"Agasshi, wake up. Wake up, agasshi." 

Mura hears the faint voice of a female. "What is it?" She mumbles. 

"Agasshi, it's time for you to wake."

"What is the time?" Mura, though barely, can make out the person to be one of the maids.

"It is six in the morning."

"I wake at about eight. You may now go." Mura hears the maid leave the chamber, and falls back asleep.

"Agasshi. Agasshi." Mura hears again. She hums.

"You must wake now, agasshi." 

Mura groans as she feels someone shake her. "Is it eight already?"

"No, it is a little bit after six, and you are late for your morning routine."

Mura's eyes flicker, as she tries to pry them open. This time it is Madam Choi standing over her. 

"I wake at about eight." Mura repeats it to her lady-in-waiting before closing back her eyes.

"I'm afraid that wouldn't do, agasshi. You are to wake by six every morning."

Mura's eyes remain closed, as she sleepily mumbles. "But, that is far too early."

"This is the way of the main palace, agasshi."

"But, we are not in the main palace, are we?" 

"The purpose of staying in the detached palace is to learn the ways of the main palace. So, you must learn to adapt during your time here."

"Let us start from tomorrow, Hm? Now, if you don't mind, I'm..." Mura begins to slip back into her slumber. Just when she is on the precipice of losing her consciousness, she hears a sudden loud, thunderous clap right by her ear. Mura shouts, as she jolts awake. She sits up and stares at Madam Choi with a ringing ear and a baffled expression. "Choi Sanggung?"

"You are awake, very good." The lady-in-waiting voices, pleased. "Get agasshi ready for the day." She orders the two palace maids who stand behind her before leaving the chamber. 

Mura stares at the palace maids helplessly. Waking up at such ungodly hours should be declared a crime, she thinks. "I need to relieve myself." 

"Please, follow us." The maids tell her.

They lead Mura to a room next to her chamber, where she finds a room divider. She is told to go behind it and do her business. What Mura sees behind the divider is a brass pan.

"Am I to relieve myself in that?"

The maids nod.

"Is there perhaps an outhouse that I may use instead?"

"Apologies, agasshi, but there are no outhouses for the royals."

"What if I am to do the... umm, the other one." Mura stutters.

"There is a separate object for that purpose." One of the maids answers. 

"Do you wish for me to bring it to you now?" The other maid asks.

"No, no need. I was simply wondering..." Mura says. "You may leave."

The maids share a look with each other. "We are to remain here while you relieve yourself, agasshi."

"I would actually appreciate some privacy. I hope you can understand." Mura expresses. 

The maids share another hesitant look. "Very well, we shall be right outside of the door. Simply call for us once you have finished." The two leave.

Glad to have some privacy, Mura goes behind the divider and does her business, albeit, still feeling uncomfortable with the entire situation. After she has finished, she calls the maids. "Where shall I dispose of the waste."

"Do not worry, agasshi, we shall take care of it."

"Is that so?" She is mortified by the idea that other people will be handling her bodily wastes. Oh, the shame.

Once she is back in her chamber, the maids proceed to undress her. 

"Oh no, I can do this myself." Mura voices. 

"This is a task for us maids, agasshi." The maids begin to disrobe her nightwear.

"No, no, please, I truly am not comfortable. I shall dress myself." Mura tries to argue. 

One of the maids gestures the other one to stop. "Agasshi, all of this must be quite foreign to you, and I imagine it isn't easy to allow strangers into such private aspects of your life. However, apart from being your faithful servants, we are also your confidant. So, please, believe me when I say you have nothing to be ashamed of. We shall only treat you with the respect and loyalty that you rightfully deserve. So, I urge you to be comfortable and open with us." The maid comforts Mura and offers her an understanding smile. "You are in safe hands. Now, shall we resume?"

Mura gives a reluctant nod. Even though, she still feels her cheeks run warm from being completely bare in front of the two maids, she is somewhat less mortified after hearing the consoling words of the maid. 

They wipe her entire body before dressing her. One of the maids then leaves to take care of another task, while the other stays and combs Mura's hair. 

"Thank you, for your kind words." Mura expresses to the maid. "It has been a trying time for me, I hadn't realized how much I needed to be comforted."

The maid smiles. "I am pleased that I had been able to ease your mind slightly. If you need such words of comfort in the future, you may divulge your worries to me."

Mura smiles. "What is your name?"

"Janshil."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Janshil." Mura expresses happily.

