"Ouch! Damn it, Hua! If you keep at it like this, I will be bald before you are done fixing the fucking headpiece." I try to hold still on my stool in my bed-chamber as LiHua, my bosom friend (and head maid), tugs on my hair. She had been battling with my thick mane to secure the bridal headpiece on my royal head.

"Juan... Your highness, please hold still. I am almost done." LiHua reassures, sounding like a person on the brink of accepting defeat. I couldn't have that. She and her mother were the sole reason my days in this dreadful place, my home, so to speak, were not filled with misery. She was like the breath of fresh air in this place that wanted nothing to do with me.

I stop fidgeting and try to endure. I was good at it, after all. "Hua, is there anyone around here?" I ask.

Her brows crease. She scans the room. "Damn it, Juan, you scared me!" Her tone is accusing.

"Why? Did you think aunty LiFen was here?" I chuckle and get stabbed in the scalp as a reward.

For a maid, Hua was quite bold, but then again, it was to be expected. She was aunty LiFen's daughter, after all.

"Fine. I won't tease you anymore." I reassure and look at myself in the mirror. Hua had woken me up bright and early, earlier than usual, and after helping me bathe in some sort of scented rose petal sprinkled water, had immediately gotten to work meticulously preparing me for the wedding... my wedding.

"Hey," Hua calls me softly and gives my shoulder a squeeze. "Cheer up, will you? It's your wedding day. You will finally be free of this wretched place." She smiles and helps me up. Turning me around, she catches my gaze before stepping back to give me a once-over. "Perfect." She mutters, and then leaning in, she whispers, "I am sure Prince Zhan wouldn't be able to keep his eyes and hands off of you."

"Prince Zhan... " I sigh. The name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. My future husband was the crown prince of TuCheng. He was known for precisely two things: alcohol and promiscuity. The latter was what had bothered me more than his small kingdom and his apparent lack of interest in anything that did not involve the forth mentioned things.

The day I had received news that my aunt, Queen Lai, had arranged for a match for me, aunty LiFen had come and taught me about the birds and the bees. It was enlightening and scary at the same time. She had done her best to calm me down. She had explained that if done right, it could be a satisfying and pleasurable experience.

"He is a prince. I bet he is big." Hua had added coyly and promptly received a slap on the back of her head from her mother.

I hadn't understood what being big had to do with being a prince, but seeing as it had angered the latter, I had chosen to remain silent.

Exactly a day after that, I started noticing the palace maid giving me woeful looks. On confronting them, however, they shrugged and fringed ignorance.

"It's only a matter of time before someone spills. " I had told myself. For, in my experience, there was no such thing as a secret when it came to palace gossip. I was proved right a few days later when Hua had come sulking into my chamber and hugged me.

Hugs were bad news. They usually either followed or preceded something that would bring me pain, either emotional, physical, or psychological and sometimes all three.

"Tell me." I had asked, bracing myself for the pain I knew was coming my way, and gave myself a congratulatory pat on my shoulder when she blurted out, "Prince Wei Zhan... He... He has a small.. you know... he is small." She had trailed off looking constipated.

That wasn't so bad, I had told myself. With my luck, it could have been much worse. As long as my future husband was taller than me, I didn't care. I was about to voice my thoughts when Hua had gone on. "Damn it, Juan, he is small down there." Then closing her eyes, she had bitten out, "He is an alcoholic and womanizer to boot!"

Now, that was bad. Though a little disappointed, I wasn't in the least bit surprised. After all, fate had a history of fucking with me.

"Think positive. Maybe what we have heard about the prince are baseless rumors. Maybe he is the opposite of what we have been lead to believe." Hua's words pull me out of my reprieve, and a moment later, her slender arms wrap around me and stroke my back.

"I highly doubt it, Hua. Who in their right mind would want to wed me, hum? I am sure aunty and uncle must have done their best to soil my reputation. Why else has no prince ever sent a proposal asking for my hand in marriage? Think about it, Hua."

