Jisoo was found eating her breakfast alone the next day. Her older sister had gone back to Jupiter and her mother was occupied with a lot of Kingdom business. So there she was sitting at one of the castle balconies, munching her egg and bacon with Mandy as her only companion. Her maid could only observe as her Princess had this blank expression all along even if her hand kept moving the cutlery. 

"It was nice having this battle with you, Princess" 

The words visited Jisoo's mind again and again, along with that smile that Jennie had while saying it. Jisoo sulked as she tore her egg abruptly. 

"That must have been a sarcasm" The Venusian Princess commented in her heart. "She has always mocked me before. She was just happy that it was a draw" 

"If the egg could speak, it must be shouting right now" The girl who was filling Jisoo's mind popped out of nowhere, taking the seat across her. "Look at how you cut it like that" 

Jisoo grunted and sighed. "Why do you keep coming around me?"

"Well, I was sent here to get to know you. How are we going to get married if we do not know each other at all?" 

It elicited another sigh from Jisoo. "Right, the marriage" 

Jennie observed the Princess in front of her. It had been the third day since they met, yet they had barely communicated. The unpleasant face that Jisoo made upon the subject got Jennie wondering. 

"You always seem unhappy about it" 

"I am unhappy" Jisoo answered. 

"Tell me" Jennie leaned slightly forward. "What did your mother actually tell you about it?"

Jisoo put the last bite of the bacon inside while Jennie waited patiently for her to gulp down the food. 

"There was this prophecy from the old time. The person who has been the Kingdom's augur for decades told my mother. It says that the Second Princess of Venus from the third generation, which happens to be me, will be married to the person who is fated for her, which happens to be you"

"If it is a fate, it cannot just simply 'happens to be me' and 'happens to be you'" Jennie replied. "Did your mother not explain more?"

Jisoo shrugged. "She just said it's fate. Which is why I am skeptical about the whole thing"

Jennie raised an eyebrow at her. "You are a Venusian, aren't people from this planet supposed to have faith in such thing?"

"Just because I'm a Venusian, doesn't mean I believe in such things right away. That's called stereotyping" 

The Martian formed a faint smile upon her companion's astute response. 

"What about you yourself, then? What did your mother tell you about it?" Jisoo asked before sipping her tea. 

"Well, to be frank with you, The Queen told me that as a return for the kindness that your planet has been giving mine, I should be married to you" 

"That sounds more like a logical reason than just 'it's fate'" 

"Yes, but I somehow still believe in what your mother tells you, although there must be more to it than what we know"

"You are a Martian, it's weird that you have more faith in fate than I do"

"Me being a Martian does not mean that I cannot put my trust in such things. It's called stereotyping" Jennie beamed a crooked smile. 

"Those are my words!" 

"Oh I did not know that words could be claimed" 

"Are you here only to ruin my breakfast?"

"But you have finished your breakfast"

"The Queen is coming!" 

The voice of a guard outside the door halted their bicker. Soon after, the image of Queen Sandara entered the balcony. Mandy bowed her head down as The Queen of Venus walked toward them. 

"Mom" Jisoo stood up and welcomed the sight of her mother with a wide grin. 

Jennie moved from her seat and knelt down on one knee, but The Queen soon held her shoulders gently, signaling her to stand up. 

"You don't need to be so formal around me, Jennie" She smiled. "Have you had your breakfast? Or did you two just have breakfast together?"

"Why would I want to spend my breakfast time together with her" Jisoo tried to make it as a whisper, but apparently it was still loud enough for her mother to hear. 

"Jisoo, she is our guest" The Queen stared at her scoldingly, then at Jennie apologetically. "I'm sorry if she has given you a hard time"

"No, not at all. I enjoy her company" Jennie smiled in response. 

That must be another sarcasm, Jisoo thought. 

"Jisoo, Jennie, there is something I want to inform you about. We will be having a small ball here tomorrow at night"

"A ball? On what occassion are we having a ball though?"

"Why, to announce your engagement with Jennie of course. And Jennie is going back to her home the next day, yet we haven't really done anything for her yet"

"What?" Jisoo snorted almost instantly.

