The Uninvited Princess ✔

Chapter 61

A/N:

Mae Chi: A layman nun. Since there are no officially ordained nuns by the Buddha himself in Theravada belief (or the lineage got lost many years ago), women who wish to live an ascetic life made female-only spaces and rules to police themselves. They typically dress in all white robes and have shaven heads.

Chapter 61

Pranee tugged at the white robes wrapped around her. She didn't feel comfortable impersonating a Mae Chi but it was the only disguise she could've thought of.

She stood on the hill and could see the town in the distance. The buildings had roofs that had ends that stretched out to the sky like a bird's wings. It was different from the slightly curved roofs from back home but she couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful they looked.

She looked back to see if the group had caught up yet and she could see Shashi's eyes lit up instantly. They couldn't hold back their smile as they looked over the

The rest of the group followed not too far behind and Tanet was sweating and panting like a dog. He scratched his calves and attempted to adjust his feet. Pranee could imagine that he still wasn't used to walking around in his prosthetics.

"We should probably split up now. The emperor probably is upset that I'm late." Tanet adjusted his straw hat and the bundled bamboo on his back. "I'm getting tired of pretending to be a farmer too."

Anuman muttered something under his breath and Pranee decided not to ask why he seemed so upset.

"That's fine, I want to visit my mother here at least," Shashi said. "It's been a long time since I last saw her."

"Kiet, would you like to come to see the emperor with us or do you plan to go with Pranee and Shashi?" Tanet asked.

Kiet was sifting through a bag and there were distinct clinking sounds. "I'll take my time sightseeing and I'll visit Shashi's place later."

Tanet whispered something to Anuman and the guard nodded his head. He took out a bag from his own robes and handed it to Kiet.

"What's this?" Kiet asked.

"Since you've helped us a lot, it would only be right to reward you for that help." Tanet cleared his throat.

Kiet instantly checked the bag and his eyes went wide. "Your highness, I really can't accept this."

"If you don't accept this, then I'll be offended." Tanet gave him a stern stare.

Kiet clasped his hands together and brought them to his forehead. "Thank you, I'm honoured."

There was a flash of sadness in Kiet's eyes and Pranee looked to Shashi to see if she had imagined it. Shashi still had their eyes glued to the city, still brimming with excitement.

"Anuman, fly us to the emperor. He'll know it's us," Tanet said before turning his head to Pranee. "Feel free to visit the palace whenever you want. I'm sure the emperor would like to meet my sister."

Anuman sighed and rubbed his fingers together to summon his staff. He proceeded to loop his arm around the prince and raised his staff before the two of them flew into the sky.

"Kiet, are you coming with us or will I have time to warn my mother?" Shashi asked.

Kiet lightly kicked the back of their knee in response. "There's a place I want to visit. I'll make sure to be done before evening so don't miss me too much."

"Yeah, sure," Shashi replied sarcastically before a tiny smile appeared on their face.

Kiet began to walk off on his own, leaving Pranee and Shashi alone again.

Pranee nervously tapped her fingers against her fabric and couldn't meet Shashi's gaze. "Could I... um... get another colour for my robes? It was a good disguise for our travel but it might... draw too much attention."

"I have a better idea," Shashi's smile was wide. "Let's get some clothing from the shops nearby. It's your first time here, right? Why not go do some sightseeing?"

Pranee couldn't argue against that idea, especially since they looked so excited to spend time with her in the city.

She thought back to the mentions of visiting Shashi's mother and she felt her chest tightened. It was better to try and enjoy herself while she could rather than being anxious about making a good impression.