don't have to care so much, and even so..." Ada mumbled trying to relieve herself of guilt. “Court women aren't allowed marriage and life in the palace anyway" Ada added speaking on a topic irrelevant to the matter at hand.
"Princess..." Nari began with a soft smile.
Silence took the room only for a second before she spoke again. "For whatever the rule may be on regulations towards marriage I don't plan on living here forever..." Nari scoffed at Ada's words before she finally began to elaborate on words she felt necessary to say.
"Being a servant...it is believed that it's somehow related to how well one thinks, somehow like I wasn't smart enough to find a way to be anything but the least of the people, yet this is a position even the least of the people crave. What many don't know isn't that I lack sense, but because I lack pride. Those I work for become my family, I see and hear things and try my best to protect them as much as I can." Nari said with a smile.
Ada tried her best to stay face, as a princess should, she shouldn't let a servant make her feel so regular, and she lied to herself. Ada stayed silent all the same.
Nari continued: "It takes a great amount of boldness to say this but you and I are alike, Princess. I am below you in status, and I have the strength to say all else I should because you know it to be truth as well" Nari said walking to sit next to Ada on the bed.
She took out white cloth as she changed the worn out one, off Ada's hand, along with the rag off her face and she continued.
"If I may ever be so bold, Princess may I say...?" Ada staring at her just nodded for her to continue and so she did "We really are alike in many ways, I care too much for the wellbeing of others to admit fault in my own self-acceptance, and better yet I care too deeply for all to accept when reality doesn't act in my favor. I lost my childhood when I was very young by the fault of unplanned circumstances, that's how I came to work for the king as a servant, the others resented me... Only because for a while I was close to the king as a daughter would to her father, there is much they don't know about my struggles within life." then Nari was silent.
"They don't know what? ” Ada mumbled in all effort to try and seem uninterested though she desperately was. Nari just smiled and with a nod and a pat on Ada's hand after wrapping it all up disregarding the Princess's question.
She just said the words: " Princess, from now on I ask you take my feelings into consideration before you cause me old age " with a smile Nari placed the old cloth, all tinted with odor from lack of change in the metal bowl she brought in, bowed and went about her day.
"What's the point of a story if you're not going to finish it?" Ada asked herself while she was in the process of figuring out what Nari meant by what she said to her earlier.
Still, in thought, Ada resorted to getting off the bed to stretch but took more time to think if it was something she wanted to do while doing so Ada received another visitor. He was dressed in white, his dark black hair hanging off his shoulder, a gray mesh-like material was placed in the front of his hairline to prevent the thick hair from coming over his face consistently, Ada assumed, and on top of that, he wore a hat.
"What's that on your head?" Ada asked while the prince was good distance away
"This?" He asked pointing to the hat.
"No, the gray thing residing on your forehead." She said pointing to her own forehead.
"Ah, the Manggeon" he finally said. “It’s to hold the Gat (hat) in place." he said charismatically.
As he was walking in he came to a halt. "What is that stench, all about my room?!?" The prince called out.
"Oh keep quiet, no one asked you to come in. " Ada responded as she finally made effort to get off the bed and walked towards the door where the prince stood towards her own room to get her things, that she lacked, in order to wash.
"I'll be off to wash; I can't stand it anymore than you do." She whispered softly and was getting ready to walk out.
" Ada " the prince called out, Ada turned around with a smile as her eyes analyzed and were in awe at his unbalanced being, a young man molded with clay and steel, though he came off as a harsh being at times, he was genuine in a sense, but Ada didn't want to hear his words of encouragements, it was much too early and she heard enjoy from Nari.
She bowed awkwardly and walked away softly, though her legs still had pain from days of the minimal movement.
"I have no tears left, to afford being reminded to cry again." She whispered to herself holding in anger and tears as she walked and limped towards her room to bathe, she almost forgot about the pain she was in but hearing her name called in reference to her recent troubles only made her weak again. On the way back to her room, Ada contemplated many thoughts in an effort to try and understand what move she was to take next but at times like these, sometimes all needed to be done was breathe, and so she did, to be able to breathe a little more was helpful all on its own. By the time she reached her room, the bath was set as always, hibiscus water decorated with petals, African soap in a glass dish awaiting use. Ada walked in and allowed herself to become at peace, if only for a moment.
[제 7장]
“The love and acceptance of one’s heart
First requires the understanding of one’s mind
Meanwhile, the king was always struggling to understand his own struggles as he gave ear to his advisor.
“The child needs to return home King Wook, all that is needed to obtain has been handled, she shouldn't rest here as a reminder of her suffering.”
