taehyung's pov

"one... more..." my body's on fire. i can feel the heat bubbling through my veins as the thick, sticky liquid drips down from the side of my face, down through my jaw. it's too familiar at this point. the dirt, the heat, this fire and adrenaline whenever i'm inside the ring with opponent.

i spit out the blood from my mouth, waiting for the imperial to get up, however when he never does, i'm forced to sigh and stop. he's been practicing with me for almost three hours now. the commander chief who usually assists my practicing hours, making it as tough for me as he can, as per father's orders, isn't present today, for he had to go to city to look into the slums. there has been a rumour about someone hiding and making illegal armours.

"you can stop now, tae." jimin enters the training field, smiling from under his umbrella that is held by his servant above him. it's too hot today.

he gestures his hand for the man behind him, dismissing him along with the umbrella and walks towards me through the filthy path of the muddy field. i return the smile, straightening in his direction, "no. i'm still in mood for a fight. down for a match? what do you say?"

"sure." he grins and discards his shirt, throwing it aside on the ground, just like mine. "hand to hand?"

"i've been combating enough for today. let's do one with weapons."

"alright. i'll pick." he strolls towards the weapons rack on the and side and chooses a sword. i smile at that knowingly, picking up my sword as well before stepping in position.

"ready, brother?"

"always." i respond with a grin as we begin to circle around each other, holding our swords in hands, never taking eyes off each other. it's always like this. jimin and i, whenever we train together it's like a ritual to have a sword fight where we start by circling one another. eventually one of us, usually him, would take the first strike, starting the battle dance.

followed by series of clinks and clangs, and whistling of the metal, even generating sparks from the friction that takes birth, it's thrilling and fun to have a brother you can fight like this. although, by play-fight i do not mean that we don't end up hurt. i've broken several bones and jimin has been injured as well during our trainings and practices. yet mine have always been way more harsh than what he had to learn.

jimin is the future king. meaning his part of education and training involved, attending meetings, studying with the elites and learning strategies to run a kingdom. rule like a true king, who is capable and worthy of being the leader- intelligent, perceiving, dextrous, eloquent, bold and brave. in battle grounds, he was taught how to use all kinds of weapons and hand-to-hand combat. however, his time in physical training was significantly lower than mine, and it makes sense for he needs to use his brain more to serve the kingdom than his fighting skills.

because for that, father has raised me. incharge of the military, the forces and all the imperials. i was raised to serve as the king's martinet, enforce law and order in the kingdom and make sure that king can rule smoothly. since my nature job is little inclined towards violence, the value of me being well trained on physical grounds increases several folds, justifying why i needed to undergo harsh training and cruel practices from an early age.

killing comes naturally to me. death is what i'm supposed to bring to the foot of my king. of schionberg's king.

don't get me wrong, none of it actually comes between me and my brother. i'm okay with the job i have been assigned for my kingdom. jimin was born to be the future king, to rule schionberg gracefully and be the noble emperor. the king has raised us to be what we're only a month away from becoming. jimin the future king, and i, taehyung, his martinet. the royal martinet.

people dread my kind. fear. hate.

a final clash of our swords brings me back to the training ground, frowning as jimin has successfully hit hard enough to have my grip loosening and my sword falling out of my hand. the pointed blade of his sword stops right under my chin, pressing on my throat as i bob down a gulp, staring back at jimin who has a smirk on his face.

"see who's winning today?"

oh, please. i scoff, reading through my brother's thoughts and lift my leg swiftly when he's about to attack again. i twist in the air, throwing a kick to his hand, having the sword falling on the ground. "i see, jimin." i grin, "how can i let you win that easily?"

"oh, c'mon. you cheated." he says. "just because your opponent doesn't have a power like yours, doesn't mean you won."

i shake my head, sighing softly as i turn around grabbing a towel that a man is waiting with. i dismiss him soon after wiping my sweat and returning the towel, well aware that nothing less than a bath is going to help me get rid of the dirt and sweat i'm covered in.

jimin is right. i shouldn't be using my inherited powers in battle. we already have restrictions on that, yet, i'm the one, who barely ever gets to put his powers to use. jimin too, his powers can be devastating. we both learnt to use and control our abilities by the age of ten, jimin some trouble with his, which resulted in massive destructions from him. but his majesty never said anything to him, and got the best noble trainers for jimin to teach him how to contol his earthly powers.

