not me silently dropping an update after almost an entire year of silence ... i'm so sorry chat LMFAO
the parasites in my brain decided i was absolutely horrible at writing and should never show my face again BUT i have overcome my demons and am back ٩(^ᴗ^)۶
chapter two: a kind prince | next chapter | main masterlist | wc : 1221
“the princess of aeridinia has arrived! open the palace gates!”
with the soldiers of tennokuni announcing your arrival, the long journey had finally come to an end. yuriko had been glued to the carriage window since the moment it’s wheels had touched foreign soil, and her incessant commentary had allowed your mind reprieve from your mental fatigue.
“huh? is the prince not here to welcome you my lady?” the younger girl’s features are pulled into a frown as she peers out the window, clearly dissatisfied with the less than grand welcoming. “i understand that you’re a foreigner but you’re still a princess!”
“it’s alright lily, i expected as much anyway. now let’s not cause a fuss and head out gracefully, shall we?” you stifle a chuckle at her childish ‘humph!’, grateful that in such an unfamiliar place you still had someone to get angry on your behalf.
your handmaiden exits the carriage first, and offers a hand to help you down. but just as you were about to take her offer, your palm meets the grip of one with a much more pale complexion. eyes darting up to identify the stranger, you’re met with a tall blonde man.
“please excuse my late arrival, princess. i was tending to personal matters.” a pair of thin silver frames adorned his face, accentuating his sharp golden eyes. his gaze was cold, and despite the formalities, his tone came off as uninterested.
“it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. i’m tsukishima kei.” he bows respectfully, letting go of your hand and begins leading you inside the palace, remaining silent for the rest of the walk leaving his identity a mystery.
tsukishima leaves you with some palace maids, stating that they’ll be taking care of you for the evening and have already been made aware of the dinner plans prior. he takes his leave without so much as a farewell, and you wonder what could’ve happened to put him in such a sour mood.
yuriko is a few steps behind you, familiarising herself with the maids whose care you were entrusted to. you assume you’re to meet with the emperor and empress sometime tonight, but aren’t curious enough to bring yourself to ask for any details.
the room you’ve been assigned is gorgeous, the intricate architecture is completely different to what you’re used to seeing back home. your surroundings are devoid of any expensive marble or stained glass, but that isn’t to say that the palace is not grand.
the rich red wood walls pair beautifully with the precious jade stones, watercolour artworks splayed across the large wall depicting a lush bamboo scenery and two tigers. you gently run your fingers over top the painting marvelling at the skillful brush strokes.
“your highness? forgive me for interrupting but we were instructed to bathe you before the banquet tonight.” a young maid had approached you, fearful eyes glued to the ground avoiding your gaze.
“i see, thank you..” you trail off, realising you hadn’t exchanged names with either of the two women assigned to you. the girl before you senses your hesitance, cautiously peeking up as she introduces herself.
“my name is yachi, your highness. it’s a pleasure to serve you.”
“yn. it’s nice to meet you too.” you smile at the meek blonde, finding her anxious nature to be quite endearing. “do you think of me as a barbarian, yachi?” raising a brow, you question her.
“no! goodness no! i would never dare!” yachi exclaims in protest, shaking her hands as she pleads earnestly, clearly afraid of upsetting the unfamiliar royal. yuriko watches on in amusement, rolling her eyes at your antics.
“then you may relax. i don’t bite unless provoked.” your hand reaches out to squeeze the fat of her cheek gently, playful smile tugging at your lips. you hoped that not everyone would be this fearful in your presence, although you were aware of the less than ideal image they must have had of your people.
thankfully yachi seems to quickly warm up to you and yuriko as the night goes on, helping you into the elegant gown that had been prepared by the prince you were to wed. the garment was of a soft lilac fabric, with fine floral embroidery skirting the hem.
a few matching flower pieces were littered in your long, luscious hair, that now had a few neat braids thanks to the women’s help. it had been awhile since you were this dolled up.
