Nobles from all over the country started to arrive, all bringing in smiles and hope and abandoning the feeling of fear and uncertainty. Lady Jongdae and Lady Zitao had been busy attending to the guests whereas the King and Queen of France graciously awaits the loyal nobles in the banquet hall.

Baekhyun looked around the hall and smiled to himself, noting how his ladies outdid themselves with the feast. He looked at each and everyone only to see the smiles on their faces and laughter and merriment surrounding the entire hall.

Yifan looked at his left, seeing Baekhyun smiling down at their subjects. He felt a ray of sunshine in his heart that exploded into tiny remnants of rainbow glitters when Baekhyun looked at his way.

“My ladies did quite good for tonight’s feast. I wish I had given a little bit of help in preparing for this.” Baekhyun said, voice thick with pride and joy. Yifan nodded in agreement, refusing to speak seeing as Baekhyun quickly replaced his friendly demeanour towards their current status. 

Yifan looks back to his subjects while sipping his wine thinking of his little surprise. ‘You might not forgive me now, but I assure you, I will not stop asking for your forgiveness even if it costs me my life.’

—

“Have you seen Lady Lu Han?” Jongdae had asked a servant in which the latter replied he had not. “My, this is the fourth person I have asked for that man’s whereabouts! Where is Lu Han?!” Jongdae stomped his feet. Zitao looked everywhere but Jongdae, evading his stare and probable questions to be thrown at him. He does not want to get on his bad side knowing that this is still a long night.

At that exact moment, Sehun walked in and made his way towards them who were tensely looking for their friend. “The feast is a success, so far, but you seem distressed, milady. What seems to be the problem?”

“Lu Han had disappeared as soon as the feast had started. We were walking towards the door to welcome our guests but when I turned, he just..” Jongdae trailed off, “..vanished.”

Zitao let out a soft giggle as the two looked at him. “What? Jongdae, you do know Lu Han could not possibly just vanish, right?”

Sehun pursed his lips as he folded both his arms in his front eyebrows furrowed into deep thinking, “I don’t know. He really seems nowhere to be found. I had been scouting the entire hall to ensure maximum security but I haven’t seen him, too. Where is he? How long has it been since he went missing? Why didn’t he advise you? Where could he possibly be?!”

“Sehun, calm down. We will find him. Do not fret, please. You are making me worried as well.”

Sehun heaved a sigh as he nodded. “That seems better. I will help you look for him.”

“Oh, please do! That man.. When I see him, I will feed him to the royal horses!”

—

Yifan looks to his side and whispers to a nearby guard, “Where is Sehun?”. Yifan rolls his eyes and shakes his head as he looked forward, ignoring the subtle way Baekhyun side eyes him as if to ask what seems to be the problem. He deems it appropriate to not talk to him as of the moment to better give his surprise later on in the night.

Baekhyun breaks his silence, however, and decides to humor the King. “Is everything alright, my King?”

Yifan chokes on his wine, and his throat seemed to close up. My King? He could not remember when was the last time he felt this cold shoulder from the Queen, yet did not even want to dwell on it. Instead, he smiles at him and nods his head. Baekhyun, on the other hand, felt rather uneasy with how Yifan smiled at him. He remembers how his smile could radiate the entire room. He almost, almost, got himself fooled and change his mind.

Sehun walks calmly towards the King, but his eyes tells otherwise. Coming closer to Yifan, he could sense the disappointment from the King. He was needed there, as the King’s brother and his confidant yet he was attending to his personal matters. He feels upset and useless and he was ready to acknowledge the lack of responsibility until one of the Nobles came close. He felt himself stop. I guess I will just talk to him after the feast. He steps back as he turned around only to bump into Lu Han, who seemed genuinely shocked by the sudden push.

“Lady Lu Han.” Sehun regained his composure. “Lady Jongdae and Lady Zitao has been looking for you since a while back. Where have you been? You got me worried.” He stops right after to think back on his sentence. He should not have said that. I should not have said that.

“Oh, I was a bit preoccupied with my dress and asked a few servants to help me with it.”

“Well, at least tell someone of your whereabouts!” Indignantly, he excuses himself leaving Lu Han with curiosity bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He shrugs it off as he tries to find the other ladies but numerous Nobles tower the entire hall. As soon as Jongdae sees him, he marched up not quite subtly with his face contorting with that of anger and relief.

