Confined within the opulent walls of the Gyeongbokgung Palace, there lived a Crowned Prince named Seong JiangSu. Groomed to one day bear the weight of an entire nation on his shoulders; Prince JiangSu gradually developed into a young man, who exemplified the qualities befitting of a future King. Often regarded as one of the most handsome and accomplished personages within the royal family; Prince JiangSu soon grew to acquire an air of unparalleled conceit and indifference.

The Prince’s cultivated apathy coupled with his inherently difficult personality caused him to hold a general disdain towards everything and everyone. This pervasive disdain was soon extended to a woman, whom the Prince had never met; when the King informed him that he was to wed a Princess from a foreign region in the name of diplomacy. Unbeknownst to the Prince, his future bride was even more distraught over the prospect of having to marry someone whom she neither knew nor loved.

As Imperial Guards escorted the foreign Princess from her hometown to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, she contemplated taking her own life, but was unable to muster the courage to do so. Sitting alone in an unfamiliar room, at a chartered inn, the Princess could do nothing but sob uncontrollably. Whilst tears streamed down her delicate face, the Princess’s anguish was unexpectedly replaced by an overwhelming sense of trepidation, upon having witnessed an intruder emerge from behind the wooden dresser against the wall. Before a single scream could be emitted, the intruder quickly rushed over to the frightened Princess and placed a filthy hand over her mouth. Overtaken by fear, the Princess completely lost consciousness and slumped to the ground.

Stunned by the dramatic turn of events; the intruder hastily ran over to the table, which sat in middle of the room, and grabbed a nearby teapot before making her way back to the unconscious woman. Staring at the teapot in her hands, the intruder supposed that it would be a bad idea to use the scalding tea as a means of revival. Placing the teapot down onto the ground, the intruder looked at the palms of her hands, took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry about this, but I don’t know what else I can do.”

Having made her apology, the intruder tightly closed her eyes, raised her hand and was about to deliver a slap, when she suddenly heard the woman on the ground plead, “Please don’t hurt me!” Upon hearing the plea, the intruder’s eyes flung wide open as she moved in closer to examine the terrified woman’s condition. Waving her hands from side to side, the intruder quickly explained, “I wasn’t planning on hurting you. I only sneaked in here because I’m being chased by some very bad men.”

Realizing that she had misunderstood the situation, the Princess stood up from the ground and asked, “Why are people chasing you?” Observing the Princess's wedding attire, the intruder scratched her head and lied, “Umm, they're chasing me because they want to force me to marry this rich old man.” Sympathizing with the intruder’s surprisingly similar predicament, the Princess suddenly began to weep loudly. Shocked by the sudden outburst, the intruder looked around the room fearfully and once again placed her hand over the Princess’s mouth, as she said, “Don’t cry so loudly, someone might come in here if they hear you.”

When the princess nodded her head to indicate that she would stop, the intruder slowly removed her hand and asked, “What are you crying about now?” Speaking in an audible whisper the Princess replied, “I’m sorry; it’s just that I'm also being forced to marry someone.” Taken aback by the Princess's response, the intruder tilted her head to the side and asked, “Does that kind of thing really happen?” Confused, the Princess asked, “Didn’t you just say that you were being forced to marry someone?” With a nervous laugh, the intruder nodded her head and replied, “Yeah, I did. And it’s totally true, but I was just surprised that it could happen to other people as well.”

Ready to move away from the discussion at hand, the intruder placed her index finger over her lips and said, “Try to be quiet; I’m going to check to see if those bad men are still out there.” The princess nodded her head and replied, “Okay I won’t say a word.” With an annoyed look on her face, the intruder asked, “How is that being quiet?” Realizing her mistake, the princess nodded her head again and was sure not to say another word as she watched the intruder make her way to the window.

Refocusing her attention back onto the task at hand, the intruder slowly opened the window and peered outside to see whether her pursuers were still around. Much to her annoyance, the intruder spotted her pursuers still searching around the courtyard for her. Looking down at the piece of jade hanging from her waistband, the intruder observed, “If I knew that it was going to be this troublesome, I would've stolen something better.”

Turning back around to face the Princess, the intruder asked, “Can I stay here a little longer until those bad men have left?” The Princess nodded her head and replied, “Of course you can stay.” Relieved, the intruder thanked the Princess and took a seat by her side at the table. Turning to the intruder, the Princess asked, “What's your name?” Before the intruder could respond, both women heard a light tapping sound coming from a side window. Panicked, the intruder sprung up from her seat and ran around the room looking for a place to hide.

The Princess only proceeded to open the side window after she was sure that the intruder had found an adequate place hide. Upon recognizing the man outside the window, the Princess moved aside so that he could climb into the room. Quickly closing the window after he had made his way through it, the Princess turned to the man and asked, “What are you doing here?” Grabbing her in a tight embrace, the man replied, “I came here to take you away with me. I won’t allow you to wed anyone except me.” Overcome with a complete sense of elation, the Princess sobbed and proclaimed, “I thought you would never come for me.”

