The knowledge of what would be awaiting you still came as a shock when the information was presented to you for the first time, not entirely believing in the words spoken to you in that exact moment, but deciding it would be best not to question any further like you had intended, you took the task as if it was as simple as doing the laundry on a Sunday when you would be yelled at by the overly religious neighbour grandma for your doings. The memory still evident in your mind like it took place not even an hour ago as you were preparing for your visit to the castle in hopes of getting allowance from the king himself to venture with one of the sailors to see the outer world, but in the end opted for something you never thought could be achievable or even possible for someone of your nature.

As soon as the words slipped from the chippered lips of the king, you knew this opportunity was everything you needed to fulfill your task as a merchants daughter, in the back of your head imagining the structure of your fathers face when you told him that you were worthy enough to be offered a position in the castle for the first time. It would be a shock even to him considering the rareness of these occasions happening in the first place, and secondly, of those things being presented to someone of no meaning to the king whatsoever.

News from this heaviness were quick to spread and soon enough every civilian would be aware of the person that was unnoticeable until this point; the person that no one ever paid much attention to as she would stroll through the streets in search for some traders she saw an opportunity in playing then to her luck. That person was indeed you and you’ll soon find out that things aren’t as simple as they might have seemed when the king hired you.

But for now, it was only a matter of time till the news would be spilled. Either from the servants that were particularly on every corner of the hallways ready to serve the royal family in need at any given time or from the guards in their royal uniforms that stood at every entryway into the castle keeping it secure from any unwanted guests.

The only thing surprising you was not the fact that you actually made it into the king’s castle without much trouble like other people you’ve heard from complained about, it was rather a bit suspicious then easy at how quick the answer from the king’s right-hand man came. Usually it would take up to 2-4 months until someone who sends an entry letter to the king would have the privilege of even getting an answer, but entering it was strictly prohibited to anyone other then guards and servants being in charge of the current day, and of course people from other kingdoms that he considered his friends.

Nothing is there more to say as you stumble out of the gates stunned a little at the opportunity that you gladly accepted as if it was an invitation to the yearly ball. But the real situation and understanding of things wouldn’t hit you until tomorrow morning when you will be precisely in the castle halls waiting for your orders. Just then would the realization hit you that this wasn’t some dumb dream of yours and that you were true waiting for his majesty to order you around.

What made the whole thing even more exciting was the fact that you weren’t hired to serve any of the new coming quests that might resident inside the castle walls during their stay in the kingdom, but the fact that you’ll be something like the right hand, in some way, to the kings oldest son. Rumor has it that he was extremely witty minded resulting in him never really being seen by anyone other the servants inside the castle walls who didn’t dare spread any information regarding anything that happened in the castle out of the fear of losing their current positions as it was the best-paid job in the kingdom.

Many were curious about the king’s children because it wasn’t very common for them to leave the castle ground under any circumstances. Most of the times, if not all the time, merchants would be seen entering the gates with carriages filled with their best products in hopes of sparking an interest in the family to maybe consider purchasing something from the selection.

On the other hand, the queen was never the type of person to love being hidden from the eyes of her people as she preferred to be in their circles listening to their stories that weren’t even found in the best travelers that often visited her children. She loved the dynamic that the city of Downy had to itself. It was everything she ever wished for it to be, and even more as it was situated overlooking the dark blue sea with its port crowded with hundreds of ships that were coming and going to possibly encounter a new adventure lying ahead of them.and even more as it was situated overlooking the dark blue sea with its port crowded with hundreds of ships that were coming and going to possibly encounter a new adventure laying ahead of them.

In the back of your mind, getting aboard on those ships and sailing away to new places as the wind carried you on your journey that you wouldn’t know where it would end was something you held dearly to your heart hoping one day your wish would be granted and the sea would be all yours to explore, and you were halfway there in achieving that. Perhaps if you didn’t have a fling with one of the fishermen that night at the Halloween festival, you wouldn’t even have a chance it that dream coming true but since you made it this far and actually enjoyed his company for a change, testing the waters wouldn’t be a bad idea for once. That would be possible if all of the ship owners wouldn’t have such phobia of women of a ship.