"It is just a small one, so we won't be inviting people from other planets" The Queen turned her attention to Jennie again, ignoring Jisoo's annoyed face. "I'm sorry this is rather sudden, Jennie, but I hope you will enjoy the event"

"No, Your Majesty, I certainly feel honored that you are inviting me. More so with the fact that it is to announce the engagement" 

The Queen of Venus smiled like a proud mother then. "I will probably be quite busy until the ball, so I will see the two of you tomorrow" 

With that, she turned her back and exited the balcony. Knowing that she could do nothing, Jisoo put her arms on the balcony fence, leaning her body there. She needed time to let it sink in; that the whole marriage thing was really happening and there was no way she could get away with it. 

"Do you dance?" Jennie's voice broke her train of thoughts. 

"No. Why?"

"Then let's have some practice before tomorrow night" Jennie stood right behind her. "Tomorrow before lunch. I will be waiting here" 

The Venusian princess turned around to throw complains at the other girl, but the Martian had stepped away from the area in silence. An angry grunt escaped Jisoo's lips. What on earth made Jennie so convinced that she wanted to dance with her!?

***

Bawls and disputes barely took place in the meeting room of the Kingdom of Venus, but not that day as Queen Sandara opened its door and found the place in fuss. Senators and officials halted their argument immediately as The Queen made her way to her seat in the big hall. 

There was a dead, tensed air filling the room as the attendees of the meeting fixed their position on their chairs respectively. The Queen studied the anxious expression that was present on the face of almost every person. 

"Artemis" She called. "What happened?"

The man dressed in white suit found The Queen's gaze. "There was an attack in Mercury today. The witnesses said that there was a mass of dark shadow in a part of the city. Then, out of sudden, arrows flew out from behind the dark cloud and darted towards their castle. At least twenty fatalities have been reported and many were injured"

"I see" The Queen of Venus then flew her eyes across the other attendees. "Then why did you all panic?"

"Your Highness, actually... We just got a message from a Mercurian delegate. During the attack, one of their troops came across an arrow with a paper attached. He opened the letter and it was written there that... The attack there was just the beginning and there soon would be another attacks in another planets"

The serene face of The Queen gradually turned clouded as she recalled something. "I understand"

"Your Highness... The prophecy is..." Artemis continued, his voice rather dim.

Instead of replying, Queen Sandara merely looked back at Artemis with deep concern in her eyes. She hemmed and put her attention back to the assembly. "Nobody panics. Artemis, send a delegate to Mercury to find out in details about the attack, then talk to the troop commanders to plan a defense strategy. As for the rest, I beg you to stay calm. Do not talk to the civilians about it as to not make them worried. The meeting is dismissed"
 
The fuss that was present in the room returned soon after The Queen finished her sentence, albeit quieter. It was not until a minute or so that the officials began leaving the room; some were still in discussions along the way. Artemis stayed until there were only one or two groups left. Then, as if he knew that The Queen would want to say another one or two things, he turned to face her again. As he expected, The Queen had already stared at him by the time he looked. 

"I will contact Jupiter tomorrow and remind Irene to stay cautious" The Queen spoke. "Please send my request to the commanders to protect Jisoo... Should anything unwanted happens"

"I will, Your Highness" Artemis nodded and bowed his head, while The Queen left the place in silence. He looked up again when he heard the door closed, and he sighed. Sometimes his queen was too kind-hearted. Why would she have to request the commanders to protect the second princess if almost everyone in the Kingdom would do so without being asked? He did not understand. 

***

"Princess, please forgive me. I did not know that you did not want to go. I am truly sorry, my Princess" 

Mandy followed Jisoo's quick steps from behind. The Princess in front of her kept her gaze straight to the front as she barged into the dining room of the castle. 

"Just tell them to send the food here!" She sat at one of the luxurious chairs, pouting. 

"But I thought you would meet Princess Jennie before lunch at the balcony, so I informed the other maids to serve the meal there..."

"Who said I wanted to meet that girl? There is enough torture for me to have to spend the night at the ball with her, I'm not going to waste more time with her!" Jisoo grumbled as she rested her chin on her hand. "It's not like she is serious about it anyway"

"But, Princess... The other maids told me that Princess Jennie was already waiting there when they passed by the balcony" 

"And? Why should I care?" Jisoo deadpanned, turning to Mandy just to throw her a deadly glare. 

