"You shall be sent to the dragon instead of Princess Haneul."

"Must you always be so harsh in your words?" the second guard asked, voice raised.

"You are the one who said the girl deserves to know!" the first guard bellowed back.

"Yes, but not like this! You may be my superior, but...."

"But?!"

Hayun sat numbly in the saddle, all her senses turned off. She could not even feel the fabric of the guard's robe she was holding on to, and the loud argument between the two guards faded to an incomprehensible buzz.

This had to be some ridiculously realistic nightmare. It had to. There was no way, no possible way, that she had somehow been chosen to be sent to the dragons. Dragons.... they wanted princesses. What was to happen to her when it discovers she is not one? That she is anything but a princess, and old and ugly to boot. There would be terrible consequences... the dragons would get so offended and who knew what they would do.

What if they caused another war? Like they had done several hundred years ago, attacking villages and preying freely on humans. Oh God, this would not spark another war, would it? It must be a terrible insult to be sent a peasant girl instead of the princess they were promised! And she.... she would have to bear the brunt of the dragon's fury. Would she be eaten?

Aunt Dahyun's voice floated in her mind, narrating the stories that dragons preferred to have humans carry their young. Oh God... she was going to throw up... It was a miracle she had not fallen off the horse - was it possible to fall off the horse and maybe spook it enough so that it goes wild and tramples on her?

Before Hayun could reach a proper conclusion, they reached the camp. A large tent, illuminated by multiple lanterns, loomed forbiddingly, its entrance making her think of a greedy mouth. A dozen guards stood at various locations.

The guards dismounted, and she was helped to the ground. Her legs nearly gave way, they felt as weak and wobbly and the legs of a new-born calf.

"This way, miss," the second guard said, ushering her in front of the tent. "We have arrived, Your Highness!"

Within two seconds, a round, anxious face appeared at the entrance. "Is this her?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good work.... now come along inside, girl, and make it snappy."

Keeping her eyes firmly on the ground, Hayun went inside, her heart like a wild bird banging itself against the bars of its cage in a panicked attempt to escape.

"Your Highness..." the woman's voice was softer now. "She has arrived."

There was a rustling of silk, and Hayun dropped to her knees in a deep bow and didn't dare look up - was she in the princess's tent?!

"Oh, Nana...Will this really work?"

Hayun could recognize the tone in the princess's voice - fear.

"It will." The woman's voice was soothing, almost tender. "Don't you worry about it. Now, since you have finished your meal, it is time to depart - you will be safely escorted by the Royal Guard to the quarters Her Majesty has set up for you. Do not worry, dear princess, we will keep you safe."

"I am afraid," the princess said, and Hayun felt ashamed for some reason, as though she were intruding on something extremely private. "I am afraid of the repercussions this may bring. I am not doing my duty!"

"Princess, you are doing your duty of being a filial daughter to your mother. This kingdom will be in the midst of war someday soon, whether you are with the dragon or not."

Hayun saw the two skirts go closer, and she realized the woman and the princess were embracing.

"Be brave, Princess, one last time."

"Thank you, Nana, for everything. You have been... you have been..."

"There, there, Princess, here, wipe those precious tears and let us take you to safety."

"The girl..." Princess Haneul sounded like she was trying not to cry. "Please... please see to it that she is comfortable tonight."

"You are so generous, Your Highness. We will see to it that for this one night, she will be treated like a princess."

"Thank you."

It took a while before Hayun realized the princess was addressing her. The woman tapped her shoulder, and she said, "Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness."

"You may rise."

Hayun stood up slowly, head still down. Her mind was spinning, thinking too many thoughts, too fast for her to arrange them into a coherent order.

Princess Haneul and the woman exited the tent, and Hayun stayed rooted to the spot. She heard the princess and the woman exchange a tearful goodbye, and the voices of men and the hoofbeats of horses. When everything became silent, the woman entered again.

"You may lift up your head now, girl. Princess Hanuel, bless her soul, has given orders that you are to be treated royally as payment for your service."

Service... Hayun didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. If being sent to her death, or worse, was a service, she wished she could resign.

"You must be hungry. Come here, we have prepared a meal for you."

In the fall, a month before the pigs that would be sent to the lord are slaughtered, they are fed delicacies. This was nothing more than that... she was a just pig to be slaughtered... it was difficult to be grateful for the aromatic rice, the pork cutlets, the rich stews and pastries she did not even know the names of. It was difficult to get anything down , she had to make a big effort to swallow.

She felt the eyes of the woman, and the maid who had served her. They saw her as ungrateful, or too ignorant to be able to enjoy good food.

After the meal, she was given a bath. The water was warm, and it smelled divine - scented oils were added, and rose petals floated at the top of the water's surface. The woman, Nana, fussed about her dirty hair and nails and scrubbed her clean, leaving her skin slightly raw and pink. As the maid held out the robes and helped her put it on, Hayun wished she could hide - she wished she could hide this ugly body from them. Her boyish figure, and skin dark from years of the sun, shined like beacons to her. The entire time, they were putting on a great show about how it was the first time they fed, bathed, and clothed anyone other than the princess.

The knots in Hayun's hair were monstrous - Nana tamed them into submission with fierce attacks from a hair-brush, and then her hair was oiled with that same divine scented oil from the bath, and finally plaited.

Nana took her to bed, a luxurious bed with goose-feather pillows and heavy, silk sheets. "This is the princess's bed... it really is a privilege to be in this bed."

"I am sorry if I do not feel privileged." The words were out before Hayun could stop them, but surprisingly she didn't care anymore. There was already a death sentence for her. Even more surprising was the deep sigh Nana let out.

