CHAPTER #11

THE SUSPICION.

Life at the castle wasn’t as mundane as Bora speculated it to be when she first arrived, but it also wasn’t as exciting and thrilling as people of her town make it sound. It was just how it was supposed to be – everyone minding their own business with occasional mischief and mishaps here and there. She has grown up hearing about how the royal castle was filled with royal love stories and conspiring politics; fighting for the throne. As far as she has comprehended the things there was neither a royal love story to spread rumors about nor a fight for the throne going on. It was fairly peaceful; the kind of peaceful where she just wanted to grab a book out of the royal library and sit down outside in the garden to read it without being disturbed by anyone.

Sadly, that wasn’t quite possible. She had responsibilities that she needed to tend to. Castle wasn’t a place for her to have fun. She was there as an employee. She was supposed to diligently perform her duties as a maid and definitely not see her King in the light she was currently seeing him in. It was wrong and dangerous. She was just setting herself up for more trouble than she could handle. Things weren’t that bad presently, but if she let herself continue she was sure that there’s a disaster waiting for her ahead. The rich crowd is not supposed to mingle with the poor; at least that’s what she has heard.

“I actually can’t really believe that Bora had the guts to jump in the middle of that fight!” Sooyoung sudden (rather loud) claim finally pulled Bora out of her depressing thoughts.

Yeah, she was supposed to perform her duties as a maid diligently, but that was quite impossible to do if Seulbi kept on interrupting her and Sooyoung in the middle of their tasks by claiming that she was getting bored. The maid was actually worried that the other maids of the castle would start hating her for slacking off even though Seulbi has waved her concern off nonchalantly by claiming that they didn’t know what she was doing in her room. It was true. They didn’t know what she was doing inside the princess’ room (for all they know she could have been called for a job), but still, she was a little paranoid. It comes with years of living with a monster like her aunt. She appreciated the short breaks though.

“Actually, forget that! I can’t believe that I didn’t immediately know that it was Bora as soon as I heard about it. There was no one as talented in swords play as her.”

“Why are we talking about me again?” She complained with a frown before straightening up in her place.

“We have nothing else to talk about.” Sooyoung provided with a sheepish smile before hugging a pillow to her chest.

“Yeah, besides that I want to know how my brother confronted you. Was it romantic? Thrilling? Excit-” Seulbi started with an excited lilt to her voice but was cut off.

“Annoying,” Bora interjected in an unamused manner before looking out of the window she was standing close to. She was careful not to give away anything by consciously schooling her expression into one of disinterest. The flustered maid was afraid that her friends would be able to see just how much affect Sehun had on her. She hated herself for being that way – for not being able to get the male out of her mind. It was stupid; especially when he hasn’t been around her for the past two weeks.

“You’re no fun,” Sooyoung complained with a scowl before throwing a glare her way. She was soon joined in by Seulbi which made her sigh.

“And you have a lot of things to talk about rather than me. For instance, why don’t you for once address the way Lord Byun has been flirting with you.” Bora completely ignored her friend’s statement in favor of smirking at her smugly. The maid was greatly satisfied when she heard the embarrassed squeak that left Sooyoung’s lips; she was more than pleased with the look of sheer curiosity on Seulbi’s face - looked like they were finally going to talk about something other than her.

“Wait, wait- What?” Seulbi immediately scrambled to sit up straight in her place and looked at them with a questioning gaze.

“Nothing!” Sooyoung hastily responded before throwing the pillow that she was holding in her hand towards Bora.

“You can’t just use flirting and Baekhyun in the same sentence and not tell me what it is about.” The princess complained without missing a beat.

“Oh- it’s just that I have noticed Baekhyun flirting with Sooyoung one many time. He’s not even subtle about it.” Bora explained with a sneaky smile and laughed out loud when she saw Sooyoung shrinking in her place with an embarrassed blush. It was quite clear that her friend had a crush on the Lord.

“Are you serious?” Seulbi looked nothing short of amused.

“She’s just making things up!” Sooyoung jumped in before she could answer.

“He’s like that with everyone.” Bora scoffed as soon as she heard that.