Having witnessed the intimate exchange between the couple, the intruder came out of her hiding place and observed, “This is just like a scene I saw in the play that was being put on in the marketplace last night.” Realizing the impropriety of her behavior, the Princess stepped away from the man and exclaimed, “This isn’t what it looks like.” Staring blankly at the Princess, the intruder replied, “Sure it is. He loves you, you love him and he’s here to make sure that you don’t marry that awful stranger.” Unable to argue with the intruder’s observation, the Princess smiled diffidently and said, “I guess you’re right.”

Turning her attention back to the man, the Princess asked, “How can we just leave? The guards will know if I'm not in the room.” Thinking that she could be of some use, the intruder suggested, “How about you and I exchange clothes? I can stay here while you two leave.” Staring at the intruder in disbelief, the man asked, “Then how will you escape?” With a confident smile, the intruder patted herself on the chest and replied, “You don’t have to worry about me; I’m the queen of daring escapes. Plus, I need to stay in this room until those bad guys leave.”

Unable to come up with a better solution, the couple agreed to go along with the intruder’s plan. After the two women had exchanged their clothes, the Princess handed the intruder an emerald pendant and said, “Please accept this gift as a token of my gratitude.” More than happy to oblige, the intruder took the pendant and placed it into her pocket before suggesting that the couple leave immediately through the hole in the wall, which she had used to enter. Sitting alone in the room, the intruder took out the pendant and noticed that it was engraved with the other woman’s name. Sliding her hand over the indentations on the pendant, the intruder noted, “I guess at least for today, I'll be Yok Soo Jin.”

ooh! interesting first chapter! thank you so much! can't wait for da next chap!

oh! i have a question, is park shin hye playing the princess or the intruder?

Park Shin Hye is playing the intruder. She will be posing as the Princess in this story (I know it's kind of confusing, but PSH will essentially "become" Yok Soo Jin.)

ooh, ok. thanks 4 da clarification jessica!

Yayyy!!!! Thanks Jessicaaron!!

Can't wait to read this...will be back to comment.

Thanks!!

Edit: Very interesting setting and time period. I can just see it now, the "Princess" is going to bring Prince Jiang Su straight down to earth and rip his world apart. hahahaha, dreaming ahead. Our "Princess" has some spunk. I like it.

Woohooo, can't wait for the next chapter.

Thanks jessicaaron, you just keep on feeding our addiction. More, please!

nicely written. you have a wonderful creative talent Jessicaaron and thank you for sharing with us.

You got my attention here. can't wait for the next episode/chapter.

Great writing. Kudos to you. Love the title Gilded Cage. So curious now, what will happen next.

How are the 2 going to escape since the "Princess" is still dressed as the intruder?, 'bout the intruder she seem spunky, smart. it will be perfect if this is a drama with Park Shin Hye in it.

Interesting.

i like u fanfic jessica..please continue update..hehhehe..it seems that we really cant wait for ur fanfic then...aja2 fighting jessica

Im your big fan

love all of your stories,they are wonderful

Thanks for sharing to us.

can't wait for the next chap.

Unaccustomed to staying in a single location, for any extensive amount of time, the intruder began to meander aimlessly around the room and only stopped upon seeing a wooden chest by the foot of the bed. Curious as to the contents of the chest, the intruder removed a small pin from her hair and proceeded to pick the lock. When she heard the familiar clicking sound, being emitted from the unhinged locking mechanism, the intruder then pulled down on the clasp and opened the lid.

Peering inside, the intruder noticed that one of the items in the chest was wrapped in a beautiful black silk cloth. Quickly pulling out the item, the intruder said, “I bet this thing is worth a lot of money.” Carefully unwrapping the item, the intruder was disappointed to find that it was just an ordinary scroll. She looked over the inscription on the scroll, which read, “Honseo (marriage paper)” and carelessly tossed it aside before observing, “Tch, completely worthless.”

Returning her attention to the remaining items in the chest, the intruder then proceeded to pull out a small collection of red and blue fabrics and wondered if the groom’s family was in the fabric manufacturing business. Although, she was fairly sure that the final item in the chest would be just as worthless as the other two items; the intruder still wanted to see what it was. After removing the vibrant blue cloth and red sash, which covered the final item, the intruder opened the box and was shocked to discover that it was full of the finest jewelry she had ever seen. Overjoyed by the sight, the intruder quickly closed the box and held it close to her body as she exclaimed, “If I sold all of this; everyone at the orphanage would be able to eat well for an entire year!”

