Chapter Text
“Ow!” I yelp, as another pin, which is used to fit my new ball gown, accidently pricks in my side. “Please be careful,” I whine pouting. The dressmaker, a slightly plump, middle-aged lady, doesn’t even look at me or checks if I’m fine, but instead shakes her head and says in a condescending tone: “I already told you to hold still after the previous pins pierced your precious skin, Your Highness.” I make a face and mumble something incoherent, but she is right of course. I know it is my own fault that I’m being pricked like I’m getting acupuncture, but I just feel a little restless today. It’s the first day of spring, and rather than fitting a stupid, puffy, pastel blue dress for the ball tonight, I want to walk outside and marvel at the blossom trees who are in full bloom for the first time this year, to play with the flower fairies who are attracted by the trees during the day, and to gaze at the fireflies from the lake who visit the blossoms at night. But instead, I have been stuck in my room for two hours already, while the dressmaker and her seamstresses fix the final details on my new gown. I let out a deep sigh, feeling three more pins sting painfully in my arm, and stare out the window, into the sunny courtyard, where a light spring breeze makes cherry blossom flowers gently twirl down. The preparations for tonight are in full swing: servants are walking up and down, carrying crates with food, drinks, or decorations, while the next carriages with even more of the same are arriving to be unloaded. How many guests did father even invite tonight? It looks like the whole kingdom of Mánidal is attending. Suddenly my eyes spot an unfamiliar, dark figure, swiftly moving around the wall of one side of the court. What is that? But when I blink again, it’s gone, and only the shadows of the crawling footmen and maids darken the sunny courtyard. Hm, strange. Maybe the lack of oxygen, due to this dress’ ridiculous corset, is affecting my sense of perception… There is a quick knock on the door at the far side of the room, taking my mind off the mysterious shadow. “Come in!” I say, and my mood lightens when I see who carefully walks in. “Good day, princess. My ladies,” Soobin says with a graceful bow to me and the servants. “I came to fetch Her Highness. His Majesty wishes to speak with her.” He looks quite serious in his blue coat with golden lapels, white dress shirt, dark pants and high, black boots. I wonder what my father wants from me at this hour. “Well, we are still in the middle of a fitting, so I’m afraid His Majesty will have to wait a bit longer,” my dressmaker says firmly as she puts another pin in the bodice of my dress. “I’m terribly sorry, my lady, but it is urgent.” Soobin smiles apologetically, his cute dimples gracing his handsome face, and he bows his head in excuse, making his blue hair fall in front of his deep, dark eyes. I roll my eyes; I’ve seen him use his charms to get what he wants a thousand times before, and of course, it works perfectly this time too. “Oh, well,” the dressmaker says with a slight, pinkish blush on her cheeks, “I guess this will have to do then. Just wait outside for a short moment while we help Her Highness get out of her dress.” “Of course,” Soobin says charmingly, and he smoothly turns on his heels and leaves through the door. I am worried about why my father has asked for me, quickly going through my head what trouble I could have caused him lately, but at the same time I am very relieved to finally be out of this awful dress. I change clothes in no time, wearing something much more comfortable now, in which I can breathe normally, and I rush outside, where Soobin is waiting for me, leaning on the doorpost comfortably. “That was quick,” he says with a grin, and he pushes himself off the wall with his shoulder. “You said it was urgent,” I retort, and his grin widens. “Oh right, I did.” I frown confused. That’s a vague answer. “So why does my father want to speak with me?” “He doesn’t, I came to rescue you from clouds of chiffon and piercing pins. You’re welcome, by the way.” I look at him baffled, and he giggles because of my surprised expression. “How did you know –” “I could hear you sigh all the way down in the courtyard.” A blush creeps up on my cheeks. Was I that obvious? He smirks and says teasingly: “Don’t worry, I was just joking! I know how you hate dress fittings, you always complain about it endlessly when you’ve had one.” He offers me his arm and I take it, feeling a little flustered, but happy that I’m not going to get a scolding from my father. “I thought you might want to take a walk around the lake to enjoy the first day of spring instead.” Ah, Soobin knows me too well. How lucky I am to have a best friend like him. Well, best friend? He is more like a brother to me. I’ve known him all my life because we grew up in the palace together, and he is just two years older than me. Of course, officially, he is my personal advisor and guard, but everyone knows our relationship is more than that. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. “So you came to rescue me, huh? What would I do without you, Soobinie?” I tease him. He ruffles my hair to tease me back, and says smiling: “Just doing my job.” “I didn’t know ‘saving the princess from bossy dressmakers’ was in the Royal Advisor’s job description?” I ask innocently as we step outside into the courtyard, rays of sunshine gently kissing my face. He laughs again and shakes his head. “No, no, not my job as your advisor. My job as your best friend.” As we walk towards the lakeside, blossoms floating in the air, flower fairies dancing around them, I know I am blessed to have someone like Soobin by my side.
