A snowflake drifted down from the inky night sky and landed on your open palm as your eyes fluttered to stay open. Another gust of cold wind blew harshly as you lay on the ground, your body temperature dropping to a dangerous low.
 

How long have you collapsed in this bamboo forest? You weren’t sure but it must have been several hours. Your last meal four days ago seemed like eons ago and you wondered if that would be the very last meal before you leave this world. You couldn’t even feel the aching hunger in your stomach anymore. The dizziness in your head intensified as your fingers and toes were starting to turn purple from the cold.
 

You stared helplessly at the bottle of medicine that had rolled out of your palm a few feet away. Yuri… She needs this right now… How are you going to get this to her?

Your breathing was getting shallow as you closed your eyes tiredly, thinking about the warmth back at home. Home where your best friends Yuri and Siwon were waiting for you. The three of you were constantly hungry but at least you had a house to keep you warm especially during these dreaded winters.

The image of you sitting by the fire with Yuri and Siwon last winter came into your mind and you wondered if they have realised that you were in trouble. You were certain that Siwon must be out looking for you right now as you should have reached home hours ago. Will Siwon know to come here looking for you? You had been hopeful but as you lay colder on the ground with each passing minute, your hope diminished along with the heat left in your body.

Siwon would never find you here. This wasn’t your usual route home from town. You had been desperate to get the medicine home for Yuri as she had been ill for several days. She had brushed it off as a common cold in the first two days but after she had collapsed last night, you knew you had to rush to the medical hall in town to get her some medicine. The medicine was not cheap and both you and Siwon had scraped whatever money you all had left for it despite Yuri’s objections.

You had set off to town earlier this morning as Siwon tended the fields. It was a two hour walk to town and when you have finally reached the medical hall, there was a line and it was until a little past noon when you finally got to speak to the physician. When you finally stepped out of the medical hall with the bottle of medicine in your hands, dark clouds loomed overhead and the loud booming of thunder could be heard.

With the rain, you knew it would take more than two hours for you to reach home and worried that Yuri would not be able to wait that long, you decided to take a short cut that you have heard whispers about every time you step into town. It was a dark and thick bamboo forest beside the town that apparently would only take you an hour to reach home. The bamboo forest route was widely whispered about but rarely ventured as haunting stories of the forest lingered around the villagers.

“Before my grandfather passed away, he said he walked through the forest once and encountered a strange beast that has two long fangs. He said it was not an animal but a monster!”

“I heard that the young lady who hung herself there heard some strange music the night before and headed in. She must have been lured by the demons who haunts the forest!”

“My brother said he saw two headless ghosts while he was walking home one night when he took that route! He fell deathly sick after that encounter. He only recovered after we sought help from a priest!”

You have heard of such stories of the bamboo forest ever since you, Siwon and Yuri stumbled into this village many years ago when you were all still kids. The stories terrified the three of you so none of you and most of the villagers around ever walked into that bamboo forest.

You had no choice as you thought about Yuri lying alone in bed, all sick and forlorn as you trudged into the daunting forest. There were so many people who got sick and died and you were determined not to let Yuri become one of them.

As you hurried down the muddy path of the forest, droplets of rain started splattering down and before you knew it, a thunderstorm had arrived and you had to slow your pace as the soil beneath you turned wet and dangerously slippery.

You were deep into the deserted forest when a sudden crash of thunder startled you, causing you to lose your balance and slip. Letting out a terrified scream, you tumbled down the steep slope and finally stopped when you felt your head knock into a piece of jagged rock.

You seemed to have passed out for a long while because when you regained consciousness, the rain had stopped and the sky had started to turn dark. You had tried calling for help but it was futile. No one ever comes into this forest and you have tumbled off road.

Your weak voice eventually gave out as you lay hopelessly waiting for death. Nobody is going to come. This is it. You are going to die here all scared and alone.

You felt yourself slowly drifting off into unconsciousness when you heard two female voices in the distance.

“Princess, we’ve got to hurry! They might catch up to us! Please hurry, Princess.”

“Are they still following us? Where are we?! Why… Why would they do that to me?” A terrified voice cried.

