Your Divine Grace {NamJin}

fifteen

Seokjin's glossy, dark chocolate eyes glazed bittersweetly over the sweet calligraphy of General Park, indulged with the decadence and richness of his beloved's words. It was late at night, and Taehyung had brought him the letter with the most relieved of countenances; he was happy to give his best friend something other than bad news. With the Elder Council giving him endless problems and his inevitable loneliness without Namjoon by his side, a letter from his beloved was the best thing for him. He had grown noticeably pale, and much skinnier than before Namjoon left. In the moons that waxed and waned over time's synchronized passing, so did Seokjin's stress levels and the once constant ruddiness of his pale cheeks.

The starry windows to his soul closed as a rain of tears flooded from them. Just how much he missed the other half that completed him was indescribably astronomical, and his every thought consisted of, to some degree, Namjoon.

"I miss you so much," Seokjin began, putting the letter down so that the salty tears wouldn't wash away his beloved's beautiful words. Taehyung placed a hand on Seokjin's back, trailing it back and forth in a comforting way that only those he loved knew and enjoyed. He had seen firsthand just how hard being ruler of a great nation could be, and little did anything to ease his companion's anxiety.

"Not to worry, hyung," Taehyung began. "Everything will be alright. You've done such a great job so far. His Divine Grace would be so proud. He'll come back soon, I know it."

"Do you know how hard it was to get here? To hold everything together?" Seokjin sobbed. "You really don't. You really don't."

"Is there anything you could do to ease your worries? At least temporarily?" Taehyung asked, concerned.

Seokjin sat there, choked by the claws of his inner fears and his hot tears, unable to speak.

"Come, hyung," Taehyung began, pressing his fingers into Seokjin's tense, stiff shoulders that seemed to carry the weight of the world. The regent's tears seemed to subside, and his worries were pushed away for the time being as the kinks and knots in his shoulders were worked out by Taehyung's calloused, strong, yet soft and smooth hands.

"Would you like some help writing back?" the lord asked, still massaging his best friend's shoulder muscles. "I can write while you speak."

Seokjin nodded, his head too heavy to hold up by his fragile, tired neck. Pulling a brush, a full ink pot and some smooth paper over to the desk he shared with Seokjin, he began to write.

His Divine Grace, my one and only Kim Namjoon,

I am here, sobbing out of loneliness

Seokjin was barely able to finish his sentence when a forceful, pained shout echoed through the palace grounds, ringing through the ears of all that resided in the royal court.

There was no time to ask or answer questions that had no solutions. There was no time to stop and think. There was only enough to grab a katana for defense and run out to where the bellow was heard. Seokjin and Taehyung did exactly that, bursting through his room doors and sprinting at top speeds towards the palace hall entry and into the cold, stinging needles of the outside air.

The sight they stood before was repulsive, repugnant and pure bloody horror.

Lords of the east, west and south, their wives, servants, guards, soldiers, and even a poor child laid in an almost endless sea of innocent, sterling crimson; mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts, cousins, protectors, caretakers, lovers, husbands and wives fallen and bleeding on the unforgiving ground stained the sandy floor and the wet spheres of the northern lords' eyes. The nightmare began with the fateful stroke of midnight, and, unbeknownst to Seokjin and Taehyung, would end with the stroke of swords across their stomachs.

"Who...why..." Taehyung began, shaking his head in disbelief. "Why would someone do this? This is mutiny...this is just..."

"Let's split, Taehyung," Seokjin said, already hurdling over the steps down from the palace hall. "You take the east, I'll go west."

They ran down the stairs, spitting off at the foot in different directions. They braved every turn and sneaked every corner, filling their already overflowing cups of undeniable rage with the views of the vanquished. Nothing could've augmented their rage more -- or so they thought, until screams were heard from the east side of the palace, where the infirmary was located.

"Taehyungie!" a female voice screamed, weaved with terror and stitched tight with fear. Upon hearing his name, Taehyung rushed towards the hospital with velocities unknown to even the strongest of bears hunting their prey. Unaware and uninterested in the harsh pumping of his heart, he slammed the door open to see a silhouette cloaked in black, towering over the love of his life.

The thin glass of patience hovering over his chest shattered into a million invisible pieces.

With nothing constant to rely on except for the unnoticed passing seconds that lingered in the sharp, frozen atmosphere, Taehyung plunged his katana into the back of the black cape covering the cold heart of the assassin in front of him. He collapsed onto the floor, prompting Taehyung to think of the good men and women who had also fallen at his hand, and how insulting it was for him to be laying on that same ground as those he wounded.

Taehyung dropped onto his knees and pulled a crying Seonbi into his arms, whispering comforts into her ear and rocking her back and forth like a baby.

"Shh, Seonbi-ah, it's okay now, you're safe. I'd never let anyone hurt you, my wonderful flower."

"Taehyungie, my love, I thought I was dead...I thought I was really finished..."

"Not to worry now, orchid. I'm here, I'm right here."

They sat in silence for three seconds before a gasp crossed Taehyung's lips, and a horrid thought crossed his mind.

"Where's the baby"--

"I sent Hoseok-sshi with Rinji. He's long sneaked her out of the palace, I watched him leave the gates. I told him to stay with her at the mountain castle until someone he trusted came to take them back to the palace."

"Good then! I'd rather her in safe hands than here with killers on the loose! It's a bloodbath out there..."

"I wish I could've kept her with me, but he just stormed in and I had no other choice. I told Hoseok-sshi to just take her and get out of the palace. I couldn't stand the thought of our baby, just a few months old, dying at the hands of some stranger and his sword..."

"You did the right thing, orchid. I'm proud of you. I love you."