To you, that whole myth about women bringing bad luck to a sailor’s treasured ship was just a simple talk to get them away from recruiting the female kind in any way possible. It is believed that women shouldn’t be anywhere near the men’s businesses as the bring unfortunate as soon as they get their fingers dirty with what they’re not supposed to. From young on you were though that your place would be in the house doing tasks that didn’t require male’s help in any way as that was what many believed to be most suitable for you.

In order not to anger your fathers decision any further, you made the decision for yourself to behave according to his orders until the age of eighteen and that would be when you’ll decide for yourself what was best for you, and spending every day in the confrontment of your housing wasn’t the thing you saw happening. As long as you had the willpower to pursue your doing you were able to withstand the unsatisfaction your father replaced for you.

The normal occasion in which every young adult had the right to state their plans towards the future was always on the day they celebrated the coming of age, of becoming the whole ripe person they were planned to be. As it is passed on from generation to generation, the day had also come for you too to state your mind to the collected family as the fest for your 18th birthday arrived. The amount of nervousness you felt that day was indescribable and laced with fear upon the reaction your final decision would cause, more from your father than anyone.

“Let us give a toast to my beautiful daughter, ________.” That night everyone present was anticipation for you to spill your heart and inform them of the wishes you hope for the future. Just like your sisters did before you, you were gifted with nothing other than money, as that was what people considered, was the most appropriate gift for something as important as the coming of age ceremony. It was a decent gift that would help you in getting started out as living on your own and keeping things under control for the most part.

You still remember how everyone rose their glasses patiently awaiting your speech in hopes of it being the same as the ones before. It was assumed that you would choose the same path as your sister, becoming a housewife who took care to the children while the husband ventured outside earning something in regards to keeping his family alive but the shocked expressions that coated their faces at the mention of something so forbidden were nothing you had ever expected. It was as everyone was looking down on you for making such decision for yourself, particularly hoping for being killed for your wish to be let on board and as it was already clear, your father wasn’t pleased with your words.

“For all the things I’ve done to afford you this life, to live even a little bit better than the other children all these years, you decided to throw all that away and embarrass me in front of the whole family with your ridiculous future plans?” With every word outspoken, the anger that bubbled inside him was coming to surface as his voice became not even a conversational one but it turned to shouts that carried the literal disappointment in them. You didn’t understand how your statement was carrying this much power to make him this out of himself when nothing was able to make him burst like this. The amount of hater he felt in that exact moment was sealed as soon his right hand made it into the air preparing for what you didn’t see coming, fo what no one saw coming. The sound filled the air making it clear what happened as everyone present was in utter disbelief and shock at the current situation folding out in front of their very own eyes.

You wanted to cry, but there was no power to do so. You wanted to shout, but your voice was gone the second you opened your mouth in an attempt to say something, anything. You wanted to look him in the eyes and question his action that came out of nowhere and as a surprise to everyone, but you didn’t have it in yourself to face him in that moment as fear spread through your whole being. The last thing he did before his steps disappeared through the door didn’t come as a surprise anymore after having seen and felt what he was capable of. “You a disgrace to this family.”

Those words hurt more than the red mark now staining your left cheek confirming what just had happened and that it was indeed unexpected. It didn’t come as a shock that something like that would happen in the first place because no one in your family had chosen something anywhere near your decision, it was more the person that did that that came as simply untrue when it occurred. Your father was never the type of person who harmed anyone towards who he didn’t have any need to, confirming it, even more, the fact that he never even once lifted his hand on your mother. He just wasn’t the type to solve problems verbally like most of the men in your family as he saw that not as a way in finding a solution to the problem but more as the thing being in fault of the problem occurring.

On the other hand, your mother was more likely to serve one or two hits, in the purpose of disciplining you, when you and your sisters misbehaved when you were younger but even she found it too much from your father’s side to react in that way. In her eyes, the situation you had put yourself in that night wasn’t unsolvable and it would’ve certainly been better if you just talked it out all together then to teach you a lesson by doing something like that.

