The brothers of the emperor are called royal uncle.

Jungkook focus

"Why are you still wearing that mourning cloth? It's been two weeks already," Jungkook asked Taehyung while he watched the prince fastening the white cloth to his topknot instead of a shiny sangtugwan.

Taehyung stared at him through the reflection with a look of incredulity. "Mourning lasts three years," he said and turned around. "How can I just forget about my father's death in the blink of an eye? Would you not be sad at least for some months if your master died?"

"Not at all," Jungkook replied true to what he thought. Since he, of course, had asked for his parents at some point, death had always been a topic between his master and him. "Master always said that, in the end, everyone must die. Some die too early and others should die earlier, but everyone has to go in the end."

Taehyung stared at him blankly. Then he asked, "By any chance, was your master drunk when he said that?"

"I don't think master ever got drunk," Jungkook replied, not sure what his friend was trying to say.

Taehyung furrowed his brows, doubt obvious on his face. "You should ask him about that again," he said and left it up to Jungkook to follow him outside.

"About the drinking or about what he said?" he asked while striding after the prince. He was not sure what it was that made his friend react like this.

"About both," Taehyung answered, sounding like the topic was over for him, so Jungkook did not bother him further.

"Why's Jimin not here, yet?" he asked instead. Normally Jimin would already be at Taehyung's residence when Jungkook came over. Probably because he had never left in the evening prior, but Jungkook did not care. He had a pretty good idea of what those two were doing at night anyway.

"He was called to guard brother Namjoon today," Taehyung explained while they hurried through the hallways to the inner yard in the south. "Advisor Min and general Shin did their utmost best to secure the coronation in order to prevent another disaster, and putting Jimin as Namjoon's shadow was part of that."

"Uh," Jungkook hummed understandingly. So, there was no one today who could ruffle him up over any mistakes. What a bright prospect.

"Behave," Taehyung murmured like he could read his thoughts, but his half-smile betrayed his words.

"Don't worry," Jungkook assured him and slung an arm around his friend's shoulder. "I don't want to end up with general Shin's sword between my ribs."

Taehyung snorted. "What you lack in discipline you make up with self-preservation will," he said with an amused side-glance.

"The best way to live is to survive," Jungkook said, quoting a rogue soldier he had met once during his travels. The gruff man had first introduced him to assassination and had secured his first job for him, and then Jungkook had never heard of him again. It probably was better that way; competitors in that line of business were rather hard to deal with.

Taehyung glanced at him with a doubting look again. "Who placed all that nonsense inside your head?" he asked. "Is there no end to it?"

"Why nonsense?" Jungkook huffed and let go of the other to give him a frowning look. "I lived by those words, and I lived well."

"Do you ever think about the deeper meaning of things?" his friend asked. Questions like this made Jungkook feel stupid in front of the prince and he did not like to appear stupid.

"I'm not a scholar. Why would I care about such things?" he retorted.

Taehyung sighed and put his long-fingered hand into Jungkook's neck to give it a pacifying squeeze. "It is fine. One day I will make an adult of you."

"Yah!" Jungkook shouted angered and chased the laughing prince down the hallway.

"Son. Master Jeon," the voice of consort Kang greeted them behind the next corner and they both stopped behaving like little boys and rearranged their lapels and sleeves. "Shall we go inside?" the lady asked and took hold of Taehyung's helping arm. Jungkook followed them quietly. He would get his revenge later.

"Dahee. And general Park, my dear boy. Where did you leave Chunghee? Ah there he is. Do not hide behind your father young man. Come and greet grandma," consort Kang said suddenly and Jungkook froze in shock.

He had not seen the little princess since she had pushed him out of the window of her guestroom five years ago, and he had no idea how he should appear in front of her, so he decided to hide behind Taehyung and lower his head.

"Mother. Brother," the little princess said after her son had greeted his uncle and grandmother. The smile was audible in her voice. "Bogum and Chunghee only arrived yesterday, so we did not have the opportunity to come and visit you. We shall sit together tomorrow."

"Yes, my dear," consort Kang said happily. "Now, shall we go in together?"

Apparently, they all agreed, so Dahee took her mother's other arm and the family walked toward the throne hall.

