Magnolias: Natural Feelings.

"Honey? It's time to go." The king ushered his wife.

"..." Anne was lying in bed, not wanting to budge one bit. Her back facing him.

"Love?" He asked her again, standing by the door.

"I'm coming." She mumbled and sat up as if it was a tedious chore.

Concerned for his wife, the king walked to her side and asked, "Are you okay?" He was not seeing her usual cheerful self.

Anne smiled not to worry him and replied. "I'm good. Just tired."

Her expression felt forced, and he had a feeling of what it was. He hugged her tightly and gripped his fingers. "Don't worry about what other people say, love, you are fine the way you are!"

She returned his embrace with an "en." and patted his back. "Let's go; we can't let them wait too long."

It was not. It was not at all.

At the base of the staircases, Chen lowered his head and said, "Your majesty." When he looked up, he saw that Anne looked quite haggard since the last time and asked out of courtesy, "Are you alright, your highness?"

"I'm fine. Let's go greet the people!" She replied, trying to brush the topic, but the voices kept creeping up inside her heart.

Is there something wrong with her?

How come there is no good news?

I knew she wasn't good.

No longer prying about her outlook, Chen continued. "Then the other royals are waiting for you." He escorted them to the open carriage and proceeded to ride the one behind theirs.

Unknowing to Chen, this made Anne a little sad. He would usually probe if even if the tiniest strange expression appeared on her face. It used to annoy her, but now that he's not doing it anymore, it annoyed her even more.

Naturally completing the brief speech in front of the palace, the king and queen then paraded towards the border where they'll be meeting the royal family of the Northern country. The entire procedure was heavily guarded, and Chen had to stick to them the whole time to make sure it was running smoothly.

It was also one of the few times he appeared in public. People were quite intrigued by which family the attractive man belonged to, but there were so many other influential people around, it was confusing.

He had quite a demanding, cool aura dressed in sophisticated clothing. A clean, simple look was always his sporting appearance; however, today was different.

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Lily, on the other hand, was freely enjoying the different food stalls she hadn't visited before. When she saw the parade, she tried to hide to not spoil the surprise visit for Anne.

Chen had promised to meet her at the candy shop that is near the villa. It was where the royals and a few nobles were supposed to stay at, so she planned to head there when sunset hits.

After admiring the parade, Lily turned around, and her shoulder had accidentally bumped onto another person.

"I'm so sorry!" Lily quickly bowed and apologized.

"No worries," The lady bowed back.

From what Lily saw, the lady wearing a simple green dress, dull black pumps, and a brown cloak.

Lily lifted her head, wanting to see the face of the lady, but by the time she did, the woman had already disappeared.

There was something familiar about her. But what was it? Lily thought to herself.

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"I'll take it from here, Chen." a voice gallantly spoke aloud.

"Ok. Good Luck Alec," he replied calmly back.

Many notable people had gathered all at once at the villa. Aside from the servants and the soldiers already prepared, no one was allowed to even step in front of the entrance until the festival was over.

This is quite a famous event that happened every four years, after all. Any surprise attacks can occur; hence, extreme precautions must be made to prevent it from happening for their protection.

Alec was one of the most influential commanders in the kingdom. He had a powerful chivalrous vibe as well as a body structure that evoked manliness.

Once they reached the border, Chen left the king and queen to Alec and went to find the woman he left wandering by herself. Despite having a soldier secretly guarding her, he was still anxious about her safety.

Reaching the shop that they were supposed to meet each other, Chen could see Lily sitting in the front on the bench chewing on fruits glazed with a light sugar coating.

He had spent the whole day traveling with the king and Anne that the sun had already set.

Not noticing that he had already arrived, Lily was staring at the fireworks that slowly appeared in multiples in the sky. Her eyes were glistening in the night, mixed in with the lighting of the festival. Her excited face was apparent in every angle.

She looked mesmerizing.

"You little bun, that's not good for you." He voiced tenderly as he approached her.

Lily turned to the direction of the voice and immediately stood up. "Chen!"

Chen stood in front of her and deepened his eyes, "I'm sorry for taking so long."

"It's okay! It's your job, after all. So what should we do now since it's so late?"

Chen raised his lips and asked, "Did you have dinner? I'll treat you."

"Nope! Only this snack!" Lily lied.

Chen could tell she was lying but played along.

I'll just eat what she doesn't finish. He internally chuckled.

As they were walking, Chen abruptly put his hands on Lily's shoulders.

"What's wrong?" She looked up to him.

"It's crowded."

"Oh, en..."

Occupied by a rat roaming around, Chen turned his head slightly to the left; his eyes glared behind Lily.

His whole manner was menacing, but he tried to keep it contained, not disturbing her. Sensing a figure approaching them, he sent a signal for the guard to track and capture the person.

"Chen!" He heard a voice tersely calling and turned to her.

"Un?" He emitted.

She looked up with big eyes and demanded. "Buy me this please!"

Taking his gaze from her eyes down to where she pointed. He saw a pair of hair clips with white magnolias attached to them.

Without hesitation, he replied with an "okay." and paid for it in front of the stall.

"Lower your head." Lily concisely requested him.

He compliantly bent down for her, having no idea what she was trying to do.

After a couple of rustling from above, he straightened himself up, lifting his hand to feel his hair.

"For you," Lily giggled. "It looks good!"

"Isn't it meant for you?" Chen softly gazed at her.

"Then put this one on for me." Lily closed her eyes and moved her head closer to him.

His eyes formed a smile and did as she commanded. "It looks good on you too."

She gave him a beautiful smile. "Is that so?"

He then grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd. "Come, let's go eat."

Lily gazed at the person glowing from the countless lights from the festival, taking her hand.

"En!" Her lips lifted upwards.

I'm happy. She thought.

If only this happiness can last forever, that would be good.