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The last three days had been very stressful for King Kim. He had never imagined love could make people crazy, like those princes who fell hard for his daughters. He was once a young man, a prince, yet he didn't have to do much to make his future Queen fall for him. It amused yet troubled him as the infamous cursed princes were trying their hardest to get his approval, and on top of that, in the most unusual way.
But then again, that was why they were cursed in the first place, because they played a prank on some fairies who got angry and cursed them to become animals.
He wasn't ready to hear from his daughters if they all shared the same feeling, but deep inside he already knew the answer. He witnessed the way his daughters all laughed happily on Minhye's 20th birthday, the first time they met the three princes.
"What are you thinking of, dear?"
The King smiled when he felt delicate arms wrapped around his shoulder, a familiar sweet scent wafted through him, "Our princesses, of course." he answered.
"You still won't give up to those brave young men?"
"You mean the troublemakers?" The King turned his head, meeting his beautiful wife's smile.
"Many princes had been intimidated when they were trying to get close to our jewels, as you call them," The Queen let go of his husband, moving beside him and put a hand on the documents on the table, tilting her head as she read it.
"They are our precious jewels, of course I want the best for them. Knowing that their future husbands are animals is making me..." the King sighed, shaking his head, "It's unbelievable."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be speechless once you've heard what their comments about the princes are," the Queen said as she organized the documents.
"What did they say about them?"
The Queen stopped her hands, lifting her head. She blinked twice before narrowed her eyes, a playful smile forming on her lips, "Are you sure you can handle it, dear husband?"
The King huffed, shaking his head, "No, don't tell me. It’ll only makes me hate them more."
"The more you hate them and forbid them to be your son-in-laws, the more trouble they will cause."
"You're right, dear. There's a time when being a king is easier than being a father."
The Queen chuckled, caressing her husband's hair lovingly, "I'm here to help you, my beloved King."
Another sighed came out from the King before he took the Queen's hand and kissed gently, "Thank you, my dear."
***
The falcon flew through the sky in a high speed, feeling the air rushing around its body as it made an excited caw. Its wings, colored in white and different shades of brown were opening wide. It folded when it dive down, approaching its brother on the ground.
"Are you having fun?"
Yixing opened his beak in an answer as he landed into the grass gracefully, "Sure I am. You don't know how it feels to fly, Yifan." his eyes were on the stag which fur color was brown with small white dots on its back. Its fur looked and felt so smooth that Yixing took a nap on his brother's body a lot.
Yifan grunted, "If I could choose what I'm going to be, I would choose to be a bird like you."
"Well, that's true. At least we don't have to be like our youngest who can only live in the water."
"Oh, he enjoys being with the other fishes a lot. You know he loves with swimming. It's no wonder he enjoys being one of them," Yifan said with a small smile.
Yixing tilted his head, "You're right, he's lucky he likes sea while we..."
"It's not like I hate it," Yifan folded his legs to sit with a huff, "I'm used to it by now and it was our fault after all."
"It's time for us to grow up and prove the King that we deserve his daughters," Yixing cawed.
"Yes. Let's make a new plan and bring our friends to their kingdom!"
And it seemed like it wasn't easy for the young animal princes to grow up into a fine young man like the King wanted them to be.
***
The three Princesses were having a chat in the library. They had finished their study for the day and they choose to stay indoor instead of going to the garden.
The oldest princess Minhye had a brown hair that reached her waist and was braided by the maids early that morning. Her eyes were clear and round and couldn't hide her curiosity despite being a shy person. She had a book on her lap, but she focused more on what her sisters were talking about.
"You must had heard it, right? The princes were making trouble again yesterday!" the youngest princess named Jonghui formed a kittenish smile. Her eyes were full of mischief and excitement as always as she propped her heads with her hands.
