Unfamiliar: Obi x OC snow white with the red hair fanfiction

17

Cress's POV

"Uh, can I help you?" I tentatively ask the man in front of me who's just standing there staring at me with an angry air to him. He has blonde hair and a goatee, and he ignores my question, turning instead to address Zen.

"Prince Zen, who is this girl?" The man demands, shooting me a dirty glance. "I have never seen her before in the castle. Surely she can't be a noble or someone of such status?" His condescending tone makes me slightly annoyed as Zen speaks.

"Lord Haruka," Zen says to the man. "This is Cress. She is indeed not from a noble family; however, her skill and intelligence have led me to offer her a job as one of my attendants."

"Oh, so when you mentioned you had two new attendants..."

"Yes, she is one of those two." Zen explains calmly.

"I see," the man called Haruka shoots me yet another distrusting glance. "Although, if she's another commoner you've picked to place by your side, I don't believe in her capability." What's that supposed to mean?! I almost snap back, but bite my tongue to stop myself.

Zen sends Haruka a warning glance. "I assure you, she is very capable. Are you questioning my decision?"

"No, your highness," Haruka immediately apologizes. "I'm sorry for my imprudence. I only wish for the best people to stand at your side." He seems to remember that there's another new attendant. "By the way, who is the other attendant? Didn't you say you had two new ones?"

"Yes, indeed." He's talking about Obi, I think as Zen takes a sip of champagne, hiding a smile behind the glass. "He's quite nimble and skilled, Lord Haruka."

I suddenly hear a faint choking noise from near us. I glance around and make note that it's coming from the wall, well, more like a tall and thick hedge, next to us. When my gaze returns to Haruka and Zen, it doesn't seem like they noticed anything. Now what could that be? A spy? 

Then Raji, who has wandered a bit from his place next to Zen, is being escorted back by none other then Izana. The pale prince looks reluctant as he makes his way over to Zen, whose expression sours for a split second before adorning a tight-lipped smile. Something clearly happened between Raji and Zen, and I really don't want to stick around to know what happened. Besides, I want to avoid Izana as much as possible. "Please excuse me," I say with a quick and slight bow to a confused Zen before hurrying out of the part of the garden with the party.

Now I can check out who's hiding behind that wall. I'm also relieved to be leaving the painfully boring and awkward party. I make my way through the maze of hedges toward the wall I had heard the noise coming from. I keep a hand on my dagger, just in case it is an armed intruder.

I see two shapes pressed against the wall, undoubtedly eavesdropping on the conversations in the party on the other side. I'm alarmed that there's two, but it soon becomes clear that they aren't intruders. Shirayuki? And Obi? I blink in surprise as I get closer.

Shirayuki is crouched down near the foot of the wall, seeming to be absorbed in whatever conversation she was listening to. Obi, on the other hand, is leaning against the wall in a relaxed posture. He looks more interested in watching Shirayuki than listening to the conversations.

Obi immediately notices when I approach, taking his eyes off the red-haired herbalist and turning to look at me with surprise. "Hey, Blue. What a surprise to see you here." he greets me with grin. Shirayuki jumps a little when he talks, and bolts upright when she sees me. It's sort of cute, the way she looks all flustered because she got caught eavesdropping. 

"I could say the same to you, Obi," I reply dryly, taking my hand off the dagger at my side. "What are you doing over here with Shirayuki?"

"Say, Blue, you look great in that new outfit." Obi changes the subject rather quickly. "It suits you." Oh, he's not worming his way out of this one.