Jimin walked back home empty handed while his mind carried all his concerns and doubts. He was taken aback by the King's generosity, it was his first time meeting the man despite his father being so close to him, and he could clearly feel the goodness of his heart through his words.

The King was never the target of Jimin's resentment, he knew that his dad admired him and would never want to hurt him in any way. He half-heartedly used the royal family's name when planning his revenge while in reality, he only saw general Jungkook's face between his eyes the entire time.

He finally got to see him so clearly instead of from where he rode his horse coming back from battle. He was both angry and relieved the crown prince wasn't there when he first walked in, he did want to face him but he was afraid his disgust would be too obvious. He thankfully got the time to compose himself before the man actually appeared.

Jimin entered the house and found Mina drying some plants for next week's order. He sat on one of the chairs and laid his head on the table. "You're back! How was the King, did you see the Queens? How was the palace?" she asked, curious about the entire thing and he indulged, telling her about his exchange with their ruler.

"He said that? How kind... What if one day I go learn over there, I could become one of the best artisans" Mina replied, excited about the King's words. He smiled and ruffled her bangs, earning a whine and grumbled words.

"Did you see the Crown Prince?"

"Yes. Nothing happened though I promise you, I didn't show any inappropriate emotion. I told, you, it was just a gift to the King"

"That's true, tea wouldn't harm anybody" she shrugged and pointed over to the big bouquet of red flowers "You went and brought Dracni again yesterday. I understand that you love the flower but you have to stop this obsession, people might start thinking this is a Dracna shop" she complained and he sighed.

"I keep them in the back of the store, they don't bother anybody" he skipped over to his room and collapsed on his bed. He sprawled his arms wide and looked at the ceiling as a sly smirk made its way on his lips. Let it all begin.

---

"Your highness, the royal doctor will be here in an instant" a court lady announced.

Jungkook looked at the spot where his wound previously was, now only leaving behind a pink-ish scar. He grazed his fingers over it, the hair on his side standing at his cold fingers. He didn't feel any pain at all, it looked like it was healed but then again that couldn't be right, wounds like those would only completely heal after 6 weeks of treatment. Just as long as his previous wounds took.

"My prince, it's good to see you again this week"

"Good morning sir Kim, I apologize for calling for you so early today" Jungkook bowed and the older man mirrored it, quickly dismissing the apology "Please, it is my duty to look after the royal family"

Kim Namjoon was the new royal doctor, he was assigned a few days after Jungkook returned from the battle that cost Jimin's father his life. Namjoon had worked closely with Park Jinho before and was devastated upon hearing the news because he really appreciated the man, being the one who taught him many of things he knew now.

"I'm very perplexed, this wound is not supposed to heal so fast" Jungkook pointed out, showing the area to the doctor who'd seen it a few times already in their previous sessions. He examined the scar and the area around it, not finding anything odd in the matter. "I do not think there is something wrong with it. Maybe your body is more accustomed to these types of wounds and the healing process has become shorter" he tried to explain, noting down all his observations.

As he wrote, his eyes fell on a remark he'd been keeping on that page, and thought it was the right moment to ask the prince about it "Your highness, I've gotten word that you've been gifted a specific herbal medicine for your wounds lately" he started and Jungkook nodded affirmatively.

"Yes I have"

"Have you been using it?"

"Indeed, as regularly as specified on the accompanying note" he replied, standing to fetch the said card. The doctor read it and nodded.

"I think this medicine might have to do with your fast recovery my Prince" Namjoon stated and he knit his eyebrows. Jimin's medicine? How come? Jungkook thought to himself.

"I doubt that, it happens to be the same as the medicine late sir Park Jin-ho provided the palace with before he passed" Jungkook informed, this time getting up to fetch the older boxes of that medicine.

"Doctor Jin-ho taught me all regarding it. What made me say that, is the slight modification brought on the mix"

"Is that so... I hadn't noticed anything new" Jungkook muttered, looking at where the doctor was pointing. The cards that explained how and when to use each medicine in the box also included the names of the herbs mixed.

"The person who made these also said which plants they used, if you look closely at both writings, there is a new ingredient in this one" the doctor led the discussion and the prince trailed his conclusions.

"Dracna" Jungkook simply read from the card "The flower?" he asked.

"Exactly. Now, I'm not a pharmacist and I do not know much about the specifications of some plants, but it can be a lead to the answers you are looking for" the doctor said and he hummed.

