by Zola Tau
"Are you not happy to see your elder brother?" Prince Jin-Un said back to him.
In all this time Ada was finding herself still lost in the moment taken place minutes ago, and as for the now? She stood there watching the brothers bicker on and on about whatever it was that brothers bickered about. She chuckled amused, yet after a few laughs, both brothers turned to her.
The man next to the crown prince examined Ada before turning to his brother to only quickly glimpse at his reaction and began to speak: “I’m the eldest of the five present in the kingdom currently, I do have siblings above me... but all that isn't needed to be said, is it?" He asked with a charming smile before he proceeded to speak.
"I'm sorry we have just now met, seems my brother wants to keep you all to himself." Prince Jin-Un said with a bow once more.
Shyly Ada smiled and frowned her brows " You don't owe me an apology. " she said trying to respond as well as she could, all in order to seem as if she didn't care all to the extent that the eldest prince seemed to be implying.
Prince Jin-Hwan stared at them in a bit of annoyance. Feeling as if there were too many people all at one setting, he got a hold of his brother's sleeve, pulled him away from Ada and towards the blossom tree. "Well, since you two seemed to have met one another I think you two should get the chance to also say goodbye." The prince whispered to his eldest brother.
Soon Ada stood alone, amused and yet confused. She took her leave, soon after watching the two brothers shared words of mutual annoyance with one another. Ada shook her head as a soft smirk appeared on her face, she wrinkled her brows letting out a chuckle then walked opposite to the direction the princes went in order to just breathe, and think. Very frequently, if anything was to aid her it was the moment she was released from the suffocation of the world and started to breathe. She walked with her hands held together in front of her, as she replayed her moments with the prince, with a guilty smile formed on her face.
"Some funny punishment..." She whispered to herself, as she gently clutched her teeth onto her bottom lip, playing with her thumbs like a child lost in ease she smiled and looked about nonchalantly, thinking on her short moment with the Prince. For some reason, the flowers themselves seemed to have repainted their petals and smile around with her.
In the silence, the two brothers shared shade under the blossom tree. The young prince trying his best to avoid conversation with his brother mumbled a complaint; under his breath about how hot the weather was. The eldest prince stared him down before turning his gaze to the sky.
"What's your relationship with the foreign princess?" The elder brother asked at random awaiting his brother's response.
After a long sigh and looking away from his eldest brother the crown prince scoffed " I see her as a brother would his sister, that’s to the extent of my care for her, but what are you implying with that question? " the prince asked, before standing up in frustration as if he was accused of a crime.
" I'm just saying the way you two seem fond of one another one may mistake it for romance." the eldest prince responded looking up as the crown prince stood over him. The prince sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Then you don't know me well. " the Prince said." Then again none of you really do" he added implying more than what was being said.
The eldest brother was just about to speak but his brother cutting him off continued on his speech.
"She's looking for a friend and like I embrace anyone else I do for her. She's not my choice of women, and she's also not of my land I find her interesting but not appealing, there's a difference." He continued on ranting.
"Dear brother you haven't embraced anyone for that matter…" The eldest Prince gazed to say before he could finish he was welcomed with a stare from the crown prince making him silent.
The eldest brother nodded his head, while he adjusted his hanbok and looked towards a childlike Ada playing with the flowers, continuing to watch her as his brother spoke on words he didn't care enough to hear.
"I wouldn't place blame on you, brother, you know...if you did see her romantically, she's both interesting and appealing." he said still caught in awe of her.
“Don’t even let it cross your mind, she's not one of your maidens you can influence off their feet and into your bed, if you choose that path with her you'll be left empty-handed and without affection." the crown prince said with a scoff.
" Are you challenging me?" the eldest brother asked placing a smirk on his face. Rolling his eyes the crown prince turned away from his brother to get ready to walk away.
