Prince of Hearts

Chapter 2: That Moment

[Recommended background Music: Crowd Hammer - Kevin MacLeod]

[Y/N]

"Don't you want to take a look at yourself, Princess?" Cordelia asked as she fixed the last of your curls into place with a pin.

You touched your hair with a finger, almost afraid that it will all come undone if you even so much as breathed.

"I trust you, Cordelia. You always make me look more like a Princess than I have a right to. I don't need to look."

"Still", she said, turning you to face the large mirror in the dressing room. "It feels good when my work is seen and appreciated."

You caught your own eyes in the mirror, staring in disbelief. Just like every other time.

Who was she? Who was this creature before you in the mirror?

Her eyes were bright, hooded by dark sweeping lashes. Her lips were an enticing shade of berry-red. Her hair was gathered into a flower-like shape, the rest of it falling in graceful ringlets over her shoulders. Her dress was long, clinging to her figure up to the waist and then falling to the ground in an emerald waterfall, the colour somehow making her complexion even more beautiful.

"You look gorgeous, don't you?" Cordelia half-whispered, half-giggled.

"It's more your talent than my beauty", you said, turning from the mirror. "Thank you, Cordelia."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Not just for this," you said, pointing at yourself, "But for... everything. For having my back all this time. For letting me sneak out of this awful place."

You touched her hand.

"For being my friend."

She smiled gently, curtsying in front of you before holding the door open.

"Cordelia", you called.

She looked at you.

"I'm scared."

"Don't be, Princess. I believe in you."

The two bodyguards in front of your room fell into step with you, following you just one pace behind as you made your way down the hallway.

Cordelia couldn't walk next to you either, according to protocol. She was your maid-in-waiting, after all, even though you thought of her more as a sister.

The sounds were getting louder and louder with each step.

It was a celebration, after all. The visit of a foreign envoy demanded festivities. The people were probably enjoying the meat and the mead outside of palace doors.

It had been fifty years, you had heard the courtiers talking among themselves.

Fifty years since an envoy had been sent from Enmore-- the neighbouring kingdom.

The two dynasties had always been proclaimed enemies. Each seeking to overthrow the other, either through war or through some other underhanded means.

It had carried on through generations.

And now, at last, an opportunity for peace was presenting itself.

Father had been ecstatic, though Mother had seemed more suspicious of the move.

Aldreth was no match for Enmore in, well, almost everything.

They were bigger, stronger, wealthier.

It was only natural that Father would be happy at a chance of ensuring peace between the two kingdoms. Another war would mean devastation for the already weakening Aldreth.

The grand staircase that led down to the hall was decorated in red and green-- the colours of the two kingdoms.

As you walked down, flanked by your guards, you cast your eyes around the place.

They were there, on the dais, at the grand table. Father sat in the middle, Mother on his left. Both of them smiling gracefully.

Your elder sisters-- Elena and Fiona-- sat at the smaller tables to the side. Each with her husband.

The envoy from Enmore, you guessed, was the man sitting on Father's right.

You had expected someone older. A diplomat had to have some experience, after all? But the man who sat there, dressed in the royal colours--oh.

Royal colours. The crown on his head.

Prince.

The Prince.

Heir.

Park Jimin, the crown prince of Enmore.

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[Jimin]

Jimin had settled into the seat next to the King's. The courtiers were still taking their seats at the tables that lined the hall, the hum of conversation still going.

"What do you think of the palace, Prince Jimin?" The king asked, smiling benevolently.

"It is quite beautiful, Your Majesty. I was struck by its magnificence the moment it appeared on the horizon. Perhaps the most impressive structure I have laid my eyes on in my life", he lied through his teeth.

"You flatter me, Prince." The old man smiled again.

Yes, I flatter you. Because I have to. Couldn't father have sent someone else for the job? This place looks dull and drab. Nothing compared to--

He swept his eyes up the pillars, the carved ceiling, the grand staircase--

A hush had fallen over everything. Like a magic spell.

"Her royal highness Y/N, the Third Princess of Aldreth", a voice announced loudly, followed by a short blast of trumpets.

Jimin sucked in a breath.

The palace might be nothing impressive, but her--

Well, this job might be more rewarding than I thought it would be.

His eyes were fixed on her as she walked down the stairs, greeting her father, mother, and him in turn.

She took her seat next to him.

What was that fragrance? Jasmine? Myrrh? It was a heady scent.

Mild, but intoxicating all the same.

The king cleared his throat, standing from his seat, raising a goblet filled to the brim with sparkling red liquid.

"Let the feast begin!"

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Cheers!