Royal Duty [Minjoon]

12th part

"Princess Eunae has arrived!!" An announcer exclaimed when a group of well dressed foreigners on horses entered through the castle gates. He was in the traditional country's colors of red and gold, like all other workers that could be observed outside of the castle gates. "Ah there she is." The king told, nodding slightly towards a fair, long haired girl wearing a long purple satin dress and a golden necklace. "She is beautiful, don't you think, my son?" He asked while the two royals carefully approached their visitors. The prince couldn't lie. She was very beautiful, more so than any of the girls that had attended Jimin's many balls. The fair skin on her face was accompanied by rosy cheeks, and a pair of pink colored lips, a rare sight to see from most of the women in Korea. "My prince." She spoke with a bow and a smile, after she had moved from the horseback and unto the ground. "Princess Eunae." He bowed back, forcing a smile to his face as he took her hand and gave it a kiss. After the prince had composed himself, a silence broke out. Now that the two had completed preforming the required formal gestures, neither knew what more to do. They knew what their destinies were, but for now, they were still strangers. Luckily after only a few terribly long seconds of awkward staring and fidgeting between the two, a servant girl came over. "Please your highness, let me follow you to your room." She said, bowing deeply to the foreign princess. The royals exchanged yet another round of bows before the princess dismissed herself and followed closely behind the servant girl.

"I arranged for her to have the best room in the west-wing." The king spoke after the two women were out of sight. He patted his son's shoulder with a big heavy hand. "Only the best is good enough for your future wife. Right?" He questioned Jimin, whom just nodded in agreement at the older man's words, despite feeling bitter about the reminder of his unwanted marriage.
"Wait father!" The son spoke when a thought suddenly struck him. "Yes?" His father asked back, strangely eyeing his suddenly frantic son. "You have arranged for her to sleep in the room next to mine?" The prince was shocked. There had only even been two other people who had even been given the privilege to be in that room. Namjoon a guest invited to stay there by the royal prince himself, and the queen before her passing. It was the most treasured room in the castle. He had never believed his father would willingly give it up like that without a moment of hesitation. This made the royal understand just how serious his father was about this marriage. Something that just made the uneasy feeling in the pit of Jimin's stomach grow.

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Namjoon hurried through the halls trying to find the royal prince on his orders. Suddenly the hurried steps of bare feet against marble tiles were brought to an end, instead two loud thuds replaced them. "Oh, I am very sorry boy." A dark voice spoke up. "I was in a hurry and didn't notice you." The stranger, a man wearing an armor, spoke, offering a hand and an apologetic smile to the boy on the floor. "Do not worry sir, I am alright." The servant said, offering a smile back while grabbing the outstretched hand of the other to help him up. "I did not quite see you either." He told, brushing his crumpled clothes in attempt to straighten them out. "If you do not mind me asking." Namjoon spoke after a while, looking up at the slightly taller male. "Who are you?" The other man's smile seemed to fade at that. "Hm, that is indeed a very good question." He spoke back. "I am a guard from the kingdom of Sarina. I am here because it is my duty to keep the princess safe." The guard seemed to stop after his announcement, waiting for a reply from the servant. An answer that he never received, Namjoon was instead busy scanning the guard's features. "Well I am very sorry to say that I must leave the rest of this conversation for another time boy. My duty calls." After saying those words, the man gave a nod and a smile, before he walked past the shocked servant and continued his way through the hall with big strides.
Namjoon couldn't help staring at the armored frame become smaller and smaller as it distanced itself from him and until it was out of sight. When there were no more trails of the guard Namjoon finally let a long exhale of breath leave his lips.

After blinking a few times and letting the growing blush on his cheeks fade, the servant continued running laps through the cold castle, attempting to find the royal majesty. This time though his bare feet were not the only part of him that was running, his mind was too. Racing with thoughts that were mostly revolved around the knighted had just bumped into.

"Namjoon-ah." A voice echoed through the halls and the servant found himself turning around towards the origin of the sound. "Your highness." He bowed when he saw the frame of the prince make it's way towards him. "I am terribly sorry my lord. I know you called me and I tried looking for you, but unfortunately I was unable.." His sentence was cut short as the royal pushed him harshly towards the wall behind them in the hallway. "Sire?" He questioned quietly, looking down at the prince who was restraining Namjoon's arms with his own strong grip. Their eyes met, the servant's confused ones, meeting the other male's glaring orbs. "You should feel sorry." He told, eyes shifting to watch the other male's frame. "If I call you I expect you to arrive within the spawn of five minutes." The prince tightened the grip on the taller male's wrists, forcing them into the marble walls behind them. "It is urgent Namjoon-ah." Namjoon felt the grip on one of his wrists disappear. "You should know how important it is to listen to me, right?" The royal asked. The prince might be shorter than him, but Namjoon had seen his strength on the battlefield, adding the orbs that were watching him like he was a pray, and it was enough for the servant to feel helpless.

"Kiss me." Jimin said after a while, releasing Namjoon's other wrist too. "W-what?" The taller questioned, wondering if he had heard the prince wrong. "I ordered you to kiss me Kim Namjoon."