"That's not good news, Jonghui." the middle Princess, Junhee, were currently brushing Jonghui's dark locks. Jonghui's hair only reached her shoulder. She liked to keep it short unlike Junhee’s, because she liked to do outdoor activities. Junhee’s hair was as long as Minhye's but her hair was shiny black, just like Jonghui's and their mother's.
"It's not? But it sounds fun. I like brave men who're willing to do anything for the ones they love," Jonghui had her eyes on Minhye, who was frowning at her, "Don't you agree, Minnie unnie?"
"I'm just afraid that they're going to hurt themselves," Minhye pursed her lips, closing the book on her lap after bookmarking the page. "I believe what they did didn’t give father a good impression either."
"Oh, but father will surrender in the end, I'm sure of that." Jonghui grinned.
"How can you be so sure?" Junhee asked.
"I mean, even after they were turned into animals, they didn't give up but kept trying to make father accept them. I admit their ways are weird, but it's unique too." Jonghui shrugged.
Minhye sighed out loud, rubbing her temple, "Jonghui, causing troubles for our kingdom is unacceptable. Why can't they be normal and escort us like other princes would do? It's like they're threatening our kingdom, and they'll continue to cause problems if the King doesn't allow them to marry his daughters, us!"
The three animal Princes did cause trouble to the Kim Kingdom. Prince Yixing, the falcon, brought his friends to destroy all the beautiful blooming flowers. The places surrounding the kingdom suddenly looked like they were nearing winter instead of spring. Prince Yifan called his friends to help ruin all the farmers’ fields which were ready to be harvested, while the youngest, Prince Tao was having fun with his friends by preventing boats from going out of the kingdom, thus stopping the kingdom’s trades.
Jonghui opened her mouth to say something, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Minhye unnie is right," Junhee said, "But that's the only way for our father to allow them to marry us."
"I know that, I'm just worried for our people, Junhee." Minhye said with a deep frown, biting her nail as Jonghui reached out to gently pull on her hand.
"Is it greater than your love for the Prince?"
Minhye averted her eyes from Junhee. She couldn't forget that night she met the prince and fell in love in a mere three hours. She wondered how the Wu Princes did it, but they succeeded in taking her and her sisters' hearts in their first meeting.
"I just hope father will announce our marriages soon, so the kingdom will go back to being as peaceful as it was before." Minhye said quietly.
Jonghui went to Minhye's side, wrapping her arms around her sister's torso, "I'm sorry for sounding ignorant. I am concerned for the people of our country but I know that it won't last that long. It's going to be alright very soon. Aside from that, you need to worry more if father allows us to get married. Our lives will change completely.”
Minhye blinked, turning to Jonghui. "What?"
Junhee hummed, "Jonghui is right, are we ready to be wives?"
***
King Kim gave up on the sixth day. He was quick to write a letter and send his messenger to the Wu Kingdom. His wife was beside him as he stared at the painting of his family in the hallway.
"You made the right decision, dear."
The King turned his head, brows furrowed as he pressed his lips tightly together, "Did I?"
"This is the only answer for the problems the princes caused."
"I don't even know if they will take care of my daughters the way I want them to."
The Queen smiled, cupping the King's face, "My dear, they caused havoc to this extent because they want you to allow them to be your son-in-laws. They will do anything to take care and give the best to our daughters."
"You mean stupid things?"
The queen smiled, "I want you to believe in our daughters and the ones they love. Despite being the infamous troublemaker princes, they never once neglected their obligation as princes."
"I won't stop praying for my daughters' safety and happiness." the king smiled tiredly, leaning down and pecking the queen's lips.
“So will I.”
***
The King was angry when the princes refused to hold a celebration for their marriages. The three princes had came formally to meet the King upon his request and they told him about their plan, a plan that the King never imagined will happen to his daughters.
Prince Yixing, the falcon, planned to bring Minhye to the the highest point of the mountain, passing the clouds where she could see the most beautiful view. Junhee would live in the woods, in the deepest parts where no one would find them, where there was a secret, lovely house that the Prince Yifan had prepared. Jonghui would live in the middle of the sea in a palace made of rocks with the youngest, Prince Tao.