A rounded man spoke. The advisor's hair in a volumized topknot, but the bags under his eyes contradicted his hair's appearance of youth. The king gently pets his beard and looked about.
"The young princess just lost her father; it would be disrespectful to just send her without proper farewell or at least speak to her about what she would prefer to be done. We are lucky his people don't call for war!" The king sat silent for a moment then said: "I no longer want to speak on the matter!" He strongly voiced.
"But, sir." The advisor tried to say but all he needed was a glare from the king and his being became humbled. He bowed and went about his way.
Nari came in and set out a table and on it placed varieties of teas as the king enjoyed and not even making effort to make eye contact she rushed to stand up and bow and excuse herself.
"Nari" the king called out but Nari didn't look back she rushed out as if she didn't hear and disappeared into the servants quarters.
Areum at the time was rushing in towards her father but in the process caught a glimpse of Nari. She looked at the back of the young servant as she ran away. Areum wrinkling her brows, walked towards the king's throne to speak to him. Upon making it to the throne she found her father looking down with his hand on his head as one might when they are suffering the effects of head pains, saddened for her father she walked closer. The royal adviser excused himself in the presence of the young princess. Areum nodded her head in dismissal.
"Father, you're going to die young with how much you overwork yourself. " Areum said with a bow initiating conversation with her father.
"Young?" The king asked as he shook his head.
"Who's young?" He asked cheerfully with a smile on his face, admiring t
he effort of his daughter being both worried and complimentary towards him.
"Why you are, Father. " She said and down she sat in the middle of the throne room looking up at her father from the base of the room, and her father looking down at her from the throne.
"So many years of training and being ladylike has still not become a talent of yours, child" Her father huffed.
"Well thank goodness I make up for it with my Intelligence, and being lady-like… if it were a talent of mine, King… do you know how many soldiers you would have to fight off because of how attractive I am? I am not the example of lady-like now and already men cry over me." she replied back sarcastically flipping her hair, then cupping her face a if it was being presented as a gift. Lost for words the king just chuckled. Being the youngest daughter Areum was by far the one who feared nothing, and fought for anything she believed in. She was last to find out information but the first to make a change, that's what her own father envied about her, she was unlike him, though at times it felt he was the first to find something out, he had no talent in effective planning with times like these.
A king’s biggest fear is the lack of knowledge. The moment there is hindrance in the authority that a king takes to make law, the ones that were to help him, took it to themselves to find any means possible to go behind his back, in order to make law themselves. For this reason he kept his most trustworthy advisor close. I was much easier when he was young, with the guidance of his reigning uncle, as of now he had become an old man, that was just moments away from being overturned. If only the crown prince recognized the urgency, or if Areum had been a son, things would have been easier to maintain.
“You aren’t wishing I was a man, again are you father?” Areum asked, as she began to chuckle.
“ Never.” The king mumbled in innocence.
Buildings away, Ada found her way out the bathing room and after dressing, lied down closing her eyes in exhaustion. Her reasoning for being here was no longer as obvious as it once was, and after hearing about the death of her father her stepmother would likely only requested for her father's body to be returned, because without Ada in the way power belonged to her eldest stepsister who was free to take any prince her selfish heart desired.
"Who am I toying the people don't prefer her but she was much smarter than I." Ada said to herself.
Ada wanted to believe that her stepmother would send out for a ship for her as well but she knew that it would be a dream. With anger she cried out like an infant, she forced herself up from her captive state of insecurities and ran towards the door trying in all effort to let out her anger, and as always with his mind on trying to comfort the one he “despised” the prince was making his way inside to visit her was knocked down to the ground.
"This woman pleasures in seeking my death." he whispered as a soft growl. Why was it he was even going to check on her well-being when it seems she found amusement in him getting hurt anytime they were near one another? The prince asked himself as he stared at Ada who looked about apologetically. As embarrassed as the prince beside her was Ada was on the ground wondering why she seemed to always be humiliating herself whenever he was around. She scoffed at his presence in an effort to keep face, as she mumbled of how often he was always in her way.
To avoid eye contact she sprung up and was getting ready to walk away, but she didn't make it far when she felt the hand of another pull her back and into a rather unpredictable embrace, looking up she caught a glimpse and could see the prince look down at her, she was getting ready to position herself to push off his chest but his embrace left no room for her to do so, tightly holding her still.
"This is your punishment for being so stubborn." he said with a smile.
After a few short while of fighting it Ada hugged him back just slightly so that she gave off the notion that she wasn't interested in his kindness. The Prince snickered a bit mumbling in regards to her stubborn ways, and how unladylike she's been lately. Ada was prepared to push off in annoyance but rather than allow her to the prince secured her in his arms and clenched onto her longer.
