"Therefore, I believe I can make both herbal ointments by the end of every three weeks, as I have done this time" Jimin explained to the young man sitting at the heavy looking desk. He waited for a reply but the Crown Prince seemed to have spaced out. "My Prince?" he asked, feeling annoyed at his inattentiveness. 

This has happened a few times already, since the day Jimin brought Mina, he only met General Jungkook briefly to answer specific questions he had or to discuss some decisions related to work. In all of those instances, the Prince seemed to be semi-present, most likely missing half the conversations, and Jimin has had enough.

"My Prince!" he called from where he stood, louder this time, breaking him out of his trance and seeing the usually hooded --condescending-- eyes stretch rounder in surprise for a second.

"Oh, sir Park I apologize, my mind wasn't with me for a moment" Jungkook apologized, looking disoriented. "What were you saying?" he asked again and Jimin contained his eye-roll as best as he could.

"I was informing you that the oitmen-"

"Do you know anything about body art?" the Prince interrupted. Jimin silently stared at him for a few seconds, mentally slapping him repeatedly, but choosing to break a smile instead.

"Whatever do you mean my Prince?" Jimin asked, his voice tense, obviously not enjoying his time.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, it's just that I'm currently very curious about skin painting" Jungkook replied, tying to keep his question as ambiguous as possible. 

Jimin narrowed his eyes. Skin painting? Is he talking about tattoos? Why...

"If your highness is meaning to ask about tattoos, I do know a few things. However, I must remind you that a person of royal blood will not be allowed to wear tattoos on their skin. I am sure you are aware of the association they have with slavery in older times" Jimin explained, just in case he was thinking of getting any. 

If I get executed I would rather it be for killing the Prince, not for tattooing him. Jimin thought.

"I am aware indeed, I wanted to ask if you knew of anything that can be used to create specific markings on the skin" Jungkook replied, eyes focused on the shorter.

"Of course, there are a few plants" Jimin said, not giving away any information.

"Have a seat sir Park, this conversation might take sometime if you decide on being so tight-lipped about your craft" Jungkook said, making him smirk. He sat on the other side of the desk waiting for any other question to be asked, and took his time to observe his surroundings properly. 

They were currently in the Crown Prince's study, it was a large two-level room, make of wooden walls and tall windows. There were a few stairs leading to the second level, but it only took up half the surface of the ground floor, just a mezzanine for book shelves. 

Jimin liked this room, it wasn't like any other part of the palace, not even like the royal school where Jin taught. But then again, now that he thinks about it, the Crown Prince's quarters were all so different than the rest. 

"Could you tell me about plants that can be used for tattooing" Jungkook asked, breaking the silence that had settled a few seconds ago.

"There are a few plants that produce a tint on the skin when prepared correctly, Henna for example. It can be manipulated to draw specific shapes, and leaves those marks in warm to dark browns" Jimin started. 

"How about darker colors, say dark green or black" 

"There are two techniques, either using ulterior tools to make the Henna darker, or opt for ink. Most people choose the latter. The ink is permanent because it is punctured into the skin as opposed to the Henna which is lathered on top" Jimin elaborated.

"I see, but from my understanding, these should be used with a tool to draw the desired shape on the skin" Jungkook advanced.

"You are correct"

"Could there be something that can create shapes without the need to draw on the skin?" Jungkook asked, starting to lose hope in finding his answers.

"I am not sure I understand what you mean" Jimin replied. He watched the other's eyes coat with something like confusion, as if himself was trying to figure out how to arrange his words.

"Is there a possibility that the consumption of a plant... may lead to the appearance of designs on the skin?" Jungkook asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Not that I know of my Prince. It may be poison, but the marks shouldn't be specific" He answered and felt his eyes widen slightly. Is somebody else poisoning him? That would ruin everything. 

"If you'll allow me my Prince, this conversation has me worried. Perhaps are you suspecting any sort of poison in your food or beverages?" he asked, honest this time.

"Worry not sir Park, these questions aim to satisfy my curiosity only. I don't think anybody would dare such a reckless plot" the Crown Prince chuckled humourlessly, his mind was still wrapped around something Jimin couldn't possibly know.

"Alright well, if your curiosity is appeased, I would like to ask about the treatment I delivered three weeks ago. How is it working out?" he inquired, ready to hear what the Prince had to say about it, and mainly to find out if he would stick with the tea or not.

"I do enjoy drinking my tea in the morning. It has a very refreshing sweetness to it" Jungkook smiled softly remembering the aroma. 

"Dracni petals, my Prince. I'm glad it has met your taste" Jimin bowed his head as a little thanks for the compliment.

