He looks at his own reflection in the clean mirror, someone different staring back at him yet he knows it's all him. His tired and worn face is replaced with a brighter expression, a shine coming together with the thought that he's finally about to tie the knot with the love of his life. Instead of his usual blonde hair, he has returned back to black hair, a symbolism of his big day.

Our big day.

The only trait betraying him is his eye colour, in which he knows that nervousness is what's taking him over now - the grey colour swims around in his eyes overtaking the purple colour that's supposed to be painting his irises. No matter how many times he closes and opens his eyes, the moment his eyelids fly up, the colour remains the same.

His relationship with Akira has never been rocked even with his emotions bare through his eyes - with both of them having been honest to each other how they are each other's first partner, they know that their relationship requires a lot of trust. With her ability to see colours returned, she always likes to say that she can now finally understand the cues he's sending through his eyes.

He's worried that the colour of his eyes would be the reason for their fight one day; he's scared that a misunderstanding could occur if it so happens that the colour of his eyes would not fully reflect his emotions.

"Everything is going to be fine, Seonghwa. You're marrying the love of your life. Someone you love," he says to his own reflection, feeling detached as he sees his mouth moving to assure himself.

"Everything is going to be fine," someone echoes from behind and he turns around to see the blacksmith, already dressed up handsomely in a maroon velvet suit with his hair slicked back. "You're marrying the love of your life," Hongjoong repeats. "Just like how I went through with my wedding, you're going to be just fine. Well, granted that you don't cry like a baby the moment you see her walk to you."

"I haven't seen her this week and that's enough to make me nervous. This is our first time meeting in front of the officiator," Seonghwa reminds him. He smooths down his fringe, taking in careful breaths, as if one wrong pressure could ruin his wedding suit.

It's their wedding tradition where as the couple is about to wed, they won't meet each other for around a few days before the wedding, until they come face to face on their wedding day. They don't know where the tradition stems from, but it helps in making the day more special, the witness of their unification after being apart for some time.

"You're going to be fine," Hongjoong reminds him. "In fact, the only thing on your mind is that you wouldn't want to wait for long to see her again. Go out there and say your vows. She's waiting for you."

"She's going to say 'I do', right?" Seonghwa suddenly turns around before squeezing Hongjoong's shoulders. "If she happens to change her mind as soon as she sees me with this..." he gestures to himself, "grand outfit and black hair, what am I supposed to do?"

Hongjoong chuckles before shaking his head. "Get out there and say your vows. I'm almost a thousand percent sure that both of you will become a lawfully wedded couple even before you know it. Go."

With a nod once Seonghwa walks out with his wedding attire, a white suit with gold embroidered on the front, his white shoes taking careful and planned steps. The suit is tailored specially for him by Mingi's parents, so it fits perfectly, every fold and crease covering his body that's slightly trembling as he keeps thinking about the fact that he's about to become someone's husband.

He nods to the guards who open the front heavy doors for him, passing a quick thank you before he descends the stairs, the simple wedding setup in the garden already coming to view. He sees the few white chairs arranged, the metal archway with fresh delentines - the flowers that only he could raise - lined up beside the pathway leading to the altar. The private occasion only sees a few guests - the Nyla palace occupants, the other young masters, Yunho and Madam Eurielle. The only person who has yet to arrive among the guests is Jongho, who had given his promise to come all the way from Lucida.

He sweeps his vision across the garden, looking at his friends' faces one by one. All of them are smiling, proud that the oldest have finally decided to break the promise he had to himself to not allow anyone close to him. How ironic. The very person who would rather spend all of his time talking to plants and animals is the next person getting married, surpassing the others.

He steps in front of the officiator, who politely nods as they wait for the bride to come. Seonghwa clears his throat and rubs his hands multiple times, the feeling pretty obvious as even the officiator keeps telling him to calm down. With a nervous smile he assures the officiator that he's completely ready and fine, but when the guests turn to look at the bride walking over, he can feel his legs turning to jelly.

With the delentines arranged neatly in the bouquet she's holding, the golden colours shimmer against her skin, her shoulder-length hair decorated with the flowers taken from Seonghwa's garden. She's wearing a dress similar to Seonghwa's suit, designed by Mingi's parents, the net gown heavily decorated with flowers that seem to change colours with every turn. Despite the dress being sleeveless, she proudly displays the scars on her arms. She won't ever forget her past, whom she used to be.

The very reason she's standing here.

