As you awake in bed, you feel stiff. It's the darn wedding dress. You don't know why you had decided on the trumpet style of dress. You suppose it's because you were only going to wear it once. It's not a plan of yours to be wearing your wedding dress multiple times. It's not a plan for anyone to wear a wedding dress more than once, now that you think about it.
A knock sounds at the door, and you sit up quickly, straightening out the skirt before answering. You open the door with a little more excitement than usual, and almost hit a young man in the face with the door by accident. "Hello, ma'am," he greets you with a cute smile, bowing. His voice doesn't match his face, not in the slightest, and you hide your surprise. "I am Felix. I am the servant of Lord Chan, who was visiting when the curse struck. I apologize that Taeil or Jisung weren't able to wake you, but they are busy right now."
You nod. "That's fine. Sorry for almost taking you out with the door." Felix laughs, and the noise is as deep as a cavern, you think.
"That is all right. Everyone is at the dining hall if you would like to join us. We did not wake you at first, as you must of had a tiring day yesterday." You blink, once, twice.
"What time is it?"
"A little before noon, ma'am."
"You don't have to call me ma'am." You shake your head at the formality. "I'm not a ma'am. You can call me (Y/N) if you want."
Felix shakes his head. "My apologies, but that would be inexcusably rude of me, as you are likely to be much older than I."
"But you've been here for over two hundred years?" Felix laughs.
"Because of the curse, we do not age. I suppose that was an act of kindness from the fairy. But we must not keep the others waiting. Please follow me," Felix says, leading you through the castle.
As the two of you head to the dining room, you stare at the back of the young man's head. He seems young, and he did mention he's believably younger than you. "How old are you, Felix?"
"Ah," Felix mumbles, looking at you over his shoulder, "I am nineteen." You choke. Felix turns away from you, avoiding your eyes.
"Sorry." You mumble out the last bit, and Felix sighs.
"It is all right. Now, we are here. Go on ahead as I must go to the kitchen." Felix leaves you in front of the oaken doors, and you hesitate before pushing them open.
A long, carven table stretches to the opposite end of the room, and you stare at it for a long second before ripping your eyes away. Seated at the head of the table is Kim Doyoung, with a disapproving look in his eyes. To his right is a young man with a smile that makes you coo inside. To his left is a young man with an ancient look in his eyes. You assume one of the two must be the 'Lord Chan' Felix mentioned, but you don't know who it is. "Good morning," the smiley man greets first. "You must be (Y/N)."
You nod before you remember your manners and stiffly curtsey. You don't even know if you're supposed to curtsey. "Yes, hello. Ah, I mean, good morning."
The man smiles wider if that's even possible. "My name is Jungwoo, the king's advisor." Ah, so the other man must be Lord Chan. "I hope you had a good rest, considering the events that happened the previous day."
"I did, thank you." You fidget a little, and Jungwoo seems to notice your awkwardness.
"Please feel free to sit down." You nod, moving to the seat on the right side of the table, sitting on the same side as Jungwoo. "Now, before we talk, I should introduce you to everyone. Across from me is Lord Bang Chan, from the province of Stray." A strange name, but you don't voice those thoughts aloud. Bang Chan nods, and you smile back.
"She has met me previously." Kim Doyoung stops Jungwoo from introducing him before he even speaks. "Let us not speak of unnecessary things."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lord Chan and Jungwoo," you greet, bowing your head as politely as you could manage in your confusion. Just then, the doors to the right of Lord Chan opens and out come four new people carrying trays of food.
"Ah, here is our food." The four people bow and head out, but before they can, Jungwoo interrupts. "Could you four please introduce yourselves to our guest?"
The first and tallest one nods and begins. "Hello, ma'am. My name is Yang Yang. It is nice to meet you." There's the term 'ma'am' again. Before you can protest it, the second one introduces himself. He looks not unlike a squirrel.
"You can call me Han, but the name's Han Jisung. I'm the footman of Lord Chan." Lord Chan smiles a little. You assume he has a soft spot for this boy.
