Stone Prince

"I first met you on the night of June 24th..."

Jimin started his story, paying close attention to the reactions of the other princes. Prince Kim's legs nervously twitched at the mention of the specific date, and Jungkook's eyes widened in fear. Jimin didn't know why they had such worrisome reactions to a date--did it have to do with the pact? I don't know, but maybe telling this will clear it up. They seem oddly anxious...

"It was a mistake for me to go out that night."

The Stone Prince definitely wasn't one to travel out of the safety of his own castle for meetings, but his stand-in had disappeared hours for a family emergency. Jimin couldn't blame the man; in fact, the gray-haired prince encouraged his loyal henchman to defend the people he loved. It only made sense for them to; and he felt partially guilty that he could not protect his own father from his demise. 'You go ahead." He'd told the henchman. 'I'll deal with the trader on my own.'

Normally, Jimin's father would deal with any trading deals around the kingdom. But since the late Mr. Park was gone, Jimin made the bold decision to go himself. His court was not pleased with the choice--it would be risky to have a royal traveling alone--but they could not change his mind. Plus, Jimin was anxious to get out of the claustrophobic walls of his cold, lonely castle. Sure, there were plenty of people who lived and worked in his castle, plenty of people who greeted him kindly in the hallways on his daily walks around the hardly-used upper floors. But Jimin still felt a deep loneliness as gray as the hair upon his head, an inescapable, fully-encompassing void that grabbed at his hardened heart with constant force.

In other words, Jimin was happy to get the chance to ride south. The trade deal wasn't a make-it-or-break-it thing; Jimin already knew the merchant would accept the offer he planned to make because the merchant was an old friend of his father. Jimin demanded to his court that he travel alone; he didn't want any guards drawing attention to him once he was out on the open road. 

To ward off any attention he might get, Jimin had disguised himself in the attire of a well-off servant--very similar to the person who was supposed to be securing the deal in his place. To protect his identity further, the prince wore a matching brown cap that covered most of his hair, in case people put two and two together with his behavior and appearance. 

It was doubtful, as many people from the north had gray hair in their genes. However, if people caught sight of his sword or noticed the Stone emblem on his family ring...

Jimin pushed these thoughts out of his mind as he mounted his steed and bid farewell to the knights at the gate. 

"If I am not back by tomorrow, then send someone for me." Jimin nonchalantly called out to the men as his horse picked up speed. He pushed the cap down further over his eyes and rode at a moderate speed. The delicate wind against his cheeks was fresh and rejuvenating. Tall green pines dotted the path south, distracting Jimin from his troubled thoughts.

The sun was just beginning to set by the time he had arrived at the merchant's abode, just north of the Laurel Prince's castle. Looking up, Jimin could see the tall, elegant spires of Prince Kim's castle in the distance. He had never seen the castle much, but was always amazed at how bright it seemed, even as far away as he was. The entire castle glowed with light, as if excited for whatever was to come that night. 

Even the people in the little town kept stealing glances at the shining structure in the distance, smiling to themselves as if remembering the fun experiences had at the castle. The town Jimin was riding through bustled with activity, street vendors selling this and that to foreigners from all parts of the kingdom. Nobody paid any attention to the capped man atop a silver horse who technically ruled over all of them. 

Why is it so busy here? Is it because...oh, yes. The parties. This is a party town.

Jimin had heard stories here and there about the grand scale of the parties hosted by the Laurel Prince. He knew that hundreds of people from all over attended each party and left the ornate Kim Castle completely wasted on the famously rich wine he'd never tried before. Jimin was unarguably introverted and not a social butterfly in the least. He had no interest in the juicy stories about who hooked up with who and what illicit activities spawned from the get-togethers of notorious criminals who attended the parties undercover.

Turning his head to face the direction of the building he was on a business trip for, Jimin pressed his steed onward.  People passed him by on their late night errands, and the sky slowly dimmed as he approached his destination. Once out of the main portion of town, Prince Park picked up his riding pace on the less congested roads of town.

Finally, the tall brown estate of the trading merchant came into view. The night watchman at the gate saw him approaching and allowed him to pass through the bronze gates with a nod of the head. They were expecting him.

As Jimin rode up the drive, he spotted a man sitting on the steps of a nicely decorated porch jutting out of a large mansion. Granite statues of horses with laurel wreaths woven into their manes sat stiffly on either side of the self-possessed man. Jimin reflected that this merchant was likely also friends with the Laurel Prince, which explained the laurels infused into each of the horses. 

Gracefully bounding off of his horse with a small grunt, Jimin allowed a nearby stable boy to lead his horse away for feeding and watering. He wiped his hands off on his simple brown pants and put on a pleasant expression before shuffling up the drive towards the merchant. The man sitting on the porch steps got to his feet and watched Jimin's approach with a small smile. 

