*Youngjae’s POV*

“Hmm…Do you breathe fire?” I asked.

“What?” Daehyun laughed, lying on the cushioned seat on the other side of the carriage. “Well, your predecessors are dragons, and they breathe fire. So, do your people breathe fire?” I explained.

“Do you breathe snow?” He asked.

“No.” I laughed, finding the question silly. “Exactly, so we don’t breathe fire.” He smiled.

We spent most of our trip playing games. We were currently taking terns asking each other random questions. It was only Daehyun, Jaejoong, King Jung, and I attending the weeding. Sunghak stayed behind to watch over the kingdom. We took three carriages with us. One with Daehyun and I, another for King Jung and Jaejoong, and one for Yoseob and Kyungsoo.

“Okay. My turn.” Daehyun said thinking to himself. “Who is your favorite prince?” He asked. “What?” I laughed at the weird question. “Who’s your favorite prince that you’ve ever met?” he repeated.

“But I haven’t met any other princes.”

“Then it should be easy.” He said.

I thought about it. He watched me expectantly.

“Kikwang.” I perked.

“What?” He said thrown off guard. “He’s the coolest Prince I’ve ever met. He’s strong, smart, and funny.” I explained. He clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue. I smiled at him cheekily. “My turn.” I said.

“Go ahead.”

I thought for a bit before the question came, but I paused in hesitation. Daehyun noticed this, “What is it?” He asked. “Can I…Can I ask you a personal question?” I asked. He shrugged. “Um…why do you hate Jaejoong?” I finally asked.

This time he paused, caught off guard. “Uh, um, you don’t have to answer.” I panicked.

“No. You have a right to know. It’s only fair. You told me personal things about your life.” He said, “And we’re one now. So, there shouldn’t be secrets between us.” He smiled gently at me. I blushed at his words.

He looked up at the ceiling of the carriage. “It started long before my mother’s death. I used to like him at one point, when I was little. But then I noticed…everyone liked him. Everyone loved him, and no one seemed to care or even like my own mother.” He began. “Of course, everyone respected her, but people talked behind her back. Some of them said that she was never supposed to be Queen and that they felt bad for my father. There were even rumors that she had an affair with someone else. People said that Jaejoong should’ve been in her place.”

“It didn’t make sense to me at first, but as I got older I noticed how she and my father argued a lot. It was like they were always mad at each other.” Daehyun’s shoulders lowered at this. The memory clearly hurt him. “She was miserable at the palace.”

“I saw that my father was always friendly with Jaejoong. Friendlier with Jaejoong than he was with anyone else, friendlier than he was with my mom. My grandmother’s brother told me that Jaejoong had the king’s favor and that he favored him over my mom.” Daehyun gritted his teeth. “It was his fault my mom was miserable in the palace. She hated the palace.”

“I didn’t understand how she was friends with him. It never made sense to me. She was just too good for the kingdom.”

He paused.

“I wasn’t there when the outcasts attacked them, but Sunghak told me everything. Jaejoong was the one who was supposed to protect her, but instead she protected him. She ordered the guards to protect him and Sunghak and get them to a safe place first. They obeyed, but the couldn’t save her in time.” A stray tear streamed down his cheek. “If he wasn’t there she would’ve still been alive. If he was never at the palace she would’ve been happier.” His jaw tightened even more.

I was silent. I didn’t know what to say.

I had no right to tell him the truth, but my heart hurt for him. I couldn’t understand how it made him feel, but it made him upset and that was enough for me to empathize with him. “What would you do?” He suddenly asked.

“Excuse me?” I asked, not expecting the questioned.

“You’ve been through a lot more than I have and you handle things differently than anyone else would. So, what would you do if you were in my position?” He asked.

I was quiet. I didn’t know what I would do. I don’t think I could ever hate Jaejoong. He’s so nice and he’s been through a lot. And he loves Daehyun.

“I don’t know what I would do. I would be sad if my mother died. I would be really sad.” My shoulders sunk at the thought. “But, I would try to be friends with Jaejoong. There must be a reason why King Jung likes him so much and why your mother was still friends with him.” I said, trying not to reveal too much. “And Jaejoong is really nice. So, I would want to be friends with him.” I concluded.

Daehyun nodded, chuckling a little to himself. “Of course.” He said

“Um. Daehyun.” I said.

“Hm?”

“I think…I think you should talk to Jaejoong. You should be nicer to him. He really cares for you.” I advised.

He laughed, “I’m not you.”

I paused, taken aback by his words. What was that supposed to mean?

He looked at me and noticed this. “I mean, that’s a good thing. That’s what makes you special.” He smiled. I only nodded, not feeling comforted by his words. He sighed and sat back up. “I’m sorry. That came out bad. I will try to be nicer to Jaejoong if that’s what you want.”

My eyes slightly widened. “Really?”

He nodded with a shrug.

A large grin grew on my lips. He laughed at this, “Does it make you that happy?” He asked. I nodded enthusiastically. At that moment a loud trumpet blew.

I looked out the window and my eyes grew wide. “We’re here!” I announced. Daehyun peaked out the window as well. The large gates opened, allowing us to pass within the walls. “It’s huge.” I gasped as I caught sight of the enormous castle.

