Mina pressed her back onto the closed door of her room. She let out a long, suffering sigh as she let loose of all of her piled up anxieties. Mina slowly slid down the door, wrapping her arms around herself, shaking.

     Something, or someone, was able to slip right under her radar. They managed to put forth a plan in action that she had no knowledge of until it was too late, or seemingly so. Mina tried to calm herself down, but she couldn’t, not so easily; someone’s life was already on the line, possibly two people depending on the results from Tzuyu’s extra testing, and there was an unknown threat out there. Something, or someone, just waiting on the right moment to wreak havoc.

     Mina thought about the repercussions of not being able to handle the situation in time. If Dahyun, the wood fae, were to die then the other magical creatures would surely revolt—that is, if they all didn’t die as well. And then there was Chaeyoung, a resident of the witch kingdom, that was surely to cause problems as well.

     “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Mina mumbled shakily to herself. Her thoughts spiralled out of control, moving from the harm being done to the magical forest and the swamp land, to harm being done to the human kingdom, specifically her cohorts. Mina’s breathing began to pick up, and her eyes watered, until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, Jihyo was smiling down at her.

     “You’re thinking too much again, aren’t you, dear?” Jihyo said affectionately, gently pulling Mina into a hug. When Mina was in Jihyo arms, she relaxed, burying herself into the other’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine, because we’ll make it fine. There’s nothing we can’t do as rulers, that is why we are here, dear. We are the most capable of leading and protecting our people, you know that.” Jihyo’s voice was uncharacteristically  soft in Mina’s ears, but her words were strong and genuine.

     Mina felt a comfort that she hasn’t felt in a long time—the comfort of the wife she had years ago, one that she let go of because of her own fears.

     “Thank you, my love,” Mina pulled back from Jihyo’s embrace, staring into her large eyes. Mina forced herself to pull away completely, but Jihyo stopped her. She hesitated, something uncommon for her, but when she learned forwards and placed a short, yet sweet kiss on Mina’s lips, the younger of the two understood.

     The two didn’t acknowledge the kiss verbally, but they both knew the deeper implications of it, and neither had minded at all.