Antifragile

“Princess, where are you going?”

Sakura ignored the breathless calls of her lady in waiting as she sped through the hallways, tearing off various parts of her clothing as she ran. First were her shoes, with their ridiculous seven inch heels, then came the outrageously heavy hair accessories, then the outer layer of her dress…

Kazuha, Sakura’s poor lady in waiting, struggled to keep up with the boisterous princess as she painstakingly picked up whatever Sakura had thrown on the floor. Dealing with Sakura was no easy feat, especially given the young princess’s love for adventure and her rebellious nature. Since Sakura was not in line for the throne, she had shrouded off all responsibilities placed on her and preferred to live her life in a carefree manner. While it was fun for Sakura, the same could not be said for Kazuha.

Sakura quickly glanced behind at the slowing Kazuha, who was not only tired but also carrying a mountain of items that Sakura had left behind. Seeing that Kazuha had no way of catching up to her, Sakura increased her speed and dashed down the stairs and out the palace doors. A panting Kazuha still chased after her, mumbling orders for the staff to lock Sakura inside the grounds.

Sakura was smart enough to avoid running directly to the palace gates, she knew that there would be staff members waiting to catch her there. Instead, she made an abrupt turn near the garden shed and darted into some bushes. Once she was sure that the coast was clear, Sakura dove deeper into the bushes in search of her secret tunnel.

Sakura had by accident discovered a hole behind the bushes which the gardeners had never noticed, giving her a way to escape the confines of the palace and travel the outside world. Despite having snuck out on more than one occasion, Sakura had never managed to fully explore her kingdom. She had been caught and dragged back to the palace, kicking and screaming, every single time. Kazuha had once advised her to just follow her orders and behave like a princess, but Sakura had fiercely rejected the idea and had scoffed at how little her friend knew her. Sakura had never been the kind of person to follow rules, instead she made her own.

“Ah~ freedom at last!” Sakura celebrated, taking in the warm morning sun and busy bustle of the people nearby.

As it was already late in the morning, Sakura’s favourite market was already full of life. The familiar smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, causing Sakura’s stomach to rumble. She was starving after refusing to eat breakfast earlier. She had refused her breakfast after learning that it was not vegan friendly despite not being a vegan herself.

“Freshly baked bread and pastries galore! Come get your freshly made pastries! They are the best in the entire kingdom!” A vendor shouted loudly, proudly waving loaves of bread in the air.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at the bold proclamation. While she understood the art of hustling, calling the bread the best in the entire kingdom was a bit of a stretch. Sakura had tasted some of the vendor’s bread before, and she had honestly tasted nothing special in her food.

Sakura continued to look around the market, occasionally stopping to chat with some vendors or admire some trinkets. After a while of shopping, her hunger caught up with her and she began to look for some food to fill her stomach. Her eyes made her way over to a fruit store, where some of the biggest watermelons she had ever seen were being proudly displayed in the open.

Another figure caught Sakura’s eye, a lonesome but mysterious girl loitering around the fruit stall. She appeared to be empty handed and slightly nervous, judging from the way she kept fiddling with her hands.

Sakura watched as the girl eagerly waited for the vendor to turn around, deftly swiping a few fruits before taking off. Unfortunately for her, the vendor had noticed her and was now chasing her down the streets, cleaver in hand. Sakura followed behind, wanting to see how the chase would end.

The girl swiftly darted in between people as she ran down the street, seemingly familiar with her route. Sakura guessed that this wasn’t the first time she had stolen something, which justified the vendor’s fierce response. The vendor was hot on the girl’s heels, swinging his cleaver around wildly. Shocked people jumped out of the way upon seeing the cleaver, trying to avoid getting injured.

Sakura watched in amusement as the girl grinned to herself, increasing her speed with ease. She put some distance between her and the vendor, disappearing into a large crowd. Sakura watched as the girl ducked into an alley, removing her outer layer of clothing before tying it and dumping the fruits inside her makeshift sack. She then produced a hairpin and pinned her hair up, making her almost unrecognisable.

The girl strolled back out into the crowd nonchalantly, blending in with the crowd perfectly. The vendor had given up and was retreating back to his store, cursing and swearing. A few fellow vendors offered him some sympathetic words of comfort, but he was left mostly ignored.

Sakura knew that she should have just left the matter at that, but she wanted to see where the girl would head to. She was curious as to what had driven the girl to steal food. Was it peer pressure? Hunger? Did she need money? Sakura wanted to know everything about the girl, so she decided to continue following her home.

The crowd had gotten increasingly large, and there was no way Sakura would be able to keep track of the girl while still being among the crowd. She reluctantly peeled her eyes away from the girl for a few minutes, sneaking off into an alley. Luckily for her, there were a few abandoned crates and boxes lying around. Sakura stacked them together and formed a makeshift staircase, hoisting herself up onto the rooftop of a house.

Now that she had an aerial view, it was easy to pick the girl out among the crowd. Sakura gracefully leapt from rooftop to rooftop, blessed by the fact that each house was so close to the next. If they had been any further, she might not have been able to follow the girl.

Sakura continued to follow the girl for about fifteen minutes, watching as the girl escaped the marketplace and headed down a quieter street. It was a street that Sakura was still unfamiliar with, she had not had the opportunity to venture beyond the marketplace yet. The thrill of such unfamiliarity excited Sakura, and she jumped from rooftop to rooftop with such gusto that she nearly skipped an entire house.