Jimin was sure that the man would recognize him when he got closer, since this man had seen him from time to time when Jimin was growing up. The merchant kept a close relationship with all three castles in Noirwood, and would likely know what the adult version of Jimin looked like from the few rough sketches of him that were circulating out there. 

"Welcome!" The man called out to Jimin with genuine joy. "Look at who we got here! I was not expecting the highness to come here! Oh, welcome, welcome!"

Jimin took his cap off and bowed to the man in respect, exposing his gray hair. But it didn't matter anymore, since the man clearly remembered him. After a bit of small talk on the porch that Jimin particularly disliked, the two entered the mansion and made their way to the sitting room to talk. 

"Whiskey?" The man asked Jimin once he was seated comfortably. 

Jimin gave a polite nod of the head. "Only a bit...I don't want you cheating me out of what I came here for by muddying up my thinking with alcohol."

The man startled Jimin with a deep, throaty laugh. "Aw...c'mon Park! You know I'm not like that...I 'us just tryin' to be friendly to my special guest."

Jimin accepted the glass of whiskey that was handed to him and took a sip. It burned all the way down his throat. He never truly got used to the taste of whiskey and never would. But since he was trying to be polite and didn't want to refuse the nice deed, he forced himself to sip at it periodically while they spoke about the details of the trade.

Before Jimin knew it, hours had passed. The man had consumed about three times more whiskey than Jimin had, and it was showing in every hiccup and bad joke that spewed out of the man's mouth. Impatience was tugging at Jimin to leave the man's home (as the deal had been sealed between the two an hour prior) but he couldn't work up the energy to cut the man's stories of his past off. 

"And--and then your father killed 'em all by hisself!" The man spit tiny droplets  of saliva out while he energetically recalled the memory. "Your father really 'us somethin'... he was the finest swordsman I've seen-" A burp. "-in my life."

Jimin forced a smile onto his lips and itched at the back of his head. His father had been the primary topic of conversation for the past half hour, and with every word spoken about how great his father was, Jimin only felt worse and worse about himself. Why does my father seem so much better than me?

"And that other time your dad was ridi-"

Jimin coughed loudly, interrupting the man from his next story, "Sorry to cut you off so early, but I think it's time I head home...it's getting late." Jimin motioned toward the window, which framed a pitch black sky. Jimin would have trouble getting home in the dark without any guide. He decided that he would go back to the town to find a proper navigator for his ride back up north. 

The man smiled and stood up with a little wobble. "I understan' boy. I've been babbling in your ear the last hour. You're free to go, but please remember to visit me from time to time..." 

"Of course." Jimin lied and shook the man's hand. He gathered up his coat and cap and made his way out the door. Before he could fetch his horse, the merchant called out to him. 

"Hey, Prince Park? Be careful on your way back...there's uh lot of...uh...post-party traffic at thi' time of night..." The man jerked his hand in the direction of the Laurel Castle. 

"Yes, I will. Thank you." Jimin mounted his horse and waved farewell to his father's old friend. He was glad that he had secured the trade deal, but he was tired out from all of the socializing and listening he had done. He had done more talking tonight than he normally did at the castle in an entire month. 

He fastened the cap over his gray hair and felt for the sword that was secured safely at his hip. His horse galloped under the clear starry sky towards the town where he would find himself a guide for the journey back to his castle. 

Back to isolation. 

Jimin sighed as he got closer and closer to the main square. His father's friend was correct. The amount of people crowding the streets in the small town near the brightly illuminated Laurel Castle was impeding his movement. He cursed to himself and did his best to avoid the drunken countrymen that were weaving in and out of his path. 

One youngish woman looked up at Jimin on his horse, her makeup smeared and her ballroom dress a bit wrinkled. "Hey there handsoooomme!" She cooed. "Why don't you get off that horse and come back home with meeeee for a little fuuunn???"

The black haired woman cackled loudly as Jimin strongly shook his head and moved past her as fast as he could. In all honesty, Jimin usually felt disgusted by women who threw themselves at any man who passed by, even if they were drunk. Jimin always turned down people who wanted to sleep with him...he never felt comfortable with showing all of himself in front of others. That level of intimacy was dangerous...and it was unruly for a prince shielded by stone. 

In other words, Jimin was a bit self-conscious. Scrap that, very self-conscious. And he never wanted to remove the stone shield that he relied upon to cover anything real he felt. He never trusted people enough to let them into his close life. So...that made Jimin, a twenty-four year old prince of the north whom everyone looked up to-

A virgin. 

Jimin had no interest in changing that anytime soon, so he hurried past women who looked up at him riding his horse with drunken lust in their eyes. Intoxication heavy in the air and loud shouts of obscenities traded between both friends and strangers, Jimin felt uncomfortable and turned into an alleyway for a shortcut to the building where he would find a torchlit guide to his castle. 

