Minho could not sleep that night. He had never really thought about getting married, but he certainly didn't think that he'd feel like this the night before his wedding day. This was supposed to be happy and full of joy and instead, Minho felt like he wanted to throw up.
"Mom... Dad..." Minho stared up at the top of the room at the wooden roof. "What am I doing here? Why is Minhyuk making me do this?" he bitterly clenched his jaw. Minhyuk wasn't even married! Why was he making him marry some foreign prince? It was ridiculous!
Minho eventually fell into a light sleep, only to be woken a few hours later by Yongbok. "Wake up, cousin," he murmured quietly. "You have to get ready."
Minho frowned up at him with blurry eyes. "Hm?"
"Time to get up!" Min-hyung ran into the room and jumped on his brother. "Wake up!"
"I'm awake!" Minho cried, throwing the blankets off. He sat up as his sister made her way into the room, followed by a long line of servants. "Time to get ready!" she smiled softly at him with slight sympathy. "You ready?"
Minho blinked, and then nodded. "Today is the big day..."
Across the way, Princess Jeongyeon was waking her cousin up as well. "Prince Jisung... Jisung... Wake up!" she hunched over her stomach, now swelling with a growing baby. "Jisung, you have to get up."
Jisung was already awake and laying silently within his bed and Jeongyeon looked at him, and backed away. "I'll get water started in the bath. Make sure you get up soon. After you bathe, there will be people waiting here to dress you. New hanboks, you'll look great."
Jisung gripped his cousin's hand. "Did Minho decide whether to open the wedding up to the public?"
"It's public for the most part. There were stands erected for the nobles and the public could crowd into the sides."
"Okay," Jisung murmured. He stood up and adjusted the white night gown he was wearing.
Master Kang was waiting outside his room. They looked at each other for a moment before Jisung blinked and walked at the master's side.
"Are you ready?" Master Kang said quietly, trying not to wake everyone else in the palace, even though almost everyone was almost up. "You don't look like you slept well."
"I didn't sleep well. And it's not a choice of mine, is it?" Jisung turned and stared at Master Kang, who sighed.
"It is not," Master Kang didn't even turn to look at the young prince.
"Is there something that you are not telling me about this deal?" Jisung demanded, stopping his walk with the man that he raised him like a father.
"Yes," Master Kang said bluntly. "But it doesn't matter now that everything is coming together like we planned."
"Who is we?"
"Me, your parents, Minho's older brother. Like we all planned."
"So all of you were totally dooming me to live a life tied with a man I want nothing to do with?"
"Yes."
Jisung glared at him and stalked away. "I'll see you at the wedding," Jisung hissed as he made his way into the bathroom where warm water had been prepared for him.
He stripped himself of the white night gown he had and stepped into the warm water, sinking against the wooden bench. "Ah...." he sighed, leaning his head back. "This is the worst."
Minho was having the same dilemma. He stood stiffly as servants ran around with silks and made him look like a stuffed monkey.
"This is the last layer," Ji-eun laughed as the last red and gold layer of silk went around his shoulders. "Do we have the belt?"
"Here!" cried a servant. The square belt was placed around his waist. Around his tied-up hair, a black cap was set. He groaned and looked up at the cap. "Why am I wearing this?"
"You're both going to have to wear it," Ji-eun muttered as she walked around him. "Do we have the gold cuffs?" she looked around his neck. "Hm? What is this?"
"Oh..." Minho smiled gently. "Min-hyung gave that to me before I left, remember?"
"Yes, yes. Do you have to wear it though?"
"Yes."
"Fine," Minho looked down at his robes. "Is it done?"
"Yes. Done," Ji-eun smiled sadly. "Your Mom and Dad would love to see this."
"Jihoon?" Min-hyung yelled down the hall. "Are you dressed?"
"We're ready!" Jihoon shouted back, dragging Lee Yongjae with him.
"Wow..." Min-hyung grinned at his brother and went to slap Minho's back. "You look great, man! So handsome, just like me!"
"Right, right," Ji-eun ushered him out of the room. "Let's give our handsome prince some room so he can have some time to himself."
"Okay! See you later, Minho!" Min-hyung cried as he was dragged out of the room.
"Yeah," Minho sighed as everyone filed out of the room. "See you later.."
~oOo~
King Lee Minhyuk panted as he pushed his horse even faster. He jumped over fallen logs and through the dense forest. "Where is the entrance?" he cried.
His guide took the lead. "Let's go through the tunnel down here," they turned around a huge stone and into the tunnel. The horses ran through the dark, snorting at each other as they were pushed faster by their riders.
They burst out of the tunnel to find the breathtaking landscape. They were in too much of a rush to stop. "Come on, boy!" Minhyuk muttered as he pressed himself closer to his horse's neck. "Faster!"
They ran through the green land, the gates of the capitol ahead of them.
The doors opened up for them and the group of Lee men crashed into the capitol, thundering through the capitol. "We're going to miss it!"
"No, we're not!" the guide halted in front of an inn. "Im Jaebum! Im Jaebum!"
A tall, handsome man ran out of the inn, two other men at his side. "We need a horse, fast!" the guide shouted.