"Grand princess Kang with the third prince, and the second princess with her husband general Park!" the announcer introduced their arrival with a loud shout.

Jungkook was glad that he was not important enough to be announced and continued to walk quietly after Taehyung.

A chair had been prepared for the noble consort, but the rest of the present guests were standing and chatting with each other. During the coronation they would all stand anyway and watch until it was time to kneel in front of the new king. Afterward they could all sit during the banquet at the banquet hall, waiting for the king to finish his parade through the city where he was being cheered for by the commoners.

A hand grabbed Jungkook's wrist and pulled him into a direction away from the consort and the little princess.

"What are you doing?" Jungkook hissed at Taehyung and tried to pull the prince back to his place.

"I want to introduce sister Jinhwee to you," the prince said with a smile and they came to stand next to a pair of a woman with an elegant face and beautifully done hair and a tall and strong man in a black military uniform.

Jungkook had heard that prince Namjoon had an older sister who was married to the Bang emperor, but he had never seen her in person. Everyone had said that she looked much like her mother while Namjoon looked much like the late emperor. And if that was true, queen Jang must have been a beautiful general.

"Your majesties," Jungkook said politely and bowed to her and the man next to her.

"Uhm, no, this is general Bang, not emperor Bang," Taehyung corrected him, but the calm and polite nod of the man made Jungkook's mistake less embarrassing. He wondered if the soldier was up for a friendly round of sparring.

"And this is oldest sister Jinhwee," his friend officially introduced the woman. Jungkook bowed again.

"And who is this young man?" the lady wanted to know with a benevolent smile at Jungkook.

"This is my personal guard and friend Jeon Jungkook. He is an exceptional martial artist," Taehyung introduced him.

That made general Bang look up with a hint of interest. Jungkook would ask him for a round at the next opportunity.

"Where is Jimin then?" the queen of Goguryeo asked confused. "Was his not your childhood sweetheart? I thought you would stay together forever."

Jungkook had trouble to cover up a hysteric cough. How could a family member of the royal family talk about this so casually? Even consort Kang had no idea that her son was sharing his bed with a man.

But Taehyung seemed unbothered. "He is protecting brother Namjoon today," he explained, and queen Jinhwee's face softened with a warm smile.

"He must have risen in rank then to be bestowed with such an important task," she said satisfied.

Now it was Taehyung's time to look uncomfortable. That Jimin had not become general was an unexpected change of events, and by how the third prince looked, there must be some disagreement between the first and second princess that made it difficult to explain the situation.

Jungkook decided to answer for his friend. "Jimin is a royal guard now and second in position to general Shin," he explained. "He wanted to stay close to protect Taehyung, so he chose to come to the palace."

The news seemed to startle the oldest sister at first, but then she seemed to understand and to accept. "He truly is a loyal servant," she said. It sounded like the conversation was over now, and Jungkook felt a little awkward. Social situations normally were resolved by Taehyung, but the prince seemed distracted by his own thoughts.

"Master Jeon," general Bang saved the moment. "Would you be amenable to exchange some friendly blows at another time?"

Jungkook beamed at the prospect to challenge this giant of a man. "Sure," he said curtly and bowed his head. "Is general Bang staying at the palace?"

The man nodded sharply.

"Then we can use the practice yards of the royal guard," Jungkook suggested.

"We will have to ask general Shin," Taehyung intervened now. "But I am sure, he will have no objections."

"I am looking forward to our exchange," the general said and looked less stone-faced.

A gong postponed every other exchange of words and Jungkook was quick to pull Taehyung back to the place next to the consort. From the corner of his eye he could see the little princess staring at him with wide eyes and cursed Taehyung for exposing him to all eyes with his bold move.

But all the attention shifted to the entrance when Namjoon walked inside with raised head and the coronation coat covering his shoulders and flowing over the floor like a stream of crimson blood. A strange picture of Namjoon walking over corpses passed Jungkook's inner eye, but he pushed it away with a shake of his head. That was not how the crown prince was.