"I am Renjun," the shortest boy says with a cute smile, "and I work for His Majesty." Doyoung allows a smile to slip by his façade, and you see him glance at the young boy.
The fourth boy finally speaks, and you can't help but notice that he looks jacked. "I am Lee Jeno. Nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you guys as well." You offer the four of them a weak smile. "I hope to see you around sometime."
"As a guest, you are not supposed to consort with us," Jeno mumbles, and you raise an eyebrow.
"I'm not exactly royalty, so I think it should be fine."
"But your dress-" Renjun protests, and you giggle.
"It's just a wedding dress, Renjun. Nothing special."
"Wedding dresses are special." You look up at Kim Doyoung. "They symbolize a unity of two lovers. Congratulations, but please excuse me. Don't let my absence disturb you, and please continue to enjoy your food." Kim Doyoung stands hurriedly, chair scraping against the floor, and takes the tray Yang Yang offers.
"I'm not-" before you can get the words out, Kim Doyoung has left. "I'm not married," you mumble at the table, and Jungwoo smiles at you pitifully.
"Why do you have a wedding dress?" The question Han has makes you flinch. Lord Chan gives Han a look unnoticed by you.
"Ah, I was going to get married but was unable to." You play with the lace on your dress, and Jungwoo sighs.
"I am sorry." Lord Chan and Jungwoo say at the same time, and you shrug it off.
"It's okay. Probably shouldn't have gotten married." You look up as Renjun places a tray of food in front of you and pats your back once.
"Do you want me to make you tea? My mom used to do it for me when I was feeling down." You chuckle.
"No, it's okay. I'm not the hung up on my failed wedding." Han makes a sound of disbelief, but you don't hear it, and Lord Chan pokes Han a little. "Thank you, though."
Renjun nods and follows the other servants out of the dining hall. You, Jungwoo, and Lord Chan eat in silence, and when you finish your food first, you rise with your plates in hand. "You can just leave your plates. The servants will come to collect them later," Jungwoo offers, but you shake your head.
"No, it's okay. I should probably know where the kitchen is." Jungwoo nods in understanding.
"All right. Just go through the door behind Lord Chan, and just go straight. At the end of the hall should be the kitchen." You thank him earnestly, and head out, feeling the eyes of Jungwoo on your back.
As the door closes, you can hear Jungwoo immediately start talking to Lord Chan about you. As much as you wish to eavesdrop, you don't want to be rude and impose on their hospitality, so you continue down the hall. You see the door to the kitchen and push it open.
The kitchen is almost empty, save for two people. Felix is in the kitchen, alongside a taller male with broad shoulders. Felix notices you first and hops off the counter to take your plates. "You did not have to come here, Miss (Y/N), we get all the plates from the dining room." You decide to ignore the title he gives you. At least he isn't using ma'am.
"It's the least I could do for you, as you guys have to deal with me for two weeks." Felix chuckles, and the man at the sink turns to look at who has entered the kitchen.
"Oh, hello, ma'am." He takes off his apron and bows. "You must be the new visitor. Johnny and Taeil told me about you. I am called Qian Kun, the cook."
"It's nice to meet you, Kun. You don't have to call me ma'am." You wave off his complaints. "No ma'am, or I'll fight you."
Kun laughs. "The last visitor we had said that too." You laugh.
"I've heard from Jisung your last visitor was old. That must have been fun." Kun smiles.
"She was quite old, and her personality had faded, but from what we could gather, she was a kind soul. She forgot our names constantly, but she always made sure to thank us." Kun laughed, and you smiled at the sound. "I think she called me Doyoung by accident. Our master was so confused when she did."
"I'm sure that was quite the ordeal," you say, unsure how to continue the conversation.
"We have a picture of her. One of these days I will show it to you. Unfortunately, it can not be today as I am busy."
"It's okay," you reassure Kun. "I'll be here for two weeks, so you have plenty of time. Plus, I think I should explore the place a little more."
"Just make sure not to go-"
"Into Kim Doyoung's wing of the castle. Jisung told me."
