San sits on the footsteps in front of the entrance, watching the night sky as he lets out a heavy sigh. He throws a look to the garden, where there are no longer signs of the wedding ceremony held just now; everything has been cleaned up. The night air is thick, and as he inhales he finds it as if breathing in requires effort, something that he's not doing automatically.

Jongho's arrival is supposed to bring along the memories of their years together at the Nyla palace, but it is as if he has become someone different, made to endure whatever back in Lucida due to the absence of a ruler. Instead he brought together a tension that they didn't realize hasn't been resolved, especially between him and Akira.

Do you ever get over someone's death? Especially for someone who means so much to you?

He's reminded of his own family; one that didn't treat him as such, his brother an exception. He wants to find the answer; the reason why he was treated that way. What sin did he commit that earned him a position no more than a servant in his supposedly own home? He never did get the answer as his parents passed away when both him and his brother were young. Then he had to become the witness to his own brother falling ill after having the throne passed to him.

With Jongho bringing news about the other kingdom - Lucida - needing a worthy ruler, the same feeling of guilt keeps washing over him. For Nyla, San is supposed to rule the kingdom but despite agreeing to somewhat take part in ruling the kingdom, he has never agreed to bear the weight of the crown. He never wants to take over the title of the Shadow King; he never did feel like he's worthy of it.

To him, he's not supposed to be king. He's only someone who's forced to take over because there is simply no other choice.

"What are you thinking so deeply about?" Yeosang's voice comes to him and he snaps out of his own thoughts.

San merely shrugs, giving a low chuckle as to hide what he's in distress over. But with Yeosang, he knows that it's not going to go unnoticed.

"Whatever Jongho brought together with him affected you too, didn't it? You started thinking about our kingdom." Yeosang takes a place next to him on the steps. He's already in his sleeping attire, while San is still in the suit he wore during Seonghwa and Akira's wedding.

"Nyla needs a worthy ruler too. Someone who's able to take on the title of the Shadow King," San replies.

"And who is more deserving other than you? It's not just about the blood. You can rule a kingdom, but you look down on yourself too much."

San sighs again, rubbing his hands up and down his arms, trying to bring the topic away from him. He fails to do so when he's the one relaying it all; his worries, the burden he's been carrying that he's trying to hide with a smile on his face.

"Remember the day that we kicked out Yunho and Akira from the palace? When we found out that they were the ones who killed Jongho's father?"

Yeosang nods slowly; a dark memory for the palace occupants.

"We thought we were doing the right thing, and I was a part of that." He chuckles painfully, "What kind of king would do that? From that moment on I know that I'm not the one who's supposed to wear the crown. Despite having white blood, it's meaningless if I don't have the traits to become one. Maybe this is the reason why my parents wouldn't let me be a part of them. Because they could see what I would be in the future; someone with no rights to take over. But now that there's no choice... that even my brother has passed away, I'm only king by default. Not chosen."

"The people of Nyla will never know who you are," Yeosang utters. "Use that to your advantage. Rule secretly; find your own potential when you become the king. When the people don't know who you are, you have less pressure. You'll never know how capable you are until you've done it yourself."

"But why?" San interjects. "Have you ever thought why my parents would ignore me, never admit that I was their child?"

"Then find out. Who knows..." Yeosang tilts his head to the right, "Maybe it's related to the inheritance of the throne. I'm merely a stranger who got access to the palace because I just happen to know how to cure some diseases or patch up wounds. A nobleman who has lost his place because he went against his parents' wishes to marry another noble. I don't know whatever secrets the throne might hold."

San pauses before giving out a chuckle. "You're trying to make it sound as if there's something serious about it. For all we know, I could just be the child that they never wanted."

"Hmm..." Yeosang hums, as he purses his lips. "Well," he slaps a hand on his thigh before standing up, "Organizing the two lovebirds' wedding was pretty tiring, so I'm off to bed early. I heard that Wooyoung, Mingi, Yunho and Jongho are having some supper, Hongjoong has escaped to his hut as usual. Might want to join the troublemakers if you want something to eat. Seonghwa..." he smirks. "They're newlyweds. Good night."

As San bids good night to him he's left alone again at the steps, left to dwell in his thoughts. He buries his head in his hands, coming back to think about the face of his brother, sick and losing the light of his life. His brother only spent the last moments of his life staring at the mural of the sky painted on the ceiling because he could no longer move. Then came the knowledge that Emira was his brother's lover, but they were separated due to their difference in beliefs. One could not expose that they're royalty, while one wore the label with pride.