"It also did a nice job with the itchiness, so I was thinking of finishing this batch next week and stopping" he announced. 

Exactly what I was worried about. He needed to think of something quick. He could tell him the treatment wasn't over yet, but that takes nothing from the fact that if he didn't want to drink it, he won't. 

"I understand, however, I might want to let you know that the tea I made wasn't only basic treatment for your condition. I made sure to include a few more purposes, killing two birds with one stone" he started. " The tea is meant to cleanse your skin and help with your blood flow to rid you of any toxins in your body, I highly suggest you keep benefitting from it my Prince" he lied, the tea was indeed basic treatment but the Prince didn't need to know that.

"Oh is that true... I do admit, it will do me no harm to keep drinking it"

Right, it will just kill you...  Jimin internally scoffed at the irony.

"Alright sir Park, I won't be keeping you here any longer" Jungkook said and they both stood up. Walking to the door. 

The younger stayed a step behind noticing little things about his pharmacist. The way his silver hair had gotten longer since he met him the first time, or how Royal Blue suited him very well, making his porcelain skin glow brighter. 

He was curious, what is it like to be a Liquis? He wanted to know if it would rid him of his temper, or his aggressiveness, maybe the way he trusts too easily. Those were things he despised about himself. He loved his fire and liked many things that came with it, but others just made his life harder. He wondered if it Jimin could relate, if there was anything he didn't like in himself.

Of course not, what is there to dislike, Jungkook thought and watched the man walk out in the distance. Despite everything he knew and was trying to find out, trusting Jimin was never a problem. The Prince would force himself to be cold and lock him out, but his mind always went back to the friend he met of the night of the Dragon Festival, and has not moved on since.

After closing the door Jungkook went up the stairs in his study, and stood ahead of the small mirror on the wall. He slowly loosened the knot on his burgundy Hanfu, afraid to see what's underneath, yet his eyes never leaving his reflection's chest. Sliding the sleeves down his shoulders, he softly gasped. 

New lines had appeared.

---

The sky was cloudy, announcing a light shower later in the evening, but the weather was still hot. It was suffocating. Maybe mother nature really just wanted to mess with him that day, test him and his patience, because he was not in the mood to deal with the Prince's new passions and certainly not in the mood to talk to anyone else that day, yet there he was bowing as Queen Sunmi walked her way to him. 

She was wearing a red satin royal hanfu dress with white and gold embroidery, it had a long train and big sleeves, Jimin wonders if she just dressed like that everyday for fun, because it should be hard to do anything in those clothes. That must have cost a fortune, he thought to himself before smiling at the Queen.

"Sir Park, I cannot believe this is my first time greeting you inside the palace" she said, her court ladies already fixing her dress if ever crumpled. He nodded, holding his arms behind his back and chuckling lightly.

"It is an honor to finally do so my Queen" he said and bowed again.

"Oh please, at this point I feel as though it is the other way around. You're the talk of the palace and everyone wants to have a piece of your boxed magic" she praised Jimin skills, and he smiled brightly with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Don't flatter me my Queen, all I do is experiment a little with what mother nature gave" Jimin said. Do flatter me I'm quite amazing, he thought.

"Well, will you be willing to let me try one of your experiments sir Park? I'm particularly interested in floral teas lately" she said, obviously giving an order and not asking him nicely, the expression on her face gave it away immediately.

What a condescending look, he thought.

"What exactly is it you are looking for, I will gladly have the palace pharmacist prepare for you" the young man replied noticing the narrowing of her eyes. 

Jimin was often praised for his tactfulness and he can thank his father for it. The man was always so well-spoken and knew exactly how to reply keeping the atmosphere calm and pleasant. As per usual, the son looked up to the father and young Jimin practiced his critical thinking and fast assessment of situations to stay quick on his feet with conversations.

"Sir Park, if I'd wanted the palace pharmacist I wouldn't have made you such a request" the Queen pointed out, and right about then, Jimin started noticing her voice change. At the beginning it was soft and polite, but it was slowly becoming sharper, maybe slightly nasally as if she was only containing her temper. 

These Pyres, always trying to fight somebody...

"Which begs my confusion, my Queen... I am the Crown Prince's pharmacist indeed, so what is it I can do for you?" he asked, his words clear and somewhat irritating for the older lady, whose face held a frown now.

"Sir Park, I know you haven't been in the palace for long, but a request from a Queen should be pleased when received" she demanded, the sound of her tone remaining sour.

"I must apologize then my Queen" he started and she huffed, holding her head high "But I currently cannot do so" he finished, earning a piercing glare.

