I woke up the next morning angry and upset. I was in no position to quit so abruptly; I mean weighing in the pros of last night greatly overpowered the cons. But that stupid Prince Myungsoo! He just made my skin crawl and gave me unbelievable thoughts of killing him. Good lord, how rude could someone get? I wanted to just slap him right across his white face! Ughhh! He is not fit to be a prince! Princes are supposed to be charming, sweet, and nice! But that... that devil prince was the exact opposite. To just keep repeating my status like he was rubbing it in my face—maid! Maid maid maid! Every time I thought of maid, I heard his voice say it repeatedly.

Anthony and Isaiah weren't standing at the gate today, which was extremely odd, so it wasn't that hard to get past the gates today. The palace itself was quiet, until I saw Damien walking down the stairs. Both of us stopped in our tracks and stared at each other. He let go of the railing and place his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet.

"Angry at me?" he asked.

"I could be; you started acting incredibly odd yesterday. But you weren't the rudest person of the night," I answered back.

He leered as he looked back at me. "So I was rude?"

"Very."

"I apologize," he started walking down the stairs. "I'm just looking out for you though."

"You're hiding things from me, of all people. We've known each other for years. I believe that means no secrets."

"It's not mine to tell."

"Then how do you know? It must only mean that you are involved in some way."

"When time comes, I promise," he smiled at me; but that smile contained pain and lies. I could sense it, "I will tell you everything." There was an awkward pause. "Anyway, why aren't you at the meeting?"

"Meeting?" I was clueless. I never heard of a meeting.

"The King issued a meeting to be called yesterday with all the staff. Don't tell me you weren't paying attention as you ate cake."

I probably didn't hear because of Myungsoo. We were pretty keen on proving the other wrong yesterday. "Shouldn't you be there then?"

"That's where I'm headed. Care to join me, miss?"

"It'd be my pleasure."

We walked side by side to the ballroom. The King and his Queen were both sitting down on their golden chairs—and I'm not kidding when I say golden, pure gold and silk on those babies—with the seven princes on the opposite side of the King. I guess Damien and I were the last to show up, because as soon as the doors behind us closer, the King stood up. I never got a close up look of him, but he was immensely young looking. He couldn't be a day over thirty years old, but guessing his age by the age of his children, he'd be in his mid-forties or early fifties. He had incredibly dark hair that laid flat under his crown and he wore a black and white suit, similar to the uniform of the staff.

The King immediately took off his jeweled crown and placed it on his seat, scratching his head in the process, and smiled at all of us. "Well, I must say! That was a glorious event yesterday! The best this palace has ever seen!"

The entire room clapped in joy. We were all extremely frustrated as to whether or not he'd like the way we ran things this year. His Queen clapped along with us. She had long flowing blonde hair, which seemed as soft as clouds. The way she held herself was with glory and stature. Her body hugged every inch of her simple white dress. She also didn't have her crown on.

"Mrs. Moon! Where are you?" the King asked.

Mrs. Moon tried jumping up and down in her place, but her small figure couldn't surpass the tall, treelike boys in her way. So she pushed and scurried her way to the front of the crowd before making it to his side. "Hello Tabi!"

"I told you not to call me that," he pouted his face.

"You, dear boy, are in no position to tell me what to do! Maybe in another twenty years, but not today," she lightly smacked him on the head with a rag she was holding.

They were extremely comfortable with each other. It was a little odd to witness, especially since she wasn't presenting him a lot of respect as expected from someone who works for the King. The Queen started laughing in her seat. The boys kept quiet, like marble statues for display.

"At least call me by my first name," he spoke.

"It is your first name. Just a piece of it all with a little hint of love."

"Okay, since you put it that way."

"Psst... Damien," I whispered. "Mrs. Moon and the King are so comfortable, aren't they?"

"I would be too if I took care of the boy since he was born."

He was right. From the amount of time that Mrs. Moon's family spent here, she's bound to have known the King and the Princes since birth. It was foolish of me to believe otherwise.

"So, I have a question for you all," the King turned his attention back to us. "Who was the creator of that fabulous cake yesterday?"

All eyes turned to me, even Damien pushed me a few steps closer to him. Mrs. Moon smiled and whispered something into his ear. His gaze immediately directed at me; where I felt an instant pull overpower me. It was like I was being dragged to him, but it was my free will. I wish choosing to show him that it was me.  

