Ice Prince

Chapter 3

The day of the wedding was hectic in the castle. All the servants of the castle ran around excitedly with the order to prepare everything - the food, the decorations of the castle and the banquet hall - perfectly. After all, this wasn't just any wedding. It was particularly important for the north because it was the wedding of the crown prince, who was loved and revered throughout the north. Everyone, man, woman or child, loved Prince Seonghwa and his appearance in front of the people. When he finally got married, it was a blessing for the whole country. For the South, the most important was the completion of the peace treaty that would come into effect the moment Hongjoong and Seonghwa were married. This treaty included mutual support, weapons-wise and when one of the countries had food shortages or similar problems such as illness, but it also regulated the promise of both countries not to wage wars against each other anymore. Should this condition be breached, the contract would logically be null and void and that would put Hongjoong in huge jeopardy. So he was more or less a hostage that his father had willingly given to the North.
Since the early hours of the morning, sleep was impossible for most of the people in the castle because of the loud commotion in the corridors. Hongjoong, who couldn't sleep anyway, lay awake on his bed wrapped in the thick blanket, stared at the ceiling and listened to the servants.

"Hurry up, these flowers belong here! No, not there!"

"Has anyone seen the tailor? The fitting will start soon!" These and other calls could be heard clearly in front of the prince's door. Even if he'd wanted to sleep, there probably wouldn't have been any use trying. He was a light sleeper and had good ears and any call from a servant would have woken him up immediately, which is why he didn't even try to sleep. Instead he lay there and thought. He thought about so many things. He thought about the day he had spent with his big brother yesterday. They had spent hours walking around the city, scouting everything out and getting an overview of what life was like up north. He saw many big differences to the south. Meat, for example, was significantly more expensive on the market streets than it was in the south. Logically, up here there were hardly any animals that could be hunted. On a royal hunt you might be lucky enough to catch a couple of wild boars or a deer, but most of the time the hunters only brought home rabbits or squirrels, which of course were then sold at a high price. What was plentiful and cheap, however, was vegetables imported from the west, with whom the north had a food deal since the royal family had enlisted the prince of the west, Prince San, as a knight in Seonghwa's bodyguard. Hongjoong only found out at the welcome party that San was not just a simple knight, but a nobleman. However, since he refused the throne because he did not want to become king, his sister took over this task and San was able to fulfill his wish to be a successful knight. And how much greater success can one have than serving as the personal protector of the Prince of Thrones alongside one of the best archers in all four directions? It was the king of the north himself who asked San to be his son's knight, and the west then made it a condition that they help each other out. So it was that the North would help out the West with wood and silver, and in return the West would bring tons of fruit and vegetables every week. Hongjoong wasn't a big fan of vegetables, but it was probably a staple here in the north, so picky he'd get used to it. In addition to the city, they had looked around the area. They had trudged through the deep snow that lay untouched at the edge of the forest and even had a snowball fight that ended with the two brothers lying exhausted side by side in the snow. They had looked up at the sky together, held hands and said nothing. Realizing that it was the last time Hongjoong would have such fun with Beomjoong had brought tears to the young prince's eyes and he had silently started crying while his brother looked at him, not knowing what to do could to comfort his brother. Because there was nothing. Recalling that moment, Hongjoong sat up in bed, the blanket still wrapped tightly around his body. She was fat and fluffy and yet he was freezing because of the low temperature that had prevailed in his room since the fireplace had gone out a few hours ago. He sat there trembling, a little unsure whether to get up or not. Sitting here in the cold without getting any sleep didn't do him any good anyway, so he might as well get up and do something. Sighing in frustration, he freed himself from the warmth of the blanket, took his dressing gown made of soft, warm wool and padded over to the door in the dark. He grabbed the doorknob, turned it and opened the door to immediately see some of the servants looking at him in bewilderment.