'With luck, you'll be able to hang on to your true friends, the ones who were always there for you...even when you thought they weren't.
Because friends like that are more precious then all the tiaras in the world.'

- Meg Cabot, Forever Princess

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Y/N's POV:

I lay in another soft bed. The catch? There's eleven other beds with me.

As an avid Barbie fan in my childhood, I am very familiar with the story. I loved it so much I even looked for the original fairytale version, even better, I know.

I guess my Barbie obsession will help in this chapter. Considering my bed placement too, I'm probably the eldest sister. I've never had sisters.

This will be quite interesting.

I examine the room I'm in, all the beds spread out, all twelve of them. They seem to be preparing to sleep, as some of them tuck themselves in. I, have the wine in my hands, going in to the room next door.

Knock knock

I await the man inside, assuming this is either the first one to do so or the last, the one who actually succeeds in finding our little secret.

"Hello?" A familiar voice greets, the door knob twisting like the swirls on a candy cane, finally revealing themselves. "Jimin? And Hoseok?" I gasp, as they reel me in quickly.

"You're both here? Isn't the story only meant to have one guy?" I wonder, looking at the two confused figures in front of me.

"I don't know, okay?" Hoseok admits, slopping down on a simple wooden seat. I put down the cup of drugged wine, settling down next to them.

"Yeah well, there's only meant to be one guy here. But I guess. I don't know, you're added as another character maybe? There's no role for you to fit in so..."

At that note, you could hear a drop from the wine glass drip on the side, the clock ticking realising I don't have much time to stay in the room. "Look, do you guys know the story?"

"No. I may have been a kid before but it's not like I know every single one," Hoseok says honestly, Jimin chuckling at what he said.

"Says the one who still watches Toy Story and Princess Charm School at least a few times a year," He spills, rubbing his nose and side eyeing him. "I do?"

"Yeah you do, and frequently may I say. I guess Jiwoo rubbed off you," He guesses, averting his gaze back to me. "I'm familiar, I'll tell him about it. Just return to the other princesses and we'll do our job," Jimin winks, pushing me out.

"Are you sure?" I need to know they really are fine, I want to be as useful as I can be. "Of course, now don't be such a worried mother and return to your sisters," He says, fully kicking me out of the room and shutting the door loudly.

For someone with tiny hands, he slams doors quite loud doesn't he? It's like his voice was at minimum volume but in a snap of of a finger, it went to maximum. Trying to burst my eardrums again?

"Sister, why were you there for so long?" The one who I assumes to be the youngest one asks. She's already suspicious, better be careful of her. "He just asked a few questions and we had a short conversation. Nothing to worry about," I assure, tapping her on the shoulder.

She doesn't seem convinced, as they all start to fake sleep. I join in, tucking myself in the bed and facing my side. I wonder where they'll be 'watching' us. Pretty sure there's a hole or something.

"I have a bad feeling about tonight," The youngest admits, rubbing her arm as her face droops down. She nervously bites her bottom lip, looking at the other eleven women in the room, including me.

"Don't worry, they'll be fast asleep. I know they aren't awake right now," I smile, getting prepared to sink in the ground for the first night.

And at that, the first night of dancing starts, as we open the trap door.

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Jimin's POV:

"I already hate this fairytale. For god's sake, who writes a 'fairytale' like this. Come on, spying on teen girls? I don't care if the order was made by their dad, it feels so wrong," Hoseok's inner softie comes out, sulking around in the bed.

I take responsibility, watching for when they leave. They seem to be preparing to do their dancing again, something I wish doing. "It'll be fine Hoseok, don't be such a cry baby and get the invisibility thing," I order since well, he's literally laying like a cat there.

We need him to evolve from a sloth to a better functioning person.

"And that's another thing! Are we Hermione and Ron?"

Excuse me. "None of us are a woman Hoseok, unless you've fallen for me again," I joke, sort of abusing his loss of memory. "Wait, am I straight? Or gay? I feel straight though," He questions, coming closer to me with even more confusion on his face.

