Made of Things

Little Things - 10

His longer hair was beautiful. Yeong already had a charm about him but his hair reaching past his ears, the front cut into face framing bangs, made him difficult to look away from.

Days before, it was long and unruly until Yeong had enough, and sought out someone to find a hair stylist for him. The stylist had done justice and left almost all of his hair untouched.

Their eyes met when the princess looked up from the skirt she was sewing, and she almost pricked her finger. She hissed and dropped the needle as well as the skirt, catching the attention of the other women. A few servants and her lady-in-waiting.

"Your highness?"

"I'm fine. Just leave it," her cheeks burned as she carefully picked up the needle. She didn't dare to look at Yeong again, not while she held something sharp.

It had been a few months since he had arrived, and Jinx was used to him. She grew to enjoy his company. He wasn't like any guard she had before because he always paid attention. Even when she wasn't in danger.

The walks around the butterfly garden, the only time they had privacy, was quality time spent. They talked, not about much, but it was still nice. Yeong was a listener, breathing a laugh when when the princess pointed it out.

Still, no one had seen his face. She supposed his men knew what he looked like, but no one else did, no one native to Vinica at least. The princess didn't dare to ask, not knowing how to approach it. She didn't know why she wanted to see his face anyway because she wasn't the type to be overly curious about anything.

That wasn't true. She knew why she wanted to see his face.

Jinx was paying attention to a ladybug that landed on her finger when she tripped, falling all the way to her knees in the dirt. She hadn't tripped and fallen in years, so she barely knew how to catch herself as she put her hands out in front of her.

She didn't get a chance to feel embarrassed or even confused about what happened. Yeong was quick to kneel on one knee and offer a hand.

Accepting the offer, she let him help her to her feet. His hand was rough but warm, gentle in the way he held hers as she steadied herself.

He was sincerely concerned, still holding her hand as the princess assessed the damage done to her skirt.

Dusting the dirt off her skirt with her free hand, she huffed. Her crown had been jostled, but she wasn't allowed to touch it if she wasn't by herself in complete privacy.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not," she smoothed the skirt of her dress with both hands once Yeong let go. So she was distracted until it was too late.

Delicately, with much more grace than Jinx thought he would have, Yeong righted her crown.

The princess tensed, but there was no bite or real heat to her words, "You shouldn't touch my crown."

"I'm aware."

Jinx blinked a few times in absolute disbelief.

Yeong's eyes squinted adorably, smiling behind his face cover. "If I'm in trouble for it, let me know."

"No- you're- not," the words were stilted as Jinx tried to force her brain to start working again. "You're not."

His eyes continued to sparkle with amusement as he bowed, presumably in apology.

She wondered what he looked like, how amusement changed his whole expression. His eyes were gorgeous alone, and she wondered if he had the smile to match.

"Please be more careful, princess."

"I will," Jinx shook away her unusual thoughts, turning away from Yeong and starting back towards the palace.

That happened weeks before the sewing incident, and Jinx thought about it frequently since.