Warnings: None to note ( Assume that all the speech is characters talking in Korean, Italics are memories/thoughts and underlined is English)
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   Princess? What Princess?

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"H-He-Hello? P-Princess?" A sweet, honey-like voice said, stuttering. Your eyes widened in surprise. Princess? What Princess?

"P-princess? T-the guards told me that I-I am to s-serve you for y-your stay in the p-p-palace?" The voice sounded even more anxious now. Must have gotten the wrong room. You thought to yourself. Or, this could be a trap, right? Lure you out of your hiding place with someone you would see as harmless.

But no. They weren't getting you this easily. You would put up a fight. You moved the curtains an inch, and went on tiptoes to get a better view of the intruder. Your oversized pyjama pants got caught against the ledge. You really couldn't have found a better time?

You mentally slapped yourself, and as quietly as you could, tried to untangle them by kicking your leg around, looking suspiciously like a flailing ostrich. Ugh...  Suddenly, you felt your  hands, slick with sweat, slipping from the smooth marble pillar that was holding you up. Desperately, you tried to channel all your strength into your fingers, but they kept slipping lower, and lower, and lower. Then they stopped. You sighed in relief. Letting go of the pillar with one hand carefully,  you tried again to reach for your tangled pants.

Unaware of the spiked engravings on the ledge, you gripped onto the velvety green curtain, which you would have stopped to admire, if only you weren't in such a dire situation. Beginning to step forward steadily, you looked up and listened for any movement of the intruder. "H-Hello?" You jumped in shock at the sudden sound, and then you felt a sharp prick, like a needle piercing your foot, going deeper, and deeper.  A silent moment of pure agony. "SHIT! MY FOOT, OW, OW, O-" You howled in agony, hopping around, cradling your bleeding foot in your hand, and then you stopped abruptly.  Stricken with horror at the loud echo of your own voice, you felt yourself lose balance on the thin ledge, feet stumbling and tripping as you tried to hold yourself up. You fell to the ground, and closed your eyes in anticipation of the pain. But it never came.

And there you were, hanging upside down from the ledge by your pant leg, looking up at the shocked face of a raven haired girl with round eyes, who looked suspiciously familiar...

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"PRINCESS!?!?" The familiar-looking girl yelled,  looking at you in shock.

That was quite an entrance.
She ran towards you, almost tripping on the thick, gold persian carpet.  Cheeks reddening in embarrassment, you tried without success to release yourself from your current state. Before she could reach you, you heard your pants being ripped.

Thud. You fell to the ground in a heap, headfirst into the carpet. You could have sworn it was the same shade of yellow as the wheelbarrow of straw you had fallen into recently. The irony. What was that, like two days ago? You had lost track of time ever since coming here. Burning with awkwardness, You looked up, to be met with the extremely worried and anxious gaze of a girl about the same age as you, maybe older. She hurriedly gripped your hands, pulling you up with surprisingly strong force. "Here, your Highness, put your weight on me, I will walk you to your bed." She placed your arm on her shoulder. "No, no, I'm quite alrigh-" this went unheard. So with no choice, you limped to the bed with her aid. She glanced briefly at your bleeding foot. "A moment, Princess, I will fetch the bandages and the herbs." She scurried out the huge, oak doors, which you had just noticed, hurriedly, making sure to close them behind her. That face and that voice...sounds so familiar. You grimaced, sinking back down on the marshmallow-like mattress.

Why did she keep calling me Princess? You thought hard, squinting your eyes, forehead wrinkling with confusion. You scrambled off the bed, being careful not to step on your wound, and limped around in thought.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in your mind. Round eyes. Full lips. Tousled black hair, as dark as a raven. Round eyes, the nose of a greek god. "I wonder what crown prince Namjoon will think about this, peasant." A blood-chilling smirk.

Your eyes opened wide in surprise. "GENERAL PARK! SHE LOOKED LIKE GENERAL PARK! Wait...how is tha-" You whipped your head around at the sound of footsteps. You reeled back, that cruel but beautiful face staring back at you, with anxious eyes. "Your Highness! You should not have gotten up!" The same girl entered your room. You took a step backwards, horrified. "S-Sorry for the delay, y-your Highness. I could not find the right herbs."