Even now a gentle smile grazed the lips of the young emperor-to-be when he climbed the throne followed by minister of rites Choi and Jimin. This was the man Jungkook had sworn lifelong loyalty to, the future of Silla, emperor Kim Namjoon, the one who had shown him mercy and gifted him another life. A life in which he had learned what the words friend and family meant and that confused and fascinated him by today.

He did not know much about rites, so he just watched the spectacle and kneeled when everyone else did, echoing the words of the ones around him.

When they stood back up, Namjoon sat in the throne, a mix of melancholy and hope painted over his face. "In memoriam of my father I will do everything in my power to preserve peace and grand Silla's people a prosperous life under my reign."

Minister Park stepped out of the crowd and bowed deeply. "Your majesty, this servant has sworn loyalty to the throne many years ago. Let me renew the vow I made back then. I hereby pledge my loyalty to the throne of Silla and its ruler." And he knelt and lowered his head to the floor.

"Rise, minister Park," prince Namjoon said. "I know of you loyalty to my father and I learned of your noble way of doing things in the years I have attended court, so I am pleased to have you at my side to reign over Silla for as long as the heavens will allow me to fulfil my duty."

Minster Park accepted the praise with a bow and stood back in his place. And like that was a signal, the ministers overthrew themselves to be the next to pledge loyalty. It was truly a spectacle and Jungkook had to hold back his laughter at the sight. What a big heap of dungheads. Barely half of them seemed sincere, and that was the half that held back with dignity until the feet kissers were done with their ramble.

Jungkook shook his head and looked up at prince Namjoon. The man looked like he already knew which were his men and which were the stains he had to get rid of. Only by this brief display, Jungkook could tell that being king was not an easy task.

The last one to stand in front of the new emperor was general Park Bogum who swore his loyalty with the same seriousness as his father and exchanged a meaningful look with the new ruler of Silla before standing back.

"Do we have to follow now?" Jungkook whispered into Taehyung's ear while Namjoon walked down from the pedestal and went to leave for the parade.

His friend shook his head. "This is only for the people. We do not have to attend."

"Good. I'll challenge general Bang then," Jungkook said and was about to walk over when he was held back by the third prince.

"Not now," the other told him. "Everyone is in expensive robes. How can you challenge a guest when he is all dressed-up? Go tomorrow."

Jungkook sighed. "Fine. So, what do we do?" he asked, and the little princess crossed his mind, but she was no longer inside the throne hall. It was probably better that they were not seen together, given their rather special past.

"We should go and wake up advisor Min or he is going to oversleep the whole coronation day," Taehyung sighed.

"Oh," Jungkook breathed out. Only now he noticed that the king's right hand had been missing the whole time.

"What are you saying?" a gravel voice said from behind them, causing Jungkook to pull his sword out half the way. There the small man was standing with a deep frown on his face. "Get the hell out of here and don't do anything stupid today. Security is on highest alarm, so I can't guarantee for gentle treatment when this one is being nosy." He pointed at Jungkook.

"Where was advisor Min all that time?" Taehyung asked astounded at the sudden appearance.

"Where I was supposed to be," were the man's cryptic words before he turned around and left the hall.

"He's such a weirdo," Jungkook said with a shake of his head. Whatever stupid prank he played on the man, he would never become angry enough to pull out his weapon and fight with him. It was a shame since advisor Min was not a bad martial artist either and Jungkook felt like he could learn some tricks from the former general.

"Let him be," Taehyung sighed and followed the shorthaired out of the throne hall. "We can gamble until they are back," he suggested then.

"I already gambled off next month's payment and the one after that. How can you expect me to lose more to you?" Jungkook asked incredulous, but followed his friend, nonetheless.

"You know I will pay for everything you want," the prince answered with an impish smile and a wink at him. "If you call me royal uncle, I will consider forgetting your debt." Now his friend's expression bordered obscene.

"Whose uncle, hu?" Jungkook huffed at the other. "Dream on." And he drilled a finger into the prince's side making him squirm and giggle helplessly for the whole time it took to walk back to the consort's quarter.

"I give up, please have mercy," Taehyung wheezed when he stumbled over the threshold to his study and Jungkook finally let go of the older.

"You could have fought back, you know," he said unimpressed. The prince was not bad at combat.

