You groaned, slumping into your seat. "Absolutely not." Azumi scolded, slapping your stomach with her ruler. "Sit up straight. The ball is in a few days, and you haven't learned a single thing." actually, you had. In hopes of being kicked out, though, you purposely messed up.
The rest of the week went on like that. The training, the schooling, the eating alone. You hadn't seen Enji since that day you were kidnapped, but Kyoka and Ochaco assured you that you would have dinner with him, his family, and his advisors the night before the ball.
"You look wonderful, Princess Y/N." Kyoka still hadn't cracked, and you were starting to get annoyed with how little personality she showed. She kept her face neutral, too, so it was impossible to tell what she was feeling.
You spun around, disgusted at your appearance. You glared at the mirror. "Three weeks from now, I'll be nothing more than the king's breeding whore. How pathetic." you spat, and Ochaco was quick to try and comfort you, but you didn't feel any better. In fact, you only felt worse.
"His children are older than me. This is disgusting." you gripped your dress, the red fabric brushing against your wrists. "Oh well. Let's do this."
"You look beautiful, my bride." you plastered a fake smile onto your face as Enji's hands wandered around your dress. "Kids, meet Y/N, your step-mother." you took a seat next to Enji by the head of the table, the feeling of uneasiness increasing in your stomach.
"Hello, Princess Y/N! I'm Princess Fuyumi, it's a pleasure to meet you." a girl introduced, and with a jolt, you realized that she looked so much older than you. "Likewise, Princess Fuyumi." you bowed your head.
"Shoto, Natsuo," Enji rumbled. "introduce yourself." the youngest child let out a loud sigh, giving you a nasty side eye. "Make no mistake." you shivered at his tone of voice. "You are not a replacement for our mother. You're nothing but a baby maker."
"Shoto!" Enji shouted, standing up. "She is my future wife, treat her as such! She will be the queen in a few weeks!"
"No, no, it's alright." a coy smirk adorned your lips. You leaned forward onto your elbows, forgetting your manners. The advisors and Lady Azumi were arriving for dessert, so you had nothing to worry about.
"My goal isn't to be your mother figure. Your feelings play no role in what I do, so you need to make no mistake. I'm going to be the queen first and your step-mother second. You are nothing but a prince, I'll be the one holding the power in a few weeks. Now, what's your name?"
You nearly gave everyone whiplash from your attitude change. The other princes introduced themselves, being cautious so they wouldn't piss you off again. Enji clearly had no problem with your outburst, and Fuyumi found it amusing.
"Y/N, meet my advisors. Hizashi Yamada, and Shota Aizawa." you bowed your head, getting up to formally greet the king's men. "I am Princess Y/N." you bent down, showing your respect to the older men.
"Hey! I'm Hizashi, and that's Shota! It's nice to meet you, princess!" you giggled. The blond man's cheerfulness was infectious, and you found yourself genuinely smiling as the night went on. You discussed politics, where you expressed your opinion that ending the resistances with violence would only anger people more. You discussed how the palace was structured, and eventually, the night ended.
"It was lovely to meet you, Hizashi, Shota. Goodnight." you waved goodbye as they left the room. "You did wonderful, love." Enji pressed his lips to your cheek, escorting you to your room.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Tomorrow didn't come fast enough. Your handmaids were sleeping, and you yourself had yet to reach unconsciousness. You tossed and turned, but the feeling in your stomach wouldn't go away. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't fall asleep.
It looked to be about eleven at night when you finally decided to get out of bed and do something. You threw a cloak over your nightgown, slipping outside to your balcony.
The air was crisp, and you looked down to see other balconies below you. Wait. The city wasn't too far from here, and you knew how to ride a horse...
"Shhh, shh." you cooed at the creature, patting its nose. "Come on, let me ride you." you hopped on, careful of your delicate nightgown. You dug your heel into the horse's side, and you were off into the night.
If the guards spotted you, they probably thought you were some messenger. After all, you were wearing a red cloak that flapped in the wind. No princess or future queen would ever wear that.
You tied your hose to the tree, stumbling into the bar. It was lively, with women dancing and men singing. You sat down at a table, and almost automatically a skimpily dressed waitress set a mug of beer down in front of you.
You threw your head back, chugging the beer in one go. Back in your village, everyone drank. It was a normal thing, and you yourself had learned the art of drinking competitions. The waitress brought you another beer, and you couldn't resist.
Fuck looking like a queen. You were young, a simple village girl. This is what you were born to do. Drink and have fun before you died. Maybe get married and have some kids, but the main goal was to do what you wanted.
"Hey, doll," an older man with scars slid into the booth next to you, but you ignored him, continuing to drink. "that's a lot of beer. Say, would you mind if my buddies came and joined you? You know what they say. Drinking alone is sad."
You stared at him. You should say no, but did you care? No. Of course you didn't. The man gestured, and his friends walked over, surrounding you. "Hi! I'm Himiko! Who are you?" you giggled, taking her outstretched hand and bringing it to your lips.
"The name's Y/N. Well, I-"
"What do you think about the rebellions?" you thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Enji, Shota and Hizashi say that we should oppress them, but they're wrong. We need to let the rebels say what they need to say, and we should form new laws around their words." years of drinking had allowed you to be the exact opposite of a lightweight. Even with as much as you were drinking, you only felt pretty tipsy.
"Huh. I thought she was drunk."
"You thought wrong. You know what?" you gestured your drink towards the man with scars who approached you first. "You look like Toya. You know, the Todoroki prince or whatever? Yeah, you got the same eyes."
"How do you know about him?" his voice turned deadly, and you just shrugged. "Believe me or not, but I guess you could say I'm the king's whore."
One of them gasped quietly, turning to whisper to the man with the scars. Scar man hummed, nodding his head along to whatever the other man was saying. "Y/N," you perked up at your name. "what do you think about working for the rebels?"
You laughed. "Hell no. I don't care enough about you guys to join. And I don't care enough about you to report you, either. My only goal as of now is to get back home."
It turns out that the horse you took had two very large flasks, and that the bar was completely okay with pouring beer into them. "'Kay. Bye, guys." you rode off, slumping down onto your horse, the vibrations lulling you into a sleep-like state.
You gripped your flasks, running quietly up the stairs and into your room. Right before crashing, you set your beer down onto your nightstand. You fell onto the bed, the alcohol in your system helping you lose consciousness.
