The group split up intentionally this time around. Ten wanted to show Jane his home and introduce her to his family, and Lucas needed to assure his parents of his sister’s happiness. As for the three of you that remained, it was time to travel to the castle you had seen in the distance last night. Now in broad daylight, it appeared much like something you had known your whole life.

It was strange, you hadn’t once missed home on this journey but the closer you got, the more you craved the normalcy of the routine within the castle walls. You wondered if you would feel at home at Jaehyun’s castle or if it would only compel you to return to your own that much faster.

The entire way there, both Taeyong and Jaehyun prepped you. They gave over the names of the royal family and what to expect. You took it on board and smiled to yourself at their prattling, wondering who it was truly for. You had always thought Taeyong to be someone strong in the face of authority, yet he seemed to be just as concerned as Jaehyun was. You decided you would lend both of them your best manners as well as your strength. Today you would ensure neither suffered.

After all, they had done so much for you already.

The guards at the castle gate eyed your travelling party suspiciously until you were close enough to be recognised. “My goodness! THE PRINCE IS BACK!”

The cries echoed throughout the fortress as the gate was promptly opened and you entered alongside the two men, your eyes soaking in the differences to his castle. It’s stone walls were darker in colour to your own and the gothic style seemed rather foreign to you. Whilst you were used to the roundness of your Romanesque home, there was a charm to the structured form of Jaehyun’s castle. You gasped as you walked near a stain-glassed window, stopping to admire it.

Jaehyun came up behind you and pointed at it from over your shoulder. “This is my family. Every stained window in this castle has generations of my family but this specific one represents this lifetime. This piece here with the rose is me.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I apparently loved our rose garden as a child so now I’m symbolised with the rose in every royal decree.”

“My flower prince,” you mused and Taeyong chuckled at Jaehyun’s flushed expression.

“Come on, they’ll know we’re here and will be waiting now,” Taeyong encouraged and you continued on with your journey through the hallways and grandiose of the castle until you entered a parlour.

There sat an older woman who dropped her cup down with a clatter, getting to her feet with haste. She hugged Jaehyun tightly. “My child!”

“Mama!” he cried affectionately and you felt a twinge of guilt and homesickness whilst watching the reunion. Turning away, you found another set of eyes within the room and you could tell he was Jaehyun’s father. Although he was aged, he bore a similar resemblance to the younger man standing next to you and you smiled graciously.

He eyed you with some interest but was yet to speak, waiting for his turn with his son. Jaehyun approached the chair that he sat upon and bowed lightly. “I have returned, Father.”

“Yes, yes you have,” he mentioned with a chuckle, grasping his son’s hand tightly. He was emotional and blinked back his forming tears, your own gaze dropping to give them their privacy. You almost wondered if you should step out of the room.

Taeyong gave you a small smile and then turned to the Queen. “Your Highness, you look as lovely as ever.”

“Not as beautiful as the treat before my eyes,” she crooned delightfully, reaching to take your hand. She smiled warmly and you couldn’t help but mirror her gentleness. “Who may this be?”

“Princess Y/N of the neighbouring kingdom,” Jaehyun announced, his eyes shining from across the room at you. You felt a strange sense of hesitance, wondering what that gaze entailed. Jaehyun however grinned. “She will become my wife.”

Time moved faster since Jaehyun’s announcement. There was little talk and much action, the Queen jumping into celebration mode. You attempted to keep up but admittedly when you were handed off to a chambermaid, you simply gave into the situation and followed orders. She took you to a plush room and instructed she would assist you with a bath and change. It was odd to be without Jane as your clothing was removed, and once you were , you moved away from her to look within the large mirror upon the wall. Lifting your arm and turning your body to the side, you smiled to see your injury had healed very well. The purple and blue tones were gone and there was only a faint discolouration to show you had once sported a large bruise there.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” the chambermaid questioned and you returned to her side, nodding once. She took you into the adjoining bathroom and helped you sink into the steaming bath, your body relaxing within the water.

