by Zola Tau
" I've raised this child as a mother should but she's more of a friend " the woman replied before Nari could as her eyes glistened amused at Ada's actions.
Nari looked away and avoided eye contact. " I ask that you don't try to change the reason for being here princess, we are here for you. "
" Princess? " the old woman said getting ready to bow. Ada stopped the woman before she could. " I don't think you'll think much of me as a princess when you actually find out why we are here? " Ada said nervously playing with her hand after stopping the old woman.
Nari snickered as the confused woman looked at them both. " Even so, Nari be nicer to the princess or we will both have to imprison you. " The old woman teased.
" Follow me " she finally let out and so both Nari and the princess trailed behind the woman and made their way inside.
" As well as she cares for orphans she does well in predicting the presence of a child." Nari said once they were inside.
The woman turned around " A child? " the woman asked as she halted from her trip to the kitchen and looked at the two, princess if you're here for yourself ... " the woman gazed at Ada the asked " May I ask, why you need to determine if you're with child or not?"
" You're asking so many questions, mother just do your wonderful work and tell us what you feel, we don't want the palace searching for the Princess frantically " Nari stepped in.
" Very well, " the old woman said and she walked about the home further towards the back, returned and gave Ada a thin layered hanbok " place this on, please princess. " And after that was said she walked over to the kitchen and washed her hands only to come back minutes later.
When she returned, she started with placing her cold hands Ada's stomach causing Ada to wince. She quickly removed her hand as quickly as she placed it down. She looked at Ada and Nari; who looked right back at her " What is it, mother?" Nari asked in excitement.
" You're, surely with child princess, a son of great power, my hands felt it the minute I placed it upon your stomach. His spirit is strong but I must let you know It is not always that I am accurate an old woman like me at times I have been wrong. " Nari's mother teased causing Ada smile even in her state of shock. " If I'm not overstepping my bounds may I ask for the father of this child you're carrying, was is a renowned warrior, are you ashamed because the warrior is no longer with us to raise the child? Did he pass away?" the old women asked as if it was an interview.
"Mother, not again. Who said anything about a warrior, mother you truly need to stop listening to those neighborhood romance stories your clients tell you. "Nari replied as her face reddened.
"No, it's alright. I'm sure my dignity would have been more secure if it was truly a warrior at least that way I'd have an excuse as to why I'm not married to my love." Ada said as she was laughing.
The old woman stared blankly awaiting a reply. " Right... um, the father its... Is the...the crown prince. " Ada replied.
The old woman stopped and just stared, looking to Nari who shook her head, nodding in confirmation.
"No wonder this child is full of so much power, he's the combination of two powerful lands. He could never be anything less, But I do have to warn you, princess one person will fight to end the child's life once they come to find out of this news, it's not a concretely written fate, so it can be avoided but a hard one to just brush off without effort." the old woman said.
Ada looked at the old woman unsure whether to believe her or define her as mad.
"Did you say there will be people who will try to deny this child life?" Nari asked again
" It's sad, but true so I tell you it will be your advantage to keep silent to those you tell of this child if you must tell the crown prince but no one else. " the old woman replied.
The woman instructed Ada to change as she stepped out again to get some things from the garden in the back area of her home. She returned back with beets and some other vegetables in a brown basket. "These are good for the growing child and will aid you with a strength that you will need, now that your body is home to another." the old woman said.
The old woman observed Ada and asked: "Have you lost your parents, child?"
Ada looked down at her feet and faked a smile "You truly do have a sense of things, don't you?" Ada said with a sigh and then she continued to say "it was an art of fate, no need to feel sorry for me." Ada replied with her voice no greater than a hush.
"Well, think of me as a mother as Nari does if you're not too uncomfortable to share a motherly figure with a woman assigned to you as a servant." the woman said.
"I could never, Nari has been a sister to me since the moment I came, without her, I doubt I would be here speaking to you. " Ada said looking to Nari.
"Goodness, are you two trying to right a kill me? What's with the tenderness of this atmosphere?" Nari joked walking out of the home with the basket of vegetables given to the princess to eat.
"She's more of a man in her attitude at times than a woman." The woman mumbled to herself.
Ada laughed softly looking at the old woman and looking towards Nari as the old woman spoke in the background.
"She's surely got a tale to tell one day, that child. Her mother left this world because of her, and she denies that she beats herself up for it consistently. "
Confused Ada turned with speed and looked towards old woman" She killed her own mother?" Ada asked the old woman with shock lingering in her voice. "In a sense she did, but not intentionally, Nari's, mother's death was caused by the intensity of the birth of Nari. Nari's mother lived just long enough to hold her child but never woke up the next morning to greet her; it's a sad tale actually. Years back with I first met the child, and she's still as grown past her years as she is today, it must have been the consequence of being raised by an old widow....still she's got no knowledge of who her mother is " the old woman said slowly ending her narrative on Nari.
"Princess, we should return back before it gets late "Nari yelled from afar.
