It's a bad idea. In fact, bad might even be accurate enough. This is a terrible idea—possibly even the worst.

Yoongi has never been nervous about a job—not for a long time. Except maybe now. It's been a while since he's tried something so risky, so unplanned and spontaneous. Usually there's some thought, some reason to justify it, but now there's nothing. There's just one thought floating around his head: must get rid of the weakness.

He knows Jungkook will be coming around soon. He knows because he's been watching the king, following him since he got up this morning. Currently, he's hiding up in one of the balconies of an unused room, watching the male. Jungkook is moving unsuspectingly through the garden—he's even humming happily to himself, taking his time to stop and admire the flowers.

Yoongi can't do this. He's just a child—and an innocent one at that. What about his code?

The assassin takes a moment to close his eyes, trying to expel this uncharacteristic nerves alongside a slow exhalation of breath.

He doesn't have a choice.

Getting into the right headspace—distancing himself from the king, removing all emotion attached to the male—Yoongi prepares for his job.

Yoongi can do it.

When the assassin opens his eyes, the target has moved from the flowers. The raven is wandering through one of the paths that lead to Yoongi's own room. Now would be the best time to strike: most guards are out of sight and the target is by himself.

Pushing himself forwards, the magpie flies down to the ground. This job relies on speed—get in and get out. His decorated mask is covering his face again to reduce the chance of being recognised, though with any luck the king won't have a chance to glimpse his face. His wind keeps his speed up, propelling him forwards. The dagger is pulled from his sleeve as he approaches the target.

When Yoongi gets behind the king, he's finally noticed. The wind catches the younger male's attention, but this surprise is short lived as the sharp dagger slices across his neck. The magpie catches a glimpse of the target's shocked face, as he looks towards his attacker, but he doesn't waste time—his plan isn't finished yet. The dark haired male continues forward, hurrying through the garden until he's out of sight. With shaking hands, Yoongi sheds his outer garments and hides them in the bushes. The headspace is gone, calm and collected Yoongi is long gone.

"Oh god," The guard mutters as he wipes the bits of blood—Jungkook's blood—that got on him, "Oh god, oh god."

Yoongi hurries back to where the king now lies. It's like the culprit is seeing it with a fresh set of eyes and all he feels is horror. If things went to plan, he was supposed to pretend to be panicking—now he doesn't think any pretending will be required.

"Jungkook?" The older male asks hopefully, though he knows his attack should have killed the younger male. He rushes to the body, dropping to his knees as he rolls the king over. Blood is still gushing from the slice across his neck, bubbling onto the magpie's hands. "Oh god." Guilt is filling him—his hands are literally bloodied with it. "Oh god. Jungkook." It's been a while since Yoongi felt like this. "Oh god, I'm so sorry."

The magpie suddenly wishes the guards were closer.

"Help!" He all but screams, looking around desperately. His hands are covering the wound, doing little to stop the bleeding. He can't even feel a pulse underneath it all. "Somebody help!"

Eyes searching desperately spot a little creature watching carefully. While he doesn't recognise what it is, Yoongi's not going to let an opportunity for help slip, "Hey, you, go get help. Go get someone to help." Hollow eyes stare vacantly at the magpie, almost blaming him. It doesn't move. "Get help. I need help! The king– The king is dying."

Slowly, the clay creature disappears through the gardens. Yoongi can only hope it's going to get help.

After a few seemingly endless minutes of waiting, help arrives. Walking through the gardens, following Yoongi's screams, is Namjoon. Upon seeing the unconscious—the magpie doesn't want to accept dead, he can't have been successful this time—the owl jumps into action. The king is take from the guard's shaking, bloodied hands, lying limp in Namjoon's own arms.

"What happened here?" There's a softness in the nanny's voice, telling Yoongi that he doesn't suspect him—or, at least, he's low on the list of suspects. That might be reassuring, if the magpie wasn't so preoccupied with the dying king.

"I-I don't... I don't know. I was just walking through to come get him and he was just– lying there." The assassin wipes his hand across his nose, which seems to be threatening to run. This, he can feel, spreads the drying blood across his face. He can smell the metallic tang of the king's blood; he feels like he might vomit. "I thought he was invincible. How is he... dying?"

"He's not invincible; that's just rumours." The older male sighs, frown forming on his brow. "I suppose you should see this, if you're going to marry him. Come on." The owl starts walking, except Yoongi—with his shaking legs—to get up and follow. He does, though he feels as though his legs might give out underneath him.

