Your aide you had come to know as Areum, had been in the middle of combing your hair before Prince Sanghyuk’s visit when your healer had come barging in, announcing a surprise check-up after hearing about you gallivanting in the forest with the princes.

“There is no strange swelling…” your healer replied, distracted by her work. Without the splint that had kept your ankle rigid, it felt unnatural without it. You were almost certain that it would break now that there was no longer any protection, “the bruising is changing color as it should. It would seem your ankle is healing as it should. Is there any other discomfort you feel when horse riding?” she asked, her concern almost as maternal and professional.

You take a moment to recall the weeks you have spent riding with the princes – almost losing yourself in the pleasant memories that surged forth.

“Perhaps back ache? But that had happened when I first began. Other than that, I cannot think of anything else.” you answered honestly.

“That is good.” the healer replied with a sincere smile. “I am pleased Wonshik saw it fit to teach you to ride. At times to be confined to a bed when ill only makes you feel worse after a while. The flush has returned to your cheeks – always a good sign for a young lady like yourself.” The older woman commented, her smile now containing a roguish feature. You could only guess what she meant by her statement and flushed at the possibilities.

Just as you mustered up the courage to satisfy your curiosity, another voice made itself apparent.

“Good afternoon.” the male voice greeted kindly with a bow.

At first you thought your ears had deceived you or that your mind had conjured up his voice. Turning to him, you found none other than Taekwoon standing there, his perfect posture almost rendering him a statue in your eyes. So lost in his form were you, you barely paid any mind to the two large wooden constructions the regal prince carried under his arm.

You were now quite thankful you had decided to perch yourself on your bed. “Good afternoon.” you replied, though slightly more delayed than you wished for it to be. “Is there something urgent? I was not to see you for two more days…” you trailed off, hoping you did not sound too enthusiastic about his surprise visit even though you were prickling excitement at the sight of him.

“I am aware you are recovering so I brought you these. Our carpenter just completed it this morning.” the prince answered, removing the two polished wooden objects from under his arm. They were strange yet crafted to be as beautiful as they could be. The top was attached with a curved piece of wood where it diverged into two branches and a horizontal piece of wood was attached before ending off in one cohesive piece.

“I…thank you?” you were puzzled, unsure of what you were thanking the prince for. “If I may ask, what is it?”

Taking a long glance at your perplexed face, the dark haired prince answered with bubbling laughter. “These are crutches. Since you are unable to walk on two legs, this is to help you keep stable.” Taekwoon proceeded to give you a demonstration even though he was far too tall for said equipment.

“How thoughtful!” you exclaimed before you could control yourself to give a more diplomatic answer much to the delight of the other occupants in the room. “I mean… it will serve me well.” you clarified, clearing your throat.

“I must be going. Do let me know if they work as they should.” the polite male responded, bowing in greeting once more. As the prince reached the threshold, he stopped as if forgetting something. “Tell Hyuk I say hello.” he said with a laugh before departing as if he had never been there at all.

Your smile does not leave for the rest of the day.

It had been a week since you had made use of Prince Taekwoon’s gift and the feel of independence once more was a thrill. Though it was quite uncomfortable to use for long periods of time, it was quite easy to use. You went everywhere and anywhere with it – except the throne room at dinner time of course. The king would have none of that – placing his foot down in the most paternal way possible.

You journeyed as far as your body was willing, stopping to watch the animals in the pens playing with each other or smelling the various flowers that grew in the palace gardens and even on occasion, take a stroll to the stream to calmly watch the water flowing, observing any living organism that flowed in it.

One particularly sunny day, you decided to take a different route through the vivid green orchid, hobbling along at a leisurely pace, the green grass making pleasant rustling sounds as the wood passed through it. So full of wonderment were you that your very breath had been robbed of you when you came upon the back of Prince Taekwoon sitting underneath an apple tree. You did not even doubt as to whether you were wrong, you would know him anywhere.

Quietly you inched forward to catch a better glimpse. He was leaned against the bark of the sturdy tree, his face angled down toward the book in his hands; the white pages reflecting onto his face, giving it an ethereal glow. His well-groomed hair blew in the gentle spring breeze. It looked as soft as feathers and you had the urge to run your fingers through his hair. He always seemed so mysterious that finding him in such a secluded part of the orchid only raised more questions. This was not the first time that you felt as though you would go mad from curiosity. It was the first time you wished to know everything about one person.

You watched him idly turn the pages, utterly enthralled. You do not think you could have left even if you wanted to. You took in every minute action he made. From the way he played with the page before he turned it to the way he held the book or even how he would sometimes look up as if to ponder over the words he had taken in. You only managed to tear your eyes away when you felt a chill run through your body and noticed that the sun had nearly set. Knowing that you were due to see Areum soon, you hobbled away, almost letting out a groan of pain from your hours of inactivity. Your arms ached from keeping yourself upright and both of your legs were prickling uncomfortably with the sudden rush of blood.

Still, it did not put you off from coming back the next day, or the day after that or even the day after that one. Sometimes you would arrive before he did, waiting with anticipation for him to show up and at others, he had already been there a while. Whether you had seen him for hours or mere minutes, it would leave you with the same feather light feeling as though you were floating on a cloud.  Perhaps you would not stay –

“You should sit down.” Taekwoon raised his voice, looking directly at the tree you where you hid behind.

Having been addressed with the express knowledge that your secret was out, you nearly drop your crutches in comical shock.

You inched out from behind the tree shyly, your face annoyingly warm as you carefully made your way to him, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. Standing right in front of the prince, you become vaguely aware of him patting the empty space beside him, his hands held out to take your crutches. You manoeuvred yourself in the most awkward fashion but you were nonetheless relieved to be seated and the heat radiating off of your companion only served to help matters.