where i am gifted with mind reading abilities and healing powers, my brother, jimin, can control and mould the five earth elements merely by thinking about it. if he wants, he could destroy the entire land in a blink. nothing to be scared of, though, there are people who know how to contol that too. for instance, our trainers. higher elites and sages who gained years and years of knowledge and perfection.

according to me, anybody who knows how to have control their powers is a dangerous person.

the nobles, like jimin and i, having the royal blood in our veins, have inherited these special powers. whereas elites,only the upper class, which have been going alongside the royalty for ages, have acquired the abilities from the special schools available for tye children. the children from the royal family attend these schools to learn about their powers, while the children of the elites attend to gain the powers. 

the hierarchy here is complicated. lower and even middle class families of the elite society, are not allowed to learn any extraordinary powers. slummers are not even a part of the talk.

"you seem distracted. is everything okay?" he approaches to my side as we begin walking back towards the palace, following the open corridor with pillars swirled with beautiful vines that reach up to the ceiling, protecting the path from rains. there's a huge garden one side of it, the other is a field for training and practices. and well, torture.

i nod in response to jimin, whose eyes remind me of the question he asked me. "i should've gone with commander min. the king will be unhappy with me."

"it's alright. they can deal with whatever it is without you for a day." he chuckles, making me smile as well.

"they can."

"prince taehyung, his majesty wishes to see you." an imperial bows in front of us, sending the smile from my face flying through the window. with a sigh, i glance at jimin, who just pats my back, his tight smile giving away how he sympathises with me. but i don't need his sympathy.

"coming." i tell the imperial, heading to my room first to get dressed in decent clothings since the king doesn't like seeing the princes roaming around like uncivilized boys around the palace.

jungkook's pov

even the smallest news spreads like fire in this place, buzzing with people day and night. the slums are where these people live, right under the king's nose, thriving each day to survive, offering whatever they fould to the cruel imperials on rotation, just so the monsters will let them live. they're not allowed to live. they're allowed to exist after continuous prayers and rubbing their self-respect and dignity on the imperials' shoes.

filtering through this crowd i run as fast as i can, still hearing murmurs from everyone when suddenly it all gets quiet, except for the noise of the horseshoes. those imperials. my eyes stray to catch a glimpse of the men, one is a blonde head, a scar over his brow. the other has brunette hair, tanned skin that shows his foreign origin, and the third should be their head, for he has the most stars attached to his uniform, a significant hat on his head that marks his position in the royal posts.

passing them, still sprinting towards the alley i claimed as home for lily and i, hoping eveything is okay, that lily is okay. but the whispers and mutterings say otherwise. i was in the far end of the urbans where the houses of the upper class elites line the foot of the palace, when i heard some venders talking about the imperials heading out towards the slums to catch someone involved in illegal production and selling of armours.

it's evening already and the rumours have been getting worse as i close the distance between myself and the slums. they said about the royal men catching two children stealing. i hope my mind is just playing tricks on me and it's not what i'm tempted to think it is. when i reach the slums, the very spot where i came last night with lily and met that boy. there's crowd gathered around the roundabout in the middle of the crossroad, i hear them talking until a woman's crying voice makes it to my ears.

that's suho's mother.

i swear i felt my heart skip a beat, tearing myself forward through the mass of people, only stopping when i see for myself what has been done. the two children are suho and lily. both of them are crying, bleeding and bruised brutally and their sobs have gotten weaker. i drop to my knees near them, quickly bringing lily in my arms and feel her body jostling with pain. no sound comes out of her mouth when she tilts her head upwards to look at me, still i know those eyes wouldn't be begging for help without a reason.

for a moment i think she's trying hide into my arms, however, i realise she just needs suport and coughs out blood, shutting her eyes in pain. my jaw clenches in anger, hugging her carefully, and look back in the direction the king's men just went. they're going to pay. i almost spring up to my feet, when a hand on my shoulder stops me from doing so.

"help..." is all she says, weeping silently with her son in her arms.

i blink a few times, nibbling on my lower lip. i know how she must be feeling right now. i'm familiar with the pain and fear she must be trying so hard to suppress, for i've been through this. i've held lily like this before too. i've been this kid as well and i remember mother crying for me. i stand up, holding lily in my arms, feeling her little body shuddering, letting me know that she's uncomfortable with something.

