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Minho absolutely did not want to be here. Not just because every single highest-ranking royal that was invited were using the evening as an excuse to suck up to each other. Nor was it because he hated wearing a suit, of which he actually didn't mind all that much. It wasn't because they were serving corned beef, one of his least favorite foods in the world. It wasn't even because his dad was talking and god forbid laughing with King Lin of the Moonstone Kingdom.
It was because of a certain blackout drunk princess, wearing an absolutely horrendous dress. All of the lace and ribbons made him want to hurl. Just like he expected you to do here, any minute now.
How much did you have to drink? The moment he'd laid eyes on you as you stumbled through the door, he knew you were wasted. He knew you had a couple wild friends who you enjoyed partying with, namely Countess Guo Lanhua, and Duchess Jang Jiah. He didn't know a lot about either of them, except that Lanhua was from an extremely wealthy Chinese family, and Jiah's family dealt in expensive weapons.
They probably weren't the best influence on you, he pondered, and he shook his head.
Not that he had much of a say in your life choices nowadays. It had been almost a decade since the two of you had hung out properly, and even longer than that since he could have called you anything resembling a friend.
And you'd both changed so much since you were little. The first time he met you met was when he was seven, and your parents had finally allowed you to attend one of the two royal elementary schools. Kids from both Moonstone and Obsidian were allowed to enroll in both schools, up to each parent's choosing. He was two years your senior, so you were barely five years old. The first thing he remembered was how headstrong you were. Even though you didn't share any classes together, you made your presence known. On that first day at lunch, with everyone standing around your table watching, a kid challenged you to a soba eating contest. Of course, you won by a landslide, and you were still hungry afterwards.
