Even during your time as a princess, you weren’t the biggest fan of large dresses. The skirts you wore in your uniform were nothing compared to now. The dress, hand picked by you by one of the tailors, was a deep shade of green that brought at the color of your eyes. It was sleeveless, besides the pieces of loose fabric that fell down your shoulders.

You looked down at the tailor, who was finishing up the hem on the bottom of the large ballgown. “The prince enjoys bringing his maids to these things.” The tailor sighed. You had seen him in the kitchens a few times, but you had never known him well. You believed his name was Hoseok.

You raised a curious eyebrow. “What now?” You wanted to know if you heard him correctly. Hoseok lifted his head and smiled sweetly at you. “The prince always brings his chambermaids to these events the night before their fired. Most think that he tries to get them into his bed after the ball and if they refuse, he sacks them. Sends them out with the rats.”

The tailor shrugged his shoulders and cut the last string that was attached to your gown. Your eyes nearly bulged out of your sockets by what he said. Hoseok clapped his hands together then moved a stray strand of your hair behind your ear. “Just be careful, Y/N. Dismiss his advances and he may dismiss you.” He said with a sly wink.

He checked your dress one last time before sliding a golden pin into your hair. He stepped back to admire his work. “Rags to riches,” he muttered under his breath. He adjusted your skirt and promptly left the room.

You thought about what Hoseok said, your mind racing. The Hyungwon you had come to know wasn’t like that. Was he? The same man who talked to you into the late hours of the night, holding you in his arms. The same man who became your friend above everything else. He wouldn’t try to force himself on you. If he wanted to, he would have already tried.

You hated your naivety. Of course he would try to pull something like this. Why wouldn’t he? He could use servant girls in any way he wished and nothing bad would happen in consequence.

But you were not servant girl. You were a princess who didn’t have to bow the knee to a man who was not truly of royal blood. You huffed and looked at yourself in the mirror. You straightened the dress and exited into the hallway, where Hyungwon was already waiting.

He took in your appearance slowly. He smiled and held out his hand for you to take. The prince couldn’t take his eyes off of you as he stood there utterly speechless. “You’re gorgeous, Y/N.” He whispered, a faint blush crawling to his cheeks.

His eyes widened as he let go of your hand and waved his own in front of his face. “Not that you’re not beautiful the rest of the time. I mean, you’re always pret-” You dragged him along, cutting him off from finishing his sentence.

“Come on, Hyungwon. We’re going to be late.” You looped your arm through his and walked towards the expansive ballroom. The man who tripped over his own words couldn’t possibly be that much of a playboy. Or, you hoped.

Hyungwon was a different man in the company of nobles. He was suave and charming and not once did he stumble over his words. He greeted and bowed foreign leaders with ease and talked politics like a king.

‘The duality of man’ you thought to yourself. Each and every noble lord and lady who stopped to talk to Hyungwon had quickly taken notice to you as well. They would examine you very closely before smiling and bowing.

“We heard of your engagement Your Highness. Congratulations, she seems very lovely.” Said a few of the guests that the two of you came across. Hyungwon would stop them from making assumptions and shake his head.

“I’m sorry to inform you, but this beautiful woman is not my fiance. She’s my chambermaid. I asked her join me for the night.” Hyungwon would say this very calmly. There was no hesitation or regret in his voice, no matter what bringing you could do to his reputation.

The would stand silently before nodding their heads and walking away quickly. After that happened for the fifth time, Hyungwon only laughed. “They all probably think I’m crazy for bringing you. They’re also most likely telling my father.” He scoffed.

You looked up to him curiously, “Where’s your father?” You asked him in a whisper. The thought of seeing the king sparked a sense of fear in you that you couldn’t calm down. Hyungwon shrugged “Perhaps in his study. He’s not a fan of balls. He leaves the parties for me to handle.”

You took in a deep breath, there would be no chance of the king seeing you tonight. Or so you ignorantly thought.

Hyungwon felt a tap on his shoulder. The prince turned around, his face going from amusement to disappointment. The King’s face mirrored Hyungwon’s own, filled with anger and disappointment.  

You looked to the ground as Hyungwon started a staring match with his father. “I was rudely pulled out of my study with the news that you decided to bring another servant to one of our parties.” The king struck a furious glance your way but focused his attention back to his son.

When Hyungwon refused to say anything, the king became even more enraged. “The woman you are to marry in less than a month is waiting for you and you decided to bring a lowly piece of scum from the streets.” The king barked, just quiet enough that it wouldn’t cause a scene.

Hyungwon held on to your arm even tighter and smiled coyly towards his father. “Excuse me, father, Y/N and I are going to finish enjoying ourselves for the night. I would suggest that you do the same.” Hyungwon snapped at his father.

The king furrowed his bushy brows and glared at you. He reached over and grabbed your chin and forced it up. He brought his face close to yours, just enough that you could feel his hot, disgusting breath touch your face. “Y/N?” He looked at all of your facial features carefully before pushing you to the ground.

You held your arms out to break the fall. You landed with a large thud on the ground, sending painful shockwaves through your knees and arms. You meekly looked up to the king. Your heart was racing, you knew you had finally been caught.

“I suggest you be careful, girl.” The king growled before walking away, his feet stomping on the white marble of the ballroom. Hyungwon rushed over to your side and helped you up. He wrapped his arm around your waist and held your hand. He leaned down to your ear slowly.

