Suddenly bursting into tears around Ricky breaks his heart, how could the person that he loves be in pain?
It makes him worried that maybe he did something wrong and the more he worries the more he starts crying as well
If you don’t tell him what’s wrong then he will worry that it’s his fault, he would bug you until you tell him what’s bothering you
He truly can’t stand to see you like this
If you are facing away from him in bed while crying then he would probably roll you over and cuddle you in hopes it will make you feel better
Ricky is a sensitive man so things like this get to him as well, poor boy would be a mess worrying if he hurt you and if you want to break up though when he finally asks you, you need to reassure him that you’re not breaking up nor did he do anything wrong
♡ ︎sypnosis: daisies will forever and always be boring; they were the former queen’s—your mother’s—favorite flower. however, now that it’s your turn to ascend the thrown, you can’t help that roses are your favorite; just like the blood-red ones embellished on prince ricky’s black suit on the night of your suitor’s ball. but don’t get caught up in the pretty scent and petals, because where there is beauty, there is thorns. ricky is the prince of an enemy nation—and your whole life he has been nothing but a pest. a really pretty one.
♡ ︎genre: royal au, fantasy/magical, fluff, angsty, prince!ricky, fem!reader, prince!hanbin side pairing, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, the dramaaa
♡ 7.0k word count (i’m not sorry)
♡ ︎warnings: cursing, mentions of readers father passing away, misogyny mentioned, kinda angsty and dramatic, playful threats, please let me know if you’d like me to add any!
♡ ︎nano note: i know this is long asf, but i am not even the slightest bit sorry. been thinking about prince ricky for the longest and i just had to quench my forbidden love needs. feedback and fangirling in the replies w/ me is greatly appreciated! xoxo
.♡.
“Look at you…so beautiful.” Your mother said, standing behind you as you sat on your bench in front of your vanity. She placed a lavish gold crown on your head carefully, using pins to secure its place.
You manage to shoot her a faint smile.
Your older sister had dropped off the face of the earth when you were teens, and now that you’re becoming of age, you were the only heir able to be crowned.
It felt bittersweet.
Never once in your life did you ever want the title. You grew up thinking it was always out of touch because of your place as second to the thrown. And you were fine with that. You grew with the mindset that it was never yours to begin with and let your sister take reign.
You’d sigh in relief when she would be pulled away from your play dates for classes on her duties as a future leader.
It was a so bittersweet.
When she left.
Still, you stared at yourself in the mirror with a bit of poise.
This was your moment and you took it on with a great sense of responsibility; wanting nothing more than to be the best leader to your people. You had many plans now that you had been crowned, but nothing could prepare you for today.
Descending from your mother; you were shockingly only the second queen to be crowned as of a couple days ago. The ceremony came and went so fast with everyone making a big deal out of it. This catapulted misogynistic hate back into the thoughts and mouths of other nations who were still coming around to the idea of women in power.
On the night of your 21st birthday, you were notified that your mother would be stepping down as Queen. Your father had passed away a few months ago and because of this, your nation was now unable to continue to keep peace between the neighboring nation your father was great friends with.
This nation was Sector Four and they never really liked your sector, Sector Nine, for how they ruled. Your father, who was from Sector Three, was just miraculously married to your mother and was the sole driving factor to both nations recoiling from the long history of wars and bickering.
As your mother described it, she was just excited to meet boys on the night she was to find a suitor. She did not realize when she met your fathers eyes that they belonged to none other than a friend of the enemy.
He was a godsend to your nation and the very reason your mother says she was able to face such widespread disrespect that was thrown at her for being the first Queen.
But this didn’t matter anymore. That peace and sense of tranquillity vanished the moment your father’s breath did.
Now that your father is gone, the hunger for power and the ratification of misogyny was trickling back—you were nothing to them; so long as you were your mothers child.
Regardless, life went on and the fact of the matter was that you were now Queen of a nation too and therefore had to meet a suitor.
Today would be that fateful day.
Yes, you heard that right.
Only a few days as leader and every nation in question were lining up for a piece of the power.
It was laughable.
Still, you gathered your thoughts and made yourself knowledgeable of what had to happen. Unlike your mother, you’d be prepared—this wasn’t some joyous event created for you to find a man, this was so much more than that.
