ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡
─◌✰್ 𝗋𝖾𝖻𝗈𝗋𝗇
❝𝗯𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲.❞

You hadn't realized just how many royals there were.

Until today, of course.

Now that you were all crammed in the same courting hall, waiting for the ceremony to begin, you could barely turn your head to count.

The hall was usually quite spacious, large enough for hundreds of people to gather, whether it be for meetings, small dances, or other affairs. But today, with hundreds of young women ready to stand before the kings and queens of Moonstone and Obsidian, along with their families, it felt - and smelled - like a sweaty broom closet.

Every girl waited in line. You were only about a dozen people back. You supposed it helped that you were the king and queen's daughter. And while no one would really care about you this season, because you were getting married in one day, it was important that you officially announced that you were open for courting once again.

It sucked that the season would end for you so soon. While you hadn't found anyone remotely suitable to marry last year, it had been a lot of fun. Men arriving in droves to woo you, bringing you flowers and sweets, talking to you about their boring careers just to stroke their ego. You, JJ, and Lanhua would stay up for hours gossiping about which dukes and earls had tried to win you over that day. Who the handsomest ones were, the most cocky. Even a few of the working class families would send their sons over, boasting their hard work and stellar personality. You really liked some of them actually, they were the nicest of the bunch.

But not this year.

You shifted from foot to foot impatiently. The ceremony was supposed to start in the next few minutes, but you'd been forced to stand there for an hour. The white heels you'd decided to wear were starting to dig into the balls of your feet. Unfortunately, they were a necessary evil on a day like this. All royals would look down on you if you wore flats. You weren't sure why, but it was an unspoken rule.

Alaska, Riley, and Mya stood directly behind you, with Lanhua a few people in front, and JJ about five people back. You thought you saw Robin about halfway down the line. Renee, being the only non-royal girl who had been chosen for the dating show, wasn't present.

"I'm obsessed with your dress!" Alaska hissed from behind you, pointing covertly at the dress you had chosen the other day at the tailor's shop. "It looks even better today!"

You grinned at your friend, glancing down at yourself. It was certainly one of the most beautiful pieces you'd ever worn, especially to such a fancy event as this. You still couldn't believe your mother had allowed it. She'd squinted her eyes at you earlier that morning, but said nothing as you arrived together at the ceremony hall.

"Says you though girl!" You murmured, eyeing her. She wore a dark purple gown that went down to her ankles, cutting off at just the right spot to show off chic silver heels with gemstones all along the straps. They must have been painfully expensive, but the Hwang family had more than enough money to cover it.

"What if I trip and fall on my way up to the kings and queens?" Mya whispered to you. "Your parents wouldn't laugh at me, would they??"

"They wouldn't laugh," you agreed, "but my mom would probably glare at you, which is worse."

Mya shuddered in her pale peach gown, her styled wavy hair bobbing up and down. "I've practiced my walk about fifty times, and I'm still nervous."

Riley shrugged. "I haven't practiced at all. I'm sure it'll be fine."

The walk up to your parents was a short one. All four kings and queens sat a few paces away from the front of the line, all in matching chairs. White and gray for Moonstone, blue and black for Obsidian. When you got to the front of the line, the man standing to the right, one of the head soldiers of the Moonstone army, would read off your name, and you would walk up and curtsy to the king and queen. They would most likely not react, but the crowd would. You just had to hope that they reacted positively. Your courting season could be made or broken by one loud boo, or clap of appreciation.

Riley's long black gown fit well with yours, you thought. She was wearing heels, albeit very small ones, barely allowed for such an occasion as this. You hoped no one would care.

Finally, the kings and queens stood up from their seats. Everyone silenced.

Your dad spread his arms wide, addressing everyone in the suffocating space. "Hello everyone. We are gathered here today to welcome all the new and returning young ladies who are announcing their candidacy for courting this season. Once the ceremony is over, you will have approximately three hours before the courting ball will take place, across the way in King Lee's castle. It will not be here in Moonstone. Please freshen up afterwards, and make your way there as soon as possible. We do not tolerate lateness. Thank you, and thank you ladies."

