When you were eleven, your father’s right hand man killed him. He and his soldiers took over your kingdom and killed your family. You had been able to escape in time thanks to your chamber maids, who took you to to the maid’s quarters and allowed you to stay there, hidden from the new king.

You had spent years living under the radar, working as a kitchen maid right under Chae Tano’s nose. The king had suspected that your entire family was dead. From your father, to your mother, to your two twin sisters. He was lead to believe that they were all gone, but you lived under his roof, without him suspecting a thing.

Tano stepped up as king, telling the citizens of your kingdom that assassins from your rival kingdom had come and killed you and your family. Blinded by ignorance, your people believed him and quickly accepted him as the new king, no matter how cruel he was to them.

Guards who were loyal to your father had pitched in with a plan to save your life. They took the corpse of a dog and burned it along with your family’s bodies. The bones produced were enough to convince Tano and his men.

The maid who took you in cut your hair and hid you in the depths of the kitchens, a place the king never dared to tread. And so the years went on, you grew up alongside the kitchen servants. You lived as one of them. You made friends, you made family, but you were never truly happy living as a prisoner in your own home.

You were twenty now. Nine long years of living in the dark. Your coronation date was long gone, and your rights to the throne were replaced with Tano’s only child, Prince Hyungwon. You could’ve care less about the throne, you just wanted revenge for the man who cruelly killed your parents.

You stood hunched over a batch of dough, kneading it with your hands roughly. The kitchens were always hectic before a large feast. You slid your fresh dough towards one of your fellow kitchen servant’s, who was loading the dough onto pans for it to bake.

“I hate feasts. What is this one for anyway?” He grumbled. Lim Changkyun slammed the bread onto the pan, grumbling to himself about the work. “It’s the prince’s birthday,” you sighed as you kneaded a new batch of dough.

“And that means we have to make enough food to feed an entire country for a year…for one ty party.” You reached over and nudged Changkyun playfully. “Keep on complaining and you’ll have to work longer on it.” You told him. The young man rolled his eyes and slapped another slab of raw dough onto a pan.

“Don’t steal any food this time,” Yoo Kihyun barked from across the room. He held onto a pot full of water as carefully swept vegetables into the large black pot. Changkyun looked up to him and glared before going back to work on the bread. Changkyun was planning on stealing an apple from one of the carefully assorted fruit bowls, but now that Kihyun was watching him, he knew he couldn’t

You grinned to yourself and passed another loaf to Changkyun. “That goes the same for you, Ki. You may be the chef’s son but you don’t get to steal the food.” You eyed him jokingly, watching as his face fell.

“I don’t steal food!” He clapped back. You shook your head as you prodded at another slab of dough. “Sure thing,” You wanted to continue to poke fun at your long time friend, but Mary walked through the doors before you could.

The head kitchen maid made her way into the kitchen, monitoring everything in the process. She eventually made her way towards yours and Changkyun’s station. She tapped on your shoulder and gestured you over to a more secluded part of the expansive kitchens. This was the woman who had raised you, who treated you like a daughter. She was also one of the only ones in the palace who knew of your identity.

You leaned in closer to Mary, it was evident she had important things to say. “The prince is in need of a new chamber maid.” She said quietly. She kept her head bent and her voice low. She didn’t want any wanderers to intrude on the conversation.

The prince had a new chambermaid almost monthly. He would dismiss one if he didn’t like them or if they weren’t compliant to all of his wishes. Or, at least that was the gossip around the servants. The poor girls would be dismissed without warning and they would have to leave the palace shortly after that. You pitied the next girl who worked for him.

When you didn’t say anything she continued. “The prince has requested a pretty little girl to be his chambermaid, and Y/N, you’re the only one who fits the description. I can’t send Changkyun or Kihyun into the prince’s room.”

You smiled, but a new wave of fear washed over you. “Mary, you know this isn’t a good idea.” You whispered. Mary nodded her head, her greying hair fell messily into her face. “I know, it’ll be temporary until I can find a permanent replacement. Just keep your head down and your wits about you. You shouldn’t be in any danger, princess, but don’t cause a ruckus.”

You nodded slowly, you didn’t like the idea of being so close to the royal family. There was always the slight chance of the king recognizing your face if you were out in the open. And both you and Mary knew what would happen if that occurred.

“I will do it only if it’s temporary. When do I start?” You asked, expecting her to say some time after the birthday extremities were over, though that’s not the answer you got.

“Now,” The older woman said blankly as she began escorting you out of the kitchens. “I know this is sudden, but just tend to the prince’s needs for now. You’ll have to get him ready for the feasts tonight and the ball tomorrow. I can give you more details soon but now I have to go back to the kitchens.”