“Alright, your tiara is secure.” Your mother said, meeting eyes with you in the mirror as she smoothed down the sleeves of your dress.
You let another soft smile grace your face as you started to stand.
“Thank you, Mother.” You say, albeit a bit shaky.
You didn’t want to be nervous, but the time ticking by was starting to get to you. It was already evening, the ball that your mother put in place being seconds away from starting.
“Don’t worry. So many people may be waiting for you in there, but they all have an agenda of their own. Try to have fun, okay Daisy?” Your mother said, calling you by the nickname she gave you as a child.
She’d always loved daisies.
They were alright in your opinion.
You’d always prefer roses.
“I know. I’ll be fine.” You say, half trying to convince her, half trying to convince yourself.
“Very well, I better get going now. I’ll meet you out there okay? Remember to smile and have fun, alright?” She says as she walks slowly towards the door.
You nod at her.
“Yes Mother, I’ll try my best.” You say, the words being comforting to you somehow. She smiles and sends a flying kiss your way. You chuckle and catch it, much to her happiness.
Once she’s out of sight, you allow yourself some time to think.
Maybe tonight won’t be too bad. If you don’t find a suitor, so what?
There was no hurry, and you were sure everyone present was definitely not there for love. Everything is always meticulously planned when it comes to royal affairs, and anyone can rule truly.
It was just your lucky turn, so you could play by your own rules.
After talking yourself up and out of your nervousness, you decide it’s go time.
You make your way into the large hallway, it’s festive flowers lining the balcony that oversaw the foyer.
Wow, they really went all out.
Just a few halls down was the dining hall, so not many people were around. As you rounded a column in order to go down the stairs that were around the corner, you were quickly drawn out of your thoughts as you quite literally came face to face with someone else.
It all went so fast, suddenly you were falling backwards, a person falling over you too.
“Oh!” You yelled out.
My dress! This shit was hard to put on!
“Oh my! My apologies miss, I-“ Says a young man as he quickly gathers himself.
You crouch up on your elbows, looking up to meet his eyes.
He looked cute.
His features looked like a dear caught in headlights. You didn’t even know what headlights were, and you weren’t sure how you got that saying. Anyways.
“I- Your Majesty?” He utters out, as he stumbles to his feet. He was endearing.
You just stare.
“Your Majesty I’m so sorry, I should have been more careful.” He states, slightly bowing his head and holding out his hand for you to take.
You do so, placing your hand gracefully in his, the strength of his arm pulling you to your feet.
“It’s alright, I didn’t see you as well.” You say.
He clears his throat as he gets a good look at you for the first time, head slightly bowed still.
“You may be at ease.” You chuckle.
His cheeks go pink, a smile making its way onto his face. The dimples on his cheek bones poked through, his eyes forming into crescents in possible embarrassment.
A guinea pig.
He looked like a cute guinea pig.
“Well then, I take it I’ll see you during the reception?” You say, already endeared by his charms.
He looks back at you in shock and places a hand over his heart before bowing again.
“Oh- of course! It will be a pleasure to see you again Your Majesty.” He gets out, taking another bow.
You chuckle.
“Very well, I hope to find out your name then too.” You say, bowing back and making your way down the stairs.
His bow never falters, and you’re sure when you’re far enough you hear him scold himself.
You laugh to yourself.
He was endearing.
And only for a moment does it distract you from your responsibilities.
Within seconds your smile falters and you regained your poise.
It was time to address your guests.
As you walked into the corridor and greeted a bunch of royal caretakers, you greet the Royal announcer as well, making him aware of your presence so that he can announce your entrance. Once he did, everyone scrambled to make sure you were ready, fixing things unnecessarily to make things perfect.
You just let it happen of course—your nerves were starting to get the best of you anyways.
Within a few seconds, you were announced and the velvety ceiling-length curtains were opened.
You walked into the ballroom and were greeted by bright lights and loud cheers. The lighting blinded you for a second, but you didn’t let that show in your expression.
Once you were able to adjust your eyes to the room, you saw several hundred people. Some were smiling, some were serious.
You saw your mother and teachers, happiness evident in their faces to see you be announced as Queen to everyone in attendance. Then you looked over to the other nations and the suitors who were present for you.
My, oh my.
There were so many.
