Servitude- Jikook (Discontinued)

2- Forced

-:-

"Wake up, Your Highness!"

A bright, cheery voice woke Jungkook from his slumber. He groaned tiredly as he opened his sleep crusted eyes, blinking a few times and stretching out his arms. His eyes focused on Rosé, the maid.

"Good morning!" she chirped.

"Your mother has requested your presence in the throne room. You will need to meet her there in the next 20 minutes."

Jungkook yawned once more and rolled out of bed.

"Thank you for letting me know. Tell her that I'll be dressed and down there in 15."

Rosé bowed slightly, her strawberry blonde hair falling into her eyes, before leaving to find Jungkook's mother. Jungkook closed the door behind her and picked out an outfit that he hoped was distinguished enough. His parents always expected him to dress formally in their presence. He got changed and took a quick look at himself in the mirror.

On the outside, Jungkook looked like the image of perfection. From his shiny black dress shoes and the blue suit with gold trim that he wore, to the small golden crown dotted with sapphires and diamonds that sat on the very top of his head (he rarely wore it but since his parents expected me to dress so formally, it was basically required around them)- He looked good, but on the inside his mind was whirring, and his stomach was clenched with anxiety.

Jungkook's parents rarely wanted to talk to him. When they did, he always initiated the conversation, and they always ended it. They didn't exactly have the best relationship, so his mother calling me to the throne room to speak to her could only mean 3 things. Either she's angry at me, something very important and life changing has happened, or she has terrible news. None of the three are ever ideal, since Jungkook wasn't exactly fond of change.

The dark haired boy slowly walked through the palace's portrait lined corridors to the throne room, wasting as much time as possible walking there so he could delay having to see his parents. When he got to the enormous spiral staircase, he slid down the banister, grinning and shouting when he was sure that nobody could hear or see me. Once he landed at the bottom of the staircase, he ran my hand through his hair and rearranged his crown, covering my bunny smile with a poker face.

Jungkook's parents didn't let him out much, so whenever he got the chance to have fun, he had to take it. If his parents caught me sliding down banisters and jumping on couches however, he would be scolded significantly for not acting his age. Jungkook had always had a lot of pressure on him. Always had to set an example for the kingdom, since he was next in line for the throne.

He never asked to be next in line for the throne.

Keeping his face emotionless, he marched to the throne room, expecting his mother and father to be waiting for him alone. To his surprise, a pretty girl with reddish hair who he had never met before was waiting there as well, sitting on a red velvet loveseat in front of his parents' thrones. Jungkook cautiously took a step towards them as their heads whipped around to face him.

"Good morning Mother. Morning Father." Jungkook nodded towards the girl. "Good morning...."

"Lalisa, but you can call me Lisa." She filled in, and although her face looked happy enough, her disappointed slouch gave it all away. She wasn't pleased with me for some reason.

"Ah.. yes. Morning Lisa." Jungkook was sure that he sounded as awkward as she looked.

His mother nodded at his father before turning back around and looking at him.

"Good morning Jungkook. I'm afraid we have some news for you. It's up to you to decide whether the news is good or bad" the King said, looking directly into Jungkook's eyes.

"Well, as you know, it is very important to have many connections with other well respected families, in the interest of keeping the Jeon family name honoured and admired." he added.

The Queen chimed in. "You have known since you were a child that you too, will one day have to take over the throne." I sighed and nodded.

My father continued lecturing me, and I quickly became bored. I'd heard this very same lecture over and over- How was it any different now?

"Father- With all due respect, can you please get to the point?" I asked.

He nodded nervously.

"Well, son, we've arranged an agreement with the Manoban family. You and Lalisa here-" He gestured to the red head "-Are to be married in a month."

Jungkook froze, a look of shock taking over his face as his brain began to process what the King had just said. He was about to protest, but his mother butted in.

"Don't try to protest and stop this from happening. It's all arranged. The wedding already has a set date."

Jungkook felt like he was about to internally combust. "But I can't marry a woman! I'm not even capable of loving her! I won't be able to give her the life she deserves." Jungkook shouted, regretting his tone and choice of words as soon as they flew out of his mouth, even though a tiny smile was beginning to play on Lisa's face

"Don't you dare speak to me like that. You will marry a woman, whether you like it or not. You should know that marriage in our family isn't about choice, or love. It is about expanding our family's reach and creating allies. Maybe this marriage will fix you, cure you of your disease- get those disgusting thoughts out of your head about men loving other men." She shouted harshly at him.

Lisa stared sadly into her lap. She didn't seem too happy about the arranged marriage either, even though she clearly already knew about it beforehand. Jungkook silently stared at his mother, waiting for her to speak. He was just going to let her have the last word. It would be easier that way.

She held her gaze on him for a few more seconds before speaking.
"Me and your father are going to leave you two alone to discuss your future together. You will clearly have a lot to talk about." She said coldly before nodding at the King and gesturing at the archway leading to the exit. They walked quickly out the door, his mother's pointy high heeled shoes clicking sharply as she walked.

The two young... fiances.. stared at each other for a second, looking each other up and down judgmentally. To tell the truth, Jungkook thought, Lisa was a beautiful girl. With her big brown eyes and her long, silky red hair, she was stunning. But that was the problem. She was a beautiful girl. Jungkook's parents knew that he was gay, but he guessed they thought that they could force the homosexuality out of him, by forcing marriage upon him.

My entire life feels forced, the young boy thought. He was forced to be the heir to the throne, forced to make sure that he always look perfect so that girls could swoon over me, forced to always act so formal, in absolutely everything he did. He had completely lost the ability to have fun.

He lost his childhood. He lost my teenage years. He lost the ability to make friends. He lost the ability to love freely. And now, he'd lost the one thing he thought he had, the ability to choose his own lover. What could he have expected from his parents. Of course they would set up an arranged marriage.

He was just a puppet on a string to them.

And there was nothing he could do to change that.

-:-

If you keep hearing cracking sounds coming from outside, don't worry. It's not an earthquake. It's just the sound of me being painfully bias wrecked by the one and only Jeon Jungkook.