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Jimin

Never in his life did he think an offer for peace would be heard, yet there he was.

Nionna royals requested an audience with Kayira, and after Jimin persuaded his father to hear them out, Kayira agreed. Jimin never thought his opinion would mean more than dirt, but he was valuable dirt that day, it seemed. That led to him dressing in the best clothes he had, including one of his beloved himatia and a tunic much too tight. At least it showed off his chest and slim waist.

Thick boots covered his tiny feet as he departed his room while patting down his dark locks. His princess would be there, so he had to dress to impress. Not that it mattered since she had seen him without clothes on not long ago, and he was sure no fabric would ever be quite as impressive as that sight.

But that aside, somehow the Parks had convinced Nionna to come to Kayira, and Nionna agreed as a show of trust. It was foolish on their part; bringing the most important royals to enemy territory was far from the best idea, but Jimin had a feeling Y/n had something to do with that. Even if she didn't, Jimin assumed their logic was since Nionna was a good four times the size of Kayira, if the royals were slaughtered in an attempt for peace, Nionna would wipe out Kayira once and for all by invading them with every troop they had.

Whether or not Nionna's troops could do that was questionable at best. None of them knew how to fight on Kayira's landscape, hence why Nionna had never tried it before. If they did, they were in for a rude awakening. Nionna's grass was smooth with no cracks. The heat wasn't as bad either. They'd have to deal with intense conditions Kayira was used to. Sometimes size didn't matter if one had the best strategy. That was why they allowed women warriors into their ranks; they were, on average, not on the same level as a male warrior (in terms of physicality), though they were more likely to implement clever strategy and speed to take down even the toughest men.

Part of Jimin wondered if he could see his princess in battle. All royals on both sides trained for combat, though he doubted Y/n wanted to fight. Her hands were too delicate. They were healer hands. That was far from an insult to her character—he was sure she could take down enemies with one sword stroke—however, he believed she was meant to stay away from violence. After all she had been through, she deserved to witness no bloodshed ever again. He would do everything in his power to make that dream reality.

Jimin descended the stairs to the main hall where the wooden gates making up the entrance were. They were lowered to allow the royals from Nionna in. Two women—one being Y/n—and a man came in. Of course, they wore shiny crowns with appropriate attire. Like his beautiful Y/n wore a frilly dress. Similar to the one he had torn off her not long ago.

Y/n's eyes found his, and her pupils dilated before she averted her stare to Father. Father and Mother stood with their posture set in front of the new royals. All of them opted for their best gear, though Father didn't care enough to trim his beard. A beard Jimin could never have. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get more than sparse hairs to appear.

"Your messenger said you propose marriage between the kingdoms?" Father asked. Getting straight to the point, a classic move by Father. Wasting time was one of the things he hated most. That and losing, something Jimin shared. Though, ever since falling for his princess, that belief faded more and more.

"Yes," the man, who Jimin assumed was King L/n, replied with a nod that didn't so much as budge his crown. "My daughter is the one who came up with the idea, so I will let her speak, if you do not mind."

Neither of them protested, so Y/n came forward and dipped her dress with her hands. She swallowed and cleared her throat.

"Sir, madam, I wish to take your son's hand in marriage." Y/n hesitated before glancing at Jimin. "If I have your blessing as well, my prince."

My prince. Those words would never get old, coming from her pretty lips. Lips he had tasted. Lips he had cherished.

Y/n's stare returned to his parents. "Our marriage will give you a direct political tie to Nionna. As I have no brothers, Prince Park would be next in line for Nionna's throne. That gives you stake in our kingdom. I would also like to offer as many of our resources as you need to keep your people afloat, all in return for one thing: stop the fighting. No more war, no more death. That is all I ask."

It was too generous of a deal. Jimin knew it was true and his princess would never lie, and he believed his parents knew that as well, but it didn't change it was too generous. Y/n was so sweet, yet so naive. Too optimistic. Kayira would refuse out of sheer stubbornness, if not because-

"We accept," Father said, interrupting Jimin's thoughts, and Jimin whipped his head around at that. "You have my blessing to marry my son under the condition that it happens as soon as possible. I will let your people handle the wedding as it was your idea, and I assume you will enjoy the celebration far more than us, so please feel free to cater it to your needs."

What?

Jimin did his best to suppress his raw astonishment, though it was difficult when the last thing he expected was for Father to agree. Perhaps Mother, but Queen Park remained silent with her long, dark hair covering her face.

King L/n didn't miss a beat. "Very well, we will prepare the marriage and arrange it for sunset in two days. Tomorrow, Prince Park is invited to our kingdom so Princess L/n can show him around and get him used to the kingdom he will rule one day. On the day of the marriage, I would like it if he could do the same for my daughter, only with Kayira. It is good to know each other's kingdoms, yes?"

"Unless you are using it for military strategy."

"Hence why I am allowing your son to see our kingdom before my daughter sees yours: as a sign of good faith. Besides, we are already in Kayira, King Park. If we were looking for weaknesses, we would be doing it already, correct?"

There was no arguing with that logic, so King Park digressed and brushed the idea away. His gloved hand raised in front of King L/n's, and the rival shook it without hesitation.

Y/n didn't pry her eyes away from Jimin, and he did the same. He wished he could run to her, kiss her, tell her it'd be okay, but he knew that'd give them up. As would the staring, so he forced himself to cease his childish actions and pay attention to the task at hand.

"Two days. Sunset," King Park repeated, and King L/n confirmed it. Queen L/n rolled her eyes and left before the conversation concluded, and no one called after her. In fact, no more words invaded the air. What remained was one final staring contest before the two other L/ns exited the castle. Y/n didn't risk stealing a glance, and Jimin was grateful for it.

The gates closed as the guards escorted the rival royals out. Jimin eased his shoulders and let his posture slump, but it stiffened the moment King Park chuckled. Without looking at Jimin, he spoke.

"Funny. You asked me for marriage before she did."

"Yeah," Jimin said, his voice scratchier than he wanted it to be. He passed the blame on Kayira's dust before coughing to purge himself of any foreign substances. In that moment, he missed Dali. "Strange."

King Park folded his hands behind his back as Queen Park didn't bother joining in the conversation. No words of comfort to her son, like the lullabies she used to give him. Not that it mattered. Before Jimin could reach out to his mother, King Park said one last thing.

"What an interesting coincidence."

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