The girl eventually stopped outside a small but dainty looking house, looking around warily before going inside. Now that she knew her target, Sakura slid down the roof of one of the houses and landed safely on the ground. She earned herself a few odd looks from some bystanders, but she ignored them and ducked below a window of the house the girl had entered.

Sakura peered inside the dimly lit house, surprised to see that there were two other girls as well. The girl she had been following had placed her loot down on the floor, her friends trying to peer inside of her makeshift sack.

“I’m starving unnie.” One of the girls whined.

“I know baby, just wait for Yunjin to come out. She risked her life to bring us food, we should at least wait for her before we eat.” The other, elder girl replied wisely, stroking the younger girl’s head affectionately.

Yunjin, that was the name of the thief Sakura had followed.

Yunjin reappeared, sitting down next to the younger girl before offering her an apple. She had changed from her traditional garb to a more casual hanbok, but it did not hinder her beauty whatsoever. Sakura was in awe as she stared at the happy trio through the window. Despite not getting a very good view, all three of them were absolutely stunning.

“Was it tough? I’m sure that the guy was far from happy to see you again.” The elder girl asked.

“I’m used to it by now. He gives up easily anyway. To him it’s just a few lost coins.” Yunjin replied with a shrug.

“You’re so brave unnie. Chaewon unnie has been training me so that I can start helping out, then you won’t have to go out all the time.” The younger girl chirped excitedly.

Chaewon, so that was the name of the elder girl. Now Sakura just needed to find out who the youngest girl was.

“Don’t worry about it Eunchae. Take your time and train properly. I don’t mind going out, it’s fun. One of these days we’ll go and get food together as practise.” Yunjin chuckled.

Now Sakura finally knew the names of all three girls. She continued watching them as they enjoyed their hard earned meal, with the two older girls babying Eunchae. Sakura noticed how Chaewon barely nibbled on her bread, eventually giving it up for the starving younger two. She was touched by her kindness, she had sacrificed her own meal for the sake of her friends. Sakura made a mental note to have some palace guards drop off a large basket of goodies from the palace the next time they had a feast. That way nobody would go hungry.

“Right, where are Yujin and Wonyoung? They should have been back by now. Don’t tell me they ran off with their friends again.” Chaewon grumbled.

“I doubt it, if they did they would have taken their nicer shoes. You’re right though, they’re taking an awfully long time today.” Yunjin agreed, starting to look worried.

“You don’t think anything bad happened to them right?” Eunchae piped up anxiously.

“Of course not, they’re perfectly capable of outrunning anyone. They might have gone to a different place today to avoid getting caught. Just trust them, they’ll be back soon.” Chaewon reassured her

Eunchae snuggled into Chaewon’s embrace, gazing at the older girl with adoring eyes. Chaewon giggled and stroked Eunchae’s head, but Sakura could tell that Chaewon was worried too. Her eyes betrayed her heart.

Sakura froze as the loud shouting of soldiers nearby grew even louder, and she swore she could hear a gun being fired. It was then followed by rapid footsteps, and she could hear the loud panting of about two people approaching the house. She dared a glance at the front of the house, surprised to see two girls not much older than Eunchae running for their lives. In their hands were bundles of clothes which they were clinging on to for dear life.

The soldiers were hot on their heels, yelling at them fiercely in Japanese. Sakura doubted they could even understand the soldiers. Ever since Japan had annexed Korea, they had stationed their own guards throughout the country in order to keep watch on the Korean citizens. Despite being a Japanese princess, even Sakura feared the guards. She had seen countless times the sheer amount of strength they possessed, as well as how harsh they were. The guards were brutal and merciless, sparing no one. Not even children could escape their wrath.

Sakura ducked as the two teenage girls scrambled into the house, locking the door behind them. The furious soldiers pounded on the door, shouting loud threats and curses in Japanese as they demanded for them to open up. Sakura could spot hurried movement inside of the house as the two teenage girls disappeared from view, with Yunjin and Eunchae rushing after them.

Chaewon opened the door and feigned surprise, greeting the soldiers cordially in Japanese. The soldiers barged past her and stormed into the house, flipping over everything in an attempt to locate the two thieves. Chaewon protested in a whiny voice in Japanese as they tossed the belongings all over the house, but Sakura noticed that she never tried to push the soldiers past their limits. Chaewon knew of what they could do to her, regardless of who she was.

After a few minutes of searching, the soldiers failed to find anything and stomped out grumpily. Chaewon continued to treat them politely, wishing them well in Japanese before seeing them off. The soldiers were slightly less hostile towards Chaewon than they usually were to civilians, and Sakura knew that it was because they believed Chaewon was of Japanese descent. The soldiers had always been biased towards their own kind, and Chaewon had played it perfectly to her advantage.

Once Chaewon was sure that the soldiers had left, she called the remaining four out as they celebrated their good fortune. It was obvious to Sakura that they were used to doing such things, seeing as how everybody knew where exactly to hide what or where to duck into.

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief on behalf of the girls she was spying on, glad to see that they would live for another day at least. She was about to turn and leave when she came face to face with three more girls, all of whom were glaring at her with fierce hostility.

The girl in the middle curled her lip, leering at Sakura viciously. She eyed her obviously expensive clothes, a gleam in her eyes.

“Get her.” She ordered coldly.

The last thing Sakura saw were the other two girls approaching her, before a bag was put over her head and everything went black.