[ start the song when I tell you to. ]

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──

The horse that rode the vacant streets of Ivrea seemed nonchalant to the timeless war going on behind him between two knights. He knew his master was so ready for the state visit, he needs to appear classy so his owner is proud of him. A kiss over his head made him realize he was still being cherished after years of companionship with his dear lord.

"How long more do we need to walk?" The prince inquired, clutching the horse's reigns back again which had started plummeting out of his slender fingers. His head was straight and his eyes gazing at the icy streets in front of him. Mighty sheets of snow covering the streets of Ivrea bared witness to the traffic that it had gone through just a day ago. Ivrea seemed like a busy kingdom that would just be unoccupied the moment they realized the freeze was immoderate. The sun had just risen, so it would be no huge deal seeing not a single soul around.

Seokjin could sense how frigid it was. He'd freeze to death if he stayed on these streets for five more minutes.

"A little more, my lord." Benjamin emitted holding his emotionless face on point. Being an assistant to the crown prince himself was enervating. For his father's honor, he needed to submerge his sentiments.

"Cease, knights!" The twins Ian and Ryan, sleek brown hair, sharp jawlines, and passionate eyes, both had concluded hearing the prince's assistant roar.

"May I ask, your highness?" The soldier leading the army behind let out.

"What is it about, Ben?" The next-to-be-monarch seemed uncaring checking out on his horse who has walked for so long. His grime boots which had traveled for so long hit the animal's belly lightly.

"Where would your highness be gone last n—" Seokjin was on the verge of exhaling deeply thinking of a sensible excuse for the knight, although, the moment his eyes moved up and enthusiasm lurched his veins formed sparkles in his deep dark eyes.

Seokjin's eyes glinted, a smile consuming his lips, gazing towards the heavenly palace of Ivrea that was now in existence just a bit far away from the eyes hiding in the ravishing snow-covered nature around it.

"Do not worry. I'll be safe!" The apparent heir hadn't realized how he was already galloping through the abandoned ice-bound streets of the city in search of...

"Jasira Ivrea." He muttered.

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It was beautiful; the early morning. It smelled so earthy because of the low temperature around them. The assassin was going through some psychological damage, Bam could detect it from his empty eyes that stared into thin air. The parrot lay beside him trying to comfort him in some kind of way while glancing into the assassin's dead eyes again and again, troubled.

Even his hand that rested beside the assassin's abdomen seemed lifeless. The bird could recall how lively he was just a few days ago when it was about the princess. How did they even come here? How? What had gone wrong?

It was awkward; so awkward Bam couldn't describe it in words. Even the air around him felt like it was choking him to death. The magical being turned around trying to avoid his master's grim face. His eyes fell upon the new morning and the aesthetic sky that did not seem to match its vibe with his longtime friend's gaze. It was too ravishing, the sky. Feeling dejected not being able to save his companion's skin in any way, the bird felt lost.

Regardless, the dour-faced man was deep in his mind, in his memories, in his horrifying thoughts. He had suddenly started breathing so heavily remembering the words that the crown prince had spat on his face. It was too heavy on his heart, this situation.

[ start the song now. ]

- FLASHBACK -

He could feel his person falling inside. He didn't want this; not this man in front of him. The frigidness around him itself didn't matter to him as much as the man's presence in the sight of his did. He didn't want to go back to the time he didn't want to live again.

It was so chilly, the parrot shivered, and the tension in his atmosphere made him want to run away. However, this seemed as if a sensitive moment for his master which made him stubborn to stay. He wanted to be by his side in the harshest of times, as his friend, as his companion, and as his lifetime mate.

"I am here on a request." The highborn's words snapped him out of his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, Seokjin looked away, his forelock dropping near his eyes, "From a person that seems to if truth be told, cherishes you a lot." His eyes seemed to hide a lot of things he wanted to say. As if, suppressing a lot of emotions in them wanting not to trouble the young man in front of him in any way.