I rush into the antechamber, where my father is waiting for me, ushered by the head court lady, still scolding me for arriving late after my walk with Soobin. We totally lost track of time when we strolled around the Lake of the Moon, the magnificent, crescent moon-shaped lake that is the centre of Mánidal and the reason it is often referred to as the Lake Kingdom. In the centre of the hollow lies the palace and its gardens, and around the outer side, the people live, their houses built on a hillside looking down on the lake. We went around it fully, comfortably chatting, exchanging gossip, speculating who would be invited tonight, and admiring the beautiful spring scenery. One daring flower fairy stole one of Soobin’s shiny, silver arrows, and it took us several minutes to retrieve it which added some time to our walk, but honestly, we shouldn’t have gone around the whole lake in the first place. Of course, the head court lady doesn’t need to know that, and as an excuse for being late I told her the story of the stealing fairy, though slightly exaggerated. I’m not sure if she bought it though. When we enter the antechamber, my father turns around and tries his utmost best to look displeased at my late arrival. He is wearing his royal robes: a long, silver coat, embroidered with golden lines and curls, a white dress shirt and light grey pants, his favourite high, dark grey boots and of course the silver sash with the crowned crescent moon brooch, our family’s crest. “You are late, young lady. Would you care to explain yourself?” I’m still catching my breath from running, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse, when my father's crown, a delicately forged golden ring with a moon stone in the centre and small leaves dangling from the sides, starts to slide down one side of his head due to the sudden movement he just made when he turned around. The head court lady gasps, the first footman is ready to take a leap and save the crown, but my father manages to catch it clumsily before it falls. My dad and I look at each other, trying to stay dignified and royal, but then we both burst out in uncontrollable laughter. Judging by the happy smile on my father’s face, I don’t think I will get scolded tonight. “That was close, father,” I say jokingly, and he giggles and replies: “You could say it was quite a crowning achievement that I caught it.” There is a short silence before the servants awkwardly laugh at his joke; the king is known for making a lot of bad jokes and word puns. Even though he is often the only one who finds them funny, the servants are dead afraid to offend him, so they always just laugh, which of course does not help to improve the quality of his humour. “Let’s go inside quickly. Our guests must be hungry.” He takes my arm and we move from the antechamber to the dining room. The double doors are opened for us and our arrival is announced: “All rise for King Seokjin.” We make our way to the middle of the table while our guest shortly bow for us, many of them being royalty themselves. I notice all of the six other Elf kingdoms are represented by their respective kings and queens, and many of them brought their children too. Several other aristocrats from our kingdom are invited as well, sitting at the edges of the table as they are less important. Seeing the amount of people present, I’m not surprised about the large quantities of food and drinks I saw being carried around the courtyard this afternoon. I take my place next to Soobin, who is dressed in a beautiful white suit, laced with silver, wearing a grey sash with his family’s crest over it, and with my father on my other side, the king sitting exactly in the middle. When I look across the table, I have to prevent my mouth from falling open when I see the guest seated on the other side. What on earth is Emperor Hoseok, ruler of the Human empire Haelios, doing here?! After a short word by my father, the dinner commences, but I have trouble getting the delicious food down my throat, and spend most of my dinner talking to Soobin with a distracted mind. To be honest, I am a little afraid of the emperor, who sits opposite of my father and is engaged in a polite conversation with the Elf queen of the Mountain Kingdom next to him. As a child, I grew up with the stories of the last Great Elf-Human war, which ended twenty years ago, just a year before I was born. Of course Humans and Elves have never gotten along very well all throughout history, only being united when they had to defeat a common enemy, but this battle was immensely destructive and disastrous, causing many lives to be lost, including that of the former emperor. Emperor Hoseok, back then just a boy of fifteen, took over his father’s throne and his first deed as a ruler was to end the war. Even so, the relationship between the Empire and the Kingdoms have not been on good terms, with tension between borders from time to time and accusations being hurled left and right. And of course, the rumours about the hidden relics: precious objects supposedly taken from Humans and hidden by Elves, and vice versa. One thing I know for sure is that at least the last rumour is untrue; if there were any secret chambers full of stolen stuff, I would have