We walked down the corridor to the Royal dining hall. It was a bit awkward with Prince Kris' arm around my waist so causally. When I looked at him He had a content smile on his face.

He's probably used to this. And that smile must be fake.

Prince Kris let go of me when we were near the door to the Dining hall. The place where his arm was felt cool, suddenly.

"Do me a favor and don't tell anyone I met you." He smiled at me. "I'm supposed to officially meet all the princesses tomorrow."

"O-okay, Prince Kris." I replied.

"It's just Kris..." He pointed out. "For you, Princess."

I couldn't help but blush slightly.

No, Taeyeon! You can't melt for him! You have to act...only act.

"Okay...Kris." I smiled. "By the way, I'm Princess--"

"We better go inside." He cut me off mid-sentence. "We're already late."

I shut my mouth and nodded. "I'll be going in then." I lifted my gown a bit and slowly walked inside the Royal dining hall.

It was magnificent. Huge. There were stained glass windows running along most of the walls. A beautiful chandelier adorned the room and many individual lights lit up the entire hall. The entire floor was carpeted. At the head of the hall, There was a long table for members of the Royal family. 

 King Aiden sat on his throne, looking dignified as always. Queen Cecily sat with a pretty smile on her face. She looked elegant in almost whatever she wore. Prince Chanyeol was staring cheekily at the vegetables on his plate.

I giggled at his cuteness and then proceeded towards the three long tables kept separately for the Princesses of the contest. There were three more tables behind for the Ladies-in-waiting. I saw Tiffany indulged in a conversation with another girl.

Wait, She reached before me?!

Tiffany caught me staring and waved at me. I smiled awkwardly and carried on.

The first table for the Princesses was full and so was the second. All the Princesses eyed me warily as I nervously walked past them. This was a competition after all. I was a potential rival for all of them.

There was an empty seat at the third table. I went and quietly sat down there. The Princess next to me smiled.

"You must be Aimee." Her smile was so pretty, she was so pretty. "I caught a glimpse of you passing by my room in the morning."

"Oh I see!" I said. The Princess hadn't yet started eating. I looked around and saw that the other princesses were all eating and chatting playfully. 

"My name is Ratvarin, By the way." She said, picking up her fork. "But call me Ice."

Ratvarin had extremely straight dark brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. Her hair looked really silky too.

"Oh, You're the Princess of Siam, right?" I remembered her face from the newspaper. "But why do you want to be called Ice?" I asked curiously.

She chuckled. "Ratvarin is too long. I prefer to be called Ice." She said. "I know it's not a princess-y name but who cares!"

I liked her. Ice. She seemed genuinely nice. "Okay, then. Princess Ice."

"Ew. Don't call me Princess." She grimaced. "I hate that tag. Besides, You're my friend now, Aimee!"

I giggled. "Alright, then, Ice." Ice smiled widely.

Just then, Prince Kris entered the hall. All eyes were on him in an instant.

Must be so awkward for him...Maybe that's why he didn't want me to come with him.

"To be very honest, I don't see what's so good about him." Ice whispered into my ear. "He isn't that hot."

I chuckled at her remark. "You don't like him?"

"Why should I? I don't even know him." Ice responded curtly. "My parents agreed to this stupidity and forced me into this competition."

"That's unfair." I said. "You should've told them that you had no interest in Prince Kris."

"Yes, that's true." Ice ate some of the pasta on her plate. "But his brother, I like."

"Prince Chanyeol?" I chuckled. "You're here for Prince Chanyeol?" I couldn't help but laugh. A little too loud.

Suddenly, Everyone was looking at me. Literally everyone. Even the royals.
Even Kris, who had this evil smirk on his face for some reason.

I looked down at my plate. My cheeks were burning. I couldn't believe I made a fool out of myself.

"You're crazy, Aimee." Ice giggled softly. "And don't say that out loud next time! I might get into trouble."

I looked at her with a pout. Everyone seemed to be back to eating. "I'm so sorry!"

I began to dig into my food as politely as I could but, damn. The food tasted like heaven. I wished I could send some of this food to my parents. I felt really bad thinking about them.

They must be so worried...

"What you thinking so deeply about?" The princess sitting in front of me asked, suddenly. She had these big cute eyes and straight black hair which made her look really innocent.

"Oh...Just my parents back home..." I replied softly.

"You're an only child, right?" She asked me again. 