Three days now passed from the night you made your decision that didn’t whatsoever suit your father and that was noticeable by his actions. During the time you’ve been home, you didn’t encounter him even once to your utter disappointment because you wanted to talk thing through with him in a chance of getting things back to how they were before the whole situation took a turn for the worse. But he obviously didn’t have the same mindset as you and avoided you on every step even going as far as not housing under the same roof as you for the time being. Was it that horrible for him to even feel your mere presence in the room that he made this decision of going out of your life completely?

The pain was slowly getting to you as you simply missed his presence near you even if he seemed like he was better of without you. You were hurting, and you were badly hurting. The whole thing didn’t only affect you mentally in a way that it was almost too hard for you to think about anything other then what you made wrong in your life decisions, but it also affected your life. You didn’t have it in yourself to face the situation like a young adult should as you were scared of the things that might unfold during it, so you made a simple choice to not push it further. If your father wanted to be apart from you and never see you again, then that is exactly what you are going to give him and let him see what he lost from the moment his skin touched yours in the most unpleasant way.

After exiting the castle’s gates, you were relieved for your mind being filled with something other than the problems you had. For the first time since that horror of a night, you were able to put a smile on your face the excitement nearly pouring out of you as you took those lively steps down the mounting to Downy. Things seemed to finally go in your favor and something good was surely coming your way, and why wouldn’t it when you just seconds ago agreed to serve the king’s eldest son, from now on, every day.

When you made it into the outstrikes of the city you stilled for what seemed like minutes as you observed the atmosphere in the market ahead. You were still kind of hesitant to step up for yourself and walk the familiar streets that you new even with your eyes closed, but in this moment it made you feel like you didn’t know anything about your home at all. The way happy laughter echoed through the market as children were playing around it like they had no care in the world; the way everyone was shining with nothing but gratitude towards each other was not what made you hesitant. Since your father was well known for his goods, his family was no exception when it came to recognition upon first look. At first, that didn’t bother you as you were able to work for your father and made almost every deal at ease because people had trust in him and his loyalty to his words. All of that might have been bad now because as much as everyone knew your family, it was that much harder for you to overcome the stares that would be directed your way as soon as you set foot into it and, to be honest, you weren’t ready just yet to do that. 

You are not someone that is afraid to confront anyone who might step in your way, but you are a person that is extremely uncomfortable when being put in situations you’ve never dealt with. When put even more weight on your shoulders was your personality that sometimes didn’t let you live the way you wanted to, making it harder to do anything at one point. The fear of other people’s judgment was high to the point where you wanted to turn back time at every decision you made that resulted in being the talk of someone’s conversation even if it just was between your family. Being judged was always the thing you hated the most when you were the one talked about. Your personality that sometimes didn’t let you live the way you wanted to, making it harder to do anything at one point. The fear of other people’s judgment was high to the point where you wanted to turn back time at every decision you made that resulted in being the talk of someone’s conversation even if it just was between your family. Being judged was always the thing you hated the most when you were the one talked about.

These past two days you didn’t make an effort to climb out of bed deciding to just stay in your room for the time being as you thought that would be the best for everyone until the situation calmed down, only getting out of the warmth of your sheets to grab something to eat or use the restroom. On the third day your mother took it upon herself to get you out of bed and to live again because as she said herself, the world isn’t ending just because your father made it a bit worse. So, today you listened to your mothers’ words and came outside your cave to let the warm spring sun graze your features as the wind was blowing right towards in that instant. To your utter disappointment, your father didn’t make an attempt to check up on your as you hoped.

Breakfast time was quiet as never even with your sisters seated beside you that didn’t make an effort to wish you good morning as you seated yourself right beside your mother. It was weirdly unpleasant having your meal in peace as it usually was as loud as a soccer match around this time, but not today. From the looks of it, your sisters seemed awkward while dining away on their food and neither of them dared to look your way. Why that was you didn’t know, and for some reason, you didn’t want to find out either as it might crush you even more at this point. The lingering silence was broken only when you hear the soft voice that belonged to no one other than your mother.

“I need you to do something for me, _______.” It almost came as a surprise not just to you but to your sisters as well at the sudden request your mother wanted to be fulfilled by you. Upon seeing the surprised looks from her daughters, your mother cleared her throat before continuing. “Are you willing to help me?”

