Jihoon 

A messenger ran up the long pathway leading up to the largest mansion in the north. 

In his hand he bore a letter from one of the insiders of the Oak Castle. He needed to deliver it to Jihoon as fast as possible.  It was midday, so the messenger figured Jihoon was likely outside in the garden. Jihoon always complained about how stuffy it was in his mansion, how it was too small for his tastes, how he preferred the open air much better. 

The messenger thought that all of Noirwood might be just what Jihoon needed in terms of space. 

The messenger's thin legs carried him to the top of the hill behind the large mansion. He scoured the huge yard for any sign of movement. Just as he was about to check for Jihoon inside, the messenger spotted his master near the new swath of crops planted only a few weeks prior. The messenger had no clue what the crops were; to him, they looked like fields of useless weeds. 

But to Jihoon, they were extremely important. He made sure they received enough water, sunlight, and tending. If his gardeners were doing a poor job in any of these areas, he yelled at them. Punished them severely.

They must be important to him...

The messenger called out to Jihoon from atop the hill. The man lifted his chin, and the young boy let his long legs carry him to his master. Once the messenger was close enough to the middle aged man, he began talking between huge breaths. 

"Sir, I-I mean...King Jeon, there is news from..." The messenger wiped the sweat from his brow and took another deep breath. "...from the Oak Castle...it's contained in this letter." The messenger held out the letter to Jihoon, who snatched it out of his hand. The man tore at the seal violently, curiously.

The messenger stuck around, interested in the contents of the letter. As Jihoon's spy, he wasn't paid much in money...but a bit of gossip went a long way for him; he loved to hear what was happening down south in Noirwood. 

Jihoon pulled the letter out of the envelope, staring intently at the letters scrawled sloppily down the page. A smile began to grow on his face. He grunted in amusement. 

"Jungkook is clueless...this is a letter he wrote to the Laurel Castle, signed early yesterday." Jihoon laughed hysterically, pointing out his nephew's signature to the messenger. "He still doesn't know about the spies I have in his castle...this is good. Now we know that he meant to send thousands of reinforcements from the Laurel Castle up to the Stone Castle under the Stone Prince's command."

The messenger butt in proudly at hearing his master speak with such joy. "But obviously the letter didn't make it to the Laurel Castle! That means that the Laurel Castle won't get the message and send men up north! Sir, this is great for you!"

Jihoon hardly paid the messenger any attention. "This also means...the three princes have to be in contact right now if they're organizing this. They must be talking..." Jihoon paused, pondering something. "But would they...be together? Or are they in separate locations to-"

"Oh, sir, sir!" The messenger interrupted, trying to get Jihoon to look at him. "When your, uh, source, gave this letter to me, he told me that there were lots of people at the castle because of royal visitors--and to be careful as I left." The messenger stood there dumbly, waiting for Jihoon to address him with praise. 

"Dumbass!" Jihoon slapped the messenger across the face. "Do you not understand what 'Don't interrupt me when I'm talking' means?" Jihoon gazed off into the distance, mulling over something. "But...this means the three princes are definitely all at the Oak Castle! Fantastic! I'll have extra spies watching them. Ah...that idiot Jungkook is only hurting himself by associating with them..." Jihoon looked at the messenger, a scowl on his face. "Why are you still here?! Run off already!"

With a red hand print already starting to form on his cheek, the messenger turned away and ran up the hill, cradling his cheek. Sometimes, he really disliked Jihoon's temper. 

But he still enjoyed gossip. 

As he reached the peak of the hill again, he turned to watch Jihoon smiling largely to himself and pacing along the edges of the special crop. Jihoon seemed to be lost in thought as he gazed at the plants lovingly like they were his own children. 

It kind of freaked the messenger out. 

Stone Prince

Jimin awoke with a bittersweet feeling in his gut. It was a light feeling, yet there were traces of something undeniably heavy in between. He felt happy that him and Jungkook were finally on good terms...but he was angry with himself. Why can't I just let my stone side go? Why can't I just feel what I want to in front of him? Ugh...

But Jimin couldn't let that side of him go, no matter what. 

The Stone side protected him from getting hurt, from being taken advantage of. The lack of emotion allowed him to rule without bias...but it also shut him out from connecting with others. It guaranteed loneliness. 

