The Princes

I stood and watched Si and his friends play sports together. From the looks of it, he was having fun, so after half an hour or so, I told him I would leave. 

"Why are you leaving so soon? It's not like you have a job or anything," he somehow verbally spin-kicked me before I left.

Finishing the parents' meeting, I realized I had no reason to freak out like earlier in the morning. Nobody was giving me weird looks when I was there. It was just my mind that was scared. 

So I headed home, knowing that Ly Giai already left to work at the royal seamstress a while ago. Before yesterday, I had completely forgotten about Princess Sa Mi mentioning that Ly Giai could be a royal. Their interaction last night reminded me of that. So I went through her belongings, and just as I thought, the badge that had the words, [Ly & Sa] was there.

"I have always been curious as to why she has this since when I first saw it after the night bath at the pond. If Ly Giai is a royal like the princess said, it would make sense that she has this badge. It even has

e similar pattern to the princess's badge," I thought out loud. 

But after some thought, more questions arise, "But why did it also say 'Ly' on the badge?... Now that I think of it, her last name is Ly, not Sa… Could she be somehow related to the Ly? But Ly Giai and Princess Sa Mi's faces are alike, so how could she be related to Ly? "

The more I thought, the more questions I had. In the end, the questions looped around one another to the point that my head spun. I didn't have enough information to answer any of them, so I got up and decided to visit the princess's palace once again.

…

"Sorry, Mister Do, Her Highness is away currently," the old servant at the palace told me when I asked to meet the princess. Their back was bent and had to squint their eyes to look around.

"Can I wait inside until she returns?" I asked.

"Of course, please follow me," they responded positively. They were easy to let me in because I have lived there for some time. 

The servant took me to the guest room and was about to excuse themselves, but I probed them a question, "Do you know what Her Highness is doing right now?"

The old servant was open enough to not hide from me, "Her Highness is currently in the royal court, overseeing the process of the Ly returning our eastern territory by the Ly's general, Ly Va."

"Hm? Why is Her Highness overseeing that and not the court officials? Isn't she a general? Shouldn't her only responsibility be to battle and win?"

"But her Highness is also the Crown Princess," The servant explained. "For such an important event like returning territory, having the Crown Successor ensure that the process is successful will increase their credibility when they inherit the throne in the future."

I nodded at their assessment. "You are very knowledgeable," I commented.

"You are over-praising. This is just the surface observation of us servants that have lived so long in the palace," they humbly replied.

"Please have a seat," I moved one of the empty chairs. "How long have you been here?"

The old servant sat down, happy with my gesture. "This servant has been serving Her Highness for more than a decade."

"That's long. It means that you know Her Highness well?" I asked.

"I am confident in that," they let out a small smile.

"Then can you entertain me while we wait for her to return? Who is Princess Sa Mi? How did she become a general and Crown Princess?"

"Oh my… To hear all about Her Highness and her accomplishments, that couldn't be fit even in a few hours of talking."

"It's okay. Take your time," I said. "I am very curious to know more about Princess Sa Mi."

The servant sat back to relax and organize their thoughts. While doing that, I poured tea for the both of us. We both took a sip and let out a sound of satisfaction. Then they said, "If Mister Do wants to know about our princess. I have to start at the very beginning."

"Please do."

The servant nodded and began telling. "You may not know, but in the beginning, our king had three children; two princesses and one princess. The princess is of course Her Highness, but her two older brothers, the princes, are slowly being forgotten in the public mind."

"Have they passed away?"

"No," the servant shook their head. "The two princes are both alive and well, but they have not participated in any court activities for the past fifteen years."

"Why is that?"

"The eldest brother, Prince Sa Thi, who was originally the Crown Prince, was too affected by the death of his aunt, our late Princess Sa Ru. She was married off, in a political marriage, to Ly's king to better the relationship between the two nations. But after her death, while on her visit back to Sa, the Ly blamed her death on us and declared war." 

