The journey begins

Before stepping into the royal carriage taking her to her new home, Princess Mei-Ling turned around and sadly took in the sight of her childhood home and the imperial palace for the last time trying to etch the memory into her soul. 

Dressed in her elegant silky robes, Mei-Ling finally entered into her assigned royal carriage; reality gradually dawning on her that she was no longer a child but a woman leaving her home and family to begin her new life as the bride of the powerful King Ryujin.

The King had dispatched his own convoy to escort the Princess back to Akakawa. With the King's head guard at the helm, the procession began it's journey with the Princess's carriage nestled third in line.

As her carriage lurched forward, Mei-Ling's handmaid Jade settled beside her, arranging the delicate silk curtains to frame the Princess's face, Mei-Ling smiled, feeling a sense of reassurance with Jade by her side. 

Her thoughts swirled with visions of her new home and her upcoming wedding ceremony.

A thrill of excitement at the prospect of meeting her new husband, the King and starting a new life passed through her veins. 

But the feelings of doubt and nerves still bugged her at intervals making her stomach twist with anxiety. What if she didn't please the King? What if she failed in her duties as a wife? 

Jade sensing Mei-Ling's unease offered a gentle smile and a reassuring touch on the princess's hand. "You'll be fine Princess" She whispered. "You're a strong and capable woman" 

As the carriage procession wound it's way through the rolling hills and forests, Mei-Ling's anxiety began to dissipate replaced by a sense of wonder at the lush scenery. 

Suddenly a band of rough looking rebels burst from the underbrush blocking their path. Mei-Ling's heart skipped a beat as she clutched Jade's hand, her eyes wide with fear. 

Jade quickly moved to shield Mei-Ling. Her eyes scanned the surroundings for a possible escape route but found none. The Princess's guards drew their swords as they surrounded her carriage to protect her. 

The royal guards showed great resilience and the rebels were soon vanquished. And while the royal entourage suffered minimal losses, no lives were lost but some of the guards sustained heavy injuries.

With the all clear sign given by the head guard, Mei-Ling let out a shaky breath, her heart still racing.

Jade helped her out of the carriage and the princess stumbled, her legs trembling beneath her. They both stepped out to check the extent of the damage caused by the rebels. 

Her eyes opened wide at the horrific sight of gore, blood and death. She had never seen this much blood in her life; her own face seemed to pale from loss of blood. 

Jade's expression was a mask of concern seeing the princess like that. "Princess, are you okay?" She asked. 

Mei-Ling couldn't respond. Her body was trembling; the stench of blood making her stomach recoil then she turned aside and retched. 

Jade was alarmed but quickly grabbed a soft towel and a small pitcher of water from the carriage and went to rub Mei-Ling's back as she spilled the contents of her stomach. 

"You are safe now, Princess. That's all that matters" Jade said while rubbing her back gently.

When Mei-Ling was through, Jade gave her both the pitcher of water to clean up her face and the towel to pad herself dry.

"Thank you, Jade" Mei-Ling said, her voice trembling. 

Jade's face softened and she smiled. "You are welcome, my princess but it's not safe to stay out here, we have to return to the carriage. It's better in there than out here" 

Just as she finished speaking, the King's head guard walked over to them and with his head slightly bowed to the princess, he asked if she was alright. 

Mei-Ling nodded her head and weakly replied in the affirmative. 

The guard informed her that they would have to spend the night there so they could treat their injured as well as gather intelligence report to give to the King and he politely requested for her to return into her carriage stating it was safer to be within than outside.

Mei-Ling nodded and entered the carriage again with Jade's assistance. 

At this time, the Princess was totally unaware of the handmaid's emotions. She didn't know that beneath her calm exterior, Jade was seething with anger and resentment. 

Unknown to the princess, Jade had fallen in love and started a secret relationship with a fellow servant back at the imperial palace.

It was strictly forbidden for palace servants to engage in romantic relationships; the penalty if caught was death or banishment.

Born of a servant in the imperial palace, Jade had grown up dreaming of becoming free one day. Her own mother, she was told, had been raped by a fellow servant and for his crime, the rapist had been put to death.

She learnt that for a servant to attain freedom, he or she was to serve faithfully for 20 years and at the end of the term, present expensive gifts to the Emperor as well as fulfill other requirements.

The requirements were unbelievably hefty and she knew it would be virtually impossible for her to fulfill them. 

The other requirements were for the servant to either provide a replacement servant or pay a fee to hire a substitute. 

The servant would also be required to make a payment of rice, silk and a chest of gold and then finally present a written petition to the Emperor with more money as payment of gift. 

Jade knew that without the Princess's permission, even if she were able to fulfill all the requirements, she wouldn't still be granted freedom because she had been assigned to the Princess from a very young age which symbolized that the Princess owned her.

The only silver lining she had seen was the Princess departing for Akakawa to get married. 

Jade had desperately hoped that the Emperor would not permit Mei-Ling to choose personal servants to accompany her to her new home but to her dismay, her hopes were dashed to pieces. 

She remembered her late mother who had died just after giving birth to her: her hatred for her mother couldn't be quantified. She had been abandoned by her mother to suffer in a place where any insignificant person could easily get killed.

Jade couldn't confide in the princess about her secret relationship so she had tried to cajole the princess to elect her secret lover to accompany them to Akakawa but Mei-Ling refused on the grounds that the servant would be of more value to the imperial palace than to her.

Jade's emotions simmered beneath her loyal and devoted exterior as her thoughts returned to the present. And as she gazed at Mei-Ling, she couldn't help but feel a growing sense of resentment towards the princess she had sworn to protect.