Around them the others were finishing breakfast and getting up from the table. “Time to head outside,” Youngjae sighed. Mark stood up, taking a couple of berries from his plate as he did so. The others didn’t notice, and together they left the table and headed into the gardens. Mark showed BamBam the berries and offered him one but the other prince shook his head. 

Soon they were on a grassy expanse where the other girls, Jinyoung, his parents, the steward, and a few servants waited. “Prince and Princesses, for this challenge we will test the sensitivity of your skin. You will remove your shoes and walk barefoot across this expanse of grass,” the steward said. 

“To what end?” Youngjae asked. 

“We expect that the grass will cut your feet if they are delicate.” The steward replied and one of the princesses fainted. 

Youngjae crossed his arms over his chest. “I refuse.” 

“Are you afraid, my son?” King Wooyoung asked. 

“No, I am not. There is no point in participating, because I already know the outcome. I swim in the ocean at home. I walk on pebbles and rocks and sand. The grass will do nothing to my feet, and I know I will walk across uninjured. If you think that all true prince and princesses bleed easily, and are soft and weak, then it is best that I withdraw now.” Youngjae stated

Mark watched in fascination as the two king’s whispered together for a moment. King Nickhun turned back. “We respect your choice to decline the challenge but we ask that you respect our request that you stay at least until tomorrow.” Youngjae nodded and stepped back. 

Mark gazed at him with admiration for having spoken up. Still, Youngjae did not wish to win the competition and marry Jinyoung, so he had nothing to lose by refusing the challenge. “Who would like to go first?” the steward asked. 

BamBam stepped forward. “I will go.” 

“Are your feet also strong?” King Wooyoung asked. 

BamBam shook his head. “No, quite the opposite. I have never walked barefoot anywhere, and I sadly expect to be injured.” 

“You may proceed.” King Nickhun said. 

BamBam slipped off his shoes and began to walk across the grass with slow, pained steps. When he turned to walk back, Mark could see BamBam biting his lip. Mark ran to his friend and stopped him. Mark bent and picked him up as he would a sack of grain. “I can do it,” BamBam protested. 

“And you have done it,” Mark said, carrying him back. “The steward only said you had to walk across; he said nothing about walking back.” When they had returned to the cluster of prince and princesses, Mark set BamBam down gently. The bottoms of both of BamBam feet were actually bleeding. “Why did you do this to yourself when you don’t even want to win?” Mark whispered. 

BamBam smiled and whispered back, “To take the focus off of you and what you’re about to do.” A couple of servants rushed forward with bandages, and Mark left BamBam to their care. Mark stood and watched as several others crossed the grass. Several suffered some sort of injury, but none as severe as BamBam. When it was Jackson’s turn, Mark watched him take off his shoes and was stunned to see him scratch the bottom of his left foot with his fingernails. By the time Jackson came limping back, blood had oozed from the wound. Soon Mark and Baekhyun were the only ones left. 

Baekhyun went first, and he had barely gone two steps when he cried out and sank to the ground. Servants hurried forward to help him stand. “I can do it,” he said breathlessly. Baekhyun took several more steps and then collapsed, needing to be carried back. 

Mark took a deep breath. The berries were still in his hand he looked over at Jinyoung, who nodded encouragement. Then he looked at his parents and wondered what they possibly hoped to accomplish with such a test. Mark didn’t want to do it, it was ridiculous. He couldn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t any longer. 

Mark prepared to slip off his shoes and walk across the grass. He glanced over at BamBam and hesitated. The other boy had sacrificed so that Mark would have the chance to fake his own injury and pass the test. If he refused, then BamBam had injured himself for nothing. 

As people were looking over at Baekhyun, Mark bent down and smashed the berries in his hand onto the bottom of each foot and quickly standing upright. Once everyone’s attention was on him, he walked as calmly yet pretending to hiss in pain as he walked across the grass and back. Mark briefly displayed the bottom of his red stained feet and then hastily put back on his shoes. 
Mark met BamBam gaze, and the two shared a grim smile. 

Dinner that night was brief, as many of the royals just wanted to rest from the day’s ordeal. Three more of them, including the one who had fainted before she could walk across the grass, were put out of the competition. But to everyone’s surprise Youngjae was not one of them. This proved for Mark that the challenges were just an act and not the real test. Mark still had no idea what the real tests could be; all he knew was that ten prince and princesses and three tests were all that remained. 

