All the time she was waiting for her ship to alight at the planet of Mars, Jisoo was clueless of what she would see. Of course, she had had some background knowledge from her mother and some delegates about how Jennie's home looked like. After a week or so, the Queen of Venus brought up the topic about visiting Mars at last. Jisoo undoubtledly complied right away, with some complaints here and there as to cover her excitement from everyone, even perhaps to herself. 

 It was never in her expectation that the Kingdom of Mars would stand as almighty as when she saw it with her own eyes. This Kingdom was not nearly as big as Venus, she thought, but the castle which was towering above her looked not only strong, but also impenetrable. 

"Welcome to Mars, Your Highness, Princess Jisoo from Venus" 

A tall, well-built man kneeling on one knee was the next thing she saw after being ushered to to the front gate. Judging by his look, Jisoo guessed that he was the Artemis of Mars.

"So well-mannered" The Venusian Princess threw him a mental comment. "Jennie has always been like this, too"

"My name is Phobos, The Commander and Head Senator of the Kingdom of Mars. Firstly, I would like to apologize that Our Queen is not able to see you now" The man continued after he stood up. "Secondly, the Princess of Mars, Princess Jennie will see you instead. She is waiting at the backyard. The maids will show you the way to your room"

"Thank you" Jisoo smiled hospitably at him. "Nice to meet you, Phobos" 

Taken aback by such warmth he barely witnessed, Phobos blinked and stood stoicly on his spot. "T- Thank you, Your Highness" 

Following the assigned maid's steps, Jisoo moved her focus here and there at anything she found bemusing inside. There were aisles just like in Venus, only with torches burning even during the afternoon. By the time she was walking by the third aisles, she could confirm that every furniture was painted monochromatically, and it was either red or black. Once in a while she threw glances outside the window, and spotted almost no flowers and trees. 

"We are here, Your Highness. This is your room" The maid alerted her. She saw a big, red door then. "Your clothes will be brought here soon. Whenever you are ready to see Princess Jennie, you can ring the bell inside and I will be pleased to show you the way" 

"Thank you" Jisoo beamed a thankful smile. 

Stepping inside, she was welcomed to a medium-sized room. A quick scan told her that this room was not so differently decorated from the furnitures she found earlier along the way. There was a bed with a maroon blanket at the corner. A window which was much smaller than the one in her Kingdom's was next to it. She sat on the bed after that, and childishly bounced on it a few times. It was going to be her bed for at least the next few days anyway. 

It was not until she stopped bouncing that she took notice of something on the small bed table.

A rose was placed on it, its bright red color stood out in the middle of black wood. There was a maroon card under the flower, with something written over. Curious, Jisoo decided to take the card first and it did not take her long to spot her name.

To: Princess Jisoo from Venus

Welcome

- Jennie - 

Jisoo didn't understand why she had to blush hard. Was it the rose, or was it the card? None of which had ever been a romantic thing for her. 

She waited for a while more after that. She lied down on the bed, testing its comfort. She tried the chairs.  She checked the view outside her window which was nothing but an arid area and the tall wall that surrounded the castle. None of the things she tried to do managed to completely distract her mind from one thing.

She wanted to see the Martian. 

* * *

"We are here, Your Highness"

The Venusian Princess was gazing at the particularly bigger torches in the aisle when she noticed the maid's voice. She looked ahead, then, and a stony garden with a few flowers and a tree was in front of her. 
On a certain corner of it, she saw the image of a young girl with long, brown hair. She was sitting on a stool, the canvas in front of her smeared with mixture of colors.. It did not take Jisoo seconds to know who it was, and her pulse started getting a beat faster. 

"I will leave now, Your Highness" 

Jisoo blinked spontaneously. "A- Ah, yes, thank you for showing me the way"

Jisoo did nothing but stare at the girl then, silently hoping that the maid who had permitted herself did not secretly stay behind to laugh at her. It was not until the girl in the garden finally turned her head around did Jisoo finally flinch. Jennie found her there. Their eyes met like magnet.

Paintbrush thrown and stool ignored, The Martian Princess went closer to the guest at the door. 

"I did not expect you to come here so fast" She smirked. "I feel honored that you miss me that much" 

"My mother sent me here. I was bored and had nothing to do in my room. Don't flatter yourself" Jisoo gave her a glare. 

