The school year started off as normal. The new students had no idea where they were going and the older students helped them find their way to their classes. Well most of the time. Tiffany didn’t really find it that funny when some of the older students would prank the younger students. She’d spend a lot of her time helping students who’d been pranked by older students. She found it strange however when students would bow to her.

“Thank you Your Highness!” They would squeal before running away. It made her feel uncomfortable that students looked at her in awe in the corridors and treated her a lot differently than the other older students. She also suddenly had a lot of students in her own year coming up to her and trying to become her friend. It wasn’t easy to tell who truly wanted to be her friend and who wanted to use her wealth and power (if she had any she really wouldn’t know how to use it anyway.)

“This is getting annoying. Sometimes I kind of think I should ask the Ki- sorry mother and father if I should just get tutoring at the palace.” Tiffany sighed as she sat with the others at lunch.

“You’ll be fine Tiff, this will wear down after a few days. It’ll be back to normal in no time.” Taeyeon soothed her.

“Well as normal as anyone can act with a new princess in their midst. It won’t be fully back to normal but they’ll leave you alone once they realise you can see through them.” Sooyoung replied.

“Plus you can’t have tutoring! We’ll miss you!” Yuri pouted. An arm wrapped around Tiffany’s shoulders as Siwon sat down next to her.

“She’s right about that.” He smiled at her and kissed the side of her head. Tiffany rested her head on Siwon’s shoulders and smiled softly.

“At least I have you guys.” She smiled at them all. Onew winked at her cheekily, making the others laugh.

“Hey do you know what lesson we have at the Palace today?” Qian asked.

She wished she never asked.

They even had a uniform they had to wear; black blazers with a white shirt, black tie with a silver stripes and black trousers or skirts with sliver trim. They were sat in a small classroom with desks and chairs, very similar to basically every other classroom on the planet, while an old woman with a shrivelled face held a large book and was reading out from it. Her name was Professor Umbra.

“The large kingdom of Ignis sits on the borders of Terra. Ignis has the largest amount of firework makers in all the kingdoms, with many new fireworks being invented there. Tell me why this piece of information is important?” The Professor asked.

Nobody answered.

“Ahem!” The Professor cleared. Nichkhun’s arm slipped from under him and he face-planted the table. The others laughed and giggled as he looked up sheepishly.

“Mr Nichkhun perhaps you can tell me why this piece of information is so relevant to our lesson today.” The Professor said sternly.

“Uuuh the reason Professor Umbra is umm.....” Nichkhun trailed off quietly.

“Since you are so incompetent so that you can’t pay attention-“

“Incompetent? Are you sure you should be talking to us like that?” Yuri challenged her angrily.

“You may be Defenders of the Kingdom but here, in this classroom you are just more students that I need to teach about the politics and economy of each of the kingdoms.” Professor Umbra snapped.

“So how many kingdoms are there?” Minho raised his hand. The others groaned and he looked around in confusion. The Professor looked at him in exasperation.

“This was mentioned at the beginning of the lesson Mr Minho. There are the 5 main kingdoms: Terra, Ignis, Lux, Aqua and Ventus. Each have their own Royal family. Each of the main kingdoms are surrounded by small villages who have leaders appointed within them to answer to each of the Royal families. Can anyone tell me what the names of the kingdoms mean?”

“Terra is earth, Ignis is fire, Lux is light, Aqua is water and Ventus is wind or air.” Taeyeon answered.

“Good, the names of all these kingdoms are derived from their Latin meanings. The kingdoms are named for their founding family’s powers. Although some of the descendants may not share the same powers, the majority of the family do have the same powers. The families can marry into each other’s kingdoms for power or resources.”

“What were you mentioning about fireworks?”  Qian asked.

“Ignis  has the most firework makers in the 5 kingdoms. This means they are well practised in making explosives.”

“Oh.”

“Ignis makes the most weapons out of all 5 kingdoms and supply them to all kingdoms including our own. This means that should a war break out between any kingdoms; the kingdom with the most connections to Ignis will receive the weapons.”

“Who has the most connections to Ignis?”

