The Other Side of the Mask

"Huh? It's you, that girl!" one of the bandits yell.

I look at them. Oh yeah, they're the ones that I met on the way to the capital… I sigh.

I pull a dagger from the belt on my leg and charge at them.

Finally, some practice! I smile as I apprehend all of them. Ji watches from the side in shock.

"This is why I need pants!" I complain to Ji.

Although the skirt is lighter than those dresses I practiced with at Yue Palace, it's still in the way.

"Uh- ok… I'll be sure to remember," Ji responds, still in shock.

I glance up at the tree and the secret unit and give them an unwavering look. It said, respect me, and they did. The young leader of the unit gives me a smile. At least I have people guarding my back now.

We head towards the south. I look out the carriage and see Mei's Village.

"I would like to stop there," I tell the horseman.

I get off and walk into the village. I see Mei skipping around the village, happily.

"Hey-" I start.

"Ah, those nobles are all snobbish, you shouldn't dream about that anymore, Mei."

I falter.

"Oh, the capital? Yeah, to think they're actually hogging all the money from us…" Mei smirks.

I turn away and head back to the carriage.

"Is there something wrong?" Ji asks, concerned.

"No, I think we should leave now," I respond quickly.

I sigh as I sit in the carriage. So people are also biased in this Kingdom… Well I guess we really can't help it. All nobles are pretty much the same greedy people… I turn back to my book to distract myself.

They should have a lot of ships at the harbor. Ships… ships… SHIPS! I've never been on one! My eyes suddenly brighten and shine like stars. Ji looks at me as if I'm crazy.

"Uh, your highness, are you okay?"

I turn and look at her with my bright face, "Ji, if we go to the south there are ships right?"

"Yeah…"

I ask excitedly, "Can we go on one?"

"Of course," she responds, calming down a bit.

I hum excitedly. I've only seen ships in pictures before… I guess the life of the rich is pretty awesome, I mean, ships, dude ships!

We arrived at the southern harbor not long after. Especially with me bouncing in the carriage about ships. At that point, I didn't even care about the skirt.