There had been a steady chatter emanating from the dining room, but as Yoohyeon entered the vast majority of it stopped. It was awkward, walking down the steps into a room full of people staring at her with questions in their eyes. Yoohyeon had never been shy, but their undivided attention, accompanied by whispers and raised eyebrows, made her heart beat wildly in her chest. And Eunji didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she declined to take pity on the new girl. Instead of slowing her pace to let Yoohyeon catch up, she simply made her way to her seat, leaving the one directly beside Eunwoo for Yoohyeon.

It was at this moment that Yoohyeon realized that she was being used as some sort of ploy. She didn't understand, not fully, but when Eunji sat down and it became apparent that Yoohyeon would be sitting beside the Prince, tension rose in the room. She had to force herself not to hurry to the provided seat, but as she reached it Eunwoo stood and pulled the chair out for her. She froze, looking up at him with a thousand questions racing through her mind, but he gave a small smile and indicated the chair with his eyes. 'Sit' he seemed to say, and she obeyed. She fiddled with the pale blue cloth napkin, taking it to lay it in her lap as she saw Eunji do, smoothing out the edges over her dress and wondering what kind of lion's den she had fallen into.

Maybe literally - she suddenly remembered Jaehyun and Eunwoo had mentioned that they had seen her 'fall' into the river. 

Confusion tensed her face, and as she looked up from her napkin smoothing she realised that the girl directly across the table was staring openly at her. Wait, not staring - that was a definite glare. Well, Yoohyeon didn't like to rub people the wrong way, especially when she didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't someone who would cow before a stranger. And so she straightened her shoulders, gave the glaring girl a smile, and turned the other way.

And found herself looking directly at the Queen. Wait, no, the King. The woman wearing the heavy crown was watching her, her dark eyes sharp on Yoohyeon's face and seeming as if they were weighing every movement she made. As their eyes met, the King arched a slender black brow, then reached for her wine cup and broke their gaze. "Let's eat," she announced with an authoritative voice.

Just like that the buzz to the room returned - obviously no one was going to get answers as to who Yoohyeon was and as such, people turned back to their precious conversations, though with many a curious glance at the girl sitting beside their Prince. Servants clad in blue and black came out of the doors behind the King, carrying platters with plates covered in cloches on them. These they took and began setting in front of the diners - first the King, then her husband, her son, and then the people next to them. As it was Yoohyeon was one of the first people served, and as it was settled down in front of her an enticing scent lifted from the covered plate.

She lifted her hand to reach for the cloche, but Eunwoo whispered, "wait," under his breath and she stopped. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod almost imperceptibly at his mother. The King sat with plate still covered, and it seemed they would do so until everyone received their food. Only when the last plate was sat in front of the last person in the hall did the King reach out and take her cloche off to reveal the food beneath.

That one movement seemed to set everyone into action, as people uncovered their food and began to eat, conversing comfortably with the people around them as they dined. Yoohyeon shook her head ever so slightly at all the strange pomp and circumstance, but also removed her own cloche to dig in. Roasted chicken with leafy green vegetables, a slice of fresh warm bread, and an odd pasta-like noodle were what graced her eyes, but this served to confuse her more. This world - this wasn't what she expected. From the people's ethnic look she would have assumed that some sort of rice would have been the staple, but once again, as with the clothing and architecture, it all seemed taken out of a Western fairytale. Like an Asian Kid in King Arthur's Court, she thought, lifting her fork and knife to begin eating. She glanced at the people around her to see what they were doing and how they were doing it, but in general they ignored her - Eunwoo was speaking with his father sitting across from him, Eunji was talking to Jaehyun was was beside her. The King was seemingly absorbed in her food, but the girl across