I walked up to him with caution. "It was me, sir."

"Everyone else leave!" he ordered. "I want to speak to her privately with my family."

Everyone did as they were told, bowing before turning around and heading out to their normal posts and duties of the day. Mrs. Moon gave me a light hug before following behind the massive group of people. Damien took a few seconds, looking at me with a cautious and careful eye; realizing that he couldn't disobey the King, he turned his head and did as he was told. His eyes, something about them, they are so easy to read. No matter whatever the rest of his face expressed, his eyes were the key to his true feelings. And it was clear that he was immensely uncomfortable about me staying behind.

I shook off my worries and stared at my feet. If I don't look them in the eyes, then no long term conversation can be started. The King walked up to me and patted me on the head lightly. Then proceeded to mess up my hair.

"You look so young," he laughed. "How can you be such a remarkable baker?"

"I've practiced a ton, sir," I looked at him. "And I used much more ingredients than Chef Francois would normally."

"Genius~" he smiled. "You know what, I like you. You seem like such a hard worker and are passionate about what you do."

Great. He likes me. That means I can't get out of here as easily as I perceived. "Thank you."

"Do you live in the staff quarters?" he asked.

"No, I walk from the other side of town every morning."

"Why put yourself through that much?! I must arrange for you to live in the staff quarters immediately!"

"There's no more room sir," I insisted. "And I can't leave my family."

"I bet they'll understand. Just explain to them that the King himself insists on it."

"I love my family too much not to see them. I hope you understand."

"It is acceptable, but there has to be a time to fly out of the nest! And, plus, I'll arrange for your things to be brought into the palace then," he smiled at me brightly.

Wait. Palace? Wait. What did he just say? "Excuse me, sir, but what?"

"Move into the palace then!" he started clapping. "Oh King Tablo, I am such a genius!" I thought he was completely out of his mind. He was talking to himself. "This would be great! I can have as many delicious deserts as I'd like, and it saves you precious time to sleep; plus your family will reap the benefits! And they can come visit you at any time!"

My eyes darted to look at the Princes. All of their faces looked flushed and surprised. I guess they were just as astonished by the King's sudden announcement. It took me a while to process what he just said. I was planning on quitting. I was about to quit. I was about to say goodbye to that hell hole of a Prince Myungsoo, but his offer was unbelievably undeniable. You couldn't say no to that.

His words were correct though; there must be a time when people leave their homes to be out on their own.

"Sir, that doesn't seem rational of—"

"I believe it's extremely rational of me!" he danced around. The King ran up to his sons and patted each one on the head before wrapping his arm around Sunggyu's shoulders. "Don't you all agree?"

The Princes stared at him for what felt like infinity. Each of them were sending their own personal mental thought about this situation. King Tablo's smile did not disappear from his eyes or mouth. He was an extremely positive person. His Queen remained quiet, with her hands on her lap. Her smile also did not diminish.

"Don't you all agree?" the King repeated.

Each one of the boys nodded slowly. It was painful for each of them to do so, I could tell.

"Then it is settled!" he screamed. "I will get a carriage and one of the butlers to collect your things as soon as possible!" The King danced his way to his Queen, holding onto her hand, and they waltzed their way out of the room. "Today has already begun to be a glorious and wonderful day~" were the last words he sang before I couldn't hear him anymore.

I was stuck in the room with all of the Princes. My eyes did not look into theirs, and I dashed off into the backyard. I didn't want to hear any of their opinions or feelings. I did not want to see Myungsoo's face. I did not want to be in there with them.

The bell in the church began to toll for the new hour, it was noon already! I couldn't believe that much time had already passed. Lucky for me, Mrs. Moon truly lightened my load in work. Noon... I did promise Prince Woohyun I'd meet him back in the maze. Promises aren't meant to be broken, and so I dashed off into the maze with no other thought.

I didn't wait that long beside the beautiful fountain. The drizzles of the water that gushed out was refreshing against my face. My fingers carefully played with the water. I was reminded of times when I'd have water fights with my siblings. It couldn't help but bring another smile on my face.

"You kept your promise," a familiar voice sighed in happiness. I looked up and it was him. It was Prince Woohyun. His deep voice was unmistakable. "I didn't think you would."

