Stone Prince

Atop his glorious white stallion, the Stone Prince galloped in a blur of haste--bound for the Jeon Castle. Originally, he was only going to ride to the Kim Castle to ask for some military reinforcements from Prince Kim. However, he was later informed that the Laurel Prince himself left for the Oak Castle the day prior. It was a strange and rare occurrence for princes to visit each other; Jimin didn't hesitate to head straight south after his run-in with the band of Uncle Jeon's savages.

If Prince Jeon caused this somehow...Jimin ducked under some stray tree branches cluttering his path and scowled. He better have some explaining to do.

Jimin's anger was palpable in the thick summer air. No birds chittered in the suffocating humidity of the day, and even the bugs seemed hesitant to buzz around. The Stone Prince pushed his mount even harder as the Laurel Castle rose on the horizon. He wanted, no, needed to get to the Oak Castle as soon as possible--although that meant arriving at midnight.

Prince Jeon better not turn me away at such a late hour...no, I'll make sure I get in there. 

As the steady thump of the creamy gray stallion shook Jimin's petite body, his mind began to wander off. It wandered off to his childhood...to the days when a problem like this was left to his father. The old Prince Park--the one who dealt with issues professionally and garnered the undying respect of all of his court. His father was a bit more extroverted, unlike himself, and he was known for his tough love for the people he ruled over. Like Jimin, his face was always expressionless and slack, never giving away anything he was truly feeling on the inside. 

Jimin's father had never paid him too much attention--never taught him how to fight or how to rule properly. Jimin's father was always away, busy with countless, grueling tasks around the northern portion of the kingdom. Jimin's father was also often gone visiting one of the other prince's castles to discuss kingdom-wide decisions. He was a stately man, always decisive, making decisions with his mind rather than heart. Rather than tapping into his feelings...

His feelings...did my father have any feelings? Jimin wondered.

However, deep inside, Jimin knew it was his father's brooding feelings trapped under the surface of his mask that killed him in the end. When he received news of his father's death three years ago, Jimin pressed the messenger for the specifics of the event, in case he needed to take revenge against an enemy that murdered his father in cold blood. He pleaded and pried, pushed and pressed, but no information seemed to arise. 

The servant who knew of the details always simply replied to him- "Your father would not want you exposed to the details of his death." The servant quit his job that day, disappearing almost instantly from Jimin's grasp. 

That servant was the only person who knew exactly how his father died; everyone else thought his father had fallen from his horse during his ride back from the Laurel Castle and hit his head on some blunt object. Jimin never bought it, didn't believe a single portion of the story. For his father's funeral, his entire body was encased in an elaborate stone coffin; the ceremony was closed casket and even family members were not allowed a last look at the body. Everyone in the northern portion of Noirwood mourned him, a great ruler--the great Stone Prince. 

Jimin knew his father's death happened otherwise, thought the ceremony was unduly suspicious. Just thinking about it scared him. 

Did my father really commit suicide? Or am I just overthinking things...no, don't think like that, Jimin.

But it would make sense...

Jimin was snapped out of his thoughts when one of his servants rode up next to him, waiting for his approval to speak. The reigns pulled up in Jimin's hands, slowing his mount to a trot. Jimin simply nodded his head at the young servant, thoughts still dwelling on his father's possible self-demise. 

"Sir, there is an inn not too far south from our current position...if we need to stop for the night and rest before riding in the morn-"

"That will not be necessary." Jimin looked at the setting sun with a pit of uneasiness deep in his gut. It was already getting late. "We will not stop until I see the Oak Castle walls."

The servant nodded resolutely and fell back to his position behind the lead horse. Jimin tried to push out the many other thoughts invading his mind as his gray steed galloped on towards Prince Jeon's Castle. 

Uncle Jeon

Walking through the apple orchards that dotted his palace glided a man in his mid fifties, admiring the redness of each piece of fruit that he passed. Bees buzzed and flew lazily around him, hoping to savor the sugary sweetness of the rotting apples laying on the grass under each tree. The man sighed as he came upon a particular apple. He smirked, stomping on the bee-covered apple, killing all of them instantly with his merciless boot. He whistled casually to himself.

