The Queen's Maid

fourteen

The attention I got when I returned to the servants' quarters was the most I had ever gotten in my life—more so than my first day as a transferred maid. Maids who had barely talked to me were bombarding me with questions about the Marquis while giggling uncontrollably. Even Mi-Nyu was participating, wide-eyed and eager.

Everyone was so smitten with that man, and I could not understand it. I never did when it came to men.

"Do you know when the Marquis will be back from his travels?" Mi-Nyu asked.

"He said it depends on how fruitful his conversations will be," I recalled. "But he told the Queen that he was aiming to be back in a month."

That sparked a few excited squeals and a whole lot more chatters.

"Oh, you are so lucky to have talked to him!"

"I've always wanted to see his smile up close."

"He's so much friendlier than the Queen."

"Oi, Seul-Ki, I think your sister is looking for you," someone called from outside the room.

I was relieved to have an excuse to escape the crowd of maids vying for way too much information on the Marquis. Without another word, I rushed out of the servants' quarters.

Seul-Na was waiting by a cherry blossom tree along the public courtyard. These trees had been full of bright pink flowers just a few days ago; now, the petals were sparse and speckled. The seasons could not be changing this quickly, could they?

"Hey there," I greeted my sister as I bent down to pick up a fallen petal. These springtime flowers would soon disappear as summer neared, and I felt the urge to keep them.

"Unni..."

I raised my eyebrows at the unusual sullen tone. "Is everything okay, Seul-Na?"

She exploded at my question. "No, not at all! I'm stressed, Unni. Everyone at the quarters is stressed!"

Frowning, I sat down and gestured for Seul-Na to do so as well. She plopped down next to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Tell me all about it."

She let out a frustrated groan as she leaned against the tree bark. "Argh, it's just so... so shocking."

"What is?"

Her lips pursed as she glanced at me. "Oh, you know... the fact that the King spent the night with the Queen..."

The sentence, hesitant as it was, punched me in the gut. I did not like that fact too. No, I hated it. Despite the Queen's assurance last night, the mere thought of it still made me want to throw up.

I doubted Seul-Na's displeasure was related to mine, however.

"Yeah, it... it is shocking." Pulling my legs up to my chest, I flattened the pink flower on my knees. "I hear that it doesn't... happen very much though."

"It has never happened before!" Any bit of uncertainty in Seul-Na's tone disappeared as she went into a rant. "I mean, not like this, with the King staying till the next morning, apparently. I didn't think it was a big deal at first, but the Concubine was so distraught. I- I've never seen her like that before, it's... it's frightening. She was crying, and screaming at us, and tearing up all her pretty clothes."

My mouth dropped. "Oh, heavens, Seul-Na, that's... that's terrible..."

"She's never like this, Unni. She has always been so nice and sweet. But after she found out about..." Seul-Na shook her head. Tears shimmered in her eyes. "I hate seeing her like this, Unni. I hate that she's so upset."