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After making sure all of the maids didn't tell the prince the plan and sending the three boys off, Minho made his way back to the prince's room. When he walked in, he saw that the prince was getting dressed by the maids already. 

His arms were spread outwards because the maid had to measure his torso. A little confused, he looked up at Minho and said with a slight chuckle, "I'm just going down to the village. Why are there so many maids here?" His right-hand man only giggled while continuing to watch the pitiful sight.

Suddenly, a maid lifted up an overcoat that was different from what he usually wore which caused him to ask, "Is that new?" The maid smiled and nodded. "Was it mother who bought it?" He continued to ask as they fixed it on him. A maid answered, "No, Prince. It was a gift from the Prince of Light, Prince Kibum." Nodding slowly, the swan prince became silent afterwards. 

When he was finally done getting ready to go out, he met up with Minho out in the hallway downstairs. 

"Are we ready to go then?"

The prince replied, "Yes, but this outfit isn't proper to go greeting the villagers. It's...too formal, isn't it?" Minho chuckled answering, "No, Prince Jinki. This is suitable for today." He didn't know why it was suitable for today, but he mindlessly followed after his right-hand man. As they got further into another long hallway, he finally realized they weren't heading towards the entrance of the castle. 

"We're going the wrong way, aren't we?" The confused prince asked.

Stopping in front of closed doors, he continued, "This is the way to the garden. Why are we going this way?" Minho then answered calmly, "Ah, if you don't mind, I had them bring the horses to the back for a quick warm-up..." Still confused, the prince slowly nodded. The guards opened the doors and let them through. "I forgot something. Please wait out in the garden while I go back and grab it." His right-hand man quickly said. Not thinking anything of it,  the prince let him go and made his way out to the garden.

Once he was out in the garden, he walked around it admiring the beautiful liliacs and all sorts of flowers. The castle had gardens everywhere, but this one was the biggest garden. It was the only garden to be completely outside of the castle walls. 

The prince made his way back to the fountain that stood in the middle and waited there. Looking up at the statue of Aphrodite holding a pot, he began thinking about the girl. He began thinking about wanting to see her again.

It was always like this. Whenever he was alone, the only thing on his mind was her. Ever since he saw her at the pond when he was 17 years old, she was all he could think about. As much as he wanted to quickly make her his bride, he knew she was human and she wouldn't agree to marrying him. Humans never entered their world unless they were brought there, so they never knew living things such as him would even exist. Most likely, she would reject him and run off never wanting to see him again. 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps and figured it was Minho. Glancing over, his heart slowly stopped as he saw a girl's figure standing at the entrance. It couldn't had been really her. He must've been wanting to see her so much that he was probably just hallucinating. The sight of her in a ​traditional Swan kingdom's engagement dress set his heart ablaze. The beauty he was staring at left him speechless. After a minute of hoping that this was all real, he slightly turned his body towards her. Smiling, he tried his best to keep his composure.

Her eyes nervously looked away from him as she slowly took a step out of the doorway. Slowly, her eyes wondered back up to his. 

"This...is a dream...right?"

He suddenly heard her say. The sound of her voice gave him a warm feeling inside his chest. His smile tilted to the side as he relaxed. "...If it isn't...are you going to run away?" He asked slyly. It wasn't possible for her to believe him even if he told her it was real anyhow. The lovely girl looked away not knowing what to do.

"I know...in dreams...you don't really have the sense of touch, right?..." The prince asked as he walked a little closer. 

She glanced up at him waiting for him to continue. Standing in front of her now, he gently grabbed her wrist from her side. He lifted it and slid his hand up to hers. Placing it on the side of his face, he asked, "I'm real....aren't I?" She felt the warmth and softness of his face and immediately couldn't believe it.

Curious now, with her other hand, she placed it on the other side of his face. He stared at her in shock wondering what she was doing. Her hands brushed his hair away from his face and traveled down to his chin. The gentle touch of her hands made his heart weak and he didn't mind it at all. When she noticed him smiling at her, she quickly stopped touching his face and took a step back. 

"But...how is this possible? You're...not a prince. You're a famous singer."

With a confused expression, he chuckled answering, "I can be anything you want me to be, my bride." Suddenly, she grabbed his face again, squishing his cheeks together. Letting him go, she stared at him tilting her head to the side. He rubbed his cheeks as he stared at her. Then he heard her say, "This is unbelievable..." 

"Should we kiss to prove that this is real?" 

With a cheeky smile, he came closer. Before she could back away, she felt his hand take a hold of her lower back, pulling her to him. 