“Follow me,” He whispered before quickly ushering you away from the ballroom. You kept your head bent, too embarrassed to see the eyes of all the guests who had just witnessed the fight between you, Hyungwon, and King Tano.

Hyungwon led you through halls that were all too familiar to you. “No one ever comes down these halls. We should be safe and away from everyone down here for a bit.” Hyungwon had slowed his pace as the two of you walked down the most abandoned part of the castle.

You hadn’t seen this hall since you were eleven. You looked to your right and saw the door that opened up to your two sister’s room. And at the end of the hall, you saw the large double doors that used to belong to your parents. The entire atmosphere of the hall was eerie and tragic and it took everything in you not to start crying in front of the prince.

Hyungwon stopped in the middle of the hall and slowly opened a door, one that you recognized as your old bedroom. He swiftly opened it and pulled you inside. You stopped, dead in tracks, as you looked at your old room.

The dolls that you used to play with were still on the floor, scattered and broken. The books that you studied from were ripped to shreds and thrown around the room carelessly. Everything that you had known and loved was in this very room, but they only felt like they were a part of a bad memory.

Your room was only lit by the pale moonlight coming from the window. You stayed silent as Hyungwon walked around. “I come to this area of the castle sometimes when I want to get away from everything. I look around and think about what life could have been like if this family was still alive.”

Everything would have been better. No one would have had to live in fear of their king. You wanted to scream out, but that was not time for that. Hyungwon picked up a silver comb from the vanity and examined it.

“Do you remember when King Williem ruled this kingdom?” He asked you.

You shook your head, but of course you knew. How could you forget? That was your father.

Hyungwon sighed and put comb back down. “He was a wonderful king. He had the kindest wife imaginable and three beautiful daughters.” Hyungwon smiled up to you before he continued. “Their oldest daughter was named, Y/N. I find it funny, it’s such an uncommon name. To have to people in this kingdom named that is quite something else.”

You couldn’t tell if Hyungwon was playing dumb or if he was truly making those observations. Your body tensed as he spoke about your long gone family. “She also looked a little like you. Though, that was nine years ago so my memory is a bit hazy.” He smirked and made his way towards you. He hugged you from behind and gestured around the room.

“She would have also been your age by now. Too bad she was killed…” Hyungwon trailed off and lowered his arm. You felt the angry tears bite the back of your eyes, you gritted your teeth and turned to face him.

“Your father killed them,” You snapped angrily at him, hitting his chest in frustration. Hyungwon grabbed onto your hands and stared at you seriously. His brown eyes bore into yours. They weren’t filled with malice like you expected, but, pity?

He let go of your hands and pulled you into a tight embrace. “You’re the princess, aren’t you?” He questioned, though he did not need the answer because it was glaring him in the face. He had always known that the stories his father told him about King Williem being a vicious and evil king were always a load of . He had seen for himself what kindness the former king had exhibited, something his own father was lacking in.

“You’re going to send me to your father now, aren’t you?” You muttered sadly. Hyungwon shook his head slowly and kissed the crown of your head. “I wouldn’t dare do that to My Queen.” The nickname rolled off his tongue like silk, and you would be lying if you said you didn’t like the sound of it coming from his lips.

You looked up to him, you let the tears fall from your face now. “How did you know?” You asked him. You spent the majority of your life in this castle without someone suspecting a thing. “The second you said your name the first day you came to work for me.” He whispered to you, “I put two and two together instantly. That’s why I wished to become so close to you so quickly.” He laughed and shook his head, “It was quite astounding. The girl I loved as a child was brought back from the dead. I thought I was cra-”

He looked down to your shocked eyes and stopped his blabbering. “The girl you loved as a child?”

Hyungwon nodded his head shyly “I mean, I was told that you would be my wife one day so I was naturally enthralled with you.” He admitted, bringing his arm up to rub his head. You smiled with him, he was quite adorable when he was being his normal, awkward self.

Your smiled faltered when a thought popped in your head. “Did you know your father killed my family?” You asked sternly, loosening your hold on the prince. Hyungwon nodded slowly, “I’ve known for only a year. I was looking through his old journals and the truth came up in one of the ones I read. I was horrified that my father could possibly do something like that, so that’s when I began going against his every order. Someone who could be so heartless did not deserve to have my respect.”

Hyungwon looked down to you, breathing steadily. “Please tell me you’re not saying all of this to get me into bed.” You blurted out without thinking. Hyungwon’s brows rose as the words left your lips. “You think I would confess to you about you being my long lost childhood love and how I despise everything about my father, who is a king, so that I can get you into bed.” He laughed and let go of you. He wiped tears from his face and set both of his hands carefully on your shoulders.

“I don’t want to bed you tonight, but there is one thing I want to give to you.” He removed one of his hands form your shoulder and placed it over your eyes. “For My Queen,” he grinned. He leaned in and placed a quick peck on your lips.

He pulled away, but you were unsatisfied with how quick it was. You grabbed his face and pulled it towards you, kissing him with more fervor than before. He made a shocked little noise when you pulled him in so quickly.

When the two of you separated, breathless and giggling like idiots, Hyungwon picked you up in his arms and put you on the bed sweetly. “I don’t want , but I want to fall to sleep with you in my arms, My Queen.” He whispered to you as he draped his arms across your body.

You didn’t care who might come looking for the two of you in the morning, you were just content being in his arms for the time being.