Reader x Obi {Snow White And The Red Hair}

roses

The summer of my 19th birthday, the new king Izana sent out letters to all the nearby villages, and i received one. The contents were inviting every noble single young woman to a ball where they might have the chance to meet the second prince.

Prince Zen had come of age where he had to find himself a suitress to marry. I'll be honest and say i wasn't interested in the slightest about meeting him, even less having the possibility of marrying him.

I would rather focus on my studies in becoming a nurse instead but my dad has been wanting to marry me for over a year now, so when this opportunity came up, he wouldn't let me escape. I was forced to put on a fancy dress and go into this society gathering.

The maids came early that morning in my room to prepare me for the ball. They started by drawing me a bath with rose petals to give me a more feminine natural perfume and scrubed me clean from head to toe. They put a corset on me, tightening it just enough to accentuate my slim figure and still letting me breathe.

They then laced up my gown, which, to be fair, was gorgeous. It was of a simple color, flowing gracefully at my every step. The fabric was light but opaque enough. The top had a deep v shape that would refine my neck attributes, and the shoulder straps would fall to the side a bit.

It had a small open back and ended a little below my ankles. I'm not usually comfortable in ball dresses, but in this one, i felt magnificent. The maids gave me a half up hairstyle with little braids on each side of my head and threaded some beads in my hair for decoration. I put on a matching pearl necklace and bracelet with some shiny dangle earrings.

The maids helped me with putting on some light makeup before i was finally ready to go. I stepped downstairs and bid my parents' farewell, my mom crying at the sight of me, maybe never coming back and going off marrying the prince. A carriage was waiting for me right outside and took me to the castle.

Right before stepping out, the coachman handed me a mask that would cover the upper half of my face since this was a bal masqué. I walked in, and then was astonished at the ballroom. There were golden and silver decorations all around. Every guest was well dressed, composed of mainly women here to charm the prince.

Though he himself was nowhere to be seen. Being here to enjoy myself, i walked over to the buffet and placed some food onto a plate. The dishes served were delectable, making me smile delightfully with every bite. I then walked around, talking with some group of girls who were fangirling over the prince.

I soon grew tired of listening to them and went out to the garden for some fresh air. I walked around the path and eventually stumbled upon a bush of roses. I reached one of my hands over to take one, but a hand landed on top of mine, stopping its movements.

Startled, i froze and looked over my shoulder behind me. There stood a man i had never seen before, wearing some unique attire. "What are you doing here, miss?"

His voice sent shivers down my spine. It was somewhat deep and serious, almost threatening, to let me know i wasn't supposed to be here. I swiftly turned around, and he let go of my hand. I looked up at his face and met his cat-like eyes, staring back at me. I felt my heart skip a beat. 'He's handsome...' i thought.

"I was just getting some fresh air after being in there with all these people. Can i not be here, sir?" I asked, not showing my nervousness. It was dark out, but i think i could decifer some sort of smirk on his lips. "Indeed, these are private grounds, I'll guide you back to the party where you can stay on the balcony if you need to be outside."

He held out his arm sternly, and i held on as he walked me back. We stayed in a comfortable silence, and when we arrived at the balcony, he bowed to me goodbye before disappearing away in the darkness of the night.

I wondered for the rest of the night if i could ever meet that gentleman again.

Obi's pov

That night, even i was expected to attend, but as soon as i could, i escaped away and hid in an empty room. I did as i would always and just stand on the balcony looking at the stary night. I eventually looked over at the garden, and that's when i saw her. Even in the dark, her delicate features striked my eyes as i admired her. She was walking around when she suddenly stopped and reached for a rose.

I knew those weren't trimed to she was about to stab herself on the thorns of the stem. I approached her from behind and grabbed her hand, stopping her action. I made sure to give my voice a serious tone to let her know she wasn't supposed to be here. Though when she turned to face me, i immediately let go as i got nervous. She was absolutely gorgeous even with the mask hiding half of her face. On top of that, she showed no sign of nervousness around me, which was surprising for a noble woman.

I brought her back to the party and walked away, wondering if i could ever see her again and be able to recognize her without her mask.

All i could recall was her sweet scent of roses.