If loneliness meant survival--then so be it.

Jimin got out of bed and dressed himself in the freshly washed gray outfit he wore when he had arrived at the castle two nights ago. The clothing that Jungkook provided him with was adequate and comfortable, but it just didn't suit Jimin. The black fabric reminded him too much of his wavering stone side dissolving. The plainness of his own gray clothes suited him much better, suited his title of the Stone Prince much better. Then I can be reminded of who I'm supposed to be.

As he exited his room to venture to the dining hall, he put on his stone face. The face that would cover his feeling of pride that he won the duel, the feeling of excitement he felt at remembering the hug last night--and the feeling of despair he felt when thinking about the Jihoon's army.

The army coming for his castle. 

Jimin's face showed none of these feelings as he gracefully descended the stairs at the end of the hallway. As he walked, he realized that he was getting recognized more; many more of Kim's court and a few of Jeon's servants were paying attention to him as he passed them by. All of the attention on him felt different. Jimin wasn't used to it. I don't like it.

He was almost to the ground floor where the main hall was when he heard a familiar deep voice. Jimin turned around but saw no one behind him. Confused, he backtracked to the last open door he had passed by and peered in. 

The room was some type of infirmary. A wide space housed several white beds lining the side of a bland wall. He noticed lots of medical instruments stacked up on wheeling carts. A few older people who looked ill were laying on some of the beds. Female and male nurses in uniforms with the Oak symbol woven into their caps were milling about, attending to different people. Jimin's eyes scanned the room until his eyes landed upon the owner of the voice he had heard previously. 

It was Taehyung.

"Owwwww!" Taehyung's deep voice rang out loudly in the infirmary, earning him lots of side glances from the ill folk. "Can you hurry up please?"

Taehyung was getting stitches on his palms, his face contorted in pain as the needle wove in and out of his skin. Jimin concluded it was probably very painful for the younger. He had a small urge to go in the room, to perhaps provide comfort-

"Good morning, Jimin." A voice from outside of the infirmary interrupted his thoughts. Jimin spun around and smiled when he saw Jungkook walking down the hallway towards him. 

"What are you doing down here so early?" Jungkook asked him. "Breakfast doesn't start for another thirty minutes yet."

Jimin tried to push the glowing smile on his face back under the surface of his skin. He shouldn't be openly expressing his emotions in front of the other princes, but it was so hard not to. He really liked Jungkook's presence, but he kept reminding himself that it was useless to get close to the ravenette. 

He would just end up hurt. 

"Oh, I heard Taehyung yelling and found him in...there. He's getting stitches right now." Jimin thumbed over his shoulder at the door. At that moment, another groan from Taehyung drifted into the hallway.

"AAAHhHHhhuhhhh. Gosh, why can't you be more gentl--OW!" Taehyung's whines were now getting the attention of passersby, who looked at the two princes standing there with confused expressions on their faces.

Jungkook glanced at the open door with worried brows, biting his lip hard. "Is something wrong...did they not...?"

Jimin watched as Jungkook rolled his shoulders and neck in discomfort, thinking about something. Taehyung whined again, prompting Jungkook to speak.

"I--actually, can you go in to check on him, Jimin? It shouldn't as painful as he's making it sound...my medics are top of the line, plus they use numbing cream...something must not be right." 

"Me?" Jimin couldn't hide his surprise. "You really think he wants to see the person who beat him in the duel? I don't think so."

Jungkook eyes pleaded with him, his bitten lips propped open in expectation. "Please, Jimin...for me?"

"Alright, but why can't you-"

"Gotta go Jimin! Thank you for helping me out!" And with that, Jungkook brushed past Jimin, his hand making contact with Jimin's shoulder as a thank you before he continued down the long hallway. 

Jimin watched him go with a sense of suspicion. 

Why won't Jungkook go in to see Taehyung? Did they get in another fight?

Jimin didn't have a clue. Maybe it had something to do with Taehyung's lingering anger at Jungkook for suggesting the Stone Prince command the Laurel Army. 

Which Jimin had to do in two days.

