The Riverbank Meeting
La-Orduen and Saiyood had been walking for a long time before finally reaching the designated meeting point by the large tree at the riverbank. La-Orduen halted, her gaze falling on the tangled roots sprawling across the ground before shifting toward the vast river ahead.
Her deep, piercing eyes studied the water's depths. In the pitch-black darkness, the river appeared endless—wide and unfathomable, its current strong and merciless.
She glanced over her shoulder at Saiyood, who stood silently behind her, before speaking in a voice as cold as the night air.
"This river is wide and swift… Anyone who falls in wouldn't stand a chance of surviving."
Her face remained expressionless, her tone unreadable, as if no emotion lay beneath the surface.
"Don't you think so, Saiyood?" she asked, her voice deceptively light, as though merely making conversation. Yet, there was no true interest in her eyes—only emptiness.
"Yes, my lady…" Saiyood murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. But her thoughts were not on the river nor La-Orduen's words. Her heart was still back at the manor, with the mistress she truly served—La-Orchan, the one she had been forced to leave behind.
"P'Phiengwad and Sir Det-Wijit should be arriving soon," La-Orduen remarked, casting a glance around, deep in thought.
"Yes, my lady," Saiyood replied again, her voice as lifeless as her expression.
La-Orduen's patience wore thin.
She stepped forward, eyes narrowing as she scrutinized Saiyood's solemn face, irritation flaring in her chest.
"Saiyood! Stop that miserable expression this instant! I've had enough of your sulking all the way here!" she snapped, her gaze sharp with authority, as if willing the servant to change her demeanor on command.
Saiyood lifted her head slowly, her dark eyes filled with unspoken sorrow and quiet defiance. Her voice trembled ever so slightly, revealing the cracks in her restraint.
"Forgive me, my lady," she said, her tone laced with forced submission. But the bitterness she had long held back seeped into her next words.
"It is only that, from this day forward, I must serve the very person who has condemned my true mistress to a lifetime of sorrow. I do not know what expression I should wear."
Her words struck like a spark against dry tinder.
La-Orduen's expression darkened instantly.
"You insolent wretch!" she hissed, lifting her foot and kicking Saiyood with brutal force.
The impact sent Saiyood sprawling onto the ground, the breath knocked from her lungs as she hit the dirt.
La-Orduen loomed over her fallen servant, her presence radiating authority and fury.
"Never forget that I am your mistress now!"
Saiyood gritted her teeth, her fingers curling into the dirt beneath her. The searing hatred within her chest burned stronger with every second she was forced to look up at La-Orduen. But she had no choice—she had to bow her head, submit, endure.
"Do not dare challenge me again," La-Orduen warned, her voice razor-sharp.
"Yes, my lady," Saiyood answered, her voice void of emotion, though inside, she was drowning in the bitter weight of her fate.
This was the beginning of a life she could not escape—a life in servitude to the one who had betrayed the woman she had sworn to protect.
And there was nothing she could do but endure.
…
On La-Orchan's side:
La-Orchan quickened her pace, pushing through the dense darkness of the forest. Behind her, Saibua, the loyal servant of her elder twin, struggled to keep up, panting from exhaustion.
Determination was etched on La-Orchan's face, but deep inside, fear and uncertainty gripped her heart. She knew that if she hesitated for even a moment, she might lose the one she loved forever.
Each step forward felt like a battle against the encroaching shadows, as though the darkness itself sought to consume the hope flickering within her. She shook away those thoughts—there was no time for doubt. She had to move forward. Hope was the only thing she could cling to now.
Behind her, Saibua, nearly out of breath, called out in concern,
"My lady, please… can you slow down? I can't keep up!"
"No, Saibua. We must move faster. By now, my father must have realized everything and sent people after us," La-Orchan insisted, her heart pounding against her ribs.
Saibua could only nod in silent resignation, knowing she had no choice but to press on.
"I took a shortcut. We're almost there. Just a little farther," La-Orchan muttered, more to herself than to Saibua. She needed the words, needed to convince herself that she was close—so close—to reaching the one she loved.
The two quickened their pace once more. Fear and hope warred within La-Orchan's chest, but she pushed forward, determined. She didn't know what she would find when she arrived. Would Phiengwad already be there? Or had her twin sister, La-Orduen, arrived first?
The uncertainty gnawed at her, urging her to move faster. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps as the cold night air lashed against her face, whispering warnings of an uncertain fate.
"Just a little more… just a little more," she whispered to herself.
And then, at last—they arrived.
La-Orchan, leading the way, skidded to a halt at the meeting point beneath the towering tree by the river. Her slender frame trembled as she caught her breath. Her eyes darted around in frantic search…
But what she saw made her heart nearly stop.
The person standing beneath the tree, waiting for her, was not Phiengwad.
It was La-Orduen.
A chilling sensation crept from the tips of La-Orchan's toes, snaking up her spine. Though she had dreaded this possibility, a part of her had already braced for it.