You let out a quiet nervous sigh as you continued through the people and made your way to your seat for the dinner to commence. Before you could sit, there were a few young men who passed near your area and bowed your way, hoping to get an early introduction in.
You chuckled.
One bowed generously, throwing you a wide gummy smile. He must be way younger than you, you note. Just as you slightly bow in response, you see him make his way closer.
He bows again before speaking, “Your Majesty, might I just say, your portraits do not do you justice.” He says, gummy smile coming back as he towered over your seated frame.
He was tall and built, but nothing could stop you from seeing his boyish nature. You let out a chuckle before replying, “And your name?”
“Gunwook. Prince Park Gunwook from Sector Five.” He says, shooting you another sly smile.
You decide to let your chuckle out a little louder this time.
“Noted, Prince Gunwook.” You smiled.
He bowed once more and walked back to what you assume is his royal friends.
Before you could catch the gazes of anymore cute faces, a plate was placed on the gold charger in front of you and everyone in attendance watched as you lifted your gauntlet of still-too-bitter wine; signaling the start of the dinner.
It was only a few hours of wining and dining under the gaze of many suitors before the most nerve racking part of the night was to commence. The classical music changed its tempo to that of dancing music, people making their way to the ballroom dance floor.
Your nerves were starting to build as the melodies played through the hall.
Looking over to your mother, you saw her gesture for you to join the dance floor despite no one asking for your hand to dance yet.
You sighed anxiously and stood slowly to your feet, your ball gown shifting to follow along. As soon as you do this, you see many figures moving, almost on par with your own movements.
Here we go.
It was obvious that the race to ask you to dance was finally here; and boy you wished your corsets hadn’t been so tightly hoisted around you.
Who even dances right after desert?
Still, you hold your chin up high and walk towards the floor as gracefully and as unfazed as you can. It’s there where you meet eyes with him again.
He smiled, whiskers reappearing. Without thinking, you walk towards him—much to everyone’s surprise. He looks shocked as he quickly aknowledges you with a bow.
“Your majesty-“ He starts.
“Would you like to dance?” You speak, cutting him off.
His shock is only evident for a moment, before he smiles bigger and holds his hand out for you to take. You smile back, already comfortable within his grasp.
Once meeting the dance floor, he turns towards you, grasping your waist and holding your other hand in his. You place your hand on his shoulder, and get a good look at him.
Please don’t be from Sector Four. Please don’t be from Sector Four. Please don’t be from Sector Four.
“Your Majesty, thank you for approaching me first, I really am flattered.” He speaks respectfully as he leads you into the dance.
The many people in the room become nonexistent as you let him guide you.
“No need to thank me, you were the first familiar face I’d seen, so naturally I approached you.” You say, smiling shyly under his gaze.
His intentions seemed so straightforward in the way he looked at you. He had seemed entranced.
Dare you say, taken.
You decided to stare at his royal blue suit, the intensity of his gaze becoming too much.
He chuckles.
“My name is Prince Sung Hanbin, Sector Two. Please call me Hanbin, Your Highness.” He says.
This took you by surprise, so you looked up at him and re-evaluated his face.
Your mother’s best friend had a son named Hanbin, but you’d never gotten the chance to meet either of them since she was a Princess of a far away nation. Suddenly his features matched up with that of the paintings you’d seen of your mother and her closest friends when she was younger.
It all came together so seamlessly.
“Oh, so you’re thee Hanbin…” You say, staring him straight in the eyes.
This garner’s you a laugh.
“With all do respect your majesty, I think you’re the woman of the hour.” He says slyly, passing you a smile.
He was smooth.
A very respectful kind of smooth.
Just as you were going to respond, another voice chimes in.
“Pardon for the interruption, but may I have the next dance Your Majesty?” Says a handsome man, confidence seeping through his demeanor.
Hanbin stops leading you and lets go of your waist. As you turn, you meet his eyes.
Sharp and confident, just like his tone, he came off very striking. He was stunning.
If Hanbin was endearing and Gunwook was adorable, this one was gorgeous.
“If her majesty would like to, of course.” Hanbin says, you notice a little protectiveness hidden in his tone as he looks your way.
You smile up at him, barely able to take your eyes off of the new gentleman in front of you.
You notice how his red hanker-chief and red embellishments stand out compared to the rest of his solid black suit. It was all very eye-catching.
