Chapter Text
My hands won’t stop trembling.
I stare down at them and watch as they shake. Normally I could hide this problem by sitting down on them, but that certainly wouldn’t be well mannered and I can’t afford to seem like anything but a lady. Please stop, please stop trembling. I clench my hands into tight fists, hoping that would help, but I can still see them shaking.
I’m going to get caught.
There’s not a doubt in my mind right now. He’s going to notice how nervous I am, start to think of me as suspicious, and then he’s going to call the guards and ruin everything I’ve worked for this past year. I can’t let that happen. Everyone is counting on me, I can’t mess this up. I can’t let them down.
Deep breath Izuku.
In.
Out.
In-
“Miss Midoriya?”
I jump to my feet and snap my head up, staring at the guard looking around the room for me. He notices me standing and motions with his head for me to follow him before walking off. This is it. I gulp down all my fears and doubts while scurrying to catch up with him. The halls looks just as extravagant as the waiting room did, rich dark colors standing out, gold along the walls, with a feeling of emptiness despite it being filled with priceless artifacts.
“You will have ten minutes with him unless he dismisses you otherwise. There will be someone waiting outside of the room to escort you out- DO NOT wander these halls alone. We will be informing you if you made it to the selection or not before going home. Do you understand?”
“I-I understand,” I squeak, trying to keep my voice light.
If I sound weird the guard doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t look back once as he leads the way.
“I don’t need to go over basic etiquette with you, do I? You look like you have a good head on your shoulders, but I’ve been wrong before.”
“N-no sir.”
“Good. Never forget your place Miss Midoriya; that’s the best advice I can give you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
We stop in front of a large wooden door with beautiful vines and flowers carved into the wood. It must have taken the woodcarver months to create such artwork- no Izuku, focus. Keep your head in the game… although admiring the handiwork does calm me down a little bit. The guard knocks on the door three times before opening it up for me. He nods his head for me to enter. I stand up as straight as I can and pick up my dress, curtsying at the guard before walking inside. The door slams close behind me and I jump up, the sound echoing all throughout the room.
Alright Izuku, this is your moment. This is where all your training comes in. You can do this, don’t forget that everyone’s relying on you. Keep your chin up and appear as if you’re gliding instead of walking across the room. This place seems like a grand dining room or maybe a ballroom? It’s way too large to be a one on one meeting room; I can’t imagine why on Earth he would want this big of a room in the first place to meet his future bride. Then again, it’s not my place to question royalty; I was just warned to know my place. In the middle of the room there is a canopy of some sort, a deep red curtain hiding every side in a perfect square. Despite it being so dark, I can make out the shadow of a settee or divan and a person lying on it. There are no other seats in the area, so I guess he’s just expecting me to… stand? For the next ten minutes?
Don’t forget your place Izuku.
I walk until I stand right in front of the curtains and swallow heavily; hopefully he didn’t just hear that.
“Name?” An emotionless voice asks me.
It sends a chill down my spine as I blink, “n-name?”
“Yes, name.”
“Name,” I whisper softly.
Why is he saying name to me? Oh shit- is he possibly asking for my name? I flinch slightly and bow down my head- fuck that’s not what girls do, they curtsy. Why am I not remembering any of my training?! I quickly lean back up and curtsy, keeping my head lowered. There’s sweat running down my forehead and I know I’m royally screwed right now.
“Izu Midoriya.”
“Why are you here?” The same dull voice asks.
“Um-,” I stumble a bit at this question and dare to peek up. The curtains are still closed, but I can see the figure behind it is now sitting up rather than lying down, “for love?”
I sound so unbelievably I almost ask if I can have a do over. There’s a soft snort and I peek up again, wondering where it came from. The figure behind the curtain stands up and walks closer to me. I see his shadow on the floor and gulp, my heart racing inside of my chest.
“I haven’t heard that one before,” he says, but the way he says it is so sarcastic I know he doesn’t believe me one bit.
I’m so screwed.
“What makes you think you could be my queen?”
“I- I-”... I was not expecting these questions. Everyone knew that the first test was a one on one meeting with the prince, but no one could say what happened during those meetings. There were rumors that it was so the prince could see his choices and pick the females he liked looking at the best. Others said it was a bragging contest of saying how wonderful and amazing you were to try and make him interested. I went through hours of excruciating pain to look pretty, being shaved, plucked, and scrubbed clean, and had to make up a person who was interesting, but not interesting enough to seem suspicious, to gain his favor. In no way, shape, or form did this question ever appear in my training, so I had no answer for it.
All of a sudden I feel really stupid curtsying, so I stand up straight and raise my head. I was a fool. What made me think that I could do this? There were plenty of others who would have been better for the job, prettier, beautiful even, not a single one more willing though. I didn’t want any of my friends to suffer; I don't think any of them wanted for this to work as much as I did, which is why I was so desperate to be here. That was my downfall. I confused desperation with confidence, and now I just screwed up everything.
“Nothing. Nothing makes me think that I could be your queen. I would never come here with such a thought in my head.”
“Why did you come here then?”
