My Ultimate Ambition

MORNING

" Your highness!". A maid with less ceremony and less decorum ran into her mistress' inner chamber, an excited, anxious smile spreading on her young face. In her hands are a bouquet of red roses and a tiny sealed letter.

"Court lady Cha, is there fire on the mountain? Why are you disturbing my beauty rest?". A drowsy voice filled with indolence echoed before a head popped out from under the blanket or the blanket popped out of her head?. Princess Eun-hye has a bad sleeping habits of kicking out her blanket or getting entangled with it, her soft pillows are always found at the foot of the bed just like this morning, and her hair is always a terrible mess even if it's tightly packed. This morning she popped out her head and returned back to sleep kicking away the last and final stronghold of the pitiful swan bedsheets sending it spilling on the ground.

"Your highness, this is no time to sleep!",she said while pulling out the blanket her mistress wrapped under her head.

"Go away, I won't go anywhere today, in fact, I'm not doing again, I'M DONE!". She sent her maid flying with a kick and turned over, holding the blanket tightly to her body.

"The crown prince sent an invitation to meet, do you still want to sleep, your highness?", she said while raising herself up from the cold ground. A tightly clamped eyes flew open, her blanket was flung away and her supposedly weak body sprang from the bed flying towards the door.

"Your highness! You've not even brushed your teeth!". She stopped immediately like one stung with a freezing ice and ran quickly to her washroom. In her haste, she tripped herself down.

"Read your letter first, your highness". The palace maid held the letter towards her while helping her up, a teasing smile dancing on her lips. Princess Eun-hye tore open the letter and read, 'Bingu, meet me at the royal gardens in an hour, I have something important to disclose'.

The courtmaid who sneakingly peeped at her mistress' letter exclaimed, "Must be a love confession, Our Seja seems to want to confess to you, your highness!".

The fresh rose flowers lying forgotten on the bedside table was raised and presented to her. "He sent your favorite flowers too". Eun-hye looked at the flowers like one who has seen the most expensive gold and gently took it from her, a happy smile warming her heart. The soft perfume of rose drifted to her nose brimming her eyes with a touching tears. 'He has fallen for me".

She looked at her courtmaid who stood like one dazed and teased her. "Wipe off that smug".

"Why, my Lady?"

"It's ugly". She said, a devilish grin on her face.

The morning ritual ladies were ushered in with a golden basin of water and towels for face and oral care. While she was doing that, her maid dashed out to get a new set of clothes for her lady, until the wedding, her lady is not allowed to wear her crown princess robe but one called 'Lotus flower', a robe worn by royal women as a mark they are the selected princess.

Her robe was of green and the palest gold, her hair was tied with into a chignon and her accessories a matching combination. The ring on her finger was of gold colour reflecting the mole on her finger, he admired the moles before and she wants to show him how she remembered his tastes.

Her maids had never found her difficult to please therefore they were purely happy for her and prayed for her. She requested for the roses and wore them on her hair, thinking that they would please him. "He must have missed me", she said and blessed the day.

On her way to the garden, the oldest palace maid assuming the role of her chief maid due to her high-ranking level stopped her. "I am happy for you, your highness, your luck is quite different from other royal ladies, I have been in this palace long enough to see the lack of love between our Sejas and Bingus , concubines has always taken that seat but I'm happy our Seja knows the best thing in the whole world", she curtsied and pleaded for forgiveness on her insolence but Eun-hye thanked her gratefully and promised to treat them well in the future.

They waited a few minutes before the crown prince came to the gardens, when he came, he didn't even notice the rose flowers nor the mole; he had quite forgotten the little episode of the mole and the rose flowers was something his chief eunuch sent when his master gave him a letter for his crowned princess. He misunderstood the intentions.

"Bingu", he said, "I have something to say to you, something very special and I do not want to be overheard . Will you come with me to the palace artificial forest over there, we will have some privacy there". The palace maids, eunuch and guards of both sides gave a knowing look to one another and smiled, their masters started off well even before the wedding. The chief eunuch let out a sigh of relief that he wouldn't have much difficulty persuading his master to visit his wife like his sunbae.

"I am at your service", she said.

She clasped her hands for one minute as one who prays , then she laid them on her heart, as though she would stop it's tumultuous beatings if she could.

It had come so soon_ the happy, blissful, blessed moment she had longed for. He loves her, he adores her and is about to declare his love for her. The very shock of the happiness made her grow cold and white, even her lips turned pale.

"Have I frightened you?", he asked, a little bit guilty," I am so ins.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e!, you know what? Never mind, I can wait for another opportunity".

She raised her brown eyes to his, and the expression startled him.

"I will go with you", she said.