The room I was brought to was without a doubt luxurious. One whole side consisted of ceiling to floor glass windows, with curtains ready to be drawn when needed. A queen sized bed took up the left side of the room, while the rest of the room was decorated with what seemed to be custom items fit for a girl’s needs— a vanity, closets, other random furniture in various light shades of colour. There was a door that looked like it led to a bathroom I decided to check later. Maybe the queen had something to do with the decorating? Or have they always had a room like this? 

“All your items are already brought to this room. I can be called with a ring of bell next to your bedside table. Is there anything else Madam needs before I leave?”

I almost forgot the maid was still around. I turned to look at her and saw that her head was bowed down in what looked like a permanent curtsy. Maybe she wasn’t allowed to look the royals in the eye? The whole idea seemed silly to me until I remember how the princes reacted to me earlier, with absolute prejudice in their words and actions, simply because I am a common girl. How much more the people who actually lived to serve them? Gently, I placed my hand on her shoulder. She jumped, startled, finally looking up at me.

“It’s alright, I’m not like them,” I said, attempting a smile. I desperately needed a friend in this place. She looked surprised at first, before allowing herself to smile. Tentatively, she nodded at me, and I allowed myself to go on.

“My name is Seoyun,” I continued. “What’s yours?”

“Mira,” she said softly, probably still getting used to the whole ordeal. Must be tough having to wait around the royal family, especially if the princes were such pricks. She looked like a young girl, perhaps my age or maybe even younger. “I’m assigned to you, Madam Seoyun.”

I waved my hand just as she finished, “please, stop with calling me madam. Prince Byunghun was right. I’m not royalty.”

Mira nodded, before curiously adding, “but you are the one assigned to marry one of the princes, right? I— I heard some of the queen’s maids discussing it. They heard it over dinner.”

Right. The main reason I was even in the castle was because I was being married off. I don’t blame my dad, of course, he couldn’t have known the princes would end up being this bad. The king seemed okay, after all. All the stories I heard about the royal couple were good ones, too. It's a shame none of his sons took after him, or this might have gone better than it had. I thought having to choose among six princes was going to be the highlight of my life, but right now I can’t even imagine marrying one of them. Let alone falling in love with them. How could I, when they don’t even so much as like me?

I shook myself out of my thoughts when I remembered Mira was still standing before me.

“That’s right,” I replied, though it seemed more like I was convincing myself rather than answering her. “I’m supposed to marry one of them. That was the agreement between our families. Seems like a tough choice, now.”

Mira looked at me rather sadly, as if she was feeling my situation, which was rather sweet of her. What she said next came as a surprise.

“Who knows,” she began to say, smiling a little. “You might be able to change their ways.”

“I highly doubt that.”

/

Turns out, castle life could actually get worse. With Daniel’s warning not to be seen in mind, I decided to stay in my room for the rest of the afternoon. Not like I wanted to be near them, anyway, so that was fine. I had my laptop, my room had wifi— extremely fast wifi too, which was probably the only consolation I have at the moment— and figured I could kill some time on it. I sent a quick message to Seongchan that I arrived safely, along with some more details about the grand castle. I left out the details about the princes, hoping he wouldn’t ask. Surely if he found out what they had said about me, Seongchan’s willing to burst here any second. That didn't seem like a bad idea at all, but it'll ruin Dad's promise, so I decided against it.

I had already unboxed my stuff and arranged them in a way that made the large room appear a bit cozier now that it resembled my old room a little. Next, I decided to catch up on some shows and movies. Maybe download some songs I missed out on recently. Something, anything. I only lasted a few hours before a creeping sense of boredom overcame me, along with my growing curiosity. It was a huge castle. I wouldn't want to overstep my boundaries, but if there were restricted areas I could always ask the servants. Besides, what were the chances I actually ran into Daniel, or any of the other princes, for that matter? I figured I could risk exploring just a little.

I called for Mira, ringing the bell a few times. It was still weird, but it worked, and soon the shorter girl knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She asked politely, dropping the madam bit she would have normally added at the end.

"I want to explore the castle," I said simply. Her eyes widened just a fraction, her shock evident, but she nodded at me to continue nonetheless. "I want to know where to go and which places to avoid, if any. Especially anywhere the princes will be."

