"My apologies, Your Highness, I didn't mean to offend you," Inggi made herself smaller in her fury. 

"Nayang, leave us alone," Princess Tastri told her handmaiden to leave. Seeing Nisti reached for the bikayas that she had laid down earlier, she said, "Not you, Nisti. You stay here." 

As soon as the handmaiden left the room, Princess Tastri stared at Inggi. "You, new maid, you can read?" 

"Yes, Your Highness," answered Inggi. 

"Does that mean you can snoop around to read stuffs for me?" continued the princess. Inggi was so confused that she didn't know what to answer. "My other maids cannot read. They never know what's going on in the palace. They can't read notes, they can't read letters, they can't even find me the right book in the library." 

Inggi and Nisti just glanced at each other. They never thought that the maids' illiteracy inconvenienced the Princess. Although there were some good reasons for a maid to be illiterate. One of them was so that she couldn't snoop around the way Princess Tastri wanted. And so it decreased the potential for them to betray the royal family's confidence.

But Inggi wasn't a maid. She was the daughter of a blacksmith who sold their goods on the market. Reading, writing, counting, even bookkeeping were the most important things she must do now that she co-handled the family business with her brother. Besides, she was there to snoop around for Renggi Nanta. 

"Sha- shall I read the book to you, Your Highness?" asked Inggi. 

Princess Tastri gave her the book. She herself went up to the pedestal. Nisti Dahisna quickly helped her take her bikaya off while Inggi read the book to her. The princess was still being mean to Nisti by whining about how careless she was. And every time she did that, Inggi sped up the reading so she would stop whining and ask her to reread it. 

"Hmm.. the waist is too big," commented Princess Tastri as she stared at herself in the mirror. Hearing Inggi sped up again, she finally said, "No, no, stop reading. I need to focus on this bikaya." 

"You look riveting, Your Highness," praised Inggi while closing the book. 

Princess Tastri should warn the maids who spoke without being spoken to, but she couldn't do it because Inggi basically called her beautiful and she used the word 'riveting'. It's hard to be angry at that.

Besides, she agreed. She did look riveting. The attire for the annual mask festival must be excessive, but Nisti managed to create a piece that actually looked extravagant without looking over the top. 

"You'd make a wonderful queen," added the saucy new maid. 

The glimmer on Princess Tastri's face dulled. She sighed, "But I will not be a queen."

She waited for Inggi to ask why, but she didn't dare to say it, so she continued, "I'm going to marry Prince Efanhar from the Kingdom of Potiti. He's the third in line of succession, just like me. I'll still be a princess." 

Nisti Dahisna quietly took off the bikaya. She had made the notes for the alteration she needed to fix. 

"Tistara will be queen, though," added Princess Tastri. "She's going to marry Prince Niwarna from the Kingdom of Angkuripan. He's the crown prince and she was promised to be his consort."

Inggi encouraged herself to keep talking to the princess since she became nicer after a few talks. "When will the wedding take place?" she queried. 

"Soon," the princess let Nisti help her wear the chiffon bikaya she was wearing earlier. "If not right after we turn eighteen. They're too busy making arrangements for Pri's wedding." 

"Oh, the Crown Prince's getting married?" 

"He's going to be the king, isn't he? Of course, he's getting married. His succession comes first." 

"Who is he going to marry?" 

"Ayyali Ralinta of Dyapura." 

"What about the Prince Regent? Is he not betrothed like you?" 

Princess Tastri sighed. "A prince who is not the crown prince is possibly the most liberated human being in the world. He gets to say 'no'. Meanwhile princesses like me, Tistara, Jiyani, must always say 'yes' to anything and everything." 

Inggi blinked. "Is Princess Jiyani betrothed too?" 

"With a Chamnamese prince," answered Princess Tastri, making Inggi take a sharp breath. "Mother Ri allows her to marry outside Sanuratna subregion, so Father decided that she should marry Prince Yen. She, too, will not be queen." 

Inggi couldn't be anymore shocked to know that the nine year old princess already had her whole life set for her. The only thing nine year old Inggi had set for her was the kind of toy her parents could afford for her. 

"You commoners are lucky you don't have to marry for politics," Princess Tastri made her last comment. 

Nisti Dahisna suddenly chuckled. "I almost became a high official's concubine once," she chirped. 

Silence fell. She realized she hadn't said a single word before and she should've kept her mouth shut. Now the princess would start being mean to her again. Possibly even punished her for speaking without being spoken to. 

"Really?" She finally looked up to see Inggi's surprise. "Me too!" 

The two immediately joined hands and congratulated each other for dodging a serious bullet, leaving the princess completely speechless. No servants had ever had the audacity to talk to each other without making her the center of attention. 

"Dear gods, you two!" she yelled so loud, making Inggi and Nisti both stared at her in the eyes. They came into realization that they're in big trouble. "What happened? A concubine? How? Tell me!" 

Turned out the Princess was only curious about their experience. The three ended up talking about men for hours. Inggi started with her story about her family's debt to a local loan shark named Sra Jat Wulakta, who obviously wasn't a high official but still a nobleman regardless how minor. She ended it with her escape by tagging along her older brother, Darga, who qualified to be a personal guard for the Prince Regent, omitting the whole qualification process from her story. 

Nisti's story was not as sad, yet no less scary than Inggi's. She caught the attention of a high official who frequented the palace that was old enough to be her father. Princess Tastri urged her to reveal his name, and even though she tried to close it in his favor, she relented. The Princess' reaction when Nisti answered with the name Pram Haksatra was enough for Inggi to assume his repugnance. Nisti was saved by the late Queen who hadn't let her leave the palace. 

"Does that mean he's going to ask you again now that my mother's dead?" asked Princess Tastri. 

"Oh no!" Inggi cupped her own cheeks. 

"I personally doubt that, Your Highness," answered Nisti. "His employee has asked me to return all the jewelry he gave me." 

"Goodness gracious!" Princess Tastri put her hands on her hips. 

"And since I returned them, I haven't heard from him ever again," added Nisti. She chuckled, "Now my mother is bugging all the bachelor she can find to marry me before he starts bothering me again." 

Their talk went on with a discussion about their dream husband. It was a refreshing moment for Princess Tastri. The dream husband of these commoners was so simple: a kind man. That's all they wanted from their future husband. All the gold, beauty and status meant nothing if the man wasn't kind. It gave her a brand new perspective in life.

The sun began to set, turning the blue sky orange before bringing the stars into play. The hustle and bustle in the palace died down, replaced by silent and vigilant work of the palace guards.