From that day on, the Prince always wore the glass wren necklace.

He had a ton of other necklaces too, but suddenly it was like they didn’t exist, because whenever Bambam would set some out to go with the outfit he recommended for the Crown Prince for that day, His Highness didn’t spare them even a second look. Eventually Bambam gave up, and only started offering him scarves sometimes, because those he still wore. Youngjae saw that the guard-slash-stylist was frustrated, but he wouldn’t even try to change the Prince’s mind, knowing what the delicate glass wren necklace meant to him.

The court, of course, became curious about the necklace they saw their adored Prince wear every time a necklace was visible on his neck, but when they tried to inquire about it, the servant staff would say they didn’t know, which for once was true, because besides Youngjae, nobody but the Prince knew of the glass wren’s origin. Youngjae had almost told Bambam when the younger had complained about it for the hundredth time, but he knew telling Bambam meant telling Yugyeom, and the two of them just sometimes let secrets slip on accident, so Youngjae didn’t trust them with this information. So there wasn't a servant the nobles could go to to find out where the glass wren was acquired from, not that they knew that, and they kept trying. A couple of bolder nobles asked the Crown Prince about the glass wren, but the Prince only smiled and told them it was an anonymous gift. It was a white lie.

Despite this, the court drew their own conclusions. Even without verification, they started to gossip that the glass wren was a gift from the glassblower that the Crown Prince had favored, and there was nothing that could be done to stop that rumour from going around.

But what was important, was that it did seem that seeing Jackson Wang, even shortly, had been good for the Prince. He was still a tad melancholic, but he seemed to get strength from touching the glass wren hanging around his neck, tracing over it’s tiny beak and delicate wings. It still hadn’t spurred the Crown Prince to do something about his obvious crush on the glassblower, but it was still progress. And Youngjae would do whatever was necessary to get the Prince to see how he could actually get what he longed for and deserved to have. From what Youngjae had heard from Park Jinyoung when they had talked, and the reaction of Jackson Wang when he had noticed His Highness in the carriage, it didn’t seem like the feelings weren’t returned. But of course, it was more difficult for a glassblower to seek out a Prince than for the Prince to seek out a glassblower, so Youngjae decided Prince Mark needed another shove.

“Permission to speak freely, Your Highness.” Youngjae asked one night, just after he had helped Prince Mark with his evening routine and the Prince had settled into his enormous bed, propped up on pillows laying against the headboard, probably planning to read a book before he slept.

His Highness looked up, surprised, blinking a couple of times before a friendly smile slid on his face. “You know you don’t need to address me so formally when it’s just the two of us, Youngjae. Please, go on.”

“Very well. I think you should write him a letter.”

Youngjae didn’t have to elaborate whom he was talking about. Mark’s eyes widened, and he looked at his head steward, flabbergasted at perhaps the boldness Youngjae was displaying, or the nature of his suggestion, but Youngjae stood his ground. He hadn’t known Mark for years like the others had, but in the time they had known, he had learned to know him well, and he knew Mark would not punish him for speaking out of his place even if he would deem it rude. And he probably wouldn’t.

And he didn’t. The smile slipped from his face, turning into an uncertain expression where he was biting his lip, his eyes sad.

“Youngjae… It’s not something I can do, you know there’s no discretion about whom I mail to, the servants will talk. I have already made his life more difficult with the rumours that are going on with just the simple act of favouring his work, not to even mention the kiss... I don’t want to inconvenience him more than I already have.”

Youngjae hesitated for a moment, but they were already in an intimate discussion that was out of the bounds of what their relationship was on paper, so making a gesture that would bring Mark comfort was worth breaking the etiquette and everything he was taught. He sat down on Mark’s bed, clasping the hands Mark held in his lap over the blanket gently in his own, an earnest look in his eyes. Mark’s hands were shaking a little.

“I’m not suggesting you send them as the Crown Prince of the Kingdom. If you write the letter and give it to me, I will put it into an envelope the staff uses and put it into my mail. It will not be so suspicious, a head steward mailing an artisan his Prince is known to favour, and he can answer to you by sending the letter to me. It'd be perfectly discreet.” Youngjae squeezed Mark’s cold fingers in a reassuring gesture. “It is perhaps not my place to say, but I have the feeling he would like to talk to you too, Mark. But you will have to take the first step, because he can’t take it.”