Mira smiled before launching into a full out lecture on the castle, "of course."

"You share the third floor rooms with Prince Changhyun and Prince Jonghyun on the other side of the floor— the East wing, as it is known. The floor above has Prince Minsoo and Prince Daniel on separate wings, while the floor below us houses the twin princes. The king and queen aren't an issue at the moment, but if ever, their rooms are also on the floor above. As for the princes, well, it's quite easy staying out of reach from Prince Minsoo and Prince Changhyun, actually, since they hardly leave their rooms. Prince Minsoo only ever leaves when royal duties are at hand, since he is essentially next in line."

"Their floor has the music room, where Prince Chanhee goes to often, sometimes with Prince Daniel; they're quite musically inclined. This floor has one of the smaller libraries, as per Prince Jonghyun's request some time ago. A much larger one is on the ground floor, along with the kitchens and dining areas. The ballroom is there as well. The twins' floor has rather peculiar rooms, particular ones tailored for them at their request. It's also where the theater is, but I heard Prince Byunghun spends his time there often. I'm not quite familiar with the rest of the princes' schedules, or at least, none come to mind at the moment. Usually, the twins go out at night, bringing one or two of the others with them sometimes."

"Certain rooms that are restricted are obvious because there would be a guard or two situated in front. Sometimes the princes can still gain access. I'm not quite sure where you stand just yet, but just to be careful, do stay away. The gardens are always free for you to roam around in. The princes never venture outside the castle unless they actually want to go somewhere, or unless it's outide the castle gates."

She took a deep breath, catching up on all that she's said before finally ending, "all that said and done, where would you like to go?"

I tried my best to remember all that Mira had said, thinking back to where I could go to. Staying on my current floor felt like a good idea. A safe one, rather, since Changhyun and Jonghyun seemed like the least of my worries.

"Would any of them be in the library on this floor?"

"Hardly," Mira replied after a second of thought. "Prince Jonghyun has already read most of the books here. I'd still be careful, though."

I shrugged, remembering the impression I got from the youngest prince earlier. Not much considering how he just left the scene. Hopefully he just ignores my presence like that during all situations. Felt a lot easier than enduring insults, I'd say.

"I'll head over, then. No need to follow," I added at the end when I noticed Mira promptly stick next to me when I stepped out of the room. She looked at me with a worried expression but I flashed a smile back at her. "I'll be fine, promise. Just tell me where to go."

"It's this wing, just walk a few doors down. Widest set of doors to your left, ivory and gold embellishments, you can't miss it. Just walk straight ahead."

"Got it," I beamed. "Thanks, Mira!"

Sure enough, I spot the wide doors immediately. I rushed over and looked back to see that Mira was actually still standing by my door, watching my every move with a worried expression, but at least she didn't follow. I gave her one last quick smile before pushing the door of the library open.

At least, I thought I pushed it open. Rather, it opened by itself just a few seconds before I could come in contact with it, startling me just enough that I jumped back with a gasp. Of course, it didn't actually open by itself, since there was a tall figure standing before me. I glanced up before quickly bringing my eyes back down, refusing eye contact— maybe the royals just had that effect on people, or maybe I got it unknowingly from Mira, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Just my luck to run into the elusive Prince Jonghyun. There goes Mira's advice, too.

After realizing I've been standing in his way, I quickly moved to the side with a mumbled apology, expecting him to just walk past me. When he didn't move, I finally got myself to look up at him, only to find him staring down at me stoically. His face was with impassive, void of emotion unlike the other princes. Again, whether it was a good thing or not, I just couldn't tell.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, catching me off guard as I fumbled for a response.

"I just w-wanted to see if there was anything I could read—"

"No," he interrupted, steeling me with his stern gaze once more. "I meant what are you doing here. In the castle."

Before I could answer and explain my situation and all that, he took a step towards me, making me instinctively step backward. He stopped his advance after that one step, thankfully. I tried to open my mouth to answer, but found that I couldn't, not when he was practically glaring at me. 

"Go home," he continued. "You don't belong here."

With that, he finally walked away.