The Princess' Handmaiden

Chapter 14

"Mina! Are you alright? You seem tired." Hana greeted her student, smiling kindly.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine."

The princess wasn't fine. She didn't get any sleep the night before. She stayed up until late for her lesson, and her nightmares made everything worse. Recently, Mina had been getting nightmares every night, and would be woken up by her handmaiden, right before getting beaten by the psychotic woman for disturbing her rest.

Her nightmares were terrifying. She would have to relive her beatings, her lessons, and the basement. The basement was something that always stayed.

After only a little while, the princess collapsed on the floor, and Hana rushed to her side.

"Mina? Oh, I knew you looked tired." The girl picked up the young child and gently placed her on a bench. "What happened? You can tell me."

The princess leaned away from Hana, shaking her head frantically.

"No! No, please don't make me tell you!" She pleaded, and her teacher only grew more suspicious. However, like every other time, she let it go, because she hated seeing Mina so scared.

🐧👑🐧

Mina was woken up in the middle of the night. She knew it wasn't because of her nightmares, it was the 31st of October. Ms Red Lips grabbed her arm tightly, dragging her out of her room and through the halls.

No matter how much the princess begged, how she cried, it was like talking to a brick wall. The woman ended up covering her mouth.

The handmaiden opened the trap-door to the basement, the basement that nobody except from the King, Queen, Ms Red Lips and any corrupt worker who wanted to join in on the 'fun' knew about.

The 'fun' was just doing whatever they wanted to the princess. Absolutely no restrictions. There would be a monthly evaluation, when Mina would find out if she'd been good enough to stay away from the wretched room. If it wasn't already easy to guess, the princess would find herself trapped there every single month. She would be forced to stay from midnight, and only be let out when it struck midnight on the first day of the next month.

The princess let out a tearful shout as she was thrown down the cold steps.

"Mistress, please!" She sobbed, pressing her back up against the wall. "I'll be good, I promise!"

Despite this, the princess knew that none of her words would ever move Ms Red Lips.

🐧👑🐧

"You can't catch me!" Sana laughed, looking back to see her ten year-old sister running after her. She stopped paying attention to her surroundings, and tripped over a rock, grazing her knee.

"Satang!" Mina crouched down, and began to help her up.

"Don't worry, it's just a scratch-" She was interrupted by a woman running over.

"Are you okay, Princess? Should we seek medical attention?" Ms Red Lips asked, and Sana was at a loss for words.

"No, seriously, it's just a scratch..." 

"Mina. Come with me, now." The woman demanded, tugging at the young girl's wrist.

🐧👑🐧

"What is wrong with you!?" Ms Red Lips yelled, exaggerating every word as she kicked Mina's back. The princess was laying on the floor, unable to move or cry. The tears had stopped falling, and all she could think about was how ugly her back would look after that. It would undoubtedly be covered in many bruises, and probably other wounds.