The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 13

"Thanks, Satang." Mina got up to leave, but just before she left, Sana gathered the courage to ask what she'd meant to for the entire time.

"Are you okay?"

Mina seemed taken aback, but she also seemed to understand.

"Yes."

🐧👑🐧

Mina took a breath, and she intertwined her fingers with Nayeon's. She didn't understand why her parents were speaking to her again, but for the whole dinner they were bullying her about how it was the 30th of August. The princess really wasn't in the mood for it, especially not as everyday tasks were getting harder for her. She couldn't even stand up without being put through a sudden wave of agonising pain.

She wasn't sure why it was getting worse. Mina guessed it was because she never received proper medical treatment, but it was still odd. She didn't want to tell anyone about it and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to deal with.

Mina didn't want to be locked in her room again. She was tired of the routine.

"May I ask something?" She asked, and Nayeon look up from the cupboard.

"What is it, Mina?"

"Must I do this?" 

Nayeon stepped closer, locking eyes with the princess.

"It is the King and Queen's orders. I apologise, Mina, but this is necessary." The handmaiden answered, and Mina didn't know what came over her, but she slapped Nayeon, hard. The girl stumbled backwards, clutching her cheek, surprised by this sudden rage. "Mina-"

"NO! Don't 'Mina' me! Do you know how hard it is for me? Do you know that I spend the time waiting for midnight praying for everything to end? I hate this life, and I hate - no, I despise - anyone who thinks this is good for me!" The princess shouted, slapping her handmaiden once again, and slamming her bedroom door shut behind her.

Nayeon was still for a minute or two before beginning to barricade the door. As she was working, she could hear the princess' pained sobs. It wasn't midnight yet, so anything she was doing then she would remember. She decided to listen in, and heard a box opening. There was silence for a while, before Mina mumbled a shaky curse under her breath:

"Fuck you, Hana."

 The box was then closed.

Nayeon failed to understand why Mina was using such language while referring to her former ballet instructor, as the princess sometimes brought up how important she was to her. There was definitely something going on that Mina purposely hid from everyone else.

🐧👑🐧

Nayeon couldn't take the screams. Especially not after the princess' outburst. She hadn't taken her mind from that moment at all, and as the hours passed, her guilt grew. The handmaiden found herself standing in front of the door.

"Help me...Please...Somebody hear me..." Mina begged, her voice cracking as her loud bangs on the wall became low taps. "I'm scared..."

The handmaiden decided that, at the end of the day, the princess was just a traumatised girl, and didn't deserve to be isolated in such a way.

Checking that nobody was nearby, Nayeon removed everything and slowly opened the door. As she stepped inside, she saw Mina sitting on the floor, and the princess whipped her head towards her handmaiden. While she didn't have the time to hurt herself brutally, she was still clearly bleeding. Without thinking, Mina picked up a sharp shard of glass and pointed it at Nayeon threateningly.

"Stop! D-don't come closer, please..." She pleaded, her arm trembling so much that Nayeon was surprised she didn't drop her weapon. Mina kept backing up further away, hissing every time she scraped or cut herself with a stray glass shard on the floor.

"Mina, it's alright. It's me, Nayeon, your friend."

The princess shook her head, wailing loudly when her back hit the wall.

"Please don't h-hurt me..." She sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'll be good, I-I promise..."

The handmaiden decided it would be better if she stayed a small distance for the time being.

"Mina, listen to me-"

Nayeon's eyes widened in panic when Mina dug her palm into the shard of glass she was holding, before weakly throwing it at her handmaiden. She knew she had to get closer, but even as she leaned forward the princess cried more.

"M-mistress please!" Mina screamed, and Nayeon was confused. Soon she realised that the princess wasn't seeing Nayeon at all, but rather Ms Red Lips. The handmaiden could feel her heart break as she watched Mina helplessly fall down into a praying position, her head bowed down to the floor. "Please...I-it already hurts so much..." 

"Mina, look at me." Nayeon slowly moved closer, touching the princess' shoulder. Mina didn't budge from her position, so the handmaiden took a breath.

"Should I sing her a lullaby? She's not a baby anymore, though. Maybe it would still work?" She thought, glancing back down at Mina. She tried to think of some, but her mind immediately went to one lullaby, and didn't leave her mind.

"How was your day today?

Anything bad happen?
You just need to get through
Day by day
Have strength, think of me

Baby think about me
All night long
We are together right now
In our dreams, it's just us two
As we make our happy moments

Shalala shalala

Good night
Let's meet in our dreams
Think of me
Come see me
Baby good night, good night"

🐧👑🐧

"Baby good night, good night"

A woman was singing for her child, and although she was laying sick, she didn't want to appear frail towards her daughter.

"Mama?" The girl asked, her voice small. "I'm still hungry."

Her mother smiled, though she felt the same. She was pregnant with her second daughter, and to make things worse, she fell ill. There was no work she could possibly do, sending her family further down into poverty.

"I know, baby. But the less you think about it, the sooner it'll all go away."

The girl nodded reluctantly.

"You're belly's big. Is my sister coming soon?" She asked, and it was the woman's turn to nod. She was worried, because if she went into labour while still sick, both she and the baby would probably die. "When she comes, does that mean we'll eat even less?"

Her mother was surprised. Her five year-old child was maturing and understanding reality much faster than she intended.

"Let's not be pessimistic. We'll find a way, I promise."

(Can everyone reading this pretend that the 'lullaby' isn't Jaljayo Goodnight?)