"Uh..Y-yes!" I replied. I didn't actually know whether Princess Aimee was an only child. 

"I've never really been to Kaden..." The princess smiled softly. "I do want to go there!"

"But you've been to Siam, right!" Ice rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Ame. This is my childhood friend, Jemima."

"I have a mouth, Ice!" Jemima pouted. "Anyway, It's an honor to meet you, Aimee. I'm Princess Jemima."

"Oh, It's a pleasure to meet you too, Princess Jemima." I responded politely.

"Call her Jemma or Jem." Ice rolled her eyes. "Gosh, You girls don't know what pet names mean!"

Jemma and I chuckled at Ice's behavior.

"Excuse me, but why is everyone forgetting me?" The princess sitting next to Jemma whined.

"Here comes another one..." Ice sighed.

"I'm Seulgi, by the way." The princess smiled sweetly at me. She was sitting straight and was probably taller than most of us here. She had wavy soft brown hair and a rather small but pretty face.

"Princess Aimee." I introduced myself.

"We already know that." Another princess chuckled. She had a cute dimple on her face when she smiled.

"You do?" I asked her. She was sitting next to Ratvarin.

"Yes. The king was calling out the all the Princess' names before we began dinner and you were the only one who wasn't present here."

"Omo..." I blushed and looked down.

"But that's totally, fine." She said. "You're quite a unique Princess." she chuckled. "I'm Minah."

I looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. Minah had chocolate brown hair in soft curls . The dimple on her face made her look so adorable!

"Okay, so I decided a pet name for Aimee." Ice announced. "We shall call her Ame or Ames."

"That's cute!" Jemma exclaimed. "We have another princess in our gang!"

A gang of Princesses?

I couldn't help but giggle loudly. Ice cupped my mouth with her hand. 

"See, almost all of us don't really want to marry The poker-face." Ice told me. "Except dear sister Jemma."

"He's not a poker-face!" Jemma whined. "I'm pretty sure he's as sweet as any other guy."

"Yeah, whatever." Ice rolled her eyes. "So, Seulgi's here for the throne of Astra."

"Ice!!" Seulgi complained. "Well, That's true anyway. But I don't mind not having him either. Who would want to spend the rest of their lives with a -face."

"Jemma would." Minah pointed out. "I'm not interested in this competition too. I'm just here for fun."

Woo! These princesses also don't like Prince Kris! They're just like me! Well...except Princess Jemima.

I glanced at Jemma who was very visibly pissed off.

"Why are you here, Ame?" Seulgi asked me but I didn't realize.

"Ames?" Ice brought me back to my senses.

"Oh yeah? Uh..I--" I didn't know what to say. I didn't know why Princess Aimee came here... "I'm hoping I could win..."

Ugh...What did I even say...

"She's on our team!!" Minah cheered happily. "Jemma you're the only one who desperately wants to win this."

"I'm not being desperate!" Jemma said. "I just...I feel that I could actually love Kris."

Everyone stifled their laugh when Jemma said that. Including me.

"So mean!" Jemma pouted.

After dinner, We followed the royals out of the Dining hall. I was happily chatting with Jemma until I realized that I left my handkerchief on the table. 

"I'll be back!" I told Jemma quickly and rushed into the dining hall. I wasn't looking where I was going and suddenly, I banged into someone.
Since I wasn't really trained in wearing high heels, I fell down.

"You Idiot!" A Princess yelled at me. "Can't you see where you're going?"

I propped myself on one elbow and stared after her as she stamped my dress and walked away.

This is no better than my real life. 

I felt like crying for some reason. This wasn't my life. I didn't belong there.

"Are you okay?" A deep voice called out to me.

I looked up and saw Prince Chanyeol staring at me. He was so tall...not as tall as Prince Kris but almost there. His eyes and facial features were kind. He looked more like Queen Cecily whereas Prince Kris looked more like King Aiden.

I blinked away rapidly and mumbled a "I'm fine."

"Let me help you up." Prince Chanyeol crouched down and held my arm while pulling me up. He was so strong.

"Thank you, Your Highness..." I whispered. "I'll be going now..."

"You are...Princess Aimee, right?" He asked me, suddenly. "From Kaden?"

I nodded. "I am, Your Highness." 

"I saw what Princess Sarang did to you..." He told me. "I could report that."

"Oh please don't! It was purely my mistake." I explained to him.

