𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐨𝐧

(ten)

The Princess steps out of the carriage first, smiling as a man announces her arrival. I follow after her just in time to hear, "Princess Siyeon, of the Kingdom of Dysuto!" People applaud, and she begins walking toward the open doors of the castle. She extends a hand to me, pulling me after her and linking our elbows.

"Look professional, and don't talk to anybody, alright?" Princess Siyeon says through gritted teeth, pretending she's not crushing my arm with her unreasonably tight hold.

We enter the castle, and immediately the Princess is bombarded with a chorus of "how are you" and "you're so beautiful" from women who arrived before her. Some of them smother her in hugs, others bow respectfully. One kisses her on the cheek! She wipes her face once the girl leaves.

"And who might this pretty lady be?" A woman with a glass of champagne in one hand clamps the other hand on my shoulder. I try to silently beg the Princess for help with my eyes. "Oh, you're shy," the woman coos, pinching my cheek. "What kingdom are you from? I don't think I've seen you before! Are you foreign?"

Suddenly an arm is between me and the woman, gently pulling me back and away. I look up to see Princess Siyeon. She wraps an arm around my waist and rests her hand on my hip as she answers all of the questions for me. "This is Kim Bora," she says, "My girlfriend. She is a bit shy, so please give her some space." Once more several voices are shouting at her, this time congratulating her on her relationship. She thanks them, and even I would be convinced by her act if I didn't know her.

She politely excuses us and drags me away from the crowd. "Crazy old bats," she whispers, "Can't stand them." I try not to laugh at the change in the Princess' demeanour.

"Hi, Siyeon!" A pretty girl with long, dark hair runs up and throws her arms around the Princess. "Oh my god, it's so good to see you. I'm so glad you could make it." She notices me, then looks away. I'm almost hurt by it. Can they all tell I'm a commoner? Do they think I'm here as an assistant? It wouldn't exactly be wrong, but the Queen wanted me to really sell this whole 'girlfriend' story.

Princess Siyeon is so absorbed in her conversation with that other pretty girl that she doesn't see someone approaching me. I'm not supposed to talk to anyone. I just need to look like I belong and not disobey the Princess. But wouldn't it be rude not to respond to the gorgeous girl who just said 'hello'? I can make small talk.

"Hi, I'm Bora," I tell her, holding out a hand.

She shakes it and responds, "My name is Momo. Where are you from?"

"Dysuto, and you?"

Momo smiles. "I'm on staff here, but I'll be moving to Dysuto next month! Oh, no, I'm being so informal! Are you the Princess?"

I can't help but laugh. "I'm not the Princess, I'm on staff as well. Chaperoning." I point to Princess Siyeon and tell Momo who she is. At the mention of her name, the Princess turns around and walks toward us.

"Hello, your highness," Momo says, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Momo, a friend of Bora's."

The Princess narrows her eyes. "Kim Bora, I think it's about time we find our room, right?" She says. "The sun is setting and we've had a long two days of travelling. Come on." I follow the Princess, waving at Momo as I go. Princess Siyeon scoffs and grabs my wrist, practically dragging me through the crowd. We find our room number and see our luggage already inside. Princess Siyeon slams the door and crosses her arms.

"So, what happened to not talking to anyone? You're at a royal wedding, for God's sake! Royals get offended if you hold your wine glass wrong. Imagine how bothered they'd be if they heard province dialect or slang." Princess Siyeon runs a hand through her hair and sits on the edge of the bed, looking defeated.

I don't see the problem with talking to Momo. She's sweet and she's beautiful and she wouldn't have ditched me in a room full of strangers. "She's so pretty, she could kill me and I'd thank her," I whisper, laughing at my own joke.

"I'd thank her too," the Princess grumbles.

There's no point in trying to argue with her, so I just offer to brush her hair and remove her makeup so she can go to sleep. She nods while yawning, so I do what I offered to do. First I remove her makeup. Then I remove all pins and clips from her hair and brush out any tangles. And finally, I help her change out of the dress with too many buttons and buckles to count. The entire back of the dress is buttoned. It's a nightmare.

Only after removing all of the flashy things that signify royalty do I realise how much pressure is put on royal people. That's why everybody's so stiff and stuck up all the time – there's a high standard, just like the Queen said.

I remove my own disguise and lay it out neatly on an armchair. Then I take the extra blanket from the closet and wrap myself up, lying down on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Kim Bora..." She's hardly understandable, she's so tired. "I'm cold." I glance at the blanket wrapped around me and sigh. I have to do my job. So I give the Princess the only extra blanket. She whines and pushes it off. "Come lay with me, you're always warm," she demands.

"At your service, Princess." I awkwardly lie down next to her, staring at the ceiling and praying Princess Siyeon remembers asking me to do this, otherwise she'll threaten my life again.