Mrs. Moon insisted that I change into proper chef attire; but I declined. I had already seen the list of things needed to be made and it was a big gigantic mess.  Added to the fact that we were short some ingredients; I don't even know how the head baker became the head this way. I understand the simpler the better, but working in a no limits state like the palace, I'd personally use as much ingredients as I could. The fresh flavors dancing on your senses; exhilarating to even imagine, let alone experience.

So, I ran around the palace looking for Damien, who was a butler for the princes. He was the only one I knew who could get me the ingredients fresh and in no time because his mother owned a market in town. Like a headless chicken, I quickly rushed from room to room searching for the dark haired worker.

I should have been paying more attention, because the person I ran into, was in no way someone I even wanted to bump into. "Apologies," a soft, gentle voice escape the strangers pink lips.

I stared at him for what felt like hours. His light brown hair accented his v-line shape and squinty eyes. He held himself with class, similar to a woman. His attire was fresh, clean; with a sharp navy jacket, white dress shirt, tan slacks and a brown tie. My eyes trailed from his tie to his lips to his eyes; I was looking up at him by quite a lot.

"It was my fault your highness," I bowed to him. Normally, I'd pay no attention and go on my way; but today was the banquet and he is a prince. Last thing I wanted was to be kicked out of the only job that can help me at the moment.

"No, I was too infatuated with this book I'm reading," he giggled, "so no need to apologize to me."

I didn't say anything else. If he doesn't want to accept my apology, then fine; I won't reply to you. Since avoiding your family all together is impossible here, I'll keep our conversations to a minimum. Then you won't pay attention to me and I'll disappear once a good paying baker job opens up in town.

"So..." he broke the silence. His voice was very soft, very feminine. "Seems as though you are looking for someone, am I correct? Just tell me their name and maybe I can help you find them."

"No need to put such stress on you," I bowed again. "It's no rush for me to find them. I can do it myself."

"Please, it's the least I can do."

I sighed in the back of my head. Okay. Fine. "It's Damien, sir."

"Damien~!" a huge smile formed on his face. "He should be in Hoya's room; bright kid he is. Smart as can be."

"Thank you, sir," I bowed before rushing away to the bedrooms.

"Wait!" he yelled after me; but I pretended not to hear. It was no time for playing and games. An important event is scheduled to start in hours and no one has even begun baking. I'm pretty sure I heard him mumble, "But I never caught your name."

Gah! That was a close one! He's the youngest right? Sungjong... I believe is his name. I shook the thought out of my head! Do not get distracted Sophia! This is not a time to start worrying about them. Remember, you loathe this family! I nodded in agreement with my thoughts.

I eventually made it to Hoya's room; voices echoed loudly from within. My hand slowly knocked on the grand wooden doors. I took a few steps back before fixing my hair and clothes. Why was I fixing myself up? The voices stopped conversing as the door opened. It was who I've been looking for.

"Damien!" I lightly shouted.

"Sophia? What are you doing up here?" he peaked his head out into the hallway.

"Can you go get me some things?" I took out a piece of paper from one of my apron pockets. It was a list of all the ingredients needed and how much of them needed alongside with an envelope filled with money. "Please."

"Why can't you ask William or Ulrich; I'm incredibly busy. The princes are practicing for the banquet today."

"I know about the banquet; I'm the replacement baker since Chef Francois got pneumonia all of a sudden," I shoved the paper in his jacket pocket. His uniform was similar to mine, just in a tuxedo form. He also had on white gloves and a white bowtie. "By the way, the gloves are new, am I right?"

"Yeah, pick up a pair from Mrs. Moon's office by the way," he told me. "Anyway, fine. I'll leave in thirty minutes. I'll get someone to cover for me."

"Thank you!" I repeated numerously. "You are a life saver!"

"Yeah yeah," he opened the door even more slightly. "But you owe me."

"Who's at the door, Damien?" asked a voice from within the room.

I looked at him with stern eyes. Don't you dare open that door boy. My mental warning did nothing for he did swing the door open. Inside the room were four other princes. One looked incredibly squinty eyed and elegant, with his hands in his pockets while leaning against the window. Another was immensely tall, yet lean looking, with chubby cheeks and a bright smile. The other had dark red hair with sharp features; his muscles looked like they were about to rip apart his dress shirt. The last had dark blonde hair and a natural sly grin on his face. They wore the same uniform as Prince Sungjong when i bumped into him. Every single pair of eyes was directed towards me.

"It's just a maid, Prince Hoya," Damien answered in return.

"She's a pretty one," the redhead smirked.

"You say that about every girl you see in a dress, Dongwoo," blurted the squinty eyed one.

"She's different though, Sunggyu," Dongwoo replied. "A different aura about her."

"Oh dear God," Sungyeol dropped his book on the bed. "Stop being infatuated so easily."

"Never."

Hoya paid no attention to his brothers and sat up from his chair. "Why don't you come inside?"

"No thank you, sir," I bowed while taking a step back. "I am in a rush you see and time is not on my side in this case."

"Please, we insist," he reached out with his hand. Damien looked at me with wide eyes; my own stared at his.

Good lord what did I do to deserve such pain and agony today. I took a hold of his hand as he pulled me into the room. It smelled like fresh flowers, probably because the windows were open and there were vases filled with an array of botanicals. Hoya scanned me from my head to my toes before sitting back down on one of the chairs alongside his small desk.

"So, what's your name?" he asked.

"Sophia," I replied. My hands quickly trailed from my front to my back. I kept fiddling with my fingers; my head felt like it was about to explode from the stress I was experiencing. In no way was I excited to be in their room, let alone catch the attention of five of the princes in one day.

