It hadn’t taken over two days for Miyu to fly through the book that Namjoon had lent her. Once she had, she hurried back, excited to share her thoughts with him. Just as Namjoon had assured her, he spent most of his days there and when she burst through the doors, she was happy to see him look up in surprise from between the pages of the book he’d been buried in. 

 

The two waltzed between the shelves in search of another book for the princess to take with her. Once she’d settled on the classic selection of fairytale short stories, the two took a seat and spoke for a short while, mostly about the story she’d just finished. Namjoon couldn’t contain his smile as the two discussed their feelings about the ending. It was a tragic one, not at all how most stories conventionally ended, happily. Yet, somehow, there was a contentment to be found amongst the sadness. One that was strikingly true to reality. Not everyone got their happy ending. 

 

Upon looking at the glass clock on the wall, the princess saw it was getting late, and that she had to leave in order to join Taehyung for dinner. So, she bid Namjoon farewell for now and made her way back to her quarters to prepare. While her handmaids wrapped and fastened her outer garments, her stomach was churning with nervousness. Despite her reflection in the mirror staring back, appearing so elegant and put together, it couldn’t have been further from how she felt inside. 

 

The days were passing, and her wedding was nearing quicker than she wanted. Yet she couldn’t stop time, no matter how badly she wanted to. Besides the worry of each day passing bringing her closer to the inevitable, something else was bothering her at this point in time. Something Taehyung had said when he asked her to join him tonight. Apparently there was something he wanted to discuss with her, and not knowing what it could be worried her greatly. 

 

 

She carried that unsettled feeling with her all the way to the steps that lead to the large double wooden doors of the throne room, in which she knew Taehyung was waiting for her behind. And just as she’d pictured in her mind, he sat back, lazed upon the throne, head resting on his knuckles. Upon seeing her enter, he straightened up, but the princess soon realized Taehyung wasn’t alone. Her eyes widened at the sight of Namjoon sitting in the seat beside him. And as Namjoon’s gaze fell on hers, he instantly stood and bowed deeply. 

 

“Princess, just in time.” Taehyung broke into a smile and Namjoon straightened back up. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." Taehyung continued, but Namjoon cleared his throat and the two looked at him.

 

“We’ve already met. The princess has been dropping by the library.” Namjoon said, and an awkward smile followed, but it riddled the princess with confusion. Why in the world would Taehyung feel the need to introduce her to the library stuard. It made absolutely no sense. 

 

“Oh, how nice? What have you been reading?” Taehyung asked, now standing from his seat and taking a few steps and off the dais. He stopped a few feet away from her. 

 

“Fairytales. Namjoon has been sharing his reading recommendations with me.” Miyu told him. The nervous feelings that had riddled her earlier had warped into pure confusion, and she met Taehyung’s dark eyes that were upon her. 

 

“Taehyung, what’s this all about?” She asked. Namjoon had strode over to Taehyung’s side, and she tilted her head in apprehension as she saw the swirl of something she couldn’t decipher in Namjoon’s eyes. 

 

“Miyu, I’m your half brother." The confession left Namjoon in uncertainty, and with the way his usually confident voice faltered it was plain to see that this wasn’t something easy for him to say. 

 

“Wh.. What..?” Miyu’s breath caught in . Admittedly, this was the last thing she’d expected, but by now, the amount of times she’d been hit with shocking news one after another, it had gotten to where she didn’t feel as surprised as she may have in the past. 

 

"Yeah.. I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. Honestly, I thought about it… but I was worried how you might react. It’s um.. Nice to meet you.. Again..” As Namjoon stood with uncertainty before her, a feeling she couldn’t quite explain resided in her. Was Namjoon truly her Brother? All this time she’d had a sibling that she hadn’t known of. 

 

 

“I’m sure you must have lots of questions, but first, shall we head to the dining hall? Dinner should be ready by now." Taehyung slipped his hand around and gently led her off, with Namjoon also in tow. 

 

Soon enough, the three had settled and ate, and sip at their wine. And just as Taehyung had assumed, Miyu had many questions that she wanted to ask Namjoon. Taehyung sat with a feeling of happiness in his heart as he watched the two reunite. It’d been for some time that he’d known of her half brother’s existence, but it wasn’t until now that he could arrange for them to meet. Namjoon, as the princess quickly learned, was the king’s bastard son that’d been exiled from the castle. The princess’ heart felt heavy at hearing that her father had Namjoon’s mother killed. However, despite not mentioning it, she hadn’t forgotten what the seer had told her of the fate Taehyung’s mother was also met with. 

 

Miyu was so overwhelmed to be seated across the table from someone who was family. However, as she listened to Namjoon tell his story, and the life he’d been forced to live as a peasant, the blatant abandonment and cruelty her father had subjected him to, it merely furthered the distaste she had for him.

 

Once the night had ended, Taehyung offered to her back to her room. The two walked side by side in silence, and as Miyu reached her door, she stopped and turned to face Taehyung. She looked up at him, and she didn’t know if it was merely residual feelings from the sentiments the night had left her with, but she spoke three simple words. Three words that floated in the air around Taehyung like sprinkles of fairy dust. “Thank You, Taehyung.”   

 

Miyu turned and slipped away, disappearing behind her door and leaving him standing there alone. He didn’t expect her to thank him. She didn’t really have a reason to. He’d betrayed her, and he knew that. He couldn’t forget it. But he knew it was better to have her hate him than what would’ve happened had he not taken action into his own hands. 