"Really? I actually heard from some insiders that you've been having trouble sleeping since I left"

"You think I would so easily be fooled again?" Jisoo scoffed before secretly gulping. Jennie's statement was close to correct, since she had indeed had some trouble with her appetite since the girl returned to Mars. 

The Martian gave her a smile - the kind which emanated warmth and which nearly melted the Venusian right there and then. 

"So how do you find our planet so far?" Jennie asked after a few seconds of dead air. 

"I haven't paid much attention to what's outside. But this building exceeds its image I had in my head"

"How so?" 

"I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like... It gives this kind of sturdy and magnificent feels" Jisoo's attention fell on where Jennie sat when she came. "What were you doing before?"

"Oh, I was painting. Do you want to see it?" 

"I didn't know you paint" Jisoo made her best effort to sound nonchalant about it. "Well, it won't hurt to see since I just arrived and have nothing to do"

"Don't worry, we will have something to do tonight" Jennie's lips turned up again, her expression looked like she was hiding the biggest surprise ever. 

"What is it?" Jisoo tilted her head slightly in cluelessness, and Jennie swore she would keep whatever she wanted to say a secret if it meant she could prolong the girl's adorable gesture. 

"We are having a dinner with my mother" 

"What!?" The answer immediately earned a cry from the Venusian. 

"Why? I am sure this is not your first time having a dinner with someone outside your planet, is it?"

"It's not, but... I mean, it's your mother!" Jisoo replied honestly. She was mentally replaying the words she got from people about the infamous daunting presence of The Queen of Mars.

"No need to panic, my mother does not kill anyone on the first meeting" Jennie responded as if hearing her. "So, are you going to see my work or not?"

Jennie's words did nothing to calm Jisoo, but the Venusian nodded nevertheless. Walking closer towards the painting tools that the Martian left, Jisoo gave a closer look to her surrounding. The lack of vegetation got her wondering. 

"Jennie?"

Jennie halted her steps, still feeling some kind of way every time she heard Jisoo call her name. "Yes?"

"Is this the only tree in the Kingdom?"

The Martian stared at the mentioned tree. "No, we still have two big ones in my mother's backyard and another three at the training ground"

"I see" 

Jennie waited for another words from Jisoo, but the girl simply focused on the tree. If Jisoo's eyes were lost in the green leaves of the plant, then hers were lost in Jisoo's. The fact that she had not seen the breathtaking beauty of the Venusian for more than a week made her want to stare even longer. 

"I have tried to draw that tree before" Jennie spoke up, breaking Jisoo's concentration. "But today I drew this"

Jisoo turned around and saw Jennie pick up the canvas from its frame. The drawing on it got her gawking. 

It was the painting of hundreds of trees and flowers, seen from a balcony. The rich, vibrant colors made it even easier for Jisoo to recognize the view quickly. 

"H- How did you even memorize this?" She asked, still agape. 

"Well, it left a deep impression on me when I was there" Jennie smiled. "I truly admire your planet"

"Yes, but... But you even remember it as if it's exactly the way it is" 

"You are exaggerating that. This is far from perfect, and far from its real beauty" 

"I am not. You're excellent" 

The Martian kept shut briefly before her smile turned into a smirk. "Okay, I will accept that. I have a feeling you will never say things like this again"

The amusement in Jisoo's face was soon replaced by an annoyed face. She threw Jennie a side-glare. 

"Although I am pretty sure you have secretly admired me many times before" Jennie's crooked smile got even more devilish. 

"I swear your drawing is the worst ever that even my maids could draw better than you!" 

Jennie was about to retaliate when she was halted by a voice. 

"Your Highness, Princess Jennie. I would like to let you know that your hot bath is ready" 

The two princesses looked at their right and found one maid standing. The Martian put her canvas back to where it was placed before. 

"I will see you tonight at the dining room, Princess Jisoo" Her lips turned up as she exited the garden, her maid not forgetting to tail her. The Venusian stared in annoyance at the vanishing girl, without realizing she had blown angry breaths through her nostrils and biting her lips.

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Thank you for all the comments and support for this fic :D Here is the eighth chapter, hope you like it.