If you love me for me | Kim Seokjin

To be a Princess

Kim Namjoon had managed to get me into the castle without anyone of importance seeing me. Maybe it was because he spent all his days in the gardens and had learnt the guards rotations like the back of his hand.

I currently stand in the Princess's bedroom, my eyes wide as I looked around at the perfect, pink walls, the princess's pink dress clad to my skin.

A bed bigger than I had ever seen in the centre of the room, a pretty little bed next to it that Hobi had already  curled up onto and fallen asleep in. There was a desk in the centre of the room with a bunch of pale pink roses basking in a vase of water. There was a set of double doors leading to a balcony with a view that blew my mind and on each side of the glass double doors were full coverage, corner to glass door, glass door to the other corner, wall to ceiling book shelves absolutely packed with thick, colourful books.

"It's so big!" I cried out, thinking back to the multiple marble rooms we had rushed through to get here. "Her bedroom is bigger than the entire emporium!"

"The likeness is remarkable." Namjoon stared with wide eyes as he looked me up and down. Maybe I had said something to remind him of Seohee?

"Except for the hair!" I giggled as I pointed to my head, remembering that the princess is in fact blonde.

"I've thought of that-" Namjoon was cut off as Hobi muffled a bark, dragging over a blonde mop of locks.

"Hobi! Well done!" I pet him as I pried the object from his mouth.

"A wig." Namjoon smiles as he helps me put the wig on, tucking and tying my hair away.

"Um, Namjoon?" I mumbled and he looked down at me from his job pinning the wig to my head. "We're missing one teeny tiny detail. I have no idea how to be a princess."

"Leave that to me!" He smiled happily, dimples piercing into his beautifully tanned cheeks.

He pranced over the white bookshelf and pulled out a thick, deep red book, placing it on the desk in the middle of the room. I wandered over to stand next to him to examine the book.

"It's all here in the princess book of ettiquite," he started. "Let's begin."

He skimmed over the first page before nodding to himself.

"No nagging, bragging, slipping, tripping, sweating, fretting, slurping, burping, twittering or frittering allowed. Stay present, stay pleasant, stay proud." He read from the book out loud and I nodded.

"To be a princess is to know which spoon to use," He told me and I blinked at him he saw my confusion and laughed. "Let me go to the kitchen. Stay here."

And from there, he ran to the kitchen and came back, spending too much time teaching me the differences between all the cutlery. Cutlery I had never even seen in my life. Knifes, different sets of forks, different sized spoons, chopsticks, prongs - all were silver, allowing me to see my reflection.

"To be a princess," Namjoon read from the book before heading over to the closet and pulling open the double doors. "Is to be able to walk in a thousand pairs of heels."

Inside, on one side, were rows on rows of pink, white and purple dresses - some which I recognised as my own designs - and on the other side, were rows on rows of beautifully hand made shoes and heels. He helped me slip on a higher pair of heels and held my hand as I learnt to walk in them.

"To mantain a regal gait, leave the parsley, Don't eat it, and be charming, detached and yet amused," He told me. I nodded as I stumbled in my heels a little. "You can never be confused."

"Do a plié and never fall," He showed me how to pliè. "Don't ever stray from protocol. All through the day there's just one way you must behave. Do keep a grip and never crack, stiff upper lip and arch the back-" He used his hand to bend my back and push my chest out more. "Bend from above and always wear your gloves, and wave."

He stood in front of me and waved like a princess, letting me copy him before he walked back to me.

"Shoulders back and tummy in," He pulled my shoulders back, again, and pushed my tummy in. "Pinky out and lift the chin and slowly turn the head from side to side."

He stuck his pinky out, lifted his head and shuffled forwards, twisting his head from side to side, allowing me to follow him as we both pranced across the rug like princess's.

"I see now." I giggled at his skipping, feminine frame.

"Breathing gently, stepping lightly. Smile brightly, nod politely. Never show a thing you feel inside. To be a princess is to always look your best. To be a princess is to never get to rest." Namjoon informed me, still reading from the book, leaving me nodding and writing down mental notes of everything he was saying.

"Sit for a portrait, never squirm. Sleep on a mattress extra firm. Speak and be clever, never at a loss for words. Curtsy to every count and lord. Learn how to play the harpsichord. Sing lullabies and always harmonize in thirds-" Namjoon paused and turned to me.

"Thirds-" his voice carried out musically as he began to teach me about harmonising in thirds. By the end of it, Namjoon and I were harmonising together perfectly and I sounded exactly like Seohee did when we sang together when I met her.

He went back to the book but didn't speak. His eyes cast down as his fingers grazed over a drawn portrait of the princess.

"Princesses... have beautiful eyes," He mumbled but I think it was more to himself than anything. "Your spirits rise when she walks in the room."

"I see." I smirked.

Kim Namjoon is in love with Princess Seohee.

"She smells... heavenly... and her touch is etheral. She's like a rose that's forever in bloom-" his voice cracked on the last word he spoke and he cleared his throat, sniffled, whiped away a tear I never saw fall and he turned to me, his tanned face now sporting a shade of red.

"Anyway!" He clapped his hands together. "Do a pliè and-?"

"Never ever fall!" I announced, doing a pliè.

"Never show dismay-"

"And be there when people call." I cut him off with a smile and he laughed to himself.

"You must be prepared for whatever the royal life will bring." He smiled. "Do keep a grip. Don't let it slip that you aren't a princess."

"Yes sir!" I smiled at him and he laughed and patted my head.

"Take dainty sips and never turn your back on someone unless leaving the room," He pointed at me and I nodded curtly. "Lastly, There's a time and place and way for everything. To be a princess is to never make your bed. To be a princess is to always use your head."

I nodded and took in a deep breath.

"I can do this." I nodded and he nodded back.

"Are you ready to face the queen?" He asked and I licked my lips, nodding.

"I'm ready."