It had been her second day staying in Seonghwa and to say she already got used with the fact she will be there for the rest of her life if things work out was an understatement. She saw how her step-brother spoke with the kitchen servants during their eating sessions with bright genuine smiles while she remained composed, contrasting to him by lots.

Nonetheless, Crown Princess Jiyeon inhaled a good amount of oxygen into her lungs on one fine morning after breakfast. Walking by her side was Crown Prince Jimin, obviously as they made their way out of the dining hall and aimed for the main entrance of the Seonghwa palace. She bowed curtly at the palace guards as they passed by and her fiancée abruptly stopped.

Jiyeon was confused to say the least of why the sudden halt. So she chose to fully focus on her front where the horse-drawn carriage which supposedly been their ride to the village centre was nowhere to be seen. Tugging him by his sleeve, she gained his attention. “What is Hayan doing here? Where’s the carriage?” Named after its colour, Jimin smiled over at her direction since he expected the question to come from her sooner or later.

Yesterday was a tiring first day at the village centre. Visiting one house after another, starting from the village head’s home to the fifth house located in that row. Fortunately for the royal couple, Taehyung was there being his extremely friendly self as he did most of the talking. He did not forget to give his friend and sister a chance to say their words too so there was nothing to be worried of.

Flying back to the current situation, the Crown Prince advanced towards his white horse before combing its soft mane between his fingers to show his affection and ruffled them. Jimin’s eyes locked on Jiyeon’s after seconds of thought and spoke.

“I have a feeling we will need him for today. Maybe we can go on a free ride around Seonghwa after the visits. There’s a lot more for you to see here.” He gestured his surroundings to emphasis on his real intention before continuing, “Besides, who knows, I might actually teach you how to ride a horse while we’re at it, right?”

Jiyeon smiled and nodded her head. Seeing him waving his hand as a sign for her to come closer, Jimin climbed on Hayan, securing his position and pulled the princess up soon after. The two acknowledge of their current relationship of course yet it still managed to cause their hearts to beat fast against their chest as it was one of the rare times they sat that close. With all honesty because of the situation, she was scared to lean on his back so he would not notice the unnecessary pound.

Nonetheless, the Haesang Crown Princess had no choice but to hold on tight once the Seonghwa Crown Prince purposely signalled for his loyal animal companion to move out of the blue before trotting swiftly through the palace ground and exited the place. Jimin laughed good-naturedly when he heard Jiyeon screamed his name and telling the horse to slow down. Shaking his head, he tightened the grasps on the straps and whipped once for Hayan to do the opposite of her command.

Arriving at the Seonghwa village centre in a record of an hour, thanks to Jiyeon’s persistent demand to have a much slower paced trip, Jimin instantly put up his signature charming smile over to the villagers which passed by to carry on with their daily tasks. Seeing the two of them already there, the hint of dark silvery fuchsia locks owned by the village head came to their sight.

“I didn’t expect to see you without the carriage, Crown Prince Jimin.” Kim Seokjin, the mentioned village head chirped as Jimin helped Jiyeon to get down. Since there was no wooden steps like the one back at the palace, he had to be extra careful of her descend. Once she was down, he turned to look at the older fellow. “I don’t feel like it. So, where to?”

Seokjin took them to the first couple of houses where families with almost the same background lived. The prince took his time listening to their troubles and such while the princess gave her opinion about it from time to time. She liked it, being able to help them solving their tangled mind which something she always did even back in Haesang. The only difference would be the Seonghwa royals preferred to approach the villagers instead of the other way around.

“And the last house for today is the Lee household.” Seokjin informed once they stood by the front of the two storey building. Jimin never been there before yet he was sure the people lived in the house would be someone who had a close relationship with one of the Seonghwa princes judging on the slightly fancier exterior compared to the houses he and Jiyeon visited.

“Good morning, we have been expecting your arrivals, your highnesses, Seokjin.” The three of them heard as soon as they stepped into the humble abode. Greeted them was a man in his late age of fifty, visually. Jimin was not much of a guesser so he let that one fact passed by. Bowing slightly, Seokjin slowly made his way out for the royal couple to chat with the man.

“Is it just you who live in this house?” Jiyeon questioned as that was the first thing she noticed. However, she took back her words when she saw the family picture hung on the wall. They were seated in the living area with the stone hearth being lighted up by the man after throwing a log burned using his element to warm the room as the autumn was approaching.

“There is the four of us. The mother is upstairs. She is not in the best condition to be down while my oldest son is out there at the marketplace. As for my second son, you might have the idea where he is.” He explained, hopefully it helped but the crease on Jimin’s forehead was obvious so the man added on, “My second son, he’s the palace gate keeper, Lee Minhyuk. He is on that voyage with Prince Changsub, right?”

“Oh yes. Sorry, I don’t really know Minhyuk as much but I heard he’s the best palace gate keeper the Seonghwa royals ever have. And he still is, honestly.” Jimin told the father on the bits he truly knew about the gate keeper. Turning to look at Jiyeon, he found her glancing at the staircase located not far from their seats.

