~ ~ ~

The King had ordered all seven of my suitors and I to attend an announcement in the throne room several weeks later. I was glad to have not seen the King in a while, but it was now that my buried fears resurfaced again.

We were well into the winter and the weather outside was freezing considering most of our mild winters. Luckily, the thick palace walls kept us warm, but I knew the real threat was never the cold. It was what I was standing in front of right then.

Sitting on his ridiculously large throne as ever, the King looked down upon the eight of us standing on the carpeted steps.

"Princes and Princess", he greeted us with his rumbling voice.

The seven of them standing next to me bowed and I curtsied in respect.

"You've spent over a month as guests within my grand kingdom with the goal of appealing to our young Princess", he started to my surprise, "Which one of you she will marry however, is yet to be decided upon."

He made sure to look at me as he said that, his eyes reminding me it was and never would be my decision. Sometimes I wondered how I could be offspring of such a horrible man. It made me hate myself.

"It is customary with all royal weddings that the bride is shown around her future kingdom, the one she will reside in by her husband's side", he continued in a harsh tone, "So as the winter progresses, we will wait until the weather has eased up in a month's time in order for the Princess to travel out of the country."

There was a long pause in the King's announcement and Namjoon took it upon himself to speak up politely.

"Sir", he bowed his head once more and looked for permission to speak, which he received with a faint nod, "Will we be returning to our own kingdom's during the time the Princess is traveling?"

"Unless she is traveling alongside you to your kingdom, you will not", he stated loudly, "There are some exceptions of important business of course. Prince Seokjin has already brought it to my attention that he has a multitude of duties to fulfill in his country, which can be arranged for."

Namjoon nodded in understanding, thanking the King for his response. The extent to which the King had the other nation's kings bowing down to his feet was shocking to me, but there was no other explanation as to why he could keep all of the Princes here on his own accord.

"I'm sure you understand that having you, the suitors, here in Coeus is an important part of the marriage proceedings. This whole process takes half of a year, but for a daughter of such a mighty kingdom I'm certain you expect no less", he explained sternly to everyone.

I grasped the fact that arranging the whole suitor setting took years of planning and bartering with the other kings, but the actual time from first meeting the suitors until the day of the wedding was a span of half a year. Of course, not much bartering must have been involved. After all, who wouldn't want their son to marry the world's most powerful Princess? Too bad I was in fact powerless to everything around me.

The King continued explaining some more formalities and told us the servants would be informing us of all upcoming events. All the words being exchanged before we were allowed to leave the throne room resonated with me in a heavy atmosphere, but when I glanced around the young men next to me, they almost seemed bored. I suppose the gravity of everything hadn't sunken in yet with them. Or maybe getting married never seemed like a big deal to any of them.

But as I hurried out into the corridors to go sulk in my room as I did most days, a voice behind me stopped me from running.

"Milou!", it was Jungkook's light tone that had me turn around towards him.

"Hm?", I raised my eyebrows in anticipation as I gripped the abundance of fabric below the waist of my dress.

With my eyes on him he almost seemed nervous in the way he shyly put his hands behind his back, "A-are you busy?"

"Not particularly", I shook my head.

His expression lit up a little in hope, "Would you like to go out with me then?"

"Go out?"

"To the lake", he added as he wavered in the hall.

I knew exactly where he wanted to go, but it had been so long that him asking almost felt foreign.

"Yes", I grinned softly, "I must get changed first though."

He broke out into an adorable smile and moved towards the staircase to his wing of the castle, "Me too. I'll meet you at the stables then."

I hummed before turning and beckoning a maid to assist me in my room. As soon as I was set in my winter riding gear, Mei was complaining about the weather outside and how I'd catch a cold, but her words went in one ear and out the other as usual.

I found myself stumbling through the snow outside towards the stables and was glad that although it was freezing, the sun was also shining that day. Entering the stables to guide my horse out, I figured Jungkook was already waiting for me as I spotted a figure gazing out one of the windows there.

"Jungkook, let's go", I laughed a little as I held the reigns to my horse and glanced at the unmoving figure.

"Jungkook?", the person then turned around to face me and I realized it wasn't him. How did I even think that in the first place? This Prince had blonde hair and was shorter. Jimin always left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Oh, I thought-", I started, but narrowed my eyes as he neared me all intrigued, "What are you doing here?"