definitely found them already on one of the many explorations of the palace’s dark and hidden places I have been on as a kid. I glance at Emperor Hoseok covertly, and my anxious feeling eases a little. He doesn’t look very scary to be honest. He has a kind face, especially when he laughs, then his eyes twinkle and his mouth turns into an extraordinary, heart-like shape. His handsome looks makes it hard for me to believe that he is actually thirty-five; he seems more like twenty-five to me. He catches me staring at him, and winks at me playfully. I quickly look away, an unwanted blush creeps up on my cheeks. Distracted, I want to take a bite of my food, but to my surprise, there is no plate in front of me. Actually, none of the guests have a plate in front of them; the last course is taking longer than it should. “Why are we still waiting for the dessert? Don’t tell me it desserted us,” King Seokjin jokes. The guests laugh politely, except for Emperor Hoseok, who seems to be really cracking up and compliments my father, saying: “Good one, hyung.” I almost choke on my drink out of shock. Did he just call my father hyung?! Why would the Human emperor use such familiar terms with an Elf king? Suddenly a footman approaches, excusing himself and all the kitchen staff endlessly for the delay. Apparently, the cook got startled, convinced that she saw a ghost, and accidently dropped the magnificent three-layered cake which took two whole days to prepare. “A ghost?” my father asks incredulously, and when the footman nods nervously, the king bursts out in laughter again, making more people smile or giggle at the situation. “Food has been plenty already tonight, my beloved guests,” Seokjin says warmly and he gets up, making everyone follow hastily. “Let us move on to the ball instead.”
Just when I’m catching my breath, gratefully taking a sip of a drink I received from a waiter, I feel a careful tap on my shoulder, probably by someone asking me for a dance. Again. Firstly I danced with my father, of course, as opening the ball should be done by the king and, normally, the queen; I’m taking over that part because my mother passed away when I was little. After that, countless lords and princes and other noble gentlemen twirled me around, one after another, until Soobin managed to tap in and rescue me. “Thanks for saving me,” I whispered, and I probably sounded exhausted, as Soobin giggled and answered: “You looked like you were about to pass out.” “I’m a little dizzy, I just might.” “I warned you not to eat too much, but you never listen to your advisor, do you?” I tried my best to step on his toes for that remark, but Soobin is a much too skilled dancer, and he just swiftly moved me away from his precious toes. But still, he took me to the side after a short while, noticing my tired state, and allowing me to rest while he went on to dance with some queen. And now my peace is disturbed again, with Soobin nowhere in sight to help me. I turn around, feeling slightly annoyed, ready to politely decline whoever wants to dance with me now, but I freeze when I see the radiant face that is looking back at me. “Care to join me for a dance, Princess?” Emperor Hoseok asks with a slight cheeky smile. “Of c-course, Your Imperial Majesty,” I stutter, blushing for the second time that night. The emperor chuckles, as if he finds my flustered reaction amusing, and takes me to the dance floor, where we swiftly start to dance a waltz. His carmine red robes float around him as we move, and his long, wide sleeves, decorated with scarlet coloured lace, fall back a little while he holds my hand and my waist, exposing his golden, delicate wrist and hand jewellery. The big ruby in his crown, which reflects the light like a flame, adds to the feeling that I'm dancing with a fire deity. We attract a lot of attention; an Elf king’s daughter dancing with the Human emperor is a rare sight. I can feel the eyes of many glued to my back, and I have trouble focussing on the steps. But, as one would expect from the ruler of an empire, he is a very experienced dancer and can make up for my mistakes. “I was wondering,” Hoseok says, distracting me from my floppy footwork, “what made you choke on your drink just now at dinner?” My eyes grow wide, not just at the fact that he asked such a straightforward question, but also that he actually noticed that. How embarrassing. “Ah, well, u-uhm,” I stutter again. For a moment, I’m thinking of coming up with some white lie, but I can tell by the look in his warm, brown eyes that he will see right through that. “I was just surprised to hear you calling my father ‘hyung’. I was not aware that he and Your Majesty are so close.” “I see,” he mumbles, and his eyes sadden for a short moment. “Your father and I are actually good friends, we always have been. I often write to him for advice, and he mostly sends me back some jokes he is trying out.” That sure sounds like my dad. But I’m a little taken aback to hear this; father never told me anything about it. “You don’t seem familiar with this story,” Hoseok remarks. “No, I wasn’t aware about your close bond. I guess I didn’t really expect it, since the relation between Elves and Humans has not always been… optimal.” He laughs shortly at my choice