AN: Yo. No smuttiness in this one... because Jimin isn't in it :P 

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The best place to gather any sort of information, from the latest court gossip to the cause of the terrible price of turnips, had always been Market Square. The large, open bazaar was a seemingly haphazard conglomerate of wooden stalls draped in colorful awnings. Every type of good conceivable was hawked from behind counters laden with the vendors' wares. It was a bright, noisy, smelly squash of humanity. And Taehyung absolutely loved it.

Being a favored pet of the handlers allowed the young man certain freedoms other slaves were not often allotted. One of those privileges was to be sent on errands without supervision. While it was not uncommon for the personal slaves of nobles to be seen flittering around town on their masters' business, it was almost unheard of for a pen slave to be given the same treatment.

It had been two years since Tae had first been handed the iron coin that allowed him unchaperoned trips on behalf of his handlers. It hung from a leather cord around his neck, like a pendant, and he made absolutely sure it was visible the entire time he was out in public. Most of the regular vendors and city guards recognized him but he dreaded the thought that someone new would see him and mistake him for someone who wasn't supposed to be there. He had seen firsthand what happened to slaves that were found in places they should not have been.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Taehyung double-checked that his coin was sitting outside the cream-colored, linen shirt he was wearing. The heavy metal was stamped with the seal of House Jang, a clear statement to any who looked to whom he belonged. It made him feel a mixture of safe and important to have that symbol around his neck.

Moving through the throngs of people, Tae kept his purpose in mind. He clutched a folded sheet of paper in his hand; the list the handlers had given him. He was to take it to a man named Yeonseok who operated a booth that sold fabrics. He knew Yeonseok in the sense that Tae had been sent there on errands in the past and remembered him to be a friendly man, even to someone born in the pens.

As he went, Tae kept his ears open for interesting pieces of information. Seokjin always enjoyed hearing gossip gleaned during his little brother's adventures away from the handlers. As far as Tae could recall, Jin had never been allowed to be unchaperoned, though he never made it seem as if he were jealous of the younger's opportunity.

He overheard the usual chatter as he slipped between stalls and around gaggles of women in bright colors. Apple prices were skyrocketing due to a blight in the east. Lord Beomsoo's wife was pregnant, again, and everyone suspected she was having twins. Traders from the northern Tienchu region had arrived and were selling exotic spices.

It was as he passed a group of five young noble-women, younger than him by the looks of them, that he finally picked up some gossip worth sharing with his brother. Pausing in the shade of a stall, he pretended to read the note he had been given so he could casually eavesdrop on them. It didn't matter that he didn't actually know how to read; some slaves did so no one would question his actions.

The girls were twittering together like a flock of birds, their silks in every color imaginable to offset the colorlessness of their silvery hair. One of them was twirling around, showing off the sparkling accents that had been added to her skirts.

"I'm going to wear this when he arrives!" she squealed as her friends praised the gown. Tae caught their expressions and wondered at how they could say such nice things about the dress but, at the same time, look as though they wanted to tear it to pieces in jealousy.

"It won't do you any good," one of the others teased. "You won't be old enough to marry him before he has to pick a bride."

A third adjusted the jewels hung around her neck. "You know what I heard?"

"I'm sure whatever it is, it isn't true." The first's comment brought giggles to the lips of the others. The third glared at her companion.

"I have this on good authority," she sniffed in reply. "Directly from my uncle."

This seemed to get their attention and the young women crowded around to hear what she had to say, their previous mirth erased as it if hadn't ever happened.

"I heard," she continued, "That he..." her voice dropped too low for Taehyung to catch but whatever she uttered brought shrieking giggles to the lips of her friends.

"No!" the first girl gasped, hands over her mouth as she tried to gain control of herself. "With a man?"

"How is that even possible?" another asked, casting sideways glances at her friends.

The bearer of the gossip fanned herself slightly, glancing up at the bright sun above them and shrugged. "My uncle says they do it in the pleasure houses all the time. They use..." she glanced around and coughed slightly before muttering something Tae, again, could not hear. It had the same effect on the girls as they chirped at each other as if scandalized.

The first girl was shaking her head, face bright pink. "You shouldn't say such things, unnie, especially not about his highness. You could be punished."

"It isn't like it's illegal," the gossip snapped. "Otherwise, why would they allow it in the pleasure houses?"

The second girl sighed dramatically. "You are such a moron at times. The pleasure houses are legal because they're just slaves. Can you imagine two actual men doing that together?"

