𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖊 | 𝗯𝗲𝗼𝗺𝗴𝘆𝘂

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎 - ୨ৎ

8 years old ㅤ ೀ ㅤ۫ ㅤ۪ㅤ۫ ㅤ ♡ ㅤ 

AERA spent most of her days in the royal gardens. The young princess loved getting lost in the hedge maze, admiring the flowers, and sitting by the tranquil pond to watch all the pretty butterflies flutter past.

It was a sunny day, and Aera had a picture book tucked under her arm as she wandered towards the fountain in the centre of the garden. Her light purple dress swayed in the gentle breeze, and she found herself skipping a little thanks to her joyful mood.

Snap.

Was that the sound of a twig snapping? The young princess slowed down slightly, but didn't deter from her mission of making it to the fountain.

She was soon distracted by the sweet melodies of the birds above and around her, the perfect soundtrack to her morning. Aera smiled to herself, letting the sun warm her face.

Snap.

Okay, now, the princess was curious.

Luckily, she had a lot of experience playing hide-and-seek with her older sisters, Sakura and Eunji. Her loving, yet competitive sisters taught her the art of being stealthy.

Aera pretended all was normal until she suddenly took an abrupt right turn, ducking and hiding behind a tall gardenia bush. She clamped a hand over her mouth to hide her giggles.

This time, she would be the one to ambush them!

Soon enough, she heard the soft crunch crunch of footsteps, the sounds of someone trying not to make their presence obvious. She waited, almost vibrating in anticipation, for the footsteps to come nearer to the bush she was hiding behind.

The unknown person came closer, and Aera knew it was her time to strike.

The princess jumped up, shouting an unceremonious "Boo!" to her stalker. She immediately dropped her book.

The stalker was not one of her sisters. The stalker wasn't even a girl.

A boy stood there, in a loosely fit white button up shirt and black breeches. His brown hair shone in the sunlight, and Aera was instantly reminded of caramel.

He didn't look that much older than her, which confused her even further. "Who are you?" She asked incredulously.

Pretty rude for a princess who was third in line to the throne, but the boy didn't show any signs of being affected by it. He awkwardly pushed some of his bangs out of his face.

"I apologise, Your Royal Highness." He gave a stiff bow, and Aera got the impression that he didn't grow up in royalty. "You weren't supposed to notice me yet."

With a slightly furrowed brow, Aera picked her book up off the ground and rounded the gardenia bush that ridiculously stood between them.

Now that she was in front of him, she could see that they were around the same height. The points of his brown riding boots were scuffed with use.

"Why are you following me?" She interrogated.

"Training." The boy replied simply.

Aera crossed her arms. "For what?"

Her questioning style was unusually intense, but she was still pretty mad at the boy for ruining her game.

"Uh... secret?" replied the boy, in a slightly timid manner now.

That was enough of a reason for the young princess. Still naive to the possible dangers of the real world, she just nodded and accepted it.

She waved the cover of the picture book in front of his face. The sparkly cover read The Princess and the Frog.

"Want to read with me? You can be the frog." Aera flashed him a full gummy smile, a sign of truce between them.

The boy hesitated, looking a tiny bit confused. "Well... if you say so, Your Royal Highness."

She lead him to the fountain, where they sat on the marble edge and basked in the morning warmth of the sun. The sound of the gentle trickles of water behind them restored her previously joyful mood.

The princess started reading aloud, pointing to the pictures along the way. Each time the frog said something, she waited for him to step in and say his line. He never did, and she ended up reading everything, but the smile never left her face anyway.

The boy sat stiffly beside her, watching her in silence. He had a blank expression, but it wasn't unkind either. Every now and then she would glance up and catch the way his brown hair gleamed in the sunlight.

Caramel boy, she thought in her head.

"Aera!" Her father, the king, was calling for her.

She instantly closed her book and turned to her mysterious companion. "Stay here," she whispered (not very loud, though). "My dad is still very strict about boys."

She grinned cheekily, placing a finger over her mouth in a shh gesture. The boy gave a small nod.

Then, leaving her book with the boy, she ran to greet her father, who came to remind her of her afternoon tutoring classes.

By the time she ran back to the fountain, the boy was gone.

The book was still there though, and Aera clutched it to her chest as she looked around curiously.

Bye, caramel boy.