"I gave you my word," I stood up like I did yesterday. I was astonished to see that he came like he suggested. "I wouldn't want to disregard my words to you, Prince Woohyun."

"I'm glad you came," he smiled. "Sophia."

As soon as my name escaped his lips, my heart skipped a beat. I felt a sudden rush of blood going to my cheeks. Don't you dare turn red just because he said your name! I warned myself; but I could tell that it was too late. "You seem to not acknowledge the fact that you now know who I am."

"I know nothing about you actually," he sat down on the fountain, inches away from me. "Sit down and tell me about yourself. You said you would."

And he was right about that. The whole purpose of us meeting again was to talk. I followed his gesture and sat down comfortably. "Why did you even come though? I don't understand why you'd like to associate yourself with a peasant like me. Now that you know I work for you, shouldn't that be enough to build barriers and cause you to ignore last night's events?"

"I came because I am truly curious about you as a person. I admit, your beauty is what captured me. Your place in 'society' has nothing to do with who you are as a person. It would be foolish and selfish of me to just discount who you are because of that."

"Honest words."

"Wouldn't lie to save my soul."

I laughed. I could tell that he was being truthful. "Then what would you like to talk about?"

"I'll give you one fact about myself, and you can tell me one about you. Keep going until we both run out," he suggested.

"Okay," I smiled as soon as he started thinking. "Go."

"I have six siblings." Pretty obvious one.

"So do I."

"You do?!" he was surprised. "Are they as pretty as you?" Slick boy was slick at being a flirt. I have to admit. He deserves some sort of award for being so suave in conversations.

"They're all younger than me; and I do believe they are the most beautiful people in the world," we both started laughing.

"Okay okay," he coughed. "What else... I am horrible with talking to people."

"I don't think that's a true fact. You seem extremely comfortable around me."

"I do... don't I?" Prince Woohyun smiled. His eyes trailed off from the roses into the bright blue sky. His eyes started to glitter like jewels. "I wonder why."

"I was planning on quitting today," I spoke.

His expression changed drastically. He looked completely astounded by what I said. "Why?!"

"Your brother was extremely offensive when he spoke to me yesterday."

"Oh God... Myungsoo..." he sighed while smacking his hand on his forhead. "Whatever he said, don't mind him. He is such a negative person to be around at first, but once he warms up to someone he's really nice. That boy just hates people."

"Tell me about it."

For what felt like hours, we exchanged facts and stories like children did. He was different, just the complete and utter opposite of what I expected people like him to be. I expected them all to be snobs, with no care in the world other than their own personal gain. But he smiled and laughed at everything I did and we just bonded. It was a relaxing state to be in. His presence was calming and refreshing in every possible way. He treated me like I wasn't someone who worked for him, but like I was a person he was friends with and had known for years.

He was a gentleman in all manners. Something I couldn't shake from my thoughts was, why did all seven Princes look uncomfortable as soon as King Tablo suggested I move in? What do they have to hide? And how am I involved?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another chapter done! I apologize for not updating sooner. I got extremely busy this weekend. I'm currently writing another chapter before I go to sleep, so stay tuned!!

I was a little excited because you guys can see Woohyun as a sweetheart! well, he was a sweetheart before but he's even more this chapter! XD And I wonder what's up with this entire family?! If you guys notice anything strange, just tell me. Everything is intentional. 

Oh leave behind your thoughts and predictions about the secret of the family btw! I want to hear from you guys :D

@anaStar~lol yeah right?! I bet those two are the masters of flirting though ;w; and I needed to! i felt like his character and chicness would pull it off the best :D I'm sorry to have disappointed you if I made him too mean D: But it's all for a reason! You'll see as the story progresses (: <3

@Coala17~I want to hear your opinion about the mystery(or is it mysteries? oh ho ho~!) :D And I did enjoy making it seem like a childish quarrel. I didn't want to put him across as a straight out mean person, because that's not where I want you guys to place him in your minds lol. I'm happy you love it and thank you for complimenting me <3

@LeePeppers~Awee thank you!! <3 And yes, Myungsoo is the bad boy... lol. for good or for now? Idk about that. But I promise! I promise promise promise that he will show his true colors :3 Woohyun is a gentleman afterall XD i'm glad you like Anthony and Isaiah! :D They were the lighthearted jokesters of the story. Wait til later, you'll see just how funny those two can get :D