For the first time in a long time, Ada acknowledged she was in a mental state of nuetrality with the world, not that she had optimism to find within the various situations, but the simple kindness of the prince allowed her to find enough comfort to say that the whole world wasn't so evil. Even so, she knew it was the illusion of being in an embrace that made her this way. The prince finally released Ada from the clasp and stuck out his hands holding onto Ada's shoulders and she stared at him as he did the same back at her and beamed.
"Thank you." she said in a whisper breaking the gaze, the prince looked down towards the ground grinning at her sudden innocence.
" Don't worry too much, but Princess don't over think my kindness, just understand there's no use in giving yourself heartache, with no solution to release you from that form of captivity? " the prince said trying to catch Ada's eyes as she tried in all effort to avoid his gaze. “It is wrong to allow physical touch, to someone so easily.” Ada whispered as she looked away, and towards the ground.
"Oh my, oh my, has the great Ada become shy?" The prince smirked.
His playful smile would be able to give warmth to anyone even in the cool spirit of the night, just as if the sun was still out. In embarrassment Ada shyly moved his hands off of her shoulders and shook her head softly side to side and while faking a small chuckle said: " I have no reason to be shy I'm just tired " she said and she now getting ready to leave but was left with the tingly sensation of the side of the prince she wanted badly to forget, because it only concreted the admiration of him that Ada wanted to dismiss. Unaware of what overcame him beyond the simple search for a delight, the prince, like a man, would his bride the prince stooped down his arms and got hold of Ada, holding her as such. Staggered and astonished Ada clenched her hands onto his sleeve in fear of being dropped because that seemed to her something that he was likely to do.
"If you drop me, I will hurt you." Ada scoffed. Tightly gripping into his sleeve, amused the Prince faked as if he was about to let Ada fall, causing her to only grasp onto him tighter.
"You said you're tired how about we take you back to bed." The prince said with a smirk for the satisfaction of studying Ada reaction.
Ada punched him on his shoulder asking to be let down, and so he did with the slight chuckles he gave. Faking as if he was hurt and in pain, the prince fell to the ground.
"You've got the hands of a man." the prince said to Ada as he rubbed his shoulder.
"The only kind of man that says that are the weak ones." she replied as she folded her arms. For the first time in a while, the prince was left speechless.
"Yah, Are you sure you're not a man?" The prince asked trying to divert the conversation to his alleged pain.
"If I'm a man doesn't that make you a woman?" Ada replied.
"That doesn't make sense." The Prince said as he rolled his eyes, turning away from the hawk eyes of the Princess. Ada didn't respond so the Crown Prince who was on the ground just fanned away the unspoken words.
As a method of changing the subject, the prince held out his hand in order for Ada to grab onto it and pull him up. The minute she descended her hand the prince pulled her down towards him and to his side. Both looking up at the sky awkwardly chuckled as they admired the crystal blue, light that engulfed the skies making the day appear more admirable than either one of them had previously remembered. The prince in that moment, while Ada was staring at the sky, was stealing glances at her. There was a charge of feelings that seemed to have awakened that even he was not originally aware of when Ada turned around to meet his eyes, the crown prince turned around and returned his attention to the sky. Distracted in thought neither of them heard the call for the royal prince.
A voice from afar called in tease "Are all future kings that childish?" the voice asked with a chuckle. Quickly standing up Ada and the prince shared the sight of a man; he looked only slightly older than the crown prince.
His cheeks were home to two soft circular indents, one on each cheek that grew deep when he smiled. His shoulder length hair of dark ink and like many of the other men his lashes visibly thick decorating his small yet heavy, sandstorm eyes, light brown and captivating. The older Prince processed a face familiar to the prince in a sense of its outline but still a bit rounder, a feature they clearly received from their father's strong genes.
"Agh, he's always come to shatter the even slightest of admirable things of my day." The prince whispered to himself.
“Am I that amazing? That his presence ruined your day?” Ada asked sarcastically, expecting for the prince, to respond in a snarky many towards her she prepared an answer, but the crown prince just looked in her direction, and then looked away.
"Jin-Hwan, you rascal are you speaking down to your eldest brother with your whispers, again?" The young man called out when he got closer.
The closer he got the more attractive his face seemed. He smiled at Ada and gave a small bow "princess" he said in respect and Ada bowed in response.
"Your name is Jin- Hwan?" Ada asked intrigued. The prince ignoring her, turned away and he looked at the man before him " Jin-Un, what do I owe the honor " the crown prince said with sarcasm.