"You should go home and rest princess, it was truly an honor to meet you take care of one another for me." The old woman said as she walked the princess out and watched as the princess strolled to go meet Nari who was already a good distance away.
Ada jogged a bit and met with Nari, "I should dismiss you, I feel as if you are determined and set out to kill me." Ada joked.
"Princess, if I wanted to kill you I would've long ago." Nari replied with a chuckle. She walked back towards the princess and grabbed a hold of her hand as they walked back to the palace.
On the way as they looked about Ada ask a question that remained unanswered "How much of about your mother do you know, Nari?" Ada asked as they walked. Nari curled up against Ada's arm like a child with the basket in her other hand.
"There are many things to talk about Princess, such as what meal I should prepared for you to night, or beautiful names for your child, let's not ruin the mood with such a mystery" Nari replied.
"Alright, if you say you don't want to talk about it I will respect that as one wiser and much more caring" Ada started to say as a method to lighten the mood.
"You know one time when I was feeling my worst you told me that you and I were alike, at the time I was too selfish to look past your rank to understand what you meant, but you are right. I too have lost my mother when I was young; I never received the joy with her presence like many of the other young girls as I grew up around. Though I was wealthy in status I felt like I was the poorest amongst all when I lost my mother, for some reason, there are few things I can't remember, maybe it's because I've fought to forget them and so they eventually disappeared feeling that I didn't want to remember them. I blamed myself in my youth though now I see I had no power over her death just I had none over my father's death. As rich as I am and will ever be I am simply an orphan Princess with stories to share. We are both very good in giving advice but not as good in taking our own." Ada said as she chuckled away the awkwardness.
"No we aren't, are we?" N
ari replied silently slowly getting into the mood to speak about her mother.
"My mother, for a while I thought was a mother Sang-hee, the woman we just met. The day I found out that she wasn't my mother was when I was young, maybe I was about six. We were coming back from getting some chicken to later prepare to eat for dinner because it was my birthday. I was very excited because every time my birthday came along I got to choose what I wanted and it was chicken and seaweed soup. The lady that brought the seaweed soup year by year became an aunt to me. I guess it was safe to say whoever I met in a way became the family along the way. I was sent to my room to go try on new clothing she brought me. When I walked out to show it off I heard them speaking, they didn't see me so of course, they continued. The seaweed soup woman or I guess I should say my aunt figure was chatting with mother Sang-hee her words still sting when she said. "You can't let the child find out she was the cause of death to her mother, she will take it to heart and never let it go." And she was right I didn't let it go. Mother Sang-hee hadn't become aware of what I heard until later in my life and that's when I came to understand it wasn't that I murdered my mother but that she lost her life giving me mine. Ironic that I found that out on my birthday isn't it? Nari huffed towards the end of her sequence of events. "That didn't help me as it should." She finished
"And your father?" Ada asked as she held Nari close "Crazy thing about my father, I lost him too but the only thing is he isn't dead. Now that I am aware of who he is, I can take that he's making effort to create a relationship but as he treated me like I was dead to him, as selfish as I may sound, he's become dead to me too " Nari ended. " I am mad in the mind, Princess; I believe this is why I speak with ease as if I am no servant at all, I don't care what happens to me sometimes."
The two walked as they reminisced on their sorrows and gave cheerless smiles of experience, both young in their reality but old in their experiences of wisdom and tragedy. It may be that only the strong are attacked so easily and placed at the front line of battle. Troubles aren't something that is usually asked for, they are given by selection to those that are seen fit enough to endure it.
The thing about it all was simply the fact that as beings, it's become a luxury to underestimate one's self so when troubles rain, one sinks. In situations as such; like the one, the two lost women found themselves in. Before drowning one is either saved by a friend in a similar river, or they become aware of their strengths and therefore resurface. Along the way, some drown and lose themselves rarely to ever surface again. It was by luck that even the physical seas that separated Nari and Ada were able to be the same ones that helped them find one another lost in a similar mystical river and now they were both only beginning to swim back to surface.
At the palace, the crown prince sat in Ada's room awaiting her return. It wasn't long till his wish got granted and when it did, like any man awaiting his love he stood up quickly. "Where were you?" The crown prince instantly asked. He lowered his voice when he saw Nari behind Ada.
Nari bowed, placed the basket of vegetables on the ground and excused herself.
The crown prince pulled Ada close and held onto her face like an elder would to a child checking their temperature. Ada stood awkwardly without motion and asked: "What are you doing?"
The prince just simply said, "There was news going around that you've been sick, my father and I were worried and sent for you but we couldn't find you."
Ada looked down to the ground "I'm sorry, that I've worried you." She responded shyly.
"When you speak like that I can't get as upset with you as I intend to" The Prince teased. He took his hands and brushed her hair back. "I just wanted to see if my queen was okay."
Ada felt her face heat up slightly out of embarrassment "Why do you always say such things" she asked.
"Well, isn't that what you are? Or are you planning on leaving me behind" he asked trying to look Ada in the eyes.