"Better to let you have your revenge now than to endure the force of months of repressed anger," Taehyung said wisely but in a tone that made him sound nothing but silly.

"You're stupid," Jungkook murmured quietly but smiled.

"Let us go to the ancestor hall," Taehyung suddenly said, smile wiped off his face to reveal the sorrow of the last week.

Jungkook nodded slowly, so they left again to find the small candle-lit room under the palace hill that was filled with the wooden name plates of the royal family of the last centuries.

Taehyung took a few incense sticks and lit them up to place them in the incense bowl in front of emperor Kim's plate before kneeling and silently praying for the dead.

On a whim, Jungkook took a few sticks as well and stuck them in next to Taehyung's and mirrored his friend's pose closing his eyes. I promise to protect you sons, he thought, I will do my best that they can have a peaceful life. I will pay back the life they gifted to me. You really have a bunch of good kids.

Realizing that his last thought might have offended the late emperor, he quickly mumbled an apology before he stood up and watched over Taehyung who was still kneeling. Through the two holes on each side of the altar one could walk deeper into the hill and find the coffins of the dead royal family members, and cold air was rolling out of there in waves which made the ancestor hall a rather uncomfortable place to be, but Taehyung seemed unbothered, so Jungkook would not succumb to the cold either.

His friend kneeled for the whole duration of his incense sticks and when he stood up his face looked tired so Jungkook put an arm around his shoulders, concerned for him toppling over.

"Stop mourning for the dead," he said, remembering the words his master once had spoken to a disciple. "The living are the ones who need your attention and prayers."

"Do you need my attention?" Taehyung asked, slowly recovering from whatever he had rolled through his head in there.

"Of course, who else will buy me candy when I gambled away my money of two months?" he replied with a grin and finally Taehyung looked healthier and brighter.

"Let's go to the market," the prince said and slung his arm around Jungkook's waist, guiding them towards the west gate.

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The banquet was peaceful and jolly, making Jungkook becoming bored. It was the same as the prince's birthday, so it was all rather repetitive. Ministers trying to gain favor by presenting big useless gifts and people getting more drunk with every passing hour.

"Need to pee," he mumbled at Taehyung and got up swaying. He might have had a few too many drinks, but that was Taehyung's fault because his friend had said it was fine and had forced him to drink with him another one and another one again and again.

He had to sober up a little, so maybe dunking his head into the pond where no one could see him was a good idea. So, once he had left the peninsula of the banquet hall, he tipsily walked toward the pond of the tea house. No one should stand watch there, so he could have a nice talk with the fish.

But before he had reached even half of the way there, a small hand on his shoulder made him snap around in reflex and twist the wrist in his hold.

"Little princess?" he asked confused when the well-known face became clear in front of him.

"Let go," she said with pain in her voice, so he obeyed and stepped back.

"Sorry."

"No, I forgot. No touching," she said quietly while rubbing her wrist and looked around like she expected someone to follow them. Then she pushed him between the trees and bushes next to the path.

"What are-" Jungkook wanted to say but was beat to it.

"What are you doing here?" the little princess asked him, sounding a little hysteric. Jungkook tried to make out her face in the darkness and blurriness his vision had become.

"What do you mean? I'm Taehyung's personal guard," he answered gruffly and grabbed the thin trunk of a tree next to him in order not to fall onto the princess.

"You are what?" she asked shocked. "How did that happen? I thought they caught you."

Jungkook nodded and cleared his throat before replying. "They did, and your brother saved my head. And now I'm his guardian shadow," he clarified.

Dahee snorted. "Is that how he calls it?"

Jungkook nodded and regretted it in the next moment when he almost fell over from the movement. "Yeah," he answered, understanding that he definitely had had too much to drink today.

"What a child. Then why did I not see you at the funeral?" she wanted to know.

Jungkook thought about it for a moment before he remembered. "I was in prison back then."

"You were-? Why? I thought you were his personal guard," the little princess whispered agitated. Jungkook did not understand why she made such a big fuzz.

"Advisor Min thought my master poisoned the king, so he imprisoned us," he answered bluntly.

"Why are you not upset about that?" the woman wanted to know, sounding confused.

Jungkook shrugged. "Why should I be? He let us go when he found us to be innocent. And there was reason in his actions."

