Chapter Text
It was one thing to be a princess, but it was a whole other thing to be a sheltered princess. Y/n loved her life as a royal. I mean, who wouldn’t? She got the most amazing luxuries when she asked and barely even needed to lift a finger. However, she hadn’t ever even been outside the castle except for her coronation when she was 7, introducing her as the new royal princess to the people of her kingdom. She was sheltered completely from the outside, only seeing the world through drawings and pictures in her study books. She was well educated, but had nothing to do with the knowledge.
Not only that, but it was unbearably boring, living in the castle with nothing to do. So of course, Y/n began to grow stubborn and annoyed with every growing month in the castle. She even went out of her way to push away the servants and criticize the nobles and advisors that visited from time to time.
In the months leading up to the addition of her new guard, she was especially bothersome. The people in the castle had learned to leave her alone, quickly understanding that the polite teen girl was all grown up and was now intolerable to them. Everyone except for her parents.
“Y/n,” A knock sounded loudly on her bedroom door. “Get up now, we’ve got guests and it would be impolite to keep them waiting any longer.”
Y/n groaned, pulling a pillow over her head and trying to close her eyes again. The visitors were queen and prince of a neighboring kingdom, hoping to strike some sort of deal with her parents.
“Y/nnn.” Her mother called again. “I can hear you. If you’re not up and out of your room in the next 5 minutes, I’m coming in there myself and it won’t be pretty.”
Y/n listened as her mother stomped away, and she finally agreed and rolled off her bed. Y/n groggily rubbed her eyes and approached her vanity, sitting down and lazily combing through her hair. She reluctantly changed out of her nightgown and into one of her riding outfits, tight sports pants and a white blouse.
She left her room and entered the dining hall, walking past the visitors sitting on the end and sitting down in her spot without a word.
She silently grabbed bits of food and put it onto her plate, ignoring how the queen and prince eyed her and staring blankly at her breakfast.
“And this would be my very… eccentric daughter, y/n.” Her father introduces, putting a hand on her arm.
“G’morning.” Y/n looked up at the two and smiled weakly before returning to her food.
“I didn’t see you last night when we arrived, were you in bed already?” The queen asked with a pleasant smile.
“No.” Y/n quickly replied.
She laughed. “Oh, so you were avoiding us then?”
“Not intentionally. Just had other things to do.” Y/n shrugged, and her father pinched her arm a little.
“What would you possibly be doing?” The prince speaks up, flipping his hair dramatically as he always did when Y/n would look at him.
Y/n just stared at the boy for a moment before shrugging. Engaging in conversation with him was like talking to a wall. He’d never actually listen to y/n anyways, just nod his head and immediately change the subject once she was finished talking. She learned a long time ago it wasn’t worth it.
“Y/n, why don’t you show Prince Merik around the castle once you’ve finished your breakfast?” Her mother suggests.
She glares at her with an awful frown, before quickly turning to the queen and prince with a meek smile.
“Sure, you’re ok with that, right?”
“Does this castle have any water fountains? Ours has four, one in every wing.” He brags, not even replying to Y/n.
Of course. Y/n didn’t expect any different from him.
Y/n just rolls her eyes and continues eating her breakfast, now with a sluggish speed while she prodded boringly at her food.
Y/n spends her entire morning showing the snobbish prince around the castle. She gave up on talking halfway through the tour, just letting the prince ramble on and on as the took him through all the halls of the castle.
“I’m a fine archer, did you know that? I even beat my mentor once, though he denies it ever happening,” Prince Malik barked loudly, his laugh startling a group of birds on the open windowsill. “He’s the best bowsman in the kingdom, probably better than whatever nobodies you have here.”
Y/n grimaces and clenches her fists, silently continuing on.
“This way is the ballroom.” She says quickly as they approach a wide set of doors.
“The flooring here is very dull.” Malik comments, crossing his arms as he kicked the floor a little. Y/n rolls her eyes and opens the doors to the ballroom, making a small gesture for Malik to enter before her.
He immediately turns his nose up in disgust at the room. Y/n can’t see why, it’s one of her favorite rooms. He sighs loudly as if annoyed and walks around a little.
“Hm. Quite the small ballroom, wouldn’t you say?” He asks, turning to Y/n with an unamused frown.
Y/n shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve seen any other.”
Malik takes a moment to look y/n over. “You’re a dreadfully boring girl.”
“Are you serious?” Y/n snaps.
“Well, it’s the truth. You hardly ever talk, and when you do it’s something depressing or painfully flat.” He replies to y/n for the first time this entire morning. He crosses his arm and looks at y/n disappointedly, as if scolding her.
“Maybe I’m just bored of you, have you ever thought of that?” Y/n scoffs.
Malik takes a moment to think it over, but it’s obvious on his face that he has no idea what y/n is saying.
“So you’re saying you’re not always like this?” He asks and Y/n just groans in response.
“God, I can’t be around you.”
Y/n whips around, waiving a hand in the air and heading towards the large doors of the ballroom.