Jimin sighed and entered the threshold of the infirmary right as Taehyung finished getting stitches in one of his hands. Some of the patients on the beds looked up and recognized their Stone Prince, but most patients were still watching Taehyung with pained expressions. 

They could probably feel his pain with the way the Laurel Prince was yelling. Is he this much of a wuss?

Taehyung didn't even glance up to see who was approaching his bed. His eyes were shut tight, jaw clenched as the medic began to disinfect his second wound. 

Jimin watched the medic work, saying nothing, until the medic pulled out his stitching needle and prepared to sew without applying any numbing material first.  

"Hey!" Jimin suddenly cut in before the needle could make its way into the blonde's hand. "Aren't you supposed to apply numbing cream?"

Taehyung's eyes shot open at the sound of Jimin's smooth voice and he made eye contact with the elder. Taehyung quickly looked away from Jimin to his hand, frown deepening on his tan face. 

"Why are you here." Taehyung shot at the silver-haired prince. 

Jimin crossed his arms. "I could hear you yelling from a mile away. I wanted to see what was happening, so I came into the room." Jimin decided to leave Jungkook's name out of it, in case there was some tension between the Laurel and Oak Princes. 

"Okay, I'm so flattered that you visited me." Taehyung snapped sarcastically. "But you--you can g--Ooowww!" Taehyung's snarky comment at Jimin was cut off when the needle plunged into his second hand without warning. The medic ignored both princes, focusing intently on repairing the wound. 

Jimin tried his question again. "Why are you stitching him up without medication? Prince Jeon wouldn't like that."

At the mention of Jungkook, Taehyung's back stiffened. However, it slumped again when the needle went back in, Taehyung's foot tapping wildly on the floor. Jimin could tell Taehyung was trying extremely hard not to yell out in pain. This is torture to watch.

The medic kept sewing, not bothering to stop with his work and turn towards Jimin. "The Laurel Prince is allergic to several of the numbing concoctions I've made for him..." The medic paused to readjust the needle in his hand. "I suggested alcohol to at least ease the pain a bit, but he refused." 

Taehyung let out a stifled whimper as the medic closed the deepest part of the wound. The medic spoke up again. "I'm surprised his throat hasn't closed already from all the different substances we tested on his arm...this guy is allergic to a lot of medicines."

Taehyung lifted his head to meet Jimin's eyes. The blonde nodded his head towards the sleeve of his own sheer black blouse. Jimin took the cue and slowly rolled back the sleeve up Taehyung's arm to reveal something that didn't look healthy at all. Woah.

Taehyung's splotchy red arm sported hundreds of tiny bumps and was hot to the touch. This allergic reaction reminded Jimin of miniature, agitated hills, like the ones up north by his castle. He studied Taehyung's arm with fascination; he had never seen someone break out this badly before. 

It was kind of cool.

"Why--why are you not..." Taehyung groaned at the medic's sudden move into his hand. "...disgusted?"

Jimin just shrugged. He pulled Taehyung's sleeve back down carefully so as not to bother the mini red mountains crawling up Taehyung's toned arm. 

"I've seen a lot." Was all Jimin said. 

The medic made several more stitches, all to which Taehyung vocalized against his will. Jimin stood there quietly and watched, not realizing that sometime during the stitching his hand went to Taehyung's upper back as a comforting mechanism. 

When the medic finished and both of Taehyung's hands looked like the stitched part of a doll's mouth, Jimin pat Taehyung's back in encouragement.

"Look, you're all done. Now let's go get some breakfast." Jimin held out his hand but realized Taehyung couldn't grab it. He moved his hand around to the medic for a handshake and improvised on the spot."Thanks for...uh, stitching him up well. Prince Jeon and I are very grateful."

The medic bowed to Jimin and opened his mouth to say a few things to Taehyung.

"Now, for the next three days you cannot grab, hold, hit, or rest your hands on anything. You cannot even close them. I know this sounds difficult and annoying, but you must know that this is the fastest way for their recovery. You are going to need somebody to help you with everything, like getting dressed, and holding stuff. Your hands must be wrapped up at all times with the disinfectant I gave you before, and you need to check in with me once a day so I can see how they're holding up, alright your Highness?"