One of the young women gasped. "Do you think he was doing that with a slave?" They shared a collective shudder. "I don't think I'd want him touching me if he dirtied himself like that. Can you imagine? Bad enough trying to... to..." She seemed unable to get the words out and made a vague gesture with her hands. "But with one of them? Disgusting."

Taehyung felt a prickle creep up the back of his neck at their words and slowly refolded the note. He walked away before he heard more, feeling an ache in the pit of his stomach at how harsh they had become in mere seconds. He knew he was less than a normal person, but that didn't keep it from hurting to hear people say it.

Instead of dwelling on that, he ran through the rest of their conversation. He might not have been able to hear the whispered portions, but he was smart enough to put two and two together. There was only one 'his highness' in the country so they were obviously referring to Prince Namjoon.

He had been the topic on a lot of tongues lately with his imminent arrival within the next few weeks. The entire city was eagerly awaiting the festival that had been planned to coincide with his coming. Nobles were traveling in from all over the empire to get their first glimpse at their future ruler. Taehyung had overheard the handlers mention that the auctions were planning on holding the largest sale in over twenty years. Tae would have been concerned with that last part if it weren't for the fact that he knew he and Jin wouldn't be sold.

No. He would be taken by the noble named Yoongi, and Jin would die trying to save the chestnut boy.

It had taken a week of the reoccurring dream for Taehyung to finally accept the truth behind what he was seeing. At some point in the near future, chaos would erupt in the city. He would be kidnapped by the man with the silver hair and cat-like eyes. Jin would be trampled by horses.

He told himself firmly to stop thinking about it. Seokjin insisted it was all in his head and that he kept repeating the dream because of how upset he was letting it make him. Tae had given up on trying to convince his brother otherwise. A small part of him hoped his brother was right, but his gut told him that what he was dreaming was the truth.

"Stop," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. He needed to think of something else before he became overly morose. He fixed his mind back on the girls' conversation and the fact that they were insinuating that the prince liked to take his pleasure with men and not with women. Now that was juicy news. It wasn't unheard of for a noble man to do that; there was a reason male slaves were used in the pleasure houses just as often as female ones. It was curious that he had heard it of their prince, though. Especially since no one seemed to know much about him to begin with.

Taehyung could count on one hand the number of things he actually knew about Prince Namjoon. Being a slave had nothing to do with his lack of knowledge. Despite what their masters wanted to believe, slaves were surprisingly well informed. People tended to talk more freely when they viewed the person standing nearby with the same consideration they would give to a potted ficus.

Could the gossip be true? He wondered at it as he navigated the crowded expanse of Market Square, finally back on task. Was he indulging in such things, and with a slave to boot? What would it have been like to be that slave, to receive such attention from someone like the prince? It was rumored that Prince Namjoon was tall and handsome. What would it be like to be pinned beneath him?

He felt instantly silly at the flutter in his stomach that accompanied such thoughts. He long knew his own preferences leaned toward men but to suddenly feel giddy imagining being with one that he'd never even seen before was ridiculous. Especially someone like the prince.

Besides, he reasoned dully, being a member of the Nobility, the prince would have preferred someone who looked more... normal. Someone pure blooded, with eyes as dark as their hair-

The strong smell of woodsmoke hit Taehyung and he reeled back, blinking in the sudden haze that surrounded him. The screams were back, piercing his ears as fire licked hungrily at everything around him. He felt the heat on his skin and tried to run only to find he couldn't move.

Jin moved across the open expanse in front of him, legs pumping as he tried to reach the chestnut-haired boy that stood in muted horror, staring at the soldiers on horseback barreling down on him. He could hear the crunch of bone as one of the beasts ploughed into Seokjin. There was a flash of orange-red as the chestnut boy hit the ground. Taehyung finally lurched forward to try to pull his brother from under the flailing hooves, heedless of his own safety.

Rough hands grabbed him, yanking him backwards. He turned, staring into the narrow, almost lazy eyes of the one called Yoongi. His mouth was forming words but Tae couldn't hear them. Around them, deafening cracks erupted as nobles flung combative magics around, dirt and blood spraying in every direction.

He was being pulled, arms wrapped around his torso to lift him up and bear him away. He tried to fight it, screaming Jin's name and reaching out toward him. He couldn't just leave like this; he had to get his brother to safety first.

In a blink, it ended and Tae stared up at the blue sky above him. There were dark shadows around him, voices murmuring in concern and confusion. Someone knelt at his side, holding a hand up to block the sun that shone into Taehyung's eyes.

