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"Scarlet, stop, stop, we went too far in the forest" The Prince pulled at his horse's reins to make it stop, he had never dared venture that far in the forest. His parents, his tutors, and the whole Royal Court always talked and reminded him not to whenever they saw him ready for an excursion with his best friend, his horse Scarlet. Dangerous beings of magic inhabited the forest, he had always been told how they weren't fond of his family or any human. Many centuries ago the Prince's ancestor, the first king to rule after the war that had plagued their nation, had drafted an accord with the magical beings leaving the forests mostly to them to do as they liked, as long as they never used their powers on humans, and they would only keep on the edges of those. As far as the prince was aware, no one had ever crossed the limit set in place before his distracted self.
"Scarlet we are in so much trouble, let's head back before anyone finds us. Let's not tell anyone okay? Mother will be so worried if she were to know and father won't let us ride together for God knows how long" He mumbled resting his head against the horse, one of his only friends in the cold Palace, gently petting its head. "Who are you and what are you doing in my land? Did they send you? Are they so desperate that they are sending a silly little human?" The Prince moved from his position lying against his horse as he heard a new voice, standing proud and tall, even if he was terribly scared of what might happen."I am sorry, ma'am, my horse and I simply got lost in the forest. I have not been sent by anyone, I will leave now" He quickly rushed to explain himself in hopes to convince the witch that it had really been a simple accident.
"Not a ma'am, I would advise you do that, your majesty. Not every one of my kind will take as kindly to your presence" The witch replied taking in the Prince's presence making him feel quite nervous, he didn't know anything about them for all he knew they could cast a spell on him just by looking. "I apologize, sir. I'm no majesty, that's my father. I shall return to the Palace then, thank you for your kindness sir" Nonetheless he tried to keep his words calm, not wanting to seem weak or show any sign of panic, the witch didn't seem to want to be as upset as he had thought about his presence.
"No sir either, your highness, just call me Hwa if we happen to meet again." The witch said with a wink directed at the prince as if they knew something that the latter didn't. "Have a safe return, your highness, better not get lost in the forest" The witch added, turning their back to the prince, long pink hair following their every movement. "Thank you, just call me Yunho. No highness or title if we are in your land" The Prince added, making his horse snort as if it had understood that the Prince had just freely given his name to a witch, it probably didn't, it probably had been annoyed by an insect.
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"You gave a witch your name? Have you gone insane? Have you ever listened to one thing our teacher said?" his best friend since they were children scolded the prince, the only person besides his tutors and parents that did so. With Mingi's father being the king's counselor they grew up together in the castle, they were like brothers. "They seemed harmless, they let me walk away without any issues" Yunho shrugged falling down on his bed and thinking back to the witch he had met, he meant it when he said they had seemed harmless to him, they had threatened him about other of their kind not liking his presence but that was more of a truth than a threat.
"That's because you were wearing your royal uniform, got lost and they understood you weren't there as a threat. BUT WHY GIVE THE WITCH YOUR NAME? What if something happens to you?" Yunho pulled his best friend to lie next to him, he understood his worries, he would do the same if the roles were reversed, but he also wanted to calm the taller boy down.
"Don't scream Ming, I rather not have to explain it to the guards, if father, or worse mother, hears about my meeting with the witch she'll ban me from leaving the castle grounds for as long as I live" He said shrugging at the thought of being stuck in the castle forever, not ideal at all. "Nothing will happen ming, I won't go that far into the forest with scarlet ever again, don't worry about my safety"
His words turned out to be a lie, it wasn't intentional, he just couldn't get the pink haired witch out of his mind, there was something in the way they carried themselves that had just captivated the Prince's interest. So he ventured back into the forest, this time not in uniform, he wore the simplest riding clothes he could find so as to not attract unwanted attention. "What do you want from our forest?" An annoyed voice asked, in front of him was a short red haired witch, he looked to be about the same age as the witch he had met the first time he ventured so far into the forest. "I am here to see someone, their name is Hwa?" He asked almost unsure if that would help him out, he didn't know if the pink haired witch wanted to see him at all, he just couldn't keep himself away from trying to see them.
"Ooooh! So you are the famous prince, well your highness wait for a little" The red-haired witch said before disappearing further into the forest, Yunho wasn't sure why he was trusting the witch that had used his title almost as if it were a depreciative adjective, but he did nonetheless. "I swear woo if you are pulling a trick on... oh you are really here Yunho" Hwa smiled at the prince, who felt his legs getting weak, the witch's smile was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. "Told you your human was here hwa noona, bye have fun use protections"
"Wooyoung!" Hwa called after the other witch that had already run off back in the direction of Yunho assumed their house. "Excuse him, he's so childish" The witch apologized for their friend, earning a chuckle from the prince. "If I remember correctly, your highness, I did advise you not to come back to our woods" Yunho had known that Hwa was going to most likely scold him for not listening to their warning. "And if I remember correctly I did ask you to simply call me Yunho no need for titles, to my defense I was too intrigued by you to keep away. Excuse me for being too forward, you can tell me to get lost and I will, but I can't stop thinking about you and would really like to get to know you." Yunho couldn't even look at the witch, he had decided that he had to try and shoot his shoot even if they didn't know each other and Hwa had no reason to agree to meet again.
