ATEEZ (Imagines, Scenarios, AUs, and More!)

Masquerade (Kim Hongjoong)

Genre: Angst, Royal Masquerade Ball!AU
Request: "inspired by your icon (ha) would you be willing to write a masquerade them for Hongjoong? like you meet a tall (not so tall in this case) dark stranger at a masquerade ball and share a dance?" by Eomma Rainah
Warnings: Consumption of alcohol, violence.
Summary: A maid, posing as nobility at a royal ball? What could possibly go wrong? (Hint: everything.)
A/N: Here it is Eomma! I hope it's alright – I really, uh, expanded upon your request here xDD (It's so messy though, I couldn't find my notes for the plot, aaaaahhh)

Above moodboard is mine; please don't repost.

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"Oh this is so exciting, Y/N! Think of it – a royal ball! A masquerade ball, nonetheless! Oh, I could just faint! I can't believe I was on the invitation list! Oh, isn't it simply fantastic?"

"Yes, milady."

"Oh, oh, but I have nothing to wear! What does one wear to a royal masquerade ball? Oh dear, oh dear... oh, if only Father was here!"

You watch silently as Lady Anne flits around her room like a crazed butterfly, her silk nightgown fluttering around her, stirred up by her frantic movements. "Shall I send for the dress-maker, milady?"

"Oh, no no no, there's no time for that!" Anne gasps. "The ball is in a week! A week! And with all the other last-minute orders, oh dear, oh dear, the seamstress would never have enough time to finish them all properly! She might not sew on the pearls correctly, and they might fall off while dancing, or the stiches might not be tight enough, and the dress could tear mid-waltz! Oh, oh..."

It's a little amusing, seeing Lady Anne in such a desperate state over a mere dress for the ball. You've seen it a few times before, and it never seems to get old, the way she talks about it as if it were a life-and-death situation. Maybe for some nobles, it is, as any sort of royal festivities are opportunities to forge alliances and spot potential political enemies. Anne's father, however, governs only a tiny plot of land in comparison to other nobles, comprised of only a few towns that don't produce anything more than potatoes and pack mules – hardly goods worth any sort of political warfare over. Then again, maybe that's why Anne is so thrilled to be invited, because her family's domain is so small that it's often overlooked when creating the guest list.

"Maybe if I ask Dayeon to spruce up last year's birthday gown," she muses, rushing to her behemoth of a wardrobe and digging through the dresses, tossing one after another onto her bed. "She could add a bit more of that nice gold embroidery, and if I give her that ugly old necklace Aunt Lettie gave me, she could sew on the jewels and make it simply scrumptious! I knew it was a good thing I didn't throw that monstrosity out – the jewels themselves really are quite well cut, it's just the style that is so hideous!"

Anne continuous to ramble on, tossing you the emerald green dress when she finds it, then the so-called "hideous" necklace, strung with gemstones the size of robin eggs.

"Be a dear and take that down to Dayeon, would you, Y/N?" Anne instructs, walking over to her vanity and digging through her jewelry drawers. "Then come back up and help me with the rest."

"Yes, milady." So you shuffle out of the room, the silk and velvet gown rustling in your arms, inform Dayeon of the fuss, then return to Anne's room to find her sitting before her vanity mirror, trying on a variety of kohl liners and lip rouges.

"Ah, Y/N, come here and help me with this~" she pleads when she sees you walk in, stretching her hand out and offering you the kohl. "I can't do this on my own!"

"I don't think you'll need any liner, milady," you politely inform her. "After all, no one will be able to see it from behind the mask."

Anne throws up her hands in dismay, a squeak slipping past her lips. "Ah! See? I'm such a mess, I'm so nervous... oh dear, oh dear... this is my first ball without someone to go with me! Oh how I wish Father wasn't away on business..."