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ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ
[maze in the mirror - txt]
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-~°~-

Fine silks, expensive cottons, luscious velvets and many many more materials. Golden details, silver necklaces, diamond earrings, pearl clips.

Everything I'd ever imagined was laid out infron of me. Queen Kathryn held to her statement and is helping me choose my outfit for the ball that will be happening tomorrow night.

"I think either blue or red work very well for your complexion, i have the perfect options for you." Queen Kathryn says as she lays two dresses down.

The first is glittering dark blue dress that falls off the shoulders, it has many jewels hand sewn to the dress nearing the end almost in a fade effect.

The other was a silk red dress that is scrunched up on both sides the neckline is a modest boatneck while he back dips just passed the shoulderblades.

"I'm not sure, both are beautiful." I tell while examining the dresses.

"Well you can keep both options in mind and then tomorrow you can say which you prefer and the ladies will sort you out with hair, jewelry and makeup. You will look absolutely so stunning. " She says as she caresses my arm, "I need to be off again, I have a meeting to attend to. I'll see you later and maybe you can tell me which dress you will be wearing."

She leaves the room while I still stand and look at the dresses, weighing out the options and which dress I should wear. Its the first time I was being presented to the public as a betrothed woman. I needed to make a statement and I had to look good while doing so. It will be the talk of many kingdoms and I'd rather not have a 'how hideous did she look in that dress' comment come inbetween all the mess, it is already to much to handle.

My mind wondered off the Soobin. What was he going to wear?

I bit my cheek and smiled before running out of my room and down to the library. Walking through the doors I am delighted to see him standing by the windowsil with a book in hand.

I make my way to him and place my head on his shoulder. He jumps slightly but notices it is me pretty quickly. His heartbeat was racing from the slight scare.

"What are you reading?" I ask him, listening to his racing heart beat steady once again.

"Just a history book." He says to me before closing the book and turning to face me, "to what do I owe this surprise visit? "

"I was choosing my dress for the ball tomorrow night and I was wondering what you would be wearing." He smiles at me before placing the book on the windowsil and giving me all his attention. This is how I want to be treated for the rest of my life by the one I marry. I want him to care.

"I am wearing a dark blue suit with my black collared shirt and silver tie." He tells me and my eyes gleam. Blue, we could match, "and what about you?"

My give a mischievous smile before backing up slowly. He raises a brow at me.

"I'm not telling, it is a surprise. I want to see your reaction when I entered the ballroom." I say to him. He pouts and I can't help but melt, I almost gave in and told him on the spot.

"That's unfair, I told you mine." He says while still keeping his pout and I giggle at his cuteness, Hr then gets up to get me and I start running around with him chasing me.

We are busy laughing and playing around when he suddenly catches me, drawing me closer to me.

I hear the library door opening, making me step back from Soobin to create a distance between us. My smile falling quickly.

"Your royal highnesses, I'm sorry to interrupt," the maid who entered says as she bows,"Prince Yeonjun wishes to speak to Her Royal Highness, Princess Jina in his room."

Why would Prince Yeonjun wish to meet now?

"I shall leave now, no need for an escort." I tell the maid, who bows and then leaves once again.

I turn to face Soobin and say to him,"I'll see you later, hopefully."

He bids me goodbye and once I reach the door I turn to him for a moment.

"I'm still deciding between a blue dress and a red dress." I tell him before I leave the room and make my way to Prince Yeonjun's bedroom, basically having the drag myself there.

I reach his doors, they were almost as intimidating as him. I knock on the door, I hear a large movement behind the door before I hear a faint, "come in."

I open the door and then close behind me before facing the boy who had called me to the room. Yeonjun was infront of his mirror tying up his buttons on his button up. His pants look like they were put on in a hurry, partially explaining the sound I heard from the other side of the door. He still had to get dressed.

"You called for me?" I ask him as I stand with my hands folded by his door, he peers over to me over his shoulder before turning his entire body to me, he had a few buttons still undone, exposing his chest. His hair was unstyled and messy. This is the most laid back I have seen him look. He almost seems like he has only just woken up.

"Yes, I was wondering what you had planned to wear, I'd like to co-ordinate." He says to me and I raise a brow at him, " My suit is hanging over there if you wish to take a look."

I turn to see the suit and tie hanging on a hook on the wall. I go closer to hold the tie inbetween my fingers, red.I turned my head to his lean figure which was looking the mirror once again, trying to slick back his hair.

