It wasn't new, people trying to break into my, well, abode. Curiosity was a dangerous toy in the wrong hands.  But usually, all it took was a glimpse of my looming self to send them running back to where they came from.

Usually.

The boy I was looking at, simply stood there, at the foot of the steps leading up to my door. Eyes wide and mouth agape as I had expected, but unmoving. No running for his life, no murderous screaming, For some reason, this boy appeared genuinely surprised. Almost like he wasn't expecting me. Like I was the one who stumbled into him. 

"What do you want?" My voice came gruff, owing to its scarce usage. 

"I, uh, came looking for my cat."

"There are no cats here. If there were. I'd probably have eaten them."

The boy laughed, a little giggle and it was my turn to be appalled.

Maybe it was something in my stance, that the boy immediately apologized.

"I meant no offence, its just,"

"Just what, boy?"

He waited a moment, as if contemplating his decision to go with his thoughts or not.

"You're nothing like how the children of the village described you."

"And how much poor justice have they done me?"

The boy smiled, and even then, he appeared confident enough to be holding the answers to every single one of my questions.

"They talk about you in fear. The Cursed Prince. One with fangs, horns, even a tail. They swore you had... no human face," he paused.

"And do you see a human face here?" I stroked my finger down one side of my porcelain mask, nails scraping musically against it.

"I see no monster." My hand dropped to my side as I beheld him. 

Who was this boy? Why was he here? But before I could demand of him, his purpose, he went on.

"They did do justice to your Tower of Thorns." His eyes traveled along the length of my crumbled castle walls.

I followed his gaze, moving along the sturdiest rose vine overhead the doorway, which then entwined across several of the cracked window panes on the top floor.

There only remained bits and pieces of what this building used to be. Less of a castle, more of a ruin.

"That the roses were nearly buried under the thorns. If you were foolish enough to try to pluck one, the thorns would stab your fingers and the roses next to them would drink up your blood."

I felt a sneer make its way onto my face. Oh how the rumors grew by the year. 

I opened the door wider, stepping further into the light, fewer steps away from where the boy stood.

"Is that all you've heard, boy? Haven't you heard of how a mere glimpse of my fiendish appearance will suffice to turn your heart to stone? How the slightest brush against my cursed roses will deprive you of any emotion you've ever had?"

He shrugged, in a manner of dismissal and I was torn between wanting to wring his throat for his arrogance and admire him for his guts.

"I only hear what I want to, or what's of interest to me. Besides, what few doubts I had have been clarified now."

"Careful, boy. There can be hidden truth in rumors. I would suggest you replace that arrogance with some common sense, and be on your way."

I'd had enough. Trespassing children who pelted stones and shook the trees to grab my attention were one thing. The certainty this boy exhibited was something I'd never experienced, and it seemed to knock me off balance.

"I will, sir. If you could return my cat."

I stopped, halfway through the door.

"I saw no cat, boy. Go look elsewhere, or come up with a better excuse the next time you come to annoy me with your existence."

I could just about see his face from the gap in the door, and he looked positively miffed.

"EXCUSE?! That was no excuse, I was telling the truth!

"Leave, boy!"

"And my name is not boy. I have a real name!"

I shut the door on his face.

"It's Jimin!"

YES.

YES.

YES.

Yes, its what you think it is.

So, thoughts so far?