"Your Excellence, the King has passed away…" Said one of the servants, sadness and pity in his eyes as they stared at me, his body crouched. He soon dropped his gaze, he had to deliver serious and sad news hence why he was so courageous in his staring. I hadn't much of a reaction, my father was always swamped with his work, obsessed about his duty to the point that he was overworked and died, he passed away on his work table, buried under all the documents.

The past 10 years after my mother passed away, my father, the King, showered himself with work 24 hours a day, pretty much a whole week long. His personal maids and servant tried their best to try reducing it, but they could do only so much, I also tried at first but soon realized his grief over mother's death was too deep and gave up on trying to persuade him. In the last few years, it took a great deal on his health and everybody tried to once again make him loosen a bit, however, he must have been determined to join mother as soon as possible as nothing had worked.

"Your Excellence, the throne is now…" While I was lost reminiscing about the last years my father spent buried in documents and work, the servant that delivered the sad news spoke to me.

"The throne?" I asked, still a little shocked, I could maybe call it such. Despite my father ignoring my entire existence, he still was my father, and although I may not remember much from my younger years, I clearly remember how much I was loved by my parents, that much was obvious and deeply etched into my memory. My parents spent the other half, full 7 years, loving me and despite me not remembering every little detail, one memory remained very vivid. My mother, father and me, us three, sitting under a shade that the biggest tree in the courtyard of the palace cast. Lunch that my mother personally prepared for us and smiles that were as bright as the sun that was up in the sky shining its light around us. Although I may not remember what was said, my 5-year old's memory still vividly remembers the loving atmosphere that surrounded me at the time.

"Yes, Your Excellence, I'm afraid you'll need to urgently undertake the King's position." The servant said with urgency to my surprise.

"Why do you sound so rushed? The ceremony is long and needs to be properly prepared, am I wrong?" I asked highly puzzled.

"You're right, Your Excellence." The servant assured but I could see his tone of voice was heavy,

"However, I'm afraid that we're under attack right now." My eyes widened in surprise as I haven't heard of any indication of such and almost lost my cool.

"By whom?" I asked calmly, I couldn't panic in such time. God forbid, and I did, it wouldn't bring any good effects, only result in us losing terribly.

"The Prince of the neighbouring country." This surprised me even more, why would he attack us, when he's the Prince? We've met a few times for diplomatic reasons and I hadn't guessed him to be a territory and a war enthusiastic. Given, maybe it was all just an act, but I wanted to believe in my call. I arrived to a conclusion. I would try to discuss with him. If that didn't work, we would've been the only side losing because I'm afraid our army isn't strong enough to undertake this attack. I didn't want to spill an unnecessary blood of the people. I was determined to talk it out.

"I see, can I see him?" The servant looked at me, a little surprised, although I'm unsure of whether because I was calmer than expected or because he doubted my decision. He soon bowed his head, replied with a determined 'Yes, Your Excellence' and left swiftly.

After he left I collapsed on the floor, shaking from this unexpected turn of events.

"First I get told my father is dead and now I'm supposed to be the King… And on top of all that, the neighbouring Prince decides to attack us now?" Pausing as I exhale a deep breath, "What kind of an eventful day is this? I don't even have the time to grieve for my father… Oh, God… I hope we'll manage to reach an agreement…" I mumble a little dazed, my head full of complicated thoughts.

♣♣♦♠♠

The servant rushed through the palace halls catching the eyes of the other servants and maids in the palace. Wondering where he was going in such a rush, they eventually got back to their respective jobs, the servant's rushed walk at the back of their mind. He probably got an order that he had to quickly accomplish and they themselves had to finish their own works.

The servant soon arrived at the entrance of the Palace and after explaining to the guard what the new King ordered, the gate was opened. What fell into his sight was the huge army the other brought over and although he was terrified, the King's order came first. Even if he had to lose his life, his duty had to be fulfilled. And so, with the greatest effort he managed, he gathered all his courage and yelled,

"Your Highness, the King wishes to see you!" Sounding as polite as he could manage while screaming his lungs out so the other hears, he delivered his message.

"Let me speak to your Prince!" The other has replied and the servant managed a little sigh of relief, he wasn't shot on the sight. This could be considered half the success.

"The King wishes to speak with you!" The servant once again yelled. The other replied with the same words as before and this repeated for about five times before the Prince seemed to lose his patience and yelled back.

"Bring me your Prince!! I don't want to speak to your King!" The servant could feel the other's wrath and he trembled, his mind going blank, terrified he'd get killed.

