Devils in Disguise (possessive royals x reader)

12 Unexpected Decision

The village was not as you remembered it. Even though only a couple days passed since you had left and returned from the palace, it changed a lot. At least, the atmosphere did.

The villagers did no longer wear their signatory smiles and warm greetings. Instead there was a somber look on their faces, their age suddenly visible due to the new wrinkles that have emerged over the past days on their faces. A few of them stared unpleasantly at you.

What could have gotten them feeling so uneasy and worried?

You didn't stop to ask anyone about the matter on your way home, though. As the carriage sent you off at the unofficial border of your village, you determinedly walked until you reached the house you lived in with your parents. They'll will definitely know, anyway. You can just ask them after you arrive back home.

“Y/n!” your father's face immediately lightened up after seeing you standing meely in the doorway. He beckoned you closer, further inside, and buried your frame in his hug. “My little girl's finally back! Y/m/n, our daughter is back!” he shouted towards the bedroom where your sick mother lay resting. “Let's go there. Let's go see your ma and you will tell us everything,” he urged you along and you were just as keen to see and know how your mother was doing.

Sitting beside her bed on an uncomfortable wooden chair, you began to talk about your stay at the palace, describing the looks of the majestic building and the princes who took care of you.

Your parents were amazed at the dress you were wearing, too, and you went on about saying how you can sell it, how much money it could get you-

“Definitely no. It's your dress, and you should keep it,” your mother and father immediately hushed your ideas about selling it.

After an hour or so of talking and answering your parents questions - your mother could barely talk, being all sick, and yet she made the effort to ask about your wellbeing - it was finally your turn to ask. About the village, about what happened. It was strange that so much seemed to had changed while you were gone and it had only been a couple days.

“Da, what happened to the villagers? They look so down...”

Your father's thick eyebrows furrowed together, merging into one as his face took on a pitiful expression. “Ever since the prince came here, nothing is the same.” He gesticulated wildly with his hands as he began to explain, “you remember how the prince bought old Jerry's cow? Well, it was the milkman's only source of income and the money he got for the cow - they could've lasted him a year, even, or two. But he used them all, drank it away in the pub with everyone else to celebrate. So now, he's poor, just like us.

And the baker, he needs to wake up when it's still dark to make every pastry and bun the prince had ordered, in time to be delivered and ready for his breakfast. He spent all his flour and ingredients already just on the royal family and so he can't sell them to us anymore. He needs to buy much more stuff for the baked goods now, and the prices in the city are going up all the time - flour is getting twice as expensive as it used to be. And the villagers too have to buy either their own flour to make their own bread at home or buy already baked bread from the merchants, which is much more expensive than while we were buying from mister baker.”

Your father sighed, looking at your mother and caressing her cheek lightly. “Everyone's getting poorer because of these princes and royals... We, simple, innocent villagers have to pay the most for it, while they live off of our money which we worked so hard for, only to spend them on vain luxuries.”

It made sense, everything your father had told you. There was no way things could get better, no idea you could see to improve the situation. Money was hard to come by these days, especially when you were only a simple, forgotten villager no one really cared for. The best things you people could do now was trying to be as humble as possible to save up as much money as you all can amd help each other.