"what is it, baby?" i ask softly, adjusting her position that makes her sigh. she points at her right arm weakly, eyes nearly closing now. "your arm? it hurts?" she gives me a slow nod.

"it's okay. just try to stay awake for me." i say, glancing back at suho and his mother. she's still on the ground, staring at her son, drowned her own agony. "lady," i let out, gulping as i hold lily with one arm, offering the other to her, "we need to get them home. only then we can do anything to treat them."

she looks up at me. for a moment her eyes search mine with unsaid questions and wavering will. although at the end, when my gaze hardens, she gives a small nod, struggling to stand up with the boy who's too grown to be carried by her. "i'll take him." i say, crouching down, "get him on my back."

"but you—"

"just do it."

with a sigh, she gives in and argues no more. carrying two kids, one in arms and the other on my back, we make our way back into the slums. it doesn't take a lot of time to reach the alley, but i hesitate, glancing at the woman with me. she seems to understand what i couldn't say and nods to the side. it's a small house barely standing with the gradually collapsing debris that once used to make up the wall. the roof is of straw and hay, along with some plastic at places to save it from leaking during the rainy days.

suho's mother opens the door for me, letting me follow her inside, ignoring all the eyes that follow us. i can feel them burning on my back. i understand it's not socially acceptable for a woman to have another man at home except for her husband, or unless it is one of the king's men who forcefully just make themselves home. i'm not even sure how suho's father is going to react to all of this.

"you can lay them here." she murmurs softly, her voice still a little hoarse from crying a few minutes ago. i kneels down carefully, letting lily down first while suho's mother helps him off my back slowly, earning some whimpers from him.

"shh, it's fine, honey. it's just me."she assures the boy, while i take a moment to look around the single room. even though they have a roof, a small place to call home, doesn't mean they live a life that's any better than ours. i sigh softly, glancing at lily's barely moving figure now. i need to get all the herbs required to treat her wounds. it's going to take some time to heal everything.

"where are you going?" the woman asks.

"i'm taking my sister." is all i say, and she paused with her hasty movements, already in one corner, grinding some leaves.

"let her rest here. i'll take care of both the kids." she offers, offering me a quick glance before looking down, continuing grinding the rock on the flatter, bigger one. "and i'm sorry for last night. i shouldn't have called you a murderer."

"you still don't know if i am one." i say, sitting down against the wall, facing her.

"guess i'll have to risk it and find out." she shrugs, getting two small bowls for the herbal paste and hands me one. i smile a little, shifting near lily.

"thank you for helping me with suho."

"you don't have to thank me." i let out, starting with lily's face. my baby's pretty little face. she's got a bruise on her forehead along with a bloody wound due to hitting her head on the ground. the corner of her mouth is cut too and one really disturbing one close to her right eye. i lean closer, opening her eye to check for any bleeding, thankfully it's not much to affect her vision but still, the corner of her eye has some little red spots of blood. those bastards must die.

"what exactly happened?" i ask, suddenly recalling that i clearly told lily to stay in the alley, behind the barrels like i hope she did. the imperials don't bother looking into alleys, searching for slummers to beat up and entertain themselves.

"lily and suho were playing outside in the street when the imperials passed by. i was inside cooking, but i could hear suho..." his mother says, "then the imperials came along with the commander and i heard them yelling, suho crying. i rushed outside and saw them dragging the kids... a man said that lily didn't move out of their way when they came. that angered them."

my jaw clenches in anger, staring at my sister. tears are still leaking from her eyes even though she's laying still. for all i care about, she did not deserve this kind of monstrous behaviour just because she didn't leave the way for those insolent and imbecile men of the crown. with each passing day, it's becoming harder for me to keep myself from bashing the king and the entire palace. his blood is all i crave.

"who are you?"

"jungkook." i mutter out, "and your name?"

"areum." she hushes out, and glances at me. "look, jungkook, i'm sorry for what happened today. however, i'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it. those are the king's men, nobody has a say against them."

"i cannot be so sure of that." i sigh.

"you'll get yourself and lily in trouble if you try go after them." she says softly, "so, don't bother. just focus on your life here. with this child."

if only i could tell her what i have in store for the filthy king and his men. but i choose to say nothing, keeping all my attention on lily, holding her hand in one and with the other i'm applying the herbal paste on her wounds. i've moved her to my lap due to her squirming and crying. i can't see her hurting this way because of some men who have got their heads in the air with their position and power.