It no longer mattered who arrived first.
Because tonight, La-Orchan knew—she had to stand her ground.
For her love.
.
.
La-Orduen stood still for a moment, her eyes blazing with fury as soon as she saw La-Orchan appear. Her lips twisted into a scowl of pure resentment, and without hesitation, she stepped forward.
"La-Orchan! Why the hell did you follow me here?"
La-Orchan moved toward her twin, her heart pounding violently in her chest. Though fear flickered in her eyes, she refused to back down. Taking a deep breath to steady her trembling hands, she forced herself to speak.
"I came here to set things right… to correct my mistakes," La-Orchan said firmly.
"P'La-Orduen, I am sorry. I am sorry for failing to see your pain when our parents favored me. I am sorry for never being honest about my feelings for P'Phiengwad from the start. I am sorry for breaking the oath I once swore to you. And above all… I am sorry that I have to ask for my love back."
The moment those words left her lips, La-Orduen's expression darkened with rage. A sharp, mocking smile curled on her lips, her voice dripping with venomous disdain.
"You're here to take your love back?" she sneered, tilting her head as if the very idea amused her. "Do you think it's that simple, La-Orchan? Do you think you can just undo your betrayal? You swore an oath to me, and now you dare to take it back? You wretched liar!"
Her words were like daggers piercing through La-Orchan's heart. She felt her vision blur with tears, the weight of guilt and sorrow crushing her from within. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, the tears spilled down her cheeks.
"I love P'Phiengwad," La-Orchan whispered, her voice trembling. "Please, return my love… and the golden ring that belongs to me."
"I will not!" La-Orduen screamed.
La-Orchan barely had time to react before she saw her twin raise her hand, poised to strike her across the face. But instead of flinching or stepping back, she remained still—accepting whatever was to come.
Before La-Orduen's hand could reach her, however, Saibua and Saiyood rushed forward.
Saibua seized La-Orduen's wrist tightly, her grip firm yet pleading. "Please, forgive me, my lady!" she cried, desperate to stop the escalating violence. Meanwhile, Saiyood quickly pulled La-Orchan away, putting distance between the two sisters before the situation could spiral further out of control.
.
.
Amidst the chaos, Saiyood seized the opportunity and swiftly pulled the golden ring from La-Orduen's finger. Clutching it tightly, she sprinted back toward her true mistress, leaving La-Orduen stunned by the sudden loss.
Meanwhile, Saibua held her own mistress back, preventing her from chasing after Saiyood.
La-Orchan took back the golden ring adorned with a deep red ruby. Without hesitation, she removed the other ring—the one with the pearl setting—that had belonged to her twin sister. She placed it in Saiyood's palm while keeping her unwavering gaze locked onto La-Orduen.
"Return this ring to P'La-Orduen,"
La-Orchan said, her voice steady.
"Each of these rings carries a different meaning from the giver. This one—P'Phiengwad gave it to her as a symbol of friendship, of kinship. It belongs to P'La-Orduen, not to me. Because I… am the one P'Phiengwad truly loves. The one she wants to spend her life with."
Her words were like a blade slicing through La-Orduen's pride. The undeniable truth that Phiengwad had only ever seen her as a friend, as a sister, burned like fire beneath her skin. And to hear it spoken aloud by the very sister she considered her greatest rival—it was unbearable.
La-Orduen's face turned crimson with rage. Blinded by fury, she lunged forward, her hand raised to strike her sister once more.
But before her palm could land, the sound of approaching footsteps broke through the tension.
A dozen servants were closing in, their torches cutting through the darkness. The flickering lights drew nearer with every second—no doubt, they had been sent by their father.
Hearing the commotion, La-Orchan acted quickly. She grabbed La-Orduen's wrist and pulled her into the cover of the thick bushes by the riverside. At the same time, Saiyood pulled Saibua in the opposite direction, hiding behind another large shrub.
All four women instinctively held their breath, waiting in tense silence as the group of servants passed by.
Every heartbeat felt like an eternity.
All they could do now was remain hidden in the shadows… and hope they wouldn't be discovered.
…
Meanwhile, Phiengwad, Sir Det-Wijit, and Gulab had been pushing forward without rest, taking a longer but safer detour to avoid the pursuing servants. However, their desperate pace was suddenly interrupted when Gulab tripped over a thick root and crashed to the ground with a painful cry.
Hearing her, Phiengwad and Sir Det-Wijit immediately turned back.
Phiengwad rushed to kneel beside her loyal maid, her brows knitted in deep concern. Gulab's face contorted in pain as she clutched her injured leg, her breath labored from the effort.
"Gulab! Are you alright?" Phiengwad asked anxiously, her eyes scanning her maid's pained expression.
Guilt gnawed at her heart—she had led them all into this perilous escape, and now Gulab was suffering because of it.