When you look back up at him, you were met with a slight smirk. He smiles down at himself for a second, a boyish look on display for only a moment in time.
This, too, takes you by surprise.
You gather yourself as Hanbin clears his throat. You were probably being watched by so many people right now. You can’t help but take note of the evergrowing tension that was starting to cement amongst you three.
“My apologies,” You say, “I’ll be alright Prince Hanbin. Thank you for your time.” You finish, shooting him a smile of gratitude.
He reciprocates it kindly and bows, then passes your hand to the man in front of you.
You take a moment to look him up and down.
Why couldn’t you? You were the Queen for crying out loud.
As you grasped his hand, his other hand goes for your waist quite smoothly. When you place your hand on his shoulder, you hear a chuckle. Your eyebrows raise at this.
“Why do you laugh?” You ask, and you can’t help that your gaurd goes up.
Maybe it was time to go back to being skillfully observant and professional—because this one made you feel uneasy.
“I’m sorry Your Majesty, I wasn’t expecting your gaze.” He says, pulling you a little closer by the waist and staring down at you as he starts to lead you on the dance floor.
You note the vibrado in his tone this time, your heart doing something weird in the process. You also felt your face getting hot.
Why is it scorching in here?
“Pardon?” You say, trying to not drop into the floor.
He chuckles again as he stares down at you once more, “Nevermind that, Your Majesty. How are you feeling?” He asks.
This takes you by surprise—yet gratitude fills your heart at the fact that he even cared to ask.
“It depends. Which answer would you like to hear? The decent one….” You look up at him, meeting his playfull eyes.
“…or the truth?” You finish.
You see a glint in his eyes right before he spins you around, and when you meet again, his eyes find yours effortlessly.
“Whichever you’re willing to share, but I’d rather hear the truth.” He affirms, his serious and chic look taking reign again. You contemplate answering him altogether.
“Very well. But before I do, what’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking….” You stall.
“Apologies, Your Majesty. Prince Ricky.” He states, holding up your hand that was in his grasp and placing a kiss on your knuckles that were covered by your satin gloves.
Your breath gets caught in your throat at his actions, and you have to run what he says back in your mind over and over for you to even process his name.
“…It’s a pleasure to meet you…” You start, staring into his eyes as he continues making eye contact through the gesture.
You didn’t know from whomst he learned to be so smooth from, but you definitely wanted to meet them and say thank you.
He was sly like a feline.
“The pleasures all mine.” He responds and continues to guide you as the music plays.
Finally you decide to give him an answer to his earlier question.
“Truthfully, this is all planned and feels nerve-racking.” You state, deciding to stare at some people around you as you danced, getting a little too worked up by the young man’s continuous gaze.
“I can understand your majesty. Truthfully, are you even serious about finding someone tonight?” He asks a little daringly.
You roll your eyes playfully as he spun you once again, hoping you were moving too fast for others—your mother—to notice.
Ricky was making your graceful facade crumble right from beneath you, and it was something you thought you’d never let happen—let alone at the hands of someone you met a couple minutes ago.
“Truthfully?” You start, and he nods in response.
“Truthfully, yes. I need to do this for my nation.” You say, the conversation turning a bit more serious, your smile faltering.
You were starting to remember your responsibilities.
Right.
You had so much to uphold.
Ricky notices this—the change in mood.
He sighs and looks around as well, contemplating his response before he speaks.
“I can understand the heavy weight you must be carrying on your shoulders Your Majesty….” He mumbles.
Then he leans in, pulling you close so he can whisper in your ear.
“…but for now can we just be people?” He asks.
You feel your heart sink.
When he pulls away, you are met with a genuine look on his face. He smiles and looks down, a piece of his wavy blonde hair falling into his eyes. You go to move it out of his face, but just as you do, someone interrupts.
“May I have the next dance your majesty? Apologies for the disturbance-“ Someone starts, but before they can finish, a man who looks strikingly similar to Ricky steps up.
“Prince Quanrui, your mother is waiting.” He speaks, gaining Ricky’s attention.
Prince Quanrui?
You feel like the world starts spinning.
Prince Quanri.
No.
No…
NO!
“-Your Majesty!!” Your bestfriend and head-maid, Juni, exclaims, pulling you from out of your slumber, forcing you to sit up in your bed.
