^{I'm on a roll today! I've been updating my stories a lot lately because I serioulsy hate keeping you guys waiting long T__T I hope you enjoy this new chapter :)}

If someone were to have told Taehyung two months ago that he would one day be living in the castle as the prince’s informant, learning how to read and write and learning how to practice magic, he would have laughed long and loud at such an outrageous prediction.

But there he was, sitting amongst the various scrolls and leather bound books of the castle’s archives with a spell resting on the table before him. The incantation was written in Namjoon’s crude but legible handwriting, and Taehyung found himself even more thankful for Junmeyeon’s lessons.

His first couple of magic lessons had mostly revolved around learning the history of magic itself. Namjoon explained to him how every living thing on the planet had magic, it’s just that not all of them could access it. Only those with open minds and pure hearts could do such a thing, and Taehyung wondered how that qualified him.

He had been a thief for the majority of his life. He wasn’t pure of heart.

“Magic is all about equal exchange,” Namjoon spoke up from behind him. He must have noticed the confused look Taehyung was giving the spell. “This is a simple fire starting spell, but you can’t perform it with no kindle.”

Taehyung’s eyes then ventured towards the twigs that had been piled in the center of the table.

“I know you said you wanted to learn the healing spells first,” Namjoon continued. He stopped his pacing and took a seat next to Taehyung, his robes billowing and cascading all around him as he sat down. “But I see the spark in your eyes, Taehyung. You are destined for more than just cleaning up a few cuts and bruises, and I intend to draw that fire out of you.”

Taehyung his chapped lips, still unable to understand why Namjoon had so much faith in his abilities. He glanced over to where Jungkook sat a few tables away, skimming through a tattered book about weaponry.

“What was Prince Yoongi like during his first lessons?”

Namjoon barked out a laugh at that, successfully startling Taehyung.

“Very over zealous,” the wizard answered with a fond smile. “He wanted to learn everything and anything there was to know about magic. I had to scold him several times about getting too ahead of himself, but of course he rarely ever listened. In a way, I suppose i’m glad he didn’t let anyone hold him back. Yoongi is by far a prodigy in the magical arts.”

Taehyung’s eyes twinkled as he listened to all of this. He imagined a tiny prince Yoongi doing the very spell he was about to try, repeating the incantation over and over again, only to smile brightly once the first flame caught the twigs and set them ablaze.

“Those markings… all over his body… are those magic too?”

Namjoon’s smile faltered a bit. He looked directly at Taehyung and then dropped his gaze completely. “I think that is something you will have to discuss with the prince himself, once he’s ready.”

Taehyung frowned and nodded.

“But enough about his highness.” Namjoon nudged the twigs closer. “Focus on the spell.”

With a resolute nod of his head, Taehyung poured over the spell again. He read it multiple times, while trying to mimic the different inflections Namjoon had put on each word. The wizard noticed him doing this and quickly scolded him for it. He told him that magic was unique to each individual, and shouldn’t be simply copied.

After an hour of trying to get the dry sticks to light, Namjoon told Taehyung to take a short break. His voice was starting to go dry from repeating the spell so much, and his eyes were beginning to cross from staring at the words so long.

“Take Sir Jeon with you and go take a walk to stretch your legs,” Namjoon ordered with a gentle smile. “We’ll continue as soon as you get back.”

“Ok!” Taehyung chirped, glad to be given a small reprieve. He’d been itching to visit the garden, despite the violence that had happened to him in it.

Taehyung bounded over to the archive’s doors with Jungkook on his heels, but came to a halt when he saw who was on the other side.

There stood Prince Yoongi, looking just as surprised as Taehyung was.

“Oh? Your lessons are over already?” The Prince asked, before Taehyung could even get the chance to bow to him. “And here I thought I would be able to see your progress so far.”

Taehyung reddened and took a few steps back, accidently knocking into Jungkook’s armor.