“Of course, mother.” Without much thinking, the words spilled from your lips as if you were just waiting for someone to ask something from you other then your father. All these years you were determined to be at your best in order to help your father as much as possible considering his other two daughters weren’t anywhere near to be able to help him out. Your oldest sister, Donatella, was too deep in her household choirs to even think about giving a helping hand towards your father because she, herself, had a lot of things needing to be done while her husband was at open sea fishing. The second oldest, Crystal, one was also far from being able to help out as she was in her eighth month of pregnancy and was strictly prescribed bed rest to avoid any further complications. It didn’t come as a surprise when the towns main doctor discovered the possibility of complications being in the way of her child’s birth when even your mother had those same problems when she brought her to life. So at any cost, she wanted to avoid anything else going the wrong way for her unborn child which resulted being under her mother’s control until the babies birth.

You wondered who help out your father during these past days when you were the only one wanting to lessen the hard work from his hands while he had still accepted you as his beloved daughter. The situation was out of hand as you slowly realized that he was trying to crush every possibility, any trace of you being his own blood and you couldn’t deny it. You started to really believe that you were a disgrace to this family and that they were in some way cursed to have you as theirs.

Again, just as you were drowning in your own thoughts that seemed to take over your life, the same soft voice broke you out of it making you look in her direction even if you wanted nothing more then to just vanish in thin air.

“I need you to bring over a message to the king, and if it’s possible until night.” Now that was out of the blue and for the first time in what seemed like forever, and a light chuckle escaped your parted lips but it wasn’t out of the amusement but more out of the ridiculousness of her request. How can you possibly present some type of the message to the king himself when you were no person of any meaning to him or his family? His guards wouldn’t probably even think twice before you would be thrown into the castle’s prison for your mere thought that you could step in front of the king yourself and waste his time of some unimportant message that your mother wanted to be delivered. Just when you were about to turn down her request because of the impossibleness of it, she beat you in speed and was cutting you off even before you had the chance of saying a word.

“The confirmation message from Olympus came in yesterday and it said that you could come by the castle today, and if I’m not mistaking you don’t have any plans for today making this the perfect task for you. Besides, a little bit of fresh air your do you just fine as you spend the last few days in that stuffy little room.” You couldn’t argue with her on that because she was completely right about your room situation. Because you are the youngest of the three daughters, you weren’t granted your own room when you were little and had to share it with the second oldest of your sisters. At first, you didn’t mind sharing it with Crystal and actually found amusement in it, but after time had passed and she became old enough to get married, she opted on moving in with her fiancé at that time who is her husband now.

What also made no sense in your mind was that Olympus, the king’s most trusted right-hand man, allowed entrance into the well-guarded castle walls to someone as you. On your way to the castle you tried hard to move like a shadow bringing little to no attention towards yourself as you moved behind your house into the near forest to be in disguise and to avoid being the talk of the town, and now here you were back at the beginning.

After a couple minutes of pondering you still decide to take the same path back as before which will avoid any unwanted and unnecessary conversation between the townspeople. Sooner or later though, the news would go around of your new workplace but you were ready to move on even if you looked like you had not overcome the situation just yet. The only thing mattering now as to fulfill your orders as best as you could in order to keep the said position and you had no intention on letting this opportunity slip. This will be the best solution to show your father where you had made it after he abandoned you. Well, he didn’t say anything in the sense of that but that’s how you translated his actions that were now getting childish.

Let’s make the best out of it.

The Sun was making it’s way to the surface hitting your face right as it peeked from behind the mountains. One thing that made the castle even more beautiful beside the inner interior that gave it an even special touch was its placement at the peak of the mountain right where the Sun would hit it with its lights every morning. It almost made it colored like some Gods palace that you just knew of from the drawings in all the fantasy books you had rad when you were younger and that made you still wonder till this day if it was really like that, if the castles of the most powerful Gods were the same as in the books.

As you stood in the room dedicated to the staff of the castle you couldn’t stop yourself from staring down the women who were preparing most definitely for their day at the castle by the side of someone from the royal family, and to say the least they were incredibly and surely one of the most beautiful girls you’ve ever seen. They themselves seemed like they might be from royal families themselves but the realization of that hit you quickly as it was unlikely for someone from that class to be working in the first place and then as some servant for someone else on top of it. You just settled upon them being from some general families like yourself but with pretty good genes either gifted from their mother’s side or from their representative father, whatever the case might be they still weren’t something you would’ve considered worth working in this place.