“Huh?!” You shoot up, chest heaving as you try to take in the feelings left behind from the dream you had just lived through.
“You wench, I’ve been yelling at you! You were starting to scare me!” Juni says, sending you a side eye as she gets up in an attempt to act irritated
All you can do is sigh in relief.
The people in your dreams resembled the same people in real life, but everything felt wrong.
Quanrui, or Ricky, had been the Prince of the neighboring nation that despises your mother, that much was true—but he was nothing like the boy you’d just interacted with in your dream just now.
From the moment you had met him as a child, he was insufferable. He’d always made fun of you and you always found yourself in constant arguments with him.
Tonight would be your suitor’s ball, but you were hoping it would go nothing like your dreams. You couldn’t even understand how you were able to dream of Ricky or see him in that light.
Yes, he was handsome, but that was besides the point.
“I’m sorry Juni, I was having a nightmare.” You say, gathering yourself and getting up from your bed.
It was time to start getting ready.
“A nightmare? ‘Oh- Prince Quanruiiii~ Oh! Do you want the truth Prince Quanrui??~’” Juni mocked as she pranced around your room with an embellished fan, obnoxiously fanning herself.
Your face went warm within seconds.
“Silence! Or I’ll make sure you’ll be serving Prince Yujin rather than Prince Jiwoong’s table tonight.” You say, daggers in your eyes being thrown her way.
Prince Yujin was your younger kid cousin, whilst Prince Jiwoong was a newly appointed royal over in Sector Eight, the latter being known for capturing the hearts of maidens across many lands.
To this, she pipes down like a startled cat, walking out of the room to do god knows what.
This leaves you alone in your room to get ready for the night—as well as all alone to your thoughts.
You sigh as you look yourself in the mirror after your bath. You brush through your hair, anxiousness coursing through your mind.
When your mother comes in and stands behind you to help you with your tiara just like you knew you’d seen before, you feel shivers go down your spine.
“Is everything alright?” She spoke with grace, making eye contact with you through the mirror.
You nod.
“Don’t worry…So many people may be waiting for you in there, but they all have an agenda of their own. Try to have fun, okay Daisy?” Your mother says, calling you once again by the nickname she gave you as a child.
Your face went pale, blood running cold at this statment.
You’d always prefer roses.
Still, she continued on like a broken record.
-
After getting ready and talking yourself through your possible insanity, you meticulously decide to take another route to the reception hall—this meant taking the long way through the castle in order to get there.
Just as you round a corner very carefully, a voice takes you by surprise.
“What are you doing?” A deep voice chimes in from behind.
You jump, immediately turning around to meet sharp and playful eyes. As soon as you see him, you deadpan, automatically irritated that he graced you with his presence.
“What are you doing following me?” You stammer back harshly, immediately turning your back on him and continuing on your way. He reaches out for you and grasps your hair as you run along, letting it pass through his fingers.
“Your hair has grown longer.” He states, a smile on his face as you turn to give him a weird look.
He just chuckles and catches up to you.
“Why are you speaking to me informally, put some respect on my name.” You state, walking faster to hopefully get some distance between you two.
“Oh I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” he starts, but before you can look his way, he spins you towards him and stares down at you.
You couldn’t read him really, but you knew he was probably doing this to embarrass you.
He did this to every lady.
You were sure.
“You look stunning tonight.” He states, brushing a stray part of your hair away from your forehead.
He watches as your face turns warm in color whilst doing everything in your power to try and avoid eye contact.
“Watch your trinkets Prince Ricky, I’ll make sure you go barren.” You say.
He quickly retaliates, immediately moving away—a wide-eyed smile playing on his face.
“Your Majesty, don’t speak that way. You don’t want your suitors to know you’re already thinking of me and children in your life.” He states, quickly sprinting off knowing you would resort to violence at his comment.
You catch his wide smile as he saunters off.
You were so tired of him.
-
With a fast heart beat, you ready yourself to take on the crowd for what felt like the second time today. You tried your best to get the events that just played out, out of your head; trying to convince yourself that your responsibilities and duties as a Queen were of the utmost importance. When the curtains open and your full name is announced, the same scenery you had dreamt of had come to life.
Your mom smiled the same way.
Your teachers did too.
