~ ~ ~

My belly had grown to be the size of a watermelon. It became difficult to walk up and down stairs and I found myself out of breath more often than not. Traveling from nation to nation to visit each of the Princes had been a remedy to me, but now that the days became more tiresome I spent most of my time in Cronus. Jungkook made sure I had everything I needed, although he was busy and Taehyung came to visit often. Even though I wasn't the reason he came to Cronus so often, he was still the one who helped me the most throughout the pregnancy.

The child I was carrying was also a constant reminder of what I had lost though. I was lonely, although I was far from being alone. The other Princes I had grown so close to were by my side every step of the way and I was eternally grateful for them. But there was nothing they could do to thaw the numbness that had grown around my heart.

The world around me was slowly rebuilding itself and I wondered why I just couldn't do the same. A new treaty had been formed with Cronus at its head, insuring peace amongst all nations. Coeus was left as a country, but it no longer had a kingdom and its borders were compromised accordingly. We had a leader, but without an axis how long could our world last the way it was? As with all structures in history I was sure this one would crumble eventually as well. But that was not something we had to worry about then. We still found ourselves floating in the state of post-war bliss.

I wished I could experience that state of bliss, too. I thought maybe I had earned it after the battle I fought. Yet I found myself staring numbly out of the castle's windows on most days. Coeus no longer had use for a Princess as they had no kingdom, so I was left feeling as useless as I could. The only reason I was there was to bring a new life to the world. Above anything else I wanted to care for the only trace Jimin had left behind.

Thoughts like these often occupied my mind along with the question of where I would live. I knew I didn't want to stay in Cronus's castle forever, but moving into the small farmhouse I had always wanted seemed too scary to realize yet. I wasn't sure whether I could raise the baby all alone in a house like that without Jimin.

That morning a voice interrupted my thoughts however, calling my attention away from the window that looked out over the gardens. It was not Taehyung's deep voice though, who occasionally disturbed me.

"Milou! Milou! Where are you?", the raspy voice sounded frantic as footsteps pattered down the hall.

"Yoongi?", I called out to him curiously. I had no idea he had come to visit the country.

The head of raven black hair popped in through the crack in the door to spot me before he hurriedly stumbled into the room.

"Milou, oh my gods, you have to come with me", he spoke quickly, his hands beckoning me towards him and his midnight eyes slightly widened.

"Yoongi, what's happening?", I furrowed my brow although I was glad to see him. His demeanor was so unlike him. "When did you get here?"

"Just trust me and come with me", he urged once more.

"Alright, alright", I pulled myself to my feet by grabbing onto the windowsill, "Could you get Taehyung to help me down the stairs though?"

He nodded and bolted from the room and down the hall. I slowly made my way to the top of the stairs and waited until I saw Taehyung trying to keep up with Yoongi as they hastened towards me. Taehyung looked flushed and his lips were puffy, making me assume he just came from spending time with Jungkook. Yoongi must have been truly desperate if he was willing to interrupt that.

"What is happening?", Taehyung questioned as he put an arm around me, helping me take one step at a time.

"I wish I knew. He didn't tell me a thing", I replied with a sigh.

Making our way down the last few steps we watched Yoongi pace around the main hall, his hands constantly running through his hair. He didn't look upset though, he just looked completely frazzled and perplexed.

We followed him towards the front entrance to the palace and the moment he stepped outside his eyes went wide. A carriage was pulling up on the gravel and he quickly turned to grab my hands.

"Milou, I don't know how to tell you this. I don't even know- I just don't know. I don't even know how to prepare you for this", his words came out jumbled as he squeezed my hands in a reassuring way.

"Prepare me for what? What are you talking about?", I searched his eyes for an answer, but nothing came to me.

He let go of me and turned to the carriage which had stopped not far from us. The servants were heading around to open the doors and help someone out from the inside. The three of us just stared at the process that seemed to be taking a little longer than usual. I realized that whoever they were carrying out was seated on a moveable chair.

That was when the first ray of sun illuminated the unmistakable head of blonde hair.

The eyes squinted to get used to the light for a moment, but then the onyx irises immediately found me with the same twinkle that they always had.

Alive.

I must have been dreaming.

But the ground beneath my feet felt very real and so did the way my heart stuttered and my breathing staggered. My hands clasped over my mouth as a choked noise ripped through my throat. I didn't realize my legs had given way until I landed on my knees against the gravel.

The figure that I could recognize in my sleep was seated on a chair with wheels, the servants slowly rolling him towards me. I tried to scramble to my feet, but my bump was preventing me from doing so. Taehyung and Yoongi, who were so immersed in the person they were seeing in front of them, took a moment to realize I needed assistance. They both helped me to my feet and I immediately staggered towards the young man.

