(A/N: This one is hella long, and I cannot wait to hear what some of y'all have to say bc I'm kinda on the fence about this one tbh.) WC: 3089

"For the last time Namjoon, I don't need extra security, I'm in no imminent danger. Whoever vandalized the castle was simply barking, not biting."

"But Yoongi- "

The latter spun on his heel, glaring up at his brunette friend. He only saw concern glinting in those copper eyes, but he knew he wasn't being threatened. Everyone was simply overreacting over a small statement that someone wrote in fake blood, if the king wasn't concerned, then no one else should be.

"Nope, you said it yourself Joon, it wasn't real blood, my guards were knocked out with a sleep spell, not with force. Whoever this was, they obviously aren't violent, it was a statement, not a threat. If it were a threat, I'd feel threatened, so since I don't feel threatened, it's not a threat."

The taller just scrunched up his nose, not liking the way the older so carelessly tossed the issue to the side. But before he could even open his mouth, the ravenette was already walking down the hall as if his decision was final.

"Yoongi! They might not be violent now, but they could turn reckless and vicious! Especially if you ignore them! Maybe you should just repeal the law- "

At this the older stopped dead in his tracks, turning around and jabbing a finger aggressively into Namjoons chest.

"I'm not about to submit to a nobody occult who thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. My men are looking for this 'Red Mage' as he signed himself, and when we find him he will be punished."

After his little tirade, Yoongi was red in the face with anger, because if there are two things Min Yoongi is, its stubborn and prideful. A bad combination if you were to ask the tired mage that stood before the king.

"You speak of submission, but isn't that what you did with that insufferable finance of yours?"

The question was asked without bite, but with a certain smugness that only a knowledgeable mage such a Namjoon himself could only pull off. Sounding like a predator who had caught his prey right where he wanted him.

Yoongi sputtered but remained silent as he stomped back down the hallway, pointedly glaring at the smirking mage that trailed behind him. As he silently fumed, his mind drifted back towards earlier that morning. He was woken up with an armor-clad soldier shaking his shoulders, harshly whispering about getting him somewhere 'secure'. That his fiancé was already there and sobbing for her 'hubby' to come keep her safe. Yoongi intentionally ignored the soldier based off of that last little huffed out message, practically sprinting away from his guard and towards the gallows.

The monarch was out of breath, and severely disappointed in his guard's physical shape, when he stumbled into the gallows. The humidity hit Yoongi first, his lungs felt further constricted by the muggy air and in his hast he almost ran into the back of the wooden structure. Letting out a yelp of surprise the short male dug his heels into the smooth marble, resulting in him losing his balance and his ass hitting the floor with a dull thud.

In any case, most guards and/or kings councilmen would be concerned about the fact that their king was out of the protection of the castle walls, out in the open after a supposed 'threat' was painted on the walls of his home. But Yoongi's council? Naw, they started to wheeze, cackle, and laugh at the bewildered king who went sailing to the ground. Safety? Nope, just making light of his pained expression and raven hair that was plastered to his forehead, or sticking every which way.

With an indignant huff, Yoongi shoved away his friends hands and pushed himself up, brushing dirt off his silken pajamas. Yanking his robe to wrap around his small figure, Yoongi glowered at what he considered to be decent human beings...how wrong he was.

"Shouldn't you be with the Mrs?"

"Oh yeah! You should be with that absolutely stupendous wife of yours!"

"They're not married yet you imbeciles, they only act like it,"

Yoongi smacked the first one, then the second, but when it came to the third he simply grunted and waved him off mumbling something about 'stupid old people'. The two youngest whined and rubbed the back of their heads as they tugged at Namjoons sleeves. They looked pathetic in their puerile antics, you wouldn't even begin to guess one was training to be the next citadel mage, and the other a guardsman.

The mellow mood was soon abandoned, a tense atmosphere taking over as the king looked up at the message written across the stone in crimson. The lettering had dried, but even as servants and guards held sponges in their hands and scrubbed at the letters, they remained unfazed. Magic infused writing oddly neat as Yoongi's gaze followed the trails of dripping red that still poured onto the marble.

As Yoongi looked down, he realized he was standing in a huge puddle of the stuff, the bottoms of his white slippers forever tainted scarlet. Yoongi knew it wasn't blood, but just looking at the substance gave him the chills. Something about seeing it in person and not hearing it in passing gave the act of painting the words - and what they said - some irrefutable weight.

Dragging his gaze back up, he read the words written once more, letting them sink deep into his ivory skin and numb mind.

'Repeal the law, or you will feel the price'

"Yoongi? Hey Yoongi, are you okay?"

The king came back to the present with a start, slightly flinching at his friend's large hand that lay sprawled out over his shoulder and the concerned eyes that said on more than the others words. Something akin to understanding flashing in his copper gaze.

