I grabbed my lunch from the kitchen and walked quickly towards the stables. Taemin was there eating his lunch as well. "Mind if I join you?" I asked.

Taemin looked up in surprise but smiled. "Sure!" He pulled up a stool for me and I sat down. "Not that I'm ungrateful for the company, but shouldn't you be with Kai?"

"No." I said with a sigh. "He doesn't want to see me right now. He said he's seen me enough today. I really don't know what his problem is today... Wait you call him Kai?"

Taemin laughed and said, "Oh sorry. Kai is what all of his close friends call him."

Wait. All of his close friends? I wonder what he meant when he told me his name was Kai. Did that mean he wanted us to be close? Or was it simply an alias? I keep getting so confused. I decided to use this time with Taemin to ask him some more of the pressing questions I had on my mind.

"Taemin can I talk to you? Like on a personal friend level? I understand if you don't want to. It's just that you're the first friend I've made here and I have absolutely no one talk to." I held my breath waiting for him to respond.

Taemin then nodded and said, "Sure. What's on your mind? And it's been a long time for me since someone came down here just to talk to me, so I'm more than happy to oblige"

"What's the Prince's deal? Maybe I'm going crazy but he seems like two completely different people to me." I said as I took a bite of my sandwich.

"Different people? What do you mean?" Taemin asked.

"Well... One minute he's very sweet to me. Borderline flirtatious if you ask me. He's done things like called me beautiful and he even has hugged me! Then at other times, he's mean and cold. He acts like he doesn't want me around and that I'm like a speck to him. Do you know anything about why he acts like this? I'd just like to know which guy I need to expect when I go back." I sighed once more and looked towards Taemin.

"Hmm." Taemin said with a confused expression. "Usually Kai is firm with his servants. He's firm with all of the castle servants. But I've never heard of him actually being nice to one. Other than me of course."

"He's nice to you always?" I ask Taemin.

Taemin nodded. "We've been close friends since we were toddlers. But you know what? This has me thinking. He might have a crush on you and that's why he's showing you any amount of kindness, but he hasn't had a crush in years. So I wouldn't know how he flirts these days, but it definitely sounds like you've peaked his interest."

Taemin winked at me and I was at a loss for words. "Me? I highly doubt that someone like him could ever like someone like me. I bet he doesn't have a crush. Maybe he's just being nice at times because he knows I'm poor. That must be it." I said.

Taemin smiled at me and said, "He's not the kind to do that. If he acts nice to you, you should take it as a compliment. A major compliment because he isn't just nice to everyone. Kai would rather hurt others before ever letting himself get hurt. He's always been that way. He's fragile and barely opens up and shows his real self. If you get a glimpse of the real Kai, the nice Kai, it means he's starting to trust you. I really wouldn't think too much on it."

I took a deep breath and tried to contemplate what Taemin had just said. Is Kai opening himself up to me in pieces? Is he just putting on a show to test me? Is it possible that Kai has a crush on me? No. That is not possible. Could you imagine a girl like me with the Prince? Maybe that's why he's mean to me. He knows that someone like me isn't even worth his time.

I shook my head and looked over at Taemin. I bit my lip trying to fight back my next question. I wanted to get the subject off of me and Kai, but I was afraid to bring this subject up. Taemin looked at me and gave me a questioning look. I took a deep breath and decided to ask him about Kimlee. "Taemin, what happened to Kimlee that she had to be put down?

Taemin looked down and said, "She kicked one of the members of the royal family and she was ordered to be put down."

I sighed. "That's awful. I heard she was very special to you. I'm sure you didn't train her to be like that.

Taemin looked off into the distance and began to explain. "She's the main reason Kai and I stayed friends when we were little. Once we got into this big fight. We were coloring and left our pics to go play. When we came back, someone had scribbled all over the pages. We thought that the other had done it and got into a fight. We were mad at each other for what felt like a lifetime, but it was only 2 days. One of the horses was about to give birth and he and I both went to watch it. We both got to help clean her off and it was like nothing was wrong between us. They let us name her so we named her after ourselves, Kim for his last name and Lee for mine. Kimlee was the sign of our friendship. As she grew, so did our relationship. It never stopped even when I started being trained in horsemanship. To be honest, me being down here gave Kai a way to escape from palace life. We used to come down here and play with Kimlee until one of the servants found him. Then he would have to go back to the castle but I always knew he'd be back."

