She awakes entangled in crimson bedsheets. Her heart leaps at her unfamiliar surroundings before she recalls the previous night.

The spell.

Jaehwan's chair is empty beside her and she feels a tinge of disappointment. He must already be about and casting his charms.

She stretches, letting the sheets pool at her waist. She honestly can't remember the last time she's ever felt this well rested and refreshed. Her barefeet brush the hardwood floor as she moves to the window to throw open the shutters.

Puffy white clouds fill a painfully blue sky, eyes straining at the harsh pigment that often occurs on bright summer mornings such as this. A hush of wind and a few wisps of hair catch the breeze, eyes closing.

There's a flutter of wings and two of Jaehwan's doves sit perched on the windowsill. Fresh daisies in clipped beaks. She chuckles at the token as she carefully removes the flowers, tucks them into her hair.

"Tell him I send my thanks," she can't help but blush as she runs a finger over one of the birds. It cooes in response, puffing its chest proudly and nestles in closer to her palm for more friction and she giggles.

They take flight with a chirp, blending into the clouds. 

She spends much of the morning in the study pouring over books and his charts of the constellations. She explores the sanctuary afterwards, balancing on the flat stones of the river and finding more daisies to add to her collection.

He sends his animal companions. This much is apparent when a magnificent stag with a ten point crown of antlers suddenly manifests itself from the tree line. She stares back in awe at seeing such a creature up close and it only blinks back lazily, moving to the water in a slow and comfortable gait to drink.

Behind the tower, she discovers a well-tended garden. Bright colored flowers and lush greens. There's a network of neat channels that feed each divided area of vegetation. A majority of the plants are foreign to her and float beneath the waterfall, ancient roots digging into the soil and keeping them from drifting downstream. She fetches a book from the study and works on identifying them to pictures. A familiar flower there, a distinctive pattern of leaves there. It's a slow but rewarding process that results in knowledge she craves. 

He returns in late evening and she welcomes him back with a warm meal. He's surprised by the look in his eyes as they sit at the wooden table in the garden.

"This won't poison me, right?" Jaehwan teases before digging into the food she had prepared, his approval. She rolls her eyes.

"You're the one growing red sage and moonseed, not me,"

"Good, you've been reading my books," he says through a particularly large mouthful and she suppresses a giggle. He moans again, clearing his plate like a man starved for days on end.

"Wow. This is really good. You just helped me realize how terrible my own cooking has been over all these years,"

Jaehwan starts singing her to sleep. She doesn't know if he's using his magic when he does so, but always feels her mind and body go still when the gentle lull of his voice carries through the chamber.

His voice, his colorful voice. Fluted and controlled. A soft vibrato and a touch of breath, a sound like no other, hearing the smile on his lips despite her closed eyes.

He sings of his home country, a distant place with mountains rolling in mist and secluded villages. Of the changing seasons and the wax and wane of hues.

Of his broken heart for never being able to return. She feels his power loosen just enough for her to wipe away his quiet tears.

As the days pass on, she notices an intimacy seeping into their nighttime rituals. Abandoned is his chair, settling in on the large bed to press up against her back, enchantments whispered into her hair with soft murmurs and even softer caresses. His touch lingers longer on pale white skin and she finds herself wishing she could somehow fight his spells to try and stay awake, losing the battle every time with heavy eyelids.

She spends her days in buzzing excitement, waiting for the sun to dip below the horizon.

She loves the night.

Her collection of daisies turn into a growing surplus, the vase by the windowsill overflowing with each visit from his doves. She makes sure to change out the water every morning and refill it with the fresh drink from the river.

It's some time later when she sees the stag poke its head out from the underbrush with curious eyes and she laughs, throwing a wave in its direction and moves to a standing position to turn her attention away from the garden she had been currently harvesting. The animal bows its head.

His companions bring her a sense of comfort, the stag standing like a protector at her back as she works, the song of the birds in the trees above telling her she's never truly alone with Jaehwan gone during daylight.

She has a basket of vegetables and herbs at her side for that night's meal, rinsing off the dirt when that familiar tune of love comes to mind. She sings happily, a habit she picked up to make work pass smoothly.

The stag perks up next to her and twitches its ears and before she knows it, a voice sounds from behind her, soft and gentle.

"You have a beautiful voice,"

She turns around in surprise, nearly dropping her basket to see a young man leading a horse by the rein, walking along the riverside. He's sharply dressed with tousled bronze hair and deep set, knowing amber eyes. Even his horse is handsome, adorned with a gold plated bridle decorated with tassels and colorful ornaments, a saddle of buttered leather sitting upon its back.

Another nobleman, no doubt. But why was he here? He looked like he belonged in the kingdom parade, not wandering through the woods.

She grows wary at the possibility of him being one from the Queen. And with that, she takes a small step back in the general direction of the tower. Sensing her nerves, the stag snorts and stomps at the ground, dipping its head to bare impressive antlers. The young man stops walking and holds up his hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he says just as quietly as before, "I was drawn here, I heard you singing. It's been awhile since I've heard a voice so sweet,"

She stays silent, though she's flattered by the compliment.

"My name is Taekwoon. I'm not from here, my home is in the next kingdom over. I've been doing some exploring on my own to clear my head, take a break from everything,"

Another flash of gold in the sunlight and she notices a medallion of sorts on the plate of the horse's armor. A bust of a lion etched into the metal, a symbol she doesn't recognize.

He's telling the truth.

As her fear slowly fades, the stag raises its head but continues to stay at her side, ready to charge if necessary. Taekwoon relaxes.

"Do you live in these woods?"

"Yes," she replies, a bit too quickly and she bites her tongue. His smile mirrors his tone, tender.

"Then, I'd love to have your company for a little while,"

She doesn't protest as he secures his mount and sits at her side and starts to help her with her chore. There were a few hours left of daylight, anyway.

Small talk is easy. Taekwoon is a good listener, she soon realizes. She tells him of the stag that now grazes to their right and how he likes being scratched on the neck, even demonstrating for him. She tells him of her garden and the poisonous berries that she's come to identify, tells him of the best places to find wild daisies.

But she doesn't tell him about the young man that will be returning at nightfall.