Uncle Jeon remembered the times from his childhood when he would play hide and seek in these same orchards with his younger brother, hopping behind trunks and climbing the flowering trees to hide from the seeker. He remembered the days that seemed endless, the laughs Jungkook's father shared with him under the shade of these very trees, the occasional bee stings that would accompany their adventures around the yard. 

The man exhaled, lifting his head to study the large palace that the sun was setting behind; it looked as if it was being engulfed in flames of red and orange. Uncle Jeon smiled at the inferno surrounding his self-made abode. The palace was Jungkook's Grandpa's country home that him and his brother used to visit every summer. Now it was his, the centerfield where he ran the northern portion of land over the upper border of Noirwood. It was his own prideful settlement, his space of power. He spent his days training his army of savages and hoarding supplies from middle men to expand his ever-growing outskirt empire.

The only problem? The land he wanted, no, the land that belonged to him--was farther south. Noirwood--the vast land that should have been his from the get-go...but was now under his nephew's control.

My land...those three princes are going to pay for stealing my land...for breaking the pact. 

Uncle Jeon was extremely glad when the news of the murder of one of his men on Noirwood land reached him a few weeks ago. Finally, he had a solid reason to convict the Jeon boy of breaking the pact. Prince Jeon had clearly overstepped his bounds in killing one of his uncle's men...and now he would pay.

After the news, Uncle Jeon immediately organized a band of men to scare the Stone Prince and warn Jungkook of his imminent arrival. He wanted to force Jungkook into retreating in on himself--deep in the south--which would allow Uncle Jeon to launch his massive attack on the other two castles of the kingdom. The Stone and Laurel Castles will fall--will be mine.

Uncle Jeon knew that the three princes of Noirwood were disorganized, young, and not on the best terms with each other...which would buy him lots of time to carefully plan his chain of attacks on different portions of the kingdom. 

Noirwood will be mine!

The old man folded his arms and glanced to the south, smirking to himself. He remained in that position for a long time, until his second closest advisor--now his first closest since the incident two weeks ago--came running up to him.

"What is it?" The old man asked his servant, teeth ground together and jaw set in irritation at the boy for interrupting his moment. He absolutely abhorred when people ruined his walks throughout the orchard without a valid reason.

"S-sir..." The servant panted heavily, as if he had sprinted all the way there. "Ji-Jihoon, sir. The band of men you sent out yesterday to the Stone Castle...well..."

"Spit it out then!"

"They were slain, sir. One of our pairs of eyes saw the corpses propped against the outermost walls of the Stone Castle, just laying there. Some wer-were beheaded, others stabbed repeatedly..."

Jihoon scowled and clenched his fists together. The Park boy did not surrender then?

"And the Stone Prince is supposedly on his way...south. It is likely he is meeting with one of the other princes to get...reinforcements." The servant got out between heavy breaths. 

"That's enough." Jihoon waved his hand at the man, shooing him away. "I'll speak to the counsel later and we'll decide our first line of attack when the time comes."

The servant, still panting from running so hard to deliver the news, sulked away while nodding. Jihoon watched him slink behind the apple trees and sat down on a flat tree stump. 

"So... the Stone Prince wants to ignore my orders and disregard my threats, huh?" Jihoon asked the various bees that buzzed randomly around him. "Well, two can play at that game."

Jihoon stood up and made his way to the palace that used to be his father's. He felt a strange giddiness in him that he hadn't felt in years. He had never been so happily surprised before with news that Jungkook decided to mess with the long-standing pact. Jungkook had killed the man on his own accord, taken a piece of Jihoon's empire with his own hands.

Jungkook, my nephew...you fucked up.

 You will regret what you have done...and I'll soon be King of all of Noirwood. 

~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR'S NOTE

WoAH Jihoon, Why R U so UPsetie? Chill, bro.

How do y'all think Jungkook killed this random guy, I want some bloody theories--drop your modes of death in the comments.

Also! Thx for reading. Have a lovely day! Don't get stung by a bee! :)