Twins? They were identical copies of each other, yet so different. You sat down on the bed, eyes glued to her face. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier. What was it?" You  asked, feigning composure. But your hands were shaking in your lap. Her eyes widened even further. "My name is Jina, your highness. Park Jina. I will be your servant for your stay in the palace. No Princess has ever asked me that before." She looked up at you with sudden awe. "Oh." You said, lost for words. Jina ? Jimin?

"Please, let me assist you to the bath, and then I will bandage your wound after you are dressed." She held your arm gently, as you limped across the huge room to another huge set of oak doors.You stopped yourself from shaking off her cold fingers, bone-white against your tanned skin. She let go of you to grab what looked like solid gold handles. Your grandmother, the antiques nerd, had taught you how to identify the real precious metal- shining pompously in the morning sun. Heavy-Jina was struggling to lift it up. Definitely real. But it wasn't surprising. This was a freaking palace after all.

You hated how unwelcoming this place was. It was so big, that you felt you were the only one in it. Everything from the statues to the clothes to the door handles made you feel so out of place, like you were a different person,it was nothing like the concealing black clothes and hidden secrets that you were used to - everything about this place was boastful. An abomination.

"Your majesty? Please, come in." A gentle tap on your shoulder. You flinched, blinking a few times before being brought back. In front of you, you saw a ginormous tub. A fancy hot tub. It looked like a massive piece of beehive- a hexagonal structure, covered with tiles that were the colour of the foam on top of a latte, imprinted with sharp green lines, shapes that looked like shards of glass. Steam fogged your vision, millions of rose petals littered the scalding water, bamboo trees flanked the sides, the thin leaves providing little privacy, the scent of the flower sweet in the air. It was so tiringly beautiful, you had to look away, pinching yourself. "Life isn't a storybook." That's what she had told you, with stinking breath, as you backed away from her fearfully, stepping on all the books strewn around you. Yet, now it was-sort of. Should you smile or slap yourself?

Neither. You looked at Jina expectantly, waiting for her to leave. She looked at you as well, and stepped forward, trying to remove your black sweatshirt. Her eyes caught the glint of the ruby on your neck. You pushed her away. "W-What do you think you're doing?" She backed away, hands raised. "I'm sorry Your Majesty, I j-just thought you wanted help undressing?" Your eyes widened. "NO! I mean no, thank you. Could you please, maybe step outside?" She stared at you, eyes betraying immense confusion. "Yes, of course, It's just the other princesses usually ask- never mind- I'm extremely sorry I- I- uh- I will take your leave now." She bowed low, hands folded, before scurrying outside, her plain, pale blue hanbok flying up a bit, exposing a deep purple scar. "Wai-" But she was already out of the room. Shaking your head, you eyed the bath again.

Gingerly, you removed your black garments and shoes, dropping them to the floor, the tiles cold against your feet. You heaved yourself over the edge, dropping into the comfortingly warm water, body hidden under the petals, surprisingly soft against your scarred skin. Sighing in satisfaction, you slipped further under, hair unburdened and free, spreading out like roots in the water. The ruby necklace floated up,up, towards the surface .
You thought the stone looked like blood, blurred by the water.

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Three knocks. Terse, yet gentle. You sat on the ledge of the tub, a heavy cotton towel wrapped around you, hair plastered to your face, soaking in the silence. "Come in!" You said cheerfully. Death and it's shrouding darkness seemed so far away. This Queen Claiming thing didn't seem like a trap anymore. I mean, why else would they treat you like a princess. Literally, not figuratively. Ha.

That devastatingly handsome face, those cheekbones, the jaw that looked like it could cut. The charmingly slim nose, with hooded, sharp eyes. The killer king- Crown prince- with the cute dimples. You couldn't die, he told you that. He had explained, mockingly, how every contestant would get a place in the palace eventually- whether it be as a court lady, a consort, or, the most sought after title- The Empress. You had your doubts about his honesty, but if you were now considered a princess, he had kept his word. You would be competing .

