"I'm worried about Ash," I tell Jenna one morning as she helps me get ready for the day.
"There's nothing to be worried about, he's just tired. He'll go back to being the Prince Charming he was after much rest," Jenna says while combing my hair.
"Good, Jenna," I smile. "You now know how to properly use the term Prince Charming. I'm such a brilliant teacher! But Jenna, he is no longer charming."
"Indeed, Saridayang. How about giving him something like nightingale feces?"
I stop her hand and give her a disgusted face. "Feces as in poop?"
"Yes. It's an excellent remedy for getting rid of acne. But if you're not comfortable about it, Saridayang, you can just give him some sulfur. I heard that bathing in sulfur is how Aryelans maintain their glass-like skin."
"Sulfur it is," I answer without hesitation. There's no way I will let Ash spread bird poop in his face… and neither will I if I undergo puberty in the future.
She places the comb on the vanity and begins styling my hair. "I will ask Sir Jigis about it later, Saridayang."
Sir Jigis is my personal aide, like Sir Arman to Father. And I'm pretty sure they are related since they both have the same surnames. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure where Jenna or Nanny are from. I know nothing about their personal lives outside the Royal City.
"Thank you, Jenna. But you know, you've been calling me Saridayang every time you talk to me. Can you not address me as such? We're close now and the Saridayang think is creating a line between us. I don't like that."
"That… is how it should be, Saridayang. I'm just a lowly servant, I'm not even your Lady-in-waiting. I am not a noble, Saridayang."
"But you're my friend."
"I am, but still…"
"Why not call me Iris if we're alone, then?" I compromise. "It's really lonely, you know. It's like I don't have a real friend here, with everyone calling me Saridayang here, Saridayang there. That's not my name; not even my nickname. I have a beautiful name, you know that? Start using that, it's what my mom and dad gave me."
I look at Jenna in the mirror and move my brows up and down, causing my forehead to crease. She sighs in defeat.
"Alright. But only if we're inside the residence and there aren't any other royals around. I don't want to get in trouble," she says, later adding, "Also, if the Head Maid is present; she will scold me if I call you your name so I will address you formally."
"She's scary," I make a remark, and Jenna vigorously nods through the mirror.
"She always points out all my mistakes from the day after my duties are over. And the next morning, she's already there, ready to scold me. I am pitiful, Lady Iris," she fakes a cry.
I put on a sympathetic expression and join in on her antics. "Oh, my poor friend —" I say, clutching my chest as I sadly shake my head, "—your friend, Iris, feels you. I feel you, gurl."
"Thanks for feeling me, gurl."
We both laugh as she finishes putting my hair up. She assists me in getting off the vanity chair and we begin walking out of my room.
"You should call me Iris," I say in all seriousness.
"Lady Iris."
I let out a puff of air. "Fine. That's good enough. For now."
Then an idea strikes me, and I shake the hand that is holding me. Jenna looks down at me with a smile.
"I have an idea." I say this and I notice her smile flutter for a fraction of a second. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna do weird stuff… and I'm not gonna let you do weird stuff. I just have an idea pop into my head and I want you to hear me out; this is good, I promise."
"What's the beauty products in this world— I mean, our kingdom? Also, what's the beauty trends of other kingdoms?"
"Why would you like to know about that, Lady Iris?"
"Well, for my plan to work, I need to know the ins and outs of the beauty industry in your— our world."
"What kind of beauty products are you looking for?"
"I don't know. Skincare routine, maybe? I don't really know," I answer honestly. "Something just popped into my mind and I want to do it. Can you help me?"
She's skeptical but still says yes. "But you need to tell me what's on your mind before doing anything crazy. I don't want to get in trouble with the Head Maid again." She shivers as she recalls how harshly Nanny scolded her the last time. Jenna is my go-to person whenever I think of something considered normal on Earth, but is seen crazy in this world.
I give her a mischievous grin, and she groans but doesn't say she won't do it.
I feel alive and feel my blood pumps as excitement rushes through my very core. I just thought of something that may help me in the future. So this is what those villainesses feel when they start doing their own business to take revenge or decide to stray off the path of being killed by the possessive male leads.
Beauty has always been essential for both men and women no matter the peer group in every generation. Although people's perceptions of beauty change over time, the desire for "perfection" remains constant. I grew up in a society where people would go to any length to achieve "perfect beauty," whether through cosmetic surgery or Photoshop; some wouldn't go to that extreme and would put on makeup instead. But the most basic of them all would be the skincare routine. After all, you need a perfect canvas to create perfect art.
I can rely on this family all I want, but it will bite me someday. The walls of the Royal City have ears; one wrong word and I'll be marked as a thorn. I need something that will help me in the future without them knowing. I'm being treasured right now because these people have put their faith in me to save their kingdom, but who knows, maybe they'll marry me off somewhere if I'm no longer useful to them. I'm a princess, after all, and princesses are just pawns used to strengthen foreign ties.
The Royal Family has always been comparable to gladiators in an arena. No matter how much sparring time they spend with each other and no matter how many points they give each other, there will always be someone who will not die of old age. Everyone wears different masks that hide their actual intentions. Those so-called brothers-in-arms will one day point their sword at one another.
