by Zola Tau
Only the shuffling of feet in the grass implied that someone was there, aside from that no one could be seen. "Princess, return to your country and you won't get hurt." the voice simply said childishly. "How daring are you truly, that you don't even show your face to me?" Ada asked mocking the one who threatened her.
A cruel laugh was made and soon came to a stop "For someone trapped you speak with power in your voice." the voice responded. Ada thought to herself that, though that was true she needed to speak as if she was still in control of her emotions. "If you truly believe that, then why do you stay hidden?" she harassed,
The man outside laughed a belly laugh, "It's because you think that your family of friends are coming to rescue you and the only joke, we call king?" The voice asked.
"They are probably just as you are, crying for help as my guards rid them of any protection they may have, whether to stay alongside you or return to their rightful place. I'm sure the second they are given the choice whether to kill off one of their own or you they will choose the odd one out." he scoffed taunting Ada. Ada unable to react made effort to reach for the man, "Don't hurt anyone!" She screamed.
In that moment the royal advisor revealed himself. "If it was done the first time you were locked up you wouldn't be here right now." The royal advisor leaned forward and looked deeply at Ada, and shook his head.
"I was against his planned power from the beginning, now he's caused me to do what I must! "He yelled.
"Time after time, he grew weaker in his stern and assertive ways, all because of you, and for what? A chance at expanding his nation across seas? Including you as a legacy to a pure tree is just at best allowing a rotten fruit placement in a basket of healthy ones. You will ruin this country." he spat.
"How can I ruin a country I love?" Princess Ada asked. The king's advisor looked down onto her and shook his head "Would you die for this country?" He asked. Without hesitation, Ada said "yes! "
Meanwhile, in the palace, the others were speaking among themselves when at once a loud thump was heard. They frantically looked around to see a woman being thrown into the room along with them. After a bit of analyzing it became obvious that the woman was the same one that said earlier that she'd be leaving to head back to the villages.
Even after being thrown she was then pushed into the room towards the wall, almost falling onto Ayo. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" The crown prince yelled. The guards themselves were taken aback by the power of his voice and how angered he seemed to be.
Everyone was silent and stood waiting for one of the guard's to reply, while all that was taking place Ji-Hye watched as the woman grabbed for her son and held him close, she was consistently releasing sniffles and swallowed nothing as she pressed her lips together trying to muffle the pain, all while rocking with the child in her hand, clenching onto him tightly " I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She kept repeating into the little boy's ear, "mom, is sorry." She kept saying.
Her clothing was wet from the rain and mud outside, she pressed her eyes shut as she began to shiver, but her eyes opened once more in fear as she relived how cruelly she was dragged across the field, so roughly that even the mud layered itself around her legs. The guards all stood around as they seemed to back everyone further into the room since they all walked forward. "What's going on here?" The crown prince barked once more agitated that his first question wasn't answered, he highly disliked repeating himself.
The crown prince looked at the woman as she sat on the ground curled up with her son. "What did you do to her?" He asked pointing to the woman. The guard looked at him and responded with a lie. "We were told to bring her here, she was caught taking this from princess Ada's room." the guard said as he held out a hanbok princess Ada wore before.
After analyzing it thinking about the familiarity of the hanbok the crown prince realized, the hanbok was from when he first met Princess Ada, the simple hanbok she wore when she was reluctant in accepting that the crown prince wasn't going to apologize. The crown prince reached out and grabbed a hold of the hanbok, and lifted it to the candle light then looked at the woman.
" I tell her not to become too friendly with the villagers." the crown prince mumbled looking at the hanbok, he wanted to place blame on the woman but after he thought on it, he senses something was not alright.
He paused for a moment and looked to the guard then back at the woman as she shivered in the corner silent to her surrounding; she hid her feet under her hanbok and held onto her son as she shed tears of aggravation.
She shook and frowned as her lips quivered and her breathing became a bit quicker and she held tightly onto her son. The little boy started to cough and in that moment she started to cry. The way she couldn't protect her son, while he was being dragged and teased with death at his face was all she remembered. She was restrained and unable to do a thing, while she was thrown into the corner of the room in which she was held.
Mother sang-hee rushed over to her and tightly wrapped her arms around her.
As she was being comforted she thought back to when she was taken away from Princess Ada and the king whom she was truly to rescue, but all that happened was the horror she was sent to a room where her arms were bonded as she sat there her son was being taunted by the guards with their big swords and arrows. The guards consistently pretending to almost killing her in front of him, and all she could hear was the wailing of her son.
They then threw her in the room of the royals all in an effort to torture her more. She remembered when one of the guards sent chills down her back when he said. "When you get in there you don't say a word about where the princess and the king are or your son will have your corpses to embrace." To her it was a form of torture, to allow her to sit there unable to save the princess but bonded to stay silent for the sake of the love of her child.
Ji-Hye observed the fragile woman that refused to even speak to mother sang-hee, but she allowed her son to be wrapped in mother sang-hee's arms so that he could be warmer.