Your dad nodded, and sat back down.

King Lee made a short speech about the protocol of the courting ceremony, but you had heard the schpiel about a dozen times before from both of your parents, so you kind of tuned him out.

The next thing you heard was the first person in line's name being called.

You had never met her before, but she was a duchess from Obsidian. Her dress was a daring aqua, not a tone royalty would usually choose for an important event like the courting ceremony.

The girl hurried forward, clearly nervous that she was the first one. Her sandal caught on the carpet in front of her, and she stumbled ungracefully, before dropping into an awkward curtsy before the royals. Your mother's eyebrows were shot so far up her head that they disappeared under her hair. Your father kept a carefully neutral face, but you could see concerned creases start to form around his eyes. King Lee actually glowered at her, which you didn't expect, while Queen Lee nodded her head with a quick jerk.

The crowd whispered cattily. They would remember this girl. Unfortunately, it might be hard for her to find a suitor. No mother or father would want their son marrying someone with so little poise. Despite yourself, you felt a pang of pity for the girl. It must have been hard to go first.

The next handful of girls went without a hitch, albeit slightly boring. No one whispered quite like they did with the first girl, but they weren't very memorable.

Then came Lanhua.

Everyone already knew her from the drawing the previous week, so the crowd instantly started to buzz at the announcement of her name. She stepped forward, absolutely stunning in her scarlet dress, and you were reminded yet again why she was one of the most highly sought after women in the kingdom.

Her feet were light but graceful as she glided towards the kings and queens. Everyone watched her in silent awe, amazed by her beauty. Even your parents seemed speechless because of her. As she curtsied nice and low, your mother gave her the tiniest of smiles.

The crowd gasped at the gesture, mothers nudging each other giddily. If Lanhua weren't going on the dating show, she would probably have suitors out the door tomorrow. If she didn't win the show, then she was sure to be in high demand when she got back.

The next two girls who stood in front of you went, and your heart started pounding harder. While two of the kings and queens were your parents, you were still nervous about being on display before the entire royalty of both Moonstone and Obsidian at the same time. One wrong move and they would cast you aside, not caring if you were the queen-to-be.

"Princess Lin Tessa of Moonstone," the soldier nodded to you, and you stepped forward, careful on your heeled shoes. You weren't the biggest fan of them, but you had practiced a few times earlier that morning, just in case.

You walked towards your parents, taking solace in the fact that you knew them. As much as you disliked your mother, it was nice knowing that she was human. You felt bad for everyone else, who only saw the Lin family as some untouchable force. It calmed you, knowing you had a sort of leg-up over them.

You stopped in the center of them and curtsied, before turning around and heading back the opposite way. You didn't look back to see how they reacted, but based off the satisfied smiles from the fathers, and predatory stares from the mothers, you had done well.

But as you walked to the back of the room, your eyes caught on a certain dark haired prince. He stood in the middle of the crowd, next to Christopher and Jisung. His face was a stony mask, as always. But for a split second, you thought you saw something like sadness burn in those usually cold depths. But when you blinked, the expression was gone, replaced once again with frigid nothingness. You stalked away to stand with the other girls. If he didn't want to express his feelings to you, then you wouldn't give him the satisfaction either.

Alaska went next, drawing oohs for her stunning gown. You knew that she had assisted Eun-Ji with the dress design, and it was perfect. The trendy yet romantic vibe that radiated from her made it feel like the dress and the girl were one. She would certainly be the talk of the town, especially once everyone found out that she was an incredible seamstress and designer, on top of coming from such an influential family.

Then Mya went, with no tripping or falling involved. You breathed a sigh of relief. While you didn't know her too well yet, she seemed lovely, and you didn't want any of the girls who were going on the show to fail. She curtsied low, and the kings and queens nodded. The crowd nodded at her. They loved the cute yet classy dress she had chosen. She had worn a bright color, but done it right, unlike the first girl who had arrived.

