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The Princess Made Me Do It!

Let me introduce you to 'The King and His Glory.'

What is it, you ask?

It is an ongoing web-novel. So far, all the readers know is that the Crown Prince Jungkook has killed his father and taken over the throne for reasons unknown; furthermore, he has chosen a suitor for his sister who do hates it and runs away from the palace.
And, Kim Taehyung just happens to be an extra who helps the Princess escape and dies by the hands of the King.

A small sacrifice to be made for the story's progression.

Sacrifice? My ass! He thought as he was being taken in chains through the streets. There is no way I am letting my head get chopped. Not today. I need a plan.

"Free me, you beasts!" Taehyung demanded as he walked behind the soldiers with his hands chained together. "You ungrateful humans. Let me go!"

There was no reaction from the group.

"Kind soldiers, let me go." He requested with a humble smile now.

Again, no response.

"I - I have a mother who's very sick." He lied. "My father has left us drowning in debts. Ah, my poor mother! She needs me!"

From atop his horse, Namjoon turned back to look down at his captive. "You sure do talk a lot!"

"God has gifted me a mouth."

"He sure has." Namjoon spoke. "Say, if you love your mother so much, then you should've thought of her before doing such act."

"What act are you accusing me of?" Taehyung questioned. "I've done nothing wrong to the Princess. To be honest, she was the one who came onto me first."

Namjoon glared at him.

Taehyung hesitated. "That came out so wrong. That's really not what I meant."

"Quiet!" Namjoon ordered. "Save your speech for the King."

Every step Taehyung took felt closer to death. Come on. Think. For the first time ever, he felt unprepared, and he was never unprepared. His logic had officially left his brain.

Can I take on these guards? He thought, glancing at the soldiers walking next to him. They've got swords! What am I thinking? I can't beat these guys. I can't even try running away because these chains are too heavy. Ugh. Should've hit the gym more often.

"You are so keen on taking me to the King, aren't you." Taehyung groaned. "You have your mind set on killing me, don't you."

Hearing him talk again, Namjoon sighed. He was clearly annoyed.

"If you don't want to hear me talk, let me go. It's easy. All you have to do is free me of these chains and I'll go my way."

"If you speak again, I'll stitch your lips." Namjoon warned through gritted teeth.

"Then how will I answer to the King?"

"Ugh." Namjoon groaned. His grip on the horse's lease tightened. His blood pressure rising. "Shut up or else I'll make the horse kick you."

That did the trick. The talkative youth immediately piped down. His mind a mess of thoughts. He was running out of ideas of escaping.
What if he tried to change the ending? He would try to get on the King's good side, and make sure the King does not despise him. That will save my neck!

What do Kings like?

War? Gold? Women? Pretty faces?

"Stop!" Taehyung shouted. It was so unexpected that it made the whole group come to a halt.

"What is it?" Namjoon asked.

"I want a mirror."

"For what?"

"To see myself."

Namjoon laughed. "You want to admire yourself before death. Fine. I will make your wish come true." He asked one of his soldiers to go fetch a mirror.

With the mirror in hand, Taehyung stared at his face from all angles. It was the same. The character matched his face in real-life. He found it a bit freaky, but he chose to ignore it.
There was a bit of dirt on his cheek, but it did not diminish his appearance.

He was still as handsome as ever.

"Are you done?"

"Yes." Taehyung answered, handing the mirror back to the soldier who had brought it to him. "Thank you." He was feeling confident now.

"So, did you memorize your face, idiot? It will be the last time you'll be seeing it." Namjoon informed.

Taehyung giggled.

"Why are you laughing? What are you thinking of?" Namjoon asked.

"I'm thinking it's time to turn on the charm." He grinned.

The soldiers began marching. As they approached the palace, Taehyung gawked at the stone walls. They were big and sturdy. I can climb that. I can jump from that height too. I think so.

When they stepped inside the palace, Taehyung noticed all the eunuchs and maid-servants busy with their chores.

An old man with a beard walked towards them. The words above him read.

Choi Dantae.
Minister of Finance.
???

Ugh. Again with the floating question mark. Really. Is it something I need to figure out? Taehyung thought, confused.

Namjoon got off his horse and greeted the old man. "Minister Choi, how have you been?"

"Oh. I'm fine." Minister Choi said in his gruff voice.

"How's the King?" Namjoon asked with a worried tone.

Minister Choi sighed. "He is as well as he can be. Any news of the Princess?"

Namjoon shook his head as a no.

Minister Choi nodded understandingly. His eyes fell on Taehyung. "And, who is this? Your prisoner?

"He is the one who helped the Princess escape. I'm taking him to the King. His Majesty will decide his future."

Taehyung gulped.

"Ah. Tsk." The old man said, pitifully. He gave Taehyung a look of contempt as he continued, "You must be really dumb to do such a thing."

Taehyung rolled his eyes at him. Dumb? What does he know about being dumb. I have an IQ of 156. How much is yours, huh, old man?

"Well then I'm off. I have some errands to get done. It was nice seeing you, Captain." Minister Choi said. With that, the old man walked away.