“We’ve gone off trail. They wouldn’t be able to find us easily.”

Rushed footsteps neared you and the voices continued.

“Princess, stop! There’s someone there! On the ground… right there!”

“Is it one of them? Have they found us?”

“Stay put and let me check…”

You struggled to open your eyes but all you could see was a blurry image of an older lady peering down at you.

“Princess, she’s not one of them. She’s just a wounded commoner.” The older lady said.

“Then let’s go! We don’t have time!” The younger voice yelled impatiently.

“B-But… Princess… she looks just like you…”

“What?”

A second face came into view as you struggled to keep your eyes open. Were you hallucinating? Is that a mirror? A woman who looked just like you except the dirt and soot and commoner’s clothes was right in front of you.

Dazed, you watched the young woman say in a trembling voice to the older lady, “Q-Quick… Take off her outer clothes and shoes.”

“What?”

“I’m going to swap clothes and shoes with her… This way when they find her, they’ll think she’s me.”

“But Princess…”

“Just do it!”

You felt yourself being lifted gingerly and you felt yourself getting sleepier and sleepier.

“She’s as good as dead anyway! Just let her die here. When they see her dead, they’ll think that it’s me and will stop pursuing me!”

You then felt hands over your body and feet.

“Stick this jade hairpin into her hair so they’ll think it’s me! Quick!”

“Princess, isn’t this hairpin your favourite? The third prince gave it to you when-

“I don’t care about the stupid pin! They’re going to kill me! Let her be me! Let her get killed in my place! Just hurry!”

You were so desperate to grab the older lady for help but your hands couldn’t move. You didn’t have any strength left. You very much wanted to plead for them to help you up but both of them seemed more focused on your clothing.

The older lady gazed at you with sympathetic eyes after fumbling with your hair.

“I’m sorry… My duty is to serve the Princess… I’m sorry to leave you here…” She whispered.

“What are you doing? Let’s go already!”

Don’t go… Your mind screamed as you watched the two women running away from you until they disappeared from sight.

You closed your eyes tiredly as you slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

===========================

“What happened to her? Look at that wound on her head… How was she found?”

“The royal dogs detected her scent and led the guards there. That’s where they found her, lying on the ground freezing and bleeding.”

“How is she? Hasn’t it been three days? Why isn’t she awake yet?”

“Her body was extremely weak when they found her. But don’t worry, Prince Seunghyun, I have been staying by the Princess side since she was brought in. Her pulse rate has improved and the colour has returned to her cheeks. She will survive.”

Your eyes opened slowly as the unfamiliar voices became silent. You blinked for a moment to let your vision focus and you found yourself in an unfamiliar environment.

The bed you were lying on is the softest thing you have ever touched and who are all these people staring at you?

“She’s awake!” An old thin man wearing a blue robe exclaimed in delight.

“Quick! Examine her now.” A young handsome man beside him said frantically.

Behind these two men were four females all standing by the side as they looked at you worriedly.

The young handsome man stepped forward and sat on your bed as he gazed at you and asked, “How are you feeling? Why were you alone when they found you? Didn’t you bring your servants along?”

 “W-Where am I?” Your voice came out raspily as the old thin man checked your pulse.

“You’re back home in your room, of course.” The handsome man replied.

You looked around the expensive room decorated with vases, hanging art and flowers. Your room doesn’t look like this. Your room was shared with Yuri in a mud hut with four bare ugly walls.

“Prince Seunghyun, it seems like the Princess is fine now. I’ll continue to prescribe her some medication so she can fully recover.” The physician replied.

“Thank you, Physician Lee. You may leave now. I would like to speak to the Princess.”

You blinked as you stared into the concerned eyes of the man seated beside you. Prince? Princess? What is going on?

“What happened to you?” The man asked again. “Why were you out there in that forest alone?”

You gave no response as you continued staring at the strange man.

“Physician Lee said you’re fine now… Why do you still look so pale? Should I get Physician Kim here instead?”

