Chapter 5: Almost

Seri woke up the very next day, clueless and confused. Three maids busted into her room out of nowhere, bringing in a huge box. They did not say a single word when they saw her look at them, but instead placed the box on top of her bed and left like nothing happened.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

She was half asleep when she crawled to check what the little paper on top of the box said and became even more confused.

"Wear this today?" she read out loud before opening the package.

"Oh goodness!" A beautiful set that yelled out her status as a princess surprised her. It was a beautiful periwinkle-colored ballgown with a corset. Everything about it was perfect, and it made her heart skip a beat, but her pockets ached.

Seri immediately grabbed her phone to message her father. She made sure to tell him that she appreciated the gift, but she would rather wear those that she brought instead of spending so much on luxury. That had never been her style; she's happy with what she has, even if it means wearing the same three dresses over and over. It would never bother her.

However, now that it's already there for her to wear, she figured that she wouldn't have the chance to send it back, added to the fact that she fell in love with it at first glance.

"I guess I should," she whispered as she felt the lace on the corset. "Just this once, though."

As soon as she slipped on her new clothes, Princess Seri began to wonder what her next step should be. Of course, fixing her hair and makeup is a must, but after that, what else? Should she come out of her room and roam around the palace? She would definitely hate interacting with other people here; she's too scared. But locking herself in her tiny little room doesn't sound like the right answer either.

Just as she was about to flip a coin to decide her next move, someone knocked on her door. At first, she was ready to see the same maids that barged in earlier, but she heard a very familiar voice from the outside.

"Princess Seri?" Princess Janine called her. "Are you up?"

Seri rushed to open the door for her. "Princess Janine!" she happily greeted her. "What brings you here?"

Princess Janine walked inside her room while picking up the huge skirt of her gown. She looked like a fancy pink cake with it.

"I was about to get breakfast, but I do not have anyone to eat with. Princess Celine told me that she only drinks coffee in the morning, and she had already drunk it in her room. Would you like to get breakfast with me?"

Seri smiled; the sound of food made her excited. Now that she has someone she can go with, it's making her feel a lot better.

"Should we?" she said, giggling. "I am actually starving, to be honest." I will just finish getting ready."

Princess Janine clapped as she watched Seri put on her mascara. She began to roam around the room. Her feet led her straight to the balcony door.

"Wow, you have the best view from here."

"Really?" Seri never noticed the view. She was too worried that the prince might have a very different interpretation of her every move, and she would hate that.

"Yeah," Janine answered. "I believe you have the best room."

"I don't think so." Seri, disagreed. "I always fear that the Prince could hear my every move, and it bothers me. What if he could hear me snoring or something?"

"I see," Janine said. "Too close, huh?"

Seri overlooked Janine's exit from the balcony to peer into Prince Hazan's room. With the view that shows the beautiful field of flowers and a cute little pond behind her, Janine presses her face towards the glass door. Dismay was evident in her face once she realized that she couldn't see anything through it. The door was covered with a black cloth.

"Damn, I really thought that I could see a glimpse of him," she whispered.

"Goodness, Janine! What are you doing?" Seri tried her best to whisper-yell.

But the two of them suddenly froze. Janine's eyes almost popped out of her face once she realized that the movement she heard came from the prince's room.

"Janine, come here!"

Princess Janine ran to Seri and said, "I'll wait for you outside, okay?" before running away with her heavy gown.

"Goodness, Janine!" Seri laughed at the way she struggled to run as quickly as possible. What she did not realize was that the man who Janine tried to run from came out of his balcony to stare at Seri, who was giggling by herself.

"What's so funny?" He grunted, wiping his wet hair with a towel. He's wearing a white button-up that was still halfway open when he decided to check out the commotion. "Were you trying to peek and see me naked or something?"

Within one second, Seri was already facing the floor, bowing down to apologize.

"Prince Hazan, I am so sorry. But this is a misunderstanding."

"Yeah?"

Seri almost lost her mind once she saw his shoes walking past her into her own room. The prince entered her room once again; he even proudly sat on her bed as he continued to dry her hair.

"Come here," he called Seri. "You need to fix your dress."

Although she did not understand what she needed to fix, Seri ran to the room and checked herself out in the mirror.

Her brow furrowed; nothing seemed amiss, as far as she could tell. In fact, she looks really beautiful, and she can say that she looks like one of those pretty princesses in shows and movies.

"You have to tie it tightly from the back or else something might pop out."

The prince appeared right behind her. She turned to stone when he began to untie the knot that secured her corset from the back. The prince tightened it for her as she mindlessly watched his reflection in the mirror.

"Prince Hazan," she whispered.

"I'm glad the dress turned out exactly how I imagined it."

"What?"

The prince nodded with satisfaction as he watched her look surprised. Seri could see his eyes fall as he looked at her chest, now popping out because of the corset.

"Hmm, I did not think about that," he casually said. "Don't worry, you look very good in it."

"What the-"

"Just don't bow that low again; I almost saw it all."

"Fuck."