Jimin sighed as he watched the many servants around him. Each of them seemed to be extra nervous, most likely due to his and his brother's presence.
Namjoon had decided that Jimin, Jin and Taehyung would be in charge of decorations for the spring ball, which meant that they had to chaperone the people bustling about.
While Jimin and Jin were quite excited over the prospect of finally being able to do things their way, Taehyung seemed more bored than ever. He was lounging in a chair across the room, blocking a stack of boxes from a shy servant who seemed to be struggling to find the courage to ask him to move.
Jimin shook his head and took a deep breath, before he made his way over to them. "Tae. Get up." He said roughly.
Taehyung glanced up at his elder brother, before rolling his eyes. "Come on, Jimin. You already know that I'm not fit for this task. Just let me sit here, out of the way." He grumbled.
Jimin shook his head and yanked the taller boy up. "But you are in the way." Jimin said, irritated. He snapped his fingers at the shy servant, gesturing to the boxes that he had needed to get to. The servant bowed quickly before grabbing them and rushing off.
"I get that you're still feeling moody over the wedding, but we all are." Jimin snapped quietly, staring his brother down. "The spring ball still needs to be taken care of, which means you need to get off of your lazy butt and start helping."
Tae rolled his shoulders and clenched his jaw, avoiding Jimin's heated gaze. He was taller than him, but Jimin's rage could easily outmatch his if he made him mad enough, and he wasn't emotionally ready enough to handle it.
"Fine." Taehyung grunted, waving his hand at Jimin. "But don't be mad when things go wrong and Namjoon is up your ass about it."
Jimin rolled his eyes. "It's not that hard to put table-clothes on tables." He said, pointing towards a group of maids. "They're setting up the tables, and then you can put the table-clothes on. You'll put the green on half of the room, and then pink on the other. Understand?"
Taehyung groaned audibly before nodding. Jimin huffed and pushed him towards the group of maids. "And don't be mean to them. We can't have any maids running off right now when we need all of the hands that we can get."
Taehyung snorted. "As long as they don't piss me off, they'll be fine." He muttered. He left no room for Jimin to respond as he spun on his heel and began to stalk towards the small group of girls.
Jimin rubbed his face harshly in exasperation. "The things I would do to make him less obnoxious." Jimin groaned to himself, before he made his way over to Jin, who was directing a few of the servants that were hanging the new curtains.
"Jin, hows it going over here?" Jimin asked, staring up at the sheer, embroidered curtains. The flowering vines that were sewn into the fabric shimmered in the light, and accented the real flowers that surrounded them on both sides of the balconies.
"Everything's fine...for now. I heard you and Taehyung arguing." Jin said, his attention not fully on his younger brother. "Hey, you." He said, snapping his finger at a young boy who was standing nearby. "Make yourself useful and begin lining the bottom of the walls with those flowers."
"He's being annoying and sulky." Jimin muttered, shooting a glance over at Taehyung. The maids were keeping a distance from him, and even from where Jimin was standing, he could tell that the poor girls were shaking.
"Well, when is he not?" Jin asked, finally turning to face Jimin. "Just have him finish the table-clothes. By then, we should be done. Then he can go hide in his room like a baby until the ball begins."
Jimin sighed. "Alright. I'm going to finish with the furniture. Let me know when this is finished." He said, waving his hand at the servants who were still attempting to drape the curtains in the exact way that Jin had wanted.
Jin nodded and turned back to his task, clapping his hands as he corrected the servants again.
Jimin made his way back over to his corner, where there was still a row of furniture that needed to be pushed into their designated locations. He waved his hand at two of the decorators who were standing nearby. "Help me with this." He ordered.
They obeyed immediately, rushing over to begin grabbing sofa's and side tables. Jimin grabbed a particularly heavy sage green sofa and began to yank it towards another corner of the room, grunting at the weight.
He caught Taehyung's eye as he did so, and nearly snapped again when his younger brother mockingly laughed at him and the noises he was making. Jimin bit his tongue however, and continued on his mission.
In no time, he finished his task. So did Taehyung and Jin. As the servants began to clear out of the ballroom, Jin and Taehyung joined Jimin in the very middle.