You ignored the man as you tried to wreck your brain for answers. Where is this place? Who is this man? Why did the old physician call him a prince? Was this all a dream? Are you already in heaven? What about Yuri and Siwon? Have they found your body yet? Wait, the medicine… You didn’t get to deliver it to Yuri. How was she coping?

“S-Siwon oppa…” You mumbled. “The medicine… Yuri…”

“What?” The man raised his eyebrows in surprise. “It’s me… Seunghyun.”

You struggled to get up as the man helped you to sit.

“You shouldn’t get up. You need more rest. Father will be so angry if he knows that you’re not resting in this state.”

“W-What are you talking about? I need to go… How is Yuri? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to deliver her medicine in time… I tried… I really did.” You said shakily as you tried to get off the bed.

“Who is Yuri?” The man asked as he held your shoulders to prevent you from getting off the bed. “Is that the name of your new servant? Where do you need to go?”

The four ladies dressed in green came forward and one of them said, “Please rest, Princess. You must rest in bed. You’re too weak right now.”

“The royal physician will be right back with your medicine. Here, why don’t you drink some water first?” Another one said.

“Let me.” The man said as he took the cup of water from the woman and brought it to your lips.

You drank the water dutifully as your throat was parched. Who is this man that was feeding you water? Why did one of the ladies call you a princess?

Princess… Why did it sound so familiar?

The man seemed pleased that you have finished the whole cup of water as he handed the empty cup back to the lady behind.

“I need to go home.” You said weakly as you tried to get off the bed.

“You are home.” The man repeated, stopping you from getting off again.

“Y-You don’t understand… You must be mistaken. I’m not a princess.” You replied.

The man stared at you angrily as he said, “Why are you still saying such things? You know you shouldn’t be saying things like that again. Don’t you remember how much you were punished because of that? You’re lucky Father isn’t here to hear that.”

“W-What?” You stared at the man, dazed.

The man let out a sigh, “Father is coming home tomorrow. You mustn’t say such things anymore. Do you understand? You know he hates it the most when you say you’re not a princess. Do you know how hurt and angry he feels every time you say that to him?”

“But I’m really not a princess…” You pleaded. “I don’t know how I ended up here.”

Irritation flashed across the man’s face as he said, “Why are you still so wilful? Are you that desperate to leave the palace?”

“But I don’t belong here…” You replied.

“You do,” The man said firmly. “Don’t forget that you’re the King’s favourite daughter, you’re my sister, you’re the fifth princess. You belong here. This is your home. You can’t just cast these aside every time you throw a tantrum.”

You swallowed thickly as you listened to the man.

“Y-You’re my brother…” You muttered faintly. “I’m a princess…”

The man nodded, “Yes.”

“But I don’t have a brother or father… And I’m not a… princess…” You replied shakily.

The man frowned as he brought his hand up to brush your hair gently away from your forehead and said, “Did the knock on your head mess up your brain? Why are you behaving so strangely?”

Without waiting for your reply, he spoke sharply to the servants, “Summon all the royal physicians here immediately!”

“I’m sorry,” The handsome man said regretfully. “I thought you were just throwing your usual tantrum. I should have known something was amiss. What happened to you exactly? Why were you hurt so badly?”

His eyes were full of concern and you felt a flicker of warmth deep within you.

“Y-You’re my brother?” You said slowly.

The handsome man let out a tender smile and said, “Yes. Don’t you remember me? I’m Seunghyun.”

For as long as you could remember, you never had any family. You didn’t even know who your parents are and from what you had gathered from the orphanage, you were found on their doorstep when you were just a baby. There was no letter or anyone with you when you were found.

You grew up at the orphanage and met Siwon and Yuri when you were twelve years old. When the siblings arrived, Yuri was the same age as you while Siwon was fourteen. The three of you had been friends since. They were the closest to a family you ever have but deep down you always felt incomplete. Although Siwon and Yuri’s parents had died, at least they had each other. You had no one. No parents or siblings. You were alone in this cold, cruel world.

And now this man named Seunghyun is telling you that he is your brother?

“Why aren’t you speaking? You’re scaring me.” Seunghyun said worriedly.