It only came even more as a surprise after finding out from one of them that they willingly applied to serve the royal family, some coming from far away lands where they hadn’t the privilege of having a king rule over their lands and then opted to come here. Their faces also showed nothing other than satisfaction whenever they started talking about the king and the rest of his family but what stood out to you the most was the way they chatted away about the oldest son of the king, the person you were assigned to be the servant for. Deciding to keep that piece of information to yourself, one of the head servants made your way towards you most certainly to instruct you on your first day as you didn’t know what even your tasks were.

“______?” You nodded in her direction after finishing putting on your work clothes that were rather fancy than something that would be worn by servants in general. It seems like the king puts much thought in the reputation of his including him choosing these pieces of clothing to the staff but you couldn’t argue that it didn’t suit any of the girls because that would be a lie, the dresses were as if they were specifically made for every girl in the room.

“Follow me.” Not taking a moment to let you think twice she exited the room as soon as she entered it with you lingering behind her as you tried to catch up to her speed. The questions that circled your mind since yesterday wanted to be answered and the curiosity were slowly getting to you as time went by which resulted in your asking them right away as you climbed the stairs to the upper floor.

“What am I required to do?” Some type of nervousness laced with your voice as you asked the question.

“The usual stuff. I assume that you were assigned to the heir?” That came like no surprise to you as it was the talk of time for a while that Jungkook, the oldest son, would be taking the place on the throne after his father. You found yourself nodding at her question realizing that that was indeed what you’ll be doing, standing at Jungkook’s side every day while fulfilling his every wish like it was nothing. “I also assume that you are familiar with the tasks that have to be done?”

Not even waiting for your answer to her previous question, she just continued on talking while quickly showing me what which room was for as you passed by what seemed at least a dozen of them and you weren’t quite trusting yourself in having memorized them all at once. The head servant didn’t look to make sure things were clear to you when she suddenly halted in her steps in front of two doors that you assumed to lead to someone’s chambers. “First task. Wake up the heir.”

“W- wake him u- up?” If you weren’t at terror till this moment then now was the perfect time to freak out because how were you supposed to be the person to disturb his majesty’s sleep this early in the morning when only the Sun had risen merely five minutes ago. After all, wasn’t it too early for someone with that status to be up this early in the morning when he could simply sleep in, even the whole day wouldn’t be enough to sleep in. Noticing just how unused you are to this situation nearly tremble every time the words went through your mind, the head servant took it upon herself to give you at least some type of explanation to the given situation than anything else.

“The king assigned his heir in taking early morning lessons as of today.” For what could he be needing classes this early when even the birds were still nestled in their homes seeking the warmth that still has to come in the day? But you didn’t let that thought occupied you for any longer then it should because that was none of your business, to begin with. “In approximately half an hour his teacher will arrive in the castle. Til then get him through the daily morning schedule and lead him to the West garden. His first lessons will take place there. Make sure he isn’t late.”

With that, she left your side going back the same way the two of you came from and in the blink of an eye she was out of sight leaving you all alone in front of the doors of the said heir who was still slumbering away in dreamland. In the pit of your stomach, you knew that this wasn’t probably the best idea that you were going to make but it had to be done as you became clear instructions on what had to be done. If someone were to burst into your room at this hour, you wouldn’t be pleased to be awakened from your sleep no matter what the occasion of it was and you imagined that the same would go through the heir’s mind at the time you emerged inside his chambers.

When your hand made contact with the doors handles you froze for a moment before opening them slightly and sneaking a peek inside. What you imagined finding wasn’t really what you found. The room was too dark to see more than the floor beneath your feet as you took careful quiet steps inside the chamber as to not wake the sleeping figure that you have yet to figure out as the dark room made it impossible to see beyond. Careful not to hit some furniture that might be in your path you succeeded in making it to the unnecessary big curtains that helped in shielding the room from any form of light to seep inside.