“Where were you?” Jongdae raised his brow as he folded both his arms in his front. “We were worried. No, I am mistaken. I knew you were somewhere here but Sehun was beyond repair over worrying about you! Tell me, Lu Han. Is there something going on between the two of you?”

Lu Han widened his eyes as his cheeks reddened. Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat. “How could you accuse me of something so ill-mannered? I would have been able to accept that remark if it was thrown onto Zitao.”

“I am deeply sorry. I know there is nothing going on with you and Sehun. I just assumed since he had been looking for you all over the place and he seemed quite restless when we all couldn’t find you.” Jongdae reached out to hold Lu Han’s hand as he squeezed a little tighter.

Lu Han felt his chest tighten and held Jongdae’s hand on top of his own. The thought of Sehun worrying about him sent him tiny tingles of joy and guilt. He loves Sehun but they could never be together. He is a Lady of the Court, though a man of position like him should be loyal to the French Court, his loyalty is still to his Queen, the mother of Scotland. He could never betray Baekhyun’s trust.

“Please do not tell me you are thinking that being with Sehun will ruin your reputation and Baekhyun’s trust in you.” Jongdae mused as he looked keenly at Lu Han’s reactions in which the latter softly gasps. “I assure you, you need not worry. Besides, he has already given you his blessing. Remember?”

Lu Han looks at their hands and wishes it was all that easy. He was not even sure Sehun feels the same way. Sehun is next in line for the French throne, suppose Yifan and Baekhyun could not fulfill their duty to their countries. God forbid Baekhyun could not deliver. It will shame him. I still hope for the best. “It is not as simple as that. I am not certain that he feels the same way for me.”

Jongdae looks at his friend and felt the need to step up once more. He did it to Baekhyun and he will now do it to Lu Han. He just needs to find Sehun.

—

All night, there has been one single thought that lingers in Baekhyun’s mind and he hates how it ruins his thought process. He could not even think of a single reason on why he would do such a thing, yet he could not help but be overjoyed with this surprise. He kept on looking at Yifan, and his suit, and debates on himself whether to ask how could it be possible. Yet, the most stubborn one wins and makes him shut his mouth.

The sound of the royal horn makes Baekhyun glance up from talking to Lord Seunghyun and he looks at Yifan who had a noticeable grin on his face. He sees how Yifan walks towards Baekhyun, completely disregarding the questionable gaze Baekhyun throws at him and instead, excuses both himself and the Queen to attend to the sudden Royal guest.

The door opens wide as a familiar man walks in, elegance and grace following his strides. Guards on his back, he walks forward as the crowd in the middle parts to give way for the royal.

“Junsu.” Jaejoong walks toward the Royal couple who was welcoming their surprise guest for the evening. “You sure know how to make an entrance, don’t you, darling?”

Junsu smiles as he bows to the Queen Mother and Yifan and proceeds to hug Baekhyun. “Oh, I have terribly missed you, my dear. How have you been? France seems to have taken good care of you.” He turns to Jaejoong and gently smiles. “For that, I am thankful. You have honoured our alliance.”

“Oh, dear. We are now united. We need to be strong to set a noticeable calm and steady front against our enemies. There is no need to be thankful.” Jaejoong smiles.

By the sudden silence filling the air, Yifan instructed the musicians to start playing again. Once the mother and son have completely said their greetings, Baekhyun turned to Yifan and looked at him, not knowing whether to smile and acknowledge the kind gesture or simply shrug it off as common courtesy. He does the former and quickly turned back to talk to his mother again, avoiding how Yifan would react.

Yifan, however, felt his heart tug at the smile Baekhyun threw his way. He may not have the chance to talk to him while the feast is still going but he will try afterwards. No one else can steal this joyous occasion from him. Not the English-French war nor Jaejoong and Junsu’s disagreements. And Yifan believes this is the start of a new journey that he and Baekhyun will take.

Late into the night, Baekhyun still entertains the Nobles when Jaejoong slipped past him and pulled Yifan towards the side. “I assume this is how you would win his heart once again.”

Yifan looks at Baekhyun, the same way he has been looking all these months and turns towards his mother. “Yes. I am not certain this would bring back our marriage but it is a huge step. Though, I am quite perplexed Junsu still thinks the same of me, even after I have been the sole reason why Baekhyun lost our child.”

“You do not have any fault in this, my son. You are simply doing your duty to France. It is not your fault Baekhyun could not deliver the expectations for a Queen.” Jaejoong sharply looks at Yifan.

