SPOILT ROYALS | JAEYONG NCT

1: Fated Introductions

Taeyong wasn't ready yet.

He wasn't ready now, he wouldn't be ready tomorrow, he wasn't even remotely ready yesterday when he said his final goodbyes to his family, scared that it may have been the last time he'd see them. No, Taeyong wasn't ready, but halfway to another kingdom in the back of a carriage in the middle of the night he had to force himself to be.

They arrived at the borders of the Jung kingdom at dawn when the town outside the carriage seemed to start to rustle and bustle. The other maids he had been shipped with didn't know of his plan, they were just sent here for work or as part of a debt the Lee kingdom owed to the Jungs. All but one maid though and his name was Haein, he also subsequently had an unbearably tight grip on Taeyong's hand.

"Relax Tae, you're going to blow our cover," Haein leaned over to him to whisper. To the rest of the maids in the bumpy carriage it looked like friendly reassurance but if the tone in his voice was anything to go by, Taeyong knew it was anything but.

Taeyong nodded with a shaky exhale from where he sat and Haein's grip on his hand weakened. Their dimly lit carriage came to an abrupt halt and the maids began to rustle up.

Taeyong held unto the handle of his small suitcase tightly. He didn't own many belongings, just some undergarments, letters his family and few friends had written him before he went off, and a necklace his grandmother had given to him on his deathbed. All decrepit and useless items but to him they meant the world. They were literally his world since he was being thrust into someone else's.

The driver at the front seat called them out gruffly and Taeyong was pulled out of his reverie. He watched as the rest of the workers got up before realising he probably should too and made his way out of the carriage awkwardly behind them. The carriage had stopped in front of the gates of a large caste, big, bold, and magnificent, nothing particularly new, Taeyong had seen it all before, but the Jung kingdom was different in a way. There was something in the air that told him this place was going to change his life.

Or maybe not. He'd been listening to too many of the townsfolk's made up stories.

"Welcome everybody." A large man dressed in a large, dark blue robe clapped his hands loudly at the handful of workers that had gotten a job in the royal house. "I'm Sir Doyoung," he clasped his hands behind his back. "Welcome to the Jung Kingdom."

The man - Sir Doyoung - scanned the crowd, everyone trained to be calm and composed and except that Taeyong alone was fidgeting. The anxiousness that he felt in the carriage was clawing up his throat and making him nauseous as Sir Doyoung eyed them in a line.

"You," he suddenly pointed a finger at Taeyong, "Introduce yourself."

Taeyong's eyes shot up and darted towards Haein for help. Haein looked straight forward, purposefully avoiding his gaze. Taeyong was meant to keep a relatively low profile yet how could he do that if all eyes were on him from the very first day. He looked back at Sir Doyoung who was staring at him expectantly but sporting a gummy smile that was surprisingly kind of reassuring.

"I'm Taeyong," he said quietly. "Taeyong," he repeated himself firmly and louder this time. Sir Doyoung's smile seemed to widen - if that was even possible - and he moved unto the next person in line smoothly, not commenting on Taeyong's obvious slip up.

There's no room for mistakes.

He reminded himself as the man did his introductions, mistakes could cost you your life. Mistakes could cost him his family's life.

"Well done everybody. Now, as soon as we grace the halls you must behave proper." Sir Doyoung's voice called for attention. "The Crown Prince will be there to greet us before you will have the head maids show you around. This is your first day and please make no mistakes." Doyoung quirked a brow and Taeyong cheeks warmed at his insinuation.