𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 - 𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐨𝐧

(eleven)

"The wedding is today!" A voice shouts from the hallway. I wake up and find that myself and the Princess were asleep, wrapped around each other. Each of us pulls away slowly, maintaining an uncomfortable eye contact the whole time.

"Come on, let's get ready," I say. Princess Siyeon stands up and waits for me to get her outfit for the wedding. It's pretty standard for her: a dress with a large skirt made of fine fabrics perfectly tailored to fit her. I help her tighten the corset on the dress as she complains the whole time.

"Kim Bora, are you even trying? I know this can pull tighter," she says. "If I can take a deep breath, it's not tight enough." I yank on the strings hard, tightening the corset. The Princess shouts, not expecting it. I tie the corset to keep it tight and start to get ready myself. I reach for trousers and a shirt, but the Princess stops me. She holds up a dress and says, "You're wearing this."

The dress is beautiful. My whole family's life savings combined could never get this dress. I feel like I'm not allowed to touch it, let alone wear it. She puts the dress into my hands and begins to do her makeup. My dress is very similar to Princess Siyeon's, sans the corset and sleeves. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and freeze.

With my hair down and this nice dress on, I almost look like one of them. Like I belong here. I'm looking at someone else in this mirror, I have to be. Kim Bora could never be here. This is somebody else, someone who deserves this privilege. Not me.

Cold fingers brush my arms as Princess Siyeon walks up behind me. She keeps her hands on my shoulders as she stares at us in the mirror. "You look very pretty, Kim Bora," she says, "This really suits you." She removes her hands from my shoulders and instead gets busy fixing my dress, pulling and pinning and whatever else she has to do to make it look better. Finally, she combs through my hair gently.

"I should be doing this for you," I tell her.

"You already did," she replies. "You look like a Princess, why not be treated like one for a day?"

Of course I've been jealous of the easy life Princess Siyeon was born into, but I never wanted to be her, to live her life. And here she is anyway, offering me a glimpse of what it's like to be part of her world. Maybe, just maybe, I'd like to know.

We attend the wedding as planned, sitting in the designated family section. We all stand as the bride enters, or rather, brides. They walk hand in hand. One of them is the pretty girl from last night, and with her is a shorter girl with deep red hair and bangs. They arrive at the altar together, and the ceremony begins. It's beautiful, albeit boring due to swearing in the new Queen.

The crowd shuffles out of the chapel and into the ballroom, where a variety of foods are available, and the centre of the room is cleared for dancing. There are tables with place cards on them, and I quickly find Princess Siyeon's. She takes a seat, and I ask if she wants anything to eat. She shakes her head, so I leave alone.

I walk the perimeter of the room, examining all the exotic dishes I've never even heard of. I fill my plate with my favourite foods as well as some new ones to try and return to the table.

"Oh, my god, Kim Bora. That's way too much food. Give me a plate and divide it in half if you value your dignity and mine." Princess Siyeon hisses in my ear. I grab another plate and she helps me divide the food between them. After eating for a while, I glance at the Princess. The food on her plate remains untouched, whereas mine is almost empty already. She whispers, "Don't eat all of it. Eating everything makes it look like you've been starved or you never know when you'll get to eat again."

I shrug and say, "That's because, growing up, I didn't know when I'd be able to eat again. I took food wherever I could get it, and I always brought it home to my family." Her eyes are wide, and I can tell she's uncomfortable. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said so much."

"I didn't know." The Princess isn't looking at me, she's staring at my plate. "I can promise you you'll always have a meal. As long as I'm around, you'll never go hungry again."

Not thinking, I set my hand on top of hers and squeeze gently. "Thank you," I whisper, "But you've already done so much for me; I couldn't accept you treating me any different than anybody else."

She clears her throat and looks away before replying, "You are different from everybody else. I've always been allowed to pick my... person, but nobody sticks around. You've been here twice as long as the previous record." She takes a moment to think. "No, more than that. You've been with me almost a year now. She stayed for four months."

"Forgive me if I'm overstepping, but why did nobody stay? What happened?"

Princess Siyeon finally meets my eyes and says, "I wasn't always this nice, Kim Bora. I behave better for you than for anyone else, and even then I know you've considered quitting, too. I know the face people make when it finally clicks in their head that they hate me. I've seen you make that face several times already. So why did you stay?"

"For the sake of my family," I bluntly answer. I then decide to change the subject to avoid further questioning. "Princess Siyeon, can I have this dance?" She takes my hand and we make our way to the dance floor to dance with the many other couples. I let the Princess lead. She's far more experienced in this than I am, and I trust her to not let me hurt myself or humiliate her.

She whispers in my ear, "You really do look like a Princess tonight." I can't tell if she's joking, but her comment makes me feel good either way, so I let myself take it as a compliment. "I'm serious. Thank you for dancing with me, your highness." She winks as she says the last part and I can't help but laugh.

I bury my face in her shoulder. "Gah, that's embarrassing." I've never been addressed as anything above my status, which is very low, so to hear those words – from the mouth of the Princess, no less! – is very strange and unnerving. It almost feels treasonous just to have heard it.

Princess Siyeon pulls away slightly and puts a finger under my chin to make me look up at her. "I mean it, Kim Bora. Tonight, you're a Princess."