Mark was ready with some table scraps for Coco when he padded into the room. “Good girl,” he whispered as he took the parchment from him. Coco eagerly gobbled down the food he presented for her. Mark sat down at the table, lit the candle, and began to read. Mark. Forgive me but I can’t find out anything about tomorrow’s test. Keep your eyes open and expect anything. I’ll try to help if I can. Yours always, Jinyoung.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark barely slept, tossing and turning all night. When he awoke, he couldn’t shake the fear that had weighed on his ming all night. This was only the fourth test of six, and he had no idea what it was, much less how to pass it. Jinyoung and his parents were absent at breakfast, which was considerably less elaborate than it had been other mornings. Each person had a bowl of stew set before her. The food was hot and bland. It reminded her of many stews that she had had at home, and Mark ate it hungrily. 

Around him, the others made faces as they nibbled at the food. “The carrots taste okay,” Jackson finally said. 

“You have carrots? Where?” BamBam asked, craning his head to see Jackson’s bowl. 

As breakfast came to an end, Mark couldn’t help but wonder why no one had mentioned anything about the next test. When a servant came to clear his dish, Mark asked where the steward was. The man gave him a shrug and an apologetic smile but said nothing. Mark glanced around and discovered that none of the servants would meet his eyes. 

“Something doesn’t seem right here,” he said, turning to BamBam and when he looked at him so noticed he looked pale, and sweat was beading on his forehead. 

“Something definitely doesn’t seem right here,” he repeated, eyes glassy. 

“Are you okay?” Mark asked in alarm. 

“I don’t think any of us are,” Jackson groaned. 

Mark glanced over and saw that he, too, looked sick. “I think I should have gone home yesterday morning,” Youngjae said through lips that trembled. 

Mark glanced up and down the table and saw that everyone looked terrible except for Baekhyun. “What’s wrong with them?” Mark asked him. 

Baekhyun frowned. “They ate the food idiot.”

“But so did I, and I’m fine.” Mark said confused

“Then you must be used to eating peasant food. I wouldn’t have served that to a dog.” Baekhyun said in disgust. Mark trembled with rage as he stared at the prince of Ixania, he glanced around, and there was no one in the room other than them and the sick prince and princesses. 

Mark rose from his seat, he could teach Baekhyun some manners, he could send the prince running from Caledonia. No one was watching, and he would never have a better opportunity. Mark approached Baekhyun, clenching his fists at his side. However before he could strike at Baekhyun, a sobbing sound distracted Mark. 

One of the prince and princesses was on her hands and knees, wincing in pain. There were still no servants in sight. “We have to help them,” Mark said, turning back to Baekhyun but he was staring at the stew still in front of him. “Are you listening to me?” Mark asked. “They’re sick; we have to help them.” 

“The food made them sick,” Baekhyun said in a monotone. “It is commoners food. Their delicate stomachs can’t handle it.” 

“Then we need to help them.” Mark argued 

“You idiot, you don’t understand,” Baekhyun said, looking up at Mark with slightly glazed eyes. “This is the test.” Baekhyun grabbed his bowl and poured it into his mouth. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Mark cried, trying to snatch the bowl away from him.

Baekhyun twisted himself so Mark couldn’t reach the bowl, and a moment later he set the nearly empty bowl on the table. “I think I’m going to be sick,” Baekhyun groaned. 

Mark frowned at him “The stew couldn’t have hit your stomach yet,” he protested. 

“Not that, you idiot. The taste,” Baekhyun said before sliding onto the floor in distress. 

Mark stared at Baekhyun in disbelief, then turned his attention to the others in the banquet hall. Several royal clutched their stomachs in pain, a couple other were crying, and at least one had passed out in their chair. And despite everything Mark had thought and felt and feared, he knew then that he might dress like them, and even act like them, but he would never truly be one of them. 

Mark turned and hurried toward the kitchen and his arrival there stopped all the servants in their tracks. Mark grabbed the woman who seemed to be in charge, noting that she wouldn’t meet his eyes either. They all knew the food would hurt the royal, he realized. “Please help me. I need something to soothe the royal’s stomachs.” He said begging the woman, “There’s a root my doctor sometimes uses.” Mark remembered the root from when Yugyeom was sick and Mr. Jinwoon used it to help him. Before Mark could begin to describe it, one of the other cooks handed his a small bowl. Inside were cuttings of the plant he needed. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m also going to need towels and water.” 

A few of the servants started to gather supplies at Mark’s request, as he dashed back to the hall. Kneeling down beside the first person to have gotten sick, Mark said, “Look at me,” shaking his shoulder. The boy did as he was told and Mark saw his eyes were wide in fear, and he was sweating and shaking uncontrollably. “How much did you eat?” 

“Didn’t eat that much,” he mumbled. 

