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“ Ow! ”
“Oh, sorry, your highness. Just...hold your arms out straight for me, please.”
You sigh, obeying your seamstress as she stitches the bodice of your gown. Your eyes wander out to the garden that sat just beyond the fitting room window, and you restlessly shift from foot to foot—until you are once again stabbed by a needle and harshly instructed to stand still, please .
You were 19. This felt wrong.
This weekend’s royal ball would be your last with your kingdom. You were to be married off to some prince on Sunday, and though he seemed nice enough—well groomed, impeccably polite, and incredibly understanding of the fact that you weren’t in favor of your marriage—you couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread in the pit of your stomach.
You didn’t want to marry some prince based on some silly agreement made by your parents. It had nothing to do with you—and, to your understanding, it wasn’t as if there would be some massive war if you weren’t handed over in a shiny white bow. It was more like a kiss on top of a seal of a peace treaty that was so old and safe from being broken, it was practically gathering dust.
“An extra guarantee,” your mother had said.
Whatever.
A knock comes from the doorway, drawing your attention and a displeased sigh from your seamstress.
Kiyoomi Sakusa leans against the door, his expression unreadable as usual.
The Sakusas were incredibly close with your family. After his mother’s untimely death while he was a child, Kiyoomi had moved into the castle in order to remain in the care of his father, the king’s personal advisor and closest friend.
You had grown up being incredibly close with Kiyoomi, given that the two of you were the only kids in the castle. And though they weren’t technically of any royal status, he and his father were held in high regard by everyone in the castle. It wasn’t uncommon for your safety within the stone walls to be entrusted to Kiyoomi. Nobody thought anything of it when he was sent to collect you on your parents’ behalf—or anyone else’s, for that matter.
“I’ve been sent by Her Highness to fetch the princess. There’s something they need to discuss.”
You swear you see your seamstress’s eye twitch. The woman was tired of working on this wedding dress. It had been days of you tricking the guards and evading them completely during the time allocated for your fitting, or faking food poisoning and locking yourself in the bathroom for the entire two hours. And now Kiyoomi was orchestrating jailbreaks for you?
The seamstress tosses up her hands, chucking her needle and thread aimlessly over her shoulder and immediately working on unlacing the back of your dress.
“Whatever,” you hear her grumble, “I’ll work on it without you. Don’t blame me if your ribs are pinched.”
Kiyoomi graciously turns his back to you as he leans against the doorway—but not before you caught the smirk that twitched the corners of his lips.
Within minutes, you were out of the white gown and back in a silk nightgown you preferred to wear when you weren’t doing anything important in the castle. You curtsy to your seamstress in a bashful thanks before righting yourself and hurrying over to take Kiyoomi’s arm.
Without another word, he walks you down the hallway, the clicking sounds of both of your shoes echoing in the empty corridor.
“So,” you say, fighting the smile that tugs at your lips, “what has the queen asked of me, your grace?”
He comes to a sudden stop, and you nearly trip at the jerking motion.
“She has asked that you remind me who you really love, your highness.”
You giggle as the man before you ducks his head, pressing his lips to yours in a hungry kiss.
Your fingers tangle themselves in his hair as his own dance across the small of your back, dipping you slightly. He smiles at you as he pulls away, the rare expression completely genuine as it rests upon his features.
“I hope that was enough of a reminder, Kiyoomi.”
He rolls his eyes at you, standing upright and wrapping his fingers tightly around your forearm in order to continue pulling you down the long hallway.
He pushes open a door, and upon finding the room empty, pulls you into it after him. He leans against the wood as the lock clicks, and you can see the way his shoulders drop when he seems to release all of the stress he was holding with a sigh. Despite being so on edge just moments prior, his eyes fill with a clear tranquility as he gazes at you. His expression softens completely, a lovesick smile curling his lips.
“I am never springing you from a fitting again. Don’t ever ask that of me.”
