Wind rustled through the land of fire, blowing the brown leaves attached on its branches to fall in grace. The last summer had been an interestingly hot season where troubles seemed to come and go as it pleased. The Crown Prince heard a lot of progress being done by the villagers from his previous meet up with the Village Head. The leader was having quite a number of homeless Seonghwa to provide shelters in his hands but after one of the older Princes went down to the village area himself, things escalated well.

Letting out another deep sigh of the day, Jimin held on a piece of letter close to his beating heart. His gaze was out beyond his window of his room where he could see the guards gathering around the entrance. He knew the day would arrive yet he never expected it would come sooner. Judging by the increasing number of palace guards on the high walls, he had a feeling the gate would be open for the Seonghwa as there would be a ceremony to be hold in the palace.

Tearing his attention from the outside world, his eyes found its way back on the letters with decent handwriting on it. It came in yesterday and he could not stop himself from putting the paper off his grasp as it had an unexpected but simple note (to the others it looked simple) neatly written on the corner. Rereading those words yet again, a knock on the door pushed him off his trance.

“What are you still doing in there? The people have arrived and you are barely ready.” Yoongi voiced behind the door as he did not bother opening it in the first place. He was just passing by and after knowing his cousin for so long, he had a feeling that the Crown Prince was still lingering in his room instead of being at the supposed ballroom where the event would be at. Smiling, the mentioned Prince carefully folded the letter before tucking it under his pillow where he was sure it would be safe.

“Let me just get my crown and I’ll be there soon!” Jimin replied as he stared at the door until he heard a faint step on the other side, indicating that the other decided to leave him alone. Or so the young Crown Prince thought. Yoongi might know how Jimin worked but Jimin still learning other random pieces of information regarding him. Meaning, he did not know Yoongi was faking the leaving.

Rolling his eyes, the Prince crossed his arms across his torso as he patiently tapped his foot lightly on the ground. He had sent his betrothed to the ceremony location before taking note that she was indeed distracted by the other Princesses. Also he should be warming his fingers on the black and white keyboard of the grand piano for the opening but there he was waiting for the one everyone had been anticipating.

“Ow!” Yoongi heard Jimin yelped from the inside and a smile came on his face as he assumed the younger male might tripped on his carpet again. It was rather amusing to know how clumsy the younger Prince could be at times though on his exterior, people would often see his charismatic side. However, when he heard an audible thud of an object followed by the Crown Prince wincing and groaning, he instantly pushed the door before running towards him in the fastest pace he could ever exert.

“Jimin, are you alright? Talk to me, kid.” The Prince spoke urgently as he kneeled on Jimin left side with his arms already providing support around his shoulders. Head shaking and panting were definitely not the kind of respond he wanted that was for sure but the pain soon subsided almost instantly which was surprising. “Seriously, what is wrong with you? You look just fine so stop being so dramatic. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

“I don’t know but my head and back hurt so much but I guess I’m fine now.” Jimin told him as both of them stood up with Yoongi grabbing on the fallen crown before placing it back to the Crown Prince’s head. Upon closer inspection of the distracted rusty haired fellow, he noticed something strange and foreign right at the roots of the young one’s hair. If he was Taehyung, he might start to scream or something because he swore he never saw it on the other’s head before. “Did you dye your hair to another colour, Jimin?”

“No, why would I?” He replied and continued, “We should head to ballroom, can’t celebrate the Crown Prince’s eighteenth birthday without the actual Crown Prince now, right?” Jimin smiled brightly as if he just forgotten what had occurred to him just minutes ago. Yoongi shook his head unbelievably as he knew where the source of happiness might come from. “I don’t remember being that delightful when Jiae wished for my birthday but then again, it makes sense since that two rarely meet.”

The Princess walked out of her bedroom that day with light and happy steps down the empty hallway of her family’s quarters. Judging by the noise she heard from the outside of her window, there were quite a number of new faces coming through the palace gate. She managed to get a quick glimpse of them though and wanted to feel that raging sensation to be honest. Nevertheless, her heart felt surprisingly calm and elated as the day was too beautiful over in Haesang. The smile she had plastered on had yet to disappear and it was noticeable.

“Someone’s chirpy today.” A voice joined in her gardening session as Jiyeon tended her bed of flowers. Some were already plucked and placed in a wooden box by her side before she turned her attention to the gardener. “Am I not allowed to be happy, Hoseok?” She questioned cheekily after standing up and looked at the male by her side.

“You’re allowed to be as happy as you one, Lady Jiyeon but that’s not your default expression these days until today. Is there any occasion I missed or anything?” Hoseok decided to ask her. His eyes slowly followed her movement as her body found its place to land on a bench nearby. “I never thought knowing someone’s birthday can be this exciting. I wish I could see him.” She replied with a pout and a long sigh at the end of her sentence.

“It’s the Seonghwa’s Crown Prince’s birthday today? Well, that’s a good reason since he always seems to be able to make you smile every time I deliver the letter that was passed to Namjoon. Are you sure it’s worth it?”