"To challenge you would be to admit attraction, which is not there and because of that I find no amusement in doing so I'm just saying she wouldn't return your affection." His eldest brother opened his mouth to speak once more but the prince walked away before the eldest brother could say anything as a response. The eldest brother let out a chuckled and shook his head at the jealousy that his youngest brother tried so desperately to keep hidden.
Even with the crown prince's warning, from afar he stared at Ada. A gentle and soft smile appeared on his face once he took his chance and walked towards her. He studied her facial features from her mysterious curls that took more than the wind to move, to her most appealing double lidded eyes and full lips that were infused in a blackened honey shade.
To the eldest brother Ada was a jewel, though unusual to his eyes that's what made her so appealing, a woman with a figure and tone his mind was not able to comprehend. "I couldn't offer her a throne because it's not in my grasp, but I would still be able to make her mine but no worries of allied requirements.” he said to himself. "How dramatic of me to say out loud." he said to himself once more shaking his head in disapproval.
With his head up, his confidence sunk in and he walked closer to Ada who was too distracted to realize that she had a visitor. She dropped something and was searching about for it hectically, and on the ground by his left foot was a small round ring, marble golden and glistening in the sunlight as the beams danced along its edge.
"Would this happen to be what you are looking for?" he asked as Ada was still faced away from him. Unaware that he was behind her Ada did a small jump. Slowly turning around in unnecessary suspense which was brought to an end when she was able to see that it was the eldest prince she calmed down.
The eldest prince picked up the ring examining it in a view of interest. "Ah, thank you, thank you." she said reaching to get a hold of it.
The eldest prince with an advantage of height that he had over her, rose the ring towards the sky taunting her, his smile was playful therefore making Ada's anger slow to surface, even so, she was ready to punch her for it back. After a while Ada took her defeat and just ignored the playful prince then she resumed to get her flowers.
"Are you not going to try and get back your ring?" he asked as he twiddled the ring in his between his fingers.
"Well, I know where it is I shouldn't stoop to such a low level and forget my dignity playing about reaching for something I know I would not be able to get, because of your advantage in height." Ada rebutted.
The eldest prince embarrassed reached for Ada's hand, and on her fourth finger on her right hand, he placed the golden ring, before giving her a charming smile.
"You sure work a man to his limits in order to just receive a smile from you, don't you?" He said delicately, Ada staring blankly became hesitant to reply.
The eldest prince went on to say "Just call me Jin-Un, no need to speak to me as a stranger would."
" I can't possibly do that, even if you allow me I don't even call the crown prince by his given name who am I to call his eldest brother anything but Prince." Ada replied ready to laugh at the obscure offering the eldest prince gave.
“Are you not of royal blood?" Jin-un asked lowering his head to gaze into Ada's eyes.
"Well, yes but..." Ada started to say.
"Well then, even more, reasons why I should treat you as an equal." he responded stating a very open-minded statement
Ada grew attracted to hearing.
Ada snickered like a child. Unsure how to reply "So that's all I had to say to see a smile from you?" He asked her.
Ada's smile got bigger " I assumed you were telling a joke, no one here other than my father saw me worthy of being treated equal even that as a woman your statement as happy as I loved the way it rang in my ears I know that, I'm too royal to be treated as a servant but too foreign to be seen as an equal by anyone here of royal blood." she said before coming to a halt ready to apologize for how rude she sounded for making the eldest prince out to be wrong, when what he intended was said in pure effort to make her smile.
"Then accept my apology on their behalf Princess." Prince Jin-Un replied as he tried to keep contact with her eyes, which kept using to look elsewhere, in order to avoid his stare.
At his apology Ada was once again not sure how to react but to just nod her head in agreement. "Walk with me?"Jin-Un asked.
Looking at the flowers she had in her hand like an innocent puppy would follow a stranger it sensed safe, Ada did just that, speaking with Prince Jin-Un as they waltzed through the trail of a dreamlike scene.