The suitors all scurried to try and approach you just like you had seen before.
You walked over and sat in the same seat.
And there he was, that gummy smile introducing himself all over again.
It was unnerving this time.
The only thing that differed from your dream was the run in with the boy named Hanbin earlier within the day.
Instead, Ricky took his place. In a way, this excited you. Maybe what was to play out was that Hanbin would take Ricky’s spot too.
You smiled to yourself, the sound of music ringing throughout the hall as the strings and flutes played. This time, you didn’t need to search in your mothers eyes for what you should do next. You stand up, dress trailing in your wake.
You feel the room watching your every move. As you step out into the free open space on the dance floor, your eyes searching for him.
If everything play’s out like it did in the dream with only a few substitutions, it should all work out in your favor.
You turn gracefully, finding him on one side of the room. As soon as you see him and you make eye contact, he smiles, albeit a bit shocked.
Alright, you got this.
You take a step in his direction.
Then another.
And even when you see people make their way towards you, you continue towards him.
As you grow closer, his smile drops.
And when you stand in front of him, he stares you down, more serious than you had ever seen him.
“Would you like to dance?” You ask.
He looks around, fake smile on display to try and play off what was currently going down.
“Your Majesty, what are you doing?” He mutters, holding his hand out for you to place yours in.
“Just follow my lead.” You whisper as he bows before looking back up at you.
He takes your hand in his and pulls it towards his lips, taking you completely by surprise.
“You know they won’t like this.” He states, but gives you a smile contrary to his words.
He leads you out to the dance floor.
“I know,” You start, “…but I’m not doing this for you. Or them.” You say, making eye contact again with Ricky, his hand finding it’s way to your waist.
He chuckles at this, his smile reaching his striking eyes as he looks everywhere but at you, probably trying to sell the narrative that you two were having a decent conversation.
You two had always been around each other growing up, sworn enemies by the nations you both belonged to. It was just how it worked out, so you weren’t sure if anyone in the crowd was buying this.
“You sure? I see the way your cheeks go rosy when I tease you.” He speaks, looking back down to you.
This was the one time you recognize his height, because even though he’d tease you, you’d never stayed this close long enough to realize how his frame made you look almost sickly.
“I feel so sorry for you Prince Ricky. You’re so delusional, you don’t even realize how much you’ve rotted your looks away due to your own selfishness.” You mutter, starting to look around for the guinea pig who should be saving you at any moment from this hell.
If everything went to plan, the whiskered boy would take Ricky’s place and you’d dance the night away in contrary to how your dream turned out.
If everything went to plan.
“Oh, so you admit your attraction. I hate to break it to you Your Majesty, but I am not looking to be courted.” He says smugly, finally looking at you, mischief hidden in his eyes as his smile fades. It was almost a serious look.
You scoff at his words nonetheless.
“Say what you want. I know what I’m here for.” You say, continuing to look around.
Where are you?
Ricky notices this and starts to look around as well.
“Who are you searching for? You’re missing the whole reason you asked me to dance.” He says, half teasing, half confused.
You roll your eyes, but continue to search through the crowd.
“Right. Because i so badly wanted to dance with you.” You say, your tone contradicting your words.
Before you could hear out his next words, you were pulled closer by the waist. Your attention snaps to Ricky, meeting his eyes for the ninth time that day.
This time, he definitely looked serious.
A little too serious.
Despite this, you couldn’t look away. You take in the way his eyes look back and forth between each of your own. Without realizing your line of sight trails down to the swoop of his nose, and you see the way his cheeks smooth down to his sharp jaw. You didn’t even want to glance at the wording on the side of his neck. He was breathtaking—so long as he kept his mouth shut.
He looked just like the woman who hated your mothers guts.
When you trail to his lips, you see them upturn slowly. And just like that, you’re brought back to reality.
“Your Majesty-“ A voice chimes in, interrupting the moment.
You quickly snap your neck toward the voice.
Much to your dismay, it was a woman.
“Pardon Your Royal Highness, but may I steal Prince Quanrui for a dance?” She utters, smiling your way with innocence.
You hated that she too had whiskers.
You took in the way her yellow dress contradicted your red one; tailored to match her every inch, including her eye smile.
She was gorgeous.
And when you glance back at Ricky, that pretty entrancing look is gone from his eyes.