"N- Nothing, Princess. I will just tell them to send your food here" Petrified, the poor loyal maid hurried out of the room. 

The Venusian Princess let out a deep sigh as if she could release all her irritation in her breath. The image of Jennie waiting at the balcony appeared in her mind out of nowhere. 

"So she was serious about it huh" She mentally whispered to herself. 

Her lunch arrived at the room a short while later. Despite having chicken in the menu, which is her favorite, she put zero interest in them as she stabbed and tear apart the meat senselessly. Mandy was beyond amused to see her Princess' vacant expression while eating chicken, but said nothing nonetheless. 

Jennie was not so sure herself either why she thought Jisoo would come to her invitation. The Martian leaned on the fence. She had been waiting for one hour and she was starving then, but the stubborn side of her made her wait just a little more. Her stare flew toward the vast garden of the Kingdom that seemed to sprawl endlessly. She decided to savour the view while killing the time then, knowing that such scenery was a luxury to her eyes. 

Jisoo walked up the stairs of the balcony, rushing her pace a little without knowing why. When she arrived upstairs, she discovered Jennie standing by the fence. She watched the girl from afar, not exactly knowing what to do or say. It was not until a minute or so that she decided to step forward, and it was not until she was a few steps away from Jennie that she realized the Martian was lost in her own world. 

"H- Hey" She started. 

It was enough to steal Jennie's attention from what had occupied her. She smiled at Jisoo. "Hi"

The Venusian blushed when all she got from the other girl was a dazzling smile instead of getting chided for being late and for not taking her seriously. 

"I'm sorry" She finally admitted. "I thought you were not serious about it"

"That's okay. I just got hungry while waiting" 

"You know, my dancing is not that bad. We don't really need to practice. Just eat or my mother will think I was trying to starve you to death"

"I was not really thinking that you are terrible at dancing" Jennie turned her body to face Jisoo. "I just simply want to spend time with you" 

Jisoo felt her whole face grew warmer. She tried to put her attention to somewhere outside the place while biting her lips. The Martian, meanwhile, almost went ear to ear after seeing the other girl turning into a shy kitten for the first time. 

"W- What were you looking at before" Jisoo tried to alter the topic. "You looked so serious when I came here"

"Oh" Still with brightness shadowing her face, Jennie looked at the garden again. "I was enjoying the view of your Kingdom's beautiful garden"

"Well a lot of people have said that we have such an exquisite view here"

"No, I mean, your Kingdom is truly beautiful" Jennie continued. "I wish I could have many trees in my planet"

Jisoo fixed her eyes at the Martian again, looking excited this time. "Do you like trees too?"

"Like? I love trees!" Jennie met her gaze. "They are one of the most amazing creatures to exist, and one of the most powerful, too"

Jennie's eyes sparkled as she focused on one nearby tree down below, while Jisoo's sparkled at Jennie herself. The Venusian had never found another humang being who was on the same level of understanding as her. Another warm wave hit her heart then. 

"You said you wish you could have more trees in your planet? Are there only a few?"

The lively spirit that owned Jennie before seemed to gradually dissipate. The Martian stared at Jisoo, smiling weakly. "We have only a few in the castle, like four or five, but none outside"

The Venusian could only form a slight frown upon the answer. How humans could live in a planet without trees was beyond her comprehension while she grew up here with tons of them. 

Jennie studied Jisoo's rather saddened face, and she quickly spoke up again. "By the way, are you sure we do not need to practice? I expect you to not step on my feet later"

Triggered, all the warmth that Jisoo felt just minutes ago was soon forgotten. "You are the one who should not step on mine!"

"Oh I don't have to worry about myself. I asked some of your maids and they all said that people who danced with you never went home without at least red marks on their feet" 

"You-" Jisoo grunted, eyes widening in great anger. 

"I was just kidding. I did not ask any of them" Jennie set a roguish smile. "I told you before that you are so gullible"

The Venusian Princess gritted her teeth and stomped one foot on the floor. She walked away then, wanting to escape the scene as quick as she could. "I will just see you at the ball later and see who would injure whose feet!"

 

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