"What is it about your land that you miss so much, is it really that special?" Jun-Un asked as he walked beside Ada, awaiting her answer.
"Well that's a thoughtless question "Ada responded as she playfully looked away.
"How so?" Jun-Un asked in response. "Well if you were in a foreign land surrounded by nothing but beings that looked nothing like you, and the one being like you that you had has disappeared wouldn't you feel even a moment of desperation, to return back to a place familiar?" Ada said. Prince Jun-in didn't respond but rather intrigued continued to listen to what else Ada had to say.
" In my homeland I am important, worthy of the praise to be made out of the ground I walked on and though not all praise me, it seems my land and the spirit of those that surround me make me feel at home, here I feel unworthy to walk the grounds. Though the king made effort to make me comfortable it does not exclude the tragic truth that over here, my skin's decoration of tone and my being as a whole is out of place. I feel like a fish that's been placed in a bush, though nature in its essence is beautiful, it's not beneficial to reside somewhere I would not be able to thrive.”
Looking at Ada go into a rant on a topic she seemed to have found passion in Prince Jun-in smiled.
"You've clearly thought it through, so what is preventing you from leaving?" He asked.
" My stepmother—" and before Ada could finish her name was being called, trailed from afar was a frightened Nari as if she had something urgent to say, her usually neat hair was a mess and same went for her attire.
Her once clean hanbok was now stained with dirt, and disorder she ran towards the eldest prince and Ada. In her rush, she fell to the ground, as for how one may praise a God.
"Princess..." Nari huffed for air; Ada was trying to help Nari up when the young maiden refused her hand. Rather Nari was aiming for the princess's dress when she got a hold of it grabbing onto the bottom lining of Ada's hanbok.
"Princess... You need to hide away." Nari said whimpering. Looking at her heavily confused Ada tried to stretch out her arms to help Nari stand but Nari fought her hands away continuously.
[제 8장]
“To the one who lies, it is a method in answer to fear, but to fear of what, it isn’t always said. To the one who is lied to, the fear is honesty”
"Princess, please, please." Nari consisted of shouting anxiously, in confusion Prince Jun-Un looked down at Nari, but didn't hesitate to do as she said.
"Nari...seriously" Ada began; the eldest rushed both of the young women towards the woods.
The coils that outlined thin tightly compacted curls along Ada's hair line started to come to the surface as a result of her nervous sweating, the hanbok grew too hot and uncomfortable.
The eldest prince held onto her arm tightly as Nari rushed behind constantly looking behind her as if there was a horrid creature following her. The deeper into the woods they ran the darker it became. Near the center of the woods which was outlined in a circle by the hidden trees and leaves, there was a structure, a small house like building that seemed to be a world of its own.
"That's the crown prince's secret Library go about and both of you hide in there till I come call for you. I'll try to figure out what's going on" The eldest prince instructed.
Nari held onto him in rash, then quickly let go avoiding his eyes being she was a servant and started to speak:
“A village child died today, his mother claims that Princess Ada somehow is involved with his death, the guards came about while the king was eating demanding for her. We all know it isn't true because she just now got better from days of being unwell, but the people aren't letting the truth be told."
" Surely we could just talk it out with the king and all will be well, he can't hand Princess Ada over and I am certain that he wouldn't think of it, that much I believe in him." The eldest prince began to direct.
Nari shook her head recklessly and her eyes showed fear. " You can't, you can't, they won't listen they see her skin before they see her, she won't survive the minute she's given to the guards, not with the town out there telling those guards to do differently." she rambled. The eldest prince shook his head in annoyance with the fearful servant.
Despite the warning as the prince and Nari bickered back and forth for what was in the best interest to the princess, Ada rushed to run out of the woods. She raced outside the woods, it was some time after Nari and the eldest prince went well into their argument about the best plan for Ada till they were able to realize that the one they worried about was nowhere to be found. Ada raced towards the palace, to meet the king. The crown prince that was reading under the blossom tree looked up as Ada ran across the little bridge and towards the palace gates though he shouted for her attention her looked preoccupied in thought.