Yifan looks back and scowls at his own mother. He finds it hard that this man will treat the love of his life and the future mother of his country as irresponsible and ill-fitting for him. “Mother, I have had enough of this. Not another word of this nonesense. You need to trust Baekhyun completely because I do and I love him.”

“Dear son,”

“End of discussion.” Yifan watches as his mother gasped in shock. He felt he crossed a line in which he can never get back but this needs to be settled.

Jaejoong, fully recovered from the sudden outburst, smiles and holds Yifan’s face. “You, my son, have grown up to be just like your father. You’re not the little boy I used to pacify. You’re strong, full of wit and sense, just and independent. I am so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Yifan, though taken aback by his Mother’s sudden praise, smiled at Jaejoong before excusing himself.

“Let’s just hope for the best that Baekhyun does forgive you and give us all what we want: an heir.” Jaejoong muttered under his breath.

—

As the feast comes close to an end, Lu Han had been busy sneaking glances over Sehun’s area, trying to seek his eyes. Unfortunately, Sehun seemed to be occupied talking and laughing to a certain young man whose face looks like that of an ethereal beauty.

Zitao looks at Lu Han and sees him glaring at the said man and coughed to get the latter’s attention. Lu Han seemed dazed but eventually gained his composure and gave Zitao a scowl. “Stop glaring at that young man, Lu Han. You will scare the poor Noble.”

“Zitao, would you happen to know who that man Sehun is talking to? He seems to be quite a charm.” Lu Han gritted his teeth as he looked sharply at the dashing man. He feels threatened by how he is oddly close with Sehun and he thinks he is keeping something that could endanger his life.

“That is Lady Jongin, the daughter of Lord Heechul. He attended tonight’s feast on behalf of Lord Heechul as he is disposed as of the moment. He is Lord Heechul’s most favored child as he excels in dancing and relations with other Nobles. He seems nice, don’t you think so?” Zitao mused and got another glass of wine from a servant currently roaming around the entire hall. “He also looks really good, with that prominent jaw line and his lips!”

“Oh shut it, Zitao. You are not here to eye other men. Where is your loyalty? And he does not look good. I am suspicious of him. Look at his dress! He does not suit that color! I better warn Sehun.”

“You are going to give Sehun a warning just because the color does not suit the man he is talking to?” Zitao looked dumbfounded. “You are something, my dear friend. Besides, you only speak ill of him and his dress because you know that purple is your color.”

“Shush. I am going to warn him.”

Full of determination, Lu Han leaves Zitao as he strides towards Sehun, the latter not knowing what the other has planned. As soon as Lu Han was a meter away from Sehun, he could not believe his eyes when Jongin leaned towards Sehun and whispered something in his ear, resulting to a laughing Sehun. Growing a bit angry over witnessing this kind of interaction, he walked closer and cleared his throat. Sehun looked shocked and unable to speak whereas Jongin smiled at Lu Han and introduced himself. “I believe you are Lady Lu Han, one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting. Am I correct?”

He looks too good to be true. How is he a human? Chiseled jaw, fine plump lips and mesmerising eyes. His voice is so good to hear, too. Sehun would definitely like this man. Lu Han thought how he could ever compare to someone so beautiful and graceful. He looks at Sehun, the way his eyes seem to dance nervously, his hands clutching tight at the sheath of his sword, his stance completely rigid and he thinks back on how utterly wrong it was to invade a personal conversation, especially with someone he does not even know.

It had been a few seconds of silence on Lu Han’s end but he cleared his throat and said, “Yes. Yes, you are correct. But, please call me Lu Han. And you must be Lady Jongin, the daughter of Lord Heechul. I have heard so many things about you.”

Sehun looks back and forth between the two, seeming to get caught in the middle of two boats. He sees how Lu Han smiles but his eyes seem to be sad, and looks at Jongin’s crinkling ones. He knew at that moment who he really wants to be with. “Jongin, here, has been telling me how Lord Heechul would always tell him to harness his dancing for hours that he sometimes sneaked out when he’s not looking!” Sehun shared as Jongin tried hard not to laugh. Instead, he kept his hand on Sehun’s forearm, slightly caressing before dropping his hand.

The action did not go unnoticed as Lu Han felt an intruder at the two’s conversation. He laughed a little before saying, “You must be a very good dancer. However, I apologize but I might have to excuse myself. I believe the Queen is looking for me.”

“Oh, that is alright. We could write! I could use some writing. I will let Sehun know everything and he could relay my address to you. It is such a shame we would have to curtail this conversation. But it was very lovely to meet you, Lady Lu Han.’