"This medicine is great then" Jungkook declared, quite impressed. The doctor nodded in agreement "If it has allowed you to recover after only four weeks, I would admit it is. I don't think I have seen any more effective medicine so far. Doctor Jin-ho's mixture was already good as it was" he confirmed. Jungkook looked at the card in his hand with the face of the young man in mind.

It had been a month since their last encounter, he hasn't gone downtown ever since and hasn't really thought about meeting Jimin either. He wouldn't lie and say memories of him didn't cross his mind every now and then when he used the medicine. He just wished not to build a friendly relationship with him in fear of it crumbling down at some point, now that he knows the other doesn't have very innocent motives towards who Jungkook really was.

"We should make more of it since we have the ingredients, I shall let the royal pharmacists know" Jungkook concluded and the doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible" he said and Jungkook raised his eyebrow.

"Why not?" he asked and Namjoon sighed.

"There are many things one needs to know before engaging in such a practice. Even if you know the names the plants that are used, it will not be enough. You need to know where to fetch them, what part of them to use, how to prepare them and when to mix them. All that information is crucial and missing part of it can either make the mixture ineffective, or even poisonous" the doctor explained and he sighed.

So this was his goal all along, get the palace to need him and his medicine? For what end? Jungkook thought.

"In my opinion, your highness should probably send for whoever made it and ask them to provide more of it. This could help soldiers on their feet faster and win some time to train and tend to their duties" Namjoon said and he nodded.

"I agree... There is something else I intended to talk to you about when I called for you" Jungkook started and the doctor nodded, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I have been feeling some itchiness on the skin of my chest for a couple of weeks now, yet my skin looks totally fine" Jungkook described his concerns, baring his chest one more time for the other to take a look.

"There is no redness, your skin looks healthy, not dry, not rough or flaky, I can't feel any bumps under your skin..." Namjoon muttered, inspecting the area with the tips of his fingers "Does it occur very often?" He asked.

"It happened twice so far. The first time I was laying in bed before falling asleep. The second time I was in my residence, in the court by my cherry tree, but I've taken care of it for years now I don't think it is an allergy" Jungkook explained and he nodded.

" I see, what exactly do you feel when it happens?"

"A sensation of my skin burning, or rather like needles prickling it. It gives me an urge to scratch the area then suddenly stops after--I would say--five good minutes" Jungkook described and the doctor hummed.

"These symptoms do indeed point to an allergy. You are very healthy, and Pyre men are generally much less prone to illnesses, so it should only be something trivial" he informed, "I will order you a certain paste to help, it should be gone soon" he assured and the prince nodded.

"Thank you sir Kim, I hope you have a good day" he said and the man bowed briefly before leaving the chambers.

Jungkook got up and began getting ready for his day. He started off by taking a bath, sighing at the soothing water, letting his body radiate some heat to warm it up a little more. He looked ahead at the scenery, the flowers and vines right outside the bathing room, appreciating the view especially since the sun was shining that morning. He relished in the moment wishing his life was only full of this sweet calm.

Opening his eyes again, he nonchalantly looked down at his submerged body and gasped. He saw what looked like small drops of water floating in the air above the surface, they were round and clearly shaped, but they shortly fell right back in, not leaving him time to understand what it was. What is going on...

He knows for a fact that he'd never seen or experienced such a thing before. Maybe a Liquis is able to achieve such a feat, but there were very few in the castle. It was a Pyre kingdom after all, and most of the people tending to the Pyre King would be his own. He dismissed the odd event as an effect of his heat on the water, clearly noting that the occurrence of unexplainable things had increased in the past month or so.

The first thing he did after dressing up was to visit his father. He entered the chambers and bowed, glad he was alone and proceeded to kneel ahead of him. "Good morning my King" he greeted and the other nodded.

"Good morning Crown Prince, what brings you here so early" he asked, putting his cup of tea away.

"I will keep it brief. I'm wishing to send for sir Park Jimin" he said and the king hummed.

"Why so?"

"I will have to say, the medicine for my wounds worked like a charm, I believe we could benefit greatly if we had such an asset here in the palace" Jungkook admitted.

"Well, our impressions make one it appears. I'm enjoying his teas very much. They are the only medicinal ones that don't taste like soiled autumn leaves" he chuckled and Jungkook smiled.

"I will send an invitation for tomorrow, he lives in the capital so I'm sure it won't be too troublesome for him" he explained.

"Very good, I will leave it to you then"

This is what you were waiting for Jimin, here you have it, show me your true colors now.

---

Hello everyone! How are you all feeling about this story so far?

-Aida-