It pained you to admit that you missed the luxuries of home greatly once settled within the bath. And once you were dressed within a rich maroon gown, you couldn’t help but admire yourself greatly. You were mesmerised by who you saw staring back at you as the woman laced up the back gently and then left you to empty out the water. At home, you had seen a similar appearance countless of times. But the former image never smiled as brightly as you did now and her eyes were dull. Now, they shone with life and experience. You knew you could return home and face your Father.

You knew with time, you would make a fair and understanding Queen to your people.

When you were finally taken back to the parlour, the members of the room all reacted to your return. The Queen clapped her hands together in joy and the King smiled and nodded appreciatively. Taeyong’s eyes were wide and he looked you up and down, trying to decipher where the dirty and plain looking version of yourself had gone.

Jaehyun approached you, his eyes washing over you once before he took you in his arms.

“This is the real you?” he murmured into your ear and you nodded lightly. “How could you keep this from me for so long? You were beautiful before but now you’re breathtaking.”

You could say the same for him. Whilst you had been scrubbed and dressed to perfection, he had undergone the same treatment. You remembered back to your first time seeing him up on the stage dancing and your thoughts over what he would look like in a suit.

You weren’t prepared in the slightest to see him in the rich fabrics he now adorned and you lightly the rose upon his lapel and smiled. You were right to have called him a Flower Prince before. He was exactly that.

“Dinner will be served within an hour and we’ve already called for your brothers and sisters to join us tonight. It will be a wonderful feast to celebrate in your good news and return, my son. Would you like to show Y/N around the castle some more until then?”

Jaehyun looked as if he would prefer to clear up the misunderstanding with his parents but Taeyong cleared his throat, shaking his head quickly. He then smiled graciously at the leaders. “I think that’s a great idea. Perhaps, you could show Y/N where the rose garden is?”

“Why did you stop me?” Jaehyun asked once out of the room, Taeyong glancing at his friend before letting out a heavy sigh. Jaehyun’s own gaze was dark. “They believe I will bring Y/N here and rule together.”

“Wait until dinner.”

“And drop it on all the guests?” you voiced, concerned. “Taeyong, I don’t think-”

“My brother will be present then,” Jaehyun intervened softly and Taeyong nodded. You grasped onto the idea and smiled. “Taeyong, you might just be the smartest man I know.”

He grinned. “I have to do something well in life.”

“Well, that didn’t go as brilliantly as Taeyong suggested but at least it’s happened now,” Jaehyun announced much later into the evening, walking around the palace grounds with you restlessly. You had found his family dynamics interesting. Everyone was approachable and generous with their questions and praise for you at Jaehyun’s side before talk of Jaehyun’s rule came about.

It was as if everyone at the table changed when the King chortled with joy that the future ruler was back. The sisters grew disinterested and the eldest son was sullen. The other attempted to clap excitedly until his Mother shook her head softly. You watched the matron of the table, her body language conflicted. As a mother, she could tell her children were hurting by this decision and you took a deep breath before addressing the table.

“Do you know much of my kingdom?” you asked and no one responded immediately. The King pushed his spectacles up further on his nose and then laughed merrily. “Why of course, my dear. Your Father and I have had many years of prosperous trade and communication. You are the one he talks of the most I must say, his pride and joy.”

You nodded.

“Do you know more about her family, Father?” Jaehyun continued, understanding the plan you had initiated. He cut at his steak before glancing up expectantly. “How many children does the King of Y/N’s kingdom have?”

“Well let me see, he has the beautiful Y/N sitting here at our table and, and…” He trailed off then, realisation crossing his face. He refused to speak, his face growing red at the predicament.

Jaehyun smiled at his Mother and then his eldest brother. The man wasn’t looking up from his meal but he was definitely listening. “He only has the one child. And Y/N will rule as heir to the throne.”

The eldest brother’s gaze snapped to you both then but he didn’t say anything.

“Does that mean you will be King in another kingdom altogether, brother?”

Jaehyun nodded simply. “I’m afraid so. I couldn’t ask the King to give up his daughter and his only heir, could I?”