“Likewise, Lady Jongin.” Lu Han smiled and walked away before fleeting a glance at Sehun who seemed rather troubled. From behind, he could hear Jongin saying that he was nice and very pretty, and that his name suited him. He could not hear anything, nor care about anything else. Tonight has simply ended what has not been started.

Or so he thinks.

—

Yifan says his final words, thanking the entire hall for coming despite country conflicts and Noble differences. He seemed rather invigorated, vibrant and full of youth and it made the Nobles wonder that something good must have happened. He assured everyone that anything else left unsettled will continue to be in progress the next day and the Nobles take it to heart. Having a happy King must mean something good is about to happen to France and the citizens could no longer wait. He makes a move to officially end the feast but Baekhyun softly calls him from behind, eventually asking everyone for their undivided attention.

“I am very thankful and grateful for each and every one of you for setting aside differences and taking the time to leave it behind for a few hours.” Baekhyun cleared his throat. “I do hope you all had enjoyed the night and make it back home safely. I wish for you all a safe journey, my countrymen.” He smiles at his constituents and he would not lie as he sees his men returning back his smile. Though the news of having a miscarriage has not been let out outside the castle, he feels rather inadequate for not being able to properly perform his duties and he feels he has betrayed his people. Having them return his smile was a big step and he assures himself that he will do everything to protect them.

As the Nobles take their leave, Baekhyun excuses himself and calls out to his ladies to help him get to his chambers. He needs to get away, back in the comforts of his chamber. He felt a bit drained from having to take up a strong front and knowing he will still have to take on tomorrow and then the day after next and so on and so forth.

Yifan cleared his throat and asked to be alone with Baekhyun but Baekhyun seemed intent on retiring to his chambers and so, he let the man go.

--

As the ladies all go inside Baekhyun’s chamber and securely closed the door, Baekhyun seemed to dress out of his royal duty and flopped ungracefully at his bed.

“That bad?” Jongdae asked.

“Yes. Oh, the pain of seeing everyone in an enclosed room thinking that they could have possibly known about the.. the miscarriage.”

“Baekhyun, you do know it has been months, right? The Nobles have no idea and you should let it that way.”

A knock on the door disrupted the conversation as Zitao went to get it. Everybody else could hear Yifan’s voice asking to see Baekhyun. As Zitao let him in, the remaining ladies all went out telling the Queen to ask for them as soon as they are finished. Baekhyun, however, said otherwise and ordered for them to all take a rest.

As soon as they were alone, Yifan heaved a sigh. He feels nervous, albeit this isn’t the first time they were with no one else. He looks at Baekhyun, sitting in his bed and staring at him. A look he is not sure on where it banks.

“It is a bit late, My King. What seems to be the problem?” He asks gently.

“I wanted to check up on you. You seemed rather pale when you left the hall.”

Baekhyun gently smiles, though he throws it some place else but not his face. “Just a bit tired, though I am fine. Thank you for your concern.” Before he could dispose Yifan off his chambers, he remembered how a thought had been implanted from the very moment his eyes landed on Yifan. “Yifan.” He started. “I am very certain that you are terribly hateful of the color emerald green.”

Yifan looks down and takes in his clothes. “Ah, yes. You are right. But it worked out fine, isn’t it?” As Baekhyun looks down at his emerald green dress, he wonders if it could possibly be fate or just outright coincidence that he fails to notice Yifan standing right before him.

Crouching down, Yifan made a bold attempt of holding Baekhyun’s hands in his own, startling the latter. “Baek, I know I have done a lot of things that needs your forgiveness. I am not asking for you to forgive me right away, but is their any chance that you could at least find it in your heart to do so? I just really want us to go back to how we were. I miss you.” He sighed as his head bowed down and held both their hands on his forehead. “Do you know how hard it is to wake up without your warmth on the side of my bed? I don’t care whatever it is that has happened, I just want you back. Not as France’ Queen but as my wife.”

Baekhyun teared as he looked at Yifan and all walls built crumbled around him as he reached out to hug him. “I know this is not how we should behave, that we have to adhere to certain rules and etiquette but do you truly forgive me? Do you forgive me for losing our child? I want you to forgive me not because I am your Queen and your wife, but because you really did find it in your heart to do so.” Baekhyun openly cried as he tried to stop unleashing this weakness infront of his man. “You know I am deeply ashamed of this. I just wish it didn’t happen. Losing our child makes you look weak in the eyes of Kyungsoo and our enemies abroad. Losing him meant the alliance is threatened.”

