Mark in a deep breath as the servants around him dress him for his coronation. He stared at the clock agonizing every second that passed closer to noon. In two hours, he would be crowned king of Thyslao. He was about to inherit an entire kingdom full of problems his dad left behind. He wasn’t sure if he was truly ready for it but he knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it at this point.

Minhyuk stepped into the room and motioned to the servants to leave. “Leave us,” he said as he approached Mark. They bowed and left the room quickly. “How are you feeling?”

Mark put his hand to his chest and let out a long breath. “Anxious.”

“Don’t be. From what I heard of from Jinyoung and Wooyoung, you’ll be a great king. Just like I was.” Minhyuk grinned slyly and fixed his own tie in the mirror.

Mark laughed and adjusted the button on the sleeve of his blazer. “Thanks. I guess I just kind of wish my parents could see me today. I’m happy you and your wife are here in place of them though.”

“Don’t mention it. We are glad to be there for the man who found our daughter and saved her life.”

Mark smiled softly and nodded. He looked at himself in the mirror and his smile slowly disappeared. “You think my dad would be proud of me?”

Minhyuk smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Your dad was a trash human being but you are still his son. He would have been proud of you regardless.”

“I would like to believe so. He’s never praised me in his life…” Mark looked down at his shoes and sighed. “He’s been gone a week already. I can’t believe it…”

The ex-king hummed softly as he straightened the collar on Mark’s shirt. “Don’t worry. Your parents are watching over you now. I’m sure they are both proud.”

“Yeah...I guess you’re right.” Mark looked up and smiled. “I’m ready then.”

“Almost.” Minhyuk pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it over to Mark. “This is the ring I used to propose to my wife. I want you to use it when you ask Somin.”

Mark looked up at him in surprise. “Sir?”

“My wife and I are giving you our blessing to marry our daughter. In your own time, of course.” He grinned at Mark. “You’re definitely the kind of man I would want my daughter to be with.”

Mark opened the box slowly and admired the silver band with a simple, small diamond on it. “Thank you. I promise I’ll take care of your daughter.”

Minhyuk clapped his hands together and pulled Mark toward the door. “Come on then. Don’t want to be late for your coronation.”

The Great Hall of the Trinsa castle was full of nearly all of Thyslao’s residents. Everyone was there to witness the crowning of a new king, though most of who came had no idea there even was a prince and came out of curiosity to see who the prince was.

Wooyoung stood at the front with Sunmi, Hyuna, and Jinyoung as more people flooded into the hall. “Am I crazy or is this the largest amount of people ever to attend a coronation?” Wooyoung said as he examined the room. “There’s more people here than there are people living in the Warlock district.”

“Well,” said Hyuna, “wouldn’t you want to attend the coronation of an unknown prince?”

“This reminds me of the festivals the Lost District throws when a new chart keeper is named,” Jinyoung noted. “Except like a hundred times bigger.”

“This kind of reminds me of a Faerie Moon festival,” Hyuna said. “Faeries from the entire Cotanrhys planet come. It’s a lot of us but not nearly like this.”

A loud trumpet sounded and everyone fell silent. An orchestra began to play as the doors opened and in walked Minhyuk and Dahye. They made their way down the aisle with Somin following after. Everyone watched them in silence. Minhyuk and Dahye stepped up on the platform next to the crown that had a clear orb resting next to it on the pedestal. Somin moved to the side next to Taehyung.

The orchestra began to play another tune that washed the room over with a warm feeling. Mark walked slowly down the aisle in time with the music. People bowed their heads to him as he passed by until he reached the front. He paused at the bottom of the platform and breathed out before stepping up. He stood quietly as Minhyuk stepped before him. He nodded and Mark got down on one knee.

“Today is a momentous day for Thyslao. It’s the start of a new era as a new king is crowned,” Minhyuk said. “As the new king of Thyslao, you’re swearing your life to the people. You’re promising to lead them into a brighter future, to a hopeful future. Do you swear to be loyal to all subjects in Thyslao as well as those who come to seek refuge regardless if they are human, demon, faerie, or warlock?”

“I swear.”

“And do you swear to be a fair king? One who will rule without prejudice? And one who will never do anything to hurt or jeopardize the lives of any Thyslaoan subject?”

Mark breathed out slowly thinking only about how his dad broke all of these vows before his death. Mark shut his eyes swearing to himself he wouldn’t be the kind of king his dad was. He nodded. “I swear.”

Minhyuk smiled and took the orb from its perch behind him. “Take the orb and turn toward your subjects and speak your vow.”

Mark breathed slowly as he stood. He held onto the orb as it grew to fit the size of his palm and turned to the audience. The orb glowed a soft white in his hands as he spoke. “It’s a new dawn in Thyslao. My dad did some horrible things to all of you and I want to apologize on his behalf. Things are going to change now. I swear to be the king you can all rely on and to be the king who can inspire change for the better.” Mark held up the orb as it glowed brighter. “Long live Thyslao!”

“Long live Thyslao!” Everyone in the room shouted as the orb in Mark’s hand shined bright. It shot into the air and burst into small flakes of snow. Everyone cheered as Minhyuk placed the crown upon Mark’s head.

“I present to you your new king, King Mark Tuan!”

Mark straightened his back as the room roared with cheers.

“Long live King Mark!” Somin shouted to which the entire hall shouted the same.

Mark couldn’t help but smile hearing this and glanced over at her. She smiled and bowed her head. He held his hand out to her and motioned her over. Somin frowned as she stepped up next to her.

Mark clasped his hands together and cleared his throat. “May I have your attention, please? I have an announcement.”

Almost immediately, the room fell silent.

“First of all, thank you all for coming and accepting me as your king. I was really nervous I wouldn't be accepted because of who my father was, but here we are.” Mark glanced at Somin and smiled. “Second of all, I had quite a reputation of being an ‘ice prince’ when it came to love. I never dreamed I would ever find someone who would melt my poor, cold heart. Until now, that is.”

He turned to Somin and grabbed her hands. “I know we really don’t know too much about each other, but we will learn. Somin, will you please do me the honor of being my queen?”

Somin looked at Mark in surprise. “What?”

“We can change Thyslao together,” Mark said as he pulled the ring out of his pocket. “So, please, marry me?”

Somin blushed as she glanced at the audience. Everyone was watching expectantly at her which made her feel embarrassed. She could feel her whole body heat up with each second that she delayed. “Um…”

“We don’t have to get married quickly. I just… want you to rule Thyslao with me. You know more about Thyslao than me, more of the problems, and what needs to change.”

Somin sniffled as she felt tears fill her eyes. “Dummy…” She gently punched his shoulder. “Of course I’ll marry you. I told you I’d marry you if you were a prince, didn’t I?”

Mark laughed as he slid the ring on her finger. “I wanted to make sure it still applied to my new king title.”

Somin threw her arms around Mark’s neck as she kissed him. She pulled back before he could react and muttered to him as the crowd cheered loudly. “Stupid…”

Mark smiled as he hugged her waist. “I’m your stupid now.”

He shot her a playful wink as she laughed before they shared another chaste kiss.

~ End ~

[[ oh my God. my didn't realize that I didn't undraft this chapter. I'm slapping myself. This whole time asdfghjkl