Mark removed one hand from Youngjae’s clutch to touch the glass wren he only took off right before he slept and thus was still wearing, finding strength in its smooth surface like Youngjae had seen him do so many times these past weeks.

“You are being bold… But thank you, Youngjae. You are a good friend. I will consider it.” Mark stated, but the look in his eyes told Youngjae that he had already decided, and this was as good as a yes. But Youngjae was a good friend and a good servant, so he smiled, nodded, and backed off, getting up from the bed to stand at its side, ready to be excused, but not before he said the last, important thing.

“Should you happen to write a letter you would like me to send, please place it into the drawer for your necklaces, or give it to me directly.” Besides the Crown Prince, Youngjae and Bambam were the only ones with access into the drawer, and Bambam hadn’t bothered to look its way for a week now in his frustration about the Prince’s stubbornness at wearing nothing but the glass wren around his neck. It was of course for the best if Youngjae could collect and hand off the letters himself, but even if Bambam happened to check on the necklaces and find a letter, Youngjae could bully him into silence, if needed.

The Prince gave him a crooked smile, allowing Youngjae’s insolence likely only because he favored him, but Youngjae was okay with exploiting that, if it meant he could make his Prince happier.

It was already the next morning that Youngjae found a carefully folded, sealed letter in the Crown Prince’s jewellery drawer. The Prince had not used his personal seal in what was a wise move, as the generic Royal Castle seal might be also used by a servant like Youngjae on official, discreet business. Youngjae’s curiosity was great, but he would not break the trust placed in him, and it was crucial that the letter reached Jackson Wang with an unbroken seal. They had to be given whatever privacy was possible.

Youngjae would do whatever he could to provide them that.

When there was nothing, no message, no visit, no word from the Prince in the days after Youngjae's and Jinyoung's scheme had played out, and the hopeful sparkle in Jackson's eyes dimmed with every day that passed, Jinyoung was ready to march up to the castle and give the damned Prince a piece of his mind, and probably get thrown into the dungeons for it. It was painful to watch Jackson's resigned sadness that the foreign boy tried so hard to hide under a fake smile and hollow laugh, that Jinyoung felt compelled to the pretend he believed the lie of it; that Jackson would be okay with the situation ending like this.

Then there started to come rumours from the castle. Apparently there was a necklace depicting a small bird that the Prince wore frequently, and several higher nobles sent page boys to ask if it was theirs, and if they could get one in the likeness of it. Jinyoung was quick to realise that it hadn't been revealed to the court that Jackson was the one who had made the glass wren, and that it was probably best that way that the nobles and the public didn’t know for sure that Jackson had given the Prince an unwarranted, expensive gift, with no acceptable or proper reason as to why. Thus it was wise for Jinyoung to keep that fact a secret, and he did.

It was clear that the court still suspected that it was them who made it, since more letters and page boys kept coming. Jinyoung's patented answer was that Jinyoung Park Glassblower's was not accountable for creating the glass bird, which wasn't a total lie, since Jackson had made it in his free time. They still got a lot of orders to make something in the likeness of it, and although Jackson refused to even try to do something exactly like it, he was happy to complete simpler necklaces depicting different animals or white bird themed other things. The important thing was, once Jackson heard the Prince wore his necklace every day, his eyes lit up in hope, and his happiness as he hummed while working was real. It tamed down into a hopeful, longing spark in a couple of days, but at least Jackson knew he wasn't completely rejected, although it didn't mean that his feelings would be returned.

Business was good, and more orders kept coming, whether it was via mail, page boy or personal visit. Jinyoung was able to buy them upgrades to some of the tools they had hoped to replace for a time now, and he made sure to treat Jackson with meat at least once a week, hoping to do something for his mood.

But one day, a letter arrived that stood out from all of the others they received every day. Not by much, it was a regular brown envelope used by those that weren't of a high enough status to warrant an envelope made of better paper and usually embellished with their family crest. They got a lot of brown envelopes, as the nobles and royals preferred sending page boys over letters, so that wasn't the thing that stood out from the other letters.