When they were finally alone, Jimin spoke. "I remember the winter ball." He said quietly, staring at the balcony through the open windows. A soft spring breeze was flowing in, bringing with it the smell of flowers and grass.
"I had tried to get Hoseok's attention, but he had been speaking with a maid and didn't seem very inclined to part with her." He continued, smiling softly. "He had been talking to Y/N, and I had called her an 'it'."
Jin looked over at his younger brother, eyes soft. "I remember, you told me about it." He said. "You had told me that you were almost scared of the rage that Hoseok had been radiating after you had disrupted them."
Jimin nodded and laughed. "Yes, he was livid. Now that I think back on it, I'd be too." He murmured. "I wish that I had felt the connection that night. I feel as though if we had all realized it sooner, nothing bad would have happened."
"Nothing bad?" Taehyung asked, looking down at Jimin. "Taking care of mother and father was a pretty great thing to me."
Jimin shook his head. "I'm not talking about that." He said. "I'm talking about Y/N trying to run away. About her not trusting us and losing a finger."
Jin placed a hand on Jimin's shoulder. "I understand. If we had all felt the connection sooner, we could have done a better job of not scaring her off...probably." He said, squeezing gently. "But what's done is done. There's no use in dwelling on the past. Let's just continue to push forward. It seems as though Y/N is beginning to come around, anyways."
Jimin and Taehyung nodded, turning their attention back to the open window. "Sorry for snapping so much." Jimin mumbled.
Taehyung was silent for a moment, before he sighed. "Me too."
Jin smiled beside them and crossed his arms lightly. "I might have been a bit rough too...Let's be better. Alright?"
"Alright."
***
You clung tightly to Namjoon's arm, not just because you were alarmed by the sheer amount of people surrounding you, but also because you knew that it fueled his ego.
The spring ball had just begun, and you were the center of attention. The Kings bride, the new Queen. The title felt strange to think of, but you knew that it wouldn't be yours for long.
The golden crown sitting on top of your head felt heavier than a boulder, and you wanted to rip it off and throw it across the room.
"Are you alright?" Namjoon asked, staring down at you in concern. You looked up at him, and felt a short pang of guilt. You were about to finally kick off your plan to kill the man, and he was here, staring down at you like you were the best thing in this world.
You steadied yourself, before putting on your best puppy-eyes. "Y-yes. Just a bit overwhelmed." You said softly. "I knew there would be a decent amount of people here, I just didn't expect them all to be looking at me."
Namjoon laughed lightly. "Well, of course they're looking at you. You're beautiful." He said, leaning down to kiss your forehead. Your mind jolted back to your wedding night. Your face grew red as you remembered the lewd scene.
And you actually let yourself enjoy it. You angrily thought to yourself. You pushed down your feelings before they got out of hand, and looked away from Namjoon. "Oh, please..." You murmured shyly.
"Your Highness." A voice said from behind you. You both spun around and came face to face with Jungkook. At the sight of the youngest prince, your heart felt a bit lighter.
"Jungkook, hello." You said softly, giving him a friendly smile. That simple action made him beam. "There is a group of girls that look like they want to dance with you, why don't you ask one of them? The music will be beginning soon."
His smile fell. "I want to dance with y-" He was cut off sharply by Jin, who had approached him from behind.
"That sounds like a fantastic idea." He said loudly, a perfect smile on his face. Then, he leaned down. "We're in front of everyone, so act your part." He murmured gently.
Jungkook looked as though he wanted to argue, but a sharp look from Namjoon had him swallowing whatever words he had. He nodded and put on a half-smile.
You gave Jungkook a kind smile. You needed to keep him on your side, and a Jungkook who was happy with you was a Jungkook that could help fuel your plan in the right direction.
"Maybe after Namjoon and I are done dancing, we could share a dance together?" You suggested softly, stroking Namjoon's arm. "As brother-in-law and sister-in-law of course." You added a bit louder.
Namjoon nodded. "Yes, that sounds fine to me." He said, nodding towards his youngest brother. "In the meantime, why don't you ask Lady Elizabeth to dance?"
Jungkook glanced over to the young woman who was practically vibrating with excitement after hearing her name being uttered from the King's lips. He sighed softly, before nodding and walking over to her.
