- Hana

“No, no, no!” the princess shrieked, throwing the dress on the ground. “I said I wanted light pink, not pink!”

I glanced nervously at the tailor, who was sweating buckets.

“I’m sorry your highness,” he whimpered, wringing his hands.

 “Your apology isn't going to change anything, is it?” the princess demanded. “The knighting is tomorrow. I need to look my best and look at what you’ve done to me. You ruined everything. Now… how should I punish you…”

He fell to his knees and started crying, “I beg for forgiveness princess. Please. I have three kids to feed back at home. Please.”

I couldn’t watch any longer.

I walked over to the princess and gently touched her on the shoulder, “Princess, this dress suits you very well. The color flatters your skin.”

She turned to me and snapped, “You, stay out of this.”

“But princess-” I tried again.

In a flash of a moment, she raised her hand and striked me. I stumbled a few steps backwards, holding my stinging cheek.

“Princess,” Kai warned in a low voice.

She turned to him next, her eyes livid, “You too Kai? You want to go to prison with these two?”

 He closed the gap between them and repeated himself in an even quieter voice, “Princess.”

They stared at each other for a few moments before the princess looked away, a bitter expression on her face. Kai picked up the dress on the floor and dismissed the tailor. The man left, giving a thankful look to Kai and me.

“Let me be alone for a bit,” the princess said quietly, sitting in a chair by the window, facing away from us.

Kai grabbed my arm and quickly pulled me out of the room. Outside, he released my arm and turned around to face me.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, inspecting my cheek.

I shook my head no, “It’s fine.”

His fingers gently brushed my skin, “It might bruise… you should ice it.”

I nodded and he raised his hand in farewell as he walked off to who knows where.

***

“I can't believe she slapped you,” Io muttered as she gently iced my cheek. “Actually, I can. She’s done worse, now that I think about it. Did I ever tell you about the time she pushed one of her maids down the stairs because she wasn’t pleased with her?”

A knock came at the door and it was slowly opened by Duke Neo, carrying a tray with tea.

“I heard what happened,” he said, setting the tray down on the table by my bed. “I thought a bit of sweet tea might help to ease the pain.”

Io giggled, “First Sir Jaspen, now Duke Neo.”

“Ah, Jaspen beat me here?” Duke Neo laughed. He glanced at the table beside my bed that had a few left over slices of cake. “He brought cake?”

“Just left a moment ago too,” Io giggled.

I sat up as Duke Neo sat down at the edge of my bed. He was probably similar in age to Sir Jaspen, also good looking like his friend with caramel locks and honey colored eyes.

“Ah, it looks painful,” he frowned, reaching out to touch my cheek.

I ducked away from his hand and said, “Don’t touch it if it looks painful.”

He looked surprised for a moment, but quickly recovered, putting a charming smile on his face, “My bad Lady Hana.”

He poured us some tea, and after a while of talking, he too left the room.

Io giggled once again when he was gone. “Hana, you have so many admirers. Even Kai seems to have taken a liking to you.”

“Eh, Kai?” I said, taking another sip of tea.

Io looked at me with round eyes, “I got to actually hear him talk thanks to you! I can't believe you got him to talk.”

I shrugged, “He’s just a quiet guy.”

Io shook her head at me and sighed, but quickly changed the topic. “Are you excited for tomorrow? It’s your first time attending a knighting, right?”

I nodded, “Does everyone always make such a big deal out of it?” I was thinking of how much the princess had freaked out earlier today.

“Of course!” Io squealed. “Especially since it’s the royal guard this time. It’s an event that the whole castle and all the nobles attend, so everyone tries to look their best. It’s actually turned into quite a festival. After the ceremony, dinner is served, then there’s a huge ball.”

Io grabbed my arm with excitement, “And this time, the head maid gave me the whole day off! I’m so excited! I can't even decide what to wear.”

I smiled at her enthusiasm, “Io, do you want to wear one of my dresses?”

She looked at me with big, round eyes, “What? No way, I couldn’t. Your dresses looked high quality enough for the princess.”

I stood up from the bed and walked over to my wardrobe, “Let’s see… hm, I wonder which color will suite you.”

Io, who had emerald green eyes, would probably look best in a green dress.

“Try this one,” I said, holding out one of my dresses to her. Handing it to her, I went back to my closest, “And for shoes… oh these! Oh and this necklace!”

“Hana, please stop,” Io begged. “I can't except all this. Even if we’re friends… our status levels are different.”

“Io,” I said, handing her the shoes and necklace. I guided her towards the door, “If I don’t see you tomorrow wearing all this, I’ll convince head maid to give you work.”

“But, but,” Io protested, but I just pushed her out of my room and waved goodbye.

“Thank you,” Io said softly through the door. “Thank you, Hana.”

oopsies forgot to upload this chapter a while ago... haha enjoy y'all ^^