She gave a smile and softly said " of course not"
"Now, why were you sick? Have you eaten? What's with the basket of vegetables? You've left many of my questions unanswered." the crown prince said
"It's because you're asking so many." Ada replied as she walked towards the basket, carried it and placed it on the table in the writing room.
The crown prince stared at Ada, staring blankly as Ada snickered at his facial response. She sat on her bed and pat next to her. "Did you not have enough last time?" the Prince teased as he found his way to her side.
Ada rolled her eyes and pretended she was in some way offended, the prince wrapped his arm around her shoulder and motioned her to lay her head in his lap; she naturally let her body fall into his lap and faced up looking at him as he looked down at her.
"I couldn't keep anything down earlier today and still unsure if I can. No, don't call the royal physician" Ada said pointing her finger in her worried fiancé's face. " Nari took me to see one, and she gave me those to eat regularly. " she said changing her pointing direction to the basket of vegetables on the table.
"Why those?" The prince asked."Because it's what's best to keep a mother and her growing child well fed and strong." Ada responded.
"Oh!" the prince said confused. He sat silent for a moment and looked at Ada again, he replayed Ada's words and his face rested speechless. "wait, wait, you're —" the prince started
Ada didn't wait for him to finish his response before she pushed herself up from lying down and looked at him. "I am!" she said. The prince gave her a look of surprise as he went in and gave her a hug.
"I guess everything is starting a bit faster that we intended isn't it?" He said with his forehead pressing onto hers.
"In a way it is... but I don't regret meeting you... though I wish we would've waited till we married but I don't regret it, I guess things just worked out this way...hopefully we can marry before it becomes noticeable underneath all this material. " Ada said rubbing her belly. "Do you regret it?" she asked the still frazzled prince. The prince gave her a smile.
"Not at all." The prince replied. Caught in the excitement Ada forgot to give the prince the most important information about the child, the fact about how much danger their child was to be in.
As the prince hugged Ada close he thought to himself though he displayed how happy he was to be able to start a family with Ada, he couldn't help, not being enraptured about the fact that she was to carry their child, she was now in an even more fragile state of danger than she once was.
[제 13장]
“ To protect and to prevent
Are often distorted by
the love we claim to display”
The prince smiled and gave Ada a kiss on the head before he said "I should go inform Father you're well and that you have returned." he left Ada in her room and went to the palace and sought out the throne room; as he raced to get to the room he heard conversation between his father and another.
"I've been trying, but you keep pushing yourself away from my efforts." he heard his father say.
"Out of respect, Sir I want to request that you stop sending your letters and your making efforts of kindness it will look bad to others if they were to find out." A female replied.
Because of her location, if the prince was to try and see who it was, he would be noticed.
"How would you have me repay you? I regret my actions of not chasing after you when I could, I regret my actions towards you, I understand it has left scars but..."
" Had father found a mistress?" The prince asked himself .
"I said, just leave me alone. You don't know the scars you've left. You've thought of me dead, so now you're dead to me. I can't afford to live in agony anymore, Was my mother and I so worthless that you threw us away?" The female asked raising her voice.
Suddenly the king raised his voice. "I'm your father as well as your elder you do not raise your voice to me in that manner, without me you would've been already exiled, for the way you speak to above your rank!"
Soon it was silent,
and the only response from Nari which said; "The moment you threw me out. You lost any chance of being considered a father to me, and I'm sorry your highness if I placed you in the position of thinking that I needed your protection, just view me as you do the rest of your servants."
The prince thought to himself, the voice sounded familiar, but it did not appear to belong to one of his sisters, by chance was it the voice he heard over the wall?
Deep in meditation, the prince backed into the table outside the throne room as he made an effort to back away to get a better angle.
"Who is there?!?" The king asked in surprise.
The prince walked in and looked about " It's just me father, I just came in from speaking with Ada, were you here with someone?" He asked.
The king smiled and shook his head no as he turned around to walk, back from where he came, to sit on the throne. The crown prince turned around to see a dark figure scurry by in the hallway which he just left before the prince could go after the figure the king called him.
"When is it you wanted to marry with Princess Ada, and have you guys told her Knight already? If you two plan to carry on as planned don't you think he just be aware? The king asked.
At his words in walked Ayo, "You and Princess Ada are to marry?" He said with his hands behind his back glaring heavily at the crown prince.
The presence of Ayo alone made the crown prince's blood boil as he returned the complicated stare at him in disgust and distaste he rolled his eyes and said. "If you must know, yes we are. Now you can board the next ship and return from where you came. "
"Is there a reason you want to marry her so quickly? After all the trouble she has endured, you now declare a wedding after you've killed her father? And still to this day not know who it was that did it to the late king? "Ayo asked in anger.
The king looked at Ayo and pointed at him "Look around you and recollect what country you're in, these are my men and my people, Knight Ayo. As for This marriage, it was a bond between the prince and Ada herself, WE did not kill her father, and we did not plan for things to work out as they did, they just did, so before you disrespect me in my country I ask you think carefully about how much you're willing to spare, Now, Please depart from my sight!"