"Who caught her?" She asked the guard whom her back faced because she was preoccupied looking at the woman. "One of the servant" he responded. "With the storm, the servants are informed to remain inside, after cleaning up what were they doing in the royal quarters?" She asked waiting for the woman's reaction to her question. If she looks up or turned to pay some attention to where the questions were headed it would mean that there is more to the story then we are being told Ji-Hye thought to herself.
Just like that the woman raised her head softly and looked at Ji-Hye. "With all due respect, there is no obligation to answer to you; you aren't married to any—"
" Answer her!" the eldest prince said interrupting the guard from finishing his statement. The eldest prince walked over beside Ji-Hye.
Ji-Hye softly smiled as she received a touch of chills towards what the eldest prince did, defending her as he did.
The guard unable to answer bowed to the eldest prince and said. "That's all I've been told by the king's advisor." Ji-Hye looked to the woman and she was waiting for her to do something, and the moment her head rose up, peeking once and her eyes widen when the royal advisor's name was said.
Ji-Hye thought to herself and turned to the guard finally. "Should we go see the advisor?" She suggested.
Before the guard could refuse Ji-Hye walked towards the door the guard stretched out his hand to grab a hold of her but the eldest prince called out; " If you lay even a hand on her, yours will go missing." he said as he followed after Ji-Hye. While this was all happening the crown prince thought to himself and he walked over to the woman " What truly happened?" He asked her.
She shook her head and avoided eye contact with the crown prince. The crown prince looked to the eldest princess and her husband. "You two stay to watch and in charge here, there is something going on." he whispered to them. Nari and mother sang-hee were aiding the little boy, and before he could leave Princess Ki grabbed onto his hanbok sleeve.
While everything was happening Princess Ki was hid
ing in the corner behind Ayo, but now she suddenly surfaced to speak to the crown prince. "I'll go with you; I won't be of any use over here." was all she said. As confused as he was the crown prince nodded his head and allowed her to follow.
"Ask to be taken to the dungeon, isn't that where Nari said they said they'd be going?" Princess Ki asked in a whisper once they were outside.
"Guards, to the dungeon." The crown prince barked. One of the guards walked over to him and with his bow said; " The King requested that no one is allowed in and out of the dungeon, so even to you crown prince I have to say no." the guard responded.
"Alright, I'll remind you that you'll be working for me one day, just keep that in mind." the crown prince said as he turned to walk away. The guards made effort to block their path as they all scattered about convincing him he had no right to go to the dungeon so late at night.
The eldest prince from afar called out to the crown prince in the dark, after seeing that his brother was struggling to dismiss himself and his sister from the midst of the guards. "Seems that we no longer need your aid." he said to the guards and so he bowed while pulling Princess Ki along with him, they ran towards the eldest prince. By the time they found themselves lost in the servant's quarters, Princess Ki had already disappeared.
There was a confusing sight she saw as the Royal Advisor stood at the entrance, with a bow and arrow in his hands, aiming it at Princess Ada. Suddenly gone mad and unable to sense anything but rage Princess Ki raced toward the king's advisor and with one blow she kick the back of his head, ready in a stance to fight as he stumbled into a fall.
The only Attack he didn't seem to predict coming. The kick from a princess, who was small in appearance but heavy in weight hurt more than the advisor ever predicted. What grew the most uncomfortable was when he brought his hand out in front of him he was stunned to silence at the blood on his hand.
He was now filled with unexplainable with anger and he darted his eyes towards Ki.
"What do you think you are doing?!? Do you think this little act of courage you think you display will allow them to welcome you ever as a princess of this land?" He angrily as he smirked.
" Well, princess " he started to say as he walked forward towards her but he stopped as he started to get a bit light headed " They never even thought of you as a princess, nor have they ever thought of you as family. " he yelled from where he stood. " Guards!" He yelled and so the guards came out and he pointed towards princess Ki with his sword.
Suddenly princess Ki kicked in the foot of the advisor as he was preparing to tease her with death by waving the sword in her face. He fell letting go of the sword and princess Ki took her advantage, quickly getting a hold of the sword. She backed him into the wall of the dungeon and called out: "If you favor your life you'll tell them to let the king and the princess go!" she yelled but strangely the royal advisor started to laugh, " what's so funny?!" Princess Ki yelled.
Then all at once, everything suddenly went black for Princess Ki, and as for the eldest prince and the crown prince, they were being restrained by guards as they watched how Princess Ki was masked with a cloth causing her to pass out.
As for Ji-Hye, she stayed hidden as she was told to do so, after meeting up with the Princes. "We can't all be at the same place at once, Ji-Hye if we get captured it's to you, to get the help they'd least suspect you, stay hidden and don't worry." Ji-Hye repeated the words of the eldest prince in her head as she cupped her mouth the restraint from crying out loud as she watched both he and the crown prince, get dragged into the dungeon while Princess Ki was left outside.
"Who in your family will claim you now as you're dying?" The king's advisor asked a hurting Ki in amusement, and then he too walked into the dungeon to watch in satisfaction the hurt in the crown prince's eyes as he saw Princess Ada.
Day after day for two days, Princess Ada sat in a corner of the room she was held captive in.
The king laid his head onto her lap, shivering, growing weak in spirit. The musky smell of blood from the prior guards that were killed still lingered and the wet ground that was now created from the rain held them captive and uncomfortable.