You snort, taking a seat at the desk in the study you’ve wandered into. You mindlessly dab a quill into a nearby pot of ink, lazily scrawling Kiyoomi’s name against the light brown wood of the desk. You frown to yourself as you speak, staring at the way the ink spills into each crevice in the old wood.
“Not like I’ll ever get the chance to ask it of you again, will I?”
You sigh, tossing the quill onto the desk and paying no mind to the way the ink splatters across its surface.
You hear Kiyoomi chuckle at your words. His fingers find your chin, and he tilts your head towards his. A confident grin rests over his lips as he looks into your eyes.
“I plan to have you asking ridiculous tasks of me for a very long time, my princess.”
He pecks your forehead before slipping away from you. He ambles over to a nearby bookshelf, running his fingers along the dusty spines as his nose crinkles in disgust. You can tell he’s nervous as he speaks, his eyes careful to avoid your own.
“There’s a plan in place to get the wedding called off…..my father is planning to—”
“ No! ”
Your exclamation makes Kiyoomi jump, and he looks at you in clear confusion.
“Don’t tell me,” you continue, smiling at him softly, “If I don’t know, my reaction to the news will be that much better.”
His face melts into that same lovesick smile from earlier, and you feel your heart flutter at the sight of it.
“Well, alright. You’ve just got to follow my lead this weekend, alright?”
“Alright.”
“....you trust me?”
“With my life, Kiyoomi.”
The evening of the ball comes quickly, and you can’t help the giddy way you tap your foot as one of your maids does her best to lace you into your gown. Your heart races as you remember the plan Kiyoomi gave you.
He was going to offer to walk you to the ballroom for your grand entrance. All your maids would be shooed off, and, in the time everyone thinks is being taken for your lover to walk you to the ballroom, the two of you would make your way out of the castle as quickly as you could. Kiyoomi had stashed two small bags—one for each of you—at the base of a guard tower, and he happened to know that the guard usually responsible for the tower in question was assigned to the ballroom instead tonight.
You were going to sneak through the forest surrounding the castle, not stopping until you got to the nearest village. You could see it so clearly whenever you shut your eyes, happily fantasizing about the life you’d lead with the man you truly loved. You’d find an empty cottage—Kiyoomi happened to know exactly where one was—and stay there while you collected supplies: simpler clothing, shoes, and food for a long journey. And then, to make sure the two of you could never be dragged back to the castle and forced apart, you were going to bribe a sailor to take you far, far away, where you could completely start over.
A harsh tug at the ribbons on your dress brings you back to the present, and you wince slightly at the pinching sensation in your ribs. You sigh, feeling incredibly bitter until you realize this is the last time you’ll ever have to be laced into a dress by a maid you were sure didn’t really like you very much.
If your maid notices the uncharacteristically gleeful smile on your face, she doesn’t say anything.
Before long, the woman dusts her hands off, curtsies, and leaves you in the room. All there’s left for you to do is wait eagerly for Kiyoomi. You wander around the fitting room, taking everything in with a wistful gaze. This is the last time you’ll await Kiyoomi’s escort to a ball. This is the last time you’ll stare at the night sky through these windows. This is the last time you’ll run your fingers along the edge of this floor length mirror.
“Your highness?”
You turn at the voice that rings out from the doorway, and you feel your heart jump at the sight of Kiyoomi in his black suit. You can’t help but think about how wonderful all this is. In mere hours, you’ll be out of here, and you won’t have to worry about some silly prince who didn’t want to marry you either. No, you’ll be spending the rest of your life with the man you’ve loved since you were kids shyly offering each other flowers in the castle gardens. It’s almost like this escape is your wedding day, and, if you tweak a couple of the details in your head, you can pretend the ball is a celebration of your marriage.
“You look breathtaking, my love. Are you ready?”
You nod at him, taking his arm so he can walk you through the ornate hallways for the final time.