“Did you plan this?!” the King bellowed and then coughed. You were concerned about his health deteriorating over this and grasped onto Jaehyun’s lower arm under the table. “Did you go out there searching for a way not to rule here?!”

“No,” Jaehyun answered and stared firmly at his Father. “I was resigned that I would have to come back here and live in misery ruling after you, knowing full well my brother wants the throne. I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer, even though I had no desire to take what is rightfully his.”

Jaehyun glanced around the table at his family and stopped on his Mother’s face, who was silently crying and smiling. You could tell she was overwhelmed at what Jaehyun had done for this family. He continued whilst staring at her fondly. “I was on my way home when a little bird escaped her cage and flew into my open palms. I helped her find her way as her fragile wings weren’t ready to journey alone. And then when I found that she was royal blood herself, well I almost turned away.”

He glanced at you and you couldn’t help but smile up at Jaehyun.

“Y/N has taught me more about myself during the time I’ve been helping her than these years I’ve been away. I never felt free even when I was far away from here. I always believed I would end up back here and ruling instead of the better suitor. Now, I get to step down from the throne here and instead build a closer relationship between our kingdoms through our marriage. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“I think it’s perfect,” the Queen agreed, smiling warmly and then moving to tend to her husband. “Isn’t it perfect, my love?”

He looked around the table and then got up, leaving the room in a huff.

The room felt lighter with his departure and joy entered the meal once again. You worried the King would dispute this somehow but the Queen told you both she would encourage this union greatly. And when Jaehyun’s oldest brother looked at you next, he was grinning.

You smiled as you walked beside Jaehyun just thinking over how happy he had been.

“You know, we’ve announced these plans yet your Father has no idea of this marriage of ours,” Jaehyun mentioned softly and you nodded, your smile growing as you looked up at him. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “What if he-”

“How could he not accept what I want?” you mentioned immediately. Reaching for Jaehyun’s hand, you rubbed at the back of it gently with your thumb. “He will accept you.”

“Really?” You nodded but Jaehyun didn’t seem convinced. “How do you know?”

“Because, as you said, I’m his only heir and if he says no, this little bird will fly away with you.”

Jaehyun chuckled and you both started to walk again. “You’re trouble.”

“You taught me to be strong and stand up for who I want to be,” you reminded, shuffling closer and linking your arm with his. “You all have taught me that I need to do what matters most to me. How can I do that without you at my side?”

“Sometimes, I wonder if you are some kind of addiction. How could I fall for you so easily, Y/N? You have intoxicated me.”

“Well, I admit your dancing is not nearly as good as Ten’s,” you started and Jaehyun turned to look at you. You giggled. “But I remember the first time I saw you and thinking you were far too handsome.”

“So you love me for my looks?” he asked, feigning insult. Jaehyun pouted. “It wasn’t my helpful ways or pushing for you to see the ocean? How I kept you safe as much as I could or when we first kissed? You liked me before all that?”

You sighed at his dramatics and nodded slyly. “Having a handsome husband will make me a fine Queen.”

“Ha!”

“Do you remember when Marigold told you that you had to assist me?” you asked and Jaehyun nodded silently. “She knew I was the princess as soon as she saw me.”

“She knew I was a prince too.”

“Did she?” You glanced up at Jaehyun and he nodded again. You nestled back against him and looked at the path ahead. “She told me you would be my saviour. It was then.”

“Then?” he repeated and you stopped you from walking again. Turning, he pulled you gently in front of him. He was curious. “What did you realise then?”

“When you offered to take me on my journey without hesitation. That’s when I fell for you.”

He grinned to himself, proud of something. Looking around you both, he then leaned down to kiss you gently. When he pulled back, he appeared triumphant. “I win then.”

“You win?”

“I loved you from first sight.”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head. Jaehyun laughed and grabbed at your face, making you nod it gently instead. “I’m being honest. When I saw you from the stage, I wondered why I had never seen you before. I would have remembered someone as beautiful as you.”

“Oh, so you only fell for my looks too?” you chastised and he smirked, leaning in to kiss you again.

“Only a beautiful wife could make me a fine King.”