"I... I do not know what to say to you," the woman confessed. "I do not know how to behave... you are below me yet due to the princess's orders you are above me..."

"That's all right," replied Hayun carefully. "Please treat me as you would like... I know I am of lowly birth and it must be difficult for you."

Nana sighed again. "I think you are a good soul. Your next life will surely be a good one."

Her next life. So even Nana knew she would die. Hayun gave her a tight smile. "May I please ask a question?"

The woman hesitated. "I... I don't suppose it will harm..."

"Why was I chosen? There are hundreds of farm girls." There was no need to ask why they wanted a farm girl - the value of a life of someone of such low status was not considered valuable, and their families were often so poor they were desperate.

"Your village was the very last village before... before the dragon's lair. No outsider would see the princess after today, so the swap had to happen on the last night." Nana looked at her pitying. "We sent someone to select a girl whose... disappearance... would cause the least, well, uproar."

There was a knot in the pit of Hayun's stomach. Yes, she would not be missed... perhaps there would even be a sort of relief that her unlucky self is no longer there. They would accept that she was sent to a gisaeng house without many questions, and if Hayun was brutally frank with herself, she was very lucky she had not already been sent there.

"Your next life will be blessed," Nana said softly. "The deity would not be so cruel. You have done a great service to your country, as well - to your ruler. You will surely be rewarded in your next life."

Hayun bit her lip to keep herself from crying. It was in this life she wanted to be blessed.... not the next life. It was in this life that she had hoped to somehow find happiness - it was this hope that had made her rise when she was repeatedly crushed.

When Nana left, and Hayun was lying in the bed - a beautifully comfortable bed, that felt like clouds of the softest silk - she carefully reflected the fact that perhaps, after all, she was lucky. Instead of another fifty years of misery in the fields and being cursed at, tomorrow it would all end and her next life must surely be better - it has to be better than this one. She allowed herself a moment to cry silently, mourning her own eventual death, before pulling herself together and trying to sleep.

Maybe this was what her next life would be like. A bath with scented oils, people to bathe her and plait her hair, and a bed softer than petals. Even though she tried to comfort herself, she still knew that deep down she did not want this at all. She still wanted happiness in this life.

The next morning, a large breakfast of meats, vegetables, and soup was easier to get down than last night, and Nana helped her into a beautiful pink and green silk hanbok. Hayun's head was adorned by a bejewelled golden head-dress, and strings of tiny emeralds were braided in her hair. Dozens of gold necklaces with diamonds, rubies, and pearls were put around her neck, and her fingers got covered by jewels as well.

"Dragons love treasure," Nana said, applying a white powder on Hayun's face. "They used to terrorize towns to steal gold, before the war."

A golden doll. Something worthless and replaceable, covered in gold and jewels, that's all she was. Perhaps this would appease the dragon. If dragons truly loved gold, perhaps it would be pleased she did not come empty handed.

The powder Nana applied made her skin look greyish. Some kind of red paste was applied to her lips, and black paint lined her eyes. Perhaps Hayun would have been pretty now - if her skin was milky pale. She knew Nana was fussing about what to do about her skin colour, how to make it paler. Maybe if she was pretty enough the dragon would have mercy.

No, what was she thinking? A pretty girl would probably be thought more suitable to carry a dragon’s young; maybe she was lucky that she was ugly - the dragon would surely not want such an ugly person to carry its young.

Hayun was taken to a small carriage, which was completely closed. She could see nothing from inside. Time passed meaninglessly, and she did not know if she was in there for one hour or two, or even three. They stopped briefly for lunch, and she saw when the door to the carriage was briefly opened that they were on rocky terrain.

The carriage finally came to a stop, and a guard knocked on the door. It was the same guard from last night, the kind one. "Miss, we will need to walk from now on."

Hayun got out, legs stiff from sitting down so long. Three guards accompanied her up the steep, rocky mountain, and with every step she took, the heavier her legs felt and the more she needed to throw up - yet at the same time she felt oddly disconnected from reality.

They finally reached the top of the mountain. Hayun would have loved the view if she were not here for this reason; she could barely register anything other than the mountain top was filled with rocks and boulders, and not many trees.

"We shall be leaving now, Miss." The guard touched her arm slightly, the surprise of this contact making Hayun jump.

"You are leaving?" Hayun's voice bordered on panic, and she knew that the guard could hear it; he looked so apologetic.

"Yes... we are not allowed to stay. We will be at a distance, and watch. The dragon.... the dragon must find you alone. That's part of the customs. Just wait here, and it will come. I... I am very sorry, Miss. These times are not easy for anyone... your next life will be a prosperous one."

The three guards bowed slightly, and started making their way down the mountain. Hayun watched them go mournfully. The thought of taking off all her jewels and running down the other side of the mountain was quickly squashed, as the guards were watching from a distance and anyway, there was nowhere to go.

Hayun crept over rocks and peered down. It was steep, very steep. She could easily break her neck attempting to run away. A shadow suddenly eclipsed her; fear raced through her veins and she clutched the rock tightly, her stomach lurching.

Wings beat dust and air her way, and claws scraped over stone. A reptilian face towered over her, and in all honesty she would have found it a beautiful creature if it wasn't her death. Dark scales shimmered in the soft sunlight, and she was not sure if the scales were black, purple, or blue. Huge eyes looked at her unblinkingly, a rich violet flecked with gold; coming closer.

"No, no, please let me go - please!"

Talons reached for her, and in her panic to avoid them, she let go of the rock and fell off the edge.