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One by one the three youngest Princes came to apologize to me over the course of the next days and after speaking with them and watching their cuts and bruises heal, I moved past it. Taehyung's expression when I spoke to him was full of disappointment in himself as he knew he had messed up and although I forgave him, I honestly couldn't think about visiting him in his room at night anymore. At least not at the moment.

When the King held a rushed meeting with all of us, I wasn't very surprised. It had been quiet for a while, but as our country delved into spring, my birthday was also approaching.

"As you know, the wedding is not far off", the King mirrored my thoughts as the seven of us stood in one of his studies as he leaned back in his large leather chair.

It was only the seven of us with the King, because Jin still hadn't returned from his business in Themis and frankly, I was starting to get slightly worried. All I could hope was that his health hadn't declined without us knowing.

"There's been a change of plans in light of recent events", the King continued, making me swallow heavily, "Unfortunately, the Princess will not be visiting all of the kingdoms before she gets married."

I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. I just knew that Cronus was one of them. My trip to Cronus was going to be put off indefinitely, because "there was simply no time before I had to get married".

"It shouldn't be a worry however", his mouth tilted into what mimicked an assuring grin, but was far from it, "My decision on who will take her hand in marriage will not be influenced by this. In the end, it's all about strategy. Marriage has always been about strategic alliances, has it not?"

The question floated in the room, but everyone was just staring down at the hardwood floor in silence, the somber atmosphere becoming heavy around us. It didn't seem like the King was really looking for an answer though as he simply chuckled.

I could see Jungkook curling up his fists in agitation and his jaw setting from the corner of my eyes and I prayed he wouldn't do anything stupid that would cost him his life just because he couldn't control his emotions.

Luckily, the King carried on before he could, "I've spoken to each of your fathers and you will remain here and tend to royal duties from Coeus until I've come to a decision. Tomorrow morning Princess Milou will be leaving with Prince Jimin to visit the kingdom of Mnemosyne."

I glanced over to see the way Jimin's gaze shot up in horror, eyes wide in fear and lips parted in a silent gasp. His mouth opened and closed, looking like he struggled wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

"That is all for today then. You are dismissed, Princes and Princess", the King clasped his hands together and everyone started murmuring "Thank you, your majesty" and bowing in respect before moving out into the hallway.

The words barely made it past Jimin's lips and he moved slower than the others, clearly struck by the situation. I wanted to ask if he was alright, but he wouldn't even look up at me as he dodged everyone with his gaze lowered and hurried away down the halls.

The next morning was no better as the servants piled our baggage into our carriages. I could only catch a glimpse of an exhausted Jimin before he slipped into his carriage wordlessly. With a deep sigh, I entered my own and the journey across nations began once again.

Even though the passing scenery was calming, I felt my apprehension growing. What kind of place was Mnemosyne in order to make Jimin hate it so much? But I had to remind myself that the country might not be inherently bad, yet the way Jimin viewed it made it so, similar to how I loathed being in Coeus.

It was the most uneventful ride I had been on and I felt myself drifting off every now and then. All that changed when the carriages stopped for a quick break at a tavern near the road. The servants let us out to use the lavatories while they made sure the horses were taken care of. When I came back outside from the tavern, I couldn't see Jimin around anywhere, but when I stepped back into my carriage I nearly jumped in surprise at him sitting there.

"Jimin, what are you-", I started, but he pulled me in and shut the carriage door, calling for the servants to resume our trip.

My eyes scanned his appearance as he slouched against the velvet bench across from me. He had his usual overcoat and suit on, yet the top few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. His hair looked like he had combed it nicely in the morning, but now the strands lay messily like he had been running his hand through it all day. His cheeks were flushed for no apparent reason and his elegant eyes seemed unfocused and hazy.

"Have you been drinking?", was the first thing out of my mouth as the carriage started to move.

"No", he snapped quickly, but his demeanor screamed that he was lying.

"Jimin-"

"Milou-"

"Stop interrupting me", I scowled, suddenly becoming upset for some reason.

