"Hey, you ! Have you seen the Prince Minho somewhere ?"

A servant turned his head to the origin of the voice, slightly startled by the harsh tone. His eyes widened when he saw he was facing Lee Jinki, who almost never raised the voice. What was happening ?

"N... No, I haven't." he answered, bowing.

The doctor sighed, annoyed.

"He's too stubborn for his own safety..." he mumbled, heading for an other corridor of the castle to keep on looking for the disappeared Prince.

Yes, Minho had disappeared. He wasn't in his room, neither in the infirmary nor in the stables.

Jinki had told him yesterday he would need to rest for a while to totally heal his ankle, that had been a bit sprained when he had fallen, but that stubborn boy had answered him he would be perfectly fine and didn't need any rest.

So now, he had decided to hide himself from everyone, even from Sulli, so nobody would treat him as an injured person - which he obviously was.

Sulli had talked about his fiancé with him some hours ago and Jinki was still surprised she seemed to like him pretty much. It was hard to believe that the Princess who was afraid of this wedding, who had burst into tears in his arms at the thought of getting married, was the same girl who was now talking happily about his amazing fiancé.

He had never seen her like that before and he wondered if it was the fact that Minho was a kind-hearted gentleman that made her so excited. Was she slowly falling in love with the Prince ? Was that even possible ? She had known him for two days !

Jinki sighed. Sulli was still young and he really hoped she wouldn't be hurt if maybe, she realized Minho wasn't as she thought he was. Of course, the doctor had nothing against the Prince and he had the feeling he was a nice guy but you could never know...

He wished the best for those two, really. He just hoped Minho would develop some feeling towards his fiancée.

But if he wanted it to happen, if he wanted them to be close, he had to find the Prince first.

Actually, Minho was really hiding himself. The servants were already eager enough to do everything for him when he was fine, and now that he was injured, they wouldn't stop asking him if he wanted this or that, if they could help him to do this or that... And they would look at him with worry, which he really hated.  He didn't want to worry the people around him.

So, he was avoiding Sulli too. And Jinki. And almost everybody else in the castle.

The problem was... The castle was always crowded. Servants, messengers, maids, councillors, cooks, soldiers, guards, Sulli, Jinki... People everywhere.

Minho wasn't asocial but sometimes, being alone felt really good.

At the moment, he was hiding behind a curtain in a corridor, which was rather ridiculous - and he was aware of that fact, thank you very much.

When he was sure nobody was in the corridor anymore, he tip-toed towards the secret door he had noticed earlier and that he hoped could lead him to a less frequented place.

He pushed the door open and fortunately, it didn't creak, but he closed it quickly behind him just to be sure nobody heard or saw him there.

Then, he looked around and his jaw dropped.

He was in the garden, but in an other part than the one he saw from the window in his room. Minho had never been a flower freak but he had to admit that the garden was wonderful. He took a step ahead and slowly walked on the path made of white gravel, looking at the shrubs and the flowers that surrounded him.

The entwined sprays of six cherry blossoms made a kind of arch above his head, their light pink flowers heightened by pink amaryllis in full blossom on the ground. He saw delicate hibiscus, dark red roses, orchids and lots of others species whose names were a mystery for him.

He inhaled the heady scent of all the flowers, closing his eyes, immediately feeling really relaxed and also a bit dizzy.

Suddenly, he heard a sigh, so he opened his eyes and turned his head, only to see a girl sitting on a stone bench, turning her back on him.

Minho was about to go away, when he realized who was sitting there.

"Taemin ?" he said hesitantly, not sure if his intuition was correct.

The girl slightly jumped in fear, quickly turning to see who was behind her.

Minho was right, although he didn't know what gave him the feeling it was her. But there she was, wearing a different mask from the first time he saw her. This one was made of a cream colour, golden curls on the forehead, silvery lines around the eyes.

"Mi... Minho !" she said, standing up. "I... I mean... Prince Min..."

"No, no, just Minho is fine with me." he told her with a smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She looked down, visibly embarrassed, not knowing what to say.

"Hum... Do you mind if I sit next to you ?" Minho asked.

He knew he shouldn't do that, staying alone with a girl, but he was truly happy that he was able to see her again.

"Not at all." she answered.

The boy wasn't sure if it was a honest answer or not, since she was avoiding his gaze, but eventually, they sat side by side.

"What were you doing ?" Minho asked after a while.

Taemin shrugged.

"Nothing special. I was just... thinking, I guess."

"Oh..."

Funny. It was more awkward with Taemin than Sulli, although they weren't going to marry.

"How's your ankle ?" she asked, as if she had also felt the awkwardness between them and wanted to be more friendly.

Minho raised a brow.

"Almost fine." he answered. "How did you know... ?"

Taemin chuckled and said:

"You're limping. And everybody is talking about the way you saved that baby..."