"So-phee-yeah," Sungyeol repeated my name. He sat down on the fluffy bed and immediately threw himself back. "Sounds like a nice name."

Damien left the door ajar while he stood next to me. "She's a new worker here, it's been a month since she first started."

"Explains why I've never seen you around," Dongwoo skillfully announced.

"You haven't seen her around because she's not assigned to work for us. There is a reason why father wants butlers to be our helpers and not the maids," Sunggyu sighed. "Do I need to remind of you the incident that caused those rules to be applied, Dongwoo?"

Dongwoo rolled his eyes at his older brother. He scoffed his comment before stating, "Yeah yeah. No need to go down memory lane."

"Alright then," the oldest sternly responded.

My eyes trailed off around the room. It was immensely neat and organized. Personal books were placed on a small oak shelf beside the table and chairs. The room itself was grand, enough to fit my entire family and some extra space sort of way. His bed was fit for a king, which looked as soft as a cloud. Huge windows, which nearly touched the ceiling to the wooden waxed floor, let in immense light to brighten the room. A door lead to his bathroom while another set led to his closet. I imagined all of the princes rooms to be similar to this. I noticed the clock on his night stand, which stated 9:30.

Oh dear Lord! I have no time! My expression probably changed swiftly as I realized what time it was. I whispered into Damien's ear, "It's best if you leave now; I also have to go and start mixing ingredients. The swifter you are; the better for me." I turned to the princes and smiled as sweetly as I could. I courteously bowed to them before muttering, "I'm sorry to abruptly leave, but due to the banquet today, I have no time in my schedule. I hope you enjoy today's festivities, princes. Thank you for your time."

I hurriedly rushed out of the room before they could process what I had said. Today was filled with both sweet and bitter surprises. I ran down the stairs into the kitchen and changed my maid apron for an appropriate cooking one and proceeded to direct the others on what to do. I put a bunch of people in charge of cracking eggs, sifting flour and sugar, kneading dough properly, and such. Everyone was eager to try something new in the kitchen, especially because I was a bright baker from the start. They followed orders great and caused no problems.

Over time, I just watched the others do their duties. It wasn't long before Damien pulled away a couple boys to help him grab the goods I had asked him to gather. There were bags and bags filled with fresh ingredients. It was so colorful and beautiful. I automatically rushed up to him, covered in flour and sugar and all, and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!" I yelled.

"No problem," he laughed lightly. "Now get off of me, you are covering me with white powder."

I let go as he ordered and proceeded to change the duties of everyone. Since all the dry ingredients were ready to mix together, I left that for myself since I knew just what recipes and proportions worked best. I assigned new fruit washing, cutting and decorating. It was imperative for the fruit to look presentable at all times, even though they'd be mixed together into a desert of some sort. I admit, I'm a control freak in the kitchen.

Mixing all the ingredients together was easy; eventually we were just waiting for them to bake as we created creams and fruit medleys. My eyes didn't stop looking at the clock. Time was definitely not on our side. It was a huge cake, covered in fake and real flowers. It was a trick I learned at home one day after I got fired. I dare not forget the skills that took a year to perfect. I mimicked the colors and the shape of flowers to make ones for my siblings on special occasions. It boasted the fresh colors of pink, yellow, orange, peach, and white; truthfully the most breathtaking thing I'd ever created—with the help of the other workers.

In no way could I have created something so monstrous without their help. By the end of the process, we created hundreds of small deserts plus a huge cake. I must admit for someone who only had about 5 hours to bake it all; we didn't do that bad. The kitchen of the palace was not a place to mess with; it had enough room to boast to the needs of the bakers, cooks, and decorators, with some room to spare.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Moon's voice echoed in the room. "Oh my! Oh my! I am absolutely at a loss for words. This is grand, beautiful, amazing, incomparable... just perfect in every way!"

She rushed to my side and hugged me lightly. "It's all of our hard work, Mrs. Moon."

"Without your leadership and guidance," she was nearly in tears, "we would have never been able to do it honey. You are an incredible baker, know that."

I patted her back lightly, signaling so she could let go of me. Her smile was huge, one that could make anyone smile instantly just by seeing it—which it did to me. I was completely covered with flour and sugar, even more so then before when I hugged Damien. I was surprised she could recognize me under all of the white powder in my face and hair.

She turned to the rest of the workers, "Not that I'm not proud of you, but half of you know that you must be prepared to serve these goods you've created while the others stay behind to possibly make some more when needed. So please get ready. After today, you are all going to get a big surprise from me soon; I give you my word. Now, enjoy the rest of your day. Every single piece of your hard work will be noted." Her voice was nearly cracking as she said this. I was proud to say that I was a factor in it. She was one of the nicest bosses ever; she loved her job in every way... even more so she loved her staff as if they were her own children. 

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Yet another leading chapter to the banquet! I will update soon! :D probably in two or three hours--but at the rate I'm going, it won't be that long :3

I've finally introduced some of the boys lol. I hope you guys understood which ones I was talking about through the description. I will get much more indepth as the story goes on. >_______>

Leave some feedback for me to read! They are absolutely wonderful :3

@anaStar--Thank you so much for leaving behind feedback lol :3 I was getting concerned because it was as though no one was reading it T__T I will for sure ask questions when I have some. I'm sort of getting the hand of everything here lol; still need to process some minute details though. And lucky for 'Sophia' but she continued to practice her skills at home for her family! :D YAAAAAY~ thanks again (: