Sehun stares at himself in the mirror, watching as Junmyeon helps him into a nice, white jacket. He’s going to meet Prince Jongin today. His future husband. Marriage. He’s actually going to get married. He tries not to tear up again, not in front of his servant. He had cried all last night and even cried himself to sleep. He was so upset, he couldn’t meet Jongin as arranged. So Junmyeon told him to just rest and that he’ll meet him in the morning. “I imagine Jongin is angry,” he whispers, catching Junmyeon’s attention. The servant smiles as he turns Sehun and begins working on the buckles and buttons.

“Regardless, he would do well to be patient with you,” Junmyeon chuckles. “After all, you’ve been torn from your friends and family,” He goes on. “Anyone should understand why you were so tired.”

Sehun smiles tightly. “Thanks, Junmyeon.”

“It’s nothing, your grace.”

“Plese, call me Sehun,” the prince says. “All my other servants did.”

“Is that...really okay?”

“Sure,” He turns to look at his new outfit. It’s perfectly tailored to his exact measurements, silk, and other beautiful materials. IT’s one of the most comfortable things he’s ever worn.

“Are you ready?”

Sehun takes a deep breath and nods, fixing his hair real quick; even though his servant had fixed it a thousand times. Nothing can be out of place. He must make an amazing first impression. Junmyeon leads him to a large, extravagant room with many beautiful decorations. The walls and floor have a beautiful gloss to them and seem to be made of very fine marble. At the very far of the room, by some large windows stands two people. An older man wearing very fine robes; Sehun immediately recognized him to be the king of this country. Beside him stands another man, roughly the same age and height as Sehun. With beautiful tan skin and sharp jaw, his platinum blonde hair fits him well. Unlike the king’s royal blue attire, he seems to wear a nice black and silver tunic with black pants tucked into knee-high boots. He stares at Sehun with cold, distant eyes. He shivers, almost wanting to hide behind Junmyeon. Keeping his composure, he feels his legs tremble as he slowly walks up and bows to them.

“Your majesties, Prince Sehun,” Junmyeon announces. 

“Prince Sehun,” The king greets with a smile. “I have heard only good things about you.”

“You are too kind to say so, your grace.”

“No need to be so formal,” He laughs, motioning for Sehun to come close. As soon as he does, the man grabs his hand and pulls him up. “I am going to be your father-in-law in a few days.”

“R-right,” Sehun smiles too now but it’s shy.

“Sehun, this is my son and your fiance, Prince Jongin,” The king motions to the blonde boy. “Say hello, Jongin.”

Jongin remains silent, glaring at his father when he grabs his son’s hand. Sehun blushes when his hand is forced into the other prince’s. “Jongin, this is your future husband.” Sehun is surprised to feel just how warm the man’s hand just is. A strange contrast to his frosty exterior. Jongin harshly pulls his hand away. 

“You’re late,” Jongin says, his voice is sharp enough to cut. “You were supposed to present yourself last night, after your bath.”

 “I-I apologize,” He whispers. “I-I was...I was just very tired.”

“And that’s understandable!” The king says. “You had such a long drive. Are your bed and bath acceptable?”

“Y-yes,” Sehun nods quickly. “I was very comfortable, thank you.”

“Tired or not, you had a duty,” Jongin glowers darkly. “This says much about your personality…”

“What?” Sehun gasps. “M-my personality?”

“You must be very childish and spoiled to put off a meeting just because you are simply tired.”

“I-I…”

The King sighs. “Jongin, please. Sehun is in a completely new kingdom that he has never visited before; It’s fine!”

Jongin doesn’t even look at his father; his eyes burning holes into Sehun. “Since I am your future husband, you will treat me as us,” He begins. “Do not speak to me unless I speak first, to not talk back to me, do not look me in the eye...and never be late when I call for you.” With a bow to his father only, he turns and walks off, his cape twirling after him. Sehun stares after him in shock, unsure what to do. His stomach hurts and his heart drops. Tears threaten his eyes but he holds them back.

The king sighs again. “Sehun, do not mind him. He has been this cold to everyone ever since his mother died.”

“W-when did she…?”

“When he was merely a boy,” He responds, offering his arm. When Sehun takes it, the King begins to walk him out of the room. “But you look like a tough boy. I know you can handle him.”

“A-am I not allowed to do all those things?”

