What was destiny? Some said that if someone showed up when you need them, it was destiny. So, was it destiny that made Ae-Ra meet Crown Prince Ji-Ho? Was it destiny, which made her be present when he was attacked, and destiny that allowed her to save him? Perhaps, it was destiny was the cause they met, but the reason they kept meeting again and again was Ji-Ho. He had intertwined their lives.
The Palace was the abode of the Gods, quite literally, for it was the home of the Royal Family. Now, Ae-Ra's home as well. Exquisite and serene, the palace was the perfect myriad, a raging storm of colours and textures. From dark wood, to ivory and gold, lush flowers of radiant hues, to lustrous statues made of jewels, the palace was a storm of raging beauty. Ethereal, the place where only the divine resided. Ae-Ra should have felt scared, of the treachery which took place behind these walls, but she was not. Rhee Ae-Ra had never been scared of anything, not of the dark as a child, not of men as a woman, so she refused to be daunted by any petty tricks and fights which always took place inside the palace. Today, when she first entered the palace, she should have felt out of place, for she was not one of the divine residents of this paradise, but she did not. She had come here with a purpose, because of destiny or Ji-Ho, whichever it was, it was the same to her. Perhaps Ji-Ho was her destiny disguised in the body of a beautiful man. She walked with confidence, her each step carrying the strength she was gifted with, her footsteps firm as she made her way to meet the Emperor and the Crown Prince, guided by the Messenger. He opened the doors, gilded with gold, to her destiny, to her new life.
"Your Highness, Rhee Ae-Ra, only daughter of the Minster of Health, has arrived.", the Messenger declared, bowing low. Following his suit, Ae-Ra bowed.
"Rise Rhee Ae-Ra.", a solemn voice said. The Emperor. Ji-Ho's father. Ae-Ra clenched her fists and unclenched them. She would not feel fear, she was strong, she would not feel fear. Ae-Ra rose, in all her glory. The Emperor, was old, but still looked regal, in his silken heavily brocaded Hanbok. Beside him stood the damsel in distress, Crown Prince Ji-Ho with a lazy grin on his face. Seeing Ae-Ra he winked. Ae-Ra narrowed her eyes onto him. The grand pest.
"I believe you know why you have been summoned to the palace, my son, and the future Emperor, Crown Prince Ji-Ho has requested for you to be his Imperial Guard. Firstly, I would like to thank you for saving my son's life. I hope you can continue to do so as his Guard, but..", the King paused, and aimed his gaze on Ae-Ra, scalding her skin from the intensity of it.
"As you know it is odd for a woman to be a Guard, yet alone an Imperial Guard who will protect the Crown Prince. Though Ji-Ho has convinced me of your skills, I have to see it myself, to know that you have earned your position, that you can indeed protect the future Emperor."
Ae-Ra's lips thinned, she had to prove herself? It was not like she had come hunting for this position.
"Of course, Your Highness, what can I do to prove myself?"
The King smiled, satisfied,
"You will fight five of my warriors. If you win, then you will be Ji-Ho's Guard, if not, you will be sent back home."
Ae-Ra traced her index finger with the pad of her thumb before giving a devious smile,
"Of course, Your Highness, it is only right."
She was Rhee Ae-Ra, and she would not be disrespected, even by the Royal family or the Royal Guards. She knew the only way to earn their respect, and their fury was to fight them, she had to admit the Emperor was clever. He had made sure he knew that Ae-Ra was capable of protecting his damsel in distress and also shown the palace dynamics, who would be her friend and who would be her foe, it would all be revealed after the fight. She would win, she had no choice but to win. Losing was never an option for Rhee Ae-Ra.
******
The fight would take place in the beautiful and delicate palace gardens, Ae-Ra felt sorry that the innocent flowers and buds had to witness to horror of a fight. Many Palace maids, Guards, the whole Royal family, consorts, scholars, all had gathered to witness the strangest fight they would ever witness, the fight between a noble woman and five Imperial Guards. The five Guards stood in front of Ae-Ra, some smug, some worried, how could they hurt a woman. Ae-Ra wanted to scoff. She looked at the crowd around them, the Royal family had lined up. All the Princes had lined beside the King by their age, form the first prince, to the seventh. Beside the Emperor was the Empress, as beautiful and hollow as a doll. Her eyes were distant not focused. Beside her stood the two princesses, one looking at her with hostility and disgust, the other with worry. The Princes all seemed bored, all except Ji-Ho, he was looking at Ae-Ra, his eyes blazing jewels of anger. She looked away, back to her opponents, remembering how Ji-Ho had protested when the King had announced the Fight. He had said it was unfair, but the King had said enemies were never fair. The King was right, but Ae-Ra did not understand his concern towards her. He had wanted her as his Guard, did he not realise fighting for him was what she was supposed to do?