"I assume you are aware that it would be a great risk for the both of us, somehow I can't bring myself to say no to that offer but it isn't a promise of anything remember that prince" The pink haired warned the crown prince, before motioning to him to follow them, the taller was speechless and obeyed immediately not wanting to push his already wast luck.
They kept meeting in secret at the witch's house; the only ones that knew were Hwa's three friends and neither of the three had much interest to rattle on them, especially since it was the first time in a while they had seen the older one truly happy. They were worried about the time that was sure to come for the prince to have to marry but none of the little cottage residents dared mention it for fear of upsetting them. Yeosang, a fairy and as he liked to gloat the only brain cell between the three younger ones, had reasoned that Hwa had most likely already thought and made peace with that fact. But it didn't stop San from asking, the familiar was the most attached to the witch out of all of them and he couldn't stop worrying.
"Noona, have you thought about the prince having to marry a princess?" The familiar had asked switching back from his cat form, not giving up on cuddling with the pink haired witch even in his human form. "I have kitten, I have. You don't need to worry about that Sannie, I knew that from the first day I agreed to spend time together. I always knew that one day he'll have to stop coming to visit us" Hwa sounded sad as they spoke and San didn't like that one bit, so to avoid answering in a way it would upset the older he turned back to his cat form getting scratches behind his ears and letting Hwa have their space to deal with their growing affection towards the prince.
Prince that was now standing outside their little cottage's door, as far as Hwa was aware Yunho was supposed to be away on some royal duties for the entirety of the month. It was barely the middle of it; he wasn't supposed to be back, yet here he was. "Missed me hwa?" He asked with his charming smile, fitting for a prince. "Been busy preparing for Yule, didn't have the time" It was a lie, they had missed him, more than they were even willing to admit to themselves, maybe even more than they should.
"Anyways, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be away till the end of the month? Are you skipping your duties?! The king will have us burnt alive if he were to find out you are skipping your royal duties to hang out with a witch." They were exaggerating, they knew it, but they rather never see the prince again than have anything happen to him. "Hwa please take a breath, nothing is going to happen, the Christmas ball got moved to our castle and mother shunned me away whilst she gets everything ready. Can I come in or are you going to leave me outside in the snow?" Hwa smiled and nodded slowly to the younger's words, calming down their breath as he gently rubbed their arms over the flowy dress sleeves. "I must warn you if you come inside Youngie will try xyr best to feed you a bit of every treat he prepared for Yule." They said with a small laugh trying to defuse the little bit of tension that had been created, they wanted to enjoy the time they got together.
They sat together by the fireplace on a pile of various blankets, true to the witch's words Wooyoung had given them way too many treats to eat, xe always overdid in the kitchen especially when a holiday was coming up. They were in comfortable silence, the others even left them some space to be alone, Hwa was just basking in the closeness and comfort they felt around the prince.
"The ball is to find me a princess to marry" Yunho was the first one to break the silence, saying the exact words Hwa feared to hear. They simply nodded, not really having much to add, they were at fault for developing feelings anyways. "I don't particularly want to, I have my eyes set on someone else to be completely honest" The prince added, turning to face the witch sitting beside him, taking their hands in his.
"Hwa, if this is inappropriate tell me so and I will go, I will leave you alone I promise, but I need to tell you this. I like you, I came back to the forest the second time because I couldn't stop thinking about you. I know this is too much of me to ask of you, excuse my selfishness. Would you join me to the Christmas ball? As my date" Seonghwa began crying, they weren't sure what for, most likely a combination of feelings.
"Yunho, I like you too but I am sorry I can not come to the ball and not as your date. I'm a witch, not some princess from a different kingdom. Your parents will never allow my presence in their castle, I can't face that kind of rejection again. I am really and truly sorry, I would love nothing more than to dance all night long with you but we are from two different worlds Yunho, we simply can not." They scooted further away from the prince, the coziness and domesticity of how they were sitting before finally hitting them. Yunho was focused on only one part of what the witch had said, he was ready to face any and all backlash that might hit him for bringing the pink haired to the ball, he was going to make sure to convince them that nothing was going to be happening to them as long as they were with him.