Finally, a bit of peace and quiet. 

The echoes of horse hooves on the cobble stones of the alleyway rang out in the warm summer night air.  Jimin let his perfect posture slump down and he rubbed at his tired eyes. Soon, he would be safe, at home- 

"...yes...yes, he was seen leaving the castle...we followed him here." A scratchy voice was heard up far ahead in the alley. 

"Are you sure it was him?" A second voice.

"Positive. He's wearing a disguise, but we have eyes on him. He traveled alone for some reason..." The deep voice paused. "I think he's coming this way now. Yep, that's him."

Jimin pulled on the reigns to stop his horse in its tracks. His breathing stilled and his hands started to shake a little. Jimin squinted his eyes to try and make out any figures in front of him, but he could not see anything in the dim light that the stars generated. 

How...how do they know about me?

Jimin felt sure that no one had followed him. He was extremely observant and would've noticed if something was off. But perhaps he'd missed them? They're horrible spies if I can hear them right now...killing them should be easy.

"He just left Prince Kim's party and rushed to get into town...my partner told me the guy was obviously wasted--this'll be super easy for us." A malevolent chuckle followed this explanation. 

"Let's hope he'll be as easy to pick off as the last one was." The second voice rasped with amusement. "I call the final blow."

Wait...party? Drunk? Final blow?

Jimin was completely confused at this point. He did not dare move, in case these conspiring men would sense him; he remained waiting for this "person" to come that was the topic of conversation between these scoundrels.

Suddenly, quiet footsteps entered the alleyway very far ahead of Jimin. They were uneven, clearly those of a drunkard.

Is that the guy coming from the Laurel Castle party?

Jimin could almost feel the tension between the walls of the buildings that barricaded either side of him. The alley wasn't too narrow, but he definitely wouldn't be able to get through if a fight was to break out ahead of him. Jimin figured if he stopped the issue before it happened, then maybe, just maybe, he could get home before sunrise. 

With a wave of bravery, Jimin dismounted his horse and secured his ride to a door handle of a building that bordered the alleyway. He took a deep breath and inched forward along the dark walls, his hand on the pommel of his sword for reassurance. 

Still far ahead of him, the voices began again. The one talking sported a heavy teasing tone, barking out in mockery. "Hey there, you drunk fuck. We've been waiting for you!"

Jimin sped up the pace of his steps, hoping that if he could manage to get closer, he could see what was happening between the people. He suddenly heard feet dragging--as if someone was limping...or completely wasted.

"Wh--ugh, who are you??" A slurred male voice reached Jimin's perked up ears. "And whadda you waanntt from me, huh? A kiss? Aahahha..." Jimin noted that the drunk man didn't sound scared at all despite the situation, just very tired and clearly out of his mind.

As Jimin's feet carried him farther away from his horse, he started to make out three silhouettes of men standing by the torch-lit sign of a tavern near the other opening of the alley. 

Right next to the building that Jimin needed to get to. And the building that the drunk man was heading towards. 

Probably looking for a ride home. He's not fit to mount a horse.

"That's a question we are not going to answer, you pile of rat shit. C'mon." Jimin could see one man motion to another. "Let's just kill him now before he chokes on his own vomit and dies in his sleep later on. It's a much more merciful death, wouldn't you say?"

At hearing the word death, Jimin broke into a fast walk, sticking close to the sides of the darkened alley. He could now make out all three faces of the men--and could tell just how drunk the third man was. The targeted man staggered from side to side, swaying gracelessly. However, the man did not seem fazed one bit by their threats.

"Alrighhht. But you'll, huhaha, haaaave to go through me if you wannnt to...to...kill-" Suddenly the black haired man collapsed onto his side, completely vulnerable for the other two to attack him. 

Jimin didn't hesitate to rush forward out of the shadows and make himself visible to the scum in front of him. He didn't hesitate to pull out his sword.

And he didn't hesitate when the two men rushed at him, this intruder to their evil plan, with daggers in hand. Jimin could taste their anger that a random person had ruined their plan to murder the unconscious man sprawled across the gray cobblestones of the alleyway. Why do they want him dead so badly?

In less than a second, Jimin's sword was buried deep into the chest of the man with the dagger.

One stab. One twist. One dead body.

For Jimin, it was simple. He was a born fighter, not about to let someone else kill a helpless man for no reason. But what Jimin didn't realize then, was that he changed the entire fate of Noirwood-

With that one stab. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thanks for re4ding! Hope you enj0yed!

I like hearing the backstory of Prince Park, what a guy, am I right?

Drop a heart here or I'll stab you like Jimin stabbed that guy. :)