"Are you alright, lad?" the man was asking, peering down into Tae's bewildered face. "Well, I'll be damned." He turned slightly to speak to someone who hovered over his shoulder. "Kyuhyun, where have we seen eyes like this before?"

Another face appeared in Tae's line of sight. He was dark-haired but not dressed as a slave. Tae figured he was probably a legitimate servant on the lord's payroll. "He's mixed blood, my lord. Bahmeez, perhaps, or Etrarian," the commoner was saying.

"Wha-," Taehyung started, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. He forced himself to sit up, gazing around with his mouth slightly open. He was still in Market Square, only on the ground surrounded by a throng of curious bystanders. Nothing was on fire. The man kneeling next to him was a Noble but it wasn't Yoongi.

Taehyung startled and scrambled to his knees, bowing his forehead to the dirt in front of the man. "I'm sorry," he apologized hastily, terrified that this noble had knelt to check on him. Such things were so far beneath a noble that Taehyung could have been severely punished for being the cause.

The lord stood with a slight noise of acknowledgement. Taehyung felt hands grab him under his arms from behind, lifting him to his feet. He glanced at the slave that had helped him up, the other giving him a small, reassuring smile. Tae's eyes flickered to pin on the shorter man's shirt and recognized the sigil of House Jeon.

"He must have gotten too warm and fainted," Kyuhyun was saying, stepping forward to grab the coin that hung around Taehyung's neck. He inspected it briefly. "House Jang," he told the man that had knelt.

"I can see that," Lord Jeon replied dryly, although he didn't sound upset over his servant's announcement. The silver-haired man cast his gaze around at the gathered people and waved a hand. "I'm sure everyone has much better things to worry about than slave fainting from the heat." His words sounded so offhand and careless, but his tone was that of an order. Quickly, the crowd dispersed back into the market, not wanting to disobey a lord, even if no actual command had been given.

Taehyung bowed as low as he could without hitting the ground and started to slip backwards. The slave that had helped him stand put a hand on the small of his back, though, waylaying him. "His lordship hasn't dismissed you yet," the older slave murmured.

He was about to drop to the ground again and beg forgiveness when another head of silver hair joined them.

"Junghyun, I've been looking everywhere for you." The new man eyed Taehyung with open curiosity. "What's this? I thought you were waiting for the festival auction before buying anything new."

"He isn't mine," Lord Jeon replied in a surprisingly tart tone. "He's one of Lord Jang's. I just happened by him and was intrigued." If Taehyung wasn't mistaken, it sounded like Lord Jeon did not much care for the newcomer.

"I can see why. Do you suppose his offspring would have those eyes?" The man stepped forward and snagged Taehyung roughly by the chin, turning his head to eye his jawline. "Magnificent. He looks pretty young. Should get plenty of years out of him. I wonder if Jang is planning on breeding him."

"You really should keep your hands to yourself, Yejun. He isn't your property." Lord Jeon shifted his weight, folding his arms over his chest.

"I wonder if Jiseok would sell him to me. I have a pretty female that's just hit the right age." To Taehyung's relief, Yejun released him. The noble pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his fingers on it as if he had touched something unpleasant.

"You would have to ask him," Junghyun said with a shrug. He nodded at Tae with a quick jerk of his chin. "You may be on your way."

Gratitude flooded through Tae's veins as he slipped away from the lords before the second one had a chance to argue or demand he stay. Racing through the market, he made it quickly to Yeonseok's stall and shoved the note at him with a bow. His heart was pounding in his ears as he stood to the side, waiting for the order to be filled.

If he was being honest, he was beyond baffled at what had just occurred. None of it made any sense. Without any warning, he'd had the dream again, in the middle of the day, while awake. He must have passed out at some point to end up on the ground. And when he came to, a noble had been on the ground making sure he was okay. Not just any noble, either, but Lord Jeon Junghyun, the head of one of the oldest families in the empire.

He wiped his brow with the back of his arm, trying to calm his breathing. Naturally, he had heard of House Jeon but he had never seen him before. That made everything all the more perplexing because Taehyung would have sworn on his brother's life that he knew him. He had been face-to-face with that man before but the lord had been younger. Much younger. Yet, Tae also knew he had never before been in his presence.

Taehyung rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, crouching down in the shade of Yeonseok's awning. It must have been a combination of the heat and the dream. His memories were making no sense and thinking about it was giving him a massive headache.

With an irritated sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and tried to push all of the recent events from his mind. He would talk to Jin about it when they went to bed that night. Until then, there was no use dwelling on it. It would just leave him feeling even more lost than he already did.

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AN:  Things that make you go hmmmmmm....