“That is highly debatable but in my opinion no-one does. The Fire Kingdom are not ones to trust very easily after the unsolved death of two of their leading politicians.” Umbra said sagely.

“What happened to them?” Tiffany asked.

“They were killed in a ‘car accident’ many years ago but the Fire Kingdom remains sure that the accident was staged. However they have not yet been able to find proof of this so it remains a cold case.”

“How horrible!” Tiffany muttered.

“Although it is sad we must not dwell on it. We can look back on history to remind us that some things should not be repeated and learn from our mistakes.” Tiffany swore she saw a hint of a smile on Umbra’s face before she carried on with the rest of the lesson.

The lesson went on as normal, with Minho dozing off and forgetting what he had learnt, which made the others laugh until Umbra gave them homework as punishment.

“How are we going to do this? 3 feet on the history of Ignus’s relationship with the nearby kingdoms?” Minho groaned as they walked out of class and through the corridors.

“It’ll be fine Minho. Just split up each of the Kingdoms and cover them all separately.” Yuri kissed his cheek reassuringly.

Suddenly a trombone blew and they were surrounded by servants carrying the emblem of the Defenders.

“What’s happening?” Siwon asked.

“The Royal Family is being visited by another. As protocol dictates, all members of the Royal Family must attend as well as the Defenders. However protocol dictates that you will be seated behind the thrones on the side; hidden so as to keep away from prying eyes.” One of the servants explained as they quickly brushed through their hair and styled it so they looked refined and polished. Clicking their fingers, the servants changed them into the gowns and suits they had worn at their coronations and award presentations. Tiffany felt the delicate crown being placed on her head and felt the need to hold her head high up.

They were then escorted to the Royal courtroom. They were seated behind the thrones so that no-one could see them but they were able to see everything clearly in the Royal court. It was a grand but dark room with tall black pillars with silver and gold decorations hanging lavishly from the walls and ceilings. There were paintings from famous artists adorning the walls and the large windows let in bright sunlight; yet they didn’t reflect the decorations so they didn’t blind everyone.

“The courtroom is really weird isn’t it?” Siwon said.

“So dark.” Sooyoung commented.

“I think it’s supposed to be intimidating.” Siwon replied.

“Well it’s kind of working. It reminds me slightly of a horror movie..” Tiffany giggled. All the other people in court were quite old and middle aged whereas they were only young adults. The King and Queen entered the courtroom and took their seat on the thrones. Tiffany’s mother smiled at her encouragingly and Tiffany beamed back at her before she faced the front doors.

They swung open with a mighty force and drums sounded as the other Royal family walked in. Judging by the red robes and fire displays, Tiffany guessed they were the Royal Family of Ignis. The King had slightly tanned skin with strong features whereas the Queen had very soft features. The drums stopped when they reached the front of the court and bowed to Tiffany’s mother and father.

“Your Highness it has been to long.” The Fire King announced.

“So it has been Jaehyun. How are your children?” Tiffany’s father asked.

“They are well, come forward Jaebum. Let the King see what a fine young man you are. My daughter Jaekyung is here too.” Two young adults stepped forward, both wearing bright red robes that seemed to be engorged in fire with every step they took.

“Jaebum has grown into an excellent fighter and helps train some of our best people in the army. Jaekyung is a fine young woman who has a sharp and cunning mind.” King Jaebum praised.

“I am glad to hear it. Your father has raised fine children.” She smiled at the two people. They both bowed deeply and said:

“We are honoured by your compliments your highness.”

“I have heard rumours that the lost princess has been found your Highnesses. Is this true?” The Fire Queen asked politely.

Tiffany felt her heart in as she was beckoned by some court ladies to get up and link arms with Siwon. The other girls linked arms with their partners and drew nervous breaths.

“It is true Jisook,” The Queen stood up and announced “Ladies and gentlemen I present to you, the new legion on Royal Defenders and Princess Hwang Miyoung!”

Taeyeon and Onew were the first ones to reveal themselves while the others followed suit, with Tiffany and Siwon being the last ones to leave. Tiffany held onto Siwon’s arm tightly and he patted her hand reassuringly before letting it drop to his side as they walked on stage and revealed themselves. There were gasps throughout the courtroom as they all lined up on stage with Tiffany in the middle with Siwon before bowing to their audience.

