You hurriedly walked down the hallways, your hands covering your neck. The areas the brothers lips had touched seem to burn and you winced.
After repeating yourself a few more times, the brothers had let you go, saying they had to take care of a few things and would meet you for lunch.
Yeah right. You thought as you made it to your room's door. Slowly you opened it and stepped inside, making sure neither prince had magically appeared. Shutting the door, you leaned against it and sank to the floor.
Why is this happening? You thought to yourself. What have I done to deserve this? I was always kind and helpful. I hardly ever complained about anything...so why....so why am I being punished?!
Shaking your head, you stood up and ventured into the bathroom to assess the situation. Staring at the mirror you felt your fingertips hesitantly float across the two markings the brothers had made. The spots had already begun to bruise, making pale blue and purple splotches on either side of your neck. You untied the ribbon around your neck and readjusted it so that it sat over the two marks.
Thankful that it didn't look too weird, you went back out and sat on your bed. You wanted Micah to come check on you, but at the same time you didn't want to run the risk of him seeing what the princes had done to you. Sighing, you picked up the closest book on floor and turned it over, running your fingers over the title.
A Guide to Royal Manners: The Do's and Don'ts.
You wrinkled your nose, but not having the energy to get up and choose a different material, you settled into your pillow and opened the book. Your eyes skimmed over the first few pages, briefly absorbing the topic before letting your mind wander.
I wonder how Alex and Nadia are? What about my parents? Do they all miss me? You pulled your knees up to your chest and hugged them. I wish I could sneak out and see them. Just for a night. I miss them.
You scoffed at the idea. It wouldn't be possible, not with Aiden and/or Connor trying to get into your bed every night. Unless...
You shook your head and resumed reading, trying to ignore the growing idea in your head.
You were abruptly brought back to reality as someone knocked on the door and opened.
"(Y/n)? Are you ready for lunch?" Connor asked as he gazed at you.
"I'm not hungry Connor." You replied as you went back to reading.
"Come now. You didn't have breakfast or dinner last night. You have to be at least a little hungry." He came over and sat on the bed.
You shifted away from him slightly, "No, I don't. Now please leave."
He frowned and sighed, "I like your stubborn nature sometimes, but right now I'm finding it very annoying."
You glanced up at him, "If you find it annoying, then go away and find your brother. I'm not someone who's supposed to please you at every moment."
He laughed, "You kind of are (Y/n). You're our toy, our queen."
You scowled, "I'm not your queen."
"Not yet, anyway. Now are you coming to lunch or am I going to have to carry you?"
You put the book down, glaring, "Neither. Now, I'm going to ask you to get out of my room one more time before I start getting angry."
His eyes sparkled in amusement, "(Y/n)? Angry? Well I kind of want to see that now." He leaned towards you, "Show me. Show me that cute angry face of yours. I want to see those (e/c) eyes fill up with hatred."
You gazed at him, analyzing his expression. Was it worth doing what you wanted to do? Would the momentary pride outweigh the potential repercussions that came along with it.
"What are you thinking about?" He murmured; his eyes boring into yours.
"...Connor..." You whispered, pouring all the fake love and want you could muster into your voice.
His eyes widened as his mouth gaped open slightly, obviously taken aback by your sudden change of mood.
You held his gaze as you leaned forward and grabbed his arm. Slowly standing up, you guided him towards the door, trying to fake a loving look.
"(Y/n)...?" He breathed as you both stood in the doorway.
You turned to him, smiling sweetly before feeling your fist connect with his stomach. He doubled over and you pushed him into the hallway. Quickly shutting and locking the door you stared wide-eyed, wondering if you had truly done what had happened a few seconds ago.
"I'm not hungry Connor," You called, "Try again later."
Connor stared at the door, an expression of shock on his face. He brought a hand to his face and started laughing.
Oh (y/n)...I almost believed that act. Well done. I'll forgive you just this once. He reached out and touched the door for a few seconds before turning around and walking towards the dining hall to meet his brother.
You stood on the other side of the door, straining your ears to hear his footsteps disappear. After a few minutes of making sure he had absolutely left, you hesitantly opened the door. An idea had formed into your head, and you needed to ask Micah a favor.
~~~~~
"No!" Micah yelled, pacing the floor, as you sat on one of the stools in the fitting room. "Absolutely not!"
You looked at him pleadingly, "Please Micah! Just until they go to bed! I need this! I need this."
He glanced at you and his cheeks turned pink, noticing the pleading look you were giving him.
"(Y/n)...I can't...I don't think I can do that."
You stood up, "You can! I thought about it all morning. I have a plan. Micah, I need to see them, just for a while. I can run to the village in about 20 minutes. I could stay for an hour or two and then come back. No one would know I was gone!"
He bit his lip in contemplation, his blue eyes scanning something invisible.
"What's your plan?" He said with a sigh as he dropped onto a stool next to you.
You gave him a gratified smile, "The princes are holding a masquerade right?"
He nodded.
"Well, I need an outfit don't I? You and Florence could catch them on their way back from dinner and take them to their rooms. Then, you could go over a plan for what I'd be wearing. That should give me enough time to spend in the village. Just in case, I'd lock my door so that they couldn't get in, at least for a while."
He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at your wide, begging eyes. Letting out a small sigh in defeat, he looked at the ground.
"I hope you know we're both dead if they catch us." He mumbled.
