#mntax

You had begun working as a maid at the palace in your early teens and you had thoroughly enjoyed it. The head maid at that time was definitely strict, but she had never given up on you. You worked your way from scrubbing the bathroom floors, to taking over your mentor’s position when the time came for her to step down. She had told you she had chosen you to take over and you were flooded with happiness, but you weren’t sure you were up to the task. She had always said you were a great worker, but you were a little too soft. When you brought your worries up, she gave you a tired smile and told you to use that to your advantage, just because she was rough around the edges didn’t mean you had to be. Use what worked for you. So, you had and it had worked. You had an amazing staff under you and you were looked up to.

Leading Seo-yun down the hall to the kitchen, you came across Seungcheol and Jeonghan, and you quickly stopped to curtsey before the new king. You had known him for years, and you knew he hated when you did it, but he was king now and you knew to show the proper respect. You heard a sigh and lifted your head to see a slight pout on Seungcheol’s face and a narrow eyed Jeonghan. “You know I really hate when you do that, Y/N” he spoke to you in a rather casual manner. Moving your eyes to the girl on your left and back to his quickly you gave him a quick “Just showing the proper respect, Your Majesty” causing a snort from Jeonghan before he quickly recovered. The adviser’s eyes suddenly grew wide in recognition, “You! You’re the one who broke the vase this morning! Do you know how important that vase was?” You cleared your throat before he could start in again. Seungcheol took that moment to tell his friend to calm down. You took that opportunity to curtsey again before giving your parting words. “It was an honor as always, Your Majesty, but I really need to get Seo-yun to the kitchen to see if that’s a better fit for her.” you shifted your eyes to Jeonghan before shifting them back to Seungcheol and continuing. “Have a good day, sir.” You gave him a genuine smile, and hurried your newest maid down the hall, while your heart tried to resume its normal pace.

Seungcheol watched you walk away, invisible strings tugging at his heart, and Jeonghan nudged him signaling it was time to continue towards the meeting room. As he reached his old familiar desk, he let out another sigh, prompting another scolding from his trusty adviser. He flipped through the papers on his desk, looking to see what business he had to attend to in the coming days. Most were routine things, there would be some visiting nobles, an ambassador from the neighboring kingdom, and it seems he had a theft case to review which was not something he had to do much. Once paper in particular caught his eye. As his eyes scanned the words on the page, they widened the farther along he got. 

“Why so soon? I JUST got crowned today. Why are we already planning balls to find me a wife?” His tone gave away just how annoyed Seungcheol was with this process. Sure, he’d always known that he would need a queen, but he didn’t realize he’d need to start the search this soon after being crowned. “Can you calm down, you’re giving me a headache.” Seungcheol watched as his friend rubbed his temples with a sigh as he continued speaking. “Who knows how long it’s going to take you to choose someone, especially since I have to make you stop watching Y/N walk away. It’s better to start the process now.” He knew Jeonghan was right, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Doing his best to force a smile, he looked up. “So. When’s the ball?”

“I mean, she’s a little accident prone, but you can work with that. Please, Mingyu? I can see she works hard, she just needs a starting point.” You knew Mingyu would give in to you, he may have been a big man, but he was sweet. “Ok fine, but she needs to try her best. Jeonghan just informed we that we have a ball next weekend and I have a whole menu to plan and execute” Ball? You hadn’t heard anything about a ball? Jeonghan must have forgotten to tell you when he was busy yelling at Seo-yun. You gave Mingyu a hug, thanking him immensely and told Seo-yun to try hard and to be careful before turning and heading to search for Seokmin to see if he knew anything about this ball.

As Seungcheol lay in his chambers, he thought over the events of the day. Being crowned had felt like such an honor and he was very happy to have the crown, but the other things not so much. He wanted to set into motion helping his kingdom, did he really have to marry someone for that to happen? And someone he didn’t even love at that? Without really meaning for it to, his mind shifted. He began thinking about the encounter in the hallway. He knew that you had only curtseyed like that to set an example for your new maid, but he still hated it. He hated when you acted as if you were below him, because in his eyes you weren’t. You were just Y/N who he had known for years. Just the one woman who owned his heart. 