Riley came after them, at first walking uncomfortably in her heels. But she quickly recovered, coming to stand in front of the king and queen with confidence. Your mother raised her eyebrows at the girl, but said nothing. You couldn't tell if she was impressed or caught off guard. The other mothers whispered about her, confused but excited by her unique, markedly un-royal energy. You grinned at her when she came to stand next to you.

Two of the next girls certainly failed the ceremony, if that was possible. One ripped the front of her gown in front of everyone, and the other sneezed when she arrived in front of your parents. You felt lucky that hadn't happened to you. Why hadn't she just held it in for a few seconds??

Then, it was JJ's turn. She smiled easily at the crowd before moving to curtsy to your parents. Everyone was uneasy of the Jang family, and yet she managed to impress them. Her unique and simple dress was understated yet sexy, and the mothers seemed to love it. You noticed a few of the young men checking her out as professionally as they could, and you hid a laugh.

The next thirty or so girls went by without much interest. You didn't fully know them, lots of the girls being politician's daughters, or marchionesses who came from less prestigious families. You couldn't be expected to know everyone, could you?

Finally, Robin approached the king and queen. She wore a gown so dark blue it looked almost black, with the smallest sparkles sewn into the fabric that glittered when she moved in the light just right. Her hair was down, with small waves throughout. A few people whispered something along the lines of "is she the witch?" You wanted to laugh, but didn't say anything. She curtsied, and everyone watched with approval. Just for a moment, people forgot about the gossip they'd heard regarding the Choi family. She'd earned their acceptance.

You moved to stand next to Lanhua and JJ, who beamed at you and grabbed your hands. The three of you just watched the rest of the ceremony together, trying to stand still as girl after girl approached the front, curtsied, and walked off.

You had to admit, it was all quite boring.

Finally, after what felt like days, King Lee stood up, clapping his hands. "Thank you all for joining us here for the first ever cross-kingdom courting ceremony. As King Lin mentioned already, the courting ball will commence at exactly 7pm, so please be there. Late arrivals are not appreciated. As for courting, that will start tomorrow at 12pm. The time is usually at 9, but it has been pushed back due to Lee Minho and Lin Tessa's wedding. Again, we thank you for attending and we will see you again very soon."

The kings and queens were the first to leave the room, followed by the soldiers and guards who had attended for the safety of all the royals.

After that, it was sort of a mad dash for the door, impatient dukes and duchesses trying to get home as fast as possible, so they could get ready in time for the ball.

"Where is Changbin?" As the room started to clear out, Lanhua glanced around, searching for her bodyguard. "Do you think we could sneak back to my house and get ready together? If we go now, we might make it before he finds us!"

"Girl, should you really be running from the man who's trying to keep you alive?" JJ raised her eyebrows.

"Plus, he's so hot," you agreed. "If you don't want him, I'll take him. Fuck my wedding. He doesn't want me anyway."

JJ's eyes widened, her gaze flitting past your shoulder to something behind you.

You whipped around, almost running headfirst into your future husband.

"Fuck our wedding did you say?" Minho's lips curled into a smirk. "That's not very polite. You'll hurt my feelings."

"I didn't know you had any," you snapped back, grabbing Lanhua's wrist and tugging lightly, "besides, I saw your face when I had to curtsy in front of our parents. I don't need you pretending you're any more excited about this wedding than I am. C'mon girls, let's go."

"Running away already?" Minho challenged.

"I don't run away from fights, but this would hardly count as one," you replied, before whisking your friends out the door.

Minho watched you leave, for a few moments after, he stared at the door, before Christopher appeared at his shoulder.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked the prince.

Minho just shrugged, replying, "Is any of this necessary?" before following the three of you out.

But if you had been there to watch him, you would have seen that his hands were shaking at his sides, his forehead drenched in sweat.

laska's note —
ahh my poor babies! they're always struggling, they don't seem to get along at any point 😭 well, they're now all open for courting and the wedding is TOMORROW! we're gonna get the ball scene first of course, i love writing dances! i hope you're excited for it too! give me all your thoughts below, i can't wait!

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟭𝟮 - 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲
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