Never again. Yoongi will never again try to kill this king. His weakness has gone past the point of return—no amount of money is worth this.

Namjoon is too calm, way too calm for a parent seeing their dead child. There was no sense of urgency on the trip to the room—the older male seemed to not feel the need to rush, while Yoongi could barely stand to walk so slow, panic still eating away at him and urging to run Jungkook to help. Once at the room, while the guard stays by the king's bed, the owl grabs a damp cloth and bowl and places them beside the bed. He still doesn't seem terribly concerned about the dead boy lying in the bed.

"I thought you were supposed to be his guard, protecting him." The older male says, glancing at the distraught Yoongi.

"I am. But even I didn't realise he'd be out this early. This wasn't following his usual schedule." Namjoon nods slowly, almost seeming to accept this.

"He won't die. He'll be awake soon." But Yoongi doesn't—can't—believe him. The dark haired male just returns to watch Jungkook intently, clinging to the lifeless hand in his own. Guilt is still chewing away at him, which he promises to make up for in some way. He'll find a way to make it up to the younger. So distracted by his thoughts and the dead king, he doesn't notice the way Namjoon seems to be searching his face for something.

Suddenly, the silence is broken. With a gurgling cough, blood splutters from the raven's mouth, dribbling down his chin. Namjoon, quick and calm, takes the cloth and wipes this away. Yoongi remains frozen in shock and horror as he watches Jungkook's chest rise and lower. He's alive. In fact, the slice across his neck was slowly healing and disappearing. Soon, the only sign of any wound was the dried blood that caked his neck.

"See, not invincible." Namjoon explains as he cleans the blood from his son. "He just heals."

"But– Wh– How?" The older gives the confused male a small smile and a shrug, clearly not divulging any more information. Still not quite believing this is true, the guard touches the younger's neck with his free hand. Sure enough, it's smooth—unmarred. And underneath his fingertips, the faintest pulse beats. He really is alive.

Yoongi doesn't let go of the unconscious male, not until a significant older man enters and instructs him to do so. Pushed to the side, the magpie watches as the stranger talks in hushed tones to Namjoon. A glance is sent towards him, suspicion resting in the stranger's gaze, but the owl seems to convince him against his thoughts.

Yoongi continues to be ignored as the stranger's hands hover over the motionless body in the bed. The guard watches, curious and confused, when suddenly the air around him seems to spark. The boy's bed appears to grow darker, shrouded in a thick shadow that settles over him like a blanket, while light emanates from the older man. For a few moments, the darkness seems to grow and consume the man's light; dark purple veins spread across Jungkook's skin, glowing threateningly. But then the light wins, pushing the darkness away.

With a gasp, the king's body spasms and contorts on the bed, twisting into impossibly uncomfortable shapes. As the veins fade once again, a final few shadows are coaxed from between cold lips. When this– thing is complete, the stranger collapses, exhausted. He's barely caught by Namjoon, who practically has to leap to stop him from falling.

"Are you alright?" He asks quickly, but the man brushes him away.

"I'll be fine, I just need to sit and drink some water..." Yoongi stops listening as he returns to the side of the bed, watching the king hesitantly. Jungkook seems perfectly fine now, breathing steadily and calmly. He looks like he's sleeping—probably is sleeping. No longer caring about the others in the room, the guard grips Jungkook's hand once more and sits down beside him. He holds the hand tightly, refusing to let go again.

The king sleeps for a little longer, while the other three males wait patiently (or impatiently, in Yoongi's case). When he does wake, the first thing he sees is a still very confused and concerned Yoongi. His grip around the hand holding his tightens lightly, giving it a small, comforting squeeze.

"You're awake." Yoongi can scarcely believe his eyes. "I– I thought you were dead."

Jungkook grins cheekily, "Not quite. It'll take a lot more to kill me." A small chuckle bubbles up inside of Yoongi's chest, a combination of nerves and relief. He places a kiss on the side of the younger's hand, giddy with this rush of relief.

"Sorry I didn't protect you." The dark haired male's smile remains on his lips as he shakes his head.

"It's okay, I forgive you."

In the background, Namjoon's attention remains fixated on the couple. The healer notices this, after a quick glance towards the owl, "Think he'll be the future king?"

"Unless something goes terribly wrong between now and Jungkook's eighteenth, yes. Whether that's good or bad, I'm not sure yet..." The nanny frowns slightly as he watches Yoongi. "I hope he's good."