- The Maiden -

A day later, Taehyung and his knights were preparing for their journey home. Soomi was sad about this, the time having passed too quickly in her opinion. She and Baekhyun were standing in the castle yard, about to say goodbye to them.

They had saddled their horses already and put on their cloaks for traveling. She had a lump in , uneasily nibbling on her lower lip. The dreaded moment had come and they would part ways again for an undetermined amount of time. She hoped with all her heart that it wouldn’t be too long.

Taehyung’s dark brown horse neighed impatiently, pulling at the reins he held in his hand. He patted its head, attempting to calm it before he directed his gaze to Soomi. The poorly veiled sadness in her eyes tugged at his heartstrings, and he vowed to himself to come back one day to visit another time.

“Soomi, don’t you want to smile at me?” he said, hiding his own sorrow behind a grin. “Don’t look so glum. I won’t be gone forever.”

“Promise?” she asked.

“Yes, promise,” he replied sincerely. He pulled her into a hug, holding in a sigh when he heard her sniffle. “I can’t believe my little sister is a queen now. You’ve grown so much and I’m proud of you,” he mumbled. “And don’t cry now. I want to keep you in my memory with a smile on your face.”

She rubbed her eyes when they parted and put a tentative smile on her face. “I’m going to miss you all,” she said to the entire group. “One day, I’m going to visit you.”

“You’re cordially invited to our humble castle, Your Majesty,” Yoongi said and bowed dramatically.

“Stop that, idiot!” Hoseok nagged, hitting his friend on the back of his head.

“Ouch! Hey! I was just joking.”

Soomi’s smile widened. “Thank you, Yoongi. I’ll remember it,” she chuckled. “Have a safe journey home and don’t forget to send letters! I love hearing from you.”

“I’ll send one soon,” Taehyung assured her. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he said, looking at Baekhyun.

“You’re always welcome here,” he replied. “I’m glad we could meet, and I hope you’ll have a safe trip back home.”

“We’ll be careful,” Taehyung said. He mounted his horse and his knights followed his example.

“Goodbye!” Soomi called and waved after them as they left the castle yard through the gate. A few tears rolled over her cheeks when they were out of sight. The feeling of loss overcame her. She knew that it wasn’t forever, but saying goodbye always hurt. Especially when she was close to someone.

“Soomi, don’t cry,” Baekhyun said. He caught one of her tears with his finger and kissed her forehead. “He’ll be back.”

“I know,” she sniffled, gazing at him with glossy eyes. Through her tears, he looked slightly blurry, so she rubbed her eyes once more.

“Why don’t we go for a walk? I’m sure you could need a distraction,” he suggested.

“Gladly,” she said. He took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. They walked through the castle yard, passing a few nobles who greeted them politely. The air was pleasant and warm this afternoon. No clouds were in sight, and she could even hear birds chirping happily, hiding in the trees.

They strolled around the tall main building and headed in the direction of the stables. The familiar smell of horses and hay reached her nose, making her feel nostalgic. It reminded her of her riding lessons when she had been a child, and brought her back to a simpler time. Her lips curved up subconsciously and her steps quickened. Baekhyun smiled when he noticed her excitement. He let go of her hand so she could run ahead. Her long green dress flowed beautifully as she ran, her hair flying after her. She had to hold on to her crown when it almost fell off in her haste. Snorting amusedly, Baekhyun followed her into the stables.

Jongin was there, busy with feeding the horses. He looked up when he heard them arrive and beamed at them.

“What an honor to have the King and Queen pay me a visit in person,” he joked and set down the bucket he’d been holding. He dusted off his hands on his dark brown pants and joined the couple.

“We’re mostly here for the horses, you know?” Baekhyun said cheekily.

“Of course you would say that, Your Majesty,” Jongin grinned, not in the least bothered by his words. “Your manners are impeccable.”