White winter plants had already been planted that flourished throughout the lawn. “It’s amazing.” I whispered. Our carriages stopped in front of the four earth kingdom knights and a woman in the middle, who must’ve been the head servant judging from her lavish attire.

“Hello, your highnesses, it’s an honor to have you here.” The woman bowed when we exited the carriages. Jaejoong and I returned the bow, while King Jung and Daehyun remained still. “Her majesty is waiting for you inside. Please follow me.” The woman bowed her head before turning around.

We followed her up the steep stairway into the large palace. The four knights followed behind us.

A gasp escaped my lips when we entered the castle. “It’s even bigger on the inside.” I whispered to Daehyun who only laughed.

“You guys are here!” Queen Yoon walked up to us. The four of us bowed at her entrance. On her left was prince Doojoon and two her right must’ve been Princess Bora. I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was beautiful. The princess chuckled, catching me staring. I blushed in embarrassment. “It’s an honor to have you here King Jung. Thank you for accepting my invitation.” Queen Yoon held out her hand for a handshake. King Jung nodded, gently shaking the elder lady’s hand.

“Thank you for inviting us.” Jaejoong thanked, seeing that the fire king wasn’t going to do it. “Of course. Come on. Let me show you to your rooms. Doojoon, Bora please make our younger guests feel welcome and show them around.” Queen Yoon said, and with that she walked away, followed by King Jung and Jaejoong.

“Awe, you are so cute!” Princess Bora squealed, puling me into a tight hug. “Th-Thank you.” I struggled. “Yah. Bora, you’re going to choke him.” Prince Doojoon said. Bora scoffed but pulled away anyway.

“Hey Youngjae.” Doojoon greeted with a warm smile. “Hi.” I returned the smile.

“Where’s Kikwang?” I immediately asked, excited to finally see him. “He’s not here. He’s staying somewhere else.” Bora answered.

“Oh.” I said feeling my excitement quickly melt away.

*Daehyun’s POV*

We all could see the disappointment on his face, despite his attempt to hide it with a smile. “But…I’m sure there’s someone else you’d like to see.” Bora gleamed. “Really?” Youngjae questioned. The princess nodded and stepped to the side revealing Ms. Yoo. Youngjae’s eyes grew wide. “Umma!” He ran up to his mother and hugged her tightly. “Youngjae.” She embraced him, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I missed you so much.” Youngjae muffled into the hug. “Awe~, Doojoon look at that. That’s so sweet.” Bora said, touched by the scene. I couldn’t help but smile. He really did miss his mother and he wasn’t expecting to see her here.

“Daehyun.” Doojoon suddenly said. I looked at him. “How good are you with a sword?” He asked. I scoffed, “I live by the sword.”

“Do you want to go for a few rounds?” He suggested. I looked over at Youngjae to see that he was busy chatting away with his mom. “Sure.” I shrugged.

A smirk graced Bora’s lip. “Don’t scare him now.” She said to Doojoon. “I won’t. I’ll leave that to Kikwang.” Doojoon remarked. I didn’t understand what they were talking about but brushed it off and followed the crowned prince out to the back of the palace.

I raised an eyebrow seeing that there was a table of weapons already set up. “So, I heard you’re a well-rounded fighter.” Doojoon said picking up a rapier from the table. I shrugged, “I heard you’re not so bad yourself.” I said, picking out my own weapon. Doojoon shrugged in response, unable to contain his prideful smile. “Shall we duel?” The elder prince asked, holding out his rapier.

This time I couldn’t contain my own smile. “Sure.” I tossed my sword and caught it. It would be interesting to duel someone from the Earth kingdom. Their style of fighting was based on strength and force, while the fire kingdom’s fighting was distinctly based on speed and skill.

Without wasting another second, we clashed swords. He was much stronger than I expected. He was like a steel wall, but I was able to keep up.

We fought for several rounds, neither of us wanting to give in to defeat. “you’re pretty good. But you need to be stronger.” He said, both of sweating. I frowned, and we clashed again. This time he was stronger than before.

I was taken by surprise by the extra strength considering how long we’d been dueling. With every clink of our swords the stronger his force became. I fought harder and faster, but I was beginning to slip behind. “Come one, give everything you got.” He said. His words weren’t taunting, rather he sounded serious. “Everything.” He stressed. I growled, getting frustrated. Just then the floor beneath me twisted, causing me to lose my balance. Doojoon struck again, forcing me to the ground. He pointed his sword to my neck. “That includes your element.”

I huffed, pushing his sword away. “What was that about?” I accused, standing up. “To test how strong you are.” He simply said. “And a partial warning.”

“A warning?” I repeated.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Just a small taste of what will happen to you if you try any funny business with Youngjae.” He said.

I was completely thrown off by the sudden statement. What does Youngjae have to do with him? “Whatever I do doesn’t concern you.” I said a bit irritated. He raised an eyebrow at this. “If it concerns Youngjae then it concerns me. We’re going to be family in a few days.” He said. “maybe I should ask my parents to bring him here. I’m sure King Jung won’t mind.”

“You can’t do that.” I spat.

“Why not? I have a right to. Your family doesn’t seem to care about him, so it shouldn’t matter to you.”