“I apologize for…watching you.” you choked out and felt as though you had a full blown fever.

“Your ability to stand unmoving for hours was far more impressive.” the prince teased with a gracious smile.

Looking up at him in surprise you both stare at each other silently before bursting into laughter, your relief even more acute and your laughter that special girlish giggle not every man got to hear. Moreover the burning in your cheeks cooled down to a pleasant blush.

“What are you reading?” you asked after a comfortable stretch of silence had passed between you. It was a question that never occurred to you when watching him endlessly.

He shrugged. “I am not sure. Poems I think?” he asked questioningly, turning over the book in his hands.

You chuckled. “How can you be uncertain of a book you have perusing for days?” you enquired.

“Sometimes I like looking at whatever I bring with me but mostly, I prefer to sit in the quiet.” Taekwoon replied, glancing at you in his peripheral. “As you know, my brothers are quite…boisterous and loud so I come here to clear my mind and think.” he added thoughtfully as you both watched a little bird peck the earth for a worm.

“Oh, then I should not have…” you answered, feeling a twinge of guilt that you had interrupted his quiet time.

“No, that is not the case. Unlike my brothers, you seem to understand the concept of silence.” the prince interrupted, quietly calming the storm of negative thoughts in your mind.

The unexpected compliment left you speechless. He had delivered it with honesty that it left you a flushed mess. Nothing unusual there. After the initial shock, you realized he was probably referring to all the meals you shared in companionable silence.

“My brother tells me you are betrothed?” Taekwoon enquired, his question sounding more like a statement. You enjoyed how his quiet voice sounded out the syllables of his comment.

You inclined your head. “Technically I am. My mother had only spoken to me about it the morning I found this place.” you corrected. Thinking about it now, it seemed as though it happened light years ago. You wondered how your family was doing.

“It is arranged then…” the prince replied, almost speaking to himself. “Do you love him?” he asked in much the same way Wonshik had asked you weeks ago.

“I can learn to.” you responded and felt ashamed at how pathetic it sounded. “Like I said to your brother…he is kind and generous man. All things considered I am lucky.” you added, hoping you did not sound too defensive. The last thing you wanted to do was spoil a beautiful day with him.

 “I see.” he said, sounding as though he were miles away in thought.

“It works differently where I am from.” you continued, unable to stop yourself from explaining. “Having a daughter in these times, is one of the most valuable things you can have. If you can marry her off to someone who is wealthy, her entire family’s future is guaranteed. It is not ideal but the alternative is a lot worse.” you admitted and when you thought of it, how bad could marrying Taejin really be? Somehow you did not like thinking of the idea when Taekwoon was barely a hairsbreadth away from you. “Is it the same for you?”

Immediately Taekwoon shook his head, something about his facial expression looked sad. “My father wants us to love the women we marry. He insisted on it.” the prince waited a moment to pass. “I am sorry it cannot be the same for you.” he sincerely apologized and so moved were you that he might as well have asked for your hand.

“Do not be.” you said simply, a smile on your lips. It made you happy to know that he would be free to be marry the woman he loved. He deserved to be happy. “Could I hear some of that poetry perhaps?” you asked hopefully, wanting nothing more than to hear him speak.

The only answer you received was him flipping to a random page to begin his reading. Though you could see the words, you were far more content to hear the rise and fall of his beautiful voice telling of tragic love of women like the breath of spring and of men as strong as oxen. You felt as though you were in a trance and unable to resist the warmth that was so close, you laid your head on Taekwoon’s shoulder, his broad shoulders as firm and as comfortable as you always assumed they would be. Though he was surprised at first, as you relax into each other, as you drift off you almost thought you felt his head atop your own.

Taekwoon closed the leather bound book, having had more than his fill of poetry. For some reason, they seemed far more beautiful today than all the other days he had tried to read them on his own. Things that never occurred to him, floated around in his mind.

“What did you think?” the prince asked, afraid to raise his voice in case of disturbing the little bubble they had created.

Having received no answer for an appropriate time, Taekwoon looked to his shoulder to find your eyes closed, gentle breaths being released from you. Not wanting to leave but neither wanting you to sleep uncomfortably, Taekwoon gathered your sleeping form in his arms, crutches and all and strolled back to your quarters, ensuring not to jostle you too much.

Stretching, you took a deep breath in, noting the absence of the sweet apple tree and the heavy cologne you had smelled before drifting off. You sat up, observing you were in your bed, tucked under the covers. Immediately it was the warmth and voice you missed of your companion the most upon realizing he was gone and you were alone.

Looking to your side table, you found a note addressed to you:

“Same time tomorrow? See you at dinner.” – Jung Taekwoon, Second Prince.

The hastily written note left you with a grin, now looking at your brightened surroundings, your eyes falling on the pot of red camellias. They had been replaced to look as plump and vivid as ever. Ever since their appearance weeks ago, they had been replaced as soon as but one brown spot spoiled their precious red leaves. You had asked the housekeepers and even Areum but no-one seemed to know where they had come from – or even who had placed them there in the first place.

As beautiful as they were, you had to ready yourself. Your aide could help finish you off but with the idea of a prince you had to meet later that night, it was best to get ready.

A/N: I could be wrong but I think this turned out quite well. To be honest, it was so tough not to imagine Jumin (he's bae obvs) when writing this. It was incredibly strange, I could basically see purple hearts pop on my screen typing out Leo's dialogue lol. Anyway, this should make up for the short last chapter and even I'm sad there wasn't more Ravi but oh well. Also, thank you so much for the upvotes! It's nice to know you guys are liking it so far <3 Enjoy!