He stands up, but a sudden gust of wind makes a chill run down his spine. He looks around, weirded out by how the wind had appeared out of nowhere, when all is still. He turns around, ready to retire for the night but stops in his tracks when he senses a flicker of movement behind him. His instinct is to have his hand fly to his waist, as if he could draw out his nonexistent sword to fight off the new threat.

But he feels silly when it's only him and his thoughts in the dark night. From afar he sees the guards at the arched palace entrance. He shakes his head; he's probably tired that he's starting to see things that aren't there. He reaches out a hand to open the heavy doors and steps inside, but before the door closes a whisper slips in through the cracks. It's unclear whether San has heard it, but the words are pronounced one by one that it would be more unlikely for it to go unheard.

"Only those who are strong enough will be able to bear the weight of the crown... Choi San it's only a matter of time before you succumb to it."

---

Seonghwa and Akira peer over the piles of wedding gifts they've received from the rest, all arranged on the floor of their bedroom. With them officially becoming a wedded couple, Seonghwa has agreed to move into a bigger room, even though he had grown fond of his previous one because it overlooks his garden.

Akira is sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes fully round as she inspects every one of the presents, her mouth forming different shapes as she's in awe over the amount they've received. They're of different sizes but she's pretty sure all of them are prepared with care. Seonghwa is leaning against the bed as his legs are straightened, glancing over at her before chuckling at how eager she looks.

"Why do you look so amused?" Seonghwa reaches out his hand to touch her shoulder but she's already circling around the presents.

"I've never gotten this many presents at one time," she says excitedly.

His eyes soften, purple intensifying in his irises. If people were to look at her now, it's probably hard to believe that she used to be the person who had led an army of a kingdom, inciting fear in her enemies' hearts even with only her name mentioned. How he had managed to be with her still remains a mystery even to him, but he's glad that she's now his wife.

He turns back to look at her when she asks, "Which one do you want to open first?"

He scoots over to her, looking through the presents before he spots the smallest one. He picks it up. "What about this one? It's pretty light." The flat pack looks the lightest, and he tries to shake the present to see if he can guess what it contains. "I can't guess what it is."

"Open it up." She takes the gift card and notes that it's from Wooyoung. "It's from your lovely annoying brother."

"Huh," he enunciates. "I wonder what he got for us. I swear if he pulls a prank and gives us something ridiculous I am personally going to break down his door."

He puts down the gift, tears open the paper carefully, and sees that the item is carefully wrapped in wrapping tissue. As he opens it up, she leans against his back, wraps her arms around his neck and peers over his shoulder.

"What did he get-" she stops before feeling like something is stuck in her throat, "-us?"

The couple stare at the present, their brains loading as to what's in front of them. As soon as he gets back his senses, Seonghwa curses and hastily folds the wrapping tissue back, punching it a few times before attempting to wrap it back with the torn wrapping paper. He clears his throat loudly, suddenly feeling that the room is too stuffy and hot.

The couple stay quiet, that even as Akira stays with her arms wrapped around Seonghwa's neck she can feel her heartbeat start to increase while his cheeks start to get painted red.

"That pervert," Seonghwa says finally after a long silence.

"I mean..." Akira tries to say something but she's failing in her words too. "It's a nightgown. It's pretty."

"It's- quite- revealing." Seonghwa turns to look over his shoulder and he blinks when her face is merely inches from his. He turns back to the front, pretty sure that he's already a full ripe tomato at this point. Sure, they're married, but it's not like they've ever... nevermind.

"We can open the rest of the presents," she offers, trying to change the topic. To make a point she reaches out for the next one, but he stops her hand by pulling it down and releasing himself from her hold.

He turns his body around so now that they're face to face. "Maybe we can open them tomorrow."

Akira gulps, her mind already starting to go places, but the thoughts are thumped down as Seonghwa stands, pulling her hand together. "Let's go see the stars out on the balcony."

"Ah," she utters. "Sure."

As he pulls her out into the balcony, they lean against the railing, picking out any clusters of stars that they can make shapes out of. They amuse themselves by saying what the clusters are shaped like, having a friendly fight on whether one looks more like a dog or a cat. When it's the fifth round, she suddenly looks down before she turns mum.

Seonghwa looks to the side, worry etched across his face. "What's wrong?"