The shorter simply shrugged off his hand, mumbling incoherently under his breath as he hugged his arms around his upper body. Soon after he was trudging forward and into the throne room, where several lords and nobles stood meandering around the high vaulted room. At the kings entrance, they scrambled towards their seats, standing at attention until the ravenette dismissed them half-heartedly.

All was silent as Yoongi all but plopped himself down into his throne, letting his head rest on his palm as he pouted out the curved windows of the throne room. Namjoon lightly nudged him from behind, because no noble was going to be the first to speak up, it was an unspoken rule amongst the higher ups. But to Yoongi, it was yet another custom he couldn't bring himself to care for.

"Okay, so...that writing on the wall was crazy huh?"

The castle mage snorted from somewhere behind him, but the king merely sighed and glanced at the lords that had gathered at a moment notice after word spread about the writing on the walls. The citadel staff were trying to get it scrubbed off by the time curfew bells sounded, but it seemed like it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Majesty, if I may speak?" Yoongi only grunted in response.

"I think we should take this threat seriously, we don't know who's out to get you- "

"No one is going after the king Lord Choi, its just some mangy occult who is pissed about their fellow scum being hung,"

"Anger is a very powerful emotion Lord Lee, they might be an Empath Witch!"

The last part was whispered loudly and harshly, some spittle flying as Lord Choi's face contorted with poorly concealed worry. But Lord Lee only rolled his eyes, his annoyance flaring up at who he deemed the 'immature' Lord. The two started to bicker, again, when the doors to the throne room were thrown open.

Everyone gasped at the sight of a woman in the throne room, raven hair flowing beautifully to her waist and body blessed with all the right curves. Her mouth was graced with its natural pout, albeit her lips were quite small and her eyes abnormally large. She was still stunning all the same, sadly it almost always went downhill when she opened that pretty mouth of hers.

"Yoongi oppa! Where the hell were you?!"

The aforementioned dug his palms into his eye sockets, exhaustion weighing heavily on his patience as his ears were being assaulted with that shrill voice. Princess Kyung Minseo had been practically thrown at him, one of his father's last treaties was with the Kingdom of Incheon, betrothing him with their bitchy princess for peace, trade, and alliance. Yoongi only found out at his father's deathbed, when the son of a bitch had the 'decency' to tell him that he had sold away the last bit of his freedom for some iron and furs.

If he wasn't dying from some illness, the ravenette would've killed him himself right then and there. Yoongi had hoped that when he announced the betrothal and met his wife-to-be, she wouldn't be as bad as his gut feeling was telling him she was going to be. He was so, so wrong.

The female was insufferable, she had fallen for the older with 'love at first sight', and anyone who knows the king would tell you that he despises the whole 'love at first thought' cliche, finds it to be a load of bullshit.

So, having the literal embodiment of every pet peeve the king could ever wish to possess as his fiancé...fucking sucked. He avoided her at all costs and refused to even sleep on the same floor as her. So, when she wouldn't relent about that stupid bill for days, he gave in to just shut her up, and now look where that got him. Shoulder deep in qualms, concerned glances, and stress. So. Much. Stress.

No wonder they wanted to get rid of her-

"You had me so worried when you didn't come to the panic room this morning! You could have gotten yourself hurt, or even killed-"

"Minseo, I'm only going to say this one more time, the perpetrator didn't directly threaten me and it gives me no worries whatsoever. If they wanted me dead, they would have said so."

The woman looked like she wanted to protest, but before she could, yet another person burst into the throne room. A guard fitted in bright red and gold burst through the already opened door, sword barely hanging onto his belt and hair a glaring mess of raven as he searched the throne room. Relief, but mostly annoyance, flashed through his eyes as he strolled over to the queen-to-be.

"Princess Minseo, what have I told you about entering the throne room? Until you are queen you're forbidden to enter this room, which means you are to return to your room immediately-"

"You're late Jeon, you could have at least kept her from leaving her room, it shouldn't be that difficult for someone of your up-and-coming status."

The king glanced up at the guard-in-training, Yoongi had given him the simple task of keeping an eye on that intolerable woman. Yet, she always found a way to slip out of his grasp and go running towards her 'beloved'.

"I am truly sorry your majesty, but this woman won't listen to my orders- " Minseo snorted, turning up her nose at the older. Crossing her arms and pouting like the child she was, and then came the oh-so predictable whining-

"You can't order me around, I'm your future queen you heathen! You don't actually hold anything over me,"

"Future being the key word, as of right now you are nothing more than an outsider living amongst heathens as you put it, which puts me higher on the totem pole of ranks. So, you do actually have to listen to me, unless you want to sleep in the dungeons tonight, your highness."