As part of the Royal Family, I need to not pull all my eggs in one basket and deal my cards at the right time. A good source of income won't hurt, and if I want to achieve my goal, I need to start early. I have decided to venture in the beauty industry. Marina has been doing what I told her to do, and it's my turn to move this time.
—
It's my first time seeing Ash after a month of not absence, and frankly speaking, I am nervous. I am excited to show him how much I have improved and matured over the past month, courtesy, of course, of the Queen. However, he was so tired that I wasn't able to see him for two days even after he came back.
I leap from my bed and dash down the stairs as soon as Jenna hands me a bottle of crushed sulfur. "Ash! Where's Ash? Have you seen Ash?" I ask the people I pass by without stopping in my tracks.
"At the garden, Saridayang!" A woman shots for me to hear. "Be careful!"
"Thanks! And stop with the Saridayang, I have a name!" I shout back.
When I get to the garden, I run straight through the maze, going from one exit to the next in the hopes of seeing Ash. He isn't there, to my dismay, not even in any of the dead ends. I return to the maze's entrance and decide to look for him in the glass garden, then I notice Seigel acting something out.
"Have you seen Ash?"
"Acck!" He loses control of his grip on the vase he's holding and it falls to the ground. He jumps around as he clutches his right foot, tears streaming down his face. "Aw, aw, aw!"
"Sorry. Have you seen Ash?"
"Aw! Yes, S-sar— ow! SaRiDaYAng~~!"
"Sorry," I apologize again and grimace at him. "Does it hurt?"
"Yes, very much so, I mean, no, but yes…" He puts his foot back on the ground and starts fidgeting as he picks on the seams of his shirt.
"Sooo… they said he's here… where is he?"
"Who?"
"Ash. You said you've seen him."
He looks at me with bulging eyes and a sideways tilt of his head, his mouth in an odd O shape.
"When I ask you if you've seen Ash, you said yes. Where is he?" I repeat.
Seigel has always been an odd fellow, awkward and all, but from what I've seen of him when he's left alone with his thoughts, he's not all weird. He's just awkward when he's around other people. Too bad. If he's on Earth and has confidence, he'd definitely be one of the top actors. I've seen him play with emotions and change expressions in a split second, he's good at acting. He has a toned body from all the gardening, not to mention he's handsome.
"Oh, no. Oh, no. I mean, yes, but not to you-your question. I-I mean… you know…"
I sigh. I give up. I shake my head and run towards the exit to look for Ash in another place.
"Nice acting by the way!" I shout when I exit the glass garden.
"Astahi! She saw that?! What to do? What to do?" I hear him panic and step on the broken shards of the vase. "Ouch! Oh, no, no, no! Blood! I'm bleeding; I'm bleeding!"
I run for another ten minutes before spotting Ash at the knights' training grounds. "Ash, Ash, Ash!" I yell as I sprint towards him, carrying a bottle of sulfur.
He puts his sword back in its sheath and wipes the sweat from his palms on his pants.
"Look what I've got you," I say as I run to his embrace.
He picks me up and takes the bottle from my hand. "Thank you for the powdered…?"
"Sulfur. They're good for the skin," I tell him as I wipe the sweat off his forehead using the sleeves of my dress. "I don't know if it's true. It's what Jenna said."
"Thank you, saridayang. Now let us get you out of here; the knights are training right now and the grounds is unsightly."
I look over his shoulder and wave at the knights. They wave back at me.
"I told Jenna not to call me such titles; I told everyone not to call me that," I inform him as he carries me back to my residence.
"I don't address you with your title-ah. I have always been calling you saridayang, not Saridayang. I get away with that because they sound the same, but not quite."
"So, you're calling me saridayang, as in the one used by parents to call their daughters?"
"Not quite. Parents are not the only ones who can call a child as such; those who are close with the child can also call her saridayang. We are close, right?"
I give him a big smile, and he gives me a smaller one in return.
"Of course, we are. We're friends. We're best friends. That's why I want you to call me by my name. Because we're friends."
"Of course. Friends-ah."
"What's with the -ah sound?"
"It's just how we talk when we get comfortable. By we, I mean, us Aryelans."
"Like 'a-hah!' or something?" With my index finger pointing upward, I exclaim.
"... You could say, but please do not do that."
"So, I was wrong?"
When we arrive at the gates of my residence, he pats me on the head before putting me on his foot. "Thanks again for this, Iris, but I have got to go."
"But, Ash~~" I act cute in front of him, mimicking those anime girls with big sparkling eyes and hands on their chin.
"Yeees?" He kneels down on one knee and smiles at me.
I laugh. "You're a patient guy, aren't you?" He smiles at first, but when he hears what I say next, he quickly changes his expression to a poker face. "You'll be a great husband when you… you know, become a husband."
"You're getting tired of me, aren't you?" I ask quietly after a moment of silence envelops us.
He doesn't answer my question. He simply sighs deeply and closes his eyes while leaning his head to the sky. After two sighs, he opens his eyes and looks back at me. He then places his hand on my head and walks away, leaving me at my front door.