“I-I’m fine…” You replied.

“Are you sure?” He asked. “If you’re still feeling unwell, I’ll ask all the royal physicians to stand by all night. Your servants will be here for you as well. Father will be back very soon. He has received news of you and is rushing back as fast as he can.”

“Prince Seunghyun,” One of the ladies in the room interrupted. “The royal physicians are all gathered outside.”

“Let them in.” Seunghyun replied.

With a deep bow, the lady walked out of the room and brought in twelve men who immediately bowed at the sight of Seunghyun and you.

“We are very sorry to hear of the princess’ condition.” The head royal physician said regretfully.

“The princess must have hurt her head,” Seunghyun said as he gestured impatiently for the physician to come over to you.

“How so?” The physician asked as he hurried over to you.

“She seems… disoriented,” Seunghyun replied worriedly as he stared at you. “She doesn’t seem to know she’s home or that she’s a princess.”

The royal physician gave a respectful bow as he held your wrist gently and checked your pulse. The entire room was silent as everyone’s gaze was fixed on the both of you. Placing your wrist back down by your side, the physician then turned to Seunghyun.

“It would be best to check if the princess have any aches on her head.” The physician said and was about to call upon one of the female servants when Seunghyun raised a hand to stop him.

“I can do it.” Seunghyun said and sat down beside you in bed.

Your eyes widened as you watched him lean towards you and said gently, “Let me know if it hurts anywhere, alright?”

Startled by his close proximity, all you could do was swallow nervously and nod. With your permission, Seunghyun reached out and ran his hand through your scalp lightly and noticing that you showed no signs of pain, he started placing a tiny bit of pressure on his thumb as he ran through your scalp again.

“Ow!” You gasped as his thumb touched a spot above your neck.

Seunghyun withdrew his hand apologetically as the physician asked, “Is there a bump of any sort there?”

“No, there’s not a single bump anywhere.” Seunghyun said.

“Well… the princess may have damaged a nerve somewhere that resulted in her disorientation.” The physician replied and then turned to you. “Princess, what was your last memory, may I ask?”

Flabbergasted, you struggled to reply as all eyes on the room were on you.

“I…” You spluttered. “I’m really not a princess… There must be some mistake…”

Seunghyun shook his head in disappointment and worry and said, “Her head injury must be worse than we thought.”

The physician replied, “All we can do now is to monitor the situation. I will prepare some medicine as well. Don’t fret too much, Prince Seunghyun. We will do our best for the princess.”

Seunghyun nodded and after dismissing the group of physicians, he turned to you worriedly, “Just rest for now, alright? Maybe a good sleep is all you need to recover. Take your medicine and I’ll be back in a few hours time to check on you.”

This man is leaving? Why is he leaving you here alone in a room full of strangers? You didn’t know anyone here but you knew this man was kind. At least you knew you would be safe with him.

Seunghyun stood up to leave and you raised your voice in alarm, “Where are you going?”

Shooting you a warm smile, he replied, “Unfortunately, I need to finish up on those reports. Father is expecting them once he arrives tomorrow. Be good and take your medicine and rest, alright?”

“But you don’t understand…” You protested. “Yuri’s waiting for me. You’re mistaken. I’m not a princess.”

Seunghyun turned to one of the female servants in the room and said, “Why are you still standing there? Can’t you see that the princess needs her medicine now?”

The female servant bowed apologetically and hurried to fetch the bowl of medicine.

“Rest well,” Seunghyun said and turned to leave.

You were about to call out to him again but was stopped by the female servant who brought a spoon to your lips.

“Please take your medicine, princess.” She said.

You ignored her as you could only watch Seunghyun disappear from the room.

“Please, princess,” The servant begged. “Please take your medicine.”

You turned your attention to the servant and realised that her hand was trembling so violently that some of the medicine from the spoon she was holding had spilled onto the bed.

Your eyes drifted down to the black spots on the mattress which was caused by the medicine and upon noticing where your attention was at, the servant gasped in horror when she realised what she had done.