“To be honest,” The King stops, patting Sehun’s hand. “I would listen to him if I were you,” He says. “He can be quite cruel.” Letting go of the prince, he takes a step back. It’s only now that Sehun notices they had walked back to his room. “Rest up now, explore the castle. You will wed Jongin tomorrow night and will be busy with lessons.”

“Lessons…”

“Do not worry for now and enjoy yourself,” The King smiles before walking off, seemingly back to the throne room. Sehun stares after him for a moment before glancing out the window. He swallows hard. Jongin really is cold. So very cold. He hugs himself and frowns. He had hoped it was all just a facade but the way he spoke to Sehun was harsh. 

“Hello!”

Sehun jumps a bit, turning his head as someone quickly approaches him. Not just one person but two. Both boys a pretty, one with a baby-liked face and the other reminding him of a deer. “Are you the new prince?!”

“Luhan!” The baby-faced boy gasps. “You can’t speak to him like that!”

“O-oh yeah!” The boy known as Luhan quickly bows.

Sehun laughs weakly. “H-hey, come on. I don’t mind being talked to like that,” He admits. “It makes me feel more at home.”

“I’m Minseok,” The baby-faced boy greets. “And this is Luhan. We’re servants, so you’ll see us around a lot!”

“Yup, we like to cook.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Sehun gives them a nod. “I’m Sehun.”

“Hey, you want to come meet the other servants? We’re all on break right now.”

Sehun begins to feel relaxed, his chest loosening from the earlier events. “I’d like that, thank you.”

“Uh...do we offer you our arms or?”

The prince laughs and waves his hand. “Come on, I can walk on my own. No need to be so formal with me.”

Minseok grins. “Wow! You’re so much nicer than Prince Jongin. We’re not even allowed to look or talk to him.”

Sehun’s smile is tight now but he waves the comment away. “Lead the way.”

The two boys lead Sehun into a more run-down but still nice part of the caste; a place he can only assume is the servant’s quarter. They bring him to a basement, with the usual marble replaced by wooden flooring and sea-green wallpaper. A table is situated in the middle of the room, several chairs around it. A couple of boys sit around, laughing and eating. 

“We’re back guys and we kidnapped a prince”!

“That joke will never be funny,” one of the other servants says. “There’s no way captain cold would hang with us…” They all stop when they see Sehun eyeing the room. He hums happily at the nice sage-like smell.

“Holy !” Another says. “Is that...Prince Jongin’s fiance?!”

“Hello,” Sehun greets shyly. “Um…” He stares at all their bewildered looks.

“He’s pretty!” A tall, grinning servant exclaims.

“He is!” A shorter boy says, his hair messy and red. “Prince Jongin got really lucky.”

“The tall freak is Chanyeol,” A guy laughs, standing up and approaches sehun. “Nice to meet you; I’m Jongdae. That redhead is Baekhyun,” He begins. “The quiet one is Kyungsoo and the boy that seems to be asleep is Yixing.”

Sehun smiles and nods. “It is a pleasure.” They all stare at him, almost seemingly waiting for something. “W-what?”

“Did you meet captain cold yet?” Jongdae asks.

“He means Prince Jongin,” Yixing says, seemingly waking up now. 

Sehun frowns. “Oh...yes, I did.”

“Really?!” Baekhyun scoffs. “He can’t even be nice to you, his fiance?! You’re going to be his husband!”

“Baek,” Chanyeol laughs nervously. “W-what if he overheard us.”

“I hope he does! I hope he knows-”

“That he would hang you in an instant if he heard all of you speak this way,” Junmyeon says as he makes his way down the stairs.

“As if that douche would come here,” Jongdae scoffs. “Right, babe?”

Yixing looks up from his food. “What?”

“I see the servants have found and kidnapped you, Sehun,” Junyeon chuckles as he sets his own lunch down. “Come, sit,” He waves him over. “We enjoy the company.”

“Well, alright,” Sehun smiles with appreciation when Kyungsoo pulls out a chair for him and tucks it in when he’s seated. “Really, I appreciate being so welcomed…” He had only hoped that Jongin had been this kind. He sighs and leans back, letting his royal personal fall. 

“Whoa,” Chanyeol frowns. “Prince is suddenly sad!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I...It’s just been a long few couple of days.”

Kyungsoo slowly nods. “I imagine so,” He finally speaks up. “Torn from your home...It will be strange to see Prince Jongin marry such a kind person.”

He smiles tightly, nodding when Yixing hands him a cup of tea; he doesn’t remember the man getting up to make it. “Thank you,” He whispers. “May I...ask something?”