Blame it on me if you have to, he remembered the Prince say. Well I will certainly not ruin my relationship with the Queen for his selfishness, he thought to himself.

"The Crown Prince has given me so much work for the next 5 months, I am afraid I cannot spare any time to prepare you an assortment. Not to seek your compassion, but the troops are large and the order sizes are exhausting" Jimin said, unapologetically blaming everything on the Prince. He wasn't even that tired and he definitely had time, but it was either following the Prince's order and keeping good terms with the Queen, or following his order and messing up the civil relationship with her.

"How I feel bad for you, young man" the Queen said and he internally smirked. He raised his head to say something but the face he saw surprised him. She was disgusted. "Having to see his face everyday, I can't imagine what it must be like for you" she added. 

The atmosphere changed, Jimin could tell. It was no longer about the tea or the pharmacy, for some reason she has very strong negative feelings about the Prince and he was curious to know why. I don't disagree, Jimin thought, but he decided to stay quiet and waited for her to speak again. 

"That... beast, needs to be kept alone. Preferably locked up somewhere he cannot hurt anybody" she spoke, "I can't believe His Majesty invited him to stay, he was better off in that miserable house, away from us and my little child. Just thinking about them being in the same space makes me anxious" 

That's some intense hate if I do say so myself.

"If you'll allow me to ask, why do you feel this way about the Crown Prince? I doubt it's a secret" Jimin said, really testing the waters. He doesn't know if the Queen will let out her opinions or if she'll turn this around and accuse him of overstepping boundaries.

"Of course not, everyone should know how horrible a person he is" she replied. 

Is there something I don't know about him?

"A bloody killer with no sense of humanity whatsoever. He's just a dog in a leash waiting for someone to give him the order to kill or torture. I shall never forget what he did to my people in the North. All he does is ruin people's lives and yet gets to walk around like a respectable person" the Queen fussed. She was speaking loudly, her voice piercing Jimin's ears.

He didn't know how to act, but it wasn't as though he didn't think the same. In fact, he had a very similar opinion about the man but never did he think of him as a dog, or whatever the Queen proudly claimed. 

It was a bit harsh to degrade a person that way, and even if Jimin thinks General Jungkook should be punished for taking people's lives -his father's primarily- he didn't feel comfortable sharing her point of view.

"Sir Park, I will make you a generous offer" she announced, "Give up your current title and come work for me. I will make sure to take you in right away, the King wouldn't refuse me" the Queen said and he gasped. 

Giving up his current position yet staying in the palace would mean the Crown Prince was not a good master, the other palace workers will lose respect for him and make all sorts of rumors why Jimin left. The pharmacist can tell they weren't happy to be under his supervision, and doing this would be a terrible blow to his already tainted reputation.

"I apologize my Queen, but I couldn't show such grave disrespect for the Crown Prince" he said. He hated that he felt that way because in the end he wanted General Jungkook's doom.

Jimin pursed his lips and sighed, that's not the only problem... If he does accept her offer and still executes his plan, suspicion might befall him and this time there might be convincing motive to accuse him.

"Think about it sir Park, I hate that you have to be around that ruthless killer, and I'm sure you think so as well-"

"I don't" Jimin interrupted. It was true. Hearing her talk about the man in such a way made him think back at the times he was around him, and in none of them was he afraid. The atmosphere was always tense, the Crown Prince's eyes were always hard and unforgiving, but they never made him feel threatened.

"You don't have to lie to me, I will not let people know what you think of him. His presence itself in the palace is blasphemous, he even threatened me with his element not long ago" she huffed.

Really? Did the Crown Prince mean to do that or was it an accident. He seemed to have himself under control... Jimin thought.

"How can someone feel so offended over hearing the truth. Did you know what my son told me the other day? He said he was scared of the monster in his home! If that is not indication enough that we should get rid of him" she didn't stop complaining, spouting comment after the other about the Prince as Jimin listened. He was getting embarrassed at how loud she was, looking around and reassuring the people gathering around them.

"What do you decide sir Park?" Jimin was put under the light, everyone looking at him wondering what the commotion was all about, although they seemed to be used to the Queen behaving that way. 

"I will have to decline once again my Queen, I will never betray my Prince in that manner" he said "Therefore, I will kindly ask of you not to make me such an offer again" he replied and bowed, hoping she wasn't going to punish him for this, she sounded insane enough to. 

"Creating scenes as always my Queen" another voice said from behind the pharmacist making Jimin sigh in relief, for once glad the Crown Prince was close. He wasn't the center of attention anymore.

---

Queen Sunmi doesn't seem to like the Crown Prince very much...

What are these "lines" Jungkook keeps looking at?

-Aida-