Antifragile

“Your highness, your parents are awaiting your arrival.”

Sakura scoffed, taking her time to prepare herself. Her parents rarely called for her, and when they did it usually meant another assassination attempt. She knew that they both hated her, and it was a miracle that she was still alive.

Sakura had been born due to an alliance by the Japanese monarchy and the Korean monarchy. Her father was the Korean puppet king, whilst her mother was a Japanese princess. Her parents despised each other, and only had Sakura due to their alliance. Ever since she was born, Sakura had been displaced by both factions. To the Japanese, she was inferior to them due to her Korean blood. To the Koreans, she was their enemy due to her Japanese blood. She had nobody on her side. Kazuha was her one and only friend.

“Your highness, you should hurry. It seems important this time.” Kazuha advised softly.

“We both know what they’re plotting. The only time they work together is when they’re trying to get rid of me. In a way, I’m serving my purpose. I was born to unite my parents and our two kingdoms, and I’m doing just that. I’m uniting them in their common goal of killing me.” Sakura retorted sarcastically.

Kazuha looked around worriedly. There were spies everywhere in the palace, and nobody would be happy to hear of the princess speaking out against the royal family. She was already hated enough as it was, she did not need another scandal to add to her misery.

“Is everything prepared?” Sakura asked a servant coldly.

“Ye…yes your highness. We are well prepared, and we have people stationed in the throne room as well. They are ready to act should there be another attempt to take your life.”

Sakura nodded, satisfied. Over the years, she and a few of her trusted servants had devised a system that saved her life every time someone tried to kill her. They were prepared for all kinds of scenarios, even the most bizarre ones. Sakura had seen the brutality of the palace, and she was all too familiar with some of the extreme and unorthodox methods some people would go to to get rid of their enemies. She did not put it past her parents to try the same.

“I’m ready.” Sakura announced.

“Pardon? Your highness, forgive me but you are far from ready. You are not dressed appropriately for court, and your hair is messy and your makeup is patchy and-“

“I said I’m ready. I couldn’t care less about my appearance. What’s the point of looking nice when I’m about to die for the thousandth time?” Sakura snapped.

None of the servants dared to challenge her. Sakura had quite a temper, and those who had gotten on her bad side before had suffered dire consequences. Her wrath rivalled that of her parents, despite Sakura’s constant complaining about them. Nobody dared to tell the princess how much she actually resembled her parents.

Kazuha led Sakura towards the throne room, praying that the princess would at least try to behave herself. Sakura looked determined to defy everything that she was told, even if the order came from the king and queen.

Sakura shoved the doors open before Kazuha could announce her arrival, waltzing in leisurely. Her face bore a disinterested expression, choosing to stare at the wall instead of facing her parents. The king frowned while the queen looked livid, but both of them maintained their silence.

“What do you want? I was in the middle of something.” Sakura asked in an annoyed tone.

“How dare you speak to me that way? I am your father and the king!”

“You are also the man who tried to poison me barely two days ago. I don’t think that I’m ready to forgive you for that yet. I was disappointed by the way, you’ve become sloppy with covering your tracks. I knew it was your doing even before I had my servants investigate.” Sakura replied lazily, picking at her nails.

The king was seething with rage, but he knew that Sakura was right. He had no argument to defend himself, instead crossing his arms with a huff.

“Sakura dearest, why don’t you take a seat? We have a proclamation for you.” Her mother interjected in a sugary sweet tone.

Sakura wanted to barf at the term of affection, it was so painfully fake that she wanted to throw herself out the window and to her death. She had entertained the idea before, but she refused to give her parents the satisfaction of finally getting rid of their daughter. She was the biggest thorn in their side, and she was determined to use it to her full advantage.

Sakura sprawled herself onto the floor, not bothering to sit properly. The queen looked slightly offended by her uncouth behaviour, but ignored it.

“So? Get to it, I’m a very busy woman.”

“I’m sure you are.” The queen replied through gritted teeth.

“We have a marriage proposal for you. Your grandfather, the Japanese emperor, has requested your hand in marriage to his grandson in Japan. He is a prince of course, and he will be arriving in a week to visit us on a diplomatic trip. I expect you to be on your best behaviour, and leave a good impression on your husband to-be. We don’t want to anger your grandfather do we?”

Sakura knew that the last sentence was more of a threat than anything. Her father was completely under the control of the Japanese emperor, and any misbehaviour of hers would result in his punishment. She was very tempted to act out and rebel just to harm her father, but even she dared not go against her grandfather. She would probably end up being sold off should she misbehave. The last thing she wanted was to end up on the streets, or even worse at a courtesan house.

“In short, my grandfather was finally found some use for me and wants me to marry my cousin.”

“Not just any cousin, he is the second son of the crown prince. He is a very important man and you will treat him with respect. He may one day end up as emperor, and you will be his empress. How nice that would be.”

Though her mother’s words were pleasant, her voice was full of jealousy and bitterness. Sakura knew that she was angry over the fact that she, a half blood, had a bigger chance to succeed to the throne than her, a pure Japanese. It had just been her mother’s luck to marry the Korean emperor, which almost immediately disqualified her from ever having the chance to become the Japanese empress.

“I understand, I will be here to greet him upon arrival and will treat him as a royal guest. If there’s nothing else, I would like to return to my room before your darling archer over there can shoot me in the head.” Sakura remarked, pointing to the archer hiding in the grass.

Her mother’s lips curled in anger, but she waved her hand and dismissed Sakura. Sakura was delighted to see that her mother’s hands were balled into fists, she had successfully gotten under her skin.

Sakura slipped into a mocking curtsy before stalking out of the room, her face red with anger. She knew that she was bound to be married off sooner or later, but she hadn’t expected it to be so sudden. In a week’s time, she may leave and never return.

“Kazuha, I need you to do something for me.” Sakura ordered as she summoned her faithful friend.

“Anything, princess.”

“I need you to go to the market and get me some civilian clothes. It’s about time that I escape this wretched place.”