The servant stopped as if to relive the moment once again. "Our princess Sa Ru was someone Prince Sa Thi adored as if she was his mother. Her death devastated him, changing him completely to a battle-hungry, bloodthirsty savage only out to kill as much of the Lys as possible. Eventually, he was banished from ever entering the battlefield again by His Majesty himself. I heard rumors of him currently being a monk at some monastery."

"That is tragic to hear," I couldn't help but feel empathy. "What about the second prince?"

"The second prince?" The old servant swirled the cup of tea while trying to remember. Their eyes are watery recalling the memory. "It is tragic. Oh so tragic! The second prince was a very intelligent, nice, and gentle person. Although he doesn't talk much, he always has a high sense of responsibility to make sure all his work is completed with the best results possible. But… when the court found out that his newlywed wife was a Ly, they demanded they separate. After days and months of arguments and heartbreak, one night, his wife suddenly disappeared into thin air. There was no trace of her as if she had never existed. To this day, no one knows what has become of her."

"How is that possible? A person disappears inside the palace without leaving a hint?" I was skeptical.

"I don't know," the servant shook their head. "I believe there are details that were hidden, but I, as well as others in the court, value our lives too much to try to find out the truth. But after her disappearance, the second prince vanished from the public too. Us commoners don't know where he is now," he finished.

"Her Highness must be lonely," I commented.

The servant gave a bitter smile, "I have seen Her Highness from her lowest point. She was left abandoned, alone in this royal palace of sly foxes and sweet tongues constantly ripping and backstabbing each other." They leaned against the chair and stared up. "But because of that tough and dangerous environment, Her Highness has now grown up to be as capable and strong as she is today. You could say that… there are blessings in curses."

"Blessings in curses…" I repeated their words. "Sounds poetic."

We let the talk end and enjoyed the calming quietness. The old servant poured another round of tea and we both felt the warmth of each sip. Before we knew it, the sky had turned orange, from the door, a figure stepped in.

"I heard that you are waiting for me?" Princess Sa Mi spoke, carrying a welcoming smile. I couldn't recognize it was her at first when she was standing before the sun. "Are you talking with him, old Lao?"

The old servant stood up with their body already bent body. "Your Highness, Mister Do invited me for a little talk while waiting for your return."

"Oh? What did you two talk about?"

But the old servant deflected their answer, "We just wandered around from one thing to the next, so I couldn't even remember what they are anymore."

"Old Lao," she didn't look trusting at all. "You can just say the talk was something private and I would let it by. How can YOU forget things?"

"Ha ha… I couldn't cover Your Highness's eyes," the old servant laughed it off. "I will not take your time anymore," they bowed and left us alone.

"So," Princess Sa Mi turned to me now that old Lao left. "What are you here for?" she sat down in the same seat old Lao sat in and poured a cup of tea for herself. 

I took out the badge I took from Ly Giai. "Does Your Highness know what this is?"

She immediately slammed the cup down and jumped from the chair when her eyes only glimpsed at the badge. "Let me see!" she snatched it from me before I could say anything. "Doesn't look fake," she murmured after a thorough look. "Where did you get this?" she asked with a serious tone.

"What is this?" I questioned back. Seeing how intense she was seeing the badge. I was worried that it would be bad for Ly Giai.

"This is…" Princess Sa Mi almost lost her words, the first time I saw her panicked. "This is the badge of…"

"YOUR HIGHNESS!!" A servant ran in, shouting at the top of their lungs. "The court is calling you. You need to go right now!" they almost lost their throat finishing the sentence.

"What happened?" Princess Sa Mi was brought from one shock to another. "I was just coming back from there. What is the urgency?"

"Ma… Ma…" he was too stressed to say anything.

"Calm down!" she told him. "Take a deep breath. Now, what is it?"

"Ma… Ma La is here!"

"Wha… what did you say!? Who is here?" she couldn't believe her ears and had to ask again.

"Ma La! Your Highness! Ma La is here!!" the servant repeated, confirming that her hearing wasn't wrong.

I helped the servant sit down while still blind to what was happening. "Who is this Ma La person?" I asked the princess.

Turning to her, the princess's face darkened, and her eyes became fierce as if she were ready for battle. "Ma La," she said the name with so much weight. "Is Ly's chancellor."