"Your Prince! Bring me your Prince!!" The servant clearly understood and after confirming he'd bring him, he sprinted to the King. The guard was left there with the doors open, having not received an order to close it, he stood there rigidly, afraid the other would take this opportunity and invade the Palace. The Guard seriously considered breaking the order and closing the entrance but looking at the opponent unmoving, he felt a little better. He was very strict with keeping orders and really didn't want to break them, but he also didn't want to be the reason for an invasion from the enemy.

♣♣♦♠♠

While I finally composed myself and was trying to come up with a good persuasive method, the servant flew inside the room like an arrow. His dishevelled appearance made me very anxious, assuming this strategy wouldn't work.

"Your Excellence, His Highness wants to see you." When I was panicking in my heart, these words came like the rescue.

"That's great!" I said, slightly happy and losing a bit of my coolness.

"Yes, he wants me to bring you to him, however." The servant said with regret and finally let out the breath he must have been holding in, huffing from the running.

"Okay, take me to him, then," I replied calmly despite my heart being in a disarray of mixed emotions and beating wildly.

"Yes, Your Excellence." He replied, his voice tone with a hint of urgency, "Please, follow me."

And we walked very briskly through the halls of the huge Palace attracting the eyes of the rest of the working servants and maids. They must have been wondering what had this servant and Prince so urgent and busy. I don't know if they were aware of my father dying yet but assuming that I should've been the first to hear the news apart from the ones who found him and the chaos this day is, I highly doubted it.

We soon arrived at the entrance and seeing it wide open, my heart dropped. However, seeing the other one with his army on the other side calmly standing there, I felt that my decision was the right one.

"Your Highness, the King is here!" The servant let the other Prince know and I slowly advanced to the entrance. My heart was beating the fastest it has ever been, but I didn't know if it was because of the fear or another reason, maybe a mix of both.

"I said to bring the Pri-!" He started angrily, and I was scared by his expression before we made eye contact. He stopped mid-sentence and looked at me in silence, his face unreadable. I wanted to avert my eyes but couldn't, I was entranced by his stare and beauty.

"Is this Your King?!" He yelled, his eyes looking at the servant, his stare almost burning. I could see my servant shake under his look before he nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness!" He added afraid the other may have not noticed, probably.

The Prince on the other side nodded after a slight pause, said something to the people behind him and then rode his horse closer to the gate entrance. As he neared, I felt more and more nervous. He finally reached us and quickly jumped down from his white horse, giving the reins to the Guard on the side, who deeply bowed before saying he'll take a great care of it and to not worry.

"You should've said that sooner…" The Prince mumbled when he passed by my servant, confusion blooming in my mind, why? What was he talking about?

"Welcome to the Bailador Kingdom's Palace, Prince Minho." I forgot about my earlier confusion and greeted the other politely, hoping we'll reach an agreement.

"My pleasure to be here, Your Excellence Taemin." He replied while bowing to my utter surprise. I didn't expect such courtesy amid being on the brink of invasion. I have also not accustomed to being the King of Bailador yet.

"No need for such politeness," I smiled before continuing, "Should we go somewhere private and discuss the matters of our Kingdoms?" I proposed as the other straightened his posture.

"Yes, definitely." And so, I led him with my servant to the room for political and other important discussions.

Upon arrival, my servant opened the doors for us and we came inside, me being then led to the King's chair, while the Prince sat to my right. In fact, he should've been sitting directly in front of me, but the servant was too scared to say that, in case he'd offend him, and I wasn't bothered, sitting here for the first time ever.

Only the two of us were left after the servant left the room, not being allowed to be here. Such a case wasn't common, the King usually had to discuss with his ministers but with me being so suddenly appointed and immediately facing such a crisis, there wasn't enough time to call them all and arrange for a meeting. So, I decided to do it alone, given the seriousness of the situation.

"I came here to propose something to you, the Prince," Prince Minho started before I had the chance to say anything, "Oh, is it the King now?"

"I happened to become one this morning." I addressed first, joking a bit to ease the tension in me before asking more seriously, "What is it that you've wanted to propose to me, Prince Minho?"

The Prince stayed silent for a moment, then lifted his eyes and looked at me, staring for another while. I stared back into his eyes, trying not to be intimidated by his determination I could feel from him.

"I, the Prince of the Belle Kingdom, came to ask Your Excellence, Taemin," he started saying, in the politest form to make a request, catching me by a slight surprise, "to give me your hand in a marriage."

Before he finished, he got up from the seat and knelt on one knee in front of me, and his hand reached to me. I was stupefied and didn't know how to react. My mind painted white. This was such a big turn to the events, I honestly was lost on how I should digest this.

I don't know how long I was in a shocked state and without any sort of reaction, but it must have been quite some time. Prince Minho slowly withdrew his hand, his head that was lowered has slowly raised before I was met with his eyes. Disappointment and sadness. Such feelings however quickly turned to surprise and horror. I didn't understand why yet.