Suddenly, Prince Chanyeol smiled widely. "You're so nice! I like you!"

His sudden change of expression made me confused."W-what do you mean?"

Chanyeol put an arm around my shoulders. "All of the Princesses are either disinterested in him or evil and possessive. Out of all of them, you're really the kindest!"

I gulped. "I-I..me?" I stuttered. "Uh..Thank you, Prince Chanyeol."

"Can I drop you to your room?" He asked me, cutely.

"Is that okay? Won't your brother say something?" I inquired. "The rules..."

"I'm his brother, Aimee." Chanyeol chuckled. "You could be my future sister-in-law someday!"

Oh Chanyeol...I'll be gone by then...

"Okay then." I smiled at him softly. 

"Yay!" Prince Chanyeol cheered. He removed his hand from my shoulder and just walked beside me. It was comforting...in a strange way.

He dropped me off till my room. A couple Princesses saw us and gawked at us. One of them was that idiot Sarang.

"Thanks for walking with me." I thanked Chanyeol when we reached my door. 

"You're like my friend now." Prince Chanyeol winked at me. "Goodnight, Aimee."

"Goodnight, Prince Chanyeol." I smiled at him as he walked down the corridor with his hands in his pockets.

When I opened the door to my room, I saw three smirking faces in front of me.

"What?" I said, embarrassed. I closed the door behind me.

"Oh my god. Was Prince Chanyeol hitting on you?" Tiffany smiled teasingly.

Even Alice and Haru were smiling widely. 

Oh no! Why is everyone thinking that Chanyeol and I...

"Fany..." I said groggily. "I'm sleepy."

Tiffany laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Like I believe you." She said. "Anyway, rumor has it that you already met Prince Kris."

"Bwo?" I blurted out."How...how do you know?"

"What? You mean you really met him?!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"Softly, Fany!!" I quieted her. Haru and Alice were giggling uncontrollably.

"Is it true, Your Highness?" Alice asked me. "That means you're the first Princess who spoke to Prince Kris!"

"Well..."I said thoughtfully. "I guess I was..." 

"What was he like, Your Highness?" Haru asked me.

"Well...He's not as formal as I thought he would be. He's nice...and handsome." I said softly.

The girls eagerly listened to me as I spilled the details. Once I was done, Alice and Haru changed me into my nightgown.

I sent them off to sleep and then talked to Tiffany for a while.

"Can I call my parents?" I asked her sadly. "I really miss them."

"I think they'll allow you to call them by the end of this week." Tiffany replied. "You can write letters to them."

I sighed and nodded. "I wish I could give them this kind of life."

"Oh , Tae..." Tiffany rubbed my back comfortingly. I stretched out and hugged her.  "Though Tae...Try not to...fall in love with him."

"I won't..." I replied softly. "I know my place..."

This is all a fairy-tale. But mine won't have a happy ending.

"Goodnight, Taeyeon." Tiffany smiled at me and then quietly left the room.

I sighed and then plopped down on my bed. I wasn't feeling really sleepy because I had slept in the afternoon. I got bored and then decided to explore the room. 

There were glass doors covered by floral curtains leading to a balcony outside. I opened it and walked into the cool night. 

My balcony overlooked the royal garden below. It was nice to just stand there and look at the inky blue sky. The stars twinkled like jewels in the sky.

Suddenly, I heard a noise from down below. I looked down into the garden and saw Prince Kris sitting on a bench. There was an empty bottle next to him.

Prince Kris...Is he drunk?

He looked up out of the blue and saw me staring at him. His eyes looked droopy and his hair was messy. He had rolled up the sleeves of his white collared shirt.

We both stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

But then I looked away and walked back into my room.

I must not like him...and I must definitely not fall in love with him.

***

The next day, Tiffany had to drag me out of bed again. Alice and Haru gave me a bath...I didn't even resist it because they always insisted on helping me with everything. Even changing.

The put on a baby blue summer dress on me and some red heels. I looked like Dorothy from the Wizard Of Oz.

"Now only one thing's left..." Tiffany smiled at me and handed me a delicate box.

"What is it?" I asked her while examining the box.

Tiffany opened it for me and inside was a beautiful Tiara studded with sapphires and tiny diamonds.

"Wow..." I said in awe. It was the most beautiful thing I had laid my eyes on.

"It's for you." Tiffany smiled. "Aimee sent it."