You walk in silence, both of you seemingly taking in the paintings and vases and plants to store their images in your memories.
Kiyoomi stops the two of you just short of the ballroom doors. Your excitement is so blinding, you barely notice the anxiety that muddles his expression.
“Here. We’re heading left at this hallway.”
You follow him, paying no mind to the way the guards don’t seem bothered by the two of you obviously heading in the wrong direction. In fact, they all flock past you, hurrying towards the ballroom as if they should be avoiding you .
“Omi,” you giggle, pulling at his sleeve flirtatiously, “we’re really almost free. Isn’t it—?”
“Quiet. We can’t get caught now, my love. Lift your skirt, the fabric is dragging too much.”
You press your lips together. The flame of glee that burned in your chest just moments ago seems to have been doused in bitter water, and you can’t help the way your mood sours at how painfully serious your lover is being about this.
You obey his order, hiking your skirt up a bit higher as the two of you rush through the castle hallways. One more door, and then you have to sneak past the ballroom windows. More and more guards seem to fly by the two of you, but you don’t have time to worry about them as you get closer and closer to freedom.
You finally make it outside, the chilly night air blowing over your skin as the two of you press your backs agains the wall just below the ballroom’ s grand windows. Kiyoomi looks around worriedly, his expression one of pure panic. You’re close, so, so close.
The wind fills your ears as Kiyoomi turns to you and presses his finger to his lips. His other hand finds yours, and he’s careful in the way he pulls you to tiptoe across the castle grounds, making your way to the guard tower where your belongings are hidden.
The two of you approach the structure, and you can’t help the smile that paints your face as the reality of the situation dawns on you. You’re one sprint from being free for the rest of your life.
You turn to look at the ballroom windows, giddily taking your final glimpse of royal life. Partygoers are gathered towards one the ballroom, their colorful attire smearing across your vision as you scan the windows. The other half of the ballroom seems to be full of guards—though, they don’t look familiar. In fact, you’re almost positive you’ve never seen any uniforms like that around the castle. Had your mother changed their uniforms for the party?
“Come, my love. We have to hurry.”
“Just a moment, Kiyoomi. The guards—don’t they look strange to you?”
He’s lucky you’re too distracted by the sight in front of you to catch the guilty way his eyes shift from your figure.
“No, they....they don’t. We need to go—”
“Omi. I mean it, something is really odd about this party.”
You watch as several guards approach your parents. The king and queen always asked for security updates during grand events, and this was sure to be no exception, considering the occasion. These guards, however, had their swords readily drawn as they spoke closely with your parents, who looked uncomfortable even from your great distance.
Instinctually, you take a step towards the ballroom—much to Kiyoomi’s horror. You couldn’t see what was happening; not now, not when you two were so close from your own happily ever after.
“My princess, now. We need to go now!”
Just as you gasp at the sight before you, realization flooding your expression, Kiyoomi’s slender fingers wrap around your wrist. He yanks you after him as he begins to run past the guard tower and towards the woods’ edge.
You stumble at first, tripping over both the skirt of your gown and your own two feet as you fight to stare back at the castle behind you. It’s as if Omi can sense the way you prepare to voice your concern, because he’s speaking before you can even find your words.
“Don’t dwell on it, just be quiet. If someone happens to hear your voice, this will all have been for naught.”
For the second time that night, Omi’s scolding makes you press your lips together as you hurry through the woods. You face forward, pulling your skirt up further as you pick up the pace.
You don’t have time to worry about what’s going on at the silly ball being held in the home you’re leaving behind. You and Kiyoomi are going to be together, and you’re going to be completely free and completely happy. With every single crunch of the grass beneath your feet as you run behind him, you can feel your stomach twist tighter and tighter.
And despite the fact that you desperately try to convince yourself the uncomfortable feeling is one of nervous excitement, you can’t help but think it has something to do with the sword you saw an unfamiliar guard hold to your mother’s throat.