"Prince Jinki..."

He stopped and looked over to the door to see a servant. 

"The King and Queen awaits your presence with others."

He slowly let her go and said, "Shall we go then?" The servant went back into the castle, leaving them alone again. She backed away from him asking, "Where?"

"...To officially make you my bride." 

Startled, she asked, "That's a joke, right?" Without answering her, he took a hold of her hand and began walking towards the door. "Wh-what do you think you're doing??" She shouted from behind him. He glanced back at her replying, "Don't worry! We'll just go meet my parents and ​other important guests and talk about our engagement and it'll be over." 

Once they arrived to a room filled with people in fancy clothes, the prince was greeted one by one. Some stared at her, admiring her while some envied her.

"Prince!"

He stopped and looked to see Minho. Grinning widely at the prince, Minho said, "I hope you're happy." The prince's smile grew as wide as his. "You did this??" Minho shook his head answering, "Not just me, but the other guys too. We didn't want to sit and wait anymore." 

Hand in hand, they finally got to the front where two elders sitting in two large golden chairs. They weren't too old, but they weren't too young. The man's smile was as bright as the prince's while the woman's cold stare froze Aera where she stood. 

The two of them were brought up to sit in front of the elderly couple on a lower platform. They sat on cushions and stared into the crowd of fancy people. 

"We are gathered here today to congratulate the Swan Prince's engagement to Miss Yang Ae Ra. We hope that you all would be able to bless the Prince and his bride. We also hope that you all would be able to attend the wedding two seasons from now. To complete the Swan Kingdom's engagement, the two are to drink a special drink made from the kingdom's flower's stem, nymphaea red flare."

Servants quickly brought over the glass cups that had a dark magenta colored liquid inside. Placing the two cups in front of the prince and Aera, the duke continued, "They will switch cups and then drink all of it." The prince handed his cup to her and waited for her to give hers to him. Since they were sitting in front of so many people, Aera had no choice but to act along. The two grabbed each other's drinks and proceeded to drink it. The taste was strange, but it was sweet, almost like sweet tea. 

"Since the bride is human, this special drink will have some effect, causing her to faint..."

She felt her heartbeat slow down. Her eyes suddenly couldn't stay opened any longer. Reaching over to him, her eyes closed and he quickly caught her in his arms in time. 

Opening her eyes, she found herself on a bed. It was a different bed from before. She slowly sat up and saw that she wasn't changed yet. Looking to the window, she saw the prince sitting on a chair looking at her. A little startled, she asked, "Is it over now?" He slowly got up answering, "Not really. There's still some people here..." She removed the blanket and lifted her feet off the bed. Sitting on the ledge now, she still felt a little weak from that drink so she knew it wasn't smart to try and stand up. Nervously, she asked, "...So what now? Can I go back home?" He shook his head with a smirk written on his face. Walking over to her, he said, "Now...I complete the ceremony..."

"But-"

He pushed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her. Pinning her hands down onto the bed, he continued, "...In order to complete the engagement ceremony..." Aera glared at him asking, "What are you doing?! Let go of me!" She could feel her strength already depleted. It was useless to try and escape. 

"I have to, first...kiss your lips..."

​She felt the heat from his face draw in close. Feeling his lips gently press against hers, she felt his grip on her hands tighten as if he was trying to control himself. He backed away and she watched as he moved down towards her chest. "Then...your heart..." His hair softly brushed down her neck to her chest. Before she could say anything, she felt his lips in the middle of her chest. Suddenly, she felt her heart skip a beat. Her heart felt light as if it wasn't even there anymore. He let go of her and stared at her chest. A bright light came from the spot where he kissed. 

Slowly, his eyes looked back at her saying, "And that completes the ceremony..."

Aera quickly sat up. Looking down, she saw a bright seal of a water lily marked on her chest. Touching it, she felt normal again. He reached over and grabbed her hand that covered the mark. Pulling her closer, he told her, "Now that you're my bride...the healing process should work..." She looked at him and asked, "Healing process??" He patted his leg and said, "Since that day on the fence, I injured my legs. It's still healing, but it's healing very slowly. Only a bride can have the ability to fully heal my injuries."

At first she didn't know what he was talking about but then she remembered saving a strange looking swan from a fence. Assuming he was talking about that, she asked, "How...?" He moved in close to her face. 

"Kiss..." 

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i hope you gaiz are enjoying this so farrrr there's more to this so don't fret

thank you for reading ~