“I’m so sorry, princess!” She said tearfully as she quickly set the bowl of medicine down on the wooden end table by the bed. “P-Please don’t punish me! I’m so sorry! It won’t happen again!”

You watched in horror as she quickly kneeled down on the ground, her head pressed onto the ground as she rambled her apologies, “Please forgive me, princess! I promise I’ll do better. Please don’t send me to the empress again!”

“W-What are you doing? Get up!” You said frantically as you struggled out of bed and pulled her up to her feet.

The servant turned her fearful eyes to you as you continued, “Why are you kneeling? It’s okay. I don’t blame you. Why are you so frightened?”

Your hand that was still on her arm could feel that she was still trembling and you wondered what could have happened to her before.

“I really am sorry, princess,” She wept. “Please don’t send me to the empress again…”

“I w-won’t… Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” You said concerned.

“Thank you so much…” The servant cried in relief. “Thank you!”

“It’s okay.” You smiled as she helped you back to the bed.

Once you’re back in bed, she quickly dried her tears and took the bowl of medicine from the table. Lifting the spoon of black liquid to your lips, you drank dutifully as you watched her carefully.

When the last sip of medicine was finished, you asked, “What is your name?”

Startled by your question, she stared at you confused for a second but then quickly replied, “My name is Miyeon, princess.”

 “Please stop addressing me as princess,” You said quickly. “I’m not one.”

Miyeon shook her head quickly and pleaded, “Please don’t say that, princess. If word gets out, we’re all going to get punished again. Please, Suyeon’s wounds from the previous time have not fully recovered. She won’t be able to take another beating.”

You followed her gaze to see a trembling servant kneeling by the floor, tears already spilling from her eyes.

“Please, princess,” Suyeon bowed deeply, her head touching the floor. “Please have mercy on all of us!”

Your eyes widened as you stared at the four servants in the room; head bowed and trembling from head to toe.

“W-What is this place?” You whispered, horrified. “Why are all of you beaten?”

Miyeon stood up from your bed and knelt on the floor in front of you as she said, “This is your room in the royal palace, princess. We haven’t changed anything since you went missing.”

“W-What?” You mumbled, closing your eyes briefly and then opening them again. “The royal palace? And… all four of you… are…”

“We’re your servants, princess.” Miyeon replied. “Princess, we will tell you everything you need to know if you can’t remember. But please, if anyone else hears you say that you’re not a princess and you want to leave, we’re all going to get punished again.”

You swallowed thickly and then said, “Punished? How do you all get punished?”

Miyeon fidgeted uncomfortably and then replied, “It depends on how severe the punishment is, princess. The last time we were punished was a week ago. We were all sent to the punishment room and received twenty rods each.”

“Twenty?” You gasped. “But… you’re girls… How can they punish you like that? What happened?”

Miyeon replied in a shaky voice, “You wanted to head out of the palace but the king didn’t allow it. In a fit of anger, you said that you’re not a real princess and that you wanted to leave. The queen then ordered for all of us to be punished.”

“But if they’re so angry with the princess... then shouldn’t she get punished? What has it got to do with you all?” You asked.

The four servants lifted their heads and stared at you.

Miyeon looked around frantically and then whispered, “Please princess, stop referring to yourself as a third person as though you’re not the princess again. The empress has said that if you say this one more time, she’ll have our heads.”

“Have your heads?!” You raised your voice in alarm. “W-Wait… This is ridiculous! Like I said, shouldn’t the princess… I mean… Shouldn’t I be punished if I did something wrong? Why are all of you punished instead?”

Miyeon looked up at you worriedly, “Princess, what are you talking about? This is the royal palace. Things have always been like this. We’re the lowest of the ranks. When our master does something wrong, of course the servants gets punished.”

“But that’s so unfair…” You replied in shock.

“Princess, you must have really hurt your head if you can’t remember a single thing.” Miyeon said softly.

“Do all of you get punished often?” You asked.

The four servants head immediately drooped as no one dared to meet your gaze. Painfully, you got up from the bed and knelt down on the floor next to Miyeon.

“Please get up, princess!” She said in shock as she quickly helped you to your feet. “Please princess! You should never kneel in front of us! We’re just your lowly servants!”