“you look so beautiful your highness, i’m sure the prince will fall head over heels in love once he lays his eyes on you tonight!” your hand maiden is giddy, fawning over your reflection in the mirror, giggling like a young girl.
“what is the prince that i’m to marry like, yachi?” you turn on your stool to face the two ladies, since your meeting with your fiance was drawing near, your curiosity had finally piqued.
the blonde girl has a perplexed look on her face, frows burrowing ever so slightly at your question. “i believe you’ve already met him your highness. earlier today, when he walked you to your chambers.”
you recall the emotionless male from earlier with the glasses, face scrunching. you supposed it could be worse, he could’ve been extremely overbearing or, a womaniser. settling for someone of his nature wouldn’t be the end of the world.
plus, it’s not like this was a marriage of love anyway, more so one that was borne out of convenience. this was simply your duty as a princess, and you had long given up on fighting against your fate.
smoothing out your gown as you stand up, you dismiss the other servants and allow yachi to lead the way to the banquet hall. servants stopped to bow and greet you whenever your paths crossed, yet you could feel the cautiousness in their every movement.
you hoped that things would settle soon, you weren’t very interested in having everyone around you walk on eggshells whenever you were near. standing in front of the banquet hall’s doors, a servant announces your arrival as you make your first appearance before the emperor and empress.
every pair of eyes were immediately glued onto you, and you assumed that the various other people in attendance were higher ranking disciplinaries and scholars, eager to get a glimpse of their new princess to be.
“good evening, i am princess yn of aeridinia. i am honoured to make your acquaintance.” you bow your head to the rulers as a sign of respect, introducing yourself. the emperor lets out a jolly laugh, beckoning you closer to take a seat at his table with the rest of the royalty.
“it is my greatest honour to welcome you to tennokuni, princess.” his smile is warm and welcoming, and you feel like you take your first breath of fresh air in his presence. “i trust my son here has been a gentleman?”
you lock eyes with tsukishima for a brief second, before he returns his gaze to the plate of food in front of him, lips pressed in a tight line.
“yes, your majesty. he has been very kind since my arrival.” if one considered saying two sentences to your fiancee whom you’ve just met then completely disappearing, kind, then yes. prince tsukishima kei had been very kind.
# mew's notes :
silently dropping this update after like 10 months ...
this was written forever ago but i decided it was awful and it's been rotting in my docs ever since
hope u enjoy LOL!! also removed previous tags cus its been almost a year, but do lmk if anyone wants to be added to a tag list :)
you walk side by side with hina, the both of you clutching various empty water bottles in your arms as you head to refill the boys drinks. she had been chattering away about something trivial, animatedly retelling the plot of some romance show she’d recently been watching.
“so, how’d the date with kageyama go?” hina asks with a grin, turning to meet your now surprised gaze. it’s not like you weren’t waiting for her to ask anyway.
“well, like i told you and kemi before, pretty good i’d say. he was sweet and a gentleman, but pretty awkward at random times. it was cute though.” you recall the day with a small smile, unable to find any noticeable faults in the raven haired boy.
“has he confessed to you yet?” the brunette sticks a bottle under the tap, letting it run as she turns towards you with her full attention. her arms cross and she tilts her head expectantly, a gentle breeze blowing through her hair.
“no, he hasn’t.” your response is rather lacklustre, and you can tell from the way her face scrunches up in disappointment that she was expecting a little bit more gossip. a deep exhale leaves your nose as you silently switch out the now full bottle, the flowing sound of water ringing in your ears.
for some reason, all this talk about your first date was bringing your mood down. although it wasn’t in your nature to fawn over boys as most other teenage girls your age would, you’d expected to find some excitement in this.
instead, your stomach felt like it was lurching itself into knots, your mind hazy and thoughts unclear. wasn’t love supposed to be simple? could you even call whatever you were feeling love anyway?
“hina.. can i tell you something?” you allow your eyes to flicker over to your friend for a brief moment, before returning your gaze to the dirt beneath your shoes and continuing. “um, well the other night, rin and i kinda, sorta.. hung out?” you avoided your friend’s eyes, afraid that she may react negatively due to her close bond with akemi.