As soon as he was out of sight, Namjoon frowned, "I hate that two-faced man!" Then, he asked one of the soldier to go take the horse back to the stable.

Facing Taehyung, he gave an evil smile. "Are you ready to meet the King?"

"I am." Taehyung said confidently with his chest puffed out.

As they walked into the quiet palace, through the wooden hallways with the creaky floorboards, they reached their destination. The King's room.

They waited outside the door.

"Your Majesty?" Namjoon called out. "It's me, Namjoon."

"Come in."

Namjoon slid the door open and stepped inside. Taehyung had his head down the entire time as he followed behind in chains.

"I hope you've brought me good news." He heard the King speak. His tone cold and angry.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I still haven't found the Princess. But, I did find him." Namjoon said and shoved Taehyung forward.

"Who is this?"

"This person is the one who helped the Princess escape."

"How?"

Quickly, Namjoon started explaining the situation while the King listened intently.

Taehyung bit his lip out of nervousness. There were sweat-beads forming on his forehead now. It's okay. Calm down. I can do this! I can charm my way out of this! The King is a person after all. He'll definitely fall for my charms.

Namjoon had done talking.

"I see." The King said. "You!" Taehyung knew the King meant him. "How dare you! Are you not afraid of me? Of what I can do to you?"

Oh my god. Look at all that anger in his voice. He's like an exploding volcano. Oh! He's gonna kill me no matter what I say.

Taehyung's pulse quickened.

Let's try though. Trying is a good thing. Turn the charm on. It's either do or die.

Taehyung fell down on his knees. "Your Majesty!" He looked up at the King. Putting on his best face, he conjured up the most beautiful - the most brightest - smile he could conjure up in such a bad time.

He met the dark eyes of the King.

Tall and handsome with a fierce aura, stood the King clad in red robes - one which only the King can wear - staring right at him.

Jeon Jungkook.
King of Joseon.
Hero.

Taehyung need not even glance at the word above this person’s head. HERO, shined the title. No doubt about that. Look at that glowing light behind him. The protagonist halo.

The King's piercing gaze left Taehyung speechless.

His charm had failed him.

"I - I...um...let me - with your permission, of course - tell you my side of the story. Pl...please, Your Majesty." He stuttered.

The King raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Tell me why you were caught wearing that - the Princess's dress."

Taehyung froze. "Umm..." He searched for the right words to say, but nothing came to his mind.

The King waited quietly.

It was the silence before a storm.

Taehyung couldn't speak. His gaze was locked on the King. The hero stared back at Taehyung. Those dark eyes like a devastating storm crashing in the ocean. But, there was something else in those eyes. Realization, followed by confusion.

"Chop off his head." The King ordered.

Soldiers came rushing in to seize hold of Taehyung again.

"No!" Taehyung shouted in a panic. "I will speak! I will tell everything!"

The King raised his hand and the gaurds stopped on the spot.

"If you don't speak this time -" The King threatened as he reached around his waist and revealed a sword. He moved towards Taehyung and brought the sword to his neck. The coldness of the metal made Taehyung shudder. "I will kill you myself."

Then, Taehyung began telling his side of the story. He confessed everything, all except the part that of him waking up here in a novel.

He spoke without catching his breath. When it was finally over, he was gasping for air. "Now you know the truth. The Princess made me do it."

The King remained silent.

"Please." Taehyung begged. Tears streaming down his face. "I'll do anything you want me to. Just don't kill me."

"Why not? You did unknowingly helped the Princess run away."

"Because I...I love you. Yes. I do. My King, I have admired you for a long time now."

One last lie. Taehyung thought. One last try.

The King put his sword away. He stepped away from the sobbing Taehyung. "Don't cry. You'll live."

"Your Majesty." Namjoon said in a tone of surprise. "Are you sparing his life?"

"He'll live. For today. He'll be executed tomorrow."

Taehyung's heart dropped. He had been right to think that the King would kill him no matter what. It was the plot of the story after all. And, here he was hoping he could actually change it.

Taehyung had an outburst.

"You!" Taehyung shouted as he stood up on his feet. Anger boiled inside him. He could feel his cheeks boiling. "You think just because you're the King you can do whatever you want?"

Namjoon stared in shock. His mouth fell open. Eyes wide. The soldiers present in the room gasped in horror.

"I told you I'm innocent and yet...you bastard! Fucking asshole!" Taehyung was fuming mad.

The King had a blank face.

"You dare speak that way to the King!" Namjoon barked.

"Oh, shut up." Taehyung rolled his eyes at the Captain. Moving his eyes back to the King, he yelled, "Is this justice?! Aish. This is so annoying. I can't believe you are the hero."

"Are you done?" The King asked in a casual tone.

"FUCK!" Taehyung screamed at the top of his lungs letting all his frustration out. Finally, he gave up and once again fell on his knees defeated.

"Take him." The King ordered.

Before Taehyung was taken away to the prison, he heard the King say, "I'll personally make sure you die tomorrow."

***

Author's Note:

Taehyung is sharp tongued and also hot-headed. And, to people wondering, Taehyung has long hair here.

More characters will be introduced in the story further. Hope you had fun.

Comment and Vote. Bye~