"i picked this out for you. seems like it suits you best out of everything else" the ball was two days later and the princess still hasn't picked an outfit so her brother had to, in case she'll push it until the very day.
the princess took a look at the dress and mask which was white and gold, instantly thinking of the blazer she had given prince Min Hyung. she zoned out, thinking of what happened that day, how delightful she felt when she spent her birthday with the 7 wonderful princes. "hey, you've been spacing out for awhile. do you like it? it was Mother's" she pursed her lips and nodded before her brother left the room and she took a careful look at the dress.
"smile a little, won't you?" Ivy stepped into the room and held out a bouquet of white roses. it had coincidentally matched with the dress on the tray but she decided to ignore that for awhile. "you do know what makes me happy"
"save it. now that the prince entered your life, he's your happiness right?" she thought of it and she did feel a little more comfortable with the whole royal responsibility and smiled more than before. "guess so"
"don't worry about it. i'm sure things will go well soon between the two of you" she thanked her then was left alone. she took a deep breath before heading to bed.
when the next day came, the princess was nervous even though it was the following day where the ball will be happening. it will be held at the Neo Dream Kingdom and that place was all she went for the past year. she noticed it was always prince Chen Le's birthday ceremony where bad things would happen and she ought to apologise to him for that.
"i'm so nervous for tomorrow, what do i do?!" she had been complaining to Ivy and Min Jung for the past hour which they were so annoyed to the point Min Jung grabbed the princess's shoulders. "just stop moving around and distract yourself! worry about it tomorrow" she sighed and nodded then walked to the hut at the lawn that was newly built and sat down there to get fresh air. maybe that would help her calm down.
the next day
she was so exhausted since she didn't sleep well last night because she was thinking about how to announce her brother's return.
when she was done getting ready, she took a deep breath and left her room to where rowoon and her two assistants were waiting. " you look so gorgeous, prettiest princess in the whole nation?" Min Jung tried to get rid of the tension that the princess felt but it seemed like she was still nervous.
when they arrived at the Neo Dream palace, she decided to head to the lawn to calm her nerves. she sat down at a bench and not long later, she felt something moving near her dress. she started to freak out silently but noticed a puppy whose breed was a bichon and she immediately broke into a huge smile while picking her up.
"hey, little princess" she said softly and patted her which she then snuggled up into her arms. the princess immediately fell in love with her and was distracted until someone had shouted from a distance.
"Dae Gal! where are you, sweetie? Dae Gal?!" prince Chen Le was shouting around to look for someone and she waved to get his attention. "hi, prince Chen Le!" the elated prince ran to her and greeted her as well as noticing she had Dae Gal.
"oh my god, i'm so glad you're in the hands of someone so angelic. thank you, princess Hae Won" she was confused as he took the puppy from her and he noticed that. "oh, her name's Dae Gal. i adopted her recently. she's lovely, isn't she?" she could tell he'd melt for the cute puppy instantly.
"look at the time! i think everyone should be here already. we should head to the ceremony now" she had forgotten all about the ceremony and exhaled sharply before walking alongside prince Chen Le into the ballroom.
the place was filled with guests wearing fancy attire and masquerade masks which was a pretty nice sight. she tries to find her brother but someone had stopped her. he was wearing a basic black suit and a black mask and held out his hand for a handshake but she pretended to look somewhere else which confused the stranger.
"ah you're here, Lucas" a voice spoke behind them and it was prince Ji Sung. she was relieved and walked behind him. she peeked over his shoulders while the two men were visibly confused at her actions. "i can't just talk to random people, especially men, you know what happened the other time" she whispered to prince Ji Sung and he immediately understood. "i'll introduce you two later on, we have somewhere to be" he dragged the princess to where his 6 older siblings were together.
when they walked over, the two of them froze as they looked at each other's outfit. they were both in the same colour, same design. it was all a coincidence, no one had planned for it. "why did no one tell me he's wearing that?!" she whispered to the prince beside her, prince Jeno. "how would i know? i simply told him to wear that and you wore the same design too! i call this fate."
the two royals were still awkward with each other and they can't help but occasionally glance at each other. "Hae Won, i think it's time" her brother called her and she nodded at him, then to the princes before walking up the stage.
'is she announcing their relationship? why did i make this then?' his head had questions and when she tapped the mic, everyone focused on her.