Yifan enclosed Baekhyun in a tight embrace, and breathed in his scent that smells oddly like roses and pinewood. “I will stand by your side and I will honor the alliance.  You will only be the man that I will consent to be married to and I will love you until the day I breathe my last. Why must you doubt my words?” He heaved a deep breath as he released his hold and looked in his eyes. “I have made huge mistakes that you have constantly forgiven me and I know it is only right that I forgive you. Yes, it still hurt, but did we not come out of it stronger than we were before?”

“Yes, but—”

Yifan tucked a stray hair behind Baekhyun’s ear. “Do you know what my heart is telling me? It tells me that I should forget about politics and just be with you. No matter what.” He sighed. “You are a very beautiful queen. A queen that any king would kill anyone just to have you.”

Baekhyun shut his eyes and wanted his ears to do the same too before breathing in, “But your head says differently. I understand.” He makes a move to let go from his embrace but Yifan tightens his hold on him. Unbeknown to Baekhyun, Yifan hides a smile.

“No. For once, my head is perfectly thinking straight and I will never ever let you go. Again. I will never be that foolish man who follows what my mother dictates. I will do everything that I can so I can attend to you properly. I will be the King you would be proud of. I will be the husband that you wished for. I want you to know how very lucky I am that you are my wife, my Queen and the mother of my future children.”

No words could ever describe how happy Baekhyun felt at that exact moment that giggles could be heard from the door and he instantly knew to whom those belong to. He walks towards the door and opens it, quite un-Queenlike. “I knew you were all eavesdropping.”

“Goodness! I am terribly sorry! I tried to keep these two away from the door so you could have some privacy with Yifan but these two are just too stubborn to follow me. I deeply apologize—” Lady Lu Han apologized as he bowed down, aiming to avoid His Majesty’s eyes.

Baekhyun laughed and as Lu Han straightened his back, tears had stained Baekhyun’s cheeks but his eyes twinkled with what we can only describe as pure happiness. “No need to apologise Lu Han. And you two, Zitao, Jongdae, yes, to everything that’s running on your mind right now.” Baekhyun smiled as he looked back to Yifan who was approaching the door with a smile on his face.

“Don’t let them go just yet, Baek. I still have to say my thanks to Lady Jongdae who seemed to never tire talking to me.” He smiled as he faced Jongdae. “Thank you. I will forever treasure the words of wisdom you had ingrained in my stubborn head.”

Jongdae, although a little bit shocked of what had just happened, recalled the incidents of the day. “Baekhyun’s Mother came from Scotland, the Nobles seemed to be happy as they left the hall, and you two patched things up. How great could this day be? Oh, I am so happy for both of you! And Yifan, I hope you learned from this cold war between the two of you. I couldn’t even believe that you had been able to survive being away for each other for months!”

“That’s exactly the main reason why I thank you, Jongdae. For constantly being the support we needed.” Yifan smiled.

“Don’t worry about it. So, shall we take your belongings back to Yifan’s quarters?” Jongdae excitedly asked.

“I think we’ll move it tomorrow. We are all tired and you, my ladies, did quite well for tonight’s feast. I almost forgot. Thank you for preparing this well. I owe it to the three of you. Now you must all go back to your chambers and retire for the night.”

“Yes, you have disturbed our quiet little evening.” Yifan humored the ladies to which they felt completely embarrassed to have been told off. “Oh, I was only kidding. Come on, you’ve all had a long day.”

The ladies agreed that it was indeed a long day and so they bid good night to the Royal couple and left them alone, once again, in Baekhyun’s quarters. As soon as they were  surely left alone, Yifan embraced Baekhyun once more. “I missed this so much. Won’t you be moving back to our quarters? It smells like me more than you and I missed you.”

Baekhyun laughs as he broke free from his hug. “I cannot believe that everything is already in place. It only seems like yesterday. And I can’t believe you would invite my mother. That was so caring and sweet of you.” He smiled as he caressed Yifan’s face.

“Well, about that. It was actually the perfect timing as I was only aware of his arrival this afternoon.”

“Hmm, whatever the case is, I am glad two of my most special people in the world are here. Thank you, still.” He smiled and gave Yifan a fleeting kiss on the lips which Yifan was left wanting more. “Good night, Yifan. Rest well.” He said as he gave one last kiss and gently pushed him out of the room. “We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

“Good night, my lovely Queen. Rest well.”