And just like that, it was settled, between the two of them at least, too many people would be affected by what the two had just agreed to and needed to be made aware.

Kim Joonmyeon, engaged to Choi Seohyun, the foreign princess sent to marry his brother and make a pact with their former enemies.

Kim Jongin, engaged to Do Kyungsoo, the foreign prince sent to marry his daughter and solidify their peace.

Do Shinji, the young second prince, now the crown prince of his kingdom, on his mother’s whim.

Kim Yeoreum, princess, now the very first crown princess to ever exist due to her father’s sudden inability to produce any more legitimate heirs to the throne.

Nothing was as it should have been, the court was chaos, every noble man and woman had a word of spite to throw at the Dos and the Kims for their crazy antics. A week had passed, and the correspondence had all reached its destination, now everyone who mattered and even those who didn’t knew of the odd arrangements. There was no backing out.

In exactly a month, a humble – in true Do fashion – double wedding would take place, forever uniting the Do, the Kim and the Choi politically beneath the pretense of joining the lives of four young people in matrimony.

“The bride’s family arrives in three days” Yifan, Joonmyeon’s loyal right-hand man, announced to the brunette. The pair stood – well, one of them did – in front of the grand windows of the prince’s bed chambers as he contemplated the garden outside. The mechanism that allowed his chair to be pushed around became clumsy when rolling on dirt, so he rarely visited the gardens that he loved so much. They used to be his preferred training spot, even when there were rooms and fields already destined for that purpose.

“So I’ve heard” he answered plainly, eyes trained to the garden that could be seen through the window.

“Do you think things will change after the ceremony?” the helper asked curiously.

“Hardly” was his simple reply.

“What have you thought about… your wedding night?” he asked nervously “She’ll expect you to-” he began but was cut off by the other.
 

“Don’t” the man said curtly with an icy glare “She’ll be too disgusted, they all are”.
 

“There is nothing disgusting or dishonorable about your condition, my prince” he tried to reassure, squatting down to be eye level with the other “you were a brave warrior, these are your battle scars” he said as he laid a hand on his thighs, a touch that he knew the other couldn’t feel.

“Well said, Yifan, I was a warrior, now I’m nothing but a burden” he said, eyes glued to the window once more, avoiding the other’s sad gaze.

“No. What burdens me, my prince, is your depression. My heart lies heavy every time you’re out of my sight, thinking… the worst things” he said vaguely, voice quieter, but the other still heard. He huffed.

“Rest easy, Yifan, I’m helpless but never a coward, I won’t run away from the nightmare my life has become” he reassured, a smile ever so small, tired  “If you want me dead, you’ll have to kill me, because I’m not doing it myself” he half joked.

“Then you’ll live forever, my prince” the taller replied with a smile that the eldest prince nervously looked away from, a downcast gaze tired of life avoiding one full of devotion and determination. The bubble was broken when a servant walked up to them, since the door had been left ajar, and cleared his throat to garner their attention.

“Prince Joonmyeon, the seamstress is here for your final fitting” he announced in a monotone. Both men nodded and Yifan went around his prince to push his chair, following the young boy’s directions to meet the seamstress.

Once there, Joonmyeon wasn’t the only one scheduled for a last fitting of his wedding attire, prince Do was there as well, looking gorgeous in his gown.

“It feels uncomfortable beneath the armpit, a bit too tight” he complained to the elderly woman who just nodded and gestured for him to go change out of it while she jotted down something on her notes.

“Prince Joonmyeon, right on time” she said, noticing the new arrivals. The woman motioned for her young assistant to bring out his attire. The young girl rushed to the command and extended the fabric to the former warrior’s loyal man.

“Prince Do won’t take long, then you can go in to change” the young girl instructed meekly to what the two males nodded. Yifan analyzed the clothing in his arms with a frown.

“Madame, with no intention to offend” he disclaimed “Isn’t this too similar to the one we just saw prince Do wearing?” he complained.

“Next time don’t ask me to make three groom attires and expect me to be creative about it” she snapped “With all due respect to the both of you, there’s only so many designs you can put on a man. If it were a bride, things would be different”

“What do you think it will look like when these two match together when they’re not the ones getting married? People will speculate” Yifan pointed out and he wasn’t wrong.

“Oh? How about we let them” Kyungsoo pitched in as he walked out from behind the curtain where he had been changing. Another assistant walked out behind him holding the attire “Let them think it’s been switched around last minute; maybe the bride’s father demanded, just like my father once did, that his daughter not be wedded to a disabled man, no offense to you of course” he clarified, giving the prince a soft smile “Or maybe the court opposed the idea of a ruling queen and made Jongin marry a woman he could produce an heir with. Oh! That would be such a twist!” he clapped excitedly.

“Why would you want to cause such a misunderstanding?” Yifan questioned confusedly.

“As long as the misunderstanding is cleared at the end, there is really no harm. Wouldn’t it be so much fun, hearing them all gasp and seethe as they watch you and I stand side by side in matching attire? Oh, please Joonmyeon, do me this favor, let me have this whim of mine” he pleaded to the prince with pouty lips who hid an amused chuckle behind his hand, looking as if he was considering the offer.

“You want to make chaos out of our wedding day” he stated, not asked. The shorter one nodded eagerly, making the prince stretch a grin that he couldn’t hide, one that hadn’t been so wide for a very long time “...Count me in” he answered after a short pause with a mischievous smile.
Kyungsoo clapped his hands softly and quickly like a little kid who just got what he wanted.
“I’ll leave for your fitting” he announced before nodding his farewell to the seamstress who wasn’t exactly pleased with the plan that had been devised in front of her, but couldn’t say a thing. He passed the duo with a friendly squeeze on Joonmyeon’s shoulder and all but skipped out of the room.

Yifan pushed Joonmyeon behind the curtain with a never softening scowl, silently undressing the prince until he addressed his servants' obvious upset.

“Is just a little innocent joke, Yifan, don’t make that face” the brunette said in a soft tone, as to not be heard from outside.

“It could backfire” was all he said.

“Not badly, just like he said, by the end the misunderstanding will be cleared and they’ll all just laugh because we fooled them”

“Laugh? Those people don’t take kindly to being made a fool” he disagreed, giving the other a hard look after he removed his upper wear.

“Yifan… when was the last time I made a joke?” he asked with a serious, almost saddened expression “When was the last time this dull life of mine gave me something to laugh at? Let me have this, Yifan” he pleaded, not because he needed his servant’s approval for anything, but because he hated seeing him upset, he wanted to make him understand. It was a silly thing, but it was a spark of color that his life had been lacking for years.
The other let out a sigh of defeat before nodding silently and continuing in his task to dress the other.

As the duo exited the room, they were met with King Jongin who had been called for his own fitting. The brothers smiled to one another, while the servants behind Jongin bowed to the disabled prince, and Yifan showed the same respect to his king.

“If you’re done, then you must have been here already before Kyungsoo left” he inquired, although not voiced as a question “did you catch a glimpse?” he asked curiously, knowing that the seamstress would refuse to let him see his groom’s attire, claiming it would mute his reaction when the day came.

“Yes, we did. Beautiful” the prince complimented. Jongin smiled widely with confidence.

“Yes, I guessed as much” he replied with pride. He did have a gorgeous man for a fiancé “do we match nicely?” he asked. The duo looked at each other suspiciously for a second.

“I’ll let Kyungsoo tell you all about that” he answered knowingly, to which the king gave a confused look but gave his farewell seeing his brother wouldn’t explain any further.

The tan male went in and was out of there shortly. The seamstress knew his size by memory by that point after years of servicing the Kim royal family, of course it was a perfect fit.