-Chungah’s POV-

Outside, I looked around for the princes, who seemed to have disappeared from sight. Sighing, I turned around and bumped into someone.

“Oh!” I gasped, almost losing my balance. A quick hand wrapped around my waist and balanced me back onto my feet.

“My apologies for bumping into you,” a quiet voice said and I looked up to see a handsome guy with kind eyes looking at me curiously.

“Oh, I-I’m fine,” I said, my heart beating faster.

“Who are you? I haven’t seen you around here before,” he said.

“O-oh, I’m the--”

“New maid for the princes,” we heard a voice interrupt and looked to see Joonhwi and Minwoo standing there, Joonhwi with his arms crossed as he looked at us. “What are you two doing?”

I only realized that the stranger still had his hands on my waist and quickly struggled out, bowing my head and backing away from him.

“Hello to you Joon and Min,” the stranger bowed his head, smiling calmly. As I watched them interacting, I could see that they were all close friends. Who is he? He had the air of a nobleman and spoke quietly. He suddenly looked over at me and smiled. I half smiled back and he came towards me.

“I’m Doyoung, friend of the princes,” he said and we shook hands.

“I’m Seo Chungah,” I said.

“Seo Chungah. I’ll definitely remember that,” he nodded.

“Chungah,” Joonhwi said suddenly and I stood to attention.

“Yes?” I said cautiously. He opened his mouth but shut it again, shaking his head.

“Prince Joonhwi and Prince Minwoo,” a guard came over, bowing.

“What is it?” Minwoo asked.

“You have been summoned to the library for a meeting.”

They both sighed and bid goodbye to Doyoung. I started to follow them but Joonhwi stopped me.

“Stay here,” he said and I couldn’t stop myself.

“I’m supposed to follow you around and help you--”

“And listen to any orders I give you,” he cut in. “So stay put.”

He followed the guard and Minwoo kept looking back at me as he followed suit. They disappeared around the corner and I sighed. Turning, I saw Doyoung still standing there.

“Mind coming with me? I want to show you something,” he said and I nodded. He led me around but we came a small isolated lake, covered from sight with huge trees. He sat down and invited me over.

“Chungah, don’t misunderstand Joon,” he said. “He’s like that until you get to know him better. He never did with the other maid, which resulted in her getting fired.”

“It’s just hard for me, especially since he said he wouldn’t go easy on me,” I sighed. Doyoung chuckled.

“At least he talks to you. He never said a word to the other maid. Made her job a bit harder than usual if you could imagine.”

“And is Minwoo always like this? He’s too kind compared to his brother.”

“Minwoo respects everyone, he doesn’t care about status,” Doyoung said. “If you treat him like an equal, he will do the same to you. Don’t think of him as someone from a higher class. He hates it.”

“That makes me feel a bit better I guess,” I said. We were quiet for a few minutes.

“Come here whenever you feel down or frustrated. That’s what I like to do,” Doyoung said.

“I will,” I said. When he looked over at me, I could feel myself blush but hid it quickly, standing up. “I should get going.”

“Oh, alright then,” he said, looking a bit disappointed but he let me leave without another word. I hurried back to the castle, where Minwoo was waiting outside.

“Chungah! I was looking all over for you!” he ran over to me.

“You were?”

“Well you didn’t stay put so I went out to look for you,” he said, literally dragging me inside. We stopped in front of my room. “Have a good night Chungah. Sleep well!”

He opened the door for me and I went inside. I saw a note pinned onto my pillow and pulled it off.

Why didn’t you stay put? What a hassle…

Having a feeling I knew who wrote it, I put it away and went to sleep, waking up early the next morning.

We went through our usual daily routine for a few months and I eventually got used to the lifestyle. Joonhwi was still his cold self and Minwoo became a younger brother figure to me. We would constantly playfully fight with one another and he gave me so many breaks in one day I would get accused of not working properly often, which prompted him to step in for me.

One day, I was given the task to help Joonhwi out while he went to town. He disguised himself as a citizen and we were off. I quickly lost sight of him as he went around by himself. As I was about to search for him, I felt a hand on my wrist and turned to see a creepy looking man standing there, a just as creepy grin on his face. I began to panic, struggling to get away from him.

“And what is a pretty looking girl doing all by herself here?” he said as other men began to take interest and surround us.

“I-I’m not by myself!” I said loudly, trying to disguise my terrified voice.

“She’s mine,” a voice said and our heads turned to the voice’s owner. The prince! I managed to get my wrist out of the man’s grip and run to Joonhwi’s side. This isn’t good. They can’t recognize a prince dressed like this!

“Yours? I think not,” the man sneered and cracked his knuckles like he was ready to fight. I saw Joonhwi start forward but tried to stop him.

“Your Highness,” I hissed. “You mustn’t!”

He ignored me as usual and went up to the man.

“You should learn to not hit on girls who already have a man with her,” he said menacingly. The man pushed him away, rolling up his sleeves. I began to panic again, not for myself but for Joonhwi. As the man was about to land a punch on him, I stepped forward, taking the blow instead. It hit me right on the face and I was pushed back into Joonhwi from the force.

“Chungah!” his voice was full of shock but for me, it was the first time I heard him say my name. I managed to keep myself conscious, protecting the prince by backing us into a corner as blows continued to hit me, occasionally hitting him. I felt myself losing conscious quickly but not before a heard a familiar voice ring out.

-Doyoung’s POV-

I was walking through the village when I saw a huge crowd looking at something. Curious, I made my way to the front and saw what they were watching and to my horror, I recognized the two figures being beaten up.

“Stop that this instant!” I boomed, making everyone jump and the men look at me. They recognized me and immediately scattered. I ran over to Joonhwi, who was breathing heavily and holding Chungah in his arms, protecting her. We both looked down and we could see that she was in bad condition.

“What happened?” I asked.

“She must’ve lost me in the crowd when I went off by myself. I managed to find her again but those men showed no mercy,” he said, wiping blood off his mouth.

“Can you walk?” I asked and he nodded.

“I’ll carry her if you’d like,” I said and he shook his head.

“It’s getting dark and everyone will get worried if we’re not back by then. Plus you should get home too.”

I knew he was right but I didn’t want to leave them.

“Let me support you just in case. I will get home safely by myself,” I said and he finally agreed. I put Chungah on his back and we began a slow snail paced walk back to the castle. Twenty minutes later, we reached the gates and guards came forward to support the prince. I took Chungah off his back quickly and asked for directions to her room. I set her down on her bed gently and began tending to her wounds. I could see her wincing every time I touched a bruise and she eventually woke up. Her hair fell out of her bun as she sat up, letting her long dark hair flow around her shoulders. She looked at me, and then at the ointment in my hand.

“Is the prince okay?” she asked a minute later as she let me continue my work after I refused to leave until I was done.

“I didn’t see him but he was able to walk with you on his back. He’s a very stubborn character.”

“I should’ve kept a closer eye on him. This is all my fault,” she said sadly. As she continued to beat herself up for it, I finished my job and left to get her a drink. When I came back, she was already sleeping. I set the glass down next to her and sat down next to her, not wanting to leave. Her hand was twitching and her whole body was tense as she slept. I took ahold of her hand and she settled down. I laid my head down and fell asleep next to her.

A/N: Do keep the comments coming, even if it's a dot! :)