“Okay, good. Have this anyway.” The boy swallowed the piece of the root, and then Mark signaled to one of the servants that had followed him from the kitchen. The woman scurried over, eyes wide. “I want you to help him get cleaned up, and then move him somewhere and make him more comfortable. I don’t think you should try taking him to her room yet; he looks too weak to make it up the stairs. Do you understand?” 

The servant nodded. “Yes, milord.” 

Mark then moved over to Baekhyun, who was groaning on the floor. As much as he would've liked to leave the prince like that he knew he should, “Baekhyun, eat this,” Mark said, handing him a bit of the root. Baekhyun groaned and then slowly put it in his mouth and began chewing. Mark stood up and walked over to one of the boys from the kitchen. He handed him half a dozen clippings from the plant. “Go to all the royal on that side of the table; make sure each one of them eats one of these.” 

“Yes,” he said, moving toward Jackson. Mark found BamBam, who looked worse than many of the others. His friend’s skin was even paler than usual, and he was sweating and gasping as though he were having trouble breathing. Mark was able to help him eat the root. Then he moved on to help the others.

A minute later Youngjae staggered up to Mark. “Go lie down,” he ordered. 

“No, I’m good. I want to help.” Mark looked at him for a moment; of all the group Youngjae seemed to have the strongest stomach. 

“Go and see to BamBam. I’m really worried about him,” Mark revealed, he handed him the last piece of root. “He’s already had one, but-” 

“I understand,” Youngjae said before running off to BamBam. Mark paused to look over the situation. Of the nine royals who were sick three, including Baekhyun, had been moved to makeshift beds on the far side of the hall. Four others, including Jackson, were still in the throes of being ill. He could hear him wailing about never eating carrots again. Youngjae was shaky but was caring for BamBam, who seemed to have passed out from the pain in him stomach. Mark shook his head. Poor BamBam. He was undoubtedly the most sensitive prince in the room, certainly the one with the worst luck. 

Mark felt a wave of fear wash over him. If the grass had made BamBam feet bleed, could the stew do permanent damage or even kill him? It seemed ridiculous, but before meeting BamBam there had been a lot of things he found unbelievable that had been proved true. As much as Mark wanted to soothe his friend, he realized there was nothing he could do for BamBam that Youngjae was not already doing. 

Mark turned and walked to the far end of the room to check on the three royals recuperating there. “How are they?” he asked the woman overseeing the group. 

“They seem m uch better. Should I give them a little bread or something to eat?” The woman asked

Mark shook his head, “Tell everybody to make sure they don’t eat anything for at least a couple of hours until their stomachs have settled.” Baekhyun and a girl were lying quietly, eyes closed and faces pale. Another girl was weeping openly, and Mark knelt beside her and put his hand on her back. “Is there anything I can do for you?” Mark asked. 

“I just want to go home.” The girl started to cry and Mark didn’t know what to say, so he just stayed with her for a couple of minutes, rubbing her back and trying to quiet her. Finally, the girl’s sobbing faded. Mark wished he could go home and hold his mother to comfort him. He sighed and finally went to check on the others who were still sick. 

They were doing better except for BamBam. At least they had managed to wake him. “Jackson, how are you doing?” Mark asked. 

“I feel like I want to die,” Jackson moaned. 

“That’s horrible!” Mark gasped,

“Actually, it’s an improvement. A couple of minutes ago I thought I had died,” Jackson groaned, coughing. Mark patted Jackson on the shoulder. Two hours later everyone was starting to feel better. All the royals all were worn out, disheveled, but no longer violently ill. Even BamBam seemed to be doing better. 

Mark finally took a moment to sit down and wipe the sweat from his forehead. Although the food hadn’t made him sick, taking care of the others had exhausted him. What he wanted most was to take a bath and to get out into the fresh air. While Mark contemplated taking a short walk outside while everyone were stable, Jaebum came in the room.

He glanced around the hall, casting a worried glance at Youngjae before then made his way over to Mark. “How is everyone?” he asked him. 

Mark grimaced. “Not well, but improving. It seems that the stomach of these royals are very sensitive.” 

Jaebum sighed “Sadly it would seem that’s one of the qualities the kings are looking for.” 

Mark frowned at him, “Some might think these tests funny, but these people are getting hurt. This needs to stop.” 

Jaebum sighed again before leaning down to whisper in Mark’s ear’s, “You know more than I that hate this stupid contest but I’m only a lord and Jinyoung’s knight. This contest is out of my hands, Mark.” 

Mark stood up as he didn’t want to engage in any more conversation for fear he would get angry. That would surely get him kicked out of the castle, but he was pretty sure that was a certainty anyway. Mark glanced over his shoulder and restrained himself, though, when he saw the royal family enter.