"It is my honor. All right, I shall now braid your hair."

"No, please, I detest having my hair braided."

"Why?"

"It feels so restricting, and it gives me a headache."

"But, you will be required to have your hair in a bun after you marry. You must become accustomed to it, agasshi."

"Precisely. Hence why, I urge you to allow me to wear my hair down. I wish to have some semblance of my prior life until I am wedded." 

"But, Choi Sanggung---"

"Do not fret, I shall talk it over with her."

"Very well." Janshil relents. "Allow me to at least braid and tuck away the front portion of your hair so that it may not fall over your face and become a bother throughout the day."

Mura nods. "How long have you been working at the palace?"

"Eleven years."

"How old are you?"

"I am twenty-one."

"Oh, you had merely been ten when you began? Do you enjoy working at the palace?"

"Of course, I do." Janshil lies. Who would enjoy slaving away your days without any appreciation? "For a peasant like me, what could be a greater honor than serving the royal family?"

"Are you married?"

Janshil chuckles. "Court ladies, maids, and eunuchs are not permitted to marry."

"Oh, so Choi Sanggung is not married either?"

"No."

As though on cue, the aforementioned woman herself enters the chamber. She takes a look at Mura. "Janshil, you still haven't finished?"

"I have, Choi Sanggug. Agasshi is ready." Janshil tells her superior nervously.

"Her hair."

Mura then spends the next several minutes begging Madam Choi to let her wear her hair down, to which, after much contention, Madam Choi reluctantly agrees.

After breakfast, Mura is taken to the library, where she is required to study classic texts to learn the virtues of being a crown princess and an eventual queen.

If there is anything that Mura detests above anything, it is reading. And, she detests it with the utmost passion. Mura feels completely trapped with her tutor sitting across from her, and having Madam Choi standing behind her with her watching gaze on Mura. 

Any time, the tutor speaks for an extended amount of time to explain something, Mura finds herself bored beyond sanity, which, in turn, makes her unbelievably drowsy. She accidentally dozes off a few times, and every time, she is poked with a bamboo stick from behind by her lady-in-waiting.

After two hours of the mind-numbing study session, Mura is allowed some rest. When her midday meal is served, Madam Choi stands over her and critiques the way she eats before instructing her on how to eat gracefully. 

Later in the day, Mura is taken outside to be taught how to carry herself as a royal woman.

"Have you ever attended any etiquette lessons?" Madam Choi inquires.

"Once." Mura answers. When she was younger, her mother had forced her to attend such classes. However, after attending just one lesson, Mura vehemently refused to return. 

"Well, it is evident. You have poor posture." Madam Choi remarks. "We must fix that." She gestures at one of the maids and she brings in a large ceramic bowl. "Straighten your back." Madam Choi pokes Mura's waist with a bamboo stick, which causes the other to react by straightening up. Then Madam Choi places the bowl on top of Mura's head. "You must balance this bowl, and walk down this line..." She points to a long and flat piece of fabric that's laid on the ground in front of Mura. "...without dropping the bowl. If you drop it, we shall start again and repeat until you are able to walk with the bowl staying put in its place."

Mura frowns and curses in her head. This is such an inconvenience.

She ends up breaking five bowls and is still unable to walk in a straight line with it staying put. 

"Let us conclude for today. We shall resume tomorrow." Madam Choi says, disappointed. 

The day ends with Mura's maids giving her a bath, which is not as calming as she was hoping it to be. She questions if she will ever become used to others doing everything for her. After slipping into her nightwear, Mura walks towards her bed. 

"What do you wish to do now, agasshi?" Janshil asks Mura.

"I suppose I shall just get some sleep."

"Very well, I shall blow out the candles."

"Leave two alight."

"As you wish."

Mura collapses on the bed. She didn't quite exert herself, and she has pushed her body far beyond anything she has done all day today. Yet, she finds herself exhausted. However, it is more of a mental exhaustion than a physical one. Not long after she lays down, Mura finds herself drifting off to deep sleep.

Later, she is joyously running in the woods with a soft breeze brushing against her face and gliding through her inky hair. She giggles blissfully with every step. There is nothing holding her back, so she keeps running and running until she is unceremoniously interrupted.

"Agasshi, wake up." 

Mura opens her eyes and is met with the realization that it was only a dream. This is her reality now. Moving forward, the only way she will be able to experience such freedom is through her dreams, and at that thought, Mura's chest begins to constrict, while her eyes begin to moisten. 

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