"Um, Yugyeom... you know that we're closed today right," the shortest of the three men asked hesitantly. "The royal wedding is today. We don't do business today. We're about to head to the wedding."
The guide sighed. "Choi Youngjae. This is the king of the Lee Province. We need your faster horse!"
The three men glanced at each other, and then bowed. "King, come with me."
Minhyuk leapt off his tired horse and rushed after him. "What is your name?"
"My name? I'm Park Jinyoung, Your Majesty. You may take my horse and get there faster. We'll take care of your horses and men here. I'll bring you to the palace. I'm a friend of Crown Prince Han Jisung."
"Alright. But we have to hurry!"
Park Jinyoung raced to get his horse with a saddle and handed the reins to Minhyuk. "You take this. Wait for me outside," he rushed back in to saddle another horse before rushing to meet the waiting king.
"Be careful!" Choi Youngjae cried. "There may be riots near the palace!"
"We'll be fine!" Park Jinyoung yelled. The two young men took off out of the inn faster than before on new horses. Jinyoung guided them towards the outside of the capitol. "We have to go faster," Jinyoung yelled. "Open the door!"
"Master Park!" shouted the guard at the door. "We have to first-"
"Now!" Park Jinyoung yelled, his horse rearing up.
The door banged open and Minhyuk raced through it with Park Jinyoung behind him. They ran through the forest. "There will be another tunnel up in front of us," Jinyoung panted. "We have to get through that but there are a lot of guards."
The forest began to thin out in front of them to reveal a cave.
"Through there!" he yelled. "Make way!"
"Halt!" a tall man with a long hanbok and cape stood in front of the gate. "Jinyoung?"
"Namjoon!" Jinyoung jumped down and ran to the Captain's side. "This is Prince Minho's brother. He's here for the wedding."
"I was not informed that the king was coming," Namjoon murmured. "Is there something wrong?"
"I wasn't going to come," Minhyuk murmured. "But I changed my mind. I should be here for my brother."
The captain nodded. "I believe you will find that your brother needs your support around this time," he muttered, before turning to the other guards at the gate. "Open it up and get Master Seo and Princess Jeongyeon out here. And get General Kim and General Jeon out here as well."
"Yes," the gate slowly creaked open and Minhyuk raced through, jumping off his horse.
"King Lee!" Princess Jeongyeon raced out front, her hanbok and hair finished. "We're about to start, but we were not prepared for your arrival!" she blinked as Master Seo and Prince Yongbok ran out after her.
"Your Majesty," Yongbok bowed to him and Minhyuk nodded, glancing at Changbin with his eyebrows raised. "Is he...?"
Yongbok blushed and nodded. "Ah, Your Majesty! Would you like to talk to Minho before we begin? You'll only have a few moments, but..."
"Yes," Minhyuk murmured. "I would like to talk to him."
Yongbok nodded. "This way, then."
Minhyuk followed after Yongbok as he walked through the long halls up to a nice door with gold embroidering.
"Minho?" Yongbok knocked at the door. "Minho? Open the door! Someone is here to see you!"
"Who-" Minho's eyes widened as he pushed the door open to find that his eldest brother was standing outside. "Hyungnim?"
Minhyuk tried to smile, but failed. "Hi, Minho."
Minho glanced at Yongbok. "Do you mind if we...?"
"No, of course not!" Yongbok smiled and walked off down the hall. "Be fast though. I'll send someone to get you in a few moments."
Minho nodded. He glanced around and then turned to his brother. "Would you like to come in?"
Minhyuk nodded and walked into the room after Minho. It was plain and undecorated. Like one a visitor would live in. All his belongings had been taken from this room and moved into the shared room of the King and Queen. Except... there wasn't a queen at this point.
"Minho," Minhyuk murmured. "I... I missed you."
Minho's eyes softened at that. "I missed you too."
"I'm sorry that I haven't told you anything and then you're being forced into a marriage like this, I'm really sorry... but..." Minhyuk eyes turned watery. "I really love you, Minho. And this is the best for you here. You can't see it yet, but I believe you will be happy here eventually."
"You think so, hyungnim?" Minho muttered, looking at the ground. "Prince Jisung hates me. He hates that he hates that he has to marry me. He doesn't want anything to do with me."
"Minho," Minhyuk wrapped his arms around Minho in an embrace. "I know that you are one of the most lovable people I know. He won't be able to hate you forever. Just show him the love that you show others and he'll end up loving you. Trust me."
"Really?"
"Really. Now, you have a wedding to go to, don't you?" Minhyuk smiled. "I'll be there. Don't look for me. Just know that I'm there."
"Your Highness," a servant ducked into the room. "It's time."
Minho sighed and nodded. He sent his older brother one more small smile. "Wish me luck!" he turned and walked from the room, breathing in a deep sigh.
He felt nerves building up in his stomach.
"I'm ready," he muttered to himself, staring up at the sky. "Mom... Dad? Is this what you wanted?"
The cheers of the Han people he could hear now as they filled the outside of the courtyard leading to the palace, where the wedding was to take place. Their cheers filled Minho with happiness, even if they were not from his own people but the people of the Han Kingdom.
It was still like his parents and the universe were giving him his reply.
Yes.