You nodded your head and straightened out your skirts, they were covered in flour and raw dough. Figuring that it didn’t matter, you wiped your flour filled hands on your uniform.

The prince, Hyungwon was around your age. You could remember meeting him once or twice when your parents were still alive. He had always lived in the palace alongside his father and mother. He was a quiet child, but as the years went on you heard stories of the woman he would seduce and the way he treated the servants.

You supposed the apple didn’t fall from the tree. His father was exactly the same way.

---

You sighed to yourself, hoping to whatever god was up in the sky that no one would find you. You were shocked that Mary had allowed this. She had always been severely protective of your existence, hardly letting you out of the maids quarters and the kitchen.

Now she was sending you out to the wolves.

---

You still knew every inch of this castle, even if you hadn’t been about it much since you were young. You enjoyed the kitchens, you truly did, but being stuck inside the hot and damp environment daily had really started to wear you down. But despite that, you would much rather be in the kitchens than the prince’s room.

Eventually you made your way to the hall full of rooms reserved specifically for the prince. You had a change of uniform on. The prince would have deemed it horrifying if you arrived to his room covered in dirt and food.

You stopped in front of his room and lifted your arm to  knock on the large mahogany door, but it opened before you could knock. The prince leaned against the door frame, eyes half open and groggy.

“It’s about time,” he grumbled, rubbing his brown eyes and entering the room. You followed him and stood idly at the entrance of the large room.

He lazily pointed to his wardrobe and waved his hand at it. You could tell that he had just woken up and that he was still half asleep. You walked over to the wardrobe and opened it. “Pick something out for me for tonight.” He grumbled as he threw himself back onto his bed dramatically. As the son of the “great” King Tano, this was the last thing you expected him to act the way he was.

The prince, despite his outstanding beauty, was lethargic and lazy, just how you remember him from your childhood.

Hyungwon propped himself on his shoulders and stared at you. “Nothing too uncomfortable please, I’m already being forced to go to this horrid event. Might as well wear something comfortable.” He groaned and fell back on the bed.

You lightly smiled and shook your head. Definitely not what you expected.

“I can tell the pages that you have come down with a stomach bug or something.” You suggested as you shifted through his endless amounts of clothes. He perked up, his brows raised in intrigue.

“You would do that?” He questioned.

You nodded your head and moved away from the wardrobe. Why you wanted to help him baffled even you.

“Yeah, I can grab you some food too if you want.” You said softly. You kept your head away from him and towards the wardrobe doors, at least that gave you a little bit of inconspicuity.  

Hyungwon smiled and gummy little grin. “I think I want to keep you around for a while. What’s your name?” He asked in a low and honey voice.

You debated telling him for a moment but you eventually did. He had no reason to suspect that you were once a part of his kingdom. “Y/N,” you mumbled quietly. Hyungwon nodded his head in satisfaction. “Funny, I used to know a Y/N. She was a sweet little thing…nice to meet you.” He said before falling back upon his bed, without taking a second glance at you. You took a deep breath and closed the wardrobe doors. ‘You only had to be here temporarily’ You had to remind yourself.

Hyungwon bobbed his head back up from the bed one last time and carefully eyed you down, staring at every part of your body. You crossed your arms shyly and lowered your head. “That uniform is really ugly, take it off,” he said blatantly. He rolled off of the bed and stood up straight.

You heard his quiet footsteps pad their way towards you. You felt your body tense as he came closer. He brushed his fingers across your sleeve. You recoiled and stepped back defensively.

You weren’t going to comply to his wishes, that was one thing you wouldn’t let delinquent do to you. You looked up and met his eyes, which were wide open with shock. His face fell and he covered it with his hands.

Was he blushing?”

You looked closer and saw that he most definitely was.

“No no, I didn’t mean for it to come off that way. God that was horrible. I’m sorry. I meant for you to take that uniform off so I could get you another one. I have ones that could look better on you.” He paused and looked at your still shocked face. “You’re scared of me, aren’t you.” He sighed and pulled his hands through his brown hair. “It’s because of those rumors with the servants, isn’t it?” He groaned and dropped his shoulders.

He looked up to you and smiled awkwardly. “I have never asked one of my maids to have with me. I like maids and butlers, they’re cool people. They also have cool stories. Don’t think I don’t like them because I do-”

He continued to ramble on, a completely different man than you ever expected him to be. He was awkward and tripped over his own words. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing in front of you.

Maybe the apple did fall far from the tree.

Maybe just a little too far.