CHAPTER 2 - HER NEW LIFE 2

She slowly sat up and looked again at her reflection in the bucket of water, she was now a weak and fragile five year old little girl with a face covered in dirt, stuck in the palace with no backing or support neither on the inside nor outside the walls.

Carmen knew that the coma she had first awoken from was supposed to make her a complete fool, but since she had been reborn before her brain could burn further, she was saved from that misfortune at least. But…

She couldn't help but wonder why the heavens gave her this hand in life. She had already lived a hard life, why couldn't they have given her the chance to be born a rich little missy with no worries in the world? Why had she been reborn as the unloved, fake daughter of a lecherous king?! What pity had they taken on her?! This was clearly them making a joke of her! Not even dogs would dare to accept their pity!

Carmen looked back at the so-called bed that was actually just a wooden structure covered with thick stacks of hay, there was not even a piece of fabric that could be called a blanket. From her memories she knew that this was where the original owner lived with a little brother who was also unfavoured by the king. She looked down on herself that she was dressed in a rough piece of cloth, the one that was used to carry ground produce like potatoes and cabbages into the palace and was tied at the waist with a piece of string. She felt her heart hurt for the original owner, this life was indeed much worse than her previous life and if her memories of the original owner's future said anything, this life was destined to only get worse if she stayed in the palace.

Carmen wondered what happened to the original owner. Had she died as well? Was that how she had gotten the chance to take over her body?

*Sigh*

She raised her hands to rub at her temples. She couldn't focus on trying to understand heaven's intentions at all, but since has been given the chance to live again within this little girl's body she would take full advantage of it and certainly not wait to be eaten alive in this palace that was equivalent to a den of rats and snakes.

Carmen got up from the floor and habitually dusted herself of the dirt that covered her skin and dress. The moldy odour of the room almost made her fall down again, she couldn't help but frown and rub at her nose as she slowly walked towards the door of the little hut-styled room.

When she pushed to open the door she found that it was closed from the outside and with her physique and lack of strength it was near impossible for her to break down the door. She look around the musty room, even the air was stale, there wasn't much of anything at all present in the room so her eyes quickly landed on the pickaxe abandoned in the far corner of the little room. Carmen, wasting no time, walked over and bend down to grab it, but found herself almost stumbling over and falling on her face. Carmen, looked down at her hands in shock, from the original owner's memories she recalled that this pickaxe was hers she used it to forage for any wild vegetables that she could have used to at least pad her usually empty stomach so why did it seem so hard for her to lift now? 

"Is it because this body has been sick for a few days and hasn't fully recovered. The original owner is so pitiful!" Carmen cried out loud thinking about the future she has to avoid at all costs.

Carmen again tried to lift the pickaxe and dragged it towards the door, "She wasn't even able to break through the wooden door that was barely hanging on it's hinges," she lamented as she readied herself to swing the pickaxe at the door. She took a deep breath before swinging the little pickaxe with all her might to smash the wooden door of the little hut and allowed the sunlight to shine all over her, she instinctively closed her eyes tight and raised a hand to cover her burning eyes allowing the pickaxe to fall from her hands. She gave herself a minute to adjust before lowering her hand.

Looking around, she saw that her little room had a big yard, but from her memory she knew that this was at the far end of the cold palace, which was a group of yards that harboured anyone who was no longer favoured by the king. Though there were mostly old concubines, there were some servants and even children who could not be executed for whatever reason but had to be kept out of the King's sight so they were dumped here or were forced by circumstances to follow the fallen concubines who were no longer fit to fight for favour. Some of them couldn't even be considered concubines or side wives, but were merely "entertainers" like the birth mother of the original owner. This was a title given to women and even men whose only purpose was to entertain, they were given no legitimate title and were treated much worse than official wives and concubines. This dynasty allowed for a man of status to have four wives and three concubines, while the king who stood above all other men and the most noble of all could have four wives to manage the harem and some palace affairs, and as many concubines as he desired, but that does not mean that every woman who served the king was a concubine, some would remain entertainers, or handmaidens, while others would rise in the ranks depending on the king's favour. But no matter the hierarchy of the palace, entertainers were at the lowest rank, they were easily replaceable and could be bullied by even the outer house maids, who handle all the rough and physically demanding jobs of the palace like cleaning latrines and doing laundry. And only the King could house his "entertainers".

This place was also right behind a sanctuary of sorts where the little animals like cats and dogs were raised for getting rid of pests and rodents. Carmen could remember that her and her little brother would often fight with them for food while those inhumane servants of unfavoured concubines would watch and laugh at them. She clenched her fists tightly trying to control the anger she felt from bursting forth.

Carmen took a quick glance around the small yard before walking towards what she could remember was the exit. As she stepped over the threshold with a limp she bumped into a familiar face. It was the original body's little brother and also... King Kazu the Great Conqueror!