Gulab gritted her teeth, trying to push herself up, but the moment she put weight on her injured leg, she winced and collapsed back down. Phiengwad instinctively reached out, her hands trembling slightly as she touched Gulab's leg, trying to assess the injury.
"My lady... I can't go on," Gulab murmured, her voice laced with regret. "I must have twisted my ankle."
Even as pain flickered in her expression, she looked more troubled by the delay she was causing than by the injury itself.
"Leave me here, my lady," she urged, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't want to slow you down. You must reach the meeting point no matter what."
A lump formed in Phiengwad's throat. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears—there was no way she could abandon Gulab.
"We started this journey together, and we will finish it together. I will not leave you behind in the middle of the forest," she declared firmly.
Sir Det-Wijit nodded in agreement, his concern apparent in his dark eyes. "We must keep moving. Staying here is too dangerous."
He crouched beside Gulab and looked at her with unwavering determination.
"Gulab, get on my back. I'll carry you."
Gulab's eyes widened in shock.
"No, sir, I couldn't possibly—"
"Enough. No more arguing. We don't have time," he said resolutely. "We're close to the meeting point. Just hold on."
Without giving her a chance to protest further, Phiengwad helped lift Gulab onto Sir Det-Wijit's back. He secured her firmly and took the first step forward.
As they resumed their journey, a strange unease settled over Phiengwad. A shiver ran down her spine, and her heart pounded—not from exhaustion, but from an unshakable feeling...
Something was wrong.
Something terrible was about to happen.
…
As the sound of footsteps and the glow of torches gradually faded into the darkness, La-Orchan and La-Orduen, who had been hiding behind the bushes near the riverbank, finally let out a slow, shaky breath. The fear and adrenaline still pulsed through their veins. La-Orchan's heart pounded so violently she thought it might burst from her chest. She turned to look at her elder sister, who remained motionless, her body stiff with tension.
The silence between them was suffocating, as if an invisible wall had risen between them. La-Orchan hesitated for a moment before shifting closer, hoping to bridge the distance that had formed between them.
"P'La-Orduen..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. She wanted to apologize, to explain, to speak and be understood. But all she received in return was La-Orduen's cold, piercing gaze.
La-Orchan struggled to find the right words, desperate to mend the rift between them. But before she could say anything more, her eyes widened in horror.
A massive snake slithered silently across La-Orduen's feet.
"Sister, watch out!"
La-Orchan cried out, throwing herself forward to push her sister out of harm's way. The moment La-Orduen was safe, the snake struck—its fangs sinking deep into La-Orchan's ankle instead.
Agonizing pain shot through her body like wildfire. The venom seeped into her veins, burning through every nerve. Blood trickled from the deep puncture wounds, staining the ground beneath her. La-Orchan clenched her teeth, holding back the scream that threatened to tear from her throat.
Her body instinctively recoiled, stumbling backward—and in that instant, she lost her footing.
She tumbled into the river.
The freezing water hit her like a shockwave, its coldness clashing against the searing heat of the venom coursing through her body. The force of the impact knocked the air from her lungs. She gasped, but instead of air, water rushed into her mouth and nose. She coughed, choked, and flailed desperately, trying to keep herself afloat. But her strength was fading.
"My lady!"
Saiyood and Saibua's panicked screams echoed through the night.
But La-Orchan barely heard them. The biting cold consumed her, wrapping around her like an inescapable grip. She could feel herself sinking, deeper and deeper, into the suffocating abyss.
Terror clawed at her heart as the water engulfed her. She could no longer breathe. Her body was failing her.
And in those final moments, as the world blurred and darkness closed in, only one thought remained in her fading consciousness.
She wished—desperately, fervently—that she would survive.
So she could mend things with La-Orduen, the sister she loved.
And so she could return to the woman she loved—Phiengwad.
…
At the riverbank, La-Orduen stood frozen, her wide eyes fixed on the sight before her—her twin sister struggling desperately in the dark, unforgiving waters.
La-Orchan flailed, her small hands clawing at the air, desperately trying to stay afloat. Her eyes, filled with terror, silently pleaded for help.
But La-Orduen's feet felt rooted to the ground. She remained still, as if bound by an invisible force heavier than a mountain.
A storm of emotions churned within her. What should she do?
This could be the moment when everything came to an end. Or should she save her twin sister—the very person who had once betrayed her in love?
Conflicting emotions raged inside her, paralyzing her body.
Saiyood, La-Orchan's devoted maid, lunged forward, ready to dive in after her mistress. But before she could leap, La-Orduen grabbed her arm, her nails digging into the flesh.
"Saiyood! You will not go in!"
Her furious voice cut through the night like a blade.
Saiyood froze, eyes wide with shock.
La-Orduen turned sharply to Saibua, another maid who was also about to throw herself into the river.
"You too, Saibua! Stay where you are!" she barked. "If anyone dares to save La-Orchan, I will have them flogged until they die!"
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Hojicha Writer
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