"Which one?" Felix asks, and you grin.
"I forgot there are two Jisungs. Jisung, the tallboy." You try to explain, and Felix snorts.
"Jisungie is not that short, is he?"
"I mean..." you pause, trying to think of a polite way to say this. "Compared to Jisung, Han is pretty short."
This time Kun laughs. "It is not Han's fault. Jisung did grow a lot before the curse struck. Maybe Han would have grown too." The three of you share a laugh when the door opens.
"Kun, do you have any compost?" The stranger doesn't notice you. He has broad shoulders and looks like he could take you any day. However, his face is soft, and you can't help but notice his good looks. Does everyone in this castle look like God sculpted them?
Kun turns to look at Felix. "Ah, Felix, can you get it? I would get it myself, but I am preparing food." Felix nods and hops off the chest. "I told you to stop sitting on the chests and cupboards," Kun calls after him, and Felix laughs before exiting.
"Does he always sit on the cupboards?" you ask, and Kun rolls his eyes.
"Not always, but quite often." You laugh.
"That was a normal occurrence in my old home. I loved sitting on counters. It made me feel taller as a kid." Kun laughs, and the stranger finally notices you.
"Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself. My name is Taeyong, the gardener." He bows, and you sneak a peek at his back. You're not going to pass up that opportunity.
"I'm (Y/N). It's nice to meet you." You nod at him, and he smiles. Cute smile.
"I have heard from Johnny, Jisung, and Taeil. All at different times, but saying the same thing."
"I guess that's what happens when there's that many people in one building. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knows who I am when I don't know people." You sigh, but you don't mind. You like to meet new people.
Taeyong chuckles. You would blush and flutter your eyelashes if you lived in a comic. "News spreads fast here."
"I would think it does." You smile at him, and Taeyong laughs again. Felix comes back out, carrying a box of compost.
"Here, Taeyong hyung. Do you need help?" Taeyong shakes his head, taking the box from Felix.
"No, thank you. I should be good. Go on and sit on the chests again." Felix laughs, and Kun groans good-naturedly.
"Do not influence him, Lee Taeyong." Taeyong laughs again.
"I can't stop the kid from sitting on the cupboards. He's not getting in the way of your work." Kun scoffs, but can't help a smile from creeping upon his face.
"I guess there is nothing I can do about it." You watch the interaction, amused.
"(Y/N) do you want to come to the garden with me? I assume you have never seen it yet." You perk up and stop leaning against the table.
"I'd love to go!" You can't help but show excitement. "I used to work in a flower shop back in London."
Taeyong smiles. "Maybe you can help me identify some flowers, then. Mark, our footman, bought me some flower seeds when he was out last, and I do not know what kinds they are."
You nod and follow Taeyong out of the back door. He leads you through a series of dusty passages. You try holding back a sneeze but to no avail. Taeyong looks backs with a chuckle. "Sorry," you mutter, ears red.
"It is all right," he reassures you. "It is a bit dusty. Here, hold this around your mouth." He offers you a bandana, and you take it with a 'thank you.' The corridors are much easier to go through now. The bandana smells like the dust and the sun, much more pleasant than the dusty hallways.
Finally, in the garden, you can give back the bandana. "Thanks," Taeyong says before introducing the garden. "This is the garden, as you can tell. We grow mostly fruits and vegetables, but we also have flowers."
"Pretty," you breathe out. The sight truly is beautiful. Taeyong retrieves your attention once again with a question.
"Speaking of flowers, do you know what type these flowers are?" He gestures towards tall purple blooms. You recognize them to be Gourdon flowers and tell Taeyong so.
"I don't' know what they represent themselves, but purple flowers symbolize dignity, pride, and success. In a bouquet, they can signify accomplishment and admiration." You smile at the purple blooms, and Taeyong turns his attention to you.
"You know what flowers symbolize?" he asks excitedly, and you smile at him warily.
"Yes?"
"Can you tell me the meanings of the flowers in the garden?"
Oh, Lord.
At least he doesn't know fruits and vegetables don't have meanings either.