Hua shakes her head. "I am not having any of that today. You are beautiful and lovely-"

"Since when!?" A chuckle escapes my lips, earning me an offended glare. "In any case, you are not allowed to wallow today..." She starts but stops without finishing when there is a knock on the door.

It's aunty LiFen.

"Aunty LiFen!" I chirp and walk over to her.

"My child, you look beautiful." The woman, who had raised me after my parents' passing, compliments. It's a rare and beautiful thing. Aunty LiFen was not someone who was known to give out praises often. I must look the part if it's coming from her. Warmth fills my being, and I feel heat rise to my cheeks. "Thank you, aunty LiFen," I mumble, suddenly feeling shy.

"YiJuan, your mom put you in my care before she passed away." She reminisces. I watch her eyes tear up, but before they escape their confines, she turns away from me like always. She doesn't want me to see her softness.

Aunty, there are things you can't hide.

She pulls in a deep breath and continues. "YiJuan, Whatever happens from now on, I can promise you that it will free you. The road ahead may seem fraught with suffering, but stay strong just like I have taught you, alright. It will pass soon enough."

I would be lying if I said that Aunty LiFen's words had brought me peace or calmed my nerves. She sounded like she was sending me off to fight a war.

I wonder why?

I nod my head, and she acknowledges with a curt nod befitting her image. "Now, let's go and take your uncle and aunt's blessings." She instructs, stroking my arm and leading me out of my chamber.

I glance at Hua, but she looks as confused as me. 'What the hell is happening?' I mouth; she juts her bottom lip out and shrugs before falling in step with me.

"LiHua, how many times do I have to remind you that your place is not next to the princess!" The graying woman chides, and as expected, LiHua falls a step back. "Sorry, mother." She whispers. Aunty doesn't acknowledge it and continues to walk me to what I presume to be the council hall.

However, when aunty turns to the right instead of left, I can't help but ask, "Aunty, aren't we going to the council hall?"

She shakes her head. "No. I am escorting you to the royal day chamber."

"Why?" I enquire. Dread and uncertainty wash over me. When my parents were alive, I used to love visiting them here. However, since their passing years ago, every visit to the royal day-chamber, which now belonged to my uncle and aunt, had brought me nothing but sadness, pain, and anger.

This was the place, my aunt, Queen Lai, had raised her hand on me for the first time as my uncle, King Wang Kua watched in silence. I was barely six at the time. Had it not been for my father's loyal supporters, I think I would have died long ago.

As we near the maroon oak door, aunty LiFen bows, "You can take it from here. When you are done, meet us at the North gates." She instructs before turning away and gesturing to Hua to follow her.

I suck in a deep breath, preparing myself for the unpleasantness I am sure will follow. Within seconds, I find myself at the threshold.

The guard stationed at the door leers at me. I am not surprised, nor am I scared (he has been doing that for ages). I flip the bird at him and smirk. He looks at me dumbfounded.

Mission accomplished!

"The fuck are you waiting for? Announce me already. I haven't got all day." I demand airily; he does as asked.

"Your Majesty, the princess is here to seek an audience with you." He yells, louder than necessary.

"Send her in." Comes my aunt's unmistakable high-pitched voice, and the guard bows, gesturing me to enter.

The first thing I notice as soon as I step inside is the scent of mint. I continue to walk further, soon I spot the royal physician next to the bed with inky black drapes drawn around it.

I clear my throat to alert them of my presence.

The royal physician bows. "Princess, please." He points towards the bed. I look at him questioningly, but he shakes his head, encouraging me to approach the bed. He parts the curtains and what I see fills me with joy, the kind I had only experienced a few times over the years.

There, on the satin sheets, I see my uncle and aunt, looking pale and miserable.

"Leave us for a few." The queen demands before turning her gaze on me.

The physician leaves and closes the door behind him.

"Wang YiJuan, you clean up nice." She sneers. It sounds like an insult rather than a compliment.