You awake before the sun the next, heart a little heavy. You had tried to talk yourself into not feeling this way, but it was no use. You didn’t want there to be a ball to find a bride, but you also knew there was no other option. He was a king and you were simply just staff, you had grown used to that feeling, but today it hurt worse.

Seungcheol sat at his desk in the meeting room, finalizing the guest list for the ball. He had been at this for hours and he just needed a break. He stood and stretched, moving into the hallway to walk about the palace. He thought it might be nice to visit with some of the staff, keep up a good relationship with the people he employed. He passed the visiting noble, Seungkwan, in the hall and greeted him with a small hello and kept about his way. Thinking on it briefly, he turned to head towards the kitchen. He knew you spent a good amount of time there, but if anyone asked, he could tell them he was checking on the menu. As he neared the kitchen, Jeonghan came storming out, covered in flour. Seungcheol opened his mouth to ask what happened only to be met with a hand and a swift “Don’t.” Chuckling to himself, he turned into the kitchen.

For you, watching Seungcheol walk into a room was like looking directly into the sun. He always seemed to just shine and light up the whole room. He came in, eyes searching the room until he found yours. He gave you a large, genuine smile before turning to Mingyu. You could hear them discussing the menu for the ball, and your heart did that nasty twist again. You tried to focus on your task of sweeping, but that proved difficult. Especially when you heard him say your name. “Oh,and Y/N while you’re here. Do you mind walking with me? I’d like to go over some details for the ball.” You had never wanted to say no to him more than you did right now, but you did your best to smile and nodded.

Walking through the halls, you were both silent. Seungcheol wanted to speak, but he couldn't seem to make himself. When you had finally reached the ballroom, he had finally talked himself into letting the words flow, but it seemed his mouth and his mind had two different plans. "We've decided to use blue and gold for the decorations." That was in no way what he had wanted to say. Why had that come out?  He didn't want to talk about decorations, he wanted to ask you if you would be attending. Looking toward you, he saw you give a small nod and look around the room to start your planning. After staring at you for a few beats, he opened his mouth to speak again. 

“Will you be attending the ball?” You heard the words come out of his mouth, but you weren’t sure you were hearing them correctly. Why did it matter if you were attending? And why would he want to know? You continued to look around the room, deciding what was going to go where. You could hang nice royal blue curtains from the window on the right, and do gold curtains on the left. You knew there was a nice gold and blue rug you could have placed at the door. You needed to make sure the floor got polished so it would shine while guests were dancing.”Y/N?” you heard him call you and you realized you had been so lost in your preparations that you hadn’t answered his question. He looked at you with soft eyes, awaiting your answer. “I hadn’t planned on it. It’s my night off and it isn’t really a place for me.” You spoke softly, eyes on the floor, silently hoping that would be the end of it. Your heart couldn’t take this conversation, and to be honest you really weren’t sure you could hide your disappointment. Seungcheol was quiet for a moment, seemingly taking in your answer before he gave you one of his own. “I’d really like you to be there. It would mean alot to me.” Right then you knew, there was no other option for you. It would hurt to watch him with the many women that would certainly be attending, but you wouldn’t tell him no.

On the morning of the ball, Seungcheol found himself rather anxious. He knew there was a lot riding on tonight. He didn’t HAVE to choose a lady to court tonight, but he knew that it would look good if he did. He didn’t want to rush this process, though. He had hopes things would go his way, but he was ready to fall to a backup plan if they didn’t. He had thought long and hard about his decision and he knew that he had to at least give it a shot. He spent the day making final decisions and making sure everything was as he wanted it. He stood in his room getting ready for the ball with Jeonghan at his side. He gestured to the corner to his right, looking his trusted companion in the eye. “Have that delivered to Y/N’s room.” He could tell his words had somewhat shocked his friend, but they had also talked about his thoughts and though Jeonghan had told him to really think hard, he knew he would be supported if this was what he really wanted. “Are you sure about this?” Jeonghan’s words made him chuckle slightly, before he nodded. He had never been more sure of anything in his life.

