"There's no enough accommodation" the maid said as she strolled through the hall, bringing Soyeon and Mina somewhere.

" No accommodation? Where am I supposed to stay then?" Mina asked.

" Don't worry, there's a small cottage by the river outside. It's a bit far through, can you manage it?"

" Of course I can" Mina replied quickly. " Will I be the only one staying there?" 

" Yes, for now" the maid said as they approached a wooden door. She opened it in one swift which lead them to the garden they saw from the hill. Both the maid and Soyeon seem unfazed by the beautiful garden while Mina was looking at them with amazement in her eyes.

It took a solid fifteen minutes to arrive at the cottage. The moment Mina saw it, she knew that it was the perfect place to hide Y/N. It was well hidden by the big trees and quite far from the castle.

"God must have been on my side" she whispered to Soyeon." An old cottage is perfect to hide Y/N from the others". Soyeon nodded in return.

" Here's the key" the maid handed an ancient key to Mina. " You can clean the cottage however you want"

" Make sure you're ready by six tomorrow, I'll send another maid to fetch you" and with that the maid walked away.

" Are everyone in the castle like this?" Mina asked Soyeon.

" We were trained to act like that" Soyeon replied. " It's almost seven, I need to meet the queen.

She yelled and ran away, following the maid who's small body was already entering the castle. Mina entered the cottage as soon as Soyeon left her, wrapping her sleeves until her upper arm. The moment she opened the door, her eyes was greeted by an overly dusty room. There was an old cabinet that looked as if it will collapse any moment and an old tea table and matching chairs. 

There was a small door on the right corner. Careful not to step on anything sharp, Mina approached the door and opened it. There was a small bed there, enough to fit an adult. Comparing to the room outside, this room was way more cleaner. It was as if the cleaner only cleaned the room, completely ignoring the one outside. Mina's eyes wandered around the room, searching for the perfect place she could use to hide Y/N. And that's when she saw a huge basket below the window. She examined it slowly and opened the lid. The room in it was big enough to satisfy her need. A sudden idea popped into her mind. Smiling to herself, she yanked the white curtains from the window and covered the basket with it. 

~~~

" Do I really need to stay here?" Y/N asked her mother as she settled herself into the basket. The basket was too big, leaving enough room in there to fit another child. Her mother didn't answer, she was busy marking her height on the basket.

" I'm sorry, dear. This is the only thing I could do for you" her mother said, a tint of sadness in her voice. " You can come out now"

Y/N jumped outside as soon as her mother said so. Sitting inside the hard basket was uncomfortable since the trace of the basket was digging into her skin. She looked at her mother curiously as she cut the marked area using a knife she brought before bringing Y/N into the cottage.

" What are you doing, mummy?" Y/N asked her.

" You'll see" 

Her mother finally finished cutting the basket. She took it and threw the basket to the side. Y/N watched her mother while hugging her bear as she took her sewing kit and started sewing the already cutted curtain to the bottom of the basket. Feeling bored, she climbed to the bed and played with her bear, leaving her working mother alone.. As time passed, Y/N eyes got heavier. She tried to stay awake, wanting to sleep together with her mother but failed. She fell into a deep slumber.