"Maybe," I lie, knowing he's pretty straight. Or at least that's what he said and so far, it seems true. "Wait, fall again? I liked you? Oh please, as if. Who would fall for a person like you?" He halfheartedly insults, grinning at the same time. He definitely doesn't mean it.

"I'm kidding Hoseok. You're straight for all I know. And hey! Come on, I'm such a sweet adorable guy, who wouldn't resist me?" I say, getting distracted as I cup my face with my hands.

"I don't know, maybe someone who doesn't want a face that looks like a balloon half the time? Look, especially when we wake up, I notice you look like a scarlet coloured balloon," He informs with full honesty.

"Scarlet? Pink?"

He crosses his legs and sits down next to me. "I see the way you look at her. She's probably noticed and in denial or something. You're a blushing mess in front of her," He declared, putting on a mischievous look.

No. "I do not like her."

"Hah! I didn't say that did I? But you assumed it, confirming my suspicions even more!" He squeals like a hopeless romantic in eighth grade. "What else would you mean? There's no other thing you could possibly imply besides that?"

"That is not the point my friend. I'll see you in a few months to a year and you'll be dating. Ah, only God knows what happened when I wasn't here," He daydreams, looking up at the ceiling.

I don't respond as I peak back into the girls room, the trap door already opening. "Get the cloak, let's go."

We quietly go out the room, tiptoeing to theirs as we hang around the door for a minute. Luckily this cloak is so large that it fits us both. It's almost like, it was made bigger, just for us.

As I hear the walking, suggesting they're already going down the stairs we quickly sneak in, closing the door. Our shoes are silent, as I lay my first step on the stair, going deeper and deeper into the ground.

Eventually, my eyes meet a beautiful underground world. It was so hard to restrain myself from reacting, wanting to gasp loudly at the enchanting sight. I follow behind the youngest, as Hoseok is by my side too.

We first came to a delightful grove of silver coloured trees. It was so shiny, glittering perfectly in the night. As Hoseok seems to be in awe, his feet gets planted on the floor. Tugging him with me, I snap off a small branch and put it in my pocket, hurrying along to catch up with the rest.

"Didn't you hear that?" A girl asks, the one who I presume to be the last. "Hear what?" Y/N asks, acting quite well as the eldest of this tale. Her posture is pretty good, probably from studying dance over the years.

"I heard a branch snap," The smart and sharp young sister says, looking around her surroundings wearily.

"Its nothing, don't be so anxious."

Yeah girl, don't rat us out yet. Not the time for that. Actually, never rat us out. Ah, how will we do this for three days?

Alright the walking is getting boring for the readers. Let's fast forward, shall we?

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Hoseok's POV:

Confusion. That's all I need to say, confusion.

What's happening you ask? All I know is, blah blah blah, dancing princesses and creepy father who wants to know. Exaggerated, he probably just wants them safe and they won't own up to it. But still.

But shoes don't wear out that much do they? How long do they dance for?

Also, apparently in the story we're meant to follow them on the boats. But we aren't?

"Park, why aren't we following them? Isn't it apart of the original story?" I question, whispering to him as we sit down near the lake.

"We already messed up the others, a little tweaking in this one shouldn't hurt much. It's not like we can anyways, it would be too much weight on their boat," He explains, looking out at the sparkling clear water.

"True," I agree, tossing a flat stone in the water as it fails to jump in the water. "Watch and learn newbie," Jimin says, claiming he can do it better than me. And well, I failed so all he needs is one sort of 'hop' to succeed.

Surprisingly, he succeeds, sitting back down. "Told you," He boasts, flexing his rock throwing skills. I don't even challenge him, barely moving an inch.

"Oh by the way, if the story doesn't cut off early and we 'fail', we die. No
big deal," He says, looking back at me.

"You know there's something I always wondered. You're a bright, sweet good-looking guy, yet you're still single in real-life. Unless you magically got a partner while I left," He tells me, inspecting my face.

