ａｕｔｈｏｒ＇ｓ ｎｏｔｅ：
Hi everyone! :3 so I just wanted to say. This chapter will be focusing on Ch.55 to Ch. 60 in the manwha, yk with the giant purple bird thingy lol Please keep in mind that some things will be changed from the canon plot here and there, since this is a modern AU, and a fanfiction. Also, if you haven't read that chapter yet, I recommend you read that first before you read this, since it might be confusing if you don't ;;
Also, I'm sorry, but I was sick while editing this chapter, so it might now be that good, unfortunately. But still, I hope you enjoy :D
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"Eurgh...."
You groan, hunched over in the backseat of the Eckart's Lamborghini. Stomach queasy from the languid motion of the car ride. You had been in here for what felt like 2 hours, clenching your stomach as you deal with the puke hurdling up your throat. Wishing for nothing more than to be at home and cuddle up in the safety of your bed.
Honestly,
You didn't understand why you had to come. It was a hunting competition for God's sake, not the most ideal place for maids like you to hang around. And yet her you were, forced to go to this stupid Royal garden party at the palace, a day before the competition.
Apparently maids or butlers who worked specifically for the family members of the Eckart's were obliged to come. And it just so happened that you were one of these maids, who were by all means absolutely required to come to the party, and serve their masters.
So there you were, sitting in the back seat of the car, heaving back the throw-up building in your core as you try desperately to heave in deep breaths and ignore the way your stomach clenches up at every little bump and turn the car took.
The car ride was probably 4 hours long, and you swore the second you guys hit that one bumpy road on the way to the palace your stomach was just about ready to throw up about everything you had for breakfast that morning.
Though, you had to admit, the car was quite elegant, a sleek black color, with seats big enough to fit at least six people, there were wide tinted windows on the left and right of you, and the light hum of the car's air conditioning added in as a soft white noise to enjoy as you gaze out the window. Only for you, "enjoying" wasn't playing much of a part in this, right now.
But it was a nice car, for something only to carry household workers.
You rest your head against the cool glass of the tinted window. looking out to see the rushing vehicles and buildings as you speed past them in mere seconds. Hoping to somehow distract yourself by seeing the outside surroundings, your poor stomach, just barely hanging on.
"(Y/N)...?" You startle forward, a gentle hand places itself on the small of your back, and you turn to see a pair of round hazel eyes staring at you, pupils coated with a thick layer of concern.
"A-Are you okay? You look unwell, should I ask the driver to make a small pit stop for you?" Emily asked, she has worry painting all her freckles.
You force a reassuring smile on your lips as you try your best to loosen the tension in your muscles"I'm just... Eurgh... Motion sickness, don't worry about it"
She furrows her brows. It doesn't seem she bought your fake smile as the concern on her face only increases.
"Just hold on a little longer, kay? We're almost there" Her voice is soothing, she rubs soft circles on your back in an attempt to calm you down, and although it doesn't quite work, you feel a little touched to see her trying to make you feel better.
"Thanks, Emily" You smile.
She smiles back, the warmth on her face causes the knot in your stomach to loosen, just a little bit.
"That's what friends are for, (Y/N)!"
⋅. ♪ .⋅˖࿐
You step out of the car, face completely green as you try to not throw up everything you've ever eaten.
Sucking in an intimidating amount of fresh air to wash away the potent feeling of nausea building in your core.
It was an outdoor garden party. The tables were blanketed in expensive satin cloth, the area was lit by big bright fluorescent lights everywhere. A simple, but beautiful vase of flowers, placed on every table, with intricately cut bushes and expensive decor everywhere. The garden itself, was huge, not that you expected any less from the royal family.
Your eyes can't help but admire the spectacular designing of the party. For a second, you feel like Alice in Wonderland, entering the mad hatter's tea party; with roses, flowers, and lavenders everywhere. Everything here was so fantasy-like, that you almost forgot to close your mouth as you stared.
You jump, consciousness kicking back in, as you remember your job here in the first place. You search for Reynold.
On one hand, it was your job to stick by his side at all times in case he needed anything. And on the other hand, you were genuinely curious as to how he dressed up for this occasion.
You had never actually seen him dress up for special events like these yet.
But still, you were curious. Did he have a good fashion sense? Or was he a complete idiot and dressed like a clown? You snicker at the thought of him wearing some stupid clown outfit. You couldn't help but feel a little eager to see what he wore.
You search through a crowd of people, eyes on the lookout for a tall pink-haired boy, with eyes too blue to be real. You were surprised by how many people were around here. Honestly, finding the second son of the Eckart's would've been a much tougher job. But you just search anyways, looking through the crowd of heads for the annoyingly cute-- I mean, stupid rosey-haired boy.