Once you were done with making sure everything was absolutely perfect, you headed to your room. Of course you had told Seungcheol you would be at the ball, despite your better judgement, but now you had no idea what you were going to do. Sure, you had some nice clothes, but nothing fitting of a ball. You opened your door, ready to just flop on your bed for a moment to think about how you were going to handle this night, and stopped before you could fall to the bed. Something was amiss. Laid out on your bed was a dress, a dress that you had never seen. It’s long dark blue fabric spread over your bed, ends falling off the edges. Placed neatly on top was a card. “I’d be honored if you wore this tonight- Cheol”

Seungcheol had sweaty palms as he waited to see if you were actually coming. He had already had a few dances and while they were pleasant and beautiful women, they weren’t you. Their smiles didn’t light up rooms and their laughs didn’t make his heart beat faster. As his dance ended, he shifted his weight between feet, knowing someone else would approach him soon. He just happened to look up at the perfect moment. There you were. The dress fit you just as perfectly as he had hoped, and they blue went nicely with your skin, gold trim at the bottom making the look complete. It was like he lost all ability to think. He just stood there for a moment, mouth agape before Jeonghan drifted by and closed muttering to him about just going.

You looked up to see Seungcheol walking in your direction, and he looked divine. His dark hair fell just slightly into his eyes, and you weren’t sure you had ever seen anything more beautiful. His smile lit up his face and your heart just melted right then. All the nervousness and worry you had felt before stepping inside the room melted with it. He stopped in front of you, smile still prominent on his face. “You look beautiful, Y/N.” You blushed slightly at his words, looked down and mumbled a thank you. Lifting your head, you noticed his hand was outstretched towards you and you gently placed your hand in his. He led you to the center of the floor, and while you could see the many disgruntled looks you were getting, you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. If he was going to marry someone else, you would at least have this dance. 

Seungcheol held you close as the music began, nervousness still slightly present. As the two of you moved, it seemed to him as if time had slowed. He could still see and hear the people around, but only a little. He felt as if he had never belonged more than he did in that moment. Neither of you dared speak, afraid to break whatever spell had been cast on you, you just danced. When the song ended, he could hear the soft, sad sigh you made and he felt his heart twist. He never wanted you to be sad and if there was anything in the world he could do to keep that from happening, he would. A woman came up to his left, trying to catch his attention. He gave her a small smile, before letting her know that he would be dancing another dance with you.

You couldn’t hide your surprise at his turning way of the noble woman, but he just smiled before bowing and asking for another dance. You quickly agreed and the music started up again. You were expecting silence again, but Seungcheol seemed to have other plans.”Y/N, I want to thank you for accepting my invitation. I’m so very glad you joined me tonight.” You hid your face slightly, telling him it was no big deal. “Oh, but it is. It means the world to me that you came.” You couldn’t stop the word from falling out of your mouth, even though you wanted to. “Why?” The look on his face was a mixture of confusion and hurt, and you wished you could take it back. He quickly regained his composure, stopping the dance to hold your face in between his hands. “I’m supposed to be looking for someone to be my queen, but I don’t need to. I think I had decided on a queen years ago, it just took me until now to say it. It’s you, Y/N. Always has been. Will you be my queen?”

Your face was a mess of shock, you could just feel it. Seungcheol’s eyes never left your face, waiting for you to answer him. Tears pricked the edges of your eyes. After all these years of pining for a man you could never have, the emotions finally let themselves out. Your hand left your side and landed on top of his hands, and the worry hit. You looked around the room, expecting to see many angry faces, but were met with more smiles than scowls. Even Jeonghan had a small smile. You looked back to Seungcheol and gave him a wide smile and a nod. He gave you a smile back, before planting his lips firmly on yours for a brief but passionate kiss. You were slightly shocked still, but the happiness outweighed that. It was odd to think that you would be looked at as queen one day, but then again, you never could tell Seungcheol no.

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