Just when you pulled the curtains apart enough for some light to fill the room light snores cut your actions as they filled your ears one after another. The curiosity of the noises got the best of you resulting in you turning towards the source of sound and there he was, the future heir in all his glory laying peacefully on the sheets of his king sized bed obviously still dreaming away and not reacting to the sunlight that was hitting his face in the most beautiful way.

‘How can I possibly be the one doing this?’ The same question kept popping into your head the moment you lay your eyes upon the sleeping person just mere steps away from you. You studied the way his chest heaved at every breath of air he took indicating the life that was still flowing through his being; the way his soft hair went in different directions from his sleep that you assumed was nothing but exhausting. He must’ve been in hard training if he was this out of energy not even being able to notice your not so quiet presence.

You immediately snapped out from your thoughts as he suddenly flipped over to his side, the blanket that covered his lower half of the body sliding down just a bit revealing his build figure even more to what you reacted in a way any other young girl your age would. Slowly, his eyelids opened revealing his golden brown eyes as they lingered on you from the moment he noticed your presence in front of him. Not being able to turn away from his gaze, you kept your eyes fixed on him, the butterflies in your stomach going crazy as heat rushed to your cheek from embarrassment as the young prince didn’t make an effort to say a word your way.

What you certainly didn’t know was that to him you looked anything but not the servant he was assigned with. From the position you were standing in, in front of those enormous windows, some type of gleaming ray caught his eye. The way the rays of sunlight shone through the made you look like some angel sent to him straight from heaven which was the reason why he couldn’t make himself utter a word and just decided on studying you further in silence.

The same story about those lands was told to every newborn child at their birth, and it was upon the child's nature to decide if it was something to keep remembered in their mind of thrown out of memory. Queens tend to believe in the story with all its backgrounds, where there are the kings that never pay much attention to the nonsense of it. They are simply drawn away from the idea of such lands to be in existence, especially those who traveled through the seven oceans and never found even a piece of truth in those tails.

The queens, on the other hand, more the ones that were true believers in magic, never put the thought of it aside. Not even when some of them were forced under horrible circumstances for their betrayal because it was very unfitted for someone from the royal family to have such beliefs in those lies that most people never minded.

But looking at the towns that were merely populated by all types of marvelers, black magic was more common than a simple stand with exotic fruits. Those towns were mostly on the outer skirts of kingdoms, where some weren't even considered parts of them because they were secluded from having the benefit that the kings provided to their people. With that put in the account, the crime level was the highest.

The Blackshire kingdom was one of the four leads in the world. While its biggest advantage was for sure the markets in Drowny with almost everything to offer from the worldwide markets, it was as equally strong on weapon supplies, with exports to the mainlands, and medicine was highly accepted as it wasn't a common thing to find nearly every remedy for certain illnesses out there. Being even more proud of their own produces since king Loyd brought industrial material to be used for reproduction of various materials, Blackshire was on top of things with its produce.

Being the most powerful kingdom of all, the king never had problems getting what he wanted and at what price. His position made it possible for his people to have the best the world has to offer, but he wasn't exactly someone the people praised. He was too greedy. Nothing was ever enough for him which resulted in declarations of war from his side. The people to which he was the ruler wanted nothing more than to oust him from the throne, but what could mere civilians do against his army of the best-trained knights.

Fear lingered on every step of the way through the kingdom. Fear from being destined to the life under the control of someone who didn't care about the well-being of anyone but his own family; fear of dying a miserable death that was predictable from the very beginning. But none of the worries the people had concerned the king as he was too occupied in planning the destruction of the northern kingdom.

The king wasn't always this careless as now, he once used to be actually a pretty decent ruler. Something began to change after his first child was born. He felt the need to offer only the best of the best to his growing family, they were the only ones he had on his mind at that point and after came his two more children that saw the light of life.

For a long time, people speculated that he might find peace in his loved children and that peace was nearer than was at that point. What everyone didn't know was that he had his own suspicions towards the desires his queen had, and they were completely different from his. That's why he made the decision to keep his means apart from the Queen's sight. As much as he loved her, she shouldn't become the reason for his change of mind and that's what he mustn't let happen. The decision was made but it didn't turn out the way he hoped it would. The queen turns her back to him, only bringing herself to be invested in the lives of her children as much as possible.