He added a mock bow and a sneer at the end as he glared towards the tiny woman. She stomped her foot and screeched before running out of the room with a face resembling that of a tomato. The disheveled guard simply huffed as he straightened up, not even bothering to run after the princess.

"You know Jeongguk, she is actually a higher rank than you, and when she becomes queen...oh god you'll be first of her list of beheadings."

The mage grinned as he watched the younger wave him off, his pissed expression was enough to ward off anymore prodding. He looked ready to push Minseo off the roof and call it an accident, she definitely wouldn't be missed.

"If getting beheaded means I don't have to deal with her banshee like voice and childish ways, I'll gladly step up to the guillotine and let go of the rope myself."

Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose, he couldn't even enjoy his friends jests without some sort of anxiety constricting his chest. The more he thought of that morning, the more he thought about this 'Red Mage'. He hadn't seen any new mages in town, most mages were already working for the citadel or working in the town as healers since that's what they were permitted to do. No mage he knows would commit such a crime, most were older men who couldn't care less about the affairs of the crown.

The people that were hung yesterday were a mistake, a rally of anti-occult guards didn't like the protest and before Yoongi knew it. They were swinging by their necks and the crowd screeching like it was some holy holiday. To say he was pissed was an understatement, he ordered the men to the dungeons to be dealt with later. Which was yet another stress that was piled onto his shoulders, on top of his fiancé trying to release them against his greater authority. He spent most of that evening screaming at her for trying to do his job and reaching well outside her jurisdiction.

She just started sobbing and clinging to him, begging for his forgiveness. He had shoved her off and handed her to some poor guard and left for some well-deserved sleep. Only to be woken early with some threat on the walls, and now...now he just wants to sleep, leave his job and responsibilities for someone else to deal with.

Why must I be king?

"Sire? Are you alright?"

Not for the first time today, Yoongi was met with concerned glances and questioning tones. The king shook his head and waved off whatever Lord had asked the lingering question. Wringing out his hands and straightening in his velvet throne.

"I don't know what else to say. We have people looking for mages and bringing them in, if we can find this 'Red Mage' he will be punished. It we don't find him, then we can do nothing more than wait. Obviously, all mages live in town like they're supposed to, so he can't hide forever."

"Um...your majesty? What if this mage doesn't live in town? What if he's a...Mutineer?"

A wave of gasps flooded through the room, soon followed by hushed whispers and fallen jaws at such an accusation.

"Are you implying that there's a law-breaker that has been living off the land and we haven't caught wind of it, Lord Choi?"

There was no denying the obvious offense that laced Lord Lee's voice, accusations started being thrown every which way and towards Choi. Albeit looking scared, the Lord didn't back down from his claim. At this, the king leaned forward in curiosity, his attention finally caught after a morning full of a muddy mind.

He held up a hand and everyone silenced rather quickly, the ravenette than turned his full attention towards the fidgety noble. He motioned for him to continue, waiting patiently for the other to gather his nerves and speak.

"W-Well, you see, my house keeps track of all the documented occults. We were digging a bit on our way here, and we realized that none of the mages we had documented were hostile nor had a connection to the color red. The occults that were protesting were the only some of the witches within the borders of the kingdom. So, maybe this 'Red Mage' as he said he was under the red lettering of that message, is living amongst the witches that live deep in that woebegone forest?"

Before Yoongi could get a word in though, Lee jumped onto the Lord in aggression.

"Lord Choi, what you're suggesting is absolutely ridiculous! We don't know why he calls himself the 'Red Mage', for all we know it's because he wrote in red, not because he is red or whatever you're suggesting. Not to mention, the fact we have swept those forests multiple times with guards and mages. All we have found are normal witches and that one stupid candy bitch, and no one has found any evidence that would suggest a mage was out there."

Yoongi piped up at the mention of the Candy Witch. She was aggressive and an all-around bitch, but she was wickedly smart and always knew more than she would lead on, so he heard. She would know whether there was a mage out there or not, the only issue is if she would tell them.

"Uh oh, I know that look,"

Namjoon spoke up for the first time since Jeongguks entrance, he appears worried as he stared down at his friends scheming face. Even Jeongguk who was watching with quiet amusement by the door looked concerned as a smirk crossed the kings face.

"This meeting is adjourned; my council and I shall ride out into the forest at the break of dawn tomorrow. We will meet with the Candy Witch and see what she has to say."

A chorus of protests arose from across the throne room, but his mind had been made up. Yoongi was going to talk to that witch and he was not coming home empty handed, and that was final.

(A/N: Oh wow fun stuff, I'm trying to make sure the plot is moving fast but not too fast. I don't rush. And for any who care, the inspiration for this ff was the fact I couldn't find a ff that was medieval, included mages, and actually held my attention for more than 2 chapters, so...the more you know~)