"What do you mean face rejection again? And don't worry about my parents, they know better than to cause a scene in public, they will try and convince me in private of how terrible my choice is but I won't listen to them, not anymore. I want to be with you Hwa, no matter what it's at stake." Seonghwa's words were worrying the prince, but he meant it when he said that he wanted to be with them, he'd do anything in his power to make it a reality, everyone's opinion be damned.
"Oh Yunho, you can not fight their majesties because of me…" they paused looking around the room, even though they knew every single nook and cranny of the small cottage having lived there for half of their life. "I was born with a type of magic usually reserved for witches who are born as a female. I don't fit with either group, warlocks made fun of my powers for not being manly enough and witches didn't want me in their covens as all they saw was a man. I was shunned away from my own kind, and at 16 I ran away. I couldn't take it anymore. That's when I found the forest, it spoke to me, I felt connected to it so I stayed. I don't want to feel the judgment in people's eyes as they look at me again, I don't know if I can." Hwx finished their tale looking away from the prince to hide the tears in their eyes. They were happy with how their life had gone but that didn't override the pain that those events had caused them.
"I will make sure that you will never have to go through something like that ever again Hwa, I promise you I will defend and protect you with all I have even if you don't need my protection. Please think about my proposal?” Yunho hold onto their hands and his look was so soft and delicate that Hwa found themselves nodding at the prince’s request. They weren’t sure that they were ready to go to the ball but they didn’t have it in them to tell the taller no, they could tell how important it was for the prince.
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The castle looked imposing from such close proximity, it was highly decorated and illuminated, they assumed for Christmas, outside the castle there was a massive pine tree decorated with beautiful silver and pink ornaments.
“Are you ready?” San asked as he was holding onto one of Hwa’s arms and Wooyoung did the same on the other side, Yeosang stayed on the side judging anyone that dared look at them weirdly. The trouple had insisted on accompanying them and Hwa was now grateful for it, they would have probably chickened out and ran back to their cozy little cottage if they had gone on their own. “As ready as I’ll ever be” They answered hugging the other witch and the familiar dragging Yeosang into the hug.
They unwillingly broke off the hug and bid their friends goodbye, people were staring they could feel it and had to fight off the urge to cast a spell on themselves to meddle in the crowd better. They were not going to do that, they knew how much it would disappoint the prince, even when the guard looked at them skeptically.
The ballroom of the castle was even more spectacular and grandiose than the exterior had looked, it was decorated in the same color scheme and had a decorated pine tree, a little smaller than the one outside, right at the center back of the room. Hwa was in awe of how beautiful the room looked tha they almost didn’t notice the staff member waiting for their cloak.
They removed their black cloak, revealing an off the shoulders black gown with gorgeous gold embroidery of flowers and leaves, their pink hair was tied in a complicated bun created from various sections of hair twisted on itself. Hwa had to thank Yeosang for the hairdo, the fairy had so much patience and was so skilled. They felt even more eyes on them as they removed their cloak, no one else was wearing black, everyone was in variations of gold, silver, red, and green. Maybe they could spell their dress to be a different color, red and gold seemed to be popular choices, they started muttering under their breath moving their hand along to cast the spell but before they could finish a strong hand gripped their wrist.
“Hwa, I am most grateful you decided to come. You look so beautiful words are not enough to describe it, this dress suits you so well” Hwa held themselves back from smiling as they heard the prince's voice, they waited for him to come in front of them and leave a kiss on their gloves hand before smiling at Yunho. He looked gorgeous in his uniform, which Hwa realized they had never seen him in, his hair slicked back and a radiant smile on his face. “May I ask you to join me for a dance?” He asked ever the gentleman, as if Hwa would decline or had anyone else they would enjoy the company of at the ball, so they nodded letting the prince take their hand and guide them on the dance floor.
“Your highness, I am sorry to interrupt, but her royal majesty would like to speak with you.” A guard came to them after a couple of songs were played, Hwa tried their best not to let their emotions be seen. They were terrified of what the Queen might say, was she going to kick them out? Tell them to never speak to her son ever again? All the worst possible scenarios were going through their head.
"Mother, you called for us?" Yunho asked as they both reached the queen, Seonghwa curtsied and tried their best to ignore the judgemental look coming from the Queen.
"I called for you my dear son" the Queen's tone was warm and worried but Seonghwa felt like they were in the wrong nonetheless. They could just tell that the Queen was unhappy about their presence. "Yunho, must I remind you that the ball is to find you a future queen, I am wondering why you chose to invite... them" ” The queen didn’t hide her disappointment in the witch’s presence.
Seonghwa remembered their friend’s pep talk and how Yunho had invited them personally, the prince had wanted them there despite his parents’ feelings, but they couldn’t take the look of disgust on the monarch’s face. They were turning around to leave, let Yunho go, and fulfill his duty. They should have known that going to the ball would have been a mistake. Yunho instead was braver than they were and spoke up against his mother.