 

 

---

 

 

The days continued to pass, one after another, until the night before she and Taehyung were to be wed arrived. As it loomed closer and closer, the princess, little by little, accepted that perhaps this was her fate. There didn’t seem to be much she could do, so, seeing as that evening would officially be her last of freedom, she joined Namjoon in the library and the two drank. They laughed and played around and drank more until they were so dazed that they both lay on the wooden floorboards beside each other, staring up at the ceiling, watching as it spun.   

 

“Namjoonie.. I.. I’m scared..” Miyu admitted, still staring at the high wooden boards above. Her heart sunk a little as it all seemed to dawn on her at once. This was it. Tomorrow she and Taehyung will be married. Was this truly her happy ending? 

 

“Miyu.. It’s going to be alright. And that’s not something I say lightly." Namjoon's voice echoed beside her ear. She was unable to see his expression and could only see him intently staring up from her periphery. So she turned over to look at him. 

 

“How do you know? How can you be so sure, Namjoon? I-” Miyu’s voice trembled, but as Namjoon turned to face her, he looked troubled. 

 

“Just trust me, if Taehyung hadn’t killed the king then-” Namjoon stopped himself, as though he was about to say something he shouldn’t. “Namjoon, you’re my brother. The last person I have in this world that’s my blood. Please, tell me.” 

 

Namjoon sat up, and Miyu did too. And as the words left Namjoon, they left her in a daze.

 

“The king was planning to have you killed as soon as the marriage between you and Taehyung was made official.” 

 

“No..” This couldn’t be true. Yet, why did Namjoon look so pale? Like he was on the verge of tears himself? But in that moment he shook his head, as if overwhelmed by regret.  

 

“I’m sorry, Miyu, I- I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this. I- . Taehyung’s going to kill me for telling you.” 

 

“Taehyung knew?” She breathed. 

 

“Yes. That’s why.. He killed him.” Namjoon said, but the princess didn’t respond. "Princess. Say something. Please, you’re worrying me.” 

 

“It’s fine, I think I just..” Tears streaked down her cheeks despite the vacancy in her eyes. If this was true, her entire world had just been turned upside down. Her own father. Was he truly capable of such a thing?

 

The two of them sat there in silence that seemed to drag on for an eternity. And as each second ticked by, the further the truth seeped into Miyu’s heart. That’s when an odd thought drifted into her mind: if Taehyung hadn’t killed her father, would she have ever met Namjoon at all? Known of his existence? Lived to enjoy that fairytale life she’d envisioned spending with Taehyung from when they were young? 

 

“Namjoon.. I think I need to get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day..” Miyu forced herself to her feet, and Namjoon stared worriedly back at her but didn’t protest. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, Miyu.. Sweet dreams.” 

 

As Miyu made her way back to her room, she felt like she was floating on air. Like she was as light as a feather and that nothing was grounding her at all. And it wasn’t until one of her handmaids forcefully yanked her aside and pulled her out of sight and into the cover of an empty room she snapped out of her daze.

 

“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” Miyu asked apprehensively. But her handmaid pressed a finger to her lips. “Keep it down, princess. You need to follow me right now.” 

 

Miyu barely had any time to think as the handmaid ushered her into a hole in the wall behind a wooden board that had been loosened. Once the two were inside, the handmaid put the wooden board back in place so that it appeared like a wall again to the eye. She grabbed Miyu’s hand and led her blindly down a passage within the walls.

 

“I- I don’t understand. Where are we going?” Miyu kept her voice down and not trip over her own feet, seeing as she could barely make out anything in the darkness. And it wasn’t until the handmaid had pulled her around a corner that she stopped and crouched down.

 

“We’re getting you out of here. Beyond this point, Jimin will be waiting for you. Go and don’t look back, your majesty.” The mention of Jimin’s voice tore at her heart. He was here? In the castle? The handmaid removed another section of wall and the princess slipped through the small opening and into a dark room, one she didn’t recognise. It was across on the other side she glimpsed something glinting through the darkness, so she stumbled over, step by step until.. 

 

She felt familiar arms around her as she reached the other side of the room where the next opening was. Inside the wall, Jimin was waiting for her, and it took everything inside her not to break into sobs in that moment. “Princess,” Jimin’s whispered voice strained, but words hardly needed to be said, because she could feel how worried he’d been, how relieved he was to see her again, all in the way he held her. 

 

But the moment was short-lived as the realization dawned on her. After everything she’d just learnt, of her half brother, and of the truth surrounding the motives for her father’s murder, could she really just leave? A sharp pain shot through her head as though it would physically burst at how twisted everything had become. “Princess, are you alright?” Jimin asked as he saw her wince and clutch her head in her hands. She looked up to him, and the cloudiness in her gaze worried him, but they were out of time. “We need to leave now. C’mon,” He went to pull her, but she didn’t move. “Jimin.. I..” she stammered, hesitating. There was so much running through her mind and she couldn’t seem to catch one thought. She didn’t know what to do. To leave, or to stay. 

 

“Princess, we can talk about it once we’re out of here, but right now, I really need you to focus.” Jimin had taken a hold of her shoulders and the frantic look in his brown eyes seared at her heart like they had pierced it with a branding iron. She let her body limp, and as Jimin felt her muscles relax, he picked her up in his arms. 

 

Everything around her blurred, and it was as though voices and the world around her were rushing past. All she could feel was pain deep in her chest. Her eyes seemed to close on their own, and as she succumbed to the sheer pressure of stress, she blocked out the world for a little while.