“how’d it go?” hina’s simple reply surprises you, and your eyes widen as you look back up at her as she switches out another bottle.
“it was.. really nice actually. i didn’t think we’d ever be able to hang out like that again.”
“what made you think that?” there’s an unfamiliar expression on the usually cheery girl’s face, and you can feel the mood shift.
“because of, you know.. akemi.” hina shuts off the tap, the now familiar sound of running water ceases as the pair of you are stood in silence. you swallow hard, and you can feel your heart rate beginning to increase as your anxiety grows.
you had avoided talking about whatever your relationship with suna rintaro was after akemi had suddenly confessed her feelings, and there was no doubt hina had also noticed. the two were always an inseparable pair, and you’d only managed to become friends with them by chance.
despite the close friendship you’ve managed to nurture with both girls, there was always a part of you that thought that if it came down to it, they’d always choose each other over you. this was something you had long accepted, but unsurprisingly, it still stung.
a silence settles over the two of you as you make your way back to the gym, your load now much heavier than before. hina is uncharacteristically quiet, further feeding into your rapidly growing nerves.
the rest of training goes by in a blur as you quietly complete your duties, receding into a corner whenever possible. your mind was heavy as was your heart, the idea of potentially ruining your friendship with hina and akemi was clouding your thoughts.
rintaro clicks his tongue in annoyance, the occasional buzzing in is pocket further reminding him just how much of a colossal waste of his time this was. he’s got his back against the wall, both hands shoved into his hoodie pocket, staring aimlessly ahead as he waits for the girls in front of him to finish speaking.
“i’m sorry, but why am i here exactly?” suna interrupts the conversation, finding himself too impatient to continue waiting idly for an opportunity to speak up.
“oh! sorry suna!” akemi giggles, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. “i wanted to ask you to invite your friends on the volleyball team, since i’m not very close with anyone else besides you.” the blonde girl’s saccharine voice and fluttering eyelashes would have usually sent any other male to his knees, but suna’s indifference only further fanned the flames of her infatuation.
“you could’ve asked the twins. ’m busy so i’ve got to go, sorry.” readjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder, suna straightens up, hoping to make a beeline to the gates. he wonders if you were still waiting, and how mad you’d be.
a small smile flashes across his features at the thought of your annoyed frown and no doubt sassy remark you would have prepared. that’s if you’re still there of course. he hopes you are.
“please suna?” akemi suddenly grabs onto his arm with both her hands, pleading tone and big doe eyes staring up at him. “it’s for hina, after all.”
the male glances over at his manager, whose expression has guilt written all over. he lets out a sigh, shaking his head. “yeah, yeah alright fine. whatever.” he agrees, hoping to spare both himself and hina any further awkwardness. suna gently retracts his arm from akemi’’s grasp and wordlessly takes his leave. he was already extremely late and the fact that it was over something he deemed so stupid irritated him to no end.
# mew's notes :
akemi doesn't think theres anything wrong with a white lie every now & then
yn stopped at a convenience store for a sweet treat, and ran into tobio
suna stopped responding because "he doesn't care" ...
if your username is purple, it means i've had issues tagging you. your blog may be hidden, just shoot me an ask/leave a comment if you'd like me to try again! ᡣ𐭩
hello lovely people!! i am (unfortunately) still alive jkjk but i've been SWAMPED with work lately and life is just really chaotic right now so i haven't been able to find the time to write anything (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ) things should be calming down in the next 2-3 weeks so i'll persevere and hopefully be able to post soon. thank you for bearing with me in the meantime & pls don't hesitate to shoot me an ask about whatever u want!!! i love chatting w u guys o(^▽^)o WAKA CHAN OUT
akemi's abt to catch these hands if she don't back the fuck up 😋
side note I rlly love ur writing style and I've been reading more of your works and they're so good!!🫶
u have no idea how much that means to me anon (o̴̶̷᷄ ᯅ o̴̶̷̥᷅)
i struggle to write sometimes cus im such a perfectionist and i feel like my work isn't good enough SOBS but i try to tell myself any writing is better than none :'))
thank you for taking the time to read my silly little stories <3
the apartment door closes with a soft click behind you, and you double check your belongings to ensure all the necessities are present. once satisfied, you make your way down to the lobby through a short elevator ride and shoot a friendly smile to the receptionist before stepping outside.
