Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Uniform

"Are you ready yet, Jaein?" Minyoung called through the door, reaching for the recently polished door handle. She had been waiting outside the door for almost ten minutes, and she was surprised that it was taking Jaein this long to get ready. Usually he was finished before she was.

"Not yet," Jaein shouted back, the sound muffled through the heavy wooden door, one of a very few of its kind in the palace. Minyoung could hear the frustration in his voice, and she chuckled lightly.

"I'm coming in," she said, and before she could hear any protests, she opened the door and swept into Jaein's suite. Had been in the rooms many times before, but it still was amazing to her how many rooms he had. She was standing in the entry room, the place where Jaein usually greeted guests and entertained those that didn't need to go further into his rooms. It was sparsely decorated with a simple, elegant theme of white with gold accents. On the left, the room opened up into a larger room decorated in pale blue and white that Jaein used to entertain those closer to him. On the right, the entry room opened into a smaller, more intimate sitting room for private chats. And across from where Minyoung had come in was Jaein's sleeping and dressing room. Jaein currently was standing in front of a full length mirror, strugging to get his uniform in order, his long black hair messier than usual.

He was half turned, a surprised look on his soft face. His dark eyes looked Minyoung up and down for a moment, analyzing the outfit the servents had put together for her. She looked down self-consciously, but after a moment Jaein nodded and turned back to face himself in the mirror. Minyoung quietly let out a relieved breath, then lifted her silky skirts and crossed the entry room.

As soon as she crossed the threshold into the personal room Minyoung was overwhelmed by a light scent that permeated the room, a wood and leather smell that reminded her of the first time she met Jaein. She didn't let it faze her, didn't dare let Jaein see how much the smell affected her. She finished crossing to stand next to the man, who was almost a head taller than her, and a complete mess.

"Jaein, if I didn't know any better, I would think you had never worn your uniform before," she commented, turning him gently by his shoulders so that he faced her. He gave her a sheepish shrug, but offered no explanation. Minyoung had seen him being dressed in his uniform many times before, so she was able to quickly get him straightened out, deft fingers tightening buckles and ties, correcting buttons, and brushing the sturdy dark burgandy fabric free of any dust that may have rested there. When she was finished, she stepped back and looked him over carefully, checking for any more discrepancies.

Jaein was a handsome man, tall like most in his family, with a round face set with narrow but bright eyes and a long nose. His long hair was still a mess, part of it pulled back into the ponytail his status required, but most of it pull free and sticking out at odd angles. His uniform was dark burgandy and black, a fitted peacoat with a raised collar, accented with thin platemail shoulder plates. There were very few medals attached to the coat, but the circlet crown that still rested on a pillow next to the mirror was all the medal he needed for people to know who he was.

"Am I presentable yet?" Jaein asked, a half smile drawing the corners of his mouth up. Minyoung smiled back, and after stepping closer, made quick work of fixing his hair, working all up the shorter hair in front back into the ponytail. Once finished, she snagged the crown and, stretching onto her tiptoes, carefully settled it on his head. She made one adjustment to make sure it was perfect, then smiled again.

"You are presentable, your Highness," Minyoung said. "Can we go to the Winter Solstice party now?"

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