Out of the three hundred women who had signed up for the tournament, only 269 made it to the castle gate before sunset. Mei sighed in relief that she was one of them. Panting, she couldn't keep her hands of Bessie. The others looked at her in disgust, but it wasn't for the sweet cow, she would never have gotten far.
King Baboon appeared at the top of the staircase in golden armour. His son, Crown Prince Inbu was behind him with twisted lips and strained eyes. Like his father, his armour shimmered like gold. The similarities stopped there. King Baboon smiled as he ran down the stairs.
Mei chuckled. Even though Prince Inbu had a face of misery, there was something alluring about his eyes.
"Welcome to the palace, my ladies." The King's Boombastic laughter and how his platted beard swayed side to side made Mei's stomach curdle. The restless fingers didn't help either. "My, what a splendid collection of ladies. And to think that my future daughter-in-law is amongst one of you. I'm sure you will all make yourself comfortable."
Prince Inbu coughed. "Father, we must start the next task immediately."
"These ladies need rest!"
"The quicker we get this done, the sooner I can get married."
"Yes! You're quite right!" King Baboon rubbed his hands. "Well if you don't make it to the next round, you're welcome to work in my palace. I also have many rich friends and sexy nephews you can marry instead, and if you can wait, you can be betrothed to my grandsons."
"Father!" Inbu bellowed. "They're babies. That's disgusting."
"It is not disgusting, it is a simple investment."
Mei couldn't believe how the prince spoke to his father in such a horrific tone. Had he had been a commoner, he would have had his ankles hanging in the dungeons. At the same time, his defiance and determination to be his own free spirit moved her.
Then she thought about it again, and Prince Inbu had a point. How can a grown woman be married to an infant child, not only did it make her skin crawl, but it was barbaric. Her stomach churned and her back shivered from the wind. Wiping her face, she wondered if royal marriage was worth it at all?
An army of soldiers opened another gate revealing a white pool. Prince Inbu pointed at it. "If you want to go to the next round, swim in that milk and make it across the other side in 5 minutes."
"What!" A lady in a pink dress shrivelled up her nose. "What a disgusting idea!" she shrieked, lifting her dress and marching off. "I have better dignity than this!"
"Come on!" Mei called out to the lady. Her gut instinct told her to let her go and strop. Their loss was her gain. "You've come this far. There are a lot of worse things you can bathe in."
"Like what?"
"Cow pack," Mei replied. "Nothing smells as worse as pig's diarrhoea."
Inbu rubbed his chin. "Pig's diarrhoea..." Mei was worried about the sly grin on his face. Was he winking at her? "It sounds delightful."
The King whacked Prince Inbu with his golden stick. "It really isn't. I've had it many times. I wouldn't even wish it on my enemies."
Mei took a deep breath. Pinching her nose, she closed her eyes and jumped in the milk. Out of all the things they had to swim in, she wondered why it had to be milk. She couldn't understand why the ladies were complaining, the pool wasn't as big as it looked. Some of the bachelorettes followed Mei to the other side of the white river. Others made their way in other directions.
Mei didn't want to get out. She loved swimming and memories of her brothers teaching her how to swim brought a smile on her face. Sharp pains in her joints slowed her down, but she never stopped. "Keep on going!" Mei cried out. "You're all doing an amazing job."
The ladies gave her gaunt looks as they swam past. The wicked looks did not faze her. Mei had beliefs that had to be held. Women had to do more to help each other instead of bringing each other down. It was a tournament to see who would come out on top, but the Prince had to be looking for other qualities too.
King Baboon was looking her way, waving at her and blowing kisses. Mei resisted the urge to vomit. It wasn't too late to drop out, but she couldn't see the king as her father-in-law.
The gates had closed on the non-swimmer's faces. Some had attempted to swim, but were weighed down by their heavy wigs and plump dresses. Mei prayed that they didn't drown.
The guards counted the ladies that had made it to the other side of the milky lake. He bowed to King Baboon and said, "190 ladies left!"
"Yes!" Prince Inbu pumped his fist.
"You disgust me lad!" King Baboon bellowed. "You need to act more regal." He pushed the Prince into the lake and he made a splash into Mei's arms.