Youngest one, Eveline. At the age of sixteen, she was anything but considered young before her brother's eyes. She represented the queen in every way. Her long brown hair was just as soft as wool shining oh so magnificent under the spring sun while she was running away from her brothers. Her eyes were a bright brown shade and mimicked mirrors. A family friend once told her that her eyes represented the beauty she carried all alone, and for the most part that was true. Eveline was a true princess, and not only in her blood but also in her actions.

Hansol, the second oldest, was nothing like Eveline even though they were twins. The only main difference being that he saw the outside world five minutes earlier then Eveline, which fact he mainly used to tease her about him being older even though they were the same age. From their looks only, they were identical. But after spending more time with Hansol, it was quickly understood why the two said that they weren't alike. Hansol was more of the bookworm in his true soul, always being in the company by some new history book his father brought from across the sea. He was really interested in learning everything about the other kingdoms on a planet, and about all the undiscovered lands people wrote about.

The eldest out of them, Jungkook, was nothing like Hansel and Eveline. By his looks, he represented his father in every light. He was tall, masculine; he had that look of determination in his eyes that only the king ever showed when he was certain that something might turn out in his favor. His soft brown hair was the perfect fit for his slightly sun-kissed skin which was the doing of his mother's request. Some would say by the first glance at him that he was just like the king, but what they didn't know was that he was nothing like him. Jungkook was a well-mannered twenty-year-old boy who enjoyed the nature and actually cared about the things happening in the different parts of the kingdom, nothing like his father, the king. With all that, he was also an excellent knight and, after nearly twelve years of hard training, he earned the title of the Black Shadow Knight.

The future of Blackshire kingdom was put alone into the palms of Jungkook, the future heir, because the people already believed that the kingdom was doomed for no good after the many countless wars that broke out, and for all those the king was the only one to blame. His greed couldn't be compared to anything as it was never seen from the king to rule like this over his land, bringing war after war in which countless innocent people gave their lives for the sake of the king's forces but it was getting now questioned what the purpose was.

The same sentence was circling around the upcoming days like some type of spell that black magic would be able to cast upon. There won't be any solution if the king doesn't change his way of thinking and starts acting the way he, as the most powerful person on land, is supposed to.

With that being imprinted in your mind, you sit up in your bed and, firstly, stretched out all your limbs to start the day at least on a good note when the sleep wasn't that great. You turned your legs so that they were hanging from your side of the bed. Putting them down the whole way, you shivered from the cold wood flooring moving quickly to put on your pink slippers before completely standing up.

For some reason, your feet felt heavier this morning than other mornings and you know what the main cause of that was. Lowering your dead, you looked down at your belly from which you couldn't even see your own feet now because you were in your 7th month of pregnancy at this point.

It was a daily thing now that whenever you didn't feel good or had pain in your lower back or your feet, he was always the one you would accuse first. After all, he was the one who talked you into another child so soon. You had other plans and after Taeyong you didn't want to have a baby for a little time, but you knew that Tae desperately wanted another one and did everything just to make you agree to it.

Of course, he succeeded in his administration and made you give in and then it happened, another little human being was forming and slowly starting to grow inside your belly. You were just as happy as him for the new addition to the family that will arrive soon but you also knew that nine months is a long time in which you have to carry it with you.

„Taeyong-ssi.“

In the sweetest and calmest voice, you woke up your six-year-old son every morning. For him, this morning you tried to be as gentle as possible while waking him up while trying hard not to let your lack of sleep get to you and be grumpy, at least not until your son went to school. After that, you'll have the whole day to yourself and then you can fully relax and make the day somewhat enjoyable.

Seemingly not happy about the fact that you just woke him up from a nice sleep, a way nicer than yours as it seems. He showed just how upset he was with you by starting to let his little soul cry out. As soon as he started to cry you felt bad for waking him up in the first place but he needed to get ready for school and you couldn't do anything about that. That was the only thing that can make you forget all of your sorrows and your bad mood would automatically vanish, and that was when your son got upset about something because you simply hated to see him cry, be it your mistake or not.

