The grand halls of the Asteria Dukedom Palace, bathed in the golden hues of the early morning sun, were alive with a bustle unlike any other day.
Today marked the coronation of Jennie Ruby Jane, not only as the Duchess of Asteria but also as the first female commander of an army under the Valorian Empire, and the first sorceress to achieve such an esteemed position.
As Jennie stood before the grand mirror in her chamber, she adjusted the intricate crown adorned with the stones that symbolised Asteria.
Her eyes darted out the window where she could immediately see the hundreds of civilians; commoners cheering on the ceremony as the nobles entered the banquet hall.
In a perfect world, she would've been able to accommodate every soul that turned up to support her. But this wasn't a perfect world, and the Dukedom's palace wasn't nearly as grand as the imperial palace and could only sustain a hundred or so attendees.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door, followed by the entrance of her closest friends and allies: Jisoo, Jungkook, and Seokjin.
"Looking every bit the Duchess, Jennie," Jisoo commented with a proud smile, her eyes reflecting her happiness for her soulmate.
Jennie smiled, turning around from her vanity as she dismissed her wait staff and lady-in-waiting, allowing for some privacy for the trio.
"Do I really look alright?" She asked nervously as Jisoo approached closer, leaning against one of the arm chairs.
"You look beautiful Jane." Jisoo replied earnestly as Jennie turned back to her mirror.
She bore a breathtaking royal blue ballgown, its rich and crystal adorned fabric cascading to the floor in layers of luxurious satin and delicate lace.
The centerpiece of her ensemble is an elegant headdress, crafted from fine silver, crystals, and Valorian blue gemstones to match the gown's grandeur.
Jennie felt the only way to match the grandeur of the event was to wear a piece that reflected the grandeur of Asteria's history.
Jungkook, ever the tease, added, "And here I thought you'd show up in armor. You clean up nice, general." He emphasised, truly embracing the pesky younger sibling act the best he could.
"Ignore him, you look good Jennie. Perfect way to shut those nobles' rumours up." Jin smiled, stealing a piece of chocolate from the snack tray that had been set up previously.
"Has the Duke visited you already?" Jisoo asked as Jennie turned back, nodding.
"He was the first to come. Pretended not to shed a tear as well. Right now he's making sure all the guests are situated and not making life any harder than it needs to be, especially for today." She smiled, shrugging despite the warmth in her tone.
"I can't believe he's the same man who recovered Besmouth a couple years ago." Jin added as he too noticed the versatility of the Duke when it came to his one and only granddaughter.
"He's...a bit of a challenge." Jennie smiled, leaning down as she fiddled to fix the strap of her white and pearl adorned heel.
"Much less of a challenge than any of our parents." Jisoo muttered as Jennie smiled, catching the tone of annoyance.
"I second that. I need to run an obstacle course in my manor every day to avoid being caught as I go out. I do not want an unnecessary fight with my parents first thing in the morning." Jungkook groaned.
"I don't know if you or your hypothetical spouse is the lucky one that you've not been arranged into a marriage yet." Jennie remarked as Jisoo chuckled, seemingly agreeing with tho her.
"I don't know why you never get roped into the marriage tease. You're yet to be arranged too." He refuted as Jennie shrugged.
"I'm the general of an army and will be a duchess within the hour. My current successor is already named and my grandfather would likely slaughter any man who steps too close to me. I've no need to enter another house or enter a diplomatic marriage, so I'm free." Jennie explained as she leant against her vanity.
"You've accomplished nothing more than becoming an occupational playboy whose siblings have already entered into other houses. You haven't gotten the marriage waver." She continued, shrugging at the end as Jungkook looked to Jin for help, who only tilted his glass with a helpless smile.
"Whoever is calling you the light of the empire, or the angel of the empire, needs to have their tongue cut off. You're nothing more than a rude heathen!" He exclaimed, finger jutting at her accusatorially.
Jennie sarcastically smiled as she flattened her palm against her chest, "What? Me? I could never."