"wrap these around the wounds." areum gives me some white bandages along with a lump of cotton. i see she has enough for the both the children. she even prepared the herbal medicine pretty quickly, making me frown and look at her.

"are you... a doctor?"

"my father was. i learnt from him." she admits, giving me a small smile.

"oh..." i nod slowly, wrapping the bandages around lily's arm, which makes her jolt in pain and i instantly stop, knowing that i'm hurting her. "is it hurting?" i ask the obvious, getting a nod along with more tears and a silent cry. "i'll do it more gently, okay? koo's sorry, princess."

i go for it again, but she stops me again, moving her other arm to let me know that i shouldn't touch this arm. it must be hurting her a lot. "you've to let me-" she taps the floor beside her, then reaches out for me, sobbing in pain. "i'm here, princess."

"what's wrong?" areum asks, done with everything she could possibly do to help her son. now she sits beside me, eyeing lily with an empathetic look. i suppose it's because of her own kid.

"she wouldn't let me touch her arm..."

"it could be broken. let me see." she taps on my arm, moving it away before taking the reign and repositions herself to get on her knees, feeling lily's arm with careful fingers, for a moment ignoring lily's tears and her legs moving to show how utterly discomforted she is right now. "keep talking to her."

"uh yes." i clear my throat, shifting my gaze to lily. "it's going to be alright, little one. you're my strong girl, aren't you?"

her teary eyes pin on my face, as though wanting to tell me that it hurts her and i need to punish whoever did this to her. she likes to complain to me, knowing that i will help her without any second thought. and i will. i lean down, my lips press on hers gently, giving her a peck, "nobody can get away after hurting my little girl, right? oppa's going to punish those people."

lily nods slowly, contended after hearing it from me and closes her eyes. my hand keeps stroking her head, allowing her to go to sleep now that we're almost done attending her wounds. areum doesn't utter much until she takes her place beside me again after strolling about for a minute, settling down a few things that confirm her proposition. lily broke a bone.

drawing in a deep breath, i know i require, my eyes move to areum's. she has got another kind of paste ready, that she spreads in a thick layer on lily's arm starting from her wrist up till her elbow. she covers it with a few leaves of the plant, orthenus, 'the healer'. i know this one for i have used it too to treat my own broken bones during the times i used to train myself with one of mother's trusted commander while we were on the exile. hidden.

kim seokjin, the man was the only one whom we could trust with our eyes closed, for he had served mother ever since she was herself the princess of kaedith, the northern lands from schionberg then. he came with mother after her marriage with king karol, kim karol, of schionberg. chief seokjin was the only one from the palace that we were in contact with even after we were thrown out of the kingdom. he wasn't with us all the time, but for the most part, he was the reason we could hide ourselves until the unfortunate day when the king realized one of the king's guards was deceiving.

chief taught me all the fighting skills i know today, healing techniques, horse riding even. mother told him that she wanted me to be a warrior, to protect my sister, the princess of this kingdom, to be the saviour and defender of the realm.

and i failed to protect my sister today. again.

"i love you..." my voice whispers and i only realise it when it leaves my mouth and enters my own ears. kissing lily's little palm, a sigh works out of me so painfully slow, that i feel the ache inside my chest.

i almost forgot areum is here with us. her hand places on my shoulder, giving a light squeeze, which i assume is a gesture for me to hold on. i clear my throat, shaking my head and she moves her hand, not touching me anymore as i stand up with lily, "thank you uh for... helping lily." i say, "i'm really grateful to you."

"you helped suho too. it's fine." she smiles. "and he found a friend in lily. i'm happy about that."

"friend... right," i cough slightly, "i'm sorry, miss areum, i don't think i can let lily out of my sight even for a second after... well, today."

"i understand your fear, sir. but i doubt you'll be able to keep her hidden. she's just a child, after all."