If she's surprised to see that Seonghwa has changed his hair colour to her favourite colour, she doesn't show it. She smiles as she sees him, and with a glance towards the officiator, they start the ceremony. She finds it amusing how Seonghwa's eyes keep bouncing from one colour to the other - one moment it's grey and another it's purple. Even throughout their vows the colours are a mixture, that even as she says 'I do', she's chuckling as she adds, "Stop being so nervous. We're getting married, not going into a war."

"Marriage can become a war," Yeosang utters unhelpfully from the audience. "Just my opinion."

"Shh," Wooyoung shuts him up with a slap to Yeosang's mouth before the former gestures towards the couple. "Go on, I'll make sure Yeosang won't get to say another word. Go on with your confession of undying love and we're here to support all of that. Ah-" he shouts out in disgust when he feels Yeosang sticking out his tongue, wetting his palm. "What the-"

"I do," Akira repeats again, almost losing her demeanour over Yeosang and Wooyoung's altercation. It's the third time she's said the same phrase, and the next thing they know is that they're officially husband and wife.

Seonghwa is already grabbing her waist, pushing her back and the bouquet falls out of her hands. He lowers down his face, smirking before crashing his lips onto hers, earning cheers and whistles from the audience. He pulls back before winking at her, mouthing 'I love you' then lets go of her.

Hongjoong in the audience shakes his head as he puts his fingers on his temples, massaging them. He mutters to himself, "He was so nervous until he looked like he would faint the moment he sees her but look who's pompous now. I can never understand him."

"Congratulations!" Wooyoung shouts as he stands up, performing exaggerated claps before the rest join, giving them words of congratulations.

Seonghwa can even hear his little friends in the garden giving their congratulations, including the cat that is the reason he had to propose to her in the pond. The cat gives a polite bow before hopping off the chair, and he laughs as he pulls Akira closer to him.

Among the young masters, Mingi and Yunho are silently wiping their tears away, proud to be the ones witnessing the unification of the two. The two had come a long way; betrayal, pain and misunderstandings, all dissolved in the past as Seonghwa intertwines their fingers.

"My general," Yunho says through tears. "Is finally married."

"To the love of their lives," Mingi adds through his own tears, patting a hand on Yunho's back. "Remember that night of the ball when they finally became a couple. Gosh, that felt so long ago."

San's eyes shoot up, trying to remember. "It was quite a long time ago. That was two years ago."

Wooyoung claps his hands again, bringing the attention to him. "Whatever it is, Seonghwa, you better take care of her. Or you know," he winks, "I'm always here Akira."

Seonghwa clears his throat before standing in between Wooyoung and Akira, looking down at his 'brother'. "My wife won't be one of your wooed girls, mind you," he gives a warning. "Not Akira."

Wooyoung puts up his hands, surrendering as the rest snicker. "I won't disturb you and Akira. The two of you are a match made in heaven, and in no way do I want to touch that."

"Jongho still isn't here though," Yeosang reminds them. "He promised that he would come, didn't he?"

Hongjoong nods. "He did. Maybe something came up and he would come a little bit later than promised."

As if on cue, the guards at the entrance stand up straighter, springing a salute as a horse guided by a young man the rest know so well comes in. The horseback rider pulls on the reins and the horse neighs, lifting up its front legs as it comes to a stop. The young man hops off the horse, wearing a gummy smile before he does a curt bow.

"Can he get any more dramatic?" Wooyoung rolls his eyes.

"Looks like we're complete now," Seonghwa says as Jongho makes his way over to them, arm placed horizontally across his stomach.

He smiles at the bride and groom first, relaying his words of congratulations followed by profuse apologies as he was late. He eyes Akira the longest, his smile unfaltering, but he knows; despite the apologies and the past being put behind them, it will never change the fact that she's the reason he lost his father. He has let go of the grudge, but he can't deny the fact that every time he sees her, the image of his father flashes before his eyes.

But the past is in the past and he can't change anything. Who's left the world can never return, and those who are here will need to move on... forced or not.

"Congratulations general," Jongho says. "You've found someone who can stand on the same ground as you, I'm happy for you."

The young masters shuffle nervously in their positions, with Wooyoung and San nudging each other. They notice the somewhat awkward air between Jongho and Akira; their history together hasn't been the cleanest. After Jongho had left the palace and went back to his hometown in Lucida, Akira has been residing at the residential area in Nyla courtesy of Madam Eurielle, so there have barely been any accidental meetings between the two of them. In fact, they could say that this is their first official meeting.

"Thank you," Akira says shortly, aware of the sharp gaze Jongho has upon her. "It's... nice seeing you after all these years." She grimaces at how fake she sounds; her hand is slightly shaky but he feels Seonghwa caressing the back of her palm with his thumb.