“Because I was given this chance and I didn’t want to live the rest of my life wondering what if. Because I didn’t want to waste it and throw it away. Because of my small dream, my small hope that I might actually… find my most important someone.”
Silence.
“You think that someone is me?”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips, “that’s what I came here to find out.”
What happens next is so quick and sudden. The curtains are ripped open and I’m face to face with the crowned prince and future king of Endeavor. His voice sounded so deep, it didn’t match his looks at all. I had completely forgotten talking to him behind this curtain that he was my age, just a teenager, not yet a man. He was tall and beautiful, bi-colored eyes and hair matching his parents. The breath in my chest escapes and for a second I forget how to breathe as I meet his eyes.
My cheeks begin to heat up and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Shit, no one told me the prince was going to be hot! Like seriously?! How am I supposed to go on with my mission when I have to convince such a handsome guy to marry me?! I am so fucking screwed right now it’s not even funny!
“Speechless?” He quirks one of his eyebrows up and I bite my bottom lip to stop a groan from escaping.
“M-mor-more lik-ke tongue ti-tied.” I stutter out.
The prince blinks at me and narrows his eyes, “tongue tied?”
I cover my mouth with my hand and turn away, finding the floor so interesting at this moment. Come on Izuku, get it together. The mission doesn’t change just because the prince is fucking beautiful. Pull yourself together, you can do this…
…
Actually I can’t.
I’m already screwed.
From the second I opened my mouth I knew he wasn’t going to pick me, so why not go out with a bang?
“I’ve never seen you before, not a single picture nor drawing, so it shocked me to see how… handsome you are.” I blush ever darker.
I refuse to meet his eyes again, so I keep them glued to the floor.
“Please forgive me if I do not believe you. Every other single maiden that I have met has either screamed when they saw my face, flinched away, or quickly averted their gaze and tried their best to keep a happy face. You are the first to openly gawk at me the way you did.”
Scream? Flinch? Look away? How can anyone with eyes look away from this beautiful face in front of them? There was not a single thing I would change on the prince’s face; he was perfect in every single way. Women these days have absolutely no taste in men.
“I wasn’t gawking, I was trying to remember how to fucking breathe since you took my breath away.”
I quickly flinch and bow my head down- shit I’m supposed to curtsy! Fuck it!
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to use such vulgar language. My apologies for wasting your time, I will see myself out now.”
Great, how am I going to explain this all to Toshinori? Of course I’m going to have to lie, he’s going to know that I’m lying though. Great going Izuku, real nice job here. I turn around and try to get out of here as fast as I can. I’m only able to take two steps away before I feel an ice cold hand grab my wrist. I’m pulled back and my eyes widen as I turn around, meeting the prince’s gaze again. He’s staring at me with clear eyes and I feel my heart skip a beat. I stare into his one grey eye, one blue one, and see… pain? I don’t look away from his gaze this time around as I try to see what he’s seeing.
“Are you blind?”
What a strange question, “afraid not.”
“What do you see standing in front of you then?”
What an even stranger question, “a boy that I would like to know better and see if his beauty on the outside matches his beauty on the inside.”
I don’t know who was more shocked, the prince, or me for confessing my honest feelings to that question.
“What did you say your name was again?”
I blink softly, “Izu.”
The prince narrows his eyes at me slightly. His face is so close to my own I can feel his warm breath on my cheeks and can’t help but blush again. Just as suddenly as he revealed himself to me, he disappeared. He releases his hold on me and pulls his curtain back close.
“Leave.”
I nod my head despite him not being able to see it. I turn around and try walking in a straight line, my legs feel so weak though I make the fatal mistake of trying to speed walk and immediately trip on these goddamn heels. I land on my face with a loud boom and wonder if the floor can swallow me up right now.
…
…
Apparently not. Rise Izuku. I slowly get back to my feet and bite my bottom lip, feeling my entire body heat up from embarrassment. I quickly check behind my shoulder, hoping the prince didn’t see that, and I am royally screwed once more when I see his eye peeking out before it quickly disappears behind his curtain. Having no pride left inside of me, I limp towards the doors and open them up.
“It was nice knowing you, my Prince,” I whisper out softly, more to myself, as I close the door behind me.
Well that was it. Our one chase of infiltrating the royal palace and I ruined everyone’s hope. Now we were going to have to think up a different plan, a more dangerous plan that will probably put everyone at risk, and it was all my fault. I wasn’t trained enough for this- no that isn’t true. I was trained exactly for this, I wasn’t prepared for it is all. Everyone’s hard work back home… wasted because I went all dopey after seeing a pretty face.
“Miss Midoriya, your carriage is waiting for you outside. Here you are.”
I slowly look up at one of the butlers standing by and stare at the scroll he’s holding out for me.
“What’s this?”
“Instructions Miss Midoriya.”
I blink, “instructions for what?”
“The selection. You’ve caught Prince Todoroki’s eye, he wants you to return. Everything you need to know about it is written on this scroll. Be careful not to lose it and show your parents immediately when you make it home. We’ll be looking forward to your return here Miss Midoriya.”
“... holy shit.”