! WARNING: later in the chapter, there is some violence & stuff.

When Yoongi sees Jungkook next, the boy looks exhausted. Dark shadows are set deep beneath eyes that stare vacantly off into the distance. He sits on a picnic blanket in the garden, idly picking at the edge of the sheet of fabric. The raven looks like he needs a good sleep, and Yoongi almost feels guilty.

The assassin sits down beside him, getting a small smile in response. Up close, Yoongi notices that a gauntness seems to be sinking into the boy's features as well. It's subtle, barely noticeable if you don't look closely, but it's there ― he wonders if this is a side effect of the poison. If so, while it might not have killed him, it has clearly weakened him. The magpie will have to make his next attack soon.

But, as he gazes at the boy king, all thoughts of killing him are gone. Jungkook seems to have that sort of effect on him, making him forget why he's here at all. It's not good, a potential weakness.

"I'm sorry." Jungkook says, voice a near sigh as he explains himself, "I had a late night. It's not you."

"That's alright. We don't have to do this, if you want ― you can go nap instead, if you'd rather." The dark haired boy shakes his head, rubbing his eyes. Slowly, he allows himself to sink down onto the blanket, lying across it. His hair spreads out around him, becoming a dark halo.

"I didn't sit through that whole last date just to cancel on you." Jungkook murmurs, lips barely moving as he talks, as though even that simple action uses up too much energy. Encouraged by the bright light of the sun, the king finds his eyes drooping slightly. He fights to keep them open, but it seems to be a losing battle. He yawns, "I like your company."

"Thank you." There's a moment of silence. Jungkook's eyes close completely; he doesn't reopen them. The older male gazes down in him, soaking in the sight: dried lips part slightly, cheeks are tickled pink in the heat of the sun, the sun glitters off his tanned skin and dark hair. In this moment (maybe even in all moments), he is undeniably attractive. This thought makes Yoongi uncomfortable. "You look tired."

"I really am." The younger sighs and his eyes open a little, gazing up at the older. He smiles apologetically. "There's just so much going on, with the war and all... And if I don't attend the meetings, I don't get a say and my uncle basically runs the show. At least if I'm there, I can have some input." Jungkook shuffles around, getting more comfortable. He tucks his arms up behind his head, using them as a pillow and a means to prop his head up a little more. His eyes are almost fully open now, only squinting because the sun makes it impossible to open completely. "I hope you realise, if you marry me, you'd have to deal with the politics too. It's all terribly boring."

"Then we could be terribly bored together." This is clearly a right answer, because it makes the younger chuckle and the smile remains on his lips. However, when he said it, Yoongi hadn't been thinking about what answer would appeal to the King.

The next thing he says comes out as a conspiratorial whisper, "Between you and me, that prospect doesn't sound completely bad."

*  *  *

Yoongi accepts another job. Typically, he only does one job at a time ― he'll dedicate himself to that one job, ensuring it's done quickly and effectively. However, he can tell assassinating the king will take time and, while the money is decent, this period of inactivity is also a period of non-profit. So he takes on an easy job: killing one of the rich lords.

Before deciding on a tactic, the magpie follows the lord around, studying his patterns, leading more about him ― like his frequent visits to brothels, despite his 'happy marriage'. This is also where he decides will be the easiest and most convenient location for killing him. While Yoongi does enjoy showing off and making these sorts of things harder for himself, he has a ball to attend tonight and can't afford to waste time. After this, once he collected his money, he will also have to go looking for some more clothing ― he's starting to run out.

Being a magpie and all, Yoongi doesn't have a lot of pride. Or, at least, he doesn't put a lot of value on his pride and can easily discard it when it suits him. So, when he decides to disguise himself as a prostitute, he does so with ease and little embarrassment. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time he's had to do a job like this ― there have been moments when he's been forced into this without the motivation of killing someone, instead of just out of a desperate need for money.

Yoongi blends easily amongst the other prostitutes. There's so many flocked around that he disappears amongst them and no one asks any questions. All the other workers assume he's new and all the customers don't know any better. The hardest part is not being chosen before his target comes; he spends most of the evening hiding and avoiding customers, trying to give off a discouraging aura.

Then the target enters through the doors, moving with an air of confidence, revealing his deluded and boosted self worth. Simply by watching him, Yoongi can understand why someone might want him dead. Heck, the assassin is already looking forward to ending his life. He can't understand, however, why someone would even consider marrying him. Still, Yoongi does his best to quickly sidle up to the man and do all he can to garner the older man's attention. At first, the target seems more interested in surveying his options, but something must convince him to go with what's easier and willing. Maybe it's desperation, or maybe it's just because Yoongi's really good at what he does ― both make sense to the assassin and he doesn't really care which it is.

They go upstairs, to one of the free rooms, with the man leading the way. Once they're inside, with the door barely even just closed, the target makes his moves. However, Yoongi stops him by placing a finger on his lips.

"Ah, ah, ah," He says as he waggles the same finger, clearly confusing the older, eager man, "New rules: gotta pay at least half before anything happens."

"What? Nobody told me this."

"Yeah, some guy ran off without paying so they changed the rules. So now you gotta pay if you want to touch the merchandise." Yoongi gives what appears to be a careless shrug. However, it's a lot more calculated, with the intention of knocking his loose shirt. This reveals the top of his pale shoulder, which immediately catches the eye of his target. The older male is like an open book, his thoughts crossing through his eyes like words on a page, and Yoongi knows he's got him. Half the money is passed over, which the assassin would have stolen afterwards but he prefers the money when it's clean. Less work for him.