"Ah, have the rest of you been doing well?" Jongho asks, pretending that he did not just make things awkward between him and Akira. He asks each and every one of them, before coming to a conclusion that San, despite saying that he has taken over the throne secretly, has not gone through the official ceremony that would transfer the title of the Shadow King to him.

"What about you?" Yeosang tries to bring over the topic to Jongho instead.

"I'm doing pretty well in Lucida," Jongho shrugs. "My family found a way to somehow survive, we have a small shop fixing musical instruments now. Lucida is standing," he turns back to Akira, "except for the fact that we don't have any ruler to our kingdom. Aren't you... perhaps curious on how your kingdom is doing?" He didn't mean to make it sound as hard as it came out, but there's a change in Akira and Yunho's faces.

"Choi Jongho-" Wooyoung starts, almost hissing at the fact that maybe having Jongho and Akira in the same place right now might not be the best idea. Two years apart would do nothing to douse the flames of grudge Jongho must have had against Akira.

"Jongho," Seonghwa steps up in front of him, "Now is not the time to be hostile. It's supposed to be a happy day-"

"I'm not being hostile," Jongho snaps, but there's a tight smile on his face. His eyes glaze over, "Is it my fault that I'm reminded of my father every time I see her face?"

"What do you want me to do?" Akira lets go of Seonghwa's hand before balling her hand into a fist. "You said you accepted my apology."

"I did, but what's the point of pretending that you weren't the one who murdered my father? You killed my family, you can't blame me for acting this way. But what can I do? You're now tied to Seonghwa," he glances at the said person, "and he's madly in love with you. I can't do anything."

"Then why did you step into the compound bringing in this... attitude?" Hongjoong asks. He's genuinely intrigued, as to what made Jongho change. He seemed different than the person they let go two years ago.

Jongho sighs. "It's a mess."

"And you're lashing out on Akira?" Yeosang butts in.

"What is?" San frowns.

"Lucida has no ruler, and the whole kingdom is in chaos. It was fine in the first year, but people started becoming... braver. Criminal cases are on the rise, people seem to have lost their morals."

Akira stays mum but her eyes dart towards Yunho, who is equally as uneasy as her.

Yunho utters, "Even after Emira is gone... the blood colours that's supposed to not mean anything anymore has become a problem again?"

Jongho shakes his head. "It's not about the blood colours anymore. This is all on the people themselves... they're acting out on their own. We need someone to control the kingdom like they used to be."

"So Lucida needs a ruler," Seonghwa decides, unaware of what his conclusion is about to cost him. "They need someone to put things in place again."

"Not just anyone," Yunho picks up the cues. "The rightful one."

Jongho fishes out something from under his jacket before taking out what seems like a letter. He hands it over to Akira, before prompting her to open it up and read it through.

While her eyes scan through the letter with the familiar writing, her fist is almost crumpling up the whole piece before she releases a heavy breath by the end of it. Even as Seonghwa reads through it, he sees the name signed off at the end and he starts to feel a heavy burden weighing down on him.

"Do you get what I'm trying to tell you?" Jongho starts. "Emira has given her orders before she passed away. It's her last wish. This is an official invitation to you. Akira, after Emira you're the rightful heir to the throne."

"But I'm not-" Akira stops. "I'm not even full royalty. Not even through a proper marriage."

"It's not a matter of blood colour anymore," Jongho says. "When Emira passed away, Lucida lost our ruler, the only person with royal blood left. It was all fine and bearable, until things started getting out of hand. People started acting out of line. Sure, it's not all about the blood colours anymore, but it seems that people have started to forget about their own conscience too. We need guidance, a worthy ruler. Who's more fitting to be one other than Emira's most trusted soldier, her own half-sister. She's asking for you to take over next. You."

"I'm not-" she hesitates. "I can't."

"Your kingdom," Jongho offers, "is in shambles. They need you. You're their last hope for a ruler. They're not looking for someone with white blood from Lucida. They're only looking for someone who can rule."

"They were scared of me," Akira interjects. "They don't respect me."

"They were," Jongho corrects her. "But they have no other choice now, and the most fitting candidate is you. If there's someone who can rule the chaos that is our kingdom now, it's you."

"But Seonghwa..." Akira trails off. In a hurry she catches Seonghwa's hand again, as if scared that he might run away.

All eyes turn to Seonghwa, and even then he's starting to catch up on what Jongho is alluding at.

"You're married to Akira now," the youngest says. "When she ascends the throne, you're following her. Park Seonghwa, you'll become king."