“Even I have known him enough to know that he doesn’t flirt with every girl he sees.”

“But I’m just a maid!” The easy and teasing smile that was gracing Bora’s lips slipped away immediately. It was true. What were they even doing?

“So what?” Seulbi inquired with a confused frown.

“Lord Byun is the last person who would care about status before falling for someone, Sooyoung. He’s not shallow. I thought you knew that.” A heavy, stifling silence followed after Seulbi’s claim. Bora could see it on Sooyoung’s face that she was trying to stop herself from getting up and leaving the room. Maybe, it was a sensitive topic. She regretted touching it so mindlessly.

“Speaking of which,” She started hesitantly when she felt that the silence around them was slowly turning stifling.

“Did they come back to the castle last night?”

“I saw Sehun in the morning,” Her friend provided quickly looking relieved that they were talking about something else.

“Yeah, I heard that things went more smoothly than they expected so they returned early.” Seulbi still looked like she wanted to speak more on the matter, but then thought better of it. Bora was thankful to her for that.

“Of course, they came back early,” Sooyoung claimed cheekily before looking at her with teasing eyes.

“It’s not like Sehun had another mysterious female fighter to keep him entertained.”

“Yah!” Bora protested loudly when she heard Seulbi cackling in the background and took hold of the pillow thrown at her earlier to throw it back at them.

“I hate you two.” She mumbled sourly before making her way towards the bed they were sitting on. A moment of silence once again stretched among them as both Seulbi and Sooyoung tried to calm their laughter down. Bora resented them both at that moment.

“Hey,” Seulbi started once she was calm enough.

“Can I ask you something?” The princess continued while nudging her with her toe. She looked at her with narrowed eyes before begrudgingly nodding her head.

“What?”

“Are you going to go back to Ceya to visit your family in the upcoming holidays?” Bora was sure that the way she completely went rigid in her place didn’t go unnoticed by anyone; especially Sooyoung who was suddenly looking extremely uncomfortable again.

“N-No, I won’t.” She managed to answer through the heavy lump that was forming in .

“Why? If it’s about everyone knowing about you fighting then you don’t need to worry. I can take you there myself. No one will know it’s you. Your family must miss you.” Seulbi continued completely oblivious to the slight trembling of her hands. Bora hated herself for reacting this way too. It was her past. Her aunt can’t touch her ever again. She can’t say all those mean things to her again. Why does it still affect her so much? Even the thought of going back terrified her. She wished that she could tell the other girl that there was no family waiting for her. There was no one who would be happy to see her; there was no one to miss her. She was alone. The tears that were suddenly prickling the corner of her eyes were not something she was proud of.

“You don’t need to do that.” She replied curtly.

“But-” Seulbi started to protest but was cut off for the second time that day; this time by her brother who suddenly showed up at her door.

When did he even open the door?

“Am I disturbing something?” Sehun inquired from his sister conversationally with a raised brow when he noticed the tense atmosphere of the room before slowly trailing his eyes towards her; Bora really wished that he wouldn’t have done that. Averting her eyes towards the floor quickly she blinked her eyes rapidly to get rid of the stupid tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks and cleared .

“I will get back to the work now,” She proposed quickly before getting off the bed. Sooyoung seemed to have agreed with her because she got off the bed too.

“You didn’t answer me properly,” Seulbi complained not looking pleased at all. Bora spared a discreet glance towards Sehun (who was still looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face) before shifting her attention back to the princess.

“We will talk later then.” She really hoped the smile that she gave Seulbi didn’t look as forced as she felt it was.

“Fine,” The princess relented still looking a tad bit hesitant.

“I think I have kept you from work for long enough anyway.” The smile that graced Bora’s lips this time was more genuine than the previous one. She gave the princess a small bow before looking around for Sooyoung; who has already left the room.

That traitor!

