The Dark Chamber was less like a chamber and more like a dungeon. But it was definitely dark.
And extremely dirty.
All four walls were covered in cobwebs; the fully round ones that were extremely fascinating to gaze at. But this time Xiao Hui had no wish to go near them. Or more like she could not?
The walls were too high and even with the two large boxes that the Dark Chamber for some reason had, Xiao Hui could not get a closer look.
Dejected, she sat down on one of the boxes and leaned against the wall. She did not mind the grime; being a maid cut you off some (but not all) disgust.
The Dark Chamber was, as its name said, dark. Xiao Hui could hardly see anything except for the boxes and the fine outline of cobwebs. Those she can only see because of the minuscule amount of light coming from a tiny window that was out of her reach.
There was no bed, no proper place to lay down. Not even a thin blanket. It was so horribly boring in the Dark Chamber.
Xiao Hui, bored out of her mind, began reflecting on the previous incidents this morning. There were a lot of them, more than any incident she had in her entire life. It would have been easier to write her thought process down, but there was nothing suitable to write with so Xiao Hui settled for thoughts.
First things first, why was no one talking about Li Xinyi, the Han fu ren?
That was the weirdest thing. Li Xinyi was the Queen Consort, not some random concubine in a huge harem that the King and palace could completely forget about. So why was no one wondering where she was?
And the next problem. Where was the King?
While she was being dragged to the Dark Chamber, the soldiers were talking amongst themselves about the orders of the King. Not the actual King. The Imposter King.
"Poor woman," one of them had said, his voice laced with pity. "To be sent into the Dark Chamber." At this he had shuddered.
The second one had simply frowned and admonished the first one. "These are the orders of the King. We have to follow them."
Xiao Hui, who had been quiet for the most, then asked the first one. He seemed way friendlier and he expressed pity for her.
"Where is the King?" At their confused looks, she had clarified. "The rea- I mean, previous King"
The soldiers had looked at each other, their faces contorting in what could only be bewilderment. Then Soldier Number 1 burst out laughing while Soldier Number 2 shook his head, exasperated.
"Where is the previous King, she says," choked out Soldier Number 1. "If we knew that we would for sure be as rich as one."
"Shut up, Cheng." Turning to Xiao Hui, Soldier Number 2 had said stiffly, "None of us know where the-," at this he had paused, his lip curling. "Previous King is after he ran away." The maid frowned at the blatant disrespect.
But then they had, unfortunately reached the Dark Chamber which Xiao Hui was pretty sure did not exist before. Was this something the Imposter King had made?
So here she was, just a poor (and very confused) maid stuck in a dark, dark room with absolutely no way out. Unless someone took pity on her. But that seemed very less likely. She had no friends except for the Queen Consort and now even she was gone.
A wretched feeling grasped her heart, squeezing it so hard that it hurt. Her face felt like it was burning. It took her some seconds to realize. There were fat tears rolling down her cheeks.
How long had it been since she last cried?
She had cried many times during the first few months she became a maid in the Hans. But then the frequency lessened until it had stopped completely.
Well, until now.
Xiao Hui cried for who knows how many hours. Somewhere in the middle, the door flap (which she did not notice before) opened and a small meat bun was placed as meal. The maid ignored it and went on crying.
She perhaps would have cried far longer had a sudden noise not interrupt her.
She stopped crying abruptly, wondering if it was just her imagination. So she strained her ears. And the noise came again. It sounded like a steady thuk thuk thuk. As if someone was throwing a rock at the window.
The window!
Xiao Hui quickly turned towards the tiny window in the "chamber" (it was more like a dungeon). The sound was definitely coming from it. But how could she reach that?
Her eyes caught the boxes in the corner. There were two of them. If she piled them on top of each other would she be able to reach the window?
She pushed the box she sat on along the wall until it was directly below the window. It seemed heavier than expected.
Then she heaved the second box, ignoring the cries of her chicken arms that were feeling that they would break, and placed it on top of the first one.
Now for the most difficult part.
Placing her hands on the second box, Xiao Hui pushed her body up so that her knees reached the box. Then she tried to balance herself, nearly falling in the process, and heaved herself up.
Finally she was on top of the box. And to her relief, she could now reach the tiny window.
Once again spreading her arms for balance, Xiao Hui stood up on the box. The boxes wobbled dangerously but the maid paid no mind to it. Her attention was on the window. Particularly the clasp.
Xiao Hui had caught the window clasp to regain balance and to her surprise it moved. The window was open!
She quickly pulled the clasp and though it was clearly old and slightly stuck, the window opened easily.
Xiao Hui peered out of the square space. It was a decent drop. Not too high; she could jump. But the problem was that could she dare jump out of the window? It was not as if she was a fearless warrior. She was just a poor and feeble maid.
Suddenly the thought of the Queen Consort and her noble sacrifice came to the maid's mind. How could she be so cowardly that she can't even jump out of a window that is not even at an unreasonable height? How could she forget that she needed answers to what was happening today?
And so steeling her nerves, Xiao Hui jumped out of the window.....
Right into the arms of the King's manservant.
__________________________________________________
Question:
What is your favorite romantic moment?