"What have you agreed upon mother Chieftana?" The eldest princess Tang asked. Few days back and she was already fussing about the healer overshadowing her popularity amongst the people. Before Xhemin arrived, she was considered as the most beautiful princess but when the healer broke in the borders, the rumors coming from the Gunta who found Xhemin said that she was the prettiest they had ever seen.

"Don't worry my daughter, it has already been settled" She told her with a cunning smile.

​​

"I want to know what happened," Spoiled as she was, the princess insisted her mother. "I have waited here long enough that I must know"

The Chieftana settled herself in her own room where two of his daughters waited. The left side of her red lips tugged upwards creating a sinister smirk as she said "She will be sent here as a housemaid"

"A handmaid?" The two daughters looked at each other and let go of a loud mocking guffaw. "How brilliant mother!"

The eldest one, Princess Tang gathered herself up and went beside her mother "Mother if the healer will be sent here as a handmaid then can I have her? I mean will it not be a great honor for a roux blood to serve the highest princess?"

"You for own sake sister, I suggest you drop the idea" Princess Wang warned her "That would be a very foolish thing for you to do"

"And why is that?" Princess Tang gave her sister a threatening look. Princess Tang, being the highest princess got most of the deal all the time. If the Chieftana's job was to oversee the whole chief's household, the highest princess on the other hand manages all the princesses' affairs and so the younger ones had to bow onto her.

"They say the healer was a beautiful girl. If she becomes your personal handmaid, would she not overshadow your beauty? Are prepared to become her wallpaper?" Princess Wang triumphantly scared her older sister. She knew that her weakness was her love for her beauty, having been pronounced by the entire household as the most beautiful amongst the chieftain's daughter, she kind of tremble when her beauty was put at stake. "How could you be the highest princess when your brain was too weak for the job?"

"Princess Wang!" The Chieftana chided her "How you say something like that to the highest princess"

"But what I said is true?' She insisted challenging her mother's wittiness "Am I not mother Chieftana?"

Princess Wang was never afraid to say something against Princess Tang as she thought she had a weak brain and she knew that she can do nothing against her because their mother is the Chieftana. She ever wondered where Princess Tang got her brain from when their mother the Chieftana—came from the Nanpeople who were held to be the smartest tribe and their father the Chieftain was a brilliant man.

"Highest Princess—"

"Forget it mother give her to my sister then" Princess Tang dismissed the idea, afraid of princess Wang's threats.

"I shall fully accept her mother" The other princess replied "I want to play with her until she begged to leave this island"

"Both of your minds are useless" Princess Wang's word only angered the Chieftana more. "You cannot play dirty with her because the people loved her! If you will her badly and the people will know then we are doomed!"

"Great try my dear sister" Princess Tang mocked her sister's idea when she saw how it failed "Mother has better plans with the healer so you better shut up and let mother do the work"

"What are your plans with her then mother?"

"I shall put her to the youngest princess household"

"That sick princess? But mother why?" Both of the princess exclaimed. They dislike the youngest princess so much because she is a full blood sibling of the Chieftain's heir.

"That princess was incurable" The Chieftana said before she bite the edge of her smile trying to imagine how pitiful the healer would become in the youngest princess house. "Even the healer cannot help her. When people realize that the youngest princess died under her care, then they'll lost faith in her"

****

When Xhemin fully recovered, she was sent to the youngest princess household as a handmaid. The youngest princess unlike all the other princess was not living in the central village but was sent away because of her illness. To Xhemin's surprise, the place where the youngest princess lived was a place not fit for a princess. The house was big but old and she lived there with an old tribe physician and one handmaid. It was a lonely place and very unhomely.

"Lady please eat. I'm sorry this what I only managed to do" The princess' handmaid told her as she served her some meal. Xhemin was really hungry because the journey toward the youngest princess place was tiresome. The house was somewhere deep in the mountain and the road was rough and edgy. She almost got lost on her way as the map that was given to her was a little vague. The person who fetch her from Professor Owen's hut only escort her until the river road and left her with a map.

Xhemin looked at the meal and frowned but didn't say a word. Professor Owen's had served her pretty decent meal when she stayed there, but the meal that was served on the table now somehow cause her to lose her appetite.

"What are these?" Xhemin asked as pointing to a dry meal on the platter.

"These are root crops. The only thing I managed to pick from the forest" She said. "You see I'm not a good cook and not good with looking for food either. But I know this can be eaten"

Xhemin was shocked to have heard her narration. "Why are you looking for your own food? Are there no ration from the chieftain's household?"

"There should be… but they never came…" She said almost crying " The old physician too was gone for a month now…I went to the tribe's household one time to ask for help but the gunta who was guarding chieftain's household said they never recognized me and refused to let me in. Also the road to the central village was long, I cannot anymore risk of leaving the princess alone here"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Xhemin said as she held her hand to comfort the girl.

"I am very sorry lady" The handmaid apologize to Xhemin. She didn't know then that Xhemin was the healer as she had no news from the central village "Life here was terrible. I am a handmaid and was trained only how to take care of the princess personal needs. I know nothing apart from that"

"It's okay… I'm here to help now" Xhemin said assuring the girl.

"But what can you do? You are just a handmaid like me," She concluded. The handmaid was still sobbing when they heard some noise from the other room.

"The princess…" The handmaid exclaimed and ran to the princess' room. Xhemin followed her only to find a little girl coughing with blood. She was thin and pale.

"Princess…." The handmaid shook her worriedly "Princess please be fine. I've got you some root crops for you"

Xhemin's heart sunk at what she saw. The princess before her was only a little girl around five or six years old. Who was heartless enough to send a sick child far away from home?