"you've no idea." i mutter, pushing my way through the half broken wooden door and head straight to the alley.

it's still too early for the sun to rise and lily's fast asleep under my vest that i draped over her just a few hours ago when she started shivering. her broken arm is secured with layers and layers of bandages along with a special kind of wood that resembles sandalwood, but is specifically used to treat bone fractures. with those, lily can barely move her arm and i'm okay with it, because this way her arm will heal faster.

i woke up before dawn, within approximately two hours of falling asleep, for most of my attention was on lily, making sure she wasn't feeling any uncomfortable with all the bandages and especially the broken arm. my mind just wouldn't shut down and let me sleep with the thoughts of everything that happened today— well, yesterday. i need to get inside the palace as soon as possible, so i can put an end to all this.

just a few days ago i heard about the crown recruiting new soldiers, some of them might even get appointed as imperials. for all i care about, if i somehow get inside the vicious circle, i might as well have the opportunity to get to the king. i can manage myself after that, however the only major concern that hasn't left me ever since i came back here, is lily. where do i leave her while i'm gone?

i cannot possibly take her with me and risk her life along with my own. the last thing i want is for my seven-year-old sister to get dragged into things that don't concern her. lies. they do concern lily as much as they do to me. because lily is just as much the princess of schionberg as i am the prince.

we have the royal blood in our veins, the powers only the pure bloodline of the royalty possesses. for highness and grace, for ghast and gloom, and somber, we have powers we must never misuse or lose. the powers meant to protect the realm, the people of our nation and to save the culture passed on by our ancestors.

that's what mother told me.

in the center of the castle, in the vaults deep below, the largest, darkest vault is supposed to hold secrets untold. the birth of the entire nation and the royalty, having immense potential, might and force that has the capability of bashing a whole race, manipulate human lives or even, at worse scenario, ruin the royal bloodline, marking the end of the realm. the realm that has had many martyrs before.

the vaults are where i must go.

i head out early today. the sky is as dark as it was when lily and i laid down at night. the moon has moved from its position, though. the streets are mostly quiet other than some faint snoring noises from the homeless, or dogs barking at a distance. only a few farmers are awake, heading to the farms, some to the fields to start the day for it gets too hot during the day to be out sowing or harvesting.

i keep my head low, hands shoved in the pockets of my pants, taking large steps up the cobblestone laden path. the end of the slums is marked by bigger houses, with more domesticated animals and personal carts, especially towards the urban end of the capital. soon the guards become visible, strolling by the streets on rotation of their duty. they won't let me pass like this.

i step aside, blending behind a horse cart, scrunching my nose at the awful smell that greets me. is that horse poop? god. devastating. my displeasure is kept to myself as i hide, pinching my nose, while eyeing the guards. a silent minute passes with me thinking of how to get one of the men separated from the rest and pull him behind the cart with me. then i can easily silence them forever, take the clothes and my job is made ridiculously easier.

i need one of those men.

tap.

oh.

i turn around, finding an imperial. even better. he stares at me with a frown, about to ask who i was and why i had to be here, hidden in plain sight. i sigh softly, stepping near the man, speaking in a hushed voice. "i'm jeon jungkook." i say, pulling my hand out of the pocket, which he misses, too casual and confident about the situation.

"jeon jungkook?" he repeats in an equally low voice and my left hand flies to his face, covering his mouth, while the right one pushes a dagger to his throat. his eyes widen, letting out a low whimpering sound, dripping with pain and discomfort caused by a sharp dagger that i sit his throat with.

when he stops struggling and falls completely still, i drag him to the nearby alley, dropping him to the ground slowly. "that was easy." i mumble, taking off my shirt and unbutton the man's as well. then i take my dagger and press it on my chest, hissing at the stinging pain, followed by a line of blood flowing down my torso. switching our clothes doesn't take that long and i take a deep breath, before stepping out of the alley.

his horse has been waiting all along, making me smirk as i get near the animal. "hey," i speak, stroking her smooth hair to her back. "you're beautiful." she is indeed. i hop on her back, not pushing any wrong buttons that might piss her off and pat her side. "good girl. let's go now. i'll be your new rider."

the horse neighs as i tug the ropes, "to the palace, darling." i say, kicking her side gently before turning her to the right. she starts off slow and i'd like to maintain that pace to observe everything and everyone i should know.

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a/n: part 2! please do vote and comment. i know you guys are very excited for this series, which i really appreciate. and for to just thank all of you, i'm thinking of also doing a question and answer (q/a) with all of you after we finish this mini series. there will be over 50 chapters (by the end of this series) i think and over 50k views (?) i'm not sure, but i think it's somewhere like that. and i have being thinking of the q/a. so, please let me know what you think. and uh, yeah that's all. enjoy reading!

please take care of yourself and remember that i love you loads! ❤️✨