~ Jong In’s POV ~
 

What is this?! My heart is still beating like crazy after that incident just minutes ago. And I don’t know why… It was just an accident! Please! I mean why would I even feel like this? It’s not like I’m into men or something. It must be because of the shock! That must be-
 

“Hey! Jong In! Are you there?” I got woken up from my inner battle as Yi Fan waved his huge hand in front of my face, staring at me weirdly. “Are you okay?” He asked worriedly.
 

I nodded my head, smiling at him. “Yeah. I’m okay. What did you say?”
 

“I just said that the party will start any minute now and everyone should get ready. Who knows what my brother will do if anyone would be late for his celebration…” Yi Fan sighed.

He wasn’t used to talk with a lot of people at the same time, since he always had to stay away from huge gatherings as a child and up until now the only people he actually talks with is me, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Joon Myeon. If you don’t count his parents, his strange brother and the servants of course.
 

This would be the first time he would have to speak with the guests as it would be his older brother’s 24^th birthday celebration. And this time it would be different since they had plans to introduce Li Yuan’s fiancé too. So that meant that Yi Fan had to actually socialize with the guests, making them comfortable and letting them know more about the crown prince’s little brother.
 

I met Yi Fan when I was ten and he was just turning fourteen. He didn’t get an actual birthday party or any kind of celebration really. It was just him, alone in his room with loads of books that he had to read through in less than a week. I was sent there to help him with a subject that he wasn’t that good in and to keep him company. They told me to try and get along with Yi Fan, get to know him better since I was going to be appointed as his bodyguard.
 

Yi Fan, now and then haven’t changed that much. He’s still the same cold-looking, reserved guy as he was the first time I met him. He really doesn’t talk much, but when getting to know him you can’t help but wanting to take care of him. Even though he’s a genius actually…

“Are you really there?” Yi Fan’s voice interrupted me once again and I looked at him questioningly.
 

“Of course I’m here!” I blurted out with, what should have looked like, an innocent smile. But Yi Fan just sighed.
 

“We have to go now or we’ll be late…” He whispered desperately wanting to get away from this crowd that have now all gathered in Yi Xing’s room. I looked around surprised to see so many people had gathered just like that! And why didn’t I notice it earlier?!
 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” A voice behind me asked, and I swiftly turned around just to see the one that I only minutes ago had been awfully too close to.

My heart started beating furiously and I could sense my whole face burning up as I jumped backwards to get away from Sehun. I accidentally landed on Lu Han’s feet though, making him yelp at the sudden pain in his feet. I hastily jumped off his feet and my back hit Chanyeol instead, who had somehow appeared in the room together with Baekhyun and Suho while I had been in my own world.
 

“Yah!” Lu Han shouted out angrily. “How dare you hurt me!? And how dare you even be in the same room as my love!?” He yelled at me, trying to get close to me but Chanyeol hurriedly grabbed a hold of his arms. “Let go of me!”
 

“No way! You’re only going to kill him! Even though I don’t know what have happened but I can sense your hatred towards my friend!” Chanyeol’s dark voice let out as he had a steady grip on the significantly shorter guy. “I can’t let you kill him!”
 

I could see that Yi Fan was uncomfortable where he stood in the middle of all this commotion, even though his face didn’t show it that clearly. I stumbled forward and pushed him outside, leaving the group of people alone. Hoping that Lu Han soon would calm down enough so I could somehow talk to him about everything…

~ Jiao Lin’s POV ~
 

I tried my best to calm down as I walked into the main hall in the palace, making my way to the party together with Zi Tao. I felt so nervous by some weird reason. I glanced over at my bodyguard and realized that he looked kind of stiff; it was like he also was nervous.
 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, making Zi Tao jump by surprise. “Calm down! Why are you so nervous for? It’s not like you would get introduced as the fiancé of the crown prince in front of probably half of the city’s population…” I let out sarcastically. He stared at me for a minute before smiling awkwardly.
 

“I know… but I can’t help but feel like something will happen…” He shyly said and scratched his neck. “What if I lose sight of you in the crowd? What if someone hurts you? Or if-“
 

“Stop worrying!” I interrupted him before he started freaking out. “You can always use your power if something happens right? Or just use your wushu skills! If I don’t kick their asses first that is…” I jokingly ended.

Zi Tao calmed down a bit, at least enough to be able to go through with this day without unnecessary worries. I smiled reassuringly at him before letting the servants show us through the hall and towards our final destination. Walking past a few people on the way, which turned their heads towards me with curiosity written all over their faces.
 