"Consistently I ask you, you watch her eat scrapes like a peasant and the guards that watch outside will not be of aid to the others, rather than keep wasting time now, the choice is yours. This can all end if you choose one of them or rather would you be an honorable son of your father and to this country or choose the temporary wife you've made and sacrifice the life of your father. " The king's advisor asked as he walked behind the crown prince with a guard to follow behind him. The crown prince was purposefully placed outside Ada's hold by the advisor, for the pure purpose of pain it gave both her and her fiancé being unable to help one another, the advisor enjoyed.
On the second morning, a new guard came in towards the right side of the assisting guard, to the lack of everyone's knowledge he was instructed by Ji-Hye to walk do so.
He went in suddenly and bowed to the king's advisor and avoided eye contact with the crown prince. "Be as convincing as you can be, and the other guards will do their part if they haven't died by now I believe, they have more time." The guard remembered as he replayed the words of Ji-Hye.
Ada's dark skin lost glow in the midst of the dry mud, and the grimy smell that surrounded her. When the crown prince first came into the dungeon, he couldn't sit and watch as Ada suffered but the more he complained the more they restricted of her, denying her food and water, till he became completely silent.
The crown prince, sat in the corner whispering to her if she was okay, asking her how she was doing, but Princess Ada with a smile never admit to the hurt she felt. Rather she asked the prince if he was okay. Before he could speak he noticed a line of blood that ran down her dark leg, which Ada was trying so desperately to cover, to lessen his anxiety of fear of the condition she was in.
"What happened?!?" He asked unable to contain himself, pointing to her as he yelled at the advisor.
"You really are a disappointment in a son, it's not as if your father doesn't lay there beside her, but she's the only one you are concerned for?" The crown prince stood silent and looked over at the advisor.
He sighed and looked about trying to avoid the tears that were about to trickle down his face. While he glared at the advisor and his guards, Ada crawled over towards the crown prince, unable to touch him, the bars were so close that she was unable to place her hands through to grab a hold of him. She rubbed her hands together as she knelt before him.
" Please, please just help your father, please!!" Ada said as she began to cry her tears became heavy, and her being as a whole became tired of playing as a strong woman, she couldn't help but feel pity for herself.
She was feeling pain in her stomach and she could no longer take the burning pain, rather she'd die than to wake up and find out something happened to her child but even she knew that wasn't the answer.
In this state, she now grew even slightly mad all for the sake being overwhelmed with all that was occurring. "Father, what do I do now?" She thought to herself as she outwardly gave permission for her own execution.
"Ada! No! Stop be quiet !" The crown prince instructed, staying face to his fiancé making sure to give her time to get back into her correct state of mind. While all was taking place Ada went back towards the cold walls and laid the king's head on her lap avoiding the crown prince's gaze as the tears still continued to crawl down her face.
Ada thought to herself as to how she could still maintain in even a bit of aid to herself and her child, rather than pity she started to feel anger, as she saw Ki's body dragged in front of her she covered her mouth. Princess Ki's hands were bounded as she remained unconscious unsure how long she's been like that, Ada gazed at the sight before her in anger.
She felt sorrow for the child, that had been pitied all her life as she was placed in a neighboring cell.
I'm sure she was trying to overcome it and now she ended up here Ada thought to herself. The cr
own prince began to speak as he read the reaction off the face of Ada " I'm not choosing you over my..."
"No! Stop!" Ada screamed as she banged on the walls. In a sudden reaction, Ada screamed for anyone who would hear, to do so.
"I choose myself...because I'm not married to the crown prince, he still has no material bounds, I still speak independently as a separate nation, rather than the ally we were organized to be, I chose myself!" Ada finished as she quickly wrapped a piece of glass on the floor that she previously cut herself on into the sleeve of her hanbok.
The royal advisor smiled and pointed at the guards to go and get her after he turned around. "Your fiancé sure is more decisive, than you are, it almost makes me regret having to remove her, but it has to be done." he said as he patted the back of the prince and he walked in front of Ada to give her a smile.
"I guess you do love this country as you said you did." He teased with disgust in his voice.
"I would spit in your face right now, but even the least of me doesn't deserve to fall upon such a useless man." Ada said as her voice remained consistent in tone, and her face remained emotionless.
The advisor pointed to the two guards that stood tall "Grab a hold of the prince." The moment they did so he turned around and slapped Princess Ada. "Don't provoke me, filth" he yelled
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" The crown prince yelled. "Ada, just stop...please love, just go back and sit down." The prince said pushing away from the guard. The guard on the right seemed weirdly more loose in his grip that the other, so much so that he was yelled at by the other.
"Hold him tighter! Don't make me do your job too." The guard commanded and so the guard on the right did as he was told.
Ada looked at the hand of the royal advisor as he grabbed onto her arm "Didn't your prince just tell you to let me go?" Ada asked as she scanned from the grip on her hand to the Advisor's face. The advisor ignored Ada and raised his hand to slap her once more "Seriously..." Ada said under her breath glaring at the advisor, with her hair wild, as it covered her face. "Learn your place." He scorned.