I smiled when I heard about how cute they must have been when they were little. "So who did scribble on your coloring pages?" I asked.

Taemin laughed and continued, "His cousin was there for the summer and we didn't include her when we went to play so she got revenge.."

We both started laughing and I realized it was time for Kai's dancing lesson. "Thanks Taemin for spending time with me. I have to head back to the castle."

I got up and gathered my things. "You're welcome Melody. Please come back and visit anytime. By the way you can call me Tae if you like. It's much less formal."

I smiled and nodded. I hurried back to the castle to meet Kai, but I took a moment to stop once again in the rose garden. Each rose was so beautiful and smelled so sweet. I gently reached up to touch one of the petals and marveled at its softness. How can something so beautiful and so soft have such dangerous thorns? I leaned down to where the rise was and looked at the thorns. Each was sharp looking and dark like the stem. The thorns were well camouflaged but I knew they were there. From far away, the rose is beautiful, but more up close, you can see how dangerous it is. I guess Kai is like a rose. From far away, he seems amazing but he can be rough and sharp like the thorns. But if you took away the thorns, the rose itself would be more vulnerable to being picked and damaged. If you want to pick a rose correctly, you'd have to work around the thorns making sure that both of you are damaged in the process. If I ever wanted to make things work between us, even so that we could just be friends, I have to work my way around his thorns.

I walked into the castle and up to the ballroom where his royal Highness was having a royal fit. "What do you mean my partner isn't here? How am I supposed to practice ballroom dancing without a partner?" He yelled.

The instructor only tried to calm him. "Maybe we can work on separate parts that you don't need a partner for. We could work on form or posturing..."

This only caused Kai to get angrier. "Ballroom dancing is two people! We can not do 'separate' parts! My birthday ball is in 1 week and a half. Do you know how many prospects will be there? Your future queen may be there. How am I supposed to dance with your future queen if I don't have someone to practice on?"

The instructor started to look worried, but smiled when he laid eyes on me. "What about this lovely lady? Miss are you available?"

"Me?! I um don't know how to dance." I said quickly.

The instructor hurried over to me and pushed me next to Kai. "It's simple. You let him lead. You just follow."

The instructor then rushed over to the corner of the room to get the music started. I looked up at Kai and he simply shook his head. "You will have to do." Kai then picked up my hand and placed his other on my waist. Nervously, I placed my hand on his shoulder. We waited for the instructor to start the music but he was having technical difficulties. Kai and I stood there in that pose for at least 2 minutes. I kept looking away to avoid his gaze and eventually he cleared his throat to get my attention. "You have to look at me if you're going to follow." Kai said coldly.

I nodded and then began studying his eyes. I expected them to be cold like his tone, but only found warmth. His eyes were a deep brown and I found it hard not to get lost in them. The music finally started and we began dancing. The movements were so perfect I felt like I was floating on a cloud. It felt like we were the only two in the room. I stared deep into his eyes and he stared back into mine. It was like we were connected by a strong force and neither of us could pull away. With his strong arms around me, I felt like a princess.

We danced together for a solid two hours with no interruption by the instructor. When it was finally over, the instructor could only praise us. "That was amazing. That was perfect." The instructor kept saying over and over. I blushed deeply and looked over at Kai. He also looked a little red and thanked the instructor for his time.

We left the ballroom and I followed him up to his room. Before we made it up to his room, he stopped me. "You did amazing today. Thank you for dancing with me." He said and I noticed that he was slightly blushing.

"Thank you, your Highness, for the opportunity. All of the girls you dance with at the ball will have a lovely time." I said giving him an encouraging smile. We continued our walk and the minute we got up there, he took his shirt off. I quickly closed my eyes and said, "Your Highness! I'm still in here!" It was hard for me to get that image out of my mind and quite honestly I'm not sure if I wanted to.

Kai chuckled to himself and turned to face me. "I was sweaty. I'm about to take a shower, ok? So if you don't want to see anything else I suggest you leave." He said with a wink. I quickly hurried out of the room and heard him call after me. "I'll meet you in the dining room!" I blushed and rushed to my room to rest and think about what just happened.