"Just thinking", he hummed, but his attention was solely focused on my golden-brown mare as he spoke, "Going on a date, are you?"

"What are you talking about?" I scoffed.

He pointed at my horse and then said, "Looking for Jungkook and going out... Seems like a date. No need to be embarrassed about it. You're here to find a husband after all."

My lips pressed into a thin line as I stared at him. I knew exactly what he was going to say next.

"Oh that's right", he then chuckled, "You and Jungkook can't get married."

Sometimes I wondered if it was acceptable to punch a Prince, because I sure had the urge to.

"Anything else, Jimin?", I glowered, clutching my reigns tightly.

His eyes were back to being glued to my horse and he slowly stretched out his hand to place against his muzzle.

"What's her name?", he asked without looking at me.

I frowned, expecting him to peel over laughing when he heard the name just like Hoseok had. It hadn't bothered me then, but if Jimin did it, it sure would.

"Serendipity", I stated carefully, watching for his reaction.

I was surprised to witness the way his face relaxed, his soft plump lips parting slightly as his eyebrows raised in awe. His eyes twinkled as he gazed at the horse he was stroking ever so gently, nothing but sweet innocence and admiration painting his expression. It was the first time I noticed just how beautiful Prince Jimin really was. His small button nose, his elegantly angled eyes, his sharp jawline that complimented his angelically chiseled face, it all came to life as he let his facade go.

"That's beautiful", he whispered out and his eyes met mine in complete admiration.

Something in those deep onyx irises reflected the same feeling I had the day I named my mare. I had spent months upon months trying to come up with a name that held meaning to me and that was when I realized this beautiful word had been in front of me the whole time.

I was going to open my mouth to say something, but in that moment the stable doors swung open to reveal Jungkook striding in.

"Milou, you're ready", he grinned before his gaze landed on Jimin next to me, who he politely bowed to, but still let his smile drop at, "Jimin."

"Jungkook", Jimin nodded back, snapped out of whatever trance had overcome him for a few minutes.

After Jungkook had saddled and gotten his jet black horse out alongside mine, I glanced back into the stables to see a contemplative Jimin standing there before we rode off.

We were lucky the sun was still high in the sky by the time we got to the secluded lake that Jungkook and I had always run off to as children. As we dismounted our horses, he tied them to a nearby tree before walking towards the water alongside me.

"I'm glad to know you still remember this place", he smiles as he steps through the snow with his fancy black boots.

"Of course", I responded, hesitating with my next words, "Hoseok took me here almost a month ago."

I avoided his gaze, because I knew I would find a small scowl on his face, and waited for him to speak instead.

"At least he has taste", he grunted before sighing lightly, "This place holds so many memories..."

I hummed, guiding him over to one of the trees, knowing he would cheer up seeing the engraving we once made.

"No way...", his eyes went round in awe when I pointed at the small heart with our initials in it, "I can't believe this is still here."

"I know", I giggled a little, "And everything else is still the same too. The trees we used to play hide and seek behind, the soft dirt in front of the lake we thought was sand. It's all still here."

"Sand", Jungkook chuckled and shook his head as we both neared the water and stepped onto the fine dirt surface that was now covered with a layer of snow, "And to think the only real sand you've ever seen was brought to you in a bottle."

"There's many things I've missed out on because of Coeus's travel bans", I frowned.

"You'll be traveling to seven different nations fairly soon though", he reminds me, "When you get to Oceanus, you'll love it. Enjoy the beaches... but don't have too much fun."

He said the last part with a small pout and I couldn't help laughing.

We spent some more time talking about memories, nostalgia setting in as we sat down on the shore in the snow. Our gazes were fixed on the twinkling lake in front of us, but the entire surface was frozen over and it was hard to believe that just over a month ago Taehyung had been swimming in it.

"Let's come back here in the spring, yeah?", Jungkook said then, his granite eyes glistening in reminiscence, "It's the most beautiful here in spring. With the flowers and trees blossoming and the animals daring to come out and... the water just warm enough to dip your feet into."

"But not warm enough to throw someone off a boat into the water", I prodded him with my elbow to playfully remind him of what he had done to me so long ago.

"Oh, did that happen?", he feigned innocence, but then started laughing.

When we quieted down again he began another sentence in the same way we had been doing, "Do you remember?"