“Don’t act like you’re one of those stuffy nobles,” Baekhyun replied, rolling his eyes. A grin found its way on his lips. “Where are the other knights?”

Jongin shrugged. “Not sure. I think Kyungsoo mentioned something about patrolling? As for the others, maybe they accompanied him?”

“I see, makes sense that they’d be spread through the entire castle at this hour.”

Soomi had left them behind in the meantime, eager to pay a visit to Yumi who she hadn’t seen in a while. Life had been stressful after the coronation, but she didn’t want to miss out on visiting the cute foal. She took an apple from one of the buckets in the storage room and walked to her horsebox.

Since the foal had grown over the months, she wasn’t all that small anymore, and could now look over the door of the box without troubles. She’d spotted Soomi from afar and whinnied at her, prompting her to smile brightly.

“Hello Yumi,” she said and petted the horse between her ears just as she liked it. Having discovered the apple already, she was craning her neck to steal it from Soomi’s hand. Laughing amusedly, she held the apple out to the horse and watched as she gobbled it down in record time. The big pleading eyes Soomi was then faced with were hard to resist—it was obvious that Yumi wanted another one.

“Alright, you win,” Soomi said and promptly got another apple, offering it to Yumi.

“Are you having fun?” Baekhyun said amusedly, having appeared behind her. She looked at him over her shoulder and nodded.

“Yes! It’s always a delight to visit little Yumi.”

“We should make it a habit to come here often,” Baekhyun smiled and took her hand. “By the way, do you want to go stargazing later? Something great is going to happen tonight and I’d like to show you,” Baekhyun said and winked.

Her curiosity ignited, she nodded. “Yes! We haven’t done that in a while. What is it?”

“You’ll have to be patient,” he smiled.

“You always say that!”

“It’s simply more fun to see your surprise! If I told you right from the start, it would only be half as exciting.”

“If you say so, my King,” she giggled. “Then I don’t have another choice, hmm?”

“Indeed,” he replied, smirking at her.

When night had fallen and the residents of the castle had returned to their chambers, it was quiet in the building. Before Soomi and Baekhyun headed up the tower, he fetched a warm blanket from the wardrobe and grabbed a candleholder. Then he left their chambers with Soomi who was so curious she couldn’t stop fidgeting. She didn’t know what exactly he had in mind for tonight, and couldn’t wait to find out.

They walked to the staircase, and he lent her a hand while they climbed up the narrow stairs to the top of the tower. Baekhyun opened the heavy wooden door and uncovered the small room where the telescope was. To her astonishment and confusion, he ignored the telescope and walked past it. Her eyes moved over the star chart hanging on a wall, filled with little notes next to every constellation depicted on it. The paper had turned yellow at the edges and looked a bit worn, making her wonder how long it had been there.

She followed Baekhyun through the room. He opened the door leading to a small balcony rounding the tower. Putting the blanket on the ground, he sat down with her, wrapping his arm around her back. She leaned against him, already feeling all the stress that had built up during the day disappear. Relaxing her body, she heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.

“What is it you want to show me? A constellation?” she asked. He dipped his head and kissed her hair, all the while smiling faintly.

“No, not quite. Look up and maybe you’ll find out yourself,” he said, glancing at the sky. “They’re well visible tonight.”

Intrigued, she watched the sky, searching for anything special that would stand out to her. No clouds obstructed the view, allowing her to see the many sparkling stars on dark ground. They were beautiful, and the sight had a calming effect on her. Wondering what Baekhyun had been talking about, she waited impatiently for something to happen.

Suddenly, she spotted a streak of pure light hailing from the sky. It was followed by many more, all originating from the same area. Fascinatedly, she watched the natural spectacle, wishing to commit it to memory.

“So many shooting stars in one night?” she breathed, unable to believe her eyes.

“That’s because it’s a meteor shower,” he explained. “It’s called the Perseids. They hail down from the constellation Perseus.” He stretched out his arm and pointed at a particular spot in the ni