Jimin watched as Taehyung rolled his eyes, his stitched hands facing upward, the skin a deep red and bleeding slightly. Jimin nodded his head at the very specific medical instructions and proceeded to watch as the medic wrapped up Taehyung's hands in thick gauze. When all was said and done, Taehyung stood up off of the chair he was sitting on. He pouted at Jimin. 

"What?" Jimin inquired, moving aside so Taehyung could walk past him.

Taehyung kept walking towards the exit, but mumbled something under his breath. However, Jimin was a keen listener and caught the blonde's words. He thinks I can't hear him...

"Your back is itchy? Why didn't you just say so?" Jimin sang out, happy to annoy Taehyung a little. After all, he had cheaply thrown a helmet at Jimin the day before, which left a nasty bruise on the Stone Prince's shoulder. 

Taehyung shot a rude look over his shoulder at Jimin and went back to ignoring him. The Laurel Prince's hands were out in front of him, elbows slightly bent. It almost appeared as if he were holding an invisible tray. Taehyung said nothing to Jimin as he left the room. Jimin trailed slightly behind him. He's pouting like a child!

"Fine, guess I'll just have to take care of it even if you won't ask me nicely." Jimin closed the gap between the two princes. He reached his arms to Taehyung's back and began scratching hard, making Taehyung stop in his tracks. 

At first Jimin thought the blonde prince was going to yell at him, tell him to stop, or something of the sort. But instead, the blonde prince leaned into Jimin's hands, sighing in relief as his back was scratched. The pair slowly inched down the hall while Jimin worked on Taehyung's back. 

"Up, up--no, no down, yeah...yeah right theeerrrre..." Taehyung's eyes were closed in enjoyment and Jimin couldn't help but laugh on the inside at the flightiness of Taehyung's moods. 

How is this the same prince I fought against yesterday?

After another minute of this, Jimin noticed the countless eyes that were on them and gave Taehyung one last pat on the back before walking to his side. Taehyung looked over at Jimin with a strange look on his face that Jimin could not read. Normally, Jimin could read everything on the blonde's face--he was an open book.

But this emotion was different. He couldn't place it.

Jimin waited for Taehyung to say something to him, perhaps a 'thanks for scratching my back, Jimin'  or even a 'let's go eat.'

"I'm sorry." 

The words spilled out of Taehyung before Jimin knew it. The blonde continued, looking down at his feet. "I'm sorry for being childish yesterday...at--at the duel...I'm sorry for throwing that helmet at you and not yielding. I was being stupid...overly angry...I know you're the better swordsman no matter how much I don't want to admit it." 

Jimin felt a wave of joy wash over him that Taehyung realized his own shortcomings and praised him at the same time. Jimin started to smile a little, but-

Stone. Stone. Stone. 

"Oh." Jimin replied, watching as Taehyung looked off to the side while he licked his lips. "It's okay, the duel is done with. We have a bigger problem on our hands now. Let's move on from any menial things we have against each other, okay?"

Taehyung nodded. His drooping chin lifted, gazing at Jimin with--watery eyes?

"Okay...yeah, that--that's a good idea." Taehyung cleared his throat loudly. "Let's go eat now, yeah?" Taehyung suddenly sped up his pace, leaving Jimin to watch the prince's elegant body drift down the hall in front of him. 

Taehyung's unpredictability surely unnerved him a bit, but it was nothing that the Stone Prince couldn't handle. Him and the Laurel Prince were already on much better terms, and it had only been one day. 

But soon, Jimin would leave for the north. To stop Jihoon. Then he wouldn't be able to have these princes next to him for support.

Jimin brushed his hair back as he tried to ignore the upcoming battle and focus on the present. He needed to get closer to each of the princes for work reasons...to ensure the protection of his castle.

Nothing more. No feelings involved. I'll just end up getting hurt.

He needed to block out his thoughts of them in that way...perhaps breakfast would help him do just that. 

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

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Doesn't breakfast always help clear thoughts?

Sigh...

Looks like Jihoon is making progress in the north. And it looks like Taehyung is making personal progress in the south.

We'll have to see what happens with Jimin, yeah?

Thanks so much for reading, have a wonderful day and don't forget to eat a delicious meal because you deserve it! <3333

izzy