“If you don’t mind telling, can I know what happened to Minhyuk’s mother? Is she sick?” The red headed prince decided to ask as if he was able to read what had been in Jiyeon’s mind before witnessing the man looking up as well. “I can.” He answered shortly and began his story.

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess welcomed the new information open-mindedly with no doubts. It was refreshing since all they heard beforehand from the other villagers were the typical problems regarding time and money and maybe the occasional luck not being on their side. To hear that the trouble happening in the Lee household, Minhyuk’s family was something new to them but not to Prince Changsub, he said.

The mother had been on bed ever since the gate keeper was young without knowing the actual reasoning behind it. There were times they thought it was time to say their goodbyes to the woman. As sad as it sounded but it was the truth. They were apparently prepared, scared for the day to come. Nevertheless, it never did and she was still there with them, immobile. They tried for the local and Haesang physicians, shamans too yet the answer was the same which was nothing.

“But strangely enough, the only person she ever talked to is Minhyuk which is not often since Minhyuk comes home perhaps twice every two months. His stay is usually only about two to three days.” Minhyuk’s father told. “Without the boy, we don’t get to hear her voice in the house.”

“How does your other son react to this? He is not even in the house for us to talk to.” Jiyeon pursed her lips as her eyes wandered to the entrance of the house before fixing her gaze back on the father. “Minhyuk’s brother took it well. He does appear to be a lot more distant in comparison and he once said he doesn’t mind since practically speaking, she is not his birthmother.”

Jimin and Jiyeon turned their heads to face each other almost in synchronise. Eyes widened, the only female in the room questioned, “Minhyuk’s brother is adopted?” And she got herself a nod from the male in front of her. That explained a lot since according to the father’s story, the mother was bedridden after two years of giving birth to the fellow gate keeper. Poor boy, he was so young to see his mother staying on bed unlike any mother out there.

Bidding the father a goodbye after they were done with the visit, Jimin pulled Hayan by its strap while Jiyeon walked on his side with the same thinking expression. They stopped their pace in the midst of the people walking about the place and then he heard her talking.

“Is it just me or their trouble sounds too new? I never heard someone in such condition before. Do you?” Jiyeon furrowed her brows as her fingers laced through her blue hair in wonder and puzzled at the same time. “No, I never heard of it before too. I hate to bring it up but it almost sounded like your late step mother’s condition, don’t you think?” Jimin ended his sentence questioningly before staring straight, not looking at her face.

“My late step mother is nothing like that, Jimin. What makes you think of that?”

“She’s quiet and seemed weak before she passed, right? I don’t know. It’s just an opinion.” Her eyes locked on the ground as she revaluated Jimin’s words.

Before she could conclude anything, the villagers around them suddenly went chaotic. They were screaming something incoherent and running to one direction which appeared to be on the northeast side of their current position. What was going on? That was the one question coming to the two’s head. Without any delay, Jimin positioned himself on the horse and hoisted the princess up easily as if he did it multiple of times before.

“They’re back?” He whispered once the four legged animal stopped its pace behind a mass of people crowding the place – the dock.

“You’re saying that you left Prince Changsub and Minhyuk in a foreign land? What makes you think that’s the best decision, Prince Sungjae?” Jimin’s cousin rubbed his temple by the time the news of the three royals of Navillera came back to their homeland with exception of two important figures included in the voyage.

“Look, Yoongi, I can explain but that’s not important. What’s more important is the fact there are more people like us other there. It’s safe to say we’re not the only ones. Their island don’t even have a name, weird, am I right?” Sungjae told them. His voice alone could project throughout the prince and princess’ meeting room. Most of them already filled in the single room when they heard the news.

“How similar are they to us?” Jimin stepped up to the same-aged prince. His interest spiked instantly at the statement and he felt rather unfortunate not being able to witness the island with his own eyes. “They have their own controlling elements and they can shift into butterflies. The future ruler of the land is also a Crown Princess. Just like you. Oh wait, why are you here?” He said, pointed directly at Jiyeon who stood metres away from him.

“You do know that Jiyeon and I will rule Navillera together, Yook Sungjae. How can you forget that? It’s been in the discussion even before you left for the voyage.” The Crown Prince spoke in an unbelievable tone and tightened lips. “Okay, wait there’s more.” Sungjae said, holding a piece of paper in his hands before Yoongi snatched it off.

Craning his head to look at the scribble in his cousin’s hand, it was Jimin’s turn to take the paper without any hesitation. He scanned the lines once, twice and thrice before gestured for Jiyeon to stand closer in order to share the written words. Eyes opened larger than usual, she gasped after she was done reading. Bobbing his head once, Jimin grabbed onto Jiyeon’s hand, pulling her out of the room.

“Are you thinking what am I thinking?” He asked in a hasty manner and saw her nodding a couple of times. “I guess we are not the only one who had to solve a prophecy.” She replied verbally and read the whole stanza again. Unlike the two Seonghwa in the foreign land though, they had no idea what was going on.