"Hello, darling", the velvety sweet voice that I thought I would never hear again sounded out from his plush lips.

"Jimin-", I burst out in tears as my arms wrapped around him. There were so many questions running through my mind, but all that came out of my mouth were incoherent words. "How- When- I-Is it really you?"

I leaned back to run my hands along his cheeks in an attempt to see if he was real or not. But he was right in front of me. The boy I loved. The way his eyes twinkled at me, brimmed with tears of emotion, it was all real.

"Darling, are you-", his gaze traveled down to the baby bump he had felt against him.

"That's not important right now!", I cut him off with a sob, my hands still tracing every part of him as if he could disappear any second now, "How are you here? How are you real? How are you alive?"

"I'm sorry, Milou, I wanted to come find you as soon as I woke up but I was still so unwell", he tried to explain without crying along with me.

He did look quite pale under the sun and his body had gotten very thin and bony under all of his coats. But none of that mattered, because he was alive.

"But how did you-", I managed to gasp out.

"After the King drove the sword through me I was as good as gone. The doctors told me I had actually died and that they resuscitated me. It was a miracle that they were able to operate on me, so many of my organs were failing. This wartime hospital in Coeus had taken me in and apparently they had some of the best doctors on hand there. They were going to give up on me so many times...", Jimin did his best explaining, his voice only breaking every so often, "But something within me was keeping me alive. They were able to sustain my vitals and by some miracle I even woke up."

My sobbing was beyond a point of control by then, but they were all happy tears. I was hysterical, overwhelmed with the sight in front of me. It was unbelievable that Jimin was there at that very moment. It was too good to be true.

"My legs...", Jimin glanced down at his legs that had drastically thinned out, "The sword severed my spine and ruptured part of my stomach. They sewed me up, but it's still difficult to eat. And my spine... I can't feel my legs anymore."

"What do you mean you can't feel your legs?", I asked as my eyes widened in alarm, my hands shooting out to grasp onto his legs as if to show him he was lying.

"My lower body is paralyzed, Milou", he spoke softly, his tone in no way bitter, "That's why I have this chair with wheels."

I started crying even more then, overwhelmed not only with his paralysis, but still with the mere fact that he had made it out alive.

"Darling, please don't cry", he gently took my hands into his and pulled me down to sit on his lap. With my weight I thought I might be crushing him, but I realized he probably couldn't feel anything. "I don't like seeing you cry. Everything is okay now. I'm here for you."

Listening to his words of reassurance, I buried my face in his neck, taking in the sweet smell I had missed so much. The feeling of his milky smooth skin against mine was so familiar yet so surreal at the same time.

"I'm here for you", he whispered as his hand rubbed against my back, "I'm here for you and this little one."

His other hand carefully rested itself on my belly, gently stroking the bump as his teary eyes stared in awe.

"When did this happen?", he asked softly.

"The first time we laid together", I replied after controlling my breathing, "I'm so far along now, Jimin."

"I'm so happy I didn't miss it", he continued stroking my belly, "It's one miracle after the other, isn't it?"

I managed a nod, pressing my lips together as tears still escaped me, "Jimin, you're real, aren't you? This isn't a dream, right?"

"I'm very real, darling", he let out a chuckle before moving to cup my face in his hands. Then he leaned forward to press his plush lips against mine. His way of showing me he was very real had fireworks erupting throughout my body as my heart wouldn't stop fluttering. I thought it might leap out of my chest at any moment.

"I-It's good to have you back, Jimin", Taehyung's emotional voice choked out then, reminding me that the two Princes were still standing there.

I turned to see both of them with puffy and red eyes and wet cheeks. Taehyung was wiping his nose on his sleeve and Yoongi was trying to blink up into the sky to stop the tears.

"You better not be that reckless ever again", Yoongi warned, but there was no real heat behind his words, "The other Princes are going to want to come see you, so you better stay alive, alright?"

"Alright", Jimin nodded with a chuckle, his wide smile on display as his eyes grew to crescents.

My hands found their way back to his soft cheeks and I held onto him as I never wanted to let go again.

"You're not going to leave my side, are you?", I gazed at the love of my life.

He gazed back at me with the same loving and enchanting eyes that had me falling head over heels before I even realized it myself. The lively twinkle in them set my numbed heart alight. This was my happiness for the rest of my life.

"Never."

~ ~ ~

Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting and I hope you enjoyed this story even if it was a bit sad!

I had actually planned on Jimin being dead and have Milou live on with the memory of him and be reminded of him every time she saw her son, but I couldn't bring myself to do that to the readers. Also the trigger warning of major character death would have turned a lot of people away... So I wrote a happy ending instead, you're welcome hehe.

If there's anything on your mind, just let me know, I like hearing your thoughts :)

~Lilo