„Aww, Taeyongiii...“

You sweet talked to him to make him calm down while hugging him and patting him on his little head and back, but it didn't quite work. He started to cling to you and put his arms around the neck in hope of you getting the hint and lifting him in your arms, and you got the hint. There was only one problem. In your current state, you weren't allowed to lift anything heavy as it might lead to some complications in the later pregnancy. But your son was more important than some doctors words and so you put your arms tighter around him, and just as you were about to lift him up, two strong arms came around you in a hug.

„I'll take care of him, baby. You can go and make his breakfast, okay?“

With that, Taehyung gave you a small kiss on your cheek before moving from behind you to take the little boy who seemed to have stopped crying as soon as he saw his father, he lifted him into his arms and kiss him on the cheek too.

„Why are you giving mommy such a hard time, little man?“

He said to him to which he just blinked his eyes never leaving Tae's gaze and tightening his hold on his father's shoulder as if it was his way of apologizing. You just stood there admiring the way he listened to everything Tae said, but you avoided Tae's gaze as soon as he proceeded to look at you. You just turned around on your feet and made your way to the door.

„He has to shower before breakfast because he didn't wanna do it yesterday, and I couldn't bath him. And don't forget to brush his teeth.“

After saying your order, you vanished from his view heading straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and Taeyong's lunch. In the distance, you could hear the water splashing in the bathroom which meant that your son was rather having fun in the bathtub then actually washing up. That also meant that Tae let him have his way even though you gave him clear instructions what had to be done.

„No playing in the bathtub.“

You yelled from your position at the stove as you were frying some eggs, alongside making some sandwiched and toast.

„But we do it all the time, honey.“

That's all you needed to be reminded of the time when you got pregnant with Taeyong and also now with the little baby that's still inside you. It all happened in your bathroom, and not in the bedroom. It must've been destined to become that way and that two times in a row in the same way.

„Just finish getting ready already. And no more playing. For neither one of your.“

After 10 minutes the both of them came into the dining room all ready and dressed, and you were also ready with breakfast by the time they sat at the table. You put Taeyong's plate in front of him. You had prepared his favorite meal, a sandwich filled with ham, tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese. The joy overwashed his features as soon as he saw what you made for him and he dove right into it.

Just as you were about to put a plate in front of Tae, you noticed that he had a black eye. But the part that you didn't understand was where he got it. You knew he didn't drink, so that wasn't an option to think through in the first place. He never got in fights, so that was also out of the way. But what did happen to him then if it wasn't any of those two things? He must've noticed that you were staring at his black eye, well how wouldn't he notice when you came so close to him that you were almost touching his nose with yours.

„Where did you get it“

„You mean the black eye?“ He chuckled like this was some kind of joke that you didn't understand.

„No, I mean the toast. Yes, of course, I mean the black eye. What did you do?“

You let the plate plop down on the table, moving fast to put both of your hands on either side of his face to inspect the black mark even more.

„It's nothing serious, honey. Calm down.“

„I'm not gonna calm down. Not until you tell me who did this to you.“

„But you need to promise me that if I'll tell you that I'll get a kiss afterward cause it really wasn't my fault.“

„First the story.“ Crossing your arms over your chest, you patiently waited for Tae to tell you how this happened.

„All I'm gonna say is that someone in this room has ninja skill and uses them in her dreams too.“

„What?? Taeyong has ninja skills?“ Confused you looked at your son who was anything other than some ninja material as he munched away on his sandwich like the little angel that he is.

„No. You gave me a black eye.“ In disbelief, you stared at him as if he just made the worst joke of all time.

„Me?“

„Yes, you. I think you were fighting of someone because he tried to steal your food. At least that's what I think because you kept yelling in the middle of the night 'Don't touch my pizza you monster, or you wanna have a taste of my ninja skills. Feel my fists.' And that's when you swung your arm and hit me right in the left eye making this appear.“

„That was a dream!? I thought that that bear was stealing my pizza for real. Thank god this wasn't real.“

„And what about my black eye?“ Tae pouted while still pointing at the noticeable black spot around his eye.

„I'll heal you.“

You brought him into a tight hug, to which he replied with putting his arms around your waist and pulling you down so that you were now sitting in his lap. You giggled to yourself and proceded to kiss his left eye just in the right spots and he was massaging your belly in comfort.

„You could have those types of dreams more often, you know?“