I lower my eyes. "Thank you, Aunty Lai."

"Juan, we won't be accompanying you to TuCheng." My uncle adds slowly. He sounds almost regretful. "I really wanted to give you away myself. Your father would have wanted... "

Aunty Lai interrupts, "Darling, rest. I am sure YiJuan doesn't want to hear all that." Her eyes land on me as soon as my uncle closes his eyes, "YiJuan, always remember who you are. You are the princess of Dezhutang. Can you do that?" She demands, lowering her voice to a whisper. It's menacing and intimidating.

I nod. "Yes, Your Highness," I reply, and she smiles, content.

"I hope LiFen has filled you in about your duties and responsibilities as a wife and future queen?" She presses on, and I nod.

"Do not act smart. Do as asked. Do not, under any circumstance, refuse my nephew. Do you understand?"

Oh yes, Wei Zhan, my Prince Charming, was her nephew. It was a marriage of convenience. God knows what Aunty had promised in return for handing me over to TuCheng.

Anger bubbles inside me, but I gulp it down. What I do with my husband is my business. Thank you very much!

I nod. I just wanted to leave. And I knew, the more I disagreed, the longer I would have to stay. I wait for aunty Lai to go on, but she doesn't. She stares at me for what feels like an eternity before finally sighing. "Go. The carriage is ready. And YiJuan,"

"Yes, your highness?"

"Behave. You are not a ruffian. You are a lady, a princess."

"I will keep that in mind." I bow, "I shall take your leave then, dearest uncle and aunt." I add maybe a little too cheerful for her liking, and she glares at me, "Stop with the sarcasm. It won't get you anywhere." She fixes me with a cold gaze, and looking paler than the walls of my room, she warns again, "Wang YiJuan, conduct yourself like a princess. Don't you dare embarrass us!"

I enter the palanquin and it starts moving towards my destiny, I feel butterflies in my stomach. 'Maybe I am anxious.' I tell myself, trying to calm down. The butterflies in my stomach become merciless a half hour or so later. I try to meditate. It doesn't help either. I tell myself that I need to be brave and confident, and that may be, my doubts about the Prince's size are nothing but baseless rumors. In the end, though, nothing helps, and I end up throwing up in the palanquin.

The guards stop the palanquin.

I run out and throw up some more. I feel better instantly. I finally realize that I probably have motion sickness.

That is Brand New Information! I tell myself.

I look around and notice that the guards and the maids are all busy airing out the palanquin. Disgust was visible all over their faces. I walk closer to inspect the damage, and oh my goodness, that stinks!

LiHua, who was acompaning me as my head maid to TiCheng, walks over to me and hands me a new set of clothes. "Go get changed."

The things she gives me feel much heavier than my usual clothes. She winks at me before walking back to the palanquin and helping with the situation I had created.

I watch as one of the guards throws up next to the palanquin; combined sounds of disgust from the maids and the rest of the guards alike follow the act.

Perhaps the palanquin is cursed.

I look at the heavy bundle in my hands. I sit under a tree and almost open it when a note tied between the knots catches my eyes. I smell something fishy.

I turn my back towards my fellow travelers and open the note.

Dear YiJuan,

Sorry for not warning you about the sickness-inducing pill. Now that you have thrown up, you should be feeling better. I have packed extra food, clothing, and your dagger in the bag. There is a compass in it too. Run south, and you will reach Waihonglai. Show this dagger to the guards. It was a gift from your maternal grandparents to you when you were born. It has their royal crest.

Your maternal uncle rules Waihonglai now. He will take care of you.

LiFen.

Well, that was abrupt. Practical, but abrupt. Just like aunty LiFen. I guess there is nothing else to do except follow through. With one last glace at the life my aunt and uncle had decided for me, a life I wanted to leave behind forever, I pick up the bag of items and make a make a run for it: my freedom.

There is just one thing though, I don't know how to read a compass!

{Word count: 2483}