As she supported your arm while the both of you stood, you replied, “But I just wanted to see if you’re hurt and if so, how badly.”

Miyeon immediately lowered her gaze and said, “We’re fine, princess. You don’t have to bother yourself with such trivial matters.”

“Trivial? How can you say that if I’m the cause of it?” You asked painfully. “You all don’t deserve to be punished if I’m the one who messed up.”

Miyeon looked up, her gaze full of worry and surprise.

“What is it?” You asked her.

She quickly shook her head and lowered her gaze but you could see that all the girls in your room were baffled. Why were they so baffled? Was it something you said?

“Please come back to bed, princess.” Miyeon said as she helped you back to bed.

You were tired and you could feel the strength slowly leaving your legs so you dutifully went back to bed and closed your eyes. How strange. Is this perhaps just a dream? Maybe when you wake up again, you will find yourself back at home with Yuri and Siwon again. Yes, this must be just a dream.

===========================

Unfortunately, the next time you open your eyes, you were neither at home nor do you see Yuri or Siwon around. The soft mattress beneath you and expensive vases and paintings around the beautiful room made your heart plummet as you realised that it wasn’t a dream at all. The room was empty except for Miyeon who was standing by your bed.

“Princess, you’re awake,” Miyeon said as she hurried to fetch you a cup of water. “You’ve been asleep for a long while. Prince Seunghyun came to see you for a while and just left.”

You drank deeply from the cup and asked in a thick voice, “What time is it?”

“It’s almost dawn, princess.” Miyeon replied. “Are you hungry? Suyeon has gone to the imperial kitchen to fetch your breakfast.”

“M-Miyeon…” You stammered.

“Yes, princess?” She gazed at you curiously.

“I have to get out of here.” You said seriously. “I… I can’t stay here.”

“Well, I guess you must be bored. We can head out to the living hall or would you like to watch the sunrise from the garden? The fresh air might do you some good. I’ll get the others to air your room immediately.” Miyeon said.

You shook your head, “No no. I mean, I need to get out of here. The palace. I… I don’t belong here. I have to be honest with you. I’m not a princess. I’m just-

Miyeon’s face turned green as she knelt to the ground immediately, “Please princess! Please stop saying such things! The empress will really have our heads this time! Please! If both Suyeon and I are dead, what will happen to our parents? Please have mercy on us, princess! Our parents are both old and sickly and they won’t survive if both Suyeon and I are gone! Please have mercy on us!”

“Please get up!” You descended from the bed and quickly pulled her up.

Miyeon refused as she shook her head and continued kneeling, her forehead pressed firmly to the ground.

“Please princess,” She cried. “Please don’t send us to our deaths! We have always been faithful to you so please spare our lives! All four of us have borrowed a lot of money to make our way to the palace to work and we still have not cleared our debts! If we’re all gone, our families will be burdened. Please have mercy on us, princess! We promise we’ll be faithful to you always!”

“Get up please!” You said weakly as you tried to pull her up to her feet again but failed.

“I’ll only get up if princess promise never to utter those words again!” Miyeon cried.

“But I’m just trying to tell you the truth!” You begged. “I’ll get killed if anyone finds out that I’m not-

“Princess, you will never get killed,” Miyeon interrupted tearfully. “But as your servants, we will! Nobody can touch you at all but as for us… we can be easily squashed just like that!”

“But I…

“Please,” Miyeon pleaded. “Please spare our lives, princess. Please never utter those words again. Not even in here. This is the palace, princess. The walls have ears! You can never know who is out there. All four of us will really be killed. The empress has already given out the order!”

“But won’t I be killed if they realise…” You trailed off.

Miyeon shook her head, “As long as you’re the princess, you will never be killed! Nobody will dare to touch you! Please don’t think about heading out of the palace ever again, Princess. You belong here and you’ll always be safe here. With the emperor and the princes’ love for you, no one will dare to harm you. So please, just stay here and spare our lives, princess!”

You stared at the weeping servant in front of you, your stomach twisting in knots. Will they really be