The King knew he couldn’t leave without the Queen as she held his hand, smiling encouragingly with her warm gaze, he knew he wouldn’t need to worry. His jewels could take care of themselves and seeing the Princes’ friends was proof that they would have backups in case bad things happened.
As the King said goodbye to his daughters the next week, three pair of eyes were full of love and he tried his best to keep his tears at bay.
The princesses had grown up—they were no longer princesses who liked to play dolls, bothering him at work so they could play together or asking him for bedtime stories before going to sleep. The Kim princesses had chosen to spend their time with their lovers, in a different place. They would marry the princes in their animal forms and it didn’t bother them. They knew the curse would be broken somehow and they were willing to wait.
***
Years passed and Queen Kim gave birth to a son. She named him Kyungsoo, and she raised him lovingly with her husband, just like how she did with her daughters she hadn’t met in years.
Since he was young, Kyungsoo heard lots of stories from her mother. He didn’t know that one of the stories was true. He only found out when he was fifteen, that the story of three princesses who married three animal princes was real, and that those three beautiful princess were his sisters.
The King took down the large painting he used to admire. It hurt him. He didn’t want to be reminded that he could no longer see his jewels.
Kyungsoo didn’t know how to describe it, but he felt some kind of longing when he saw the said painting as he asked his mother to show him. His sisters were beautiful and he could never understood how they fell in love with animals.
“You need to see it with your own eyes. There’s love in their eyes. They looked so content and they didn’t say anything when the princes refused to celebrate their marriages,” The Queen said.
“Is it impossible to see them?” Kyungsoo gulped, “I-I want to see them. Is it the same look that I always see whenever you look at father?” The Queen widened her eyes, but it crinkled prettily as she smiled, “I don’t know how to find them, unfortunately.”
“Will you allow me to leave this Kingdom to search for them?”
“Kyungsoo, as much as I want to say yes, can you take care of yourself?”
Kyungsoo nodded eagerly, “Yes, Mother. I’ve been studying all these time. I can defend myself, I can survive in the woods alone and I have a good stamina.”
The Queen stared at her son, eyes glinting. She cupped his cheek and Kyungsoo leaned to it. “Let’s ask your father, shall we?”
Kyungsoo smiled his heart-shaped smile to his mother, kissing her cheek as she hugged him.
It wasn’t hard to ask for permission from the King. King Kim was reluctant to let his son go as he was the only child who stayed by him. Kyungsoo promised with determination that he would go back home as soon as he met all of his sisters.
And the Queen gave him a necklace, the one shaped in half moon and half sun, just like the one she gave to her daughters.
***
Kyungsoo walked for days. He went to the neighboring Kingdoms and couldn’t find his siblings. He asked people around yet he never got an answer, instead getting laughed at or a shake of head,even people calling him crazy.
Just how could he find his sisters?
Kyungsoo was staring at the rainbow one day after rain. He kept his eyes on the end of the rainbow and blinked as he saw the clouds. His mother told him once that the first princess married a falcon.
Could it be?
Kyungsoo smiled to himself as he stood up, putting his hood back on and gathering his bags.
***
Minhye startled when she heard a knock on the door. She became alert, taking the nearest knife as she walked to the front door. No one knew she lived there, except for Prince Yixing’s friends who occasionally came to visit. She went to the window, peeking through the curtains to see who the visitor was. She narrowed her eyes when she saw a person wearing a black hooded cape. She couldn’t see the person’s face and she jumped when the person knocked again.
“Anybody home?” It was a man’s voice.
Minhye gulped, taking a deep breath before she said, “Who’s asking?”
“I’m Kim Kyungsoo.”
“Why did you come here?”
“Because I’m looking for someone,” Kyungsoo answered, “Someone who has been missing for years.”