You felt a smile spread across your face, "Micah! Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" You launched yourself at him and wrapped your arms around him.
Startled at the sudden movement, he leaned back, throwing you both off balance, and you both plummeted to the floor.
"Ow." You winced and looked down to see him staring up at you. Instantly your cheeks turned red. "O-oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."
His eyes stared up at you mesmerized, "(Y/n)..." He murmured, "I think I might love you..."
"W-what?!" Your eyes widened as you felt your heartbeat quicken. He loved you!? No...that wasn't right...he could get hurt saying things like that. "M-Micah you surely cant mean that."
He blinked a few times realizing what he'd said, "O-oh...oh my god. (Y/n), I...I didn't mean to..."
You furrowed your brow, confused at the twinge of sadness in your heart. You knew that if Aiden and Connor heard him say that, he'd be dead in seconds, and you wanted him to be safe, so why...why did you want to hear him say it again?
Your eyes glanced back down to his lips, remembering what had happened yesterday. He seemed to notice your gaze and his face reddened. "(Y/n) I-I..." He cursed silently, "I can't think right now. Not straight at least."
You nodded in agreement, and slowly pulled away, watching as he sat up.
He ran his fingers through his hair again, "Some knight I am," He embarrassingly joked, "I can't even keep my head on straight during an accident like that." His eyes glanced at you.
You smiled, "No. You're the perfect knight. I'm sorry, it was my fault. I got really excited and forgot about my surroundings."
He shook his head, "I think we both forgot. Anyway, I'll follow through with your plan. I'll stop Prince Aiden and Connor on their way back from dinner and give you time to sneak out."
You opened your mouth to thank him again, but he held his finger up to silence you.
"But you have to promise me something (Y/n)." He looked at you sternly.
You nodded your head and inwardly gulped.
"You get three hours. That's all I can guarantee okay? I don't want you getting hurt."
You nodded again and stood up. "Thank you again Micah."
He turned away, his cheeks turning red again, "N-No problem. Now go back to your room. They'll get suspicious if they find you in here."
You laughed and walked out the door, not noticing him glance back at you fondly.
~~~~~
You paced your room, waiting for the twins to come get you for dinner. You were extremely excited at the idea of seeing your parents and your friends again. The chance of danger escaping your mind as you thought about what you would say when you saw everyone again. How would Alex and Nadia react? Would your parents be angry or happy? Your excitement bubbled over and you smiled thinking about everything that would come in a few hours.
Finally, a knock came from the door and you rushed over to it. Willing your face into a state of passiveness, you opened it to find Aidens smiling face.
"Hello (Y/n). You skipped out on lunch with us, so I'm presuming you're coming to dinner?"
You glanced at him and nodded, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind you. You had to contain the bounce in your step as you walked down the main hall to the dining room.
Aiden glanced over at you, "You seem to be in an excellent mood my dear. What's happened?"
You shrugged, "A good book. Nothing more than that."
He laughed lightly and pushed the dining room door open for you, waiting for you to enter. Connor already sat at the table, obviously waiting for you two. You sat in your chair and waited until the chefs came out of the doors again. They put dish upon dish of food on the table and then silently left. You grabbed a small portion of some food, not wanting to eat all that much.
"You're hardly eating (Y/n)." Connor commented as he looked down at your small helping of food.
"My stomach hasn't felt the best." You explained with a grimace. "I don't want to upset it further."
Connor nodded in understanding before going back to eating his own food. Once Aiden and Connor had finished the main course, a chef came out and set three dishes in front of you before leaving again.
You looked down at the brown, burnt food, "What is this?"
Aiden picked up a spoon and dipped it into the dessert, breaking the burnt candied surface, "Chocolate Crème Brulee."
You glanced at it suspiciously before gathering a bite on your spoon. Slowly you bit down on it and your eyes widened. It tasted wonderful. The mixture of the sweet chocolate and almost salty taste of the burnt candy made the taste heavenly in your mouth. You hurriedly ate the dessert and looked to see both the princes trying to contain laughter.
"I didn't know you liked Crème Brulee that much (Y/n)." Connor smiled
"Yes. We should have the chefs make it more often." Aiden added as he picked up another spoonful of the custard.
You nodded happily before reminding yourself of what you needed to do. Almost instantly you brought your arms to your stomach and forced a look of pain onto your face.
"(Y/n)?" Connor asked in a concerned voice.
"I-it's just my stomach..." You trailed off as you slowly stood up, "I think I'm going to go back to my room for the night."
Both of the boys faces had looks of disappointment, but they nodded and you silently exited the room. You breathed a sigh of relief as you slowly walked down the hallway. Making it back to your room, you took off your maids uniform and put on the clothes you had worn the day you came to the palace. You looked in the mirror and opted to keep the ribbon around your neck to hide the bruises before standing at the door and waiting.
Slowly, you heard two pairs of footsteps near your door, but they were cut short.
"Ah, Your Highness's," You heard a soft voice say. Florence. Micah had gotten her help.
"What is it?" You heard Aiden impatiently ask.
"We were hoping to talk to you for a while about (Y/n)s attire for the masquerade. We want to have ample time to prepare the right outfit for the future queen." You heard Micah's voice say through the door.
Connor sighed in impatience and defeat, "Alright. Come and follow us then."
Four sets of footsteps walked away from your door and your hand rested on the handle.
Thank you so much Micah... You thought as you turned the knob, eagerness filling your body.