"I re-" Jungkook attempted to dig back as a knock on the door, followed by a brief message from Charlotte of the full hall, let them recognise the time.
"We should get going then, right?" Jin asked, as she nodded.
"I think so. The crowd seems to have died down." She marked, letting her eyes wander outside the window.
"We'll get going first then. Just wanted to check in on you before we headed in." Jisoo smiled as Jennie nodded, comforted by the fact that they'd made the time to visit her despite the hectic schedule of the ceremony.
The ceremony was to take place in the palace's grandest hall, a space now transformed with banners of Asteria and the empire.
Nobles, dignitaries, and military officers from across the empire filled the seats, a testament to Asteria's widespread influence respect and the historic nature of her coronation.
As Jennie made her way to the hall, her path intersected with Taehyung's.
Their eyes met, a silent exchange of respect and unresolved feelings passing between them.
"Lady Jane," Taehyung began, his voice carrying a mix of official formality and personal concern, "or should I say future Duchess Jane." He remarked as he took her in.
Jennie was...the definition of a raven haired beauty.
Her hair was dark like the moonlight, her beauty mysterious and cold, yet somehow always warming the person she stood next to.
He couldn't take his eyes off of her, not even when his secretary attempted at catching his attention.
"Your royal highness." Jennie greeted with a subtle curtsy, her head bowed in a form of respect.
"Know that you have my utmost respect... and support." He ended as Jennie looked back up with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for the honour." She remarked in response.
"The honour is mine to have a formidable officer like yourself leading our finest command of the empire." He replied with the same high society chatter.
"I will leave you to the ceremony, then." He added quickly before she could get a word in and promptly turned, finally giving in to his secretary's perseverant efforts to guide him to the banquet hall before Jennie's entrance.
"Thank you." Jennie swiftly ended before he left her vicinity, his subtle nod letting her know he heard him.
"What was that?" Charlotte gave her a side glance with blatant suspicion towards what she'd just witnessed.
"What was what?" Jennie asked, continuing to walk to make up for the delay in their schedule.
"That entire thing, with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Charlotte made a move with her hands as if to emphasise the peculiarity of the situation.
"Charlotte..." Jennie warned, her eyes darting to the staff beside them to deliver the silent message that they should avoid unnecessary rumours, especially from her party.
Charlotte, successfully taking the hint, dropped it and refocused her attention on arriving to the hall.
The coronation ceremony began with the ancient rites of the Dukedom of Asteria, led by the high priestess of the sorceress order.
Jennie knelt at the altar, her voice clear as she recited the oaths of her ancestors, pledging to uphold the values and responsibilities of her title.
As the crown was placed upon her head, the weight of it couldn't even begin to mirror the roles she knew she'd be taking on.
Her lady-in-waiting and another staff helped her stand back up from the altar, her eyes immediately clashing with her grandfather's, who couldn't help but stare down at her with a proud grin upon his face.
Following the traditional rites, Jennie addressed the banquet, her speech rehearsed a thousand times over the days, months even, preparing for this very moment.
"Today, we stand at the precipice of change. As your Duchess and General, I pledge to lead with courage, wisdom, and compassion. Together, we will forge a path of prosperity and peace for Asteria and the Valorian Empire." She spoke, her eyes darting around the entire room all at once.
The ceremony concluded with the cheers and applause of those gathered, a collective praise for her new role and leadership.
At the celebratory feast that followed, Jennie found herself surrounded by her friends, their banter and laughter a welcome exit from the torturous formalities of tight lipped chatter.
As the night drew to a close, Jennie stepped onto a balcony overlooking the palace gardens, the moon casting a serene glow over the landscape.
She felt a sense of nostalgia from the other night, the one with Taehyung.
Sighing, she twirled the glass of white wine in her hands as her back leant against the railing, her eyes cast down into the ballroom.
The minute her eyes laid on Taehyung being surrounded by the empires finest women, and his official marriage candidates, she knew her path with Taehyung had best be nothing more than a brisk memory.
