Jimin respired deeply, his glistening chest heaving up and down as he lay sprawled on his satin covers.

He pushed his drenched, raven hair out of his face and looked over to his side, smiling at the blue eyes that studied him.

"That... that was great," he chuckled breathlessly, reaching out to stroke his lover's large bicep. He bit his lips, tangling his legs with those of the blonde guard until their naked and sweaty bodies were inseparable.

The guard hummed, flashing his prince a quick smile.

"You sure have served me well," Jimin giggled, letting his fingers trail down the man's sculpted abs and over his lower abdomen. "I did not think you would still want me after my father..."

Jimin's smile slowly fell. "Well... after that whole ordeal."

The blonde guard nodded passively, but then rolled onto his back and turned away from the young prince. "I should go home..." He mumbled, staring up at the ceiling of Jimin's extravagant bedroom.

The prince fluttered his eyes and took his hand back after the guard had distanced himself.

"R-right..." He said softly. "It is quite late... I would hate to keep you from your rest."

The guard sat up and left the bed in silence, and Jimin could not help but feel cold.

"I do hope though..." He said, perking up. "I do hope we could... meet again sometime. Perhaps for drinks... or dinner? Or brunch? Even a simple walk would do... it would be nice to have some company... everyone here seems to be trapped inside their own little worlds."

The guard's pale blue eyes darted on everything but the prince as though panic had struck him.

"We shall see," he said eventually, rushing to drag himself into his trousers.

Jimin curled his lips into a smile and watched as the fetching guard covered his defined muscles underneath his layered uniform.

"You shouldn't worry about my father," the prince said with a deep sigh, his enamoured expression switching into a sullen pout. "He won't do anything to endanger your position... he only enjoys being cruel towards me."

Jimin mindlessly traced circles on his matrass with his finger, nervously chewing his lips.

"But... if there is any way in which I could repay you..." He proposed quietly, looking up through his lashes. "For... for the -"

"A promotion," the blonde man said without a second of doubt, finally sparing Jimin another look. "I want to be a taxiarhos."

Jimin's shoulders drooped, the man's answer coming in like a slap across the face.

"Oh..." He said. "I see..." he whispered, bringing the smooth silk covers up higher to conceal his exposed chest. "That - can surely be arranged..."

"Thank you," the guard murmured, holding his chin up high as he buttoned up his shirt.

What came next was an awkward silence, in which the young prince came to the bitter realisation that he, not for the first time, had been used.

"Who told you..." He asked after a while, tucking his legs against his stomach, attempting to disappear in the large bed he now had all to himself. "Who told you I would..."

"It is well known in the palace," the guard said stoicly. "If you wish to rise in the ranks quickly, the best path is through the heart of the kind prince."

Jimin swallowed thickly and pursed his lips. "What a lovely way to put it."

The boy was ambushed by a shudder, his body suddenly feeling like it had been gravely violated.

"I suppose..." Jimin spoke softly, "you do not prefer the company of men then?"

The guard rolled his shoulders, a deep sigh leaving his lips. "I have a wife and five children... many mouths to feed."

Jimin nodded instantly, as though he understood.

"I did not want to exploit you... but I would do anything for my family," the guard added, though the man's words no longer registered with Jimin. The prince had heard it all many times before. He almost had to hold in his laugh at how predictable he'd become.

The guard turned to Jimin, showing him his bright blue puppy eyes, that even after his confession, Jimin could not help but hold a soft spot for. The prince glanced away, convinced now that his achilles heel were heartless pretty boys, and their charming ways of manipulating him.

"You should leave," the prince mumbled, lowering his head.

The guard lingered, hesitantly taking a few steps towards the prince's bedside.

"I did have a lovely time though," he murmured, reaching out to lift Jimin's chin, holding it between his fingers and gently stroking the boy's milky skin.

The prince swooned at the man's gentle touch, falling willingly if only to feel adored for a small moment.

The guard smiled at the lovesick boy, his eyes crinkling.

"You're a great fuck for a man," he said after a moment, tangling his fingers through Jimin's raven locks as he sent him a wink.

"I bid you a good night Your Royal Highness..." He whispered sultrily, before calmly strolling away and leaving the prince's bedroom in a nonchalance manner.

The prince watched the guard leave and desperately leaned forward to catch the last glimpse of him, wondering if the man would now return to his family with pride, or secretly full of shame.

Jimin guessed the former.

He sat still for a moment, staring at his wall and repeating the guard's words  again and again in his head.

"A great fuck..." He whispered hoarsly, his throat feeling dry and his head like it would burst.

The prince let his limp body fall back on his bed.

That marked the twentieth time a man had told him those words, and yet it still did not fail to make the young prince feel as though he was a savage lusting only after brief satisfaction.

The prince curled his body underneath his satin sheets, but it felt like his bed had been invaded and his safety stolen, the strong smell of the guard's sweat making him feel nauseous.