And he wasn’t Ricky.
He was Prince Quanrui.
“Ah- If I’m not interrupting anything, that is.” The girl states as she bows your way shyly.
You clear your throat and let go of Ricky’s shoulder, turning to reciprocate her bow.
“Of course. I don’t mind.” You say.
But you do.
You gave Ricky one last look, taking in the way his wavy blonde hair fell into his eyes. Naturally, his suit catches your eye again too; the pretty red roses looking a little different this time.
Roses had always been your favorite.
You send him a faint smile before you face the crowd again. It was an embarrassment that another suitor had taken away your current dance partner away. This was your suitors ball after all, but in that moment you couldn’t have cared less.
Guinea pig wasn’t here.
He didn’t ask you to dance.
Your dream was wrong, and he didn’t exist.
You walked back towards your seat, hoping to get a little rest after dancing for so long.
Despite how you were feeling, you kept your poise and grace as you went. Anyone watching would have thought you weren’t phased.
Everyone but your mother.
She met you back at your seat, brushing off suitors who were approaching you to dance in her wake.
“Are you alright, My Dear?” She asks, sitting down next to you whilst taking a sip of her drink.
You smile her way.
“Yes.”
“His eyes.” She mutters.
You stare at her in confusion.
“Your father got in the habit of gazing at me like that.” She finishes.
Within another minute, she was up and off, but not without leaving you with one last statment.
“Roses also deserve to be picked, regardless of their thorns.” She whispers, just enough for only you to hear, then you are once again left all alone to the maze that is your mind.
You look over to him.
He danced with this fake smile, his flirty eyes contrary to how lightly he grasped the young ladies waist.
It was all the confirmation you needed.
You knew he’d loved you your whole childhood.
You just knew.
Without thinking, you make your way across the ballroom floor.
Nothing could stop you.
No one.
“Your Highness?” A voice chimes up, trying to stop you on your way towards your destiny. You stop, but your eyes are still fixated on Ricky.
“Yes?” You say awkwardly, not even looking their way.
“Hello,” they bow, and you’re barely able to see their figure out of your peripheral vision, sight still set on one of the few blondes in the room.
“Uh- I’m a Prince from Sector Two, and I couldn’t help but-“ He notices your averted attention.
“-I couldn’t help but be in awe of-“ He follows your gaze.
Oh.
You finally take a moment to look towards the owner of the voice tripping over their words. You are met with a shy young man, smiling down in defeat, dimpled lines on the apples of his cheeks.
Him.
“I’m, sorry.” He says before he clears his throat to speak again.
“I couldn’t help but be in awe of your beauty, and it seems I know why.” He finishes. He finally looks you in the eyes.
Sung Hanbin, Sector Two.
“You have eyes I long for, but I see they burn for something else.” He finishes saying, a heartbreakingly respectful but sad smile gracing his face.
You just stare back in awe.
“Have a wonderful night, Your Majesty.” He says, defeat running rampant in his pretty eyes.
“I wish you happiness and health in abundance; truly.” He lets out, bowing before sending you one last smile.
He’s real.
You’re taken aback for a moment as you watch his figure fade back into the crowd, but then you remember the fire that was lit inside you before this interaction.
Right.
Whiskers was sadly the last of your worries right now, and the next thing that happens just confirms this.
When you turn back around, you meet eyes with him.
This time, he’s closer than you’d thought he’d be and you almost bump into his chest as a whole. With a few swift movements his hand finds your elbow, helping to steady you.
You can feel the warmth from him seep onto you—or maybe it was coming from you?
“There you are. I thought pretty boy might have entranced you.” He states, shooting a look in the direction whiskers had left. He over fixates on that area but you continue to look up at him and stare, taking him in all over again.
When he looks back down at you, the glint in his eyes change.
Ricky.
“Prince Quanrui.” You utter out.
His eyes turn blank.
You chuckle.
“Ricky?” You question, searching his eyes for change.
His eyebrows frown, and he tilts his head at you with his hands still placed on your elbow, but there’s that spark of life that’s ignited after you call him by his nickname.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” He questions, completely confused.
You smile up at him genuinely.
You’re not sure if you’ve ever regarded him as adorable before, but what was cute if not him right now?