"Really ?" he asked, scratching his neck.

She nodded and then, they were silent again. Minho tried to find a subject to talk about and finally, he said:

"I had a look round the City with your sister yesterday... It's really beautiful."

"Are you trying to flatter me by praising my City ?"

"What ? No, I..."

He didn't finish his sentence, listening to Taemin's chuckles.

"I was just joking, you know ?"

"I didn't know. It's pretty hard to know what you're thinking, because of that mask." he answered on a harsher tone than expected.

Taemin immediately avoided his gaze, and Minho sighed.

That was a great way to mess things up.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I guess it came out wrong."

"Yeah, kind of... Anyway, I wasn't born here, neither was Sulli."

Minho looked at her, curiosity shining in his eyes, and Taemin added:

"Until I was six, we lived in an other city, since my uncle was the King at that time, and my parents liked to stay in the country-side better. We came here when my uncle died, because my father was the heir and so, he had to stay in the City to govern the country."

Minho decided he liked her voice. Today was the first day he heard her speak so much and her voice, even if the sound was still a bit weird because of the mask, was pleasant.

"Talk to me." he suddenly said. "I mean... Talk about you. I'd like to know you better."

"I don't know what to talk about..." she hesitantly said.

Minho smiled.

"Can I ask you something ?"

She nodded and he asked the question he had in his mind since he had seen her:

"Why do you wear that mask ?"

"My father thinks I'm too pretty to be seen."

She had answered fast, too fast, and Minho was sure it was a lie.

"And what's the real reason ?" he asked, earning a surprised look.

What ? Did she really think she would fool him ?

"That was the real reason."

The Prince sighed again. Actually, she was a bad liar. Would he ever know what was going on with Taemin ? Nobody seemed to want or be allowed to talk about that...

"You know..." he suddenly said. "I'm sorry."

"What for ?"

This time, her eyes met his, and he could tell she was really curious, although there was still that sadness in her eyes, that sadness he had noticed the first day.

"For the dinner we had without you." he answered. "I didn't want you to leave, and I'm sorry if my presence kept you from eating with your family."

Taemin remained silent and her eyes wandered along the flowers.

"Actually... I'm used to eat alone most of the time." she said. "I was stupid to think that I would be allowed to have dinner with you all."

Minho's eyes widened. So it was the usual ? It had nothing to do with the business between Sulli and him ?

Taemin seemed to understand he was shocked, because she explained:

"I can't eat with my mask, you know ? And since my father doesn't want to see my face, I often have dinner in my detached house.

"What ?!" Minho exclaimed.

Did he get it right ? She didn't even lived under the same roof as her family ?

"Yeah... Actually, I live in a small but comfortable cottage, in the garden. The garden is really big and I like flowers, so it isn't a problem for me. And I like to live there better than in the castle, where I could never take off my mask."

Minho tried to get over that shocking news and to keep calm, but it was really hard. He hated the King more and more every time he learned something new about his daughter.

"So..." he began. "You admit that you lied to me when you said you wore that mask because you're pretty ?"

She instantly looked down and mumbled:

"Yes."

"Can I ask you something else ?"

She hesitated, then she nodded, waiting for his next question.

"Would you show me your face ?" he asked with pleading eyes.

He didn't expect her reaction at all: she immediately stood up and took a step back, as if she was afraid he could jump on her to take off the mask by himself. And visibly, she was: he could see the fear in her eyes.

"No !" she almost shouted.

Minho stood up as well, worried.

"Hey, calm down... It was just a question, I won't force you if you don't want to show me."

"I... I can't." she stammered, stepping back again. "I don't want to... I don't want you to think I'm a failure as well !"

"How could you be ?" he said.

Wait. "As well" ? Did it mean her family thought she was a failure ?

Calm down, Minho, calm down ! Don't scare her even more !

"Please, come back." he said calmly, motioning her to sit by his side.

She shook her head and a brown lock fell from her bun, resting on her milky-white shoulder that was exposed by her dress.

"No." she said again. "I should go... Bye, Minho."

She her heels but the Prince ran after her.

"Wait !" he said, grabbing her wrist.

He immediately let go of it, feeling his fingers burning where they had touched the skin of the girl. What was that... ?

"W... What do you want ?" she asked, startled.

"Just... I'd like to meet you again... If you want to."

She seemed surprised and Minho wondered if she was reddening or biting her lips. He was craving to see her face. They were just inches apart, he just had to gently grab that mask and...

"Tomorrow, same place and same time." she said before going away, leaving him without looking back.

Minho smiled. He would look forward to that. He had many things to ask her.

He also wondered if Taemin was aware of the constant sadness in her eyes. But he had the intuition she was so sad that she wasn't able to recognize that emotion anymore.

Hello my dear readers ! Thank you for your comments on the last chapter, I'm really happy to have such positive feedback ! I hope you still like it so far :)

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