The thing that stood out, was the sender’s address on the backside of the letter, “Choi Youngjae, Head Steward to the Crown Prince, Royal Castle.”

Jinyoung had a good idea about what to expect when he opened the envelope carefully with a letter knife, so when he found a letter made of a much fancier paper than what the envelope would have indicated, sealed with the Royal Family’s general seal and with “Jackson” written in a round cursive on the outside of it, Jinyoung was already halfway down the hall to the workshop where Jackson was working.

“Jackson, there's a letter for you.” Jinyoung called out when he turned the corner and found Jackson sorting pieces of colored glass on his workbench.

“Oh, from my parents?” Jackson smiled brightly. He got mail a couple of times a month from his parents, and he was excited each time it happened.

But no, this was better. Jinyoung shook his head and Jackson gave a small pout before Jinyoung could even answer.

“Nope, it's from a secret admirer from the castle~” He teased, handing over the sealed letter.

Jackson looked confused for just a moment, looking from the letter to Jinyoung and back again a couple of times, before what his friend implied dawned on him. Jinyoung chuckled, genuinely happy seeing Jackson's blush and the silly smile he couldn't help as it spread on his face. It was adorable.

But Jackson definitely needed some privacy, so Jinyoung turned to leave.

“I'll leave you to it, let me know if you need to send a letter back, I have the return address~”

After Jinyoung left, Jackson just stood there, staring at the sealed letter in his suddenly shaky hands.

Jackson’s hands didn't shake. He was a glassblower, and he was good at his art. That required having a steady hand when he was working, and Jackson's hands never faltered, or trembled, or shook.

But they were definitely shaking now.

His heart was beating loud and hard in his chest, screaming at him that it was Mark, Mark had sent him a letter, he wasn’t ignored after all, but he tried to calm it down. It wasn’t sure that it was Mark after all, and even if it was, it could be him telling Jackson that he couldn’t accept the glass wren (and Jackson’s feelings), or something. Jackson really should know better than to get his hopes up, but his heart wouldn’t listen.

He broke the seal carefully, handling the letter as if it was made of the most delicate glass, like it would break if he held it too tightly or if he unfolded it too quickly.

Unlike the round and bold script on top of the letter, the lettering inside was delicate and thin, a practiced, noble cursive. Jackson’s heart wouldn’t slow down at all as he read over the beautifully written words.

Hello,

I hope this letter finds you well.

This is my 18th attempt at writing this letter for you. I can’t seem to get the wording right, but at least I am warm in the fire I have kept burning with the letters I have already torn.

I find myself unable to find the words I would like to say to you, although my whole upbringing has been to make me eloquent and able to answer any query or situation with perfectly chosen words.

Nothing in my upbringing prepared me for writing a letter for you.

But I know I want to express thankfulness for the necklace you gave me last time. It is a masterpiece. I truly treasure it.

I hope you can forgive me for I lying to you by omission. If you can forgive me and are still interested in talking to me, I would like to exchange letters with you. Would this be amenable to you? I know that such correspondence would be weird and unexpected, considering our different positions, but I find that I would still like to get to know you better.

On my free time I like to read, and wander in the palace gardens. My favourite place to read is on the windowsill in my quarters, where I can also see the gardens and enjoy the warmth of the sun or the sound of rain hitting the glass. When I was younger, I used to run in the gardens, climb the trees and do trick jumps from the ledges, but my father has since forbidden that in the fear that I hurt myself.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

Hoping to get an answer from you soon,

There was no name written underneath. The only signature on the paper was a tiny drawing of a bird, spreading out his wings just like the glass wren Jackson had made for Mark.

Jackson drew a slow, shuddering breath.

And then he couldn’t control his glee anymore, letting out a joyful high squeal as he held the letter against his chest gently, feeling unbelievably happy.

Mark checked his jewellery box more often than he wanted to admit, and every time Youngjae entered a room he was in, he would look at his friend hopefully until the head steward would shake his head, indicating that there was no secret mail for Mark yet.

It had only been a day. Mark was being horribly impatient.

But no matter how many times he told himself that he had to put it to the back of his mind for now, that he had to focus on his princely du