“What’s got you so upset?” Malik scoffs. “No wonder all the others say you’re weird. You’re so short-tempered. You women- really.”
Y/n swiftly whips around, almost falling over with how quick she turns, and runs up to Malik. “Fuck you! I don’t owe anything to you or your stupid fucking friends! You’re a ridiculous, annoying, and crazy stuck-up asshole, and I’d rather jump from the castle walls than talk to you any longer!” Y/n shouts.
“You and your mother can go fuck yourselves, for all I care! Go tell your mother that her son’s a useless piece of shit, just like herself!” She remarked before turning around and quickly leaving the room.
Y/n quickly heads to her room, not waiting around to see the chaos that will unfold when Malik gets up. She passes her parents on her way to her room, talking to the Queen with a cup of tea. She practically flinches seeing the queen, all her distaste of her son and the words she said to him resurfacing.
“Ah, Y/n, have you finished showing Malik around already?” Her father smiles.
“Yup.” Y/n replies. She really doesn’t want to talk to them right now, but they’re practically blocking the way.
“Well that’s great! You and my baby boy get along so well. You two would make such a cute couple.” The queen gushes.
“I don’t know if I’d say that just yet.” Y/n laughs, already moving to push past everyone. They blink in confusion but Y/n just shoves her way through them and speed walks back to her room. They just write it off as embarrassment and continue talking.
When Y/n reaches her room, she quickly slams the door and locks it behind her, knowing the shit she’s going to be in once her parents find out she slapped Malik. She sat on her massive bed, knees brought to her chest, waiting for her eventual punishment.
And, not long after, it comes. Y/n knows it’s coming when she hears guards shuffling outside her door and her father’s heavy steps racing down the hall.
“Y/n l/n, you better have a great explanation for this.” His voice booms, booming and demanding, footsteps reaching closer until he eventually reaches the door. His hands scramble at the handle, fumbling it back and forth until he finally admits the door is locked.
“Open the door right now, Y/n! I mean it! I know you can hear me!” His voice booms through the door.
Y/n flinches. She can only guess what her father will do once she opens the door, and she decides she’d rather not find out. She sits in her bed and wraps her arms around her legs.
“That stupid oaf deserved to be put in his place!” Y/n shouted in retaliation.
“So, you mean to tell me that you did , in-fact, lose your temper on Prince Malik? Our guest? Son of one of our closest allies?”
“He was asking for it! He called me weird, boring, and short-tempered! I couldn’t just allow him to talk to me like that!”
“Well, evidently, “short-tempered” wasn’t that far off, now was it? If you were willing to scream at the boy because of it?” Her dad scolded.
“Father, you don’t understand-!”
“I understand perfectly well, y/n, and I don’t like it one bit. You have been behaving far from proper for the past week, and I’ve about had it! You will go out and apologize to Malik, and after that you will be grounded! And don’t you dare try to do anything else, or your punishment will only get harsher!”
“But- Dad!”
“Silence! This is my order, and you will follow it!”
Y/n slammed her face into her pillow, screaming into the velvet, before getting up and slowly walking to the door.
She waited until her father was silent before lightly unlocking it and pulling it open. But, when she opened the door, she found her dad waiting with a furious scowl.
She glared at him and walked into the main room, finding the queen and Malik already waiting for her. The queen’s lips were pursed and her face red while she held Malik close to her. He didn’t look any better, tears streaming his face as he looked at his mother pathetically.
She stood there awkwardly for a moment, hands behind her back, as she glared at them. Her father cleared his throat from behind her and Y/n sucked in a breath.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you, Malik. I was completely out of turn, and I let my emotions get the better of me.”
Malik smirks smugly as she apologizes, “You’re forgiven. I know you meant nothing by it. It’s fine, I pay no mind to your silly outbursts anyways, no matter how ridiculous they are. It’s expected for women like you to be rash and temperamental. Don’t worry, this incident won’t keep you from marrying me in the future, though I would rather you fix your attitude soon so I won’t have to lay a hand on my wife-”
Y/n can practically feel a nerve snap in her body. This douche actually thought she was concerned about their marriage? That idea was thrown out the window the moment they met. Her father tenses next to her, watching Y/n with a warning look. But y/n couldn't even stop her hand before it wound back and quickly flew forward, slapping across Malik’s cheek with a loud smack. Everyone around her gasped and Y/n quickly bolted to her room.
“Grounded! You hear me? This will not end here, Y/n!” Her father’s voice booms as she slams her door shut. Y/n curls up into her bed and closes her eyes, frustrations and annoyances quickly dissolving as she fell asleep.
She stays in her room for the rest of the day, having dinner delivered to her room and avoiding her father when he comes to her door to talk to her. By the end of the night, her father resorted to shouting various threats or remarks as he passed her door, threatening to toss out all of her possessions or lock her up forever.
Y/n knows he’s just mad and being dramatic, and just ignores him. He’s never done anything about her behavior before, why would he do anything now? Y/n goes to bed that night confident that her father will do nothing to punish her, and that it was all empty threats thrown out in a fit of rage.