And then you see it.
You freeze. There he was. He seemed to be talking to a group of people, probably his friends. He was smiling, and you notice he has very----very slight dimples.
Your breath catches in your throat once you see him.
He wore a tailor-made brown blazer closely fitted to his form, with black sleeves so pristine it's almost blinding, his hair was neatly combed to the right of his face, allowing the soft glow of the lanterns around them to make contact with his shiny bubble-gum hair. Forming a glow around his head. A halo, maybe.
Under his blazer, he wore a black turtle neck, which went well with the dark sleeves draping his shoulders. He wore gloves today, black— no brown gloves, reaching from his wrist all the way to his fingers, topping it all off with a tiny white bow tie around his neck.
He looked impeccable.
Flawless, actually.
He was beautiful in ways no man could ever be.
The small crowd surrounding him looked like nothing but silhouettes in your lenses. And Reynold looks too pretty to be real around them.
You smile, even though he was annoying you definitely had to credit his exquisite taste in fashion. A tiny part of you almost wants to take back your words of him dressing up as a clown--No wait, you weren't ever getting rid of that thought.
For a brief second you can't help but think he looks like a prince. Like one of those beautiful princes in fairytales your parents forced you to read when you were little.
If you didn't know any better, you might've even wished you were the princess he'd carry in his huge pumpkin carriage to the castle. Maybe the two of you could even live "happily ever after" whatever the hell that meant.
You smile, somehow that's the only thing you ever manage to do these days, whenever your eyes catch the frame of his face from afar.
You wonder if you should talk to him, your fingers twitch forward in an attempt to somehow pull you towards him, but your feet are drilled to the ground.
His friends are there.
You feel a pit of disappointment form in your stomach.
Sighing out an airy breath as you look around for something to occupy yourself with.
Your eyes lock onto Penelope, the only daughter of the Eckart's. You're a little surprised to see her. She was sitting not too far from you; Her hair loosely braided to the side, with the wind gently flicking her pink strands. You notice her hair is 5 shades darker than Reynold's, it reminds you of a garden full of fresh pink roses.
She's wearing a long off-the-shoulder dress, the richest shade of red you've ever seen, with roses decorating the top part of the bodice, sprinkled with the tiniest amount of glitter that sparkled when the light caught it, it reminds you of fairy dust.
The dress is slightly promiscuous but still modest enough to wear to the royal palace. You almost stare for a second too long at how elegant she looked.
It made you wonder how someone so perfect looking could have so many rumors surrounding their name.
Without a second thought, your legs move on their own leading you right to her. You're a little scared, nervous to death actually. You weren't sure what to anticipate, you barely knew much about Penelope, other than the fact that she was rumored to be "the Eckart's dog".
But then again, maybe it was worth a shot.
You swallow the lump in your throat, clasping your hands into shaky fists.
"U-Uhm, Ms Penelope" Shit, you were already stuttering.
She looks a little startled as if being broken from a heavy daze, you notice her eyes were fixed on the crown Prince before quickly averting them to you. You're a little perplexed on why she was staring at him, ut quickly brush it off as her maybe just having a crush on him.
She turns to look at you, her eyes are strikingly sharp; they reminds you of Reynold's, so blue, so cold. But for some reason, you're enticed to drown in the ocean of her gaze.
Her eyes remind you of a clear summer lake on a Saturday evening. With specks of teal sprinkled in the waters.
"H-Hello" You want to curse yourself for stuttering.
She looks a bit confused, eyes you up and down for a second too long, and you feel anxiety drape your shoulders.
A polite smile tugs her lips "Ah hello, (Y/N) I presume? You're looking lovely tonight"
You almost choke on air, your own saliva catching in your lungs "I-I... yes-! I am, I just wanted to say... You look very beautiful tonight Ms Penelope"
You were baffled, 'she knew my name?'
She seems to notice your surprise when her eyes soften and her smile becomes just a little bit warmer "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from my brother" She tells you.
You're even more surprised than you were before, almost forgetting to hide your shock, before quickly clearing your throat, 'Reynold talks about me?'
"I'm honored" You curtsy "I'm glad to have finally met you too Ms.Penelope, Emily talks a lot about you and it seems..." You trail, trying your best to think of big words like how all the rich people did.
"It seems she's right, you really are cool"
'Fuuuuuuuuuck'
You mentally curse yourself. Really? "Cool"? She's a high-class lady for God's fucking sake (Y/N) , and out of everything in your vocabulary you pick "cool"? God damnit.
