Out Of The Castle (Soobin X Reader)

15

  "My lady..." Hiyyih hesitated as she stood across from the princess in the large ballroom.

  The princess had told Hiyyih nothing of what they were doing until the princess had gotten her into the ballroom and shooed everyone out except Kai, who was only there by random chance. It seemed near insane for the princess to suggest that Hiyyih teach her how to dance out of the blue. She was shocked to say the least.

  "I beg of you," the princess began. Hiyyih was quick to cut her off.

  "My lady, you needn't beg me. It is unbefitting for a princess to plea to a mere servant," she unintentionally scolding the princess. "Of course I will help you learn, but should you not go to your betrothed for such matters?"

  Hiyyih's question was met with vehement protests from the princess who was swift to explain her nations customs. She had been lenient in the past, but she had seen this belief work in many different situations. Yeonjun and Jiwoo as an example.

  As she thought of her older sisters first dance with Yeonjun before they were betrothed, she felt sadness for the first time since she stepped foot into the castle. She remembered the way the two had an instant connection, meeting on the dance floor for the first time and dancing together as if they'd been doing it their whole life. It had occurred to her how much she missed her siblings despite their constant nagging and incessant nitpicking. She even missed Taehyun and his curt nature, his way of making her feel small with a single glance. She missed it all. But now was not the time for that. She wanted nothing more than compatibility with the prince during their first dance and she could not do that if she didn't learn how to dance.

  "If I may ask, your majesty, why am I here?" Kai asked, stepping closer to the pair.

  "Hiyyih mentioned that you taught her how to do the dance. I figured you may be of some assistance," she told him.

  And so the dance session started. It was very awkward at first, Hiyyih getting used to the male part of the dance. The two of them stepped on each other's toes and tripped over each other. It always ended in a great amount of laughs. Needless to say, Hiyyih and (Y/N) did not have proper chemistry, but the princess figured that would be the case.

  The dance was not too complicated. It was less of a formal waltz type dance and more of a folk dance. A dance that was refined enough to be done by those in the palace yet common enough to be known by some common people.

  "How did you learn to do the dance Kai?" The princess asked as the three of them rested. Her face was gently flushed because of the lingering heat in the ballroom and her breaths were controlled but deep.

  "Oh... Actually the prince taught me," he chuckled.

  "I see. Was it a similar circumstance?" The princess questioned.

  "It was when my lord was very young. He needed someone to practice with before a previous Equinox. He was very traditional when he was young. His dance instructors were all married and he refused to dance with them out of a deep respect. He also refused to dance with any lady brought in for the purpose of practice. Dance is a fairly intimate activity and the prince chose to see it as such whilst others fell away from such practices. My lord was required to know the dance yet he refused to dance with any young lady, even during the equinox celebrations. He stood to the side whilst his father and his mother led the dance. Nevertheless his instructors wished to see that he knew the dance so he enlisted me to learn it with him. It was quite embarrassing," Kai chuckled recalling the events.

  It was fair to say that Kai and Soobin had been together for a long time. Kai and Hiyyih were born into the life of a servant in the castle. Kai was no more than a few years younger than the prince so it was a safe assumption that they'd known each other their entire lives. It was safe to say that Kai was the closest friend that Soobin had.