“Miyoung my daughter come here.” The King beckoned Tiffany with an outstretched hand. Tiffany slowly let go of Siwon’s arm and gave her hand to her father who, along with her mother, escorted her down to meet with the Ignis Royal Family.

“It is a pleasure to meet you your Highnesses.” Tiffany said. She wasn’t really sure what to say but everyone here seemed to be talking very formally so she went along with what was in her head. The Royal Family of Ignis was shocked at Tiffany’s great beauty as she seemed to almost glow in her dress.

“Welcome back to your home your Highness. You have been sorely missed.” The Queen smiled a smile that didn’t quite seem to reach her eyes. The Price Jaebum was staring at Tiffany with a curious expression.

“You are very beautiful Princess.” The Princess Jaekyung praised her. The Prince nodded in agreement slowly.

“Thank you. You are also very beautiful.” Tiffany beamed at her. The Prince was still looking at Tiffany intensely which made Tiffany lower her gaze in embarrassment.

“If I may your Highness I would like to propose something.” King Jaehyun asked.

“Go on.” Tiffany’s father nodded.

“Seeing as my son and your daughter are of similar ages I think it would be a good idea to build relationships between our two kingdoms.” He began.

“What do you mean?” Tiffany’s mother asked.

“Let us engage the two to be married to each other.”

There was only silence in the room. Sooyoung was holding Siwon’s shoulder so he wouldn’t do something stupid but shock was written clearly all over her face. Siwon’s fists were clenched tightly and he tried to control the rage boiling within him. Tiffany’s face was painted in shock.

“King Jaehyun, she’s only been a princess for a few days, she doesn’t know our traditions and ceremonies. She doesn’t even know her ancestors!” Tiffany’s mother replied.

“She needs to learn what it means to be a princess of this world before we can even begin to think about those royal duties.” The King placed a reassuring hand on Tiffany’s shoulder.

“Of course,” The Ignis King and his family bowed respectfully “Now Your Highnesses if we may go through to talk about the shipping details?” He asked. Turning to Tiffany the King spoke:

“You and the Defenders must go back to your lessons now my dear.” Tiffany nodded obediently.

“Yes Father.” She smiled gently as her father kissed the crown of her head. She bowed to the Ignis family and made her way out of the back of the throne room with the rest of her friends. As soon as they rounded the corner from the throne room Siwon grabbed Tiffany’s arm and pulled her in for a tight hug. Tiffany was shocked at first but she soon wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back.

“We’ll leave them be for a while.” Taeyeon whispered to the others who nodded and followed her down the corridor and out of ear-shot from Siwon and Tiffany.

“What’s the matter with Siwon?” Yuri asked.

“You should have seen him when the King of Ignis proposed an engagement between Tiffany and his son. He was shaking with anger.” Sooyoung explained.

“Poor guy, he couldn’t even say anything.” Onew shook his head.

“He told me a few times he can’t live without her. I can’t even begin to imagine how he must have felt when that was said.” Donghae said sympathetically.

“They need some time alone now; they haven’t been able to spend time with each other since the day of the battle. We should leave them for a while.” Taeyeon suggested.

“Of course. Let’s go to the palace gardens until they come back. Then we can go into the next classes.” Nichkhun took Victoria’s hand and led them to the palace gardens.

Siwon had still not let go of Tiffany and had buried his face in her hair.

“Siwon?” Tiffany whispered.

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?” She asked gently.

“I didn’t know what to do when the King of Ignis proposed a marriage between his son and you.” Siwon muttered.

“I didn’t know either Siwon.” Siwon pulled back and cupped her face gently in both of his.

“I can’t lose you Tiffany. I already lost you once; I can’t lose you again.” He said gently. Tiffany was silent as tears started to form in her eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper as she said:

“I love you. I really love you.”

“And I love you.” Siwon said gently smiling. He leaned in a gently kissed her lips as he cradled her in his arms. At that moment in time they felt safe, they felt loved, they felt like nothing bad could happen to them.

Little did they know someone was watching.