That seemed to make the princess speechless.

"I'm sorry," Jungkook mumbled when it did not look like she would say something in the near future. "I ruined your plan," he said regretful. "I'm a useless assassin."

"What nonsense are you spouting. Had you killed one of them, you would be dead by now as well," she huffed. "I have to apologize. I caused you great inconvenience."

Jungkook shook his head, forgotten that this would cause his head to do strange things. "Nah, little princess. It was fate. I met your brother and I was blessed to be loved by him."

"You what?" she said coldly. "Do not tell me..."

"No, not that loved. The other one," Jungkook slurred annoyed. Why was everyone assuming that he was the prince's bedwarmer?

She sighed and Jungkook could see her head hanging low.

"Let's forget about our past, little princess," he said and pulled her into a hug. "It's all good now."

To his surprise she did not struggle out of his hold, but a pair of weak arms looped around his waist. "I thought you were dead," she whispered against his chest. "I thought they tortured you to press the truth out of you."

Jungkook hummed comfortingly. "Was little princess concerned for me?" he asked then with the teasing tone he had used for her all those years ago.

"Stupid little brute," she huffed now but did not let go of him. "I fed you, nursed you, and gave you my money. To think that all of it had gone to waste, I was angry."

Jungkook chuckled at those words. They were all the same lies. "I'm happy to see you, too," he said quietly before he let go of her.

"We should not be seen together," Dahee murmured after a while of just looking at him. "Where are you headed?"

"To the tea house pond," Jungkook answered truthfully.

"Why?"

"To sober up," he explained.

"You are drunk?" she asked in disbelief.

Had he appeared that sober? Well, whatever. "You go back to the feast, I go cool my head," he decided.

Her bright face nodded in the dark, so Jungkook turned around and fought his way out of the bushes to continue his path. This had gone smoother than expected. He had not even gotten a real scolding. Maybe five years had made the little princess calmer.

><

Yoongi focus

Yoongi was happy that the ministers and other guests had finally been dismissed and that the coronation banquet had ended peacefully. But when he finally let down his guard and was about to step over the threshold of his tower, a scream made him freeze in motion. It was not particularly loud, but it let the hair on his body rise and his guts churn in alarm. In the next moment he was sprinting towards the eastern palace.

When he saw the guard posts on the entrance to the crown princess' quarters empty, his feeling of not wanting to know what was behind these walls grew stronger. He pushed through the open doors nonetheless, hearing shouts and cries from the princess' rooms, and sprinted around to see what was happening.

The guards from outside were standing at the door of the study, swords pointed at the bloody frame of a maidservant who held a small boy against her legs. Yusin had grabbed onto her leg like he was hoping to be consoled by her when in reality a gleaming dagger was pressed against his small neck by the woman he held onto.

"Let him go," one of the guards tried to reason, but Yoongi could already see the madness in that woman's eyes. There was no point in reasoning. She was just a suicidal assassin, ready to die today, and she would bring as many people as possible to the other side with her.

Yoongi reacted without much thought. He plugged the short knife from his boot, sent a prayer to the heavens, and threw it at her chest. It plunged right into it. Shocked eyes looked at him before her figure collapsed, taking down the small prince with her.

Yoongi hurried forward to find the child within all the blood and bodies and when he could make him out, he was quick to press the shock-limp boy to his chest.

"You, get me general Shin!" he commanded one of the two soldiers. "You, get the king here!" he told the other before he stepped over the dead murderer to inspect the scene.

The first thing he noticed were two maids who whimpered in the corner, holding onto each other. One of them was bleeding heavily. He ignored them for now. The second thing he saw was the queen, drenched in her own blood, lying still on the floor and without a sign of life. He stepped closer to take her pulse. Nothing. Yoongi forced himself to breathe low and steady and looked further. On the floor with her were three dead maids, all stabbed in different places like a madman had rampaged in their midst. They had probably tried their best to protect the queen and her son, getting in the way of that sick woman with a knife.

"What happened here?" he finally asked the two survivors.

The two were so shocked that they did not even hear him. But there was no real need for them to answer. Hwon had placed another spy to kill the new queen and crown prince. Yoongi had been too slow with his search. He had failed to protect the royal family once again.

