In This Life

The Lady's Trial

Song Ji 

"I can explain, Joon Young," Pang squeaked like a rotten scurrying across the floorboards of her quarters. 

Song Ji swiftly turned to her friend, the anger obivous on her features,"You knew about this!" She hissed, red filling up her vision.

Lies. 

Those were the building blocks of the life she chose to live. 

"To be fair, I was only told by the prince just this morning. He doesn't want to lose you as a friend Joon Young, and we thought if you couldn't see him as the prince... " Pang voice falter to a silence when he met the dark storm in her eyes. 

Song Ji's shoulders sank to the ground, she was tired of feeling betrayed. Hours ago she was sold out by Nari and now her only friend in this god forsaken palace did the same thing... except Pang's decision was incredibly moronic. 

The girl scoffed and suddenly felt herself laughing. Cautiously, as he was sneaking up on a python, the eunuch gave an uneasy smile and slowly joined in on her laughter, his body stiff as a plank," So... are we good-

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING YOU PIGHEAD?!" Song Ji lashed out at him, her face a serious of veins and blooding rushing to her cheek as she continued," I would eventually discovered he was the prince myself and CUPCAKES? Only you Pang can be dull-witted enough to hold someone captive using stupid cupcakes!"

Pang's head sunk back into his spacious shell that was his body, "I'm sorry. I was trying to help the crowned prince," he sounded like a disobedient child, having been caught stealing a cookie.

"What did he offer you?" Song Ji glared, her frustration trickling down to annoyance," A bag of sweet tarts?"

The eunuch scrunch his brows together, "Thinking of it now I should've asked for something."

"Well, you failed your little task and I'm going to make sure the prince knows that," Song Ji hissed, her face set determined to somehow tell Sung Min, the chief of guards, who all this time turned out to be the forsaken crowned prince of Korea. With his deceptions and playing with her like some sort of toy, Song Ji was glad she had the opportunity to call him a cry baby in his face. Now a list of other names formed in her head as she marched towards the garden where The Lady's Trial had begun. 

○●○

Chang Min 

"Smile," His mother croons as they descended the step towards the pride of powdered lions. 

For the sake of his mother, Chang Min forced out pleasantries to the ladies, some of them who he had only met once while other he's never seen before. There was Yin Jidam in her flowing silk hanbok, batting her eyelashes like there were invisible dust in her eyes. Mi Sook, Jun Ho's sister, was there smiling like a predator when he glance her direction, the girl's arrogance in winning the crown was as obvious and certain as Yin Jidam's insanity. 

They made their way to the group of tables and chairs set up in the spacious gardens surrounded by rosy, pink and white hibiscus with a tranquil ponds where a family of kio fish resided. Chang Min remembered coming to this place, sitting with the kios while he read his books pretending he had audience made of fish. He felt the attention like a target and any minute now an arrow was about to struck dead center. Apparently that arrow was Kim Mi Sook followed by a group of other ladies, painted with red lips and white faces, their hanbok a river of colors flowing after them. 

"Your Majesty, your royal highness," Mi Sook started, her eyes analyzing Chang Min as if he was a book of full of equations, hopefully unsolvable," Thank you for having us today and we, the ladies, are honored to be in your presence."