“M-Master Namjoon gave me a break, Prince Yoongi.”

Yoongi smiled at that and waved to Namjoon who was still sitting at the table. Namjoon waved back with a wink, and Taehyung really wished he understood whatever it was they were secretly saying in their smiles.

“Well if that’s the case, let us walk together,” The Prince suggested, and Taehyung felt his fingers and toes go numb.

“... Really?” he questioned in disbelief. He couldn’t understand why someone of the prince’s status would want to spend time with him when he could be doing many other important things.

“Yes, really,” Yoongi laughed. “Now stop gapping and come with me. Sir Jeon, you can stay back for now. Taehyung is safe with me.”

Jungkook nodded and Taehyung almost wanted to beg him to come too. Things always felt way too intimate whenever he was alone with the prince.

The doors to the archives closed behind them, and now both Namjoon and Jungkook were out of sight.

Without another word, Prince Yoongi started walking, and Taehyung hesitantly followed after him.

At first, Taehyung tried to keep a few paces behind the prince, out of respect, but Yoongi quickly put an end to that by grabbing Taehyung’s hand and pulling him forward until he was walking right beside him. The former thief felt like he had a pebble wedged in his throat for a few minutes, his eyes darting all over as they walked along the silent corridors and passed curious servants, but he eventually felt like he could breath again when they entered the garden.

“Are you sure you wish to come back here?” Yoongi asked, more out of concern than anything else.

Taehyung nodded, and bent down to touch one of the soft petals of a daffodil. “Yes, Prince Yoongi. A garden is still a garden, no matter what happens in it.”

Taehyung couldn’t see the way Yoongi stared at him, as he ventured around the bright flowers and green foliage, but the younger could definitely hear the smile in his voice when he said, “That is indeed true.”

The sun was at a perfect position in the sky for some exploring. Not too high to be overbearingly hot, and not to low to be too dark. Taehyung studied the way bees and butterflies danced around certain flowers that held a lot of pollen and nectar to give. He peeked into bird’s nests and laughed at a ground mole that quickly burrowed back into his home when he saw Taehyung coming. It was the first time he had ever felt so comfortable in the prince’s presence.

The prince!

Taehyung ventured back through the leaves, noting how far away from the prince he had walked. It was rude of him to leave his company like that, after the prince had requested for his presence. People got thrown in dungeons for doing things like that.

But when Taehyung saw Prince Yoongi again, the man looked unbothered. He was sitting on a stone bench next to a patch of Daisies. Taehyung watched as he leant forward and plucked one of the white flowers. He brought it to his lips and whispered something, causing it to twirl out of his hands and up into the air.

Taehyung watched this all in complete fascination. His eyes trailed the Daisy the entire time, until it started to descend downwards again and right towards him. He kept completely still as the flower tucked his hair back and placed itself right behind his ear.

When Taehyung’s eyes met Yoongi’s he knew his cheeks must have looked like two, giant red apples with how hard he was blushing.

“T-Thank you,” he whispered, not knowing what else to say.

Yoongi smiled serenely at him, seemingly pleased with himself, and rose to a stand.

“We should start venturing back to the archives now. Namjoon is waiting.”

“Yes, Prince Yoongi.”

Taehyung walked alongside the prince, now that he knew he was allowed to, but kept his head down. His face still felt warm from the prince’s actions earlier. He only ever saw boys give flowers to girls, back at his clan. What did it mean for a prince to do that for a thief?

“I don’t want to be a distraction, so I’ll let you go here,” Yoongi spoke up, successfully pulling Taehyung from his thoughts. They were already back at the entrance to the archives, but Taehyung hadn’t even noticed. “Meet me tomorrow at noon, by the window I showed you the other day. Understand?”

Taehyung felt like he was spinning. The prince wanted to spend time with him… again?!

“Yes, Prince Yoongi,” he meekly replied. The flower felt hot against his ear.