“What do you mean by that?” Jiyeon curiously glanced at him with her eyebrows almost connecting. Hoseok by far the one she trusted in telling the things she shared with Jimin though the handwritten letters. So when he decided to throw that kind of question, she was taken aback the slightest. She saw him shrugging his shoulders before gazing over the lake metres away. Exhaling deeply, he spoke, “You are developing feelings for the one who possess the total opposite of your element. Your brother is not talking to you as much after the unfortunate event. Are you sure, Crown Prince Jimin is worth fighting for? You might only talk to him through mere exchange of words on papers but the relationship you two are creating can be a great danger not only to the Crown Prince but also you. Think about it.”

His words struck to her like lightning on a stormy weather. The smile that was once on her face was already vanished and as for her heart, it paced faster while her mind actually taking in Hoseok’s final words. Only silence was accompanying them although in reality, the faint sound of bursting water entered her consciousness since the training was currently held on the other side of the garden.

Jiyeon already got used to random strangers of Haesang walking through the entrance these days that she was never bothered to take account of what her brother was planning in doing with the people. She talked to Master Seo once but he too did not say as much in providing information which was why she did not fill in as much in the letters she had been secretly sending these past few days. While she was distracted of her own train of thoughts, it was stopped by Hoseok with a light tap on his arm. Looking up to his face at once, she followed his gesture.

“Isn’t that your farmer friend?” He questioned simply but that made the Princess jumped onto her two feet almost instantly before making a quick run over to the mentioned fellow. Thankfully he was close by the entrance because he turned his head fast enough after he heard his name being called. Glancing at the crowd in front of him, he walked out of the group and silently jogged over to her.

“Jeon Jungkook, what do you think you’re doing? I thought you swore not to join him!” Jiyeon wanted to scream at the young one’s face but that would only gain unwanted attention from her surroundings. Before they continued however, she gently pulled him into the lake garden area which made him stopped from talking as he was amazed by the scenery. Once he was done, the Princess repeated the same question. Jungkook answered with a shake of the head and replied verbally.

“Well, things got a bit messy over at my house.”

Back in Seonghwa, the birthday ceremony of the Crown Prince went according to plan. Other than talking about random future plans regarding the safety of the people, Jimin did not appear to be genuinely happy on his face and he really did hope for the day to pass by quick. Not that he was not thankful with the effort of his two parents had done to ensure a great celebration but listening to the news given by the Princes and the Village Head were not a part of the day’s agenda. Excusing himself from the group meeting in the corner of the ballroom, he proceeded to the buffet table where Taehyung greeted him with a simple ‘hey’.

“You don’t look great today. What happened?” Taehyung genuinely asked as he began to fill in the boredom by stirring the pumpkin soup for no apparent reason. He was in charge of the dinner strangely enough but he did not have to argue with his mother to be placed in the room to his relief. Unplanned, the two began to chat until they were sure the event had ended.

Walking back to the room alone, Jimin bumped onto one of the palace servant before he reached his room. His palm landed on the wooden door first to push it open but it was hindered by a sudden pain striking him on the head and back at once. Fallen with a loud thud, the door to his room opened with the force and the incident was heard by the palace servant. He could hear her steps grew closer to him as his mind only filled with nothing but the sting. Not able to move any longer, he could only call for help in a whisper.

Taehyung was the first person the palace servant met while she frantically ran down the hallway, searching for anybody that might be wandering around the palace at night. Fortunately, the person she found was indeed the best candidate she could reach at that moment. Panting hard, the kitchen worker asked in worry, “Sujeong, what happened to you? Why are you running in the middle of the night?” He placed the trays in his hand on the ground before placing his hands on her arms.

“The Crown Prince, he fainted at the door to his room.” Sujeong reported in between her breathing and that did not take for the male to act for so long as he swiftly passed by her before she tailed behind him. The two servants could hear the faded voices of the other kitchen worker yelling at Taehyung in particular but he simply shut them off. Rolling her eyes, it was Yuju who literally resisting the urge to throw daggers at him. “The last time we covered for him, a fire happened so what else can happen, right, Eunha?”

Once they reached the door to the room however, Taehyung saw nothing but the door left ajar. Turning his head to Sujeong for confirmation, she explained what she actually saw before finding him. Looking around the area, Taehyung decided to enter the room with his hand shakily pushed the door wider for both of them to walk in. A blaze of worry began to ignite in their hearts as they scouted the Crown Prince’s room.

It took him seconds but when he found an uncommon small insect by the standing mirror, Taehyung already called for Sujeong to stop and smiled at her, brightly as if he just won something big in his life. Gesturing her to witness his finding, the female also gape in surprise at what she saw. It would be a lie if she did not hear rumours about the Crown Prince but when Taehyung explained to her first hand, she knew the truth behind those stories.

Taking it in his hand, Taehyung placed it on the Jimin’s pillow and let out a long smile. The two walked out of the room silently before Sujeong took her leave to the palace servants’ quarters for the night. Before closing the door gently, one could hear him spoke to no one in particular.

“You just got the best birthday gift ever, little one. Cherish them.” He felt glad since he knew he was the first one to see it but then he added on with a brighter smile, “You can now fly with those beautiful wings of yours.”