"Such a dunce..." The prince whispered to himself, his eyes burning as oxygen grew scarce underneath his suffocating bedsheets. "Such a fool..."

Jimin wiped at his leaking eyes and glared into the safe darkness his covers provided.

It wasn't as though the prince was unaware of the reputation he had. As if he had never heard the rumours saying he slept around caressly and spread his legs for any man willing to serve him attention. The prince knew very well what the people thought of him, and yet, to his greatest dismay, there was nothing he could do about their horrid convictions.

If only it were women the boy adored to chase. If only the men he cherished were not all pea-brained pigs that used him for their own benefit.

The young prince closed his eyes as the only way he could truly find peace was by casting himself into darkness, and tried his best to fall asleep, if only to forget again how insignificant he truly was.

_____

Help!

Zeus, I beg you, help me!

Is this the end?

Please, please let me find her soul in the underworld... her precious soul... let me join her if this is my time.

The young prince jolted and his eyes sprung open as agonizing screams pierced through his nightmare. He shot upright and snapped his head left to right, but prince Jimin's bedroom was completely empty.

Apart from the boy's heavy breathing, it was dead quiet inside the large chamber, and there was nothing around him but pitch black darkness, the night still casting the capital into a shadow.

The prince grabbed to his forehead, frowning at how real the screams he heard in his dream had sounded. "Dear Thanatos..." He whispered, trying to calm himself down and focus his breathing.

The prince rubbed up and down his bare arms and felt the goosebumps that had covered his skin. He'd always hated his nightmares, as oddly enough, they often felt more vivid than his dreams.

Hurried footsteps coming from the corridor made the young prince flinch in his bed yet again. He perked his ears, holding his breath when he listened to a few tense guards and their urgent conversation.

"Have they found him yet?"

"No, we should sound the alarm."

"Are you sure? Isn't it too early?"

"We don't know where the king is! By Zeus it's not too fucking early."

"Quiet! Prince Namjoon is coming..."

Jimin gasped, clenching his fists around his bedsheets when he heard his dear brother's voice.

"What on earth is going on? Where is my father!"

"W-we don't know yet Your Majesty..."

"Well go look for him you bastards! If I see you eat your of your asses again I'll have you heads on spikes! Your king is missing!"

"Y-yes Your Majesty, we are terribly sorry Your Majesty..."

Jimin would have smiled at his brother's fervor display if it hadn't been for the way his body suddenly turned freezing cold at the words he heard.

He blinked, and with each time he opened his eyes his breathing became heavier.

The prince pulled at his hair, both panic and fear striking him in the heart at the graveness of the situation.

"A day before the coronation?" He whispered to himself, shaking his head as he denied the impossible truth. "This... this doesn't make any sense!"

The door to Jimin's bedroom slammed against the wall after Namjoon pushed through, and even in the weak candle light coming from the man's lantern, Jimin could still make out the absolute terror on his brother's face.

The crown prince stood frozen for a moment, his trembling breath the only sign that he had not turned into scultpure of ice.

The brothers stared at each other, before the crown prince tragically broke down, and cried out as though he had been stabbed with a sword, right through his heart.

Jimin hurried out of bed, hastily slipping into a satin robe to hide his naked body.

"Oh brother," he said, rushing to Namjoon's side.

The crown prince fell to his knees in the middle of the room and cried his heard out, his wails surely traveling through most of the palace.

Tears welled up inside Jimin's eyes as he kneeled down before the older prince.

"H-he's g-gone Jimin," Namjoon stuttered, immediately catching the younger prince in his muscled arms. "They d-don't know where h-he is!"

Jimin tucked Namjoon's head against the crook of his neck, rubbing his brother's back to sooth him. "It's... It's going to be okay Namu... please don't worry. It will be okay. Everything is going to be fi-"

"No," Namjoon cried, sniffing against Jimin's skin, his trembling hands gripping tighter at the boy's body as though it was the only thing keeping him grounded to the world. "I d-don't want to hear t-that... I don't want lies... please Jimin..."

The younger prince released a desperate sigh, hopelessly looking around the room as he started to feel like the walls were closing in on them.

"Everything won't be fine," he whispered, finding himself afraid of his own words. "Something bad has happened Namu... but we will be okay if we stay together... you know that right?"

Namjoon nodded vigorously, pressing Jimin even closer until the younger could barely breathe. "Don't ever leave me Jimin... please, don't ever leave me. I won't survive!"

"Calm down," Jimin hushed, gently threading his fingers through Namjoon's ashbrown hair. "Calm down brother... we are going to need that bright head of yours to lead us through this storm..."

The prince rocked his brother side to side and patted his back, planting kisses below his jawline in attemps to drive the clouds in Namjoon's mind away.

His prediction had come true after all... Jimin realised, a thousand thoughts leaving and entering his mind while his brother wept and snottered against his shoulder.

The gods had finally started the game... and this was their first move.