The Other Side of the Mask

"Mother, Father, I think I should leave."

"What?!" Father slams down his hand, "Why?"

"I'm afraid to cause tensions between the countries because of my identity and what I've done in the past. I'll leave the palace once I get back."

Mother starts to weep, "No, don't leave us, don't worry about them. We should just live as a happy family. You don't need to worry about Yue Kingdom."

I give them a sad smile. Although they didn't agree to let me leave, I left anyway. I took one last look at the palace that brought me joy. Unlike Yue Palace, this one was filled with happy memories. Right before I leave, I spot Commander Yang and KaiZhen at the gate.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" the commander asks.

I look down and nod.

"If you want to find me, find me in the south port from last time," I tell them.

Commander Yang doesn't prevent me as I leave. I set out on my journey to the south. I still haven't rode a ship yet! I try to cheer myself up. After a tiring journey, I arrived at Mei's place again. I knock, and she answers.

"Oh my! QiLing! You're back again! How was the capital?"

I give her a friendly smile, "It was great. I'm heading down south now. How have you been?"

She smiles and gets me a room. I pay her and we sit down for a chat with coffee.

"Well, the capital is very big and has a lot of tall buildings."

"Wow!"

An awkward silence fills the air after we talk about the capital.

"... well to be honest, are you Princess YingYue?"

I am shocked to hear that coming from Mei. I thought she didn't know. She'll probably hate me for this, judging by her reaction last time.

I hesitate, "Yes???"

She laughs, "Your highness??? awww I always wanted to say that!"

I look at her confused.

She wipes away her tears from laughter, "Oh, I'm sorry. Everyone in this village used to detest nobles and the royal family, but after the incident in the south, we started to trust them a bit. But saying 'your highness' or 'your majesty' is so cool!"

"R-right???"

I smile. At least they don't hate us anymore. I spend the rest of the day with Mei. Ah! It's been so long, since I've spent time with normal village people. Mei introduces me as QiLing to everyone, and we fool around together. I climb onto the roof at night.

"Ah! Feels so nice???"

I gaze upon the bright stars as they shine bright. Goodnight, everyone. I think of my caring family and friends. I think of XiaoLong and TianYu. I'm sorry for doing such horrible sins to you guys, when you didn't do anything wrong. I recall the past. I used to be such a bright and normal student. How could things become so hectic in such a short period? It's been only about a year!