“I really love daisies, did you know?” You ask, taking him in for all that he is, not caring if you two were stood standing in the middle of the banquet.
He speaks up quickly after registering your words, leaving no time or space to ponder them, “Nonsense, roses are your favorite—especially the red ones. Who are you and what did you do with the Queen?” He asks playfully, letting go of your arm and looking around like the playfull person he always was.
You stare at him, probably smiling like an idiot. He just waits for your response but when it never comes, he looks down at you in confusion.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” He finally decides to ask once his eyes land on yours.
“Ricky, I know you’re in love with me.” You state plainly.
His heart drops and you can see the warmth leave his face. He scoffs ironically, and looks around anxiously whilst he dusts himself off.
“Wow, that’s a good one, Your Highness. You’re really getting good at that-“ He starts, but before he can finish his fluster of a comeback, you grab him by the collar and pull him close.
It wasn’t close enough for your faces to be touching, but now your faces were closer than they’d ever been before. You can hear his breath get caught in his throat, and you watch as he gulps in order to cope with what was happening.
You smirk, looking into his eyes.
You were definitely starting to feel the power of a Queen alright.
“Ricky, I’m going to walk away. And when I do, I will continue to walk and never look back.” You whisper as you study him.
You watch as his eyes looked down to your lips and back up.
Precisely.
However, before you could even pull away, you are yanked forward as he brings his lips next to your ear.
“Let’s say you are correct; I am madly in love with you,” He starts out as a whisper, “…are you willing to deal with the repercussions?”
His tone is playful, and you can hear the smile in his words. He was definitely acknowledging the fact that you two had already been acting so inappropriately infront of all your guests—yet he did not care and was waiting for your permission to proceed.
Waiting for you to acknowledge him fully for what he was.
The sworn enemy who was supposed to hate your guts.
You smirk as you pull away.
“Rules and repercussions are for the people; I am your Queen.” You state boldly, a smile radiating onto your face.
He smiles too, your words garnering a laugh as he pulls away and slightly throws his head back in amusement.
He was really something.
When he leans back towards your face in an effort to keep the conversation between just the two of you, your heart to ascends into your throat.
“Y/n, are you serious?” He asks as he searches in each of your eyes for any sign of regret or even a glint of mischief. He really hoped this wasn’t a joke despite your two’s very playful attitudes.
You watch him, knowing that deep down this is all you’ve ever wanted. Then you send him a smile; and it’s all the confirmation he needs.
Within seconds he pulls you in, placing his pretty lips onto yours.
Finally.
Even the gasps you could hear from around you couldn’t tear you out of the moment you were having.
He was delicate with you; moving his lips on yours like you’d wither from beneath him. His hand that now held your waist inched you closer and closer; it was as if the act you two were in the middle of still wasn’t close enough for him.
When you finally pull away, he places one last kiss on your lips, before he stares down at them. A grin makes it’s way onto his face before he’s looking around at the people in the room without ever meeting your eyes.
He ignores the angry looks on his people’s face, deciding to shoot them the most dazzling smile you’ve ever seen as he focuses back in on you.
“I knew the dream potion would work, maybe meeting you through your dreams wasn’t a bad idea.” He mutters, grasping your hand and pulling you back in and close to him.
Your expression falls as your eyes go wide.
“What did you say?” You ask, half trying to process his words, half going to lose your mind if you heard him correctly.
He freezes and stares down at you like a dear caught in headlights.
Once again, you don’t know why that imagery popped in your head, but alas.
“It’s nothing, Your Majesty. May i have this dance?” He asks cheekily, not knowing if he should continue to play it off or make a run for it. He was always so playful and mischievous.
He was always so…himself.
He was always Ricky.
And you liked every bit of him unfortunately.
He was your favorite.
“Going once…Going twice…” He lets out playfully, holding his hand out closer towards you to take. You do so gracefully, a smile now making its way back onto your face.
When he leads you to the center of the dance floor, he pulls you close and urges you to rest your head near his heart. The music plays on and you could feel everyone’s eyes on you two in disbelief—but it did not matter.
This was your favorite place to be.
“Did you know I actually prefer daisies?” Ricky speaks out of nowhere, his soothing tone cutting through the music that played throughout the hall as you lifted your head and searched his eyes.
There it was again.
That pretty cat-eye gaze of his; fixated only on you.