Guards opened the gates the instant they saw Ada running nothing like they've ever done before, and towards the throne room, Ada ran. She was huffing for air when she made it to the throne room as Nari, the crown prince, and the eldest brother trailed close behind.
"Princess, Ada please don't!" Nari shouted referring to Ada entering into the throne room racing into the lion's den that she was trying to be kept out of.
Ada entered the room despite the threats. In the throne room sat the king on his throne and a sea of village men and women. The rest of the other princesses and the eldest daughter's husband sat on the steps under their father's throne, just watching.
One woman in particular with a round face and a thin figure wore her long black hair in a braid, the woman was the first to walk towards Ada and the first thing she did was release a smack across Ada's face as she resorted to staring sternly at her after doing so.
The crown prince approached behind an astonished Ada and raised his voice as everyone else stared in shock.
"Who are you, to hit one of royal blood!?!?" He yelled at her. "Do you not favor your life?!?" He proceeded to ask. Still, Ada stood holding onto her cheek as it still stung from pain.
"How could I favor my life when this...this dark devil killed my child?!?!?" The woman yelled back.
The crown prince stared as if he just heard the most absurd new in his life. "You can't honestly think that makes sense, do you?" The prince asked the woman. Then he turned to his father, repeating his question of how absurd the accusation was.
Weakly Ada spoke. "Do you just go about accusing people of wrong with no evidence?" Ada said straightening her posture. The woman stayed silent and looked to the middle princess just for a minute and back at Princess Ada. She stood silent not giving an answer to the question Ada asked, as all just stared at her awaiting her response.
Ki, the middle princess walked towards both Ada and the woman." Father, the woman came to me for help, around the moment the foreign king and his daughter arrived, she claimed her child had grown sick, but he started to get better when the king p
assed, but dramatically passed this morning around the same time she" she said pointing to Princess Ada " was around and about, I saw a dark figure leave early morning and return."
Princess Ada stared at Princess Ki raising her brow and walking closer to just catch her hand, but princess Ki quickly moved from her touch.
"Princess are you sure it was me you saw?" Ada asked the princess. Ignoring her question the princess continued.
"Do you think it's just a coincidence that all these children have grown sick, not just this woman but also about all these victims here, their children have grown sick?"
The sea of village subjects chattered among themselves. Some came forth to speak.
“I hear those of her land use the aid of evil spirits, it only makes sense that because of that our people and their children are getting sick. She is a child to a kingdom of witchcraft. "
Areum walked towards her sister, Ki and grabbed her by the hand in anger. "Are you so evil you'd think up of such a deadly lie? Ki, the grain amount of dignity you still obtained has shattered on this day". Ki stared at her younger sister as she spoke.
"You must work alongside her since you're so fast to defend her." Ki began to exclaim with anger.
Before Areum could say anything more the king shouted. "YOU DESPICABLE CHILD! how dare you harass and accuse a royal guest with empty words in my presence?!?" He shouted.
In a shock of her father's level of anger, Ki backed down and just glared at Ada. As lost as she ever was, Ada stood there unsure of what to do. The crown prince grabbed her hand and pulled her towards himself. Ada looked to her side, as she slowly fell to ease like anyone would in the realization that she wasn't alone.
Nari glared a frightened look towards Ada. "I care for her more than I do myself, but she never fails to leave me in terror." she whispered to herself.
The eldest prince looked down at Nari who looked uncomfortable and timid. "She'll be fine; they have no evidence "he whispered.
Nari just nodded, more to herself than anyone else around her. "But father, what example does it set to the people that we don't care about their troubles not enough to even place the one accused into a holding to prepare for trial?" Princess Ki asked. The people all chanted with praise in unison. Palace officials were divided amongst themselves, while the king looked to them for help.