Downing the rest of her glass, she sighed before marching back inside to spend the remainder of the night building allies and proving herself to a room of filled with various people who wished for nothing more than her downfall.
And downfall was the last thing she'd let happen.
———
Taehyung sighed in his study, rolling his head to work out the kinks from being perched at his desk for the last 5 hours.
It was already past noon, the afternoon sun high in the sky as he stared at the mountain of papers awaiting his signature.
"How is the agricultural plant coming in Dherain?" He questioned his secretary, eyes finding him at the conversation table as he hunched over the newer files, sorting them into two groups of needed to be reviewed and not needed to be reviewed.
"It's processing. One of the fighters has been called to break down an older stone dam. It's too unstable for us to send workers on to it when it can be finished with one hit from the sorcerer." The secretary, Liam, answered as he paused his scramble.
Taehyung hummed in response, his eyes fixating on the garden outside.
The Dahlia's had just begin to set in, the entire front lawn a myriad of pinks and purples.
As Taehyung's attention lingered on the garden's hues, the sound of brisk footsteps approaching his office door pulled him back into the present.
He straightened in his chair, instinctively smoothing out the front of his linen shirt as the door pounded with a series of knocks before revealing one of the royal guards.
"Her excellence, the Duchess Jane of Asteria has arrived." He announced, not used to this as it was his first time ever.
Taehyung simply nodded as his secretary fixed himself the best he could.
The swung open to reveal Jennie, dressed in her military uniform with the emblem of the Asteria Dukedom and the rank pin prominently displayed on the front of her formal frock coat.
Her gaze, sharp and assessing, briefly met Taehyung's before she offered a formal bow, "Your Royal Highness."
"Duchess," Taehyung acknowledged with a nod, his voice devoid of the warmth he felt blooming inside him at the sight of her. "I trust your journey here was uneventful?"
"As uneventful as can be expected in these times, Your Highness," Jennie replied, maintaining the formal distance as she stood at the front of his desk.
"Welcome, Your Excellence Duchess Jane." A voice greeted her as she spotted his secretary once more, offering a formal nod to dismiss his respectful bow.
"Lovely to see you, Sir Liam." She politely smiled before turning back to face Taehyung.
The underlying tension was palpable, the heavy tension almost suffocating the room and the pair, who seemed to be the only ones witnessing the strange pull between the two.
"I was just discussing the progress of the agricultural plant in Dherain with my secretary. It seems we may soon require your expertise in sending a fighter to deal with an unstable dam threatening the project," Taehyung ventured, steering the conversation towards state matters, an attempt to ease the tension.
Jennie's expression shifted, "I've heard of the situation. I'd recommend Drax. He's within the vicinity too. Safety is most important, and if magic can offer a solution, I will ensure it is utilized effectively," She replied, too business like and too immediate for his liking.
But what could he say? She was here for business, and she was a part of the army.
Bluntness should've have been the first thing he expected.
"Thank you. I'll trust it to you then," Taehyung replied, still maintaining eye contact with her.
"Have you seen the entire palace yet?" He asked suddenly, surprised at himself for being the one to initiate small talk.
This wasn't lost of Liam either, who was eyeing the pair with a curious gleam before abruptly turning away when Taehyung's glare landed at him.
"I did on the Banquet day. Jiso-, Lady Isadora had shown me around." She answered, unsure of how close the Crown Prince was to her childhood friends.
"Isadora, too explorative for her own good." He commented, confirming her prediction when he still chose to address her by her public name.
"It's her innate talent." Jennie smiled lightly, for the first time since she'd stepped foot into his study.
That brief smile, fleeting as it was, sparked something in Taehyung, a glimpse of warmth beneath the frost of formality.
"Indeed, it is," he acknowledged, allowing a small smile of his own to grace his features momentarily, surprising Liam enough to nearly paralyse him from shock.
The Crown Prince was currently smiling? Voluntarily? To a female?
He considered writing a note to add to a historical archive because he was so sure it was a historic event.
Who was he kidding, he definitely wrote that note.
The room seemed a bit less tense, the air lighter, even if just for a breath.