After experiencing a brief moment of pure elation, a sudden sense of remorse washed over the intruder as she asked herself, “Yoo Eun Jung, how could you think of stealing from Yok Soo Jin after she was so nice to you?” Reluctantly, Eun Jung placed the box back into the chest, closed the lid and began to walk away slowly. Before she had gotten very far away from the chest, Eun Jung suddenly had an epiphany and exclaimed, “I wouldn’t actually be stealing from Yok Soo Jin; I’d be stealing from that bad guy who was forcing her to marry him. If I didn’t take the box then I’d be just as bad as that guy!” Having successfully rationalized her decision to steal the jewelry, Eun Jung quickly rushed back to the chest to retrieve the box.

Anxious to leave with her newly acquired valuables, Eun Jung walked over to the window and looked outside to see if her pursuers were still around. Realizing that no one was in the courtyard; Eun Jung smiled and began to climb over the window pane. Before her feet touched the ground, Eun Jung felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Startled by the sudden touch, Eun Jung lost her footing and came crashing onto the ground. With the box still tightly pressed against her body, Eun Jung looked up and saw that several guards were standing around her. Fearing that the guards would take her away to jail, Eun Jung held out the box and proclaimed, “I didn’t steal this! I just um… I just found it in the um …”

Confused by her bizarre disposition, one of the guards interrupted Eun Jung by saying, “Princess Soo Jin, no one here thinks that you stole that.” Slumping further onto the ground, Eun Jung exclaimed incredulously, “PRINCESS SOO JIN!” Worried that the Princess had hurt herself during the fall, the guards ignored her strange behavior and helped her up from the ground before proceeding to take her to her room. Realizing the impropriety of being in the Princess’s room, the guards quickly excused themselves after informing her that they would send in the maids to look after her condition.

True to their words, the guards sent in two maids who were charged with the responsibility of making sure that she was not hurt. Having already confirmed that she was fine for the hundredth time, Eun Jung had finally had enough and yelled, “Stop asking me that question! I already told you two that I’m fine, so just leave me alone!” Frightened by the Princess’s hostile demeanor, the maids dropped to their knees and pleaded with her not to punish them. Astonished by their reaction, Eun Jung rushed over to the maids and helped them up before asking, “Who said anything about punishing you?” Realizing that they were too scared to respond, Eun Jung tried to reassure them by saying, “I’m not planning on punishing either of you, so just calm down.”

After regaining their composure, one of the maids said, “We know that you don’t like us very much, but we’re responsible for your well-being.” Observing the apprehensive expression on the maid’s face, Eun Jung asked, “Why would you say that I don’t like you guys?” Taking a deep breath, as though to build up the courage to respond, one of the maids replied, “Well you haven’t said a single word to any of the guards or to us the entire way here.” Contemplating the maid’s response, Eun Jung asked, “I really haven’t said a single word to any of you?” Nodding her head, the other maid interjected, “Yes, not a single word. Come to think of it, this is actually the first time you’ve allowed us to see your face.” Staring at her in disbelief, Eun Jung asked, “How can that be?” To which the other maid replied, “This is because you’ve never removed your wedding veil since the guards retrieved you from your hometown.”

Struck with the realization that the Princess was not able to recall anything that had happened in the past few weeks, one of the maids asked, “Princess Soo Jin, are you sure that you're alright? It seems like your memory is a bit affected.” Recognizing that she was blowing her own cover, Eun Jung explained by saying, “My memory is perfectly fine, it’s just that I’m usually a pretty friendly person; so it’s hard for me to believe that I was so mean by not talking to you or letting you see my face.” Relieved to hear that the Princess was not adversely affected by the fall, one of the maids said, “Thank goodness you’re okay. If anything happens to you, all of our families will be killed.” Startled by what she had just heard Eun Jung asked, “What are you talking about?”

With a forlorn expression on her face, the maid explained, “Everyone in this troupe is responsible for getting you safely to the Palace in time for the wedding. If we are not able to do so, all of our family members will suffer the same consequences, which we will face.” Grabbing the table with her right hand to steady herself, Eun Jung asked, “By consequence, do you mean death?” Nodding her head, the maid, replied, “Yes, that is the consequence for failing to meet our duties and obligations to the royal family.” Unable to wrap her mind around everything that she had just heard, Eun Jung asked herself, “If I just take off, how many people are going to be killed?” Looking at the innocent faces of the maids that stood before her, Eun Jung could not believe the mess that she was in and asked herself, “Do I really have to become Yok Soo Jin?”

hoho, Eun Jung is in a position where she can't refuse.
If she just go, then everyone will be killed.
Being a kindhearted person, she will have to pretend she's the princess.
Ah, I wonder how she would get out of this farce she is getting herself into.

Lol, great story. I'm completely falling for it.
Why is it such a tease?? I want more and more and more.
Jessicaaron, your writing is superb!! *two thumbs up--GMN style*
I can't wait!

THANKS!!!