the cool air nips at your cheeks, and your eyes briefly scan the area before landing on the tall raven haired figure standing off to the side, with his back against the wall. he’s got one hand stuffed into his jacket pocket, and the other clutching a bouquet of tulips wrapped in brown paper.
your eyes meet, and the corners of his lips tug up into a small smile as he straightens his posture, watching you approach him with a grin on your face. there was no use denying just how effortlessly handsome he was, recalling the first encounter that had left you starstruck.
it was pleasantly surprising to find out that he was rather sweet underneath the cold, volleyball obsessed reputation he’d developed, and it was even more pleasant to be at the centre of his attention. albeit his clumsy awkwardness was still extremely charming.
you found yourself enjoying the date much more than you had originally anticipated, troublesome worries seemed to dissipate as you engaged in conversation with the boy.
though you’d never admit it, your mind couldn’t help but wander towards thoughts of a certain fox eyed male. would it feel just as warm to be on the receiving ends of his affection? to know that without a doubt your feelings were reciprocated?
but then again, when have you ever gotten what you wanted?
suna was ticked off. the distance he thought he’d bridged between you and him had made an unwelcome resurgence, ever since that day he’d hung out with akemi. and now his timeline is flooded with photos of you and kageyama tobio?
an ugly, unfamiliar emotion had reared it’s head, disturbing his typically nonchalant demeanour. he shuts off his phone with a tsk, rolling his eyes at the thought of the you making goo goo eyes at the karasuno setter.
whatever, he thought. it’s not like he’s into you or anything. you were just fun to hang around, that’s all. a good way to pass the time. solidifying his resolve, he buries all the complicated emotions deep inside the recesses of his mind as he drifts off to sleep.
“ma?”
“come here, my darling.” his mother’s voice is gentle as she extends her hand to the young timid boy cowering around the corner. tentatively, he approaches before running and launching himself into her embrace, burying his face into her warmth.
“did he make you cry again?” suna’s voice is muffled, and he struggles to fight back the tears pooling in his eyes. this seemed to be the norm around his household lately, as discreet as his parents attempts were, kids are always smarter than they seem.
“my sweet rintarō, why are you crying?”
he recalls his mother’s kind smile, though unable to mask her pain she thumbed at the tears slipping down her son’s chubby cheeks. the young boy hastily rubbed at his eyes, too young to put on the strong bravado he so desperately wanted to for her sake, tremblings lips attempting to form a small awkward smile.
suna’s eyes flutter open, eyelashes wet as the remnants of his dream slipped away and he's pulled back to his cold reality. he hadn't dreamt of his mother in weeks now, and he considered calling her for a brief second before deciding against it.
it wasn't too long after that day that he'd discovered his father's affair. the evening was as mundane as any other, except his after school volleyball club had ended earlier than usual for no particular reason.
his father who had shamelessly brought his mistress into their family home at a time he was certain no one would be there, was shocked to see his son's teary eyed glare.
"i hate you." the young boy's voice was dripping with venom, finally connecting the dots as to why his parents had been so cold toward one another, and why his now frail mother had been visiting her home town more frequently.
# mew's notes :
suna now has a really bad relationship with his father
hina is the only person akemi trusts implicitly, they've been together forever
suna helped yn sneak out and they hung out for a little while
if your username is purple, it means i've had issues tagging you. your blog may be hidden, just shoot me an ask/leave a comment if you'd like me to try again! ᡣ𐭩
I FIXED THE TAGS OMG I COULD CRY IM SO FUCKING HAPPY LMFAO