"I suppose, as my personal guard, you'll be spending a significant amount of time here in the palace. If there's anything specific you need, let Liam know," Taehyung offered, shifting ever so slightly to a more hospitable tone, an olive branch of sorts amidst their professional standoff.
Jennie nodded, her posture relaxing just a tad. "Thank you, Your Highness. I appreciate your concern," she responded, her voice softer.
"Taehyung." He interrupted as she frowned, looking up with a confused expression on his face.
Liam simply let his jaw hang, not knowing who had replaced the Crown Prince with the imposter here before him.
One look from Taehyung also made him realise that unwillingly enough, this was the right time to leave.
"Sorry?" Jennie questioned as the doors closed, unsure of what she heard.
"I told you to stop with the formalities. And I've known you for a while. Just call me Taehyung." He stated as he picked up his pen once more, turning to sigh a document.
"I-I could never. You're the Crown Prince?!" She scrambled, the shock evident in her panicked voice.
"You had no problem calling me Taehyung when we were children?" He questioned, slightly confused why she was panicking so much.
Jennie muddled her thoughts. "Well, of course! We were children! You allowed every other child to call you Taehyung as a child! Things ch-"
"Only you." He interrupted her as she blinked at him once more.
"Huh?" She paused.
"Only you called me Taehyung. No one else."
There was a brief pause, a silent acknowledgment of the shift in their interaction, before Jennie steered the conversation back to matters at hand.
"Why?" She found herself asking before she could even stop herself.
"I don't know. We were children. You pestered me a lot." He shrugged, flipping over a page as if this were the most casual conversation ever.
"Whatever it is. Call me Taehyung. If you need that much convincing, take it as an order. I plan on fully calling you Jennie, for your information." He quickly conveyed as Jennie sighed, smoothing the skirt of her coat as she recovered from the unusual interaction.
Jennie stood there, processing the unexpected turn their conversation had taken.
The notion that she, of all people, was granted such a personal concession from the Crown Prince himself was baffling.
"Very well, Tae—Your Highness," she started, then corrected herself with a hesitant compromise, "Taehyung."
The name felt unfamiliar on her tongue, weighted with a history she'd thought was left behind in their childhood.
Taehyung looked up from his paperwork, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Thank you, Jennie," he said, emphasizing her name as if to tease her unexpectedly endearing shyness.
. Jennie, still standing rigidly, allowed herself a moment to adjust to the new terms of their interaction. "If that is your wish, I will respect it... Taehyung," she affirmed, her voice steadying with each syllable.
"Good," Taehyung replied, a softness in his tone that had been absent before.
He then glanced back down at his documents, signaling the end of their personal exchange and the return to formality. "If there's nothing else, you should probably get started on assessing the dam situation. We need to send a dispatch within the next two hours."
"Of course," Jennie responded, the commander in her taking over once more.
"I'll organize a reconnaissance immediately and coordinate with Drax as advised. You'll have a report by the next hour."
As she turned to leave, Taehyung's voice stopped her. "Jennie," he said, causing her to pause and look back. "Be careful. I know you're more than capable, but the dam is unstable. We can't afford any mishaps."
"I will. Thank you," she replied, allowing herself a small smile before exiting the room.
Once alone, Taehyung let out a long sigh, leaning back in his chair.
Their meeting had taken an unexpected turn, having him act in ways he'd otherwise thought he was incapable of.
Liam, having discreetly returned to the room, couldn't help but notice the contemplative look on Taehyung's face. "Everything alright, Your Royal Highness?"
Taehyung glanced up, a mask of control falling back into place. "Yes, Liam. Everything is as it should be," he replied, though his gaze drifted momentarily towards the door Jennie had exited through.
For now, duty called, and both Taehyung and Jennie had roles to fulfill.
But the brief encounter couldn't help but have him wondering- what's next? Is there something more? Why her?
All questions he had no answers to.
———
AN: These are AI concept images of Jennie's coronation ballgown and look + her military uniform. Not fully accurate but helps visualise it better.
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