"You interrupted me", he insisted, scowling as well.

"No, I didn't", I retorted, "Have you been drinking?"

"No", he repeated annoyedly.

"Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't."

"Yes, you have", I emphasized by pulling him towards me by his collar, smelling the alcohol on his breath from up close, "I'm not stupid."

"You look really pretty up close, darling", he smirked, his eyes wandering down to my lips and then back up to my irises.

I let go of him and quickly leaned back in my seat as to not be affected by his proximity. The flush in my own cheeks was because of anger and nothing else, of course. Jimin then sat up in his seat and basically stumbled across to sit next to me on my bench, causing me to glare at him.

"Why are you so pissy, darling?", he cocked his head and leaned in closer as his arm rested against the backrest, "You should relax."

"I should relax?", I furrowed my brow at him, "Jimin, I'm not the one who's been drinking all day because I can't handle going back home."

My words seemed to have stung, visible in the way his cocky demeanor crumbled for a brief moment, but he quickly regained himself.

"Princess, you make it really hard to like you", he chuckled, lifting his hand to my chin to keep my gaze level with his.

"Then don't like me", I shot back defensively.

"But I do", his smirk dropped and I hated the way my heart skipped a beat. It wasn't fair that I felt this way around him, especially when he said things like that.

He very well saw the blush in my cheeks, the way my chest was rising in falling at his proximity and yet he wasn't going back to grinning that cocky smirk he was before. Instead, his dreamy eyes traced over my features as he still held onto my chin.

My breath caught in my throat when he leaned towards me, his onyx irises flitting down to my lips. It took me a moment to snap out of the trance he was dipping me in, but before his lips could meet mine I quickly turned my head to the side and away from him. His lips met just above my jawline instead and part of me expected him to start kissing along my neck.

Yet he didn't. He pulled back and looked at me with a rather hurt expression that I couldn't understand.

"Our first kiss is not going to be with you drunk", I told him firmly.

I didn't know what I was expecting, but I definitely didn't think to see Jimin so upset. He was being all flirtatious a minute ago and now he was slouching back on the bench and staring out the window with watery eyes. Whatever drunken haze he was in before had crumbled.

"Jimin, what's wrong?", I asked softly.

"Nothing", his voice sounded defeated.

I realized this wasn't about him trying to kiss me, much less about me at all. It was about him heading back to Mnemosyne and the alcohol he had consumed wasn't suppressing all of his nerves like it usually did. He simply looked frustrated and afraid at this point.

"Jimin...", I let my hand rest on his shoulder and his head spun towards me at the touch. His beautiful eyes were unmistakably filling with tears and I had no idea why.

Leaning forward I carefully moved my hands up to cup his cheeks, gently stroking my thumbs over the soft skin, hoping for him not to cry. His expression glinted with awe as he looked back at me, but I could see the plain fear written all over him.

"What on earth is hurting you so bad, Jimin?", my fingers continued to trace along his cheeks as I stared up into his eyes filled with pain, eyebrows pulled together as he seemed to be trying to process something.

"What happened in Mnemosyne for you to be like this?", I whispered out and saw something crack deep within him.

The tears escaped him and he broke my gaze, scrunching his face up to not start sobbing. He pushed my hands away from him and slouched back into the bench to make himself as small as possible, covering his eyes with his own hands.

Sitting there, cowering into the deep velvet, he seemed like a little boy. It was as if he had reverted by at least ten years, small, scared and frightened, trying to conceal himself from the horrors of the world.

"Jimin...", my voice cracked uneasily as I didn't know what to say. I didn't think it was wise to touch him either, considering the defensive position he was in. "Please talk to me."

Nothing but silence answered my plea. Nothing but the aching sounds of quiet sobs as his shoulders shook.

"Jimin-"

"You don't care", he cut me off like the snap of a twig.

"Of course I do", I huffed back. I didn't know why I felt upset that he would imply otherwise.

