5 Princes and I: The Royal Wedding

Chapter 2 The Ring

A few days later, Ace finally had the ring he had ordered in his hands. The ring was unique and probably the first black gold ever created as jewelry for the royals. It was twisted and braided neatly like a vine and carefully measured and shaped just to fit Rose's finger. But more than ever, the gem's unique shape that the dwarf blacksmith that Ace had hired almost cried because of its intricate detail. The gem is made out of blue sapphire cut and shaped into a rose. Small diamonds were carefully placed and arranged at the band around it to give it a pop of color.

Ace won't deny that he paid a hefty sum for the ring in order to be put together. But what can he say? He doesn't want just to buy her a ring that can be purchased in the shop, not when he has money to pay for it. Since Rose is a woman who's literally out of this world, it was only natural that a ring of her caliber would match her. Ace was proud of the ring that he designed in his hands. The only missing thing was the magic that should keep Rose safe.

"That's pretty. How much does it cost?" Ren peered over his shoulder and admired the ring in his hands. The werewolf king let out a low whistle. "You really tortured the blacksmith with that thing."

"It's not torture when I fairly commissioned the man." Ace closed his hands around the ring and glared at him, "And what are you guys doing here? I clearly remember that I only invited King Fred for this."

"Oh, come on. We're just here to provide moral support to our friend the moment he takes the next big leap of his life." King Nathaniel beamed excitedly along with the others. "Engagement!"

Ace rolled his eyes at them while he handed the ring to King Fred so he could infuse it with a protection spell as they planned. While Fred was busy enchanting the ring, Ace turned to look at the others. "If you guys ruin this for me, I swear, there will be genocide."

The Kings stepped back for a while as they debated whether the King of Gija was kidding or not. Knowing him, it was a possibility. But despite the situation, King Fred managed to laugh when he handed the ring back to Ace. "Well, for all of our Kingdom's sakes, I hope this engagement goes well. I don't think I'll like it when we start killing each other. I wonder how red the lands would be when it's stained with our blood."

Dan turned to Fred with a disgusted look on his face. "Can you stop smiling and laughing when you say such gory stuff?"

"Don't worry, Daniel. The gory stuff will be over once the soil uses our dead bodies as fertilizer to make the land healthy again." Fred added, clearly not getting Daniel's point.

"Sir, you have one sick mind." Dan shook his head slowly while backing away from the king of Hazel.

Nate suddenly came to Ace's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You got everything ready? If you need advice on something, don't hesitate to ask."

"I appreciate your concern, but I believe that I have everything prepared. I made sure to read many romance books from her world to know more about their proposal cultures."

"Oh?" Nate began to seem interested. "Are you going to ask her in a grand manner?"

Ace seemed hesitant. "I did think about making this day as a national holiday for when we get engaged." The Kings and Prince's eyes widened at the idea as soon as it left Ace's mouth, "But I think that she wouldn't like it so much. And Rose isn't the type of girl who likes to become the center of attention for too long, so I decided to make it simple."

Nate's brow arch in curiosity. "How simple are we talking about?"

"The kind that we eat in her favorite diner while I ask for her hand in marriage. Why?" Ace added the question when he saw the worried expression on the vampire's face.

"N-Nothing!" Nate scratched the back of his head nervously when Ace continued to interrogate him with his gaze. "I mean, it's your proposal and your plan. I'm sure if you two love each other, then everything would go smooth." Nate patted his back in comfort for good measure.

"But does she truly love you?" Like the little shit that he is, Dan raised his voice enough so that Ace could hear him. Among them, Dan knows the feeling of proposing to a loved one and seeing the slight twitch of Ace's brow and the occasional shake of his hands. Dan could tell that he was nervous. And since this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he decided to seize the moment. And he was glad that he did because he saw the King of hell - he means Gija - flinch and freeze where he stood.

Ren immediately came to his side and slapped the back of his twin's head with a gloved hand. "Stop fooling around. You're making him nervous!" Ren swore that if he and Dan did not share the same face, he would have beaten him up a long time ago. Sometimes, he wonders if they are even related.

Fred came to Ace's other side in an attempt to calm him down. "Don't worry, King Ace. If she rejects you, it's all your fault - I mean - the ring's fault - I mean - her fault-"

Nate was starting to pity Ace that he began to reach out and cover Fred's mouth with his hand. "I would appreciate it if everyone would stop talking because you guys are not helping." He sighed. Since most of them didn't experience any relationship before, Nate can't really blame them. He looked back at the elf beside him and began to repeatedly snap his finger in front of Ace, "Ace listen to me. That's just your nerves talking. You and Rose have been through a lot, so there's no way that you should doubt your relationship with her. You hear me?" When Nate finally saw him nodded, he felt relieved. "Good. Now, as long as you got your ring and you have a plan, everything will work out."

"Y-Yeah." Ace, who finally began to gather his confidence once more, straightened up. His hands tightened on the ring in his hands as if it was somehow giving him the strength that he needed to pursue the plan.

"Where are you planning to propose?" Ren decided to ask to lighten the mood up a bit. "More importantly, where's Rose?"

"She's at Denver having tea with her friends." Ace said and began to pocket the ring. "Thank you, King Fred, for your assistance. But now, I must get everything prepared." Ace paused at the doorway of his office and turned around to see that the others make a move like they were going to follow him. "Oh, and if I see you guys following me, remember that whatever happens to you after that is NOT my fault. It WILL be an ACCIDENT."

When Ace closed the door behind him, everyone left in the room exchanged glances.

"That was a threat, right? I wasn't hearing things?" Dan questioned.

"No, brother. It was clearly a warning. And I can guess why he doesn't want us to follow him." Ren glowered at his twin while crossing his arms.

Nate sighed in disappointment and crossed his arms over his chest. "Damn. And I wanted to see how that guy would do when we would propose. I was going to give him a thing or two if he needs it."

"Nate? Have you forgotten that your bride-to-be became a runaway bride-to-be? I'm pretty sure that Ace doesn't need advice from you."

Nate pulled his lips apart in a sinister smile aimed at the younger wolf. "If you're looking for a fight, all you need to do is ask."

Dan snickered at his remark and glowered confidently at Nate, "Sorry, King Nate. But as the only mature person here who has a wife, I need to act more mature."

"Yeah, you guys can start calling him uncle." Ren said while eyeing his brother tiredly, "That way, he can feel how old he is." He sighed, "I guess all we can do now is wait until it's finally official, and then we can congratulate them."

"Hold that thought," Fred, who has been silent this whole time, began to smile mischievously while he was looking at the door where Ace left. "Didn't Ace that we'll only be in trouble if he SEES us?"

Nate, Ren, and Dan were perplexed for a while as to what the king of Hazel was up to. The idea eventually sank in after a few brief moments of contemplation, and the four guys in the room were soon wearing the same devious look on their faces.

There was no way that their two closest friends were getting engaged all on their own. And there was no way that they would not witness such an event. Even though their manner is humiliating, they were doing it for the sake of their friends' happy ending.