She just giggles, your heart almost flickers a little at the sound of her laugh, and you have to look away to hide the light blush blooming on your cheeks
"I'm honored you think of me that way (Y/N), and I believe you are the perfect maid for my brother" The ends of her lips, tug into a smile, this time, a warm smile; "Take good care of Reynold, for me"
You don't know what to say. For a moment, you're a little speechless. The curls in her hair fall past her shoulders just a bit, and her smiling face looks like a glow of light from the Goddess of Beauty herself.
"I... I'll do my best!"
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You're wearing lip gloss today,
He's not going to pretend like he can't see it.
Oh, he can definitely see it.
From the second you arrived, his eyes darted in all directions to spot you in the heavy crowd. And although he'd never admit it apart of him dressed up like this for you. He had to control the muscles in his face to not light up when he saw you.
And he'd never, ever say it out loud, but he felt wood peckers in his stomach when he saw you staring at him.
He hoped he looked okay,
He hoped his hair was in place,
And for some reason he hoped you thought he looked.... pretty.
You smiled at him, and right then and there Reynold felt his heart stutter, biting the inside of his mouth to keep the annoying red color from staining up his damn face.
'God damn, why is she so damn good at making me nervous?'
But what struck him the most, was when he noticed the little light sparkles on your lips.
It was lip gloss, the glitter sparkled against your lips when the artificial light of the lanterns hit it. He stared for a moment, sky blue eyes fixed onto your form when white blinding rays of light hit your skin, forming an ethereal glow around your frame.
You looked like a fairy.
He wondered what flavor your lip gloss could've been, what it smelt like, strawberry maybe? Rasberry? Whatever it was, it varnished your lips nicely, coating them in the prettiest shade of pink. Not that your lips weren't perfect enough already.
He wanted to thank you for yesterday.
Reynold watched as you talked with his sister. Your eyes creased just the slightest bit when you laughed. His eyes traced the strands of your hair, your lashes, you looked like the most hypnotizing siren. Eyelashes fluttering just slightly when you blink.
He wondered how you looked so pretty.
How you managed to look so fairy-like.
But perhaps that was a question even the universe could not answer.
⋅. ♪ .⋅˖࿐
Honestly, the only reason you were brought here was to serve Reynold, but it felt like this whole time you were here, he didn't give you a single order to do. And you couldn't help but huff in annoyance.
It started to feel like you came here for no reason.
This whole place was crowded with unfamiliar faces and people, all with too much money in their wallets. You walk over to a table draped in the same satin white table cloth, bottles of wine placed neatly on the table, with a few intricately stacked glasses placed on the side.
A sigh leaves your lips, you were never one to drink, but right now, with nothing else to do, you reach for the cup. Pouring down a decent amount into the glass, the red-purplish colour glistened against the light majestically, causing you to wonder if this was some sort of fine expensive wine imported from a far country.
You place the delicate glass to your lips before.
Preparing yourself for the sourish sweet taste of the drink. Before...
"GAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
A sharp scream.
Your senses are immediately heightened, and you turn to see something you never thought you'd ever lay your eyes upon in your life.
A giant fucking duck.
It's purple-colored fading into an orange, and looks to be almost transparent, with wide eyes that look like their glowing, staring at the guests, staring into their souls. As it looms over them, its giant body getting ready to attack. It looks like the biggest rubber ducky you've seen in your life.
(a/n: I'm talking about this thing lol)
You're drowned in adrenaline, anxiety fills your bloodstream, your eyes bleached in horror. Terrified screams ring in your ears, rushing past your eardrums and down your spine. You're so shocked you don't even know if your screaming. You can barely hear your own thoughts.
People race past you, their sprinting bodies sending you falling to the ground, the spilled wine, now seeping into your clothes as you try your best to pick yourself up.
But you can't.
You're so terrified you can barely move. Barely scream in fact. Your limbs go numb and you're so scared the only thing you can do next is freeze. Your eyes bleached in pure horror as you clasp them closed bracing yourself for whatever was to come next.
And then you feel a tight grip on your wrist.
You're suddenly pulled forward and onto your feet. Though you feel numb, you're somehow running, the grip on your wrist tightening as you run forward.
You barely have time to think, when you capture pink hair in your lenses.
Your breath hitches.
"Reynold--" You feel like you're about to cry.
"Reynold, why did you--" You can barely finish your sentence, your voice is so shaky it sounds like it's about to break "Why did you save me?"
He releases what sounds to be a scoff, even now he still manages to hold his snarky personality. He flashes you his perfect blue eyes, it's a wonder how you don't mistake them for diamonds.
"Because you're a dumbass, idiot that's why"