"Y-you don't", he cried quietly into his hands and I had the urge to reach up and tug them away from his face, telling him everything was going to be alright. Tell him that he could rely on me and that he shouldn't be scared. But I had no idea what he was scared of, so I could say none of that.

"Jimin, please let me in", I pleaded with him, a tremor appearing in my voice now as well, "Tell me what's hurting you, please."

But there was no reply. There was only the way he sobbed in his spot on the bench, running the back of his hand over his eyes to wipe at his tears. When his dark eyes met mine, they looked round in innocence and glistened with tears and for the rest of the ride to Mnemosyne there was a weight on my shoulders and an aching in my heart.

Jimin's home country was quite pretty with all the vast landscapes of meadows and quaint towns on the horizon in the late evening. I wasn't able to see too much of Mnemosyne though as the carriage took us straight to the palace high up on one of the hills overlooking a lake.

The castle itself was unlike the architecture I was used to, large white towers rising up from the rest of the grand building. Stepping inside the walls and floors were of the same color, spotless white marble stretching as far as the eye could see, accented by golden detailing like the chandeliers, railings and sconces. The hallways were well decorated with rare sculptures and vases and most things seemed almost too delicate to touch. And yet there was an unsettling undertone to it all.

There were many of what I assumed were nobles and royal guard moving about the palace, loud in conversation and seemingly having a good time and completely unaware of the Prince returning. It looked like any other regular day and so I was surprised to find so many roaming the hallways that weren't even royals. At my confusion Jimin mumbled an explanation to me under his breath that there always seemed to be a gathering of some sort in the castle, but said nothing more as we were escorted to different wings.

The guest room I found myself in was sizable and as delicately decorated as the rest of the place, nice arch windows lining the far wall. The next I heard from anyone was when a few maids came into the room and informed me there would be a dinner, immediately starting to get me ready.

By the time I was led down into a vast dining hall, I had to refrain from yawning, realizing it was much too late to be having dinner. Yet seating myself at the table to meet the king and queen, they didn't seem fazed by the time of day at all, making me wonder if it was customary to have dinner so late in Mnemosyne. The king himself didn't seem to be much of a horrible man, he simply drank too much for my taste though. The queen on the other hand appeared to be much too young to have a son Jimin's age and although she was a beautiful young woman, no doubt having gifted Jimin his dashing looks, it was odd seeing her next to the old king.

There were a few other men and women dining alongside us, most likely close friends of the king as he appeared to be sociable with them. Wine was poured and courses of food were served and I found myself fidgeting under the table as I tried my best to keep up polite responses to their questions, painfully aware that Jimin was nowhere in sight.

After almost an hour of conversation and food, I almost sighed in relief when the king voiced what had been going through my mind all along.

"Where is my son?", he raised his voice so he could catch the attention of a nearby servant.

"He's in the bath, your majesty", the servant informed him with a courteous bow.

"That boy spends half his life in the bath", the king shook his head disapprovingly, "Tell him to hurry up, we have guests waiting."

The servant gave another bow and hurried from the dining hall to pass on the message. When Jimin finally did arrive, an additional half an hour having passed, he sat down wordlessly in the seat next to me. His hair was still wet, slow drips falling from the blonde tips onto the dark overcoat he had swung on and his cheeks were flushed from being in warm water for so long.

"How was the trip, my son?", the king asked as he cut through the steak on the plate in front of him.

"Splendid", Jimin lied through his teeth and forced a smile onto his face, immediately downing the glass of wine that was placed in front of him.

He looked uneasy and tense, but wasn't trembling in fear like he was in the carriage. I wasn't sure what to think, but my gut told me the reason why he didn't want to return home wasn't entirely related to his father although he seemed to dislike the man as well. But Jimin gave me no further ideas as to what might possibly be wrong, he didn't even speak another word to me the rest of the night. At that point I rather wished he would berate me like he used to instead of ignoring me entirely and shutting me out.

I didn't know if I could make it through the trip like this.

~ ~ ~