"Ran away? What in God's name do you mean by that?"
Sir Yoongi, the head general known town-wide for his composed and collected charisma didn't represent the said qualities as he pulled at his hair pacing back and forth in the recruiter office while his long forgotten cup of bergamont tea layed with a sad face on the mahongany table consisting of endless paper sprawled out across it hiding the cresents of stains from the bottom of the cups that met the similar fate like the above-mentioned.

"Run away, you know, Eloped. Absconded. Absquatulate. Vamoose" leutinent Jung Hoseok, one of the military servers of Arauna, the king's personal favorite sub-officer and Min Yoongi's closest friend in non-duty hours, chirped as he ducked out his lips exaggerating the 'vamoooose' along with making jazz hands.

One of a kind, is what he was. Everyone agreed to this. Even the king himself. He was like a star who felt the magic of the moon for the first time. He was like a lotus amongst the wallflowers captivating eyes of the onlookers, totally worth their while. Min Yoongi admired him for being the breath of fresh air that he was.

"Hoseok I did not ask for you to present me your vocabulary. Elaborate to me on why Jiwa took a leave."

"He did not take a leave. Leaving would be consensual and permitted. He just took off. Wrote this letter to me saying something about taking his wife to another town for treatment."

"What happened to his wife?"

"Nobody knows. People say she suddenly started acting queer. Which reminds me, the prince told me about a reading on how the apothecary of big cities are starting to claim a new anomaly of sadness. They call it 'depression'. How innovative!"

"Please. They just need a reason to name even a slight jagger of breath as new disease. Sadness is a not a disease. Nothing a bergamont tea in the day and borboun at night cannot correct." A new high pitched voice made it's way to the room making Hoseok turn his head almost 180 degrees, but the smile on his face only a confirmation that he wasn't complaining.

"Leutinent Jimin. Have a seat please. We have bigger quandary at hand than discussing about medical advancements. And Hoseok, just because the king is fond of you does not mean he will acceed to the idea of you being friends with the Prince. You need to stop talking to him like he's an equal." Yoongi sighed taking his seat across from the two leutinents.
"The feast is in two days and the Prince's guard decides to run away now. Everyone is already assigned to the duties they are best suited for. And with the arrival of more than ten neighboring kingdoms none of the guards can be shifted off of the duty to be the Prince's guard. We need to recruit someone new and we need to do it FAST."

"Sir, you need to calm down. We will find a guard for the Prince. The subjects of Arauna worship the King. And rightfully so. Any eligible young man we opt for would be rather honored to serve the palace." Lt. Jimin spoke out with his sanguine melodious voice immediately settling a calm to the distraught general.

Park Jimin. Since only the sons of the former knights were recruited as knights, when the son of a poor opera performer of the royal house was recruited as one, to say the whole kingdom was shocked would be an understatement. He takes the credit for the amendment that now anyone was allowed to serve the army. Undercover his deceiving chubby and adorable looks, Park Jimin was a bold, stern and a dutiful server. He radiated confidence and oligarchy. Min yoongi appreciated that in particular.

"They worship the king, true, but you know not everyone is fond of Prince Taehyung. It's more arduous than you think it is."

"Leave it to us, Sir. You watch not to catch that 'depression' sickness."

"Dismiss. Both of you and get to work."

*****

"And so just like I had predicted, the foolish old man requested me to help him carry the goods inside the palace. It was like we were acting out a pre-written play." Jungkook tsked unwrapping the shawl he had pleated across his face.

"Brother, you know I never interject in your doings because we do need the money for mother's treatment in the city but this is way too dicey. If you're caught you could be banished, or worse, executed. Do you not fear that at all?" Yerin eyed her brother's movements as he moved to change into his night clothes (which were just his old worn out breeches and linen chemise) as she sat cross legged on the uncomfortable wooden divan bed.

"Yerin, we've been through this." Jungkook sighed looking in no mood to answer the young girl's questions. He opened the wooden almira taking out a worn out rugged foldable mattress and a blanket.

"And yet you do not bother. Brother, why don't you understand it's not an ornament of a pedestrian or wallets of a local vender. This is the Royal crown. This is as perilous as playing with fire. They will catch you and sentence you to death, mother would die because i will never be able to earn the kind of money her treatment requires, the landlord is already planning throw us out next month. I'll be on my own and you out of all the people know I can't do anything on my own." Tears filled Yerin's eyes. She immediately wiped them off only to have it be replaced by new ones.

"Hey! You fool! Stop with these tears, okay? You yourself stated all the reasons for me to go for this theft. Please trust me on this. And about playing with fire part, I can't believe you made a jokes about my face?" jungkook chuckled unfolding the mattress on the floor putting the blanket beside. He sat down beside the bed on the floor spreading a piece of paper Yerin didn't notice was already in his hands.

"Let me familiarize you with my agendum. Here goes... Tomorrow morning I'll be entering the palace in poor old man's eyes as a helper but also to casually take in the infrastructure of my new target place and maybe scoop away a royal guard uniform. Easy peasy."

