CHAPTER TWO
DOUBT

He never thought he would question his family's integrity. He never thought he would wish to be a peasant of the court instead of the very monarch that ordered them around. He often wondered what secrets would unravel if he were just a commoner. Just an onlooker. Just a pawn.

Because that's what Jimin learned the most as he watched his father dictate the land as King. Eden was nothing but a chessboard, and if you weren't close to the king, you were going to be taken off the board.

The young prince's suspicions started when he was young. He supposed his brain always acknowledged it, but never quite noticed it. In his class the children had their own ranks.

Perhaps this should've put Jimin at ease. He was in the highest rank after all. Since Jimin was the prince, he got the first pick of everything. Children offered their lunch to him. He got to pick whichever friends he wanted.
Jimin never brought his observations up to his parents. Maybe it was his brain protecting him.

Not now, it would advise him. Not yet.

Sometime between Jimin's fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, his mother passed on. Heart attack, it was said.
Jimin asked his father how that was possible. His mother was young, healthy even. She only got the best from her servants, didn't she?

Jimin wondered why a family who got everything they asked for, couldn't get the proper care for his mother. He wondered why she wasn't treated like he was as a young schoolboy.

His father always dismissed his worries when Jimin brought it up. His father's dismissal was the seed of doubt that was planted into the prince's head.

•

Jimin awoke to a harsh knock on his door.

"Two hours till the raffle, Your Majesty," Jeongguk, Jimin's personal guard shouted from the other side of the wooden door.

"Got it," Jimin's softer, quieter voice said against the plush of his pillows.

He sat up, the silk white sheets falling off of his shoulders and landing in a heap in his lap. The cold morning breeze hit against the prince's bare chest, causing goosebumps to spring up and a shiver to run down his spine.

Rather than close the window, Jimin simply braved the draft and swung his feet off of the bed, pushing himself away from the firm mattress with little difficulty. He padded to his wardrobe and chose his outfit for the day. A black and red silk blouse tucked into his black trousers. He wondered as he tugged his dress shoes onto his feet just how long this raffle would last.

He had heard about it all his life. Names of girls aged from fifteen to twenty would be written down and placed into a large glass bowl. Then His Majesty would pick one name: the name of his future wife.

She wouldn't be of noble birth or high titles. Instead, she would be a citizen of Krull, where criminals and beggars live. A land where people have nothing but the clothes on their backs. A land where people kill each other to stay alive.

All his life Jimin was told that it was a great honor to take one of these girls and rescue them from the land of despair. Jimin's own mother came from Krull. She became queen and had the only heir to the throne.

Jimin's dark brows furrowed as he tried to recall memories of his mother. Any small memory where she seemed unhappy. Where she seemed homesick or lost. His mind drew a blank however, and he found himself longing to see her smile in person again. To see her again.

He glanced at his mirror. His features were not his father's. He had his mother's smile, her cheeks, her fingers, her ears, her nose... Jimin was his mother's boy. He missed her.

Another knock came, startling the boy from his reverie. "Sir, you have thirty minutes. I suggest we go ahead and start making our way to the ballroom."

"Right," Jimin replied. With one more glance at the mirror, he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and blinked the tears back. "I'm coming."

•

When he opened the door, Jeongguk rose his eyebrow in confusion. "What happened?" He wasn't used to Jimin not having a smile on his face. In fact, the younger boy tried to recall the last time he had seen Jimin look so solemn.

"I was thinking."

"About your future wife?" Jeongguk asked as they began to walk down the empty corridor.

"No. About my mother."

Jeongguk's face softened into an expression of pity. Of course Jimin would want his mother to be with him at this time. "I'm sure she's watching you. She would be proud."

Would she? Proud of what exactly? Jimin wanted to reply. Instead, he offered his guard a soft smile, "Thanks, Kookie."

Jeongguk grimaced, "Don't call me that." Then, realizing his mistake, he straightened up and cleared his throat. "Your Majesty."

Jimin chuckled at the younger's expression and pushed the doors of the ballroom open.

The grand space was filled with lavish decorations. At the bottom of the stairs, the ballroom was already prepared. Tables covered the right of the dance floor in fresh food from the castle's private chefs. The dance floor itself was sparkling in that way freshly mopped floors do. Jimin almost wanted to peak and see if he could find his reflection among the gold tiles. He straightened up and descended the stairs, taking his time to appreciate the flower arrangements which surrounded the railings.

He and his mother's favorites, Day Lilies, were the center flower of most of the decorations. A fond smile made it's way onto the unknowing prince's face.

It faded as Jimin made eye contact with his father. Where Jimin's eyes were warm and youthful, his father's were cold and dull.

"I see you've arrived," the king said to his son.

"Yes, sir." Jimin bowed, and waited while his guard did the same.

"They are preparing the names now. You may go sit until you are called. Guests will need to arrive before you pick your bride."

"Yes, sir." Jimin bowed again, and took his leave to the right of the floor, where two throne's stood tall and mighty.

Honestly, Jimin hated that he sat in his mother's throne. It was given to him on his coronation day. Still, some days he could swear her presence still lingered in the soft cushions pressed against his back.

Jeongguk stood upright in the shadows, keeping a watchful eye for any suspicious actions.

"Hey, Jeongguk?" Jimin asked.

"Yes?"

"D'you think Dad misses mom, too?"

Jeongguk stayed silent as long as the prince's patience would permit him. His eyes lingered over the king, who sipped wine and laughed loudly with his advisors. Jeongguk's gaze hardened.

"Jeongguk?"

"Honestly, Your Majesty, it doesn't look like he does."

And the seed of doubt suddenly grew, until a little sprout of worry pushed its way into the prince's brain.

.

Jeongguk watched the prince's face contort into something of pain, and he almost took back what he said. The king began talking, however, so Jeongguk said nothing.

Guests had began pouring in, and the king's loud greeting voice caused Jimin to stand up and take his place around the floor. He bowed to his elders and shook hands with those below him. Jeongguk couldn't help but noticed the unsteady gaze in Jimin's eyes.

The time came all too soon for the prince. Soon enough, he was being escorted back to the thrones, where a large glass bowl was set upon a podium. Jimin was silent as his father told the story of Eden's laws and why every man in the bloodline must take a wife from Krull.

Jimin smiled in all of the right places and did his best to hide his uncertainty behind his features.

The moment came too soon when Jimin felt his hand reaching into the bowl, brushing the many strips of the finest parchment. All filled with names of girls who Jimin didn't know. His fingers clutched one paper dug from the very bottom.

"Enya Rune." His voice spoke out on it's own accord. It was soft in contrast to his father's. It was welcoming and assuring toward the crowd as they cheered for their prince and future king.

Although now they cheered for their princess and future queen, Enya Rune.

.

a/n
i like this story