"Huh what? I don't know, not my fault I'm a hopeless romantic," I say, raising both hands. "But for you on the other hand, brother, why are you single?" I ask back at him, hoping for an honest answer.

"Haven't found the one," He says honestly. It's established.

He hasn't fallen yet, but he will. I feel the tension between them, and I don't think it's just because they had some sort of fight.

The way they look in eachother's eyes longingly, not wanting to look at anything else. Like the second leads in a Korean drama, normally being more loved than the mains itself. It restores faith for my future love life too.

"Alrighty then Park!" I laugh, slapping him on the arm lovingly.

"As always, you don't seem convinced," He sighs, gazing into the water again. He really seems to enjoy the staring doesn't he? It is quite pretty though, like his oh so precious Y/N.

"I'm convinced. I am, I just see a glimpse of something you don't," I wink, letting it go. They'll realise it soon enough. Love shall bloom like a flower.

"Sure sure Hoseok, believe what you want," He says, giving up as we wait for the Princesses to return.

"Well, if we're not going there, shouldn't we just go back now?" I impatiently say, eager to sleep and rest a little more.

"Alright then, let's go back to our room safely."

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Y/N's POV:

We row the boat gently, each Prince on a boat as well. I wonder why they're under here, I'm not sure if they're even real. For all I know, they could be figures of our imaginations. They literally look like 'If Barbie Prince Dolls Came to Life'.

I stand by the statement that they can't be real. Brightside? I get to dance a lot, and I mean a lot. So much my fancy shoes start to shrivel up into nothing but a rag.

The chestnut brown haired prince walks to me, as we go to dance together. First, it starts with a subtle waltz, striding across the dance floor. On the side was a large table of wine and goods, to keep us awake and alive for the night.

As we twirl, his hand on my waist, I don't think of whoever is in front of me. I close my eyes and lock it shut, thinking of someone else.

It reminds of me Cinderella, when he pulled me away to the centre of the ballroom floor, all eyes including his were on me. The mystery girl of the future King, who could it possibly be?

Tonight, it feels similar but not the same. Because his eyes aren't on mine, yet on some tree or wall. Something so beautiful but still, insignificant, almost useless.

"You're stunning as always," The man in front of me compliments, as I say the same about him.

"But I can tell, you're different. The way you dance my Princess, it's not the same," He honestly says, as I open my eyes again. What? Did my acting fail me again?

"I'm trying a different style," I lie. This is how I always dance, not thinking about what I'm doing but moving according to the beat seamlessly.

"You're not her, are you?" He continues, as I stop in my tracks to connect with him. "Of course I am, who else would it be? A secret twin?" I laugh, taking a break and going over the table to drink.

"Maybe. But it's okay, I won't tell anyone. Your secrets safe with me," He assures, as he too takes a golden cup to drink out of.

"How did you know?" I surrender.

"Your expressions, the way you closed your eyes while dancing. Your more well, soft moves in the dance. The way you smiled, a way you've never smiled at me before. Which leads me to something else...

Are you seeing someone Princess?" He pries, wanting to know about me, the real me. Not the dancing Princess version of me, just... Me.

"No, not at all. It just reminded me of a different moment in time," I say honestly, filled with nothing but truth.

"I see, Princess. I suggest to wed this man," He tells me, averting his gaze to somewhere else, to the other princesses dancing.

"We're close friends, nothing else."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Prince."

"Well then, shall we continue to dance?" He offers, putting down his cup and stepping back onto the dancefloor. Lending his hand, I walk closer as we continue on for the rest of the night. That is, until we have to return.

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Timeskip - Fictional World Time - 2 Days

Jimin's POV:

Didn't we just get back in this room a few hours ago? It's night time again? This way of time is not good for me.

"Ah, we barely slept," Hoseok yawns, stretching his limbs. "I know, but no time to be all sloppy. Honestly, let's not even bother leaving the room. We have all the proof we need, a couple branches and that's it.

"Which of us will have to wed Y/N? Oh wait, it's you," Hoseok smirks, teasing me. "So, I would like to know more about the future love of your life," He gossips, laying down back on the bed.