"The offer," she says simply. "The... invitation, or the orders, I don't know what to call it. If I decide to accept it, you'll have to follow. You have to leave Nyla behind."

"So that's what's been on your mind since Jongho arrived here. You haven't stopped thinking about it."

She grips the railing. "Even though I was kicked out once from the kingdom," her eyes start to get watery, "it's still my home. Even though I lost everyone there, it's still where I became best friends with Emira and Yunho. Lucida might not be the best kingdom, but I-" she stops.

"Hey," he says softly before pulling her closer, cupping her face and brushing away the stray strands of hair on her face. "I know you miss your kingdom a lot, and if you think that you can handle becoming a queen, then I'll just follow whatever decision you make. I know you're capable of making the right one. I trust you."

"It's the place where my sister died," she says, blunt. "If I ever decide to take on the title, the kingdom is not the only thing I have to lead; I have to fix the situation at the palace too. Jongho said the palace is starting to look like an abandoned building. The workers are leaving gradually because they have no one to serve anymore. If I decide to accept; I have a lot of things to fix."

"We," he corrects her. "We have a lot of things to fix. Akira," he holds her chin, "you're not doing everything alone. I'm here. Your best friend, Yunho is here and I know that he would throw his life away just to make sure that you're breathing well. I would throw my life away to make sure that you're breathing well."

"No." She punches his stomach lightly, shaking her head vigorously. "Don't. Don't throw your life away just because you want to protect me." She looks away and mumbles, "What's the point if I'm just going to be hurt if both of you are gone?" She fixes her expression before clicking her tongue. "I've become softer ever since I decided that I like you. Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I've last held a sword."

"The Lucida kingdom is in good hands then," he says in a singsong voice. "They got themselves a queen who knows how to fend for herself, who knows how to fight. Ah," he says dreamily, "the man who managed to marry her must be really lucky."

She rolls her eyes but her face breaks into a smile. She bites the inside of her cheeks before slowly uttering, "But I never said I agreed to become the queen."

"Hmm," he hums, something akin to a denial. "No matter what you say, you can't escape the fact that you miss Lucida. This is the chance for you to go back there, for you to make things right again. To build a kingdom like you wished Lucida would be."

"But that means," she takes a long and painful breath, "then you would have to leave Nyla behind. The rest of them."

He shrugs. "It doesn't matter to me. You're making it sound as if we can't visit Nyla as frequently as we want. Akira," he pokes her cheeks. "Your people need you to lead them. I'll only be there because I'm your husband, but I'll do whatever it takes to help you make it right."

There's a painful croak coming out of her throat. "It's always you having to choose between me or the other young masters."

"And I regretted my decision to let you walk away that day," he utters. "I'm not leaving you anymore. Following you back to Lucida wouldn't mean that I'm leaving the others behind. I'm just... let's put it this way, returning to my wife's hometown?"

She looks away, pretending to wipe a tear. "That was pretty touching coming from you."

He frowns as he purses his lips. "What? I'm always pretty sweet."

"Shut up, you're not. And stop that, you're making me nauseous."

He snaps his fingers. "Right, no sweet words. Got it-" He pauses as Akira touches his chin before she briefly brushes her lips against his. There's a naughty smile on his face as his expression changes, "but sweet actions get a pass?"

She turns around to walk back into the room, wordlessly, already feeling her body burning as the feelings that weren't that strong for as long as she was with Seonghwa taking over.

"Akira," Seonghwa says, but there's a difference in his tone that makes her heart beat erratically.

She feels his arms wrapping around her waist before he turns her around, staring into her eyes, but she can't tell what he's feeling as the colour of his eyes are neutral. No telltale signs of his emotions.

He lowers down his face, kisses her with so much vigour that she feels like he's taken away all of her breath by the time he presses his lips against her cheek. His hand snakes to the hem of her top but he stops, hesitant. He peels himself off her and looks into her eyes, begging for permission.

She nods slowly but her eyes look elsewhere as he kisses her again until they tumble onto the bed. She squirms as he props himself up on top of her, pressing soft kisses on her collarbone, his hands already slowly pushing her top upwards. She closes her eyes as his skin feels warm when he places his left hand on her stomach, caressing it.

"I love you," she manages. "I love you, Park Seonghwa."

"I love you too."

His eyes bear into hers, his left hand moving further upwards. She whimpers as the next thing her sane mind can register is him topless, before the night dissolves into some high they can't get out of.

---

[A/N: I do not know what I just wrote, so goodbye.]