As he's guided backwards to the bed that an uncountable number of people have laid on before, greedy, impatient hands claw at his shirt. Yoongi bides his time, concealing the instinctual fear that rushes up inside of him during these moments with a steady breath and stoic face. He's pushed backwards onto the bed, shirt opened to reveal a scarred chest. A young Yoongi might have cried in this moment, might have wrapped his arms around his chest in fear, might have even called for his father ― but an older Yoongi, this Yoongi, waits. He waits until the man is naked and desperate and his dead body will be as humiliating as possible.

When the target reaches for Yoongi's own pants, the assassin attacks. A knife, hidden within the folds of his pants, is withdrawn; quick hands help it find its place in the man's stomach. The target is still hovering over Yoongi when the blade is withdrawn, causing blood to spill on the dark haired male. The old man tries to attack, as though that might help him. As a bird of fire, weak flames lick against Yoongi's bare skin. It burns, but not enough for the assassin to be worried or distracted.

Maybe it's the resurgance of memories surpressed or the injuries bubbling against his skin, but rage fills the young magpie. One final stab would have been enough, but Yoongi lets bloodied metal sink into flesh again and again. The man is definitely dead by the time the dark haired male returns to his sense, now thoroughly bloodied. As adrenaline wears off, the pain in his shoulder becomes more prominent. Yoongi remains there for a moment longer, panting heavily as he saddles the corpse, before he gets up slowly. He collects the money and other valuables from the man, his belongings and the room and shoves these in his pockets. Then, after transforming into a magpie, the assassin makes his getaway.

"Oh God, Yoongi!" Shinhye explains where the assassin transforms in front of her. Exhausted, Yoongi all but collapses in her arms. Horror fills the girl as she tries to distinguish whether the blood that covers him is his own or a victims. This is straight from her nightmares, from the dread that fills her every time she thinks about his job.

"It's not mine." The magpie mumbles, sensing her worry. He allows himself to be guided into the bathroom, leaning against his friend. "I got a little... carried away."

"No kidding." Shinhye chuckles in an attempt to diffuse the tension that fills her and to lighten the air. It does very little. "Is this the one you needed to be a crow for?"

"No, still working on him." After sitting Yoongi down on a stool and removing his shirt for the second time today, Shinhye fills a bucket with water and soaks a cloth in it. This cold cloth is then pressed against the assassin's skin, making the first efforts to remove the blood. The bucket's water is soon dirtied.

"What was it this time?"

"Some lord ― he liked sex so I figured I'd just play into that." Shinhye's brow furrows in clear concern; Yoongi, much like always, chooses to ignore it. "Thought enough time had passed."

"I don't think that's the sort of thing that passes with time, not without being dealt with."

"Why? It's not like I was unwilling ― we needed money and I had a way of making it. It was the only option." Yoongi hisses as Shinhye gets too close to the blistering injury. While the target hadn't been particularly strong, fire is still fire. "Anyway, I don't want to talk about it."

The younger girl lets out a slow sigh, disapproval filling it, but she drops the subject, "What's the king like?"

"Young, as you'd expect. But he's not as bad as he seems... I think everything we hear about isn't his choice ― in fact, I don't think he has much choice at all. Things might be nicer if he did." Yoongi notes. This moment of discussion allows him a time of thinking he hadn't given himself beforehand; he can fully consider what he thinks about the king, even if it raises some thoughts he'd rather not. "He's nice. And the rumours of his looks are also inaccurate."

"Is he real ugly?" The dark haired male shakes his head.

"I don't think words do him justice. He's really handsome, almost overwhelmingly so." Yoongi shrugs. "As much as I don't want to admit it, he seems to be pretty well-rounded."

"Maybe you should marry him." Shinhye teases, a smile taking her lips. A smaller one tugs at the assassin's own but he shakes his head nonetheless.

"Even if I wanted to ― which I don't ― it wouldn't work. We are literally two completely opposite ends of the social hierarchy."

"I don't think you should let that stop you."

"He's my target, Shinhye." The younger girl just smiles. A thought suddenly dawns on the older male and he groans, "I need to go clothes shopping! Clean me up quick so I look presentable; I have a ball tonight."

"You're not going anywhere until I say you are. Just give me the money and I'll get it ― you're resting, okay?" Yoongi knows not to argue with the girl. While she might be younger, she certainly holds some authority over the magpie (probably because of the soft spot he has for her, which he'll also never tell her about). "Now, this might hurt a little."

Before Yoongi can even ask what, Shinhye places her hand over the burn on his shoulder. It stings for a moment when her palm makes contact with sensitive skin, but then this fades as she obviously works her magic. While her magic isn't as strong as some healers, Shinhye does possess some healing magic, which she'd learnt for moments like this. It had come in handy so far, progressing most wounds straight to scars or at the very least just a more bearable stage. The latter is all she can achieve this time, but it's better than nothing.

"You can sleep in my bed." Shinhye tells him after she's rummaged through his pockets for his money. The older nods; sleep sounds appealing right now. He moves slowly to the bedroom, falling down on the small mattress as he simultaneously falls into a dreamless sleep. He doesn't know when he loses consciousness, but it's soon after his head has hit the pillow and before he can actually get settled in the bed and blankets. Yoongi doesn't wake until after Shinhye has returned with the clothes she's chosen for the ball, which he's promptly forced to rush back to the castle for after waking.

NOTE: I think this was awkwardly done but I've redone it a couple of times and it's just not working. Also, 9 chapters feels both short & long and it's a bit confusing to me on how I should pace this. Are you guys getting bored yet? Is it dragging?

Just as a warning / side-note kinda thing: I should warn you that, I feel, development is one of the things I struggle the most with. Like, I think the lurching driving of those nervous drivers in some shows is an accurate portrayal of how development goes in my stories. So please just like bear with me on this, I'm trying to improve.