JK could feel the lump in his throat. He was trying so hard to lock the water in his eyes as they kept turning vermillion out of rage. His breath getting considerably heavier each second, his eyes going wider. He bites his lower lip lightly to keep his fury inside. Each second, standing there seemed fatiguing to him. Clenching his teeth against each other, the assassin compels himself to look up.

He was no one to come here.

His stomach churned, "I do not care." The assassin paused in his rasped words as he continued, "Leave." The bird could feel the tightness in the environment forcing him to gulp down the Globus sensation in his throat. He could now be conscious of what was happening in front of him. So so conscious, that everything seemed strained.

"AS YOUR PRINCE—" Seokjin initiates with authority; his eyes infuriated and seething. JK cuts him off, not letting the superior proceed, "YOU ARE NO PRINCE TO ME!"

Taking a few deep breaths, with a pulsing heart, and having his gaze on the silent and expressionless prince, the fuming man carries on. His voice pressured, "Take your leave."

As Seokjin stood there in the frosty night, the assassin had swiveled in the opposite direction towards the door and walked away without any more words being spoken. The royal still had his gaze towards the direction with his arms behind him as he exhaled a deep sigh of enervation.

Everything felt too wrong at this point.

- END OF FLASHBACK -

Through his flashback, the man turned to the marvelous azure morning sky ahead of him. This wasn't Assassin JK; he wouldn't be so depressed over things like these. He wasn't this person. He was someone else. Someone very motivated. He can't be laying here, overthinking about a bastard prince and his characterless people.

As the emotions took over him, the human stands patting his knees and clapping his hands to get the dust off of him. The sky ahead of him didn't have to make him upset or envied, on how beautiful and happy it had to look. It had to inspire him and make him go on and become a much better person and control his emotions, and get on with his fucking shit.

That was funny.

JK laughs keeping his hands over his face as he slowly removes them looking around and proceeding to laugh creeping little Bam out very badly.

The human bites his lower lip, "So embarrassing of me to behave like that." Looking over to the bird, he continues, "Let's get to work, mate." The little one found himself beaming with joy looking up at his master on a snowy day in the following moment.

The man gazes at the edge of the rooftop he stood on as he turns to the bird, "Ready, Bam?" He questions as the bird enthusiastically nods. The now smiling assassin runs to the edge jumping off of it immediately and landing on the ground, and of course, deciding to never let anything pull him down in this world.

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Howbeit, when it came to the monarch of Ivrea, she found herself sitting in the royal library peacefully having a book in hand late in the afternoon thinking about the assassin who she had embarrassed herself in front of. She couldn't stop thinking about him, or the incident that occurred.

Her fingers tighten around the book that was in her hands as she apprehensively bites her lip trying to focus on it and turns the page slowly around when finally a deep sigh releases her lips and she throws her book away on the table crossing her arms.

She had taken half an hour out of work to finally read a book and take a small rest, but somehow the assassin isn't leaving her mind. Should she go back there? To clear the air?

NEVER.

She will never go back there.

Not after her being in danger last time. The assassin seemed kind of dangerous there—

"The time is up, your majesty." Jasira's eyes go blank as she stands up from the chair, her gaze moving to the snow-covered windows around her, as she turns around and walks away following her knight's words. The knight is behind her six steps away backing her. The queen knew she was sulking so hard right now.

I hope this winter brings something special and fascinating.

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"A royal wedding!?" Bam squeals, making his owner grab his ears trying to protect himself. The bird was in his loquacious mode today; it was complicated, his reason, his reasoning, and of course, his reasons again.

When it is light, and the clear daylight shone through the thronged Ivrea, as the passionate people had now stepped out of their homes to earn for their families and a living, the parrot was more busy chattering with his master, knowing his master probably wasn't even caring about what he was babbling about.

Nonetheless, as the man stepped in his black boots in the white and clear snow that shielded maximum of the bustling kingdom, Bam was also occupied minding on what his owner was wearing this day. Of course, completely different from what he usually wore; the bird was immersed in thinking about how the human was wearing ordinary clothes too these days. Probably because the last time he wore those, everyone in the guild had informed him about how the clothes were complimenting his body and shape and that he should wear those more often and not be stuck on his assassin uniforms.

