It would be wrong to say the day I left the mansion was gloomy.
Because it wasn't.
The sun shone bright. The sky was so blue it almost hurt my eyes. Birds chirped in messy little songs.
A good day for a journey.
Shame I had to walk.
The cart fare was far too high for the frugal handful of coins in my pouch. So I planned the trip: walk to the edge of town, find a cheap ox cart through the lonely villages, then take the canals all the way to the city. The Forbidden City.
Ariya's map guided me well, until I realized I had wandered back to the same street where I'd once been harassed, my skin scratched until it bled.
The stares came first. Then the whispers. Then the ugly remarks about my skin.
Lianyu's coughing face came to mind. Ariya, praying night and day. Yichen, silent with worry.
I wouldn't waste strength on insults.
I fixed my gaze on the flowers. The scent of petals and damp earth filled my lungs. For a moment, it was almost peaceful.
I passed a mother scolding her son, a father clumsily tying his daughter's hair, an old man mumbling to himself.
Ordinary moments. Moments I once had in Bharat. Now, I would do anything to get them back.
"Four copper coins," the cart driver barked.
I paid, climbed aboard, and listened to the ox's hooves sink deep into the mud. The cart rattled and groaned. The smell of dung clung to the air, no matter how tightly I wrapped cloth around my nose.
The driver cursed the ox's slow pace. I bit back a laugh. The animal just stared at its hooves, as if wondering what crime it had committed to deserve this job.
"How long to the canal?" I asked.
"The night will pass."
The sun bled into the horizon. The driver lit a lantern, its flame flickering as we moved. Stars bloomed overhead, bright and sharp. Huts dotted the darkness.
I tried not to fall asleep. Each time my eyes closed, the driver's curses yanked them open again.
Dawn came in gold. The path grew busier. Children ran ahead of carts. Then, here it was.
The Grand Canal.
Sunlight spilled across its waters, turning them to liquid gold. Boats bobbed gently, ferries gliding toward distant cities.
I stepped off the cart and joined the crowd. The stares followed me, crude and unashamed.
I ignored them. I was too close now.
"Three copper coins—"
I handed the fare before the boatman could finish.
Water lilies drifted beside us, green and white, like the jade hairpin Lianyu once gave me. Fishermen shouted across the water, nets flashing in the light.
And then, beyond the bend, I saw it.
A wall of red and gold rising above the shore. Roofs crowned with dragons. Towers catching the morning sun.
The Forbidden City.
The boat crashed onto the deck to stop as the people started to shout and yell, pulling their belongings up and down causing the boat floor to sway strongly.
I tried to get up but the swarm of these humans kept pushing and pulling.
Finally after much strguggling i move onto the deck.
I take a look at the map again.
Oh, it did not have the details on how to reach the palace.
I started to panic, how will I reach there?
"Excuse me, do you know the path to The Palace?" I asked.
The woman looked at me up and down as if looking at a piece of meat. "And WHY is someone so black like you going into the palace?"
I decided to just find it myself.
A group of young girls and women with clothes like mine were going in a direction.
Perhaps they were also looking to work as maids, so I quickly followed them.
After a few minitues of running around they, along with me had reached our destination.
I did not speak to them and tried to blend in with the rest of the maidens there. All i needed was to get this job and hopefully meet Yixuan.
The gate infront of me was simple and made of wood. It looked like the backdoor or a door for sevants.
"Name!"
There was an older lady there checking the history and reasons of why these women were here to work in the palace.
"Meilina." I answered when she came to me.
Fortunately she did not look at me to comment on my appearence.
"Reason for working?" She yelled.
"Uh well to get money and... serve the emperor!" I said.
The people around me laughed.
Unfortunately the lady now had her sharp eyes right at me.
"Why do you look like... nevermind. Serve the emperor you say! What a statement! Do you even know how to read or write?"
"Yes" I answered.
She was surprised.
"Meilina you say? Well come with me, we will do a health check on you...who knows how many diseases you have!"
She yelled as she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the entrance infront of all the other girls.
I was pushed inside a room which contained a few men and a group of girls who, i assume were also there for work.
These men checked my hair, skin, heartbeat and asked about my health. After that they nodded and told me to leave through another door.
Dozens of other girls were also there, all looking worried.
The room we were sent to was quite big, decorated with a few vases and flowers. There were many places to sit and some food were given.
After what seemed like hours, the older lady finally came in with a piece of paper. She assigned roles and where maids would work along with their trainings.
At last she finaly came to me.
"Youre the black one who can read and write. Well consider yourself lucky. You have gotten a role to the inner palace!" She screamed joyfully waiting for me to do the same.
"What is that?" I nervously asked.
"Its the place where the concubines of the Emperor reside in." The Lady seemed to say as if it was obvious.
She pushed a bunch of clothes at me and said i can work from tomorrow.
"Of course there is much more training to do and with you looking like that... well we will find out a colution. Be up by 5am tomorrow."
For tonight i was to rest with the other selected maids.
I could feel their jealousy at the stares they gave towards me.
Many said they would have been more worthy than a girl like me but i could not care less.
For now i had to figure out what to do, and what my next step will be...