Hot water surrounded Heechul’s tired muscles as he sat soaking in a large wooden tub behind the stables. The afternoon sun was warm against his skin, but the breeze was cool. A fluffy grey cat played in the green grass next to the tub, pouncing on bugs and meowing in delight. Heechul watched the cat play, a smile on his face as he did so. Heebum was a stray that had shown up a few years ago, and besides Leeteuk, Heechul’s only friend.

    Upon returning to the house to tend to breakfast, Heechul had told Leeteuk of his morning in the fields and the man who’d ruined his straw. Seeing Heechul’s limp from his punishment the night before, Leeteuk offered to clear the road for him, and Heechul had gladly accepted. He couldn’t look at another piece of straw without screaming. Instead, he’d drawn himself a much needed bath and sent Leeteuk to tend to the mess.

    A leather bound book was perched in Heechul’s hands, the pages worn and stained from age. He scanned the words, the lines ones he’d read thousands of times, and let out a content sigh. The book was hand written. It was a manuscript for a novel about a princess and her prince charming. Heechul had read the tale many times throughout his life, each chapter engrained in his mind. His mother had written it before she married Soo-Man. She had been a creative spirit, filled with imagination and innocence.

    Heechul found that he himself held many of the qualities he had cherished in his mother. In a box under his bed, Heechul had stacks of books with stories pinned by his own hand in the wee hours of the morning with only a single candle to light the pages. He spent his fleeting free time writing stories of heroes and fantasy. It was his only escape from the harsh realities of his life.

    “Well, aren’t you a lazy cow!” a female voice berated as his stepsisters appeared from around the stables with wicked grins on their faces. “How can you just laze about taking a bath when one of our servants has been arrested for defying royal orders?”

    “What are you talking about?” Heechul asked, sinking lower in his tub in an attempt to hide his from his sisters. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

     “It seems that Leeteuk was arrested on the road by the northwest field,” Jessica provided, twirling a red velvet purse full of coins in her hands. “Also, a royal messenger brought us this! He said it was payment for the straw the Prince destroyed this morning.”

    “The Prince?” Heechul repeated, “The Prince wasn’t here this morning. It was some arrogant Lord and his hunting party.”

    “According to the messenger, the Prince warned Leeteuk to have the road cleared by this afternoon and he failed to do so. He’s been taken to the prison in town.” Tiffany added with a bright smile, “They may even hang him.”

    “Why do you look so pleased?” Heechul panicked, “Isn’t father going to pay his bail?”

    “Father said Leeteuk deserved what he got, and that it would be one less servant to feed.” Tiffany cackled, “I guess you’re in charge of the estate now, stepbrother. Your chores will take you all day to complete, so I suggest you get out of that tub and start working.”

    “If Father refuses to bail Leeteuk out, then I will.” Heechul declared, placing his book on the ground. “Leave so I may dress.”

    “A servant isn’t allowed to go to court,” Jessica reminded, “Only the noble who owns the servant can bail him out. Besides, you have no money.”

    “I will talk to Father then,” Heechul offered, having no real intentions of begging his stepfather for money.

    “Father would never waist money on a servant he doesn’t need,” Jessica pointed out as Tiffany bent down and swiped Heechul’s clothing from the ground. “You can run the estate on your own, stepbrother. You’ve been lazy of late.”

    “Some hard work will do you good,” Tiffany added, taking off across the yard with Heechul’s clothing in her arms. “Plus, you can’t go to court if all your clothes are missing!”

    “Bring those back, you Hag!” Heechul screamed, knowing it would do him no good.

   Splashing water from his tub in a fit of frustration, Heechul screamed into the sky as Heebum bolted across the grass in retreat from the flying water. Taking a moment to calm himself, Heechul slowly formed a plan in his head to free Leeteuk. It wasn’t fair that his friend had been arrested for a something he himself had forgotten to do. He would not sit by and let Leeteuk hang for his own crimes.

    Climbing out of the tub, Heechul retrieved a horse blanket from inside the stables and wrapped himself in it, before making his way towards the house. As soon as he stepped through the door into the foyer, a chill ran up his spine. He could feel someone watching him from the top of the stairs. Eyes moving upwards, Heechul held his breath as his stepfather descended the steps towards him.

    “Good afternoon, Heechul.” Soo-Man greeted with a wicked grin, “I see the girls have taken your clothes again. I was wondering what they were giggling about.”

    “Hello, Father.” Heechul whispered, bowing politely. “How are you this afternoon?”

    “I am not your father, Heechul.” Soo-Man reminded as he stopped a few inches in front of Heechul and placed his hand under the beautiful male’s chin. “After the night we spent together, it makes me uncomfortable to think of you as my son. You are nothing but a servant to this household, and a , understand?”

    “I’m not a ,” Heechul defended, biting his bottom lip as Soo-Man lifted his chin and stole a forced kiss.

    “I beg to differ,”

    “Please, let me pass?” Heechul growled, “I need to find something to wear. Then, I’m going to town. The shopping needs to be done.”

     “Go attend to your new duties,” Soo-man conceded, taking a step back. “With Leeteuk’s death, I assume you’ll be very busy.”

     “He’s not dead yet, My Lord.” Heechul pointed out as he passed his stepfather and made his way towards the stairs.

     Ascending the steps, Heechul rounded the corner and opened the door to the attic. When his mother was alive, Heechul had lived in a room on the second floor that overlooked the garden. He’d had a playroom filled with toys and a third room just for his clothes. Now, those rooms were occupied by his stepsisters, and he was banished to the attic with the spiders.

    After limping up the steep attic stairs, Heechul dropped his horse blanket and knelt down in front of the small chest he used to store his clothing. A groan left his lips as he lifted the lid only to find it empty. It wasn’t the first time his stepsisters had stolen his things.

   “I can’t go to court ,” Heechul said with a long sigh, “Now what?”

    Crawling across the dust covered floor, Heechul reached under his small wooden bed and pulled out a wooden box with a name written on the lid. The name read, Kim Heemi, and the box had once belonged to his mother. Removing the lid, Heechul unfolded several lady’s dresses and gowns, and spread them out onto the floor. They were the only clothing he had left, and would have to do.

    “Soo-Man always says I look like my mother,” Heechul mussed as he chose a simple crimson dress and a pair of golden slippers.

    The dress was a bit tight, but it fit him fairly well. Heechul slipped on the matching shoes, before moving towards a silver mirror hanging on the wall. At first glance, he almost believed he was his mother, but his build was distinctly male. Picking up a brush from the floor, Heechul combed out his long black hair and braided it into two long braids. He then added a golden ribbon around his head from his mother’s things.

   “I need make-up,” Heechul observed, his face looking too washed out and worn to be female.

    Sneaking down to the second floor, Heechul slipped into Jessica’s dressing closet and stole a tube of lipstick, some powder, and a pallet of eye shadow. He quickly applied the make-up to his face, not sure what he was doing, but managing to do an adequate job.

   “Please, don’t let father see me?” Heechul silently begged as he returned to the attic to retrieve a small purse of money he’d been saving. It was a minuscule amount of money, but he hoped it would be enough to buy a single innocent servant’s freedom.

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Thank-you to everyone who subscribed and all the readers. Also, thank-you for all the great comments on the first chapter. I will try to respond to everyone when you comment :) I have this story almost completed, so if interest continues to be good, I should have a chapter posted every day or at least every other day.

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