𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 • ʰʸᵘⁿˡⁱˣ

Hyacinth

Each chapter will be named after a flower, and I will give a description as to why I chose it in.

This chapter is called Hyacinth because it is often used to symbolise rebirth and new beginnings. This is the first chapter and Felix's new beginning of going out to meet Prince Hwang Hyunjin. The flower is also associated with the arrival of Spring, where the story is currently taking place. Hyunjin's birthday is March 20th, the first month of Spring and this chapter takes place on the 9th of March.

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Felix
Eleven Days Earlier

The day Princess Lee Felix had been dreading arrived. Sat in a chair by the tall arched windows in his room, the princess watched over the gardeners. A strong wind had appeared in the night, littering the garden with leaves and petals. Felix's mother—the punctilious woman she was—didn't like her garden looking anything other than immaculate, so as soon as the sun had risen, the gardeners were out, cleaning up.

Felix had been up before the gardener's, before the sun, unable to sleep from knowing the stress of the days to come. He had attempted to sleep with multiple tosses and turns, yet nothing could calm his mind. His body wouldn't relax, no matter how tired he was. He only hoped his mother wouldn't notice the dark rings under his eyes.

Eventually, it had gotten to a point where Felix no longer tried to sleep and instead went to his oak writing desk. In one of the brass-handled draws, a small stack of papers contained known information on the Prince of the Summer Court, Hwang Hyunjin.

Prince Hwang Hyunjin made his debut two years ago, but his search for a partner was delayed by his own wishes. The Prince had made it known that he was a romantic, he didn't want to be told who to marry because of their status. Obviously, that caused many to talk and speculate he had a secret lover—someone of a much lower social class. However, those rumours were quickly dismissed when the King and Queen made an announcement, the Prince was actually delaying because he wished to complete his mandatory military service. Some still questioned if those truly were the Prince's intentions or that his parents were sending him away because they didn't approve of the person he wished to marry. The truth about the situation never came out, but no one spoke of it again once the Prince was seen arriving, with a smile, at the training centre.

Having returned from his enlistment, it was then announced that a ball would be held on the Prince's twentieth birthday, and it would mark him officially looking for a suitor. Many daughters were very intrigued to see how the Prince would look after his military service, as no portraits of his time there or afterwards had been shared. He was an already highly sought-after individual, many females had denied others courting while he was away, in hopes of being the one Prince Hwang Hyunjin chose.

That twentieth birthday ball was in eleven days. Felix's mother wasn't going to pass on the opportunity of her daughter being a potential contender for the Prince's heart. Therefore, they were going to leave today to make the long journey to the capital of the Summer Court.

The Starean Isle consisted of four courts, each with their own reigning families. The Summer Court covered the South, while the Spring Court—Felix's homeland—lay across the midlands, along with the Autumn Court above, and finally, the Winter Court ruled furthest North. Each Court had been at peace for the past two hundred years, but before there had been many wars over Courts wanting to rule the whole Isle. Changing weather caused many to suffer from famine, drought, floods and other natural disasters. Eventually, the four families came together and made a treaty for peace and partnership. However, human's natural greed led to whispers of Prince Hwang Hyunjin's ball actually being a means to create a stronger bond with another Court. Thus, leave others to worry if it's a ploy to break the treaty.