"Why should we match?" I ask him and he simply gives me a smirk that i can see in his reflection, he turns to me again and as he does so, a strand of hair hangs in his face.

"Because, Princess, we are being presented as a couple for the first time. I want people to see us and know we work well together, even with what we wear," He tells me and I scoff at him.

"We don't work well together, I'm pretty sure you hate me." I tell him, he drops his smirk.

"Hate is an extremely strong word, I may not particularly be inlove with you or the idea of marrying you but I've rarely ever hated someone, only on the very rare occasion." He says to me in what I found to be a rather comforting tone, "Even if we dont work well together, the illusion of us doing so will only be a benefit."

"Or you could actually put so effort into getting to know me and working with me." I say to him and as if I had suddenly grown a second head, he was looking at me like I'm some freak.

"I've already expressed my disinterest in doing so, so why bring it up again," He says to me,"now what are you planning to wear."

"Its between blue and red," I tell him and he nods his head.

"Thats great, you can wear red." He says to me and now it was my turn to look at him weirdly.

"Who are you to decide for me, what if I was planning to wear the blue dress?" I ask him, simply expecting something along the lines of 'you will one day be my wife and queen'.

"For starters, I know what my brother that you have grown very fond of within the few days of you living here is wearing and I'm pretty sure by the blush of your cheeks, clearly not for me, that you were with him before arriving at my door. So you probably know what he is wearing too. I don't have to explain once again how it makes us both look like when you are seen leaning way more into my brother, do I? " He asks me, my blood piping,"because if I do, I'll make it more simple this time. We will both look like fools."

He had zero right to treat me like some puppet for him to just play around with. He can't demand for us to be a team but still put zero effort into making us a real team.

"So what do you choose, Princess?"

I look at my feet before the heat has rushed to my head, looking up at him through my lashes with my jaw clenched, I only see red, "Im choosing blue, and I will always choose blue."

I then storm out of his room and make my way back to mine. I almost throw myself into my bed, placing my head into my pillow and allowing a rage filled scream leave my body.

He had a way with words that ultimately was starting to drive me insane.

I had just hoped to solidify that this marriage is the last thing I wanted. I was not about to let him win by wearing the red dress. Even if it was something so small and insignificant such as what I'm wearing, I know it's something he had his mind on.

I turn on my side and start to adjust myself in the bed before I fall asleep very slowly.

-~°~-

"Princess Jina," I hear someone wake me up, I recognised the voice as Sooyoung. I slowly start to rip my eyes apart from each other to look at her standing beside my bed.

"Yes?" I ask before sitting up and stretching.

"Her Majesty, Queen Kathryn requests that you have a full pamper day, she asked me to arrange that everything goes well. She wishes you to feel your best for tonight," Sooyoung tells me.

"You'd swear it was my wedding day already," I take the blanket off me and stand up beside my bed.

"Shall we go and start getting you ready?" Sooyoung asks.

I was aware of how these pamper days went and I'd barely find time to do anything else today before the ball.

"I would just like to step out by myself for a second, you can prepare so long while I'm out," I tell her before leaving my room. I walk to Soobin's room. I thought I could do it, but standing infront of his doors was suddenly a lot more terrifying. I had never been to his room before.

I mustered all the courage in me to knock on the door. My knuckles graze the door before i take a deep breath and start knocking.

"Who is it?" His voice is deep and raspy, my toes curl at the sound.

"Its Jina," I say and I hear a swift movement before the doorknob turned and opened. He stood by thd door with wet hair and a white shirt, it seemed slightly damp too. His cute bunny smile appears on his face.

"Hello, Jina, what a pleasure to see your beautiful face so early in the morning."He says to me and I give him a small smile. My ears feel hot.

"I just wanted to ask if I could meet you tonight after the ball. Its probably going to be a hectic day so I wanted to ask you before all the chaos begins." I say to him and he nods his head, his eyes creasing on the side to join his smiley expression.

"I would love to meet uo with you tonight." He says and I bite my lip to stop my smile from broadening.

"Okay then I'll see you tonight," I tell him as I back away.

"See you tonight, can't wait." He says and then we split ways completely, only to see each other tonight again.

-~°~-

Its been a long day, all the face masks and massages were very nice but I was more than ready to just start getting ready for the ball.

"Have you decided what dress you are planning to wear tonight ?" Queen Kathryn says as she enters my room.

I glance over the two dresses that are laid out. Eyeing the material and smiling at how the blue dress sparkles in the light of my bedroom lamp.