"The fight will be without any weapons. If Rhee Ae-Ra wins, she will be the Guard for the Crown Prince, if she loses, she will be sent back home. This is not a fight till death, once the opponent is on the ground, he or she is disqualified.", The Emperor said his voice cold and distant.
"The fight may begin.", Ae-Ra felt her heart humming in her ears, as her blood tried to break out from the cage of the blood vessels. She took in a deep breath, she would win. She had to.
The first man came straight at her, his hand extended, clenched into a fist. She let the energy humming in her, still the world around her, as she dodged the punch. She grabbed the fist and twisted it, using it to drag him near her, before slamming her head into his with as much force she could muster. He fell onto the ground, knocked out like a light. She could feel a bruise forming on her head. Seeing the man fall to the ground, gasps broke out through the crowd, as the next two men came running at her. The first man threw a punch at her, she quickly tilted her head at the opposite direction. He had made a stupid mistake. Never aim for the head. One can easily avoid the punch. Ae-Ra scoffed and jutted her knee right into the place between his legs. He crumbled into the ground like a paper doll. The other man, who had come running with the second man, grabbed her from the back, in a death grip. She did not bother struggling, that would just increase the pressure around her neck from his death grip. She twisted her head and spit into his eyes. He gave a shrill scream, and just as Ae-Ra had predicted, his grip loosened. She took the chance to twist her body around and land a solid punch on his stomach. He fell onto the ground. She stood and turned head around, to see the other two men staring at her in shock. The crowd had gone silent, as though she was a spectacle, an alien.
"Be careful! She does not play fair!", the man she had just defeated coughed in a shrill voice to his comrades. Ae-Ra scoffed, blowing out the hair falling on her face. Her neck hurt from his grip, but now was not the time to mope around that. She looked at remaining two men. They were making no moves at her. Well, they said the best defence was offense, so she ran towards them swiftly. She did not punch or kick any of them, that would just allow them to twist her hands or legs. She just went and head slammed into one of the soldiers. Shocked, he stumbled back. They weren't expecting her to come like a bull. She took her hand and slammed it into his acupuncture point on his neck. He dropped down unconscious. She felt a sharp pain on her left ribs, as she stumbled on to ground. The other soldier had kicked her! She made sure she didn't fall to the ground, so she didn't get disqualified, she just stood in a crouched position, her back to the soldier her hands on the soil. She grabbed a fistful of soil, and swiftly turned around in one movement. She threw it at the man's eyes directly, without hesitating. No one told her she had to play fair. He stumbled back. Ignoring the sharp pain on her side, she went and gave him a kick to the stomach, and a sharp punch to his thorax. He fell to the ground. She straightened out her posture, and looked around the silent and shocked crowd. She brushed the hair fallen on her face, and looked to her side for any signs of bleeding. Thankfully, nothing was bleeding, she had probably just bruised a few of her ribs. She looked at an extremely shocked Ji-Ho, and smirked, giving him a wink. He looked even more shocked by that. She smiled and looked directly at the Emperor, who was smiling at her.
"You won"
******
After the fight, the soldiers and her had been taken to the infirmary to check up on their wound. She was not really hurt, but the doctors applied some healing salve to her neck and bruised ribs. As she was about to exit the infirmary, the soldier she had spit on shrieked in a shrill voice,
"Ya! You! You have no honour!"
Ae-Ra just sighed and rolled her eyes. She had already made enemies in the palace.
"I never claimed to have any.", she said walking towards the door, but before she left, she turned and told the doctor,
"Doctor please apply some soothing salves on him", she said pointing to the shrill soldier,
"His ego is badly bruised.", she gave the soldier one final smile to the doctor and the soldier before leaving.
"Ya! You wicked witch!", she heard the shrill cries of the soldier as she left. She laughed.
******
Ae-Ra took a sip of the warm herbal tea placed before her. It was perfect. In front of her sat the Emperor and Crown Prince Ji-Ho. They both were looking at her intently. Like father, like son, she thought. Had no one told them it was rude to stare? Oh, they probably hadn't, considering they were the King and the Crown Prince. The King slowly began,
"When Ji-Ho told me about you, I did not believe him but now I have no choice but to believe him. You are indeed strong, and absolutely extraordinary. Just like a Queen."
Ae-Ra blushed and forced and awkward smile, where was this going to?
"Thank you, Your Highness, I am honoured that you think so highly of me."
The King laughed before sobering up. Ae-Ra tensed, what was he going to say? He look as solemn as a gravestone.
"I am a man of my word, Ae-Ra yah, Can I call you that?"
Ae-Ra nodded, the teacup in her hands.
"So just like I promised, you will be the Imperial Guard personally protecting the Crown Prince Ji-Ho till my death. But after that, you will be the Empress."
The teacup fell from Ae-Ra's hands.
******