"What?", I grinned at him.

"Right here...", he looked at the ground we were sitting on side by side, "This is where we kissed for the very first time."

A deep blush painted my cheeks that stung from the cold. Of course I remembered. I remembered everything he did, if not much more.

"It wasn't the only time", I retorted to his surprise.

"I know", a smirk spread across his lips as I dared to glance at him, "How old were we?"

"Thirteen", I answered softly.

"Right, the year of the betrayal", he nodded in understanding, "It was the same year we saw each other last."

I turned my head to look at his side profile, seeing the way his eyes seemed focused in the distance in a melancholic way. Every time he let out a breath it was visible as a cloud of steam in the cold as it condensed. The rounded tip of his nose seemed rosy along with a soft hue on his cheeks. My first love had grown up to be such a handsome young man.

His head turned then as well, catching my gaze and holding it as he stared into me with those strong irises of his. His gaze had always been intense, reflecting tenacity and youthful fervor wherever he looked. Now his expression was gentle however, his loving eyes trailing over my features. It was as if the same scene from all those years ago was playing all over again.

The heat from his body emanated with how close we were, his face nearing mine until our noses brushed together. His obsidian eyes had me under a spell before both of us let our lids flutter shut and let our lips find each other. They met lightly at first, just like our first kiss had happened. But now Jungkook's hands reached up to cup my cheeks and the kiss deepened quickly. 

Our lips moved together as his passion flowed into it, tongue parting mine and kissing me freely as I allowed it. I kissed him back just as intensely and it was as his muscular arms went to pull me onto his lap that I realized we were no longer children. There was nothing innocent about what we were doing now and none of our thoughts were either. It was as if my body acted on its own accord in the way it reacted to his touch, each sensation tingling that feeling in my stomach.

It was only when we pulled apart for a breath and rested our foreheads against one another that I could somewhat gather my thoughts.

"I want to be your first and last kiss", he murmured lowly, his chest rising and falling lightly, "I want to be the only one you ever kiss."

His words is what made my mind spring awake though and when he leaned back in to connect his lips to mine again a few times, I started pulling away.

"But you're not", is what came out of my mouth instead of what I actually wanted to convey.

His movements froze, his hands resting at my waist at that point. He pulled back a little as well in order to look at me properly.

"What do you mean?", he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

I said nothing.

"Milou, what do you mean?", his tone became stern, "Has anyone else kissed you?"

"Jungkook, that's not-", I started, but he removed me from his lap and cut me off with a raised voice.

"Who else has kissed you?!"

I bit my lower lip, yet knew he wouldn't stop asking until I gave him a truthful answer, "...Namjoon. But it doesn't mean anything!"

"Doesn't mean anything?", he echoed in disbelief, "He wants to marry you. So do the rest of them!"

"I know that-"

"But I want to marry you", his expression seemed pained as he looked at me then, "Just like we planned when we were younger. I'll take you to Cronus and we'll spend the rest of our lives in each other's arms..."

"Jungkook", I could feel tears coming up as I force out a broken whisper, "You're the one I can't marry."

"Is this because of the King?", he suddenly got to his feet with a rush of anger coursing through him, "I already told you that I can take care of it."

I stood up as well, trying to get through to him, "I'm doing this to protect you."

"I don't need your protection!", his voice raised to a shout, "You need mine, Milou, you always have! You're miserable! You have to get out of Coeus!"

"You don't understand the gravity of the situation, Jungkook!", I yelled back at him, "I can't just leave Coeus and now that you're here, neither can you! The only way out for you is if I marry someone else!"

"If that's the only option then I don't want it!", he insisted, seeming hurt.

"What would you rather do, Jungkook?", I huffed in agitation, "Either you leave without me or you die without me."

"But I love you", his volume died down to a whisper as his voice cracked, "I thought you felt the same way."

"I...", my words got stuck as I saw the ache in his eyes. The same ache I felt.

"Tell me you don't love me and I'll leave you alone", he murmured defeatedly.

And how I wished I could tell him that so I could keep him safe. But something in my heart wouldn't allow me to. So in the heat of the moment my true feelings bubbled over.

"Of course I love you!", I finally confessed.

The sad truth was however, that I was in love with two Princes and I couldn't marry either of them.

~ ~ ~