"Yes," I say, turning my head to her, "I am going to wear the blue dress."

"Oh how lovely and I have the perfect necklace for it," Queen Kathryn says as she takes out a box from behind her back. She opens it up to reveal a stunning silver necklace that has a simple hanging design with a red gemstone placed right in the middle.

"It is so beautiful," I say to her as I eye the piece of jewelry that was nestled in the box.

"I was given it by my mother before i got married to King Hajoon." She says as she hands me the box and my eyes widened, "I want to give it to you so that you may ome day hand it down."

"I can't accept such a significant item from you, it is probably far too precious to just give me like that," I say to her.

"Don't talk nonsense, Its a gift that I hope you can hand down for generations to come." She tells me and I bow before accepting the gift.

She left me to get herself ready aswell. The ladies helped me get into my dress before applying my makeup and doing my hair, adorning it with a multitude of silver pins. My hair falls down in soft curls to my collarbone with a few steands being pinned back to the top of my head.

"Thank you very much ladies, I look lovely, you may go now." I tell the maids and they bow before leaving.

I take a deep breath in before Sooyoung enters my room.

"Princess Jina, they are awaiting your presence." Sooyoung tells me and I nod my head before we make our way to the ballroom. I'd been told to stand at the top of the staircase with Prince Yeonjun and we would both decend from the staircase into the ballroom as they present us.

Sooyoung escorts me to the door which I'll go in alone, Two maids open the door for me to go in.

A broad back was facing me as I walk in. Prince Yeonjun's suit seemed to fit him in all the right places. The suit was a dark gray with black thornlike detailing on it.

I clear my throat for him to know I'm here and he turns to me. I take a deep breath in, he had light eyeshadow below his waterline. I had never seen a guy wear makeup before.

"You look-" He stops to give me a once over, "very appealing."

"Thank you Prince Yeonjun," I say and he clears his throat. He looks at the floor and rubs the back of his neck. Was he... nervous?

"Look," He straightens up and looks at me, "I'm sorry for how I've been treating you. I have been feeling alot of sudden pressure on me lately and now I've got to marry someone who I just met. It was wrong of me to throw that on you, you also possible wish not to marry with a complete stranger."

His face looked pained as he spoke but my heart sped up. This is the first time he had opened up to me in any sort of way, and he added an apology along with it. I had never imagined this would ever happen.

"I appreciate the apology," I tell him and he very obviously swallows.

"I do wish to get to know you, more than you know, but I really need to take baby steps." He says it and I feel myself relax. This was an improvement, maybe I could marry him and not live a life of having him hate me and torment me.

But my heart was already stuck on someone else, Soobin.

I look at Prince nYeonjun again and his eyes were on the necklace around my neck, eyeing the bright red ruby in the middle. A small smirk on his face.

"Its not the dress, but atleast we both have something red around our necks." He says and before I can respond to him, I hear the voice of the announcer.

"And lastly, Her Royal Highness, Princess Jina of the Kingdom of Dalnimton and His Royal Highness, Prince Yeonjun of the Kingdom of Yeonamcan. Who are presenting themselves for the first time tonight to announce their engagement in order to unite the two kingdoms." Prince Yeonjun puts out his arm for me to hold, which I do, and then we walk down the stairs together, linked by our arms.

The sound of chatter spreads across the room.

"What a lovely couple, their babies will be so beautiful."
"Is this just to stop the war?"
"Bless her soul for having to put up with a horrible man like him."

All the comments ranged from extremely good to terribly bad, but my eyes were 100% fixated on the dazzling guy infront of me.

Soobin. Who has never let go of our eye contact either.

At the end of the steps, Prince Yeonjun and I turn to eachother and bow. He then offers me a hand.

"May I have this dance, Princess?" Prince Yeonjun asks me. I quickly take a glance at Soobin to see he is looking at Prince Yeonjun's hand.

I take a small breath in and look down at Prince Yeonjun who has his hand out still, he is peering at me awaiting my response. His eyes looked so soft, no longer dark but he looked like he was hurting.

I placed my hand in his own, allowing his big hands to envelope mine, before he guides me to the middle of the dance floor.

I take a deep breath before we start to dance all across the floor.

-~°~-

word count: 3080 words

IM ALITTLE WORRIED THE BOOK IS PROGRESSING TOO QUICKLY BUT I'M TRYING TI MAKE IT AS INTERESTING AS POSSIBLE.

HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT. <3