A Night-Long Lament

scenic route

Y/n springs out of her bed. "Aish...." she hisses under her breath and scans the room. She throws the blankets off of her and peers at the bench near the door.

"No lock on the door...?" She mumbles while picking up the clothes that sit on the bench. Y/n gives them an evaluation, and quickly stops them, making sure she blocks the door with a chair and shuts the curtains.

You look out the window and carefully scan the area. The view is of a beautiful courtyard, accompanied with a garden, and a lake.

"Jeez. How rich are these people?" You tap your foot impatiently, trying to formulate a plan to escape.

A knock throws you out of your thoughts.

"Missus- I've come here to retrieve you for breakfast." A voice comes through the door as y/n turns around and quickly removes the chair from the door. You open it abruptly, as you're faced with an old man in a suit.

"I'm... not hungry." You lie.

"Then just sit at the table and talk."

"I don't feel well."

"I'm not an idiot. Let's go, Missus." He ushers you to a big hall, where you can hear echoes of voice come out of a single room, presumably the dining room.

You carefully step into the dining hall and take a seat in the corner of the table, where there's an empty seat next to you, also making sure to keep to yourself and quietly sit in your seat.

You hear giggles from the right of you.

"Hey, I heard they'll be kicking some people out to lower down the number of girls for a better choice for the princes. Looks like you'll that whoever would want you back home soon!" She sneers at y/n and turns back to her friends, laughing.

You give an exasperated sigh and ignore them.

Just, tolerate them until they stop bothering you y/n... you'll be out of here soon enough.

Y/n takes a sip of her soup while watching the girls happily chat with the princes. One of the princes meet my gaze but quickly look away, as another girl was pestering him.

      "Uhm- Excuse me." Y/n pushes out of her chair and speeds to the bathroom, where she sees one of the guards walking out and heading in your direction.

       You hide behind a corner and open a door leading to a monotone colored room, that's simplistic and empty apart from a bed.

      "Um, pardon me... but you aren't supposed to be in here." A man walks out from what looks like a bathroom and comes up to you, staring you straight in the eye.

      "S-sorry— I got lost on the way to the bathroom and ended up here..." you squirm under his stare.

      "You remember my name right?" He asks suddenly, but still burning eyes into your head.

     "Er—" you look up and scan his face, trying to match it with a name. You suddenly realize he's one of the princes, Yoongi in fact. "Oh, my g—" your hand finds its way to the handle of the huge door, and swing it open, running out back to the dining hall.

     Was that the empty seat next to me? Why was he gone so long?

     You bow when you enter the dining room, as your eyes roam the room for an exit.

     Maybe if I stay here long enough, and examine the place as I go, I can find a possible way out.

     You agree to keep to yourself and try to behave more, in order to get out.

The screeching of a chair against floor rings in your ears.

"So, did you remember my name?" Yoongi gives an enticing smirk.

"Um, yes, I apologize, I momentarily forgot your name Prince Yoongi." You bow your head.

"Mm." He looks away from you and begins to eat his soup.

Over time, the other girls figure out he's come back, and quickly flaunt over him. Showering him with endless attention.

"Do they have any dignity?" You mumble under your breath, making sure to give them several glares in the meantime.

"What?" Yoongi looks at you, curious as to what you said.

"Hm?" You lift your head to see Yoongi looking at you again. "I... I'm not hungry anymore. I'll head off to my room. Thank you for the food." You slither out of his eyesight and make your way back to your room.

Hm? What's this?

You stop when you see large, elegant glass corridors, leading to the backyard. Rose bushes and trees stretch along the lake and perimeter of the castle, offering a welcoming feeling.

The mere aroma of the lake and fresh oxygen are enough to calm you for days. You roam the courtyard, looking and touching anything that catches your eye.

           "Aren't you supposed to be in your room?" A voice calls you, startling you.

           "I—"

           "I was extremely fond of this place when I was younger. My brothers and I always roamed the unseen areas of this place. Just up until we got older and gained responsibilities." Yoongi comes up next to you, gazing at the garden.

           "Yea, me too. I had this small garden back home, and I always played in it, continuously planting random things." You start getting nostalgic and look down at your feet.

            "You wanna go home?" He says suddenly.

             Lifting your head in an instant, you look him in the eyes. "Yes."

             "How? If you escape you'll just be caught again. Probably with a jail sentence on your tail."

             The thought never occurred to you. The whole time, it was 'get out get out get out.' But you never considered the consequences. You stood silent, squeezing your palms into a fist.

             Yoongi looks down at you and gives an encouraging smile. "I'm sure you'll be fine. If  you manage to get cut from this, you'll be home free."  

             "....you don't want to marry someone?" You ask, suddenly intrigued.

            "It's... complicated. I'm supposed to, but I don't feel... anything with anyone here. It's been that way for all these years, my father's been doing this. The whole 'marriage' thing is more beneficial to him than us. Most of the girls who come here come from royal families, so it works out with my father's agenda." He sighs and looks up at the sky. "I don't know. I just don't feel motivated anymore. I'm sure most of the girls already gave up on me, so to doesn't matter to me anyways." He shrugs and drops his gaze to his feet.

            "Not everybody, I mean, you seem nice, so we can be friends." You look up at him an give him a tiny smile.

            "Hah..." he lets out an tired laugh and stretches out his arms. "Wanna head back inside?"

            "Yea."