Minhye frowned as curiosity took over her. She hide her knife behind her back, unlocking the door and poking her head out, “How did you find this place?”
Kyungsoo parted his lips, taking a quick scan over her before his eyes stopped on her neck. “Because it just hit me that a falcon probably likes to live in a high place.”
“Falcon?” Minhye tried not to show that she was nervous, how could this man know about her husband who was a falcon? Was it a coincidence?
“Yes. I finally found you, Minhye Noona.”
***
Kyungsoo dropped his smile, lips forming a pout when the woman in front of him just stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Noona?”
“Huh?” Minhye blinked.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m,” she gulped, “No, of course I’m not. I just...I can’t...I mean how…” her eyes diverted from him, brushing her bangs away.
“Can we go inside and talk?” Kyungsoo asked with a smile.
Minhye bit her lower lips, nodding with a sigh, “Sure, yeah. I’m sorry for being rude, please come in, Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo grinned, liking the way his sister called his name.
Kyungsoo spent hours talking to his sister animatedly and excitedly about his childhood, their parents, asking about Minhye’s husband and asking a lot of questions, overwhelming Minhye, who asked him to calm down.
“I can’t wait to tell this to mother and father! I can’t wait to meet my other sisters too!” Kyungsoo grinned, swinging his legs.
“Can you find them? Isn’t it hard enough to find me?” Minhye asked, sipping on her tea.
“I will. No matter how long it takes me, I will go back home after I meet all of my sisters!” Kyungsoo tilted his head, smiling, “You’re really beautiful, Unnie.”
Minhye went red immediately, “ T-thank you. You’re a handsome young man too, Kyungsoo.”
“Does your husband always go out at this hour?”
“No,” Minhye shook her head, “He’s taking care of something related to his own Kingdom. He rarely goes back, but yesterday one of his friends came, telling him about a little situation that he has to attend to.”
“Do you mind if I stay here until...Prince Yixing come back?” Kyungsoo asked, lowering his voice.
Minhye smiled, eyes crinkling, “Of course, Kyungsoo. You can stay as long as you want. Why don’t you take a rest first and then later on, I’ll walk you around?”
“That sounds good.”
At night, Kyungsoo met his brother-in-law. He was gaping as Minhye hugged the falcon lovingly, even kissing its head.
“Husband, I want you to meet someone.” Minhye said.
“Who is it?”
Minhye turned her head to Kyungsoo and the falcon follow. The falcon stared at Kyungsoo, flapping his wings once. “He’s my brother, Kyungsoo.” She said.
“I never heard you have a brother?”
“I never had either, but he found me, and he has the same necklace mother gave to me.”
The falcon eyed the necklace on Minhye’s neck. It suddenly flew towards to Kyungsoo who widened his eyes in shock, tripping and falling on his bottom. Kyungsoo’s breath hitched as the falcon was on top of his chest.
“Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo nodded silently in fear. He heard Minhye chuckle after Yixing got off him. Minhye came to him and offered her hand which he took.
“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo. He’s just suspicious.”
Kyungsoo shook his head, “No, I understand.”
“How about you help me make dinner?” Minhye tilted her head, not letting go of his hand.
“Yes, I can do that.”
Kyungsoo spent a week on Minhye and Yixing’s place before announcing that he needed to go. Minhye looked sad, asking him what was wrong.
“Nothing’s wrong, Noona. I just need to find Junhee and Jonghui Noona.” Kyungsoo smiled sadly.
Minhye shared a look with her husband who huffed through his nose. “You know what they are and the possibility of where they live, right?” Yixing asked.
“Yes, my guess is in the woods and obviously in the sea. I just have to find out which part of the woods and which sea.”
“You did a great job finding us here. I’m sure you’ll be able to find them, Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo couldn’t imagine how Yixing looked like, but the way his eyes crinkled slightly showed him that he was smiling and proud of him.
“Thank you, Hyung.”