“I know mother, I invited them because they are who I chose to marry.” The pink-haired witch stopped in their tracks as they heard the prince’s words, they felt incredulous. “They are the person I wish to marry, if you and his majesty are so displeased by my choices then I shall renounce my title and live happyly as a commoner.”
“Don’t be silly my dear.” The queen’s laugh felt forced, Seonghwa was still frozen in their spot, and they were still trying to process the prince’s words. “There is no reason for you to renounce your titles, my son”
The queen’s words went ignored, both the prince and the witch could tell she wasn’t saying them because she meant them but because she was scared to no longer have a crown prince and heir and to cause a scene between polite society. That simply wouldn’t do for the kingdom’s image.
“Hwa, my love, you treated me like everyone else since the first day we accidentally met and since that day I haven’t been able to not think about you for longer than a few seconds. When I’m away from you I long for you and when we are together I just want to keep you close and cherish every single moment we spend together. I can not think of living one more day separated from you. Would you do me the honor of marrying me and becoming my prinxe?” Yunho had gone down on one knee in the mids of his speech taking a jewel box, the box contained a stunning rose gold band with a black rose on top of it. Hwa's eyes were filled with tears and were looking in shock between the ring and the prince, they were almost certain this had to be a dream they conjured up but Yunho on one knee in front of them was very real as it was the expectant crowd that had formed around them as the prince proposed. “Only if you will call me your wife, I don’t like the term spouse” They demanded causing the prince to laugh as he put the engagement ring on their ring finger.
“Anything you want my love” He kissed their now ungloved hand before putting the black glove back on them and pulling the witch closer to peck their lips. “I love you Seonghwa, may I have this dance, my future wife?” Seonghwa nodded smiling, they wanted to tell him they loved him back but they didn’t feel like making such a declaration public. They knew Yunho knew and they would remind him later.
“I must warn you, I am in no way shape, or form trained on your way of dancing” The witch admitted but Yunho didn’t seem to mind, he still took their hand and led them to the center of the dance floor positioning their free hand on his shoulder and grabbing their corseted waist. Under the prince's lead, they started dancing, and soon other couples joined them on the dance floor, no one seemed to mind that the crown prince’s future wife was a witch.
Maybe this was what the kingdom needed to stop viewing the magical beings as inferiors, Seonghwa knew that was wishful thinking, but being in the center of the palace's ballroom wrapped in the crown prince’s arms as his future wife gave them hope that maybe one day they would reach equal status as the non-magical folk.
They kept dancing together for a while, enjoying each other company and their moment, slow dancing and exchanging sweet nothings, Yunho was even as bold as leaving a peck on their cheek, definitely not something protocol approved of but he wanted to remind their stunning fiance of just how much he loved them.
The attention and the huge palace slowly became too much for Hwa, they felt as overwhelmed as when they had gotten there, they knew that as much as they wished for everyone to be happy for them there were definitely people that did not approve of their union. They needed to get some fresh air before they passed out in the middle of the ballroom.
"Can we go outside for a few moments?" They whispered in Yunho's ear, all the eyes on them, especially those of all the other kingdoms' princesses that had hoped to end the night in their place, were making the witch feel overwhelmed.
"Whatever you wish for my love" The prince answered softly, taking Hwa's hand in his and guiding them to one of the ballroom's balconies. He kept their hands in his and started rubbing circles on them trying to get the witch to relax, he could tell they were feeling nervous. "Thank you, it was becoming too much" Hwa broke the silence between the two of them first, scooting closer to the prince to rest their head against his chest, Yunho immediately wrapped his hands around the pink haired's body, holding them close.
"You don't need to thank me, I want to spend time with you, the party can wait or even be completely forgotten. You are my priority Hwa" It wasn't the prince's intention but the witch's eyes filled with tears, to hide the tears they stood up from being cuddled against Yunho and closed the gap between the two of them kissing him. Finally sharing a proper kiss for the first time that night, no care about the protocol, just sharing the love they held for one another.
They kept kissing, sharing soft kisses and I love yous under the moonlight, Hwa couldn't really believe how accidentally meeting the prince in their forest had changed their life completely. Not even in their wildest dreams, they had ever dreamt of seeing the palace up close, they had no interest in the royal life but had always wished they could do something to help the magical population more and now they had the opportunity to do so and they were going to use it carefully. They didn't even need to ask Yunho they already were certain that he was going to support them through it.
"I love you Yunho" They whispered with a smile against his lips before kissing the prince again, they had truly never felt happier in their life and never thought they could love someone as much as they loved the prince.