An animalistic cry behind him made him turn around in shock only to find Namjoon broken down at the threshold. The young king's eyes were opened wide, his neck pulsing with veins. And only after he had gulped down some air for another cry, Yoongi understood that he had been screaming so hard that his throat had given up on him.

"Namjoon," he whispered and ran over to kneel in front of his friend, but he was wiped out of the way by a strong arm and the man stumbled past him, barely reaching his dead wife before he broke down again.

His screams were like nothing Yoongi had ever heard before and he was almost unable to hold back his own tears while he cradled the small prince who had begun to cry in his arms.

"SOOJIN!" Namjoon screamed for his wife, pulling her into his arms. "SOOJIN!" Wet sobs erupted from the lump of bodies in the study. "Soojin, Soo-"

Yoongi gestured the arriving general Shin and his men to leave for now and they obeyed hastily.

"No no no no," Namjoon murmured like a mantra through his cries while cradling the body of his wife. "Not real, not real..."

Yoongi closed his eyes to escape the heart-shattering scene in front of him, but the sounds were still torturing his guilty mind. He had failed the palace; he had failed his friend. And now princess Soojin was dead. Irrevocably gone, leaving a four-year-old and a grieving husband behind. Just because Yoongi had been too slow.

"WHY DID YOU NOT FIND THEM!? WHY?!" Namjoon suddenly shouted, letting go of his wife to stagger over to where Yoongi was still seated at the door. A strong hand grabbed Yoongi's neck and hit his head onto the ground, causing him to see stars. Quickly, he guarded Yusin's head from his father's attacks of blind hatred.

"WHY DID YOU NOT KNOW?!" Namjoon shouted again.

"HOW in the world am I supposed to find someone who comes for a single purpose?!" Yoongi tried to shout back but the pressure on his throat made it a weak croak. Still, he kept on talking. "I can find whoever receives money and reports back regularly. But, your highness-" He had to let go of Yusin to lighten the pressure on his neck before he would black out and become another useless corpse.

Greedily he took a deep breath and then continued, "Tell me how I'm supposed to find someone whose only goal is to make friends, to climb the ranks, and then die! How can I know of such people?" he rasped angrily following his words up with wild coughing.

Namjoon finally let go and Yoongi could sit up. "It is your task!" the young king shouted at him. "This is what you are supposed to know as the head of the spy bureau!"

Yoongi's eyes flickered over to the two maids who were still alive, and before anyone could stop him, he was on his feet and cut those two throats as well.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Namjoon thundered behind him, his son finally in his arms and apparently snapped out of his fit of blind madness.

"SHUTTING MOUTHS!" Yoongi roared back angrily. Did Namjoon think it was fun for him to kill people? That he enjoyed ending two lives that could have been spared? "You just revealed my identity, you fool! You're the king! Get yourself together and help me think!" he shouted.

Raging eyes looked at him when he came closer to the king and his son. No, not rage, fear. Namjoon was scared of him, of the monster he had to be to secure the palace. Well, at some point the new king had to see this side of him. Yoongi would have liked to show him later, but since it had come to this, there was no reason to try and lie about it. Namjoon would get used to it just like the last king.

"Who is next to be killed?" Yoongi asked calmly to divert Namjoon's attention to the matter on hand and away from himself. "Think with me, Namjoon. Don't be the prey, be the tiger!"

This seemed to bring some sense back into the man. "Protect consort Kang and concubine Oh and my brothers. And get rid of everyone who entered the palace less than five years ago."

"Yes, your majesty," Yoongi replied and walked outside to call back the royal guards he had sent off before.

"Clean the room. Bring his majesty to his own residence," he ordered briskly, before taking general Shin to the side. "When you're done, clean the palace of all servants. They're to stay at the servant quarters until further notice."

The general nodded at him and hurried off, leaving him behind without a real idea of what to do. He wanted to comfort Namjoon, but he did not know how after what had happened. It was like this night had opened a cleft in their friendship. And he could not forget the fear in his friend's eyes when he had looked at him.

Chest heavy with emotions, he slowly walked back to his dark tower.

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