“Certainly,” Junmyeon responds for them all.

“I...perhaps this isn’t appropriate,” He mutters. “B-but why do you dislike Jongin so much? Is he...that harsh?”

“Yes,” Jongdae doesn’t hesitate to answer. “The only reason I'm here is that I stole somethin’. Prince cold wanted to hang me but his dad saved me...he told me I could work off my debts.”

“I see…”

“I pity that you will have to share a bed with him,” Kyungsoo speaks softly but his comment is harsh. Not to Sehun but toward their prince. 

“You guys,” Yixing smiles. “Look at the bright side. Prince Jongin will surely make Sehun deal with us instead. So, perhaps we will not have to deal with him much longer…”

“I think the best outcome is that Sehun melt’s Prince Jongin’s cold heart!” Luhan happily says and sighs. “Like a fairytale!”

Sehun sips his tea, listening to all of them intently. He wants to know what they want and how they want to be treated. “Oh! You’re right,” Minseok hums. “What if Sehun makes him soft and kind?”

“Ha! Do you even hear yourself right now?!” Jongdae spits. “Jongin? Kind?! Pigs will soon sprout wings and fly before that will ever happen!”

To be honest, all of this talk about Jongin isn’t helping him. Desperate to dissolve the anxiousness building up, he sets his cup down and smiles again. “So, what do you all like to do? In your free time?”

Sehun slowly walks through the castle halls, the only thing lighting his way is the moonlight coming through the windows. He hugs his robe close to his body. He had gone for a walk after he had been unable to sleep. Everyone will be busy preparing for the wedding tomorrow, and he knows it won’t be small. It’ll be huge and exhausting. This is the last night he’ll spend by himself. In his own room, unmarried. “Married,” He whispers. He looks at his pale hands, at his long fingers. They’re bare. He’s never liked rings that much. 

“Do not speak to me unless I speak first, to not talk back to me, do not look me in the eye...and never be late when I call for you.” Jongin’s words ring in his mind like a horrible headache. He rubs his head and lets out a soft groan. He’ll be fine, he can get through this. Jongin will mostly ignore him anyway, right? Perhaps this will be easier than he thinks. He can be left alone to read his books and knitting. He thinks about how he wants to knit scarves for all of the servant boys that so nicely welcomed him. He stops, furrowing his brows when he hears footsteps behind him. He turns, jumping a bit when he sees Jongin. “O-oh…” He stares at him oddly, watching as the man looks at him blankly.

“What are you doing?”

“Exploring,” He whispers, hugging himself as if it’ll protect him.

“Why?”

Sehun furrows his brow at the question. “B-because It will be my home now.”

Jongin’s eyes narrow before he turns away. “Fine.”

“W-why do you dislike me so much?” Sehun speaks up. But as soon as the words come out, he quickly gasps and looks down. He folds his hands tightly and lowers his head, hoping the prince wouldn’t punishment.

“I usually would punish you for speaking out of line,” Jongin whispers harshly. “But I will tell you...just this once; I hate your small, little kingdom. It is pathetic and weak.”

“It...it isn’t weak...”

“If it is not weak, why are you here?” Jongin scoffs. “You would not need to marry me if you had a good, strong kingdom. Even the people are...they are too soft.”

“No, they’re just kind...” Sehun mutters. “B-being kind is not weak.”

Jongin stares back at him for a moment. “We shall see. From here on out, remember your place...get back to your room.”

Sehun watches him as he walks off, tears of anger fill his eyes. He forces himself to hold back. He groans in frustration before running to his room and slamming the door behind him. He begins to sob hard, his throat, head, and everything hurts. He clutches his shirt, over his heart. He doesn’t care if Jongin hears him cry. He wants him to. He falls onto his soft bed before crawling under the covers. He brings his knees to his chest, sobbing like a stupid, spoiled little child. He wants to hate his parents for doing this to him but he knows they had no other choice. And they wouldn’t have sent him here if they knew what kind of man Jongin is. He sniffs and rubs his eyes. He can’t keep whining and whimpering like this. If he does, the cold prince is right. He’s weak and where he comes from is weak. He’s going to show that he’s strong, even if he has to do it silently. Tomorrow, he’s going to stand in front of Jongin, marry him without a single tear. Satisfied, he sighs and comes up from under the blankets, laying down normally. He closes his eyes, knowing he needs to be well-rested.