He was adorned in a stygian cotton threaded dress that was buttoned up on the top but had a slit from the twill belt it held to the below knees, and a pitch dark leather full sleeve overcoat on it complimenting JK's features a lot. Adding it with cotton and polyester pants and coal boats. The human kept walking in the snow-filled streets searching for someone and hearing his pet speak about certain stuff.

"JK, you're going to have babies too!? Will you forget about me then?!" The animal's companion sighed heavily hearing that. After he had been so dejected yesterday, this bird hasn't stopped talking since then. Probably trying to lift his friend's mood with embarrassing talks.

"The queen and you will look so beautiful and made for each other when you both get married. The empire itself is going to be so crazed and wordless after just taking a glance at you both and—" He ignores, JK ignores; he's too engrossed in trying to find someone on the busy streets. The streets of Uzacan, that was where they're at today.

The feathered being's attention was back on his master when his master started knocking on the door holding a few papers in his one hand's fingers. His knocks became louder as the man became too impatient standing on the crowded street. His hand is on the frame of the door as a lady shouts back to answer the knocks, "A second! A second! Calm down!" As she opens the wooden door, she sees a handsome man pulling his gaze up to look at her. She was around her thirties, but you know, she can give her husband a farewell for this man.

"Hello." JK waves his hand full of papers getting her out of her imaginary world, "Ah, yes?" She looks at him in surprise, coming back to her real world as she nodded shyly looking down making the assassin repel to the sun.

Getting to the point, he asks, flashing the papers for two seconds, "I was looking for a woman named 'Alexandra'."

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Alexandra, her life was so adventurous when it came to working in the royal palace; the palace that was so much of an enigma to everyone working in it. For some reason, even if she felt as if she knew it, she did not. There was something inside her that still told her she was leaving out on so much and her confidence was for nothing. These walls that she walked between every single day seemed to hide a lot of secrets to it.

Alexandra paused in her steps as she bowed to a maid that was passing by a little bit far away to greet her as she keeps taking her steps to her destination. Nonetheless, the worst thing that had happened today was happening right now as her eyes fell on Melissa. She immediately turns around, walking straight with her eyes clenched shut worrying about Melissa's reaction when she knows Alexandra hadn't done the chores she had given yet. The girl had a lot of reasons, which of course the old lady would never understand. So better run away than stay.

She had heard so much from everyone that there would be the crown prince of Savelli who would be arriving tomorrow. Everyone seemed so buzzing because of the hope of his arrival. Not only him but there would be other royals arriving in time for a royal ball they need to attend that the queen is going to hold. The crown prince was much earlier in arriving because of work purposes. Well, that's what she heard.

"Alexandra?!" Her feet pause, her hands shaking, the old lady was gonna give her a good scolding now. She had to ready herself for this.

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She was finally going to be free so late at night. She was haggard, she was so sure Melissa had broken every single bone in her body trying to take work out of her. She cherished the queen so much, she didn't want to disappoint her in any way and only make her name full of pride.

Alexandra grabbed her dress which was now so dirty because of a great deal of work, she had to take a bath and go to sleep or she wouldn't be able to be in peace. One last work of hers was, checking on the butler who had disappeared into thin air.

She immediately grabs the wooden door that appeared stained in front of her, unlocking it with a beating heart, and walking inside slowly, she sees a man on the right-hand side of hers looking at himself in a large human-sized mirror. The window behind him had a white drapery flowing to it and moonlight cascading the dark room as her gaze moves to the assassin that stood before her. His face held a mask made of silk as he looks at the woman through the mirror taking it off nonchalantly while wearing his jet-black clothes, peering at the woman who was questioning him with her wide eyes.

His eyes shone with enthusiasm as he says, "I was at the orphanage. Just pretending to be an assassin for some orphan kids." He says with his faint smirk looking down at the mask in his fingers as Alexandra chuckles keeping her hand on her mouth.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Jimin."

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[ A/N : I have written this chapter in a hurry so I apologize if anything seems out of place. This author has been too busy these days. AND VOTE. ]