of words, and then sighs. “I understand where this is coming from, but tell me, have you ever heard your father talk badly of me?” I shake my head. “Exactly. It’s not me or the kings who are looking for trouble between our people. I hope you will always remember that.” That’s a strange request, I wonder. Is he warning me about something? And if it’s not the kings or the emperor who are stirring things up, then who is? I nod and promise him: “I shall keep that in mind, Your Majesty.” Then a short wave of dizziness suddenly rushes over me, and I feel weakened for a moment. The emperor manages to support me, preventing me from falling, and asks worriedly: “Are you all right?” “I’m fine, thank you,” I quickly reassure him, but still he guides me off the dance floor. “Just feeling a little out of breath.” Perhaps they tightened my corset a bit too much; the exercise is making it hard to breathe. “Princess!” Soobin appears by my side, his gentle eyes concerned, and a moment later my father arrives too. “What happened, Hoseok?” he asks the emperor, as if I’m unable to answer that question myself. I do notice he calls the emperor ‘Hoseok’ and not by his title, which gives the emperor’s story about their friendship additional credibility. “The princess told me she is feeling a bit exhausted, hyung. Perhaps it is a good idea if she leaves the room and gets some fresh air,” the emperor suggests, which is actually not such a bad idea. After assuring everyone multiple times that I’m fine, and ordering Soobin to stay at the ball, which he reluctantly abides to, I escape into the hallway and take a deep breath. Already much better. Maybe I can ask my lady’s maid to loosen my corset a bit, I think, and I start walking towards my room, hoping she is still around. When I turn around the corner into a larger hallway after passing the dining room and the antechamber, I see an mysterious person walking around, going quickly from side to side, obviously searching for something. How odd. Did a guest from the ball get lost in the palace? “Excuse me, sir, are you perhaps lost?” I see him startle, and he cautiously turns around. At first I can’t really see his face, but then he steps into a beam of moonlight that falls through the window, and I’m completely swept off my feet. His sun-kissed skin glows in the low light, his deep, dark eyes are fierce like those of a fox, and his sharp jawline accentuates the softness of his full lips. He is exceptionally gorgeous, and again I’m feeling breathless, but due to quite a different reason. He looks at me curiously, as if he is not sure how to react, but then he smiles at me charmingly, making my heart skip a beat. “Yes, thank you, my lady, it seems that I have lost my way.” He pushes a lost strand of hair away, which has a beautiful, bright pink colour, as if the flower fairies outside covered his hair with cherry blossoms, and thereby exposes his ear. To my surprise, they are not pointed; he is a Human then? “Are you part of Emperor Hoseok’s entourage?” I ask him. He looks relieved somehow and answers: “Indeed I am, my lady. I was looking for his chambers, but it seems that I took a wrong turn somewhere.” Something is not right. He keeps referring to me as ‘my lady’, but if he is one of the emperor’s servants, he would have to know I am the princess of this kingdom, and not some noble lady attending the ball. My mind suddenly flashes back to the shadow I spotted in the courtyard, and the so-called ghost the cook saw in the kitchen. Could that be him? And if so, why is he snooping around the castle? I attempt to trick him. “Ah, so you must be the footman who is getting the medication to treat His Imperial Majesty’s fatigue?” He nods, makings his pink hair flow around his handsome face. “Yes, His Majesty sent for me. If you would be so kind to show me the way?” Busted. He is lying. My heart starts beating fast and I suddenly feel anxious. What do I do now? He offers me his arm, and I take it hesitantly. If I could take him to the ballroom, I might be able to attract the attention of the guards… I start walking back, and he follows. I can feel his warmth straight through his black jacket, and strangely, my anxiousness is eased a bit. When we reach the end of the hallway, I spot guards standing outside the doors which lead to the ballroom, but so does the intruder, as I notice him getting tense. “Are you sure we are heading the right way, my lady?” he asks cautiously. I tighten my grip around his arm and whisper: “A princess knows the way around her own castle. And by the way, the Emperor is not ill, so you might want to explain yourself to the guards.” He freezes for a minute, his jaw dropping out of surprise, and I shout at the guards for help. Then he smoothly frees himself from my grip, forceful, but careful not to hurt me, and before I know it, he has gotten up the nearest window sill. The guards are rushing towards us, but are still a few steps behind, so I try to grab his ankle to prevent his escape, but he easily avoids my hands, just out of reach. “Stop right there!” I shout, but he has already opened the window. “Sorry, princess,” he says with a cheeky smirk. “I’ve got to run.” And with a playful wink, he disappears into the darkness like a ghost.