"It's so beautiful..." I said, taking the fragile object into my hands. "Please thank her for me..."

"I will, don't worry." Tiffany took the tiara from me and placed it gently on my head. "It looks gorgeous on you."

Then Tiffany took me to the Royal court. A large gathering was there in order to celebrate the beginning of the "Be My Princess". The place was decorated beautifully. All the princesses were dressed in gorgeous dresses and their tiaras sparkled in the sunlight.

The royal family was seated there too. The minute Tiffany and I entered, Prince Kris had his eyes on us.

I looked away from him again and hoped that he didn't remember last night.
I wasn't supposed to see him drunk.

As Tiffany went and sat with her fellow ladies-in-waiting, I went and sat next to Minah. She was wearing a soft orange dress.

She grinned at me. "I saw you with Chanyeol last night."

I coughed at her unexpected words. "Really?...I was just talking to him and somehow we reached my room and--"

"It's okay." Minah chuckled and kept her hand over mine. "Ice is so jealous of you! In a good way, of course."

I ran my tongue over my lips.

At this rate, I'm definitely gonna get disqualified for cheating on the Prince with his brother.

Before any other bad thoughts clouded my mind, The announcer began speaking.

"Welcome! People of Astra!" He yelled into the microphone, earning cheers from the crowd of Aristocrats. "As you all know, today we have gathered here to mark the beginning of a very special occasion."

"It disgusts me." Minah whispered into my ear. "How can they be so happy by taking away their Heir's choice of love?"

"They find it entertaining." Ice whispered from the other side. "One boy and 15 girls. It's like watching a drama."

"And to think that he's going to flirt with all of us and go on dates with all of us..." Seulgi commented.

"And kiss all of us." Jemma gulped. "But it's all a part of the competition."

"It's all a part of the competition..." I mumbled after her.

 I looked at Kris. He was in his Princely suit. He looked like a black knight in them. But he still had that emotionless face Whereas Chanyeol looked more playful in his gray attire.

"Now, we shall introduce the 15 lucky princesses for the very first time!" The announcer cheered. "King Aiden, do you have anything to say?"

"Well, It does bring back memories of my time." King Aiden chuckled. "But I'm hoping that my son would make a choice similar to mine." King Aiden looked at Queen Cecily who failed to hide her slight blush.

"It's been a tradition to choose the bride of Astra's heir in a manner that is different from all the other countries." Queen Cecily said. "I give out a heart-warming welcome to all the distinguished Princesses seated here."

"Prince Kris!" The announcer turned towards Kris. "How do you feel about this whole thing?"

Kris opened his mouth slowly. "I would be happy if I find a bride by the end of all this."

The crowd laughed.

"Do you have a doubt that these Princesses are not worth your time?" The announcer, whose name was Magnus, questioned.

I swear I heard Ice, Minah and Seulgi scoff loudly.

"It's not like that." Kris smiled. "I want to...create a bond with all the Princesses. I want them to be my friends first. And I'm not really the friendly type of person."

Why do I feel that Kris looked at me when he said that?

"Like seriously." Ice said. "He technically means that he wants to screw us all."

"I see! Now, Let's introduce all the Princesses to the people of Astra and our dear Prince Kris!" Magnus continued. 

One by one, each Princess went up in front of the thrones and introduced themselves. They were all so elite and dignified in their way of speaking and behavior.
My heart pounded in my chest. I wasn't ready for this kind of thing.

Very Soon, it was my turn.

"Let's welcome Princess Aimee of Kaden!" Magnus cheered and the crowds clapped. 

I took a deep breath in and got up. I could feel Kris' cold gaze on me as I went and stood in front of the Royal family.

"Your Majesty." I curtsied. "I am Princess Aimee of Kaden."

My eyes flickered to Kris who was smirking at me.

I swallowed. "I don't know if I'm worth your friendship, Prince Kris. But I'm definitely sure that I'm worth your time."

"Oooh" Magnus teased from behind.

I couldn't help but smirk.

King Aiden had a faint smile on his face, Queen Cecily looked happy and Chanyeol was ecstatic.

Looks like I might just create a good impression for Princess Aimee
And she might just win.

~



A/N

Hello! Sorry for the late update T.T 
I hope this chapter is long enough...
The story has just started ^^
Oh and please do check out my new fanfic: The Wishtaker

xoxo
Dani~