Chapter 12

Sunlight streamed into the room through the gap between the embroidered rich silk curtains of the room. The handmaid came into the room and opened the curtains further. Lu woke up. The handmaid bowed to the princess. There was a knock on the door. The handmaid looked at the princess. Lu gestured her to open the door. Another maid came in and announced that the breakfast would be served within half an hour. The moment the princess was dreading had come. She nodded at the maid. She left the room.

"I'll fill the bath and lay down a dress.", her hand maid said. Lu nodded. She entered the bath. She sat there thinking for a while. Then she took the dress the maid had set for her. She considered for sometime and said" Bring me one of the dresses the King had gifted me when I came here." The handmaid looked at her in surprise. She knew that Lu hated the king. Seeing her shock, Lu smiled cunningly and said "it doesn't hurt me to flatter them while I'm here." The maid smiled back and said" Then shall I bring the necklace Prince Jin had given you.." Lu smiled and nodded. With the maid's help she got ready. The dress she wore was a blood red, it complemented her pale skin and red lips perfectly. She looked very beautiful. She then wore the necklace the snake had given her. While she was wearing it there was a look of disgust on her face.

The maid then, lined her eyes with kohl. Her green eyes looked more luminous. She asked" Do I look presentable enough?" "Of course, you look perfect." Lu smiled and both of them walked towards the dining room. A guard showed them the way. If she was not being held a prisoner here, she would have loved the palace, she thought.

The guard announced their presence and Lu entered the hall. The king sat at the head of the table. She bowed to him gracefully. The king smiled at her, like his son his smile was creepy as it did not reach his eyes. Lu did not like the calculating way the king looked at her body. She fixed a smile on her face and then bowed to the queen who sat next to the king. She looked at her with a smile. Then the princess turned and bowed to the prince. The snake also looked at her in the same calculating way as the king had. Like father, like son. She repressed a shudder of disgust and smiled at him. The queen pointed to a chair next to the prince and said" Why don't you sit there? You can get close to him this way. My Jin is always busy..." Lu was about to polite refuse her, when suddenly the prince got up from the chair and pulled back the next to him and gestured for her to sit there. "My son is so well mannered and sweet... Dear please go and sit there."

Having no other choice Lu went and sat next to him. " You actually good together...", the queen said. The king nodded in assent and gestured" We will begin eating now."

The maids came forward and laid down their dishes. Even though it was only four of them, the dishes they laid out could fill twenty people. Lu felt disgusted with their extravagance. As far as she knew half of people in the kingdom did not have food to eat. And the royal family ate like this.

They were not fit to rule the kingdom...

Once the food was served, the king got up and held up a glass of wine..."I would like toast this for Princess Lu, who is a guest in our palace.... I hope that your father's kingdom will be blessed." My father's kingdom will be blessed if you leave them alone, she thought dryly. All four of them got up from their seats and drank the wine. The sat down and began to have their food.

The prince kept touching her. Brushing her elbow accidentally, leaning towards her, however the princess paid no attention and quietly ate her food. This seemed to irritate the prince. Suddenly he spoke up. Turning towards the king, he said " Father.." Lu looked up. She guessed that the prince was not up to any good. He said," Father, I decided to include Princess Lu into the hunting trip next week. Is it okay?"

"Of course it is...."

" Today I was planning to go out, can I take Lu with me?"

"No I think she must be tired but two days from today I heard you are planning to visit the port, take her with you then. It will be good for her to know about the type of administration we have here and how we supervise our city..."

"Okay Father. And father now the kingdom is in boredom... won't it be nice if there is something to lift the mood of the people..."

Now Lu could see where he was getting at. Before she could stop him.

"You mean like a celebration..", the queen said.

"Yes, something like that...", the prince said.

" A celebration... could definitely lift the moods of the people and it will make the people happy..",the king continued.

The prince looked at the princess in triumph.

"How about a royal wedding?", the queen offered. " it's a good idea..."

Lu looked shocked at the turn of the conversation.

The prince looked at Lu and asked, " How about we hold our wedding? We are compatible and we can give a reason for the whole kingdom to rejoice."

"Oh my son is so good...He does everything for the people's happiness. He makes a good kind.",the queen said

Lu looked at her in surprise. Was the queen that dense? Didn't she know what lay inside that snake's heart? All the three people looked at her expectantly. She couldn't say no directly to the queen and the crown prince.. she had to speak tactically..or her father's kingdom would be in danger..

"You Majesties, I'm not fit to be your son's wife. I'm the daughter of a father who has a small kingdom..."

"That doesn't matter...I like you and you like me.. these are the feelings that are going to grow with time. One day we will be married. We are just preponing in order to provide happiness to the lives of others.", the prince said.

Lu wanted to puke whatever she ate. What? She liked him? He was too crooked. A snake. She couldn't say anything..

"But Your Majesty I have just come here. I want to adjust a little more before getting married t a great person like yourself. Kindly give me time to adjust to the life style here. Then I'll get married to you.",she said.

"Then I'll give you one and a half months to adjust here. After two full moons we will have a royal wedding.", the King spoke.

Lu couldn't say anything and she had to agree.

After the breakfast, Lu hurried to her room. She couldn't stay another minute with those snakes. Just before reaching her room, Jin held her hand. She shook it off. He just smiled crookedly at her and whispered into her ear," I can't wait to see you in your wedding dress, sweet wife.." Feeling shaken, she ran to her room and shut her door and took in a deep breath.

The wedding deadline was so near. She alone couldn't do anything to avoid it. She needed help from somebody. Somebody who hated the royal family as much as she hated them. The Rebellion. She had to find out the Rebellion quickly. She had to find them and beg their help.

.....