"Long story short, we're childhood best friends that got separated and met again in College," I explain in under twenty words hoping it would shut him up.

"Detail Park, more details," He complains, making a pouty face. "Didn't I tell you already?"

"Tell me again, I barely paid attention. I was distracted by a morpho butterfly," Hoseok says making an excuse, waiting for me to talk.

"We met when we were in maybe, second or first grade? But when we were thirteen, my dad got a job offer and took it. I left last minute without a goodbye, she got hurt and we met again here, in this messed up beautiful place. Satisfied?"

"Well done," He praised, as if he was my Literacy teacher. But as he rolls in the bed, he falls to the ground, a migraine putting him in so much pain that he holds his head in his hands.

"Hoseok!" I yell, forgetting the twelve princesses are only nearby. I shake him, but he yelps in pain, rolling into a little ball. The door bursts open, Y/N running to our side and abandoning the others. "Is he okay?" She worries.

"Go back to the rest, he's probably just remembering something again," I say, urging her to leave. Yes, I don't mind changing stories. But it'll be too obvious, it could change the whole layout.

She obliges, running back at out, looking back at us for a second. "I may be the Princess, but be safe either way no matter what happens," She says, going back to her room.

"Wake up," I say, shaking his body. He looks at me, eyes crossed. I can't help but laugh at this face, but my emotions still linger nevertheless. "I'm... Fine."

"Remembered something again?"

"Yeah. I did, and I remembered you, the day we met."

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Flashback

Hoseok's POV:

Alright, I'm prepared for the mathematics exam. I studied from night till sunrise, I'll get an A+ for sure, right?

Ah, I shouldn't have drank so much Sprite during Lunch. I should go to the bathroom.

I leave the table where my other friends sat, making my way to the men's bathroom. I have one minute before the bell goes and I have to go. Regretting everything right now.

I make it quick and do my thing, as someone else enters the room too.

"Going to be late too huh?" I ask, looking straight at him as I zip up.

"Wait! Theres something on your..." He says, pointing at the bottom of my back. I turn around facing my back at the mirror, there's a notes saying 'Date me? - Vivianne"

That's one way to ask someone out in middle school. "Thanks for that, I'd probably never notice. Ah, even my friends didn't tell me. Probably why they kept laughing. Anyways I uh, got to go," I inform, washing my hands in the sink.

I get ready to exit the room, hand already on the door knob. "Hey you're new right? What's your name?" I smile, being extra friendly to the newcomer.

"Jimin, Park Jimin," He shyly replies with an accent, fiddling with the ends of his sleeves. Its like that when you're new, but he's already become quite the news here.

"You don't know English quite well do you? We're in the same class I think," I continue, forgetting about the test.

"Yeah..."

"Well, you've been quite the news in school. But you've been hanging by yourself, so, want to be friends?" I offer, lending him my hand.

"Sure. What's your name?" He smiles.

"Hoseok, Jung Hoseok."

End of Flashback

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Timeskip - Fictional World Time - End of Day Three

Y/N's POV:

"You knew something.." The youngest suspects as Jimin and Hoseok did well, one of them to wed me.

"I knew nothing," I defend, as the other sisters speak up. "Why would she do such things and team up with those feeble people," The middle sister states, standing up for me.

"Precisely. They were just smarter than the other ones we've met. I apologize for I have lead you to this, but focus on positives," I say, trying to ease her. Her face was priceless, annoyance plastered all over.

The door opens, where Jimin stands with my apparent father...

"So uh, when's the wedding?"

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Word Count

➪ 3275 Words ☕︎

A/N: This chapter was simple! Honestly the plot is really 'bland' right now. Like I said before, it's all chill for the character interaction. I swear, the ending is a lot better.

Other than that though, I hope you liked the conversations. I think communication is really a key thing for my story, and something I'd like to improve on in terms of writing.

Don't forget to vote and etc, thank you! ilysm everyonee

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