He had told you, more seriously, that if you choose to accept his offer, you would be under his protection, and therefore under his rule. Escaping had only one consequence. Execution.  You quickly decided  you would
perform your worst in the claiming, become a generic court lady or something until... until you went back. But how would you go back when you didn't know how you got here? You had at least two months before school re-opened, because you had the two week break, and then got to miss the two exam weeks as you had already sat them in the summer holiday (anything better than seeing your mother suffer the whole day!), and then another four under special permission- in other words, they wanted you to have "compassionate'' leave under the "unfortunate circumstances of your father's demise." Four weeks to go from the palace back to hell. Which one was worse? Fun.

The door creaked, and you jumped up. Jina walked in, eyes staring at the floor intensely. She carried a delicately carved wooden tray, the colour of burnt sugar, with brightly coloured clothes on top. "Sorry, Your Majesty, I know you didn't want to be disturbed, but it's very hard to put the Hwarot on- it's not like an ordinary hanbok. Please don't mind. You can put on this slip first." She handed you a beige, cotton piece of fabric, and you put it on. It looked like a dress that a granny would wear. "It's look at me fine now!" You glanced at Jina, and she stared again, confused. Ugh, basic grammar mistake. "It's fine to look at me now!" You thought you could make out a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "Sorry, I'm not from here. But you probably knew that already." She smiled. "No, no, it's just a small grammar mistake, other than that, you are fluent, Your Majesty!" You both walked out of the bath room, and towards a huge gold plated marble table,  with even more exquisite items of care- a jade roller? A cushioned chair, and an elegant mirror, with clay dragons curving around the side.

She walked behind you and tied a silk ribbon around your waist, pulling tightly. Then, a blindingly white piece of silk was buttoned on, like a skirt. And then a matching sleeveless top, tucked under the ribbon. "Sorry, you may not be used to wearing this, it's a bit heavy." She buttoned on a drooping, heavy skirt, red, matching your necklace. Coincidence? You grabbed the silken fabric in your hands, admiring the small flower prints in gold. A lotus, or a water lily. Then, she pulled an even heavier rich, crimson red silk shirt with huge, long sleeves over your head, hiding your arms. You giggled, thinking about how ridiculous you must look. Flailing ostrich much?
── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Is it done?" You whined, bored with just sitting and waiting. "Um- not yet, Princess. We still must add the jewellery and the headdress. We must do the makeup as well. "Nooo..." You muttered. Jina smiled. "If you don't mind me asking, Princess, how old are you?" You laughed. "No, I don't mind. And please don't use any stupid formalities, just speak normally. I'm 18. You?" She laughed as well, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm 21." You snorted. "What!?" she asked, exasperated. "Nothing, you look much younger!" You said, honestly. She beamed.

"So, where in the foreign world are you from?" She asked, using an ornate comb to brush your hair. You hesitated. "I'm-" The main oak door burst open. Jina dropped the brush and you stood up, but fell back down because of your fancy new royal dress. "His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, requests Princess Ruby to accompany him to the palace garden." A guard, covered in black armour, yelled, and stamped his feet, a sword strapped to him, closed the door, and left as quick as he came.

Jina started to tremble. And then she started sprinting around everywhere. She grabbed a powder puff, and began dabbing it on your face. You coughed, the powder going everywhere.  "Powdered pearls- adds a dewy look!" She tried to smile, failed, and then ran to get the next thing.  "Berry extract!" She drew a line of it across your lips, and then shoved a paper in your mouth. "Mmmm!" You protested. "Don't worry, it just evens it out!" Spitting the paper out, you began to complain. "Sorry Princess! Time is of the essence here! The most important thing is the headdress."

She carefully placed a braided golden diadem- band on your head, a small flower engraved with green and red stones in the centre. "OH! Earrings! Can't forget the earrings!" She helped you put on some gold, dangly ones with red drops hanging off the edge. "There! Finished!" She gave you a once-over, and then sighed in relief. "You look- What's the word? Jaw smackingly? Jaw droppingly-gorgeous!" She grinned, and turned you around so you were facing the mirror.

Your big, almond eyes looked even more pronounced because of the kohl lining your eyes. The powder made your caramel skin look soft and supple. Somehow, she had made your crooked nose look elegant, and the rose-bud shape of your lips you usually hated, because they were a distinguishing feature of your mother, were stained cherry-red. They smiled back at you.

It's like you never forgot how beautiful you were, because a younger version of your grandmother was looking back at you.

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