“I really don’t like crowded spaces…” I whispered as I anxiously watched the packed room. There must’ve been hundreds of people inside the normally huge room, which now seemed as small as a bathroom…
 

“You’re not the only one…” I heard a familiar voice say right next to me. I turned my head to see Jong In stand on the right of me, shaking his head sadly.
 

“So you don’t either?” I carefully asked. Feeling a bit relieved that I wasn’t the only one feeling uncomfortable in crowded places.
 

“What? Me? No, no! Not me! Wu Yi Fan doesn’t like it. I, on the other hand, love crowded spaces!” He happily announced, smiling brightly at me. He then pointed behind us, right at a very tall person standing with wide eyes staring at the packed room.

Just looking at Yi Fan made me realize that he probably disliked it more than me. His expression said it all. But then just glancing at the tall and handsome male right in front of me made my heart skip a beat, my cheeks heated up as I looked away hastily. I peeked a glance at him again, just to have my heart start speeding up at the beautiful sight. How is it even possible…? He looks like he’s not from this world, almost like he was taken directly from a fairytale or something…
 

He suddenly looked down at me and I swiftly turned away, biting my lip softly as I felt embarrassment shower over me. I shouldn’t stare… even if he’s really one of a kind…

“Hey! Yi Fan! Guess what? The princess is also afraid of crowds!” Jong In said, smiling teasingly in Yi Fan’s direction.
 

“I’m not!” Both I and Yi Fan said out loud, making both of us surprised. Jong In started laughing at us, obviously very amused.
 

“You should have seen your faces!” He let out after a while, still chuckling at us.
 

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Chanyeol asked as soon as he walked over to our small group. Baekhyun soon stood beside him, followed by a smiling Joon Myeon.
 

“There you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you!” Another voice was heard through the noises, which belonged to no other than Xiu Min. Interrupting me just as I was about to answer Chanyeol’s question.

Soon everyone was assembled. Everyone but Sehun and Lu Han, who couldn’t be seen anywhere. I looked at Yi Xing who only shook his head tiredly. Mouthing a ‘don’t ask’ to me. I smiled understandingly at him before returning to the others. Noticing Chanyeol and Xiu Min having a staring contest.
 

“What are you two doing?” I carefully asked, earning a small sigh from Joon Myeon.
 

“They are apparently fighting over whom of them that will dance with you first…” Baekhyun answered with a forced smile, patting my shoulder to cheer me up.

The two guys were in the middle of a very pointless battle between themselves, since I would probably have to dance with the crown prince only anyway. I didn’t have any chance of talking with the two because all of a sudden an unfamiliar woman stood in front of me, wearing a long red dress with black embroideries decorating the waist.

“You must be princess Xia Jiao Lin, am I right?” She asked politely, reaching out her hand for me to shake.
 

“That’s right. And who may you be?” I asked as I took her hand in mine.
 

“I’m Lin Cui Fen. I’m the royal fortune-teller.” She introduced herself and looked at me with seriousness in her eyes. “I need to speak to you; it’s about your future…” She whispered with a worried tone, squeezing my hand gently. “Please follow me. It’s really urgent.”
 

I glanced at the others who were speaking happily with each other, almost everyone at least. Xiu Min and Chanyeol were still battling and Yi Fan stared at the two like they were stupid. Zi Tao was talking with Yi Xing, discussing their powers again. I hesitantly faced Lin Cui Fen again, noticing that she still held my hand tightly.
 

“Don’t worry! You’ll be back in no time! They won’t even realize that you’re gone, you’ll be back before they notice!” She said as she pulled me with her further inside the room.

A weird feeling filled me and I observed the middle-aged woman dragging me away almost too eagerly. Her shoulder-long hair uncovered her long neck as the wind subtly made its way towards us from an opened window. My eyes widened when I noticed a black tattoo making its appearance on the woman’s neck, a symbol of a spider.
 

I’ve seen it before… The panic rose as I understood clearly that I’ve been tricked, the woman’s intentions not as innocent as they sounded at first…
 

I tried to wriggle out of her grip, making a halt with my feet while doing so. Her grip tightened even more when she faced me with a smirk. It made me shiver; her smirk looked more evil than Li Yuan’s. I quickly turned around, still in her grasp as I searched with my eyes feverishly for Zi Tao. I wasn’t able to shout when opening my mouth, not a single word or noise came out. She must’ve done something!
 

As the panic rose even more, I suddenly locked gazes with my bodyguard who was searching for me in the crowd with a worried expression on his face. When he noticed my scared appearance the time stopped as he hurriedly made his way towards us.
 

There was one problem though…
 

His power wasn’t affecting me, strangely enough. And neither did it stop the woman. With a last smirk she made us both disappear into thin air, leaving Zi Tao in the middle of the room terrified at what just happened. And time once again ticked away, leaving a lot of questions behind…