"Why is Your Excellence crying?" He asked the oblivious me. I slowly raised my hands to my face to check if my eyes were indeed wet. To my great surprise, they were. Confusion rose within me once again. Why was I crying for? I then looked at Prince Minho again, still kneeling in front of me and my heart started beating irregularly. Ah, I understand now. This was why. I haven't realized before but now I finally understood my feelings that I sometimes couldn't really read. So, this was the reason behind them. I finally understood, that was why I was crying. It was a relief. Relief and happiness.

As I came to the realization, Minho who was still kneeling on the floor, looked distressed and in a dilemma if to soothe me or just wait for me to calm down myself. Seeing him like this, worried about me, I smiled softly. He must have noticed and stopped fidgeting, still as a wood, eyes staring into mines. I could see a bit of confusion and maybe some hope. My smile widened even more. I don't know what came over me, but I stood up and bent down, our faces inches apart. And as I looked into his eyes, I saw not only hope and confusion at this odd situation but also love, pure love. Then, I came even closer and closing my eyes, kissed him. I could feel his surprise, confusion, and for a while hesitation. These feelings, however, dissipated and relief, love and hope replaced them, his hesitation turning into boldness. His hands hugged my back as he started shyly kissing back and I let myself melt into the kiss, safe in his arms.

As we reached our limit, we slowly pulled from the other, eyes opening and staring into them, cheeks pink not only from shyness. He smiled, my heart beating faster again, and I smiled back. And we just looked at each other smiling like fools for a while, even forgetting we were still on the floor.

"So, is that a yes?" He asked after the moment of silence. I smiled more and nodded shyly. He hugged me and gave me a quick kiss.

And this was how my first day of being a King came out to be, sadness in the morning, fear, confusion and hopelessness later, and in the afternoon that turned to a hope, happiness, realization and finding my loved one. Yes, a day that would be hard to ever forget, a day that my whole life turned upside down once, twice and once more. A day I had met my soulmate, a day where I experienced a lot of firsts, like being a King, a possible threat of invasion, sitting on the King's chair, and a kiss.

♣♣♦♠♠

After a few months of preparation, the wedding was finally taking a place. I was sitting down, Minho next to me, both of us were wearing tuxedos. I was primarily in a white, black and gold strikes adorned it, while Minho primarily in black, while white and silver graced his tuxedo.

"Why did you take your whole army with yourself when you came to ask me for a hand?" I suddenly remembered my first day of being a King, and how Minho chose to do it. I couldn't understand why he'd bring his army to confess.

Minho turned to me, silent as he was watching me, and my heart began to beat furiously again. His stares were something I would never get used to, not even after being watched by him hundreds of times in these few last months. We have decided to let him stay in a guest room in the Palace before we'd get married and decorate our own bedroom. He then went back to his own Kingdom for one month, preparing what needed to be done before he came here so we could prepare the wedding together.

"It was for a boost in courage." He confessed while I was reminiscing, and I was surprised. I didn't realize he was that nervous when he proposed to me.

"I thought you were here to attack and invade us," I confessed how I felt then. Minho looked at me with widened eyes.

"Really?!" I nodded, lowering my eyes in embarrassment, "I apologize, I didn't realize it would seem like that…" He bent his head, clearly sorry about what he had done.

"It's good now," I smiled, turning to look at him, "It turned out to be one of the most eventful days I have ever experienced, despite it being all over the place."

Minho turned to me and we looked into each other's eyes as if exchanging silent promises.

"This day will become one of the happiest days of my life, I'm certain." I suddenly spoke, smiling. Minho probably didn't expect such a confession and I saw a surprise flash in his eyes. Then, he smiled at me, too.

"I love you." He said suddenly and kissed me. The kiss was soft and short, partly one-sided. I was still recovering from the shock of his words, my mind blank and unable to respond to his advances. When he pulled from me and opened his eyes to stare into mines, I gained courage.

"I love you, too," I said and pulled him down into another kiss, albeit his surprise at first, the kiss soon turned passionate. My hands were behind his neck from when I pulled him, and he soon reached his hands into my little-overgrown hair, playing with them as he kissed my lips, passionately but softly.

And that happened to be my day of yet another set of firsts. Another day that wouldn't be forgotten, not by me or Minho. Even the history would remember it for a lifetime, celebrating it as a time of peace, a peace they didn't have to worry would be broken as long as love existed between us.

END

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Uhh, I know it's historical setting and the language probably doesn't reflect it but just ignore that little detail please ^^ I tried to make it sound as proper as I could so I hope it's good

Hope you enjoyed it, and you can expect more prompt stories in the future~