Jin hummed in satisfaction, before turning his attention back to you and Namjoon. "I'll leave you two to share your first dance of the night." He said, his eyes lingering on you for a moment longer before he bowed and backed away.
The brothers had been acting a bit more civil since you had agreed to marry Namjoon. They had visited you as much as they could in your room, sparing no affection towards you whenever they could get away from members of the court.
But the second they were in front of someone of importance, they were right back to being stiff and informal. You preferred it that way. It made things so much easier for you, not having to keep up your facade as much.
Due to your Ladies following you everywhere when they got the chance, the other princes couldn't approach you nearly as often as they could before.
Namjoon broke you from your thoughts when he pulled his arm from your grasp, and instead held your hand tightly. "Let's move to the center. That's where the King and Queen share their dance." He said softly.
You nodded in agreement, giving him another light smile. As you moved to your position, you caught the eye of Princess Anne-Marie. She nodded ever so slightly at you, and you could tell that the pleased look on her face was for you. You were acting your part perfectly.
You didn't risk nodding back at her. The last thing you needed was for the princes to catch on and ruin your plan again.
Slowly, the princes formed a loose circle around you with their partners. You hated to admit it, but they all looked stunning. Maybe in another life, if they had been less psycho, would you have allowed yourself to fall in love with them.
When they took their positions, the higher ranking members of the court took their positions. Then, the lower members. When everyone was settled in and ready, the music began.
A small orchestra struck up a beautiful melody, one that truly represented what spring should sound like. Along with the smells of the flowers, which was drifting towards you thanks to the breeze from the open windows, you felt as though you were in a different world from what the palace had felt like before.
You felt relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever, and you managed to only make one mistake in the dance that you had rehearsed only two nights before. You glided around the ballroom, all eyes glued to you and Namjoon as you waltzed together for what felt like hours.
Finally, the song ended. It took you a moment to come back to the present, your body loose and your spirits surprisingly high...or at least, a little higher than the week before.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Namjoon asked, fondness lacing his deep voice. He stared down at you, his eyes shining with happiness. You smiled lightly and rested your head against his chest.
"Of course. I'm happy right now." You murmured. Namjoon squeezed your hand. You knew without a doubt that if you hadn't been wearing a crown, then he would have kissed the top of your head. He seemed to be quite fond of doing that.
"I hate to interrupt." A deep voice said from behind Namjoon. You pulled away from him, already knowing who the voice belonged to. "I simply wanted to say that you both make a beautiful couple."
Namjoon turned and gave a respectful nod to Prince Atheed. "Thank you." He murmured, a formal smile on his face. "I'm lucky to have her." He said, placing a hand on the small of your back.
Atheed returned the formal smile. "I wanted to make an offer to you, your highness." He said. Namjoon's eyebrows raised slightly, and he hummed in interest. Atheed took this as his sign to continue. "I wanted to invite you and your brothers to Caidal."
Your heart began to beat faster. The final bits of the plan were starting. Hope was soaring in your heart as you looked up at Namjoon. Just as quickly as that hope spread through your chest, it was crumbling into dust.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Namjoon said. "When was the last time that a King from Erydia traveled to Caidal's palace?" He asked.
Atheed smiled and looked down at the floor for a moment, no doubt thinking. Then, he raised his head again. "Yes, it has been quite a while...which is why I think you should come. I came to Erydia, did I not?"
Namjoon sighed. Before he could counter, Atheed was speaking again. "I think that it would further strengthen the reformed relationship between our Kingdoms. Don't you agree?"
"My love, I think that this is a good idea." You murmured to him. Namjoon looked down at you for a moment, thinking. Then, he sighed again.
"You want me to leave my kingdom after I just became King? Don't you think that would be a bit risky?" He asked.
Atheed nodded. "Yes...it sounds a bit bad. But you trust your royal advisor, don't you? It would only be a week. Surely that wouldn't be too much of a strain for you and your advisor?"
Namjoon looked back down to you, and you nodded slightly. "Please?" You said softly. "I would love to see Caidal...and I'm sure you would love it to. Think of it has a honeymoon?"
At the mention of 'honeymoon', Namjoon's cheeks became a light shade of pink. He huffed, half in amusement, before he turned to Atheed again. "Alright. Give me the details over dinner." He said.
And just like that, your hope was restored.