"Then after two days, right before the feast I'll make in a re-entry dressed as a guard, get my hands on the grandeur royal safe. Now, the king will wear his crown all through the event, so will the queen. The first prince, what was his name, Kim Jongha, is to arrive and will be centre of the evening. The second prince, who nobody cares about, and the princess have still not got their crown because they are not 20 yet, i think, and I have no interest in their tiaras."

"So what are you planning to rob, brother? The food? We could use some of that, actually."

"Now that's the thing little sister. The crown that I have my eyes on is none that is currently in use. But the one which is hidden away."

"Hidden away? "

"Lying in the grandeur royal safe is the crown of the deceased first queen, the only bearable royal. Everyone is so absorbed in the now royals that they seem to forget about the crown. Which also coincidentally has more jewels than any other crown."

"I don't have a good feeling about this, brother."

"Well I do. You need to sleep away your worries little sister because soon enough all our problems will wither away and you won't be able to thank me enough. Goodnight." and with that he blew off the only candle illuminating their little cottage.

***

Heaving a long sigh jungkook tosses his jute shoulder bag beside the door of his cottage. He saw Yerin make a run towards him with a worried face that immediately turned into a relief on seeing her brother.

"Thank God you're safe back home. Oh, I see you did scoop away a royal guard uniform."

"About that.. There's been a slight change in plans."

Morning 9:00 am

"Thank you again Jungkook-ah i don't understand why all the youngsters cannot be like you."
"It's really nothing uncle. I'll just go unload the sacks in the basement. You go home. I'm sure aunty is waiting for you."
"Ah.. What I could do to have a son like you."

Oh trust me old man.. You don't want that.

Jungkook strolls from the main halls towards the third set of staircase that only the royal servents were allowed in, complete opposite direction to the basement he was supposedly going to. He quickly hides behind the pillar when he sees two guards gossiping about something like the second prince deserving to be called a princess? He couldn't care less.

He rushes to the air vent as soon as they pass and slides down the vent into the base of the palace store room. Just like his plan, he takes out the small shovel he's had in his kamarband shawl all this time and starts dismantling the bricks on lower right corner one by one.

Nobody would even think about a tunnel from storeroom (that hasn't been in use since a long time apparently)  to the royal safe. Nobody will realize the missing of a crown that hasn't been used in years, only a commemorative symbol. Everyone guarding the assets that are in the vision.

He digs and digs and finally breaks open the area but does not cross it. Only reassembles the wall like nothing ever happened. Now that his make-shift tunnel was ready. He just needs to get out of the room without getting noticed in the prohibited area, which keeping in mind his sneaky persona, wouldn't be hard.

He makes his way behind the pillar where the two guards were still gossiping now about the breasts of the princess's maid.
Keeping close eye on the guards he makes his way out only to crash chest to chest with a servant causing him to spill very hot tea on his hand and the cup shattering loudly on the floor.

"Fuc--" he almost cursed from the burning hand but then realized about the slipping shawl from his face and quickly retrieved it to hide the right side tucking it under his teeth as usual, before the imbecile servant looked up from the floor.

"My apologies, mister. I was a little lost, having no idea where I was. I hope you didn't get--- you're the fish guy! Umm Soe-joon?" jungkook guessed about the fimiliar man from fish market.

"Oh my! Jeon Jungkook! I was talking about you with sir Jimin. And it's Namjoon. Close."

"Right. Pardon my memory. One of the many many reasons I'm lost in this part of the palace, I was getting afraid if I've entered the prohibited area.Why must you be talking about me, by the way?"

"You are actually in the prohibited area of the palace since this is where the royal family resides. But don't worry you're a man the palace is looking for. Come I want you to meet someone."

With that a hyperexcited Namjoon drags an utterly confused Jungkook to the officials side of the palace.....

Evening - 9:00 pm

"So you are a real royal guard now? This is really really really the funniest thing I've ever heard." Yerin laughed aloud clutching to her stomach and falling backwards on the creaking bed.

"It's not amusing. This means that after getting my hands on my robbery, I have to stay there for the entire time till the arrived guests depart, to avoid suspicions."

"Don't the guards go through months and months of training for this."

"They do, but they are desperate. And what I gather from the officer's remarks is that a guard bailed on them last minute. Since all the eligible guards need their duty fulfilled around the valuables of the palace, a beautiful princess and a brave prince., a beautiful prince is not something ever an enemy is interested in. It's more like a formality, so they kept me because I have muscles and I'm soft spoken. My own pretends blew me this time." jungkook plopped down on the floor on his mattress trying to ignore the growling of his stomach, since the little money he sneaked out of the gossiping guards needs to go into the deposit for mother's treatment.

He eyes the letter that arrived from Trisha, addressing from the town of Glandit today saying if the charges aren't paid by the next week they would be expelling their mother's treatment in the infirmary.

Sighing he closed his eyes trying to thwart the burden of the attritional excuse of a life he has.

****

Leutinent Jung Hoseok (Age 24)

Leutinent Park Jimin (Age 23)

*****