The maid cursed her friend mentally for leaving her alone in the whole mess before slowly making her way towards the door which was still conveniently half-blocked by Sehun; who showed no intentions of moving out of the way. Pointedly ignoring his stare, she approached him with shy steps and carefully side-stepped his figure to finally escape the room that she so greatly wished to leave. Bora wasn’t even sure why she was so nervous suddenly. She has somehow always felt anxious around the tall male but has merely thought it to be the fear. After all, she has been afraid that she would be sent to the prison if Sehun found out who she was. Though, now she had nothing to fear. Why was her heart still beating in ? Why did she felt like her lungs were running short on air? Why were her palms growing clammy? It was not like he was doing or saying something to her.

It was then when she was almost an inch or two away from the door did she felt a strong grip on her forearm before she was pulled back to the entrance of the room by a forceful tug. A surprised yelp fell past Bora’s lips as she tried to keep herself from losing her footing; she doubted that it would have happened with how strong Sehun’s grip was on her arm, but still being cautious hurts no one.

“What-” The bewildered girl started incredulously but ended up swallowing the rest of her words once she saw the intensity with which the male was staring at her. His face held the same concern that she has seen back in the market after he had thought that the two men were bothering her; it was flattering really, but she didn’t appreciate it. He was only making things more complicated.

Bora felt her heartbeat stuttering as she noticed his eyes slowly taking in her features as if he was trying to commit them to the back of his memory; as if he was trying to stare straight into her soul for all the secrets that she was hiding. Her breath hitched audibly when he slightly tilted his face closer to hers. It almost seemed like he was going to say something. She was sure of it and was even anticipating it, but in the end, he just silently shook his head and pulled back his hand before standing up straight in his place nonchalantly as if he hadn’t just given her an almost cardiac arrest. The flustered maid was sure that she was extremely red in the face and the confusion that was coursing through her mind at that moment was quite apparent on her face. She was not a pleasant sight to look at – she was positive – but that was a concern for another time. Right now she was more concerned about Seulbi who was looking at her and Sehun with a gaping mouth.

“Are you going to leave the room every time I enter to avoid me from now on?” It was quite obvious that the inquiry was directed towards her even when the male was staring straight ahead.

“I..I- What?” She was genuinely confused; first, his questionable actions and now his twisted words. What the hell was he going on about?

“Are you avoiding me?” He simplified his inquiry for her sake before once again turning his face towards her.

“No!” She responded immediately. It was not a lie entirely. She wasn’t really avoiding him. Okay, maybe to some degree she wanted to for her own good, but he didn’t need to know that.

How can I even avoid him when he wasn’t even there for the past two weeks, to begin with?

“Really?” It didn’t seem like he believed her.

“T-there is-” She cut herself off in the middle of her sentence to clear before speaking up again.

“There is no reason for me to do so.” Bora really wished that she came off half as nonchalant as she wanted to be.

Where is Seulbi and her loud mouth when I need her the most?

I can really use some distraction here!

“I was just leaving the room to give you some privacy while you talk with your sister.” She defended herself further by explaining her intentions when she noticed that he still didn’t believe her.

“How considerate of you,” Sehun finally spoke up, but the unmistakable tilt to the right corner of his lips told her that he still didn’t believe a single word she said. Now, he was just simply getting on her nerves. Plus, why was she being questioned only? Sooyoung left the room on his arrival too. Bora was sure he was doing this just to irritate her.

“Sooyoung left too. Why don’t you ask her the same question?” She snapped in irritation before crossing her arms over her chest. She was not going to let him rile her up and get away with it.

“She has no reason to avoid me.” He replied with the shrug of his shoulders which flared the rage she was already feeling.

“And I have a reason to avoid you?”

“Don’t you?” Sehun challenged before casually sliding his hands in the pockets of the pants he was wearing.

“I don’t!” Okay, now she was getting defensive.

“Very well then- why don’t you come and sit inside with me and Seulbi. I’m sure my sister won’t mind your presence.” There it was again. The smug smirk she hates so much. Bora seriously didn’t know what his problem was. She was just a mere maid; a commoner. Why can’t he just let her be?

“Why would I do that?” She was the one who challenged him this time.

“Order of the King,” Only if looks could kill, Sehun was sure he would have been dead that very second. He watched in amusement as the girl defiantly gave him a fake smile before turning towards Seulbi.

“I’ll see you later Seulbi.” She bid farewell to his sister who