Yoongi bit his bottom lip, trying to hold back an obvious smile, and patted Taehyung on the top of his head.

“Very well then.”

It wasn’t until he walked away and was completely out of sight that Taehyung could feel his limbs again. The poor guy shook his head twice before opening the door to the archives.

“Nice flower,” was the first thing Namjoon commented, and Taehyung couldn’t help burying his face in his hands.

“Please don’t tease me,” he whined.

Jungkook looked up from the book he was reading and smirked in their direction.

“One would think his virtue was taken with how hard he’s blushing.”

“Sir Jeon!” Taehyung practically screetched.

Namjoon laughed and pulled out the seat beside himself. “Don’t be flustered, Taehyung. This is a good thing. Take all of those emotions you are feeling right now, and apply it to the spell.”

Taehyung dropped his hands from his face and nodded. He made his way around the table and carefully took a seat.

As he recited the words of the spell out loud, he thought of the very moment he saw Yoongi whispering to the flower. He thought of Yoongi’s eyes when he had looked up at him after the flower landed behind his ear, and the feeling that traveled from his stomach down to his tingling toes.

“I knew you could it! Look up, Taehyung!”

Taehyung did look up.

And there... burning small and bright…

...was a flame.

~+~

Ever since he was able to start a flame, Taehyung’s magic lessons progressed at a fast rate. He still went to his English lessons as well, but he found that he looked forward to his magic ones the most. Junmyeon seemed somewhat hurt by this, but Taehyung assured him that even though Magic was his favorite subject, Junmyeon would always be his favorite tutor.

Also, Taehyung did meet Yoongi at the window the day after he made the flame. It seemed all the prince wanted to do was talk with him and ask him about his lessons, but Taehyung enjoyed the time spent with him regardless. Prince Yoongi had even brought him another flower, this time a pink carnation.

Feeling the prince’s fingers put the flower behind his ear was a lot different from feeling his magic do it. It made Taehyung even more of a stuttering mess than he already was.

Since then, the prince decided to make their meetings by the secluded window a daily thing, and even went as far as to bring a different flower each time.

“P-Prince Yoongi, I would like it if there were still flowers in the garden when I go visit it,” Taehyung scolded in a timid voice. He had gotten a little bit better at talking to the prince on a friendly level, but it was still hard for him to sustain eye contact with him.

Yoongi laughed with an apologetic smile. “I’ll take that into consideration, Taehyung.”

As the weeks flew by, Taehyung still couldn’t understand why he was receiving this much attention from the prince, or why all of their meetings made his heart feel like it was two knocks away from flying out of his chest, but he loved it all the same.

It was nice to feel needed.

“Let’s meet somewhere different tomorrow,” Yoongi commented one afternoon by the window. He stuck the baby’s breath he had been twirling in his hand behind Taehyung’s ear, and the action was so normal to the younger now, it almost felt weird when he didn’t have a flower tucked away there.

“Different like where?” Taehyung asked, eyes drinking in the view outside the castle. He had seen it many times now, but he never got tired of it.

“How do the front gates sound?”

Taehyung’s eyes shot away from the window and went straight to Yoongi’s twinkling eyes. “You mean--”

“Yes,” The Prince nodded, with a barely suppressed grin. “I’m taking you outside of the castle.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you Prince Yoongi!” Taehyung cried in excitement. He didn’t even think of what he was doing before he jumped into the prince’s arms and hugged him. It wasn’t until he felt Yoongi’s arms wrapping around his middle and reciprocating the hug that he pulled away with an apology on his lips.

“I’m s-so sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s alright, Taehyung,” Yoongi assured him. Taehyung stared at the prince’s cheeks, marveling at the pink tint that had adorned them. “If I knew such an offer would make you that happy, I would have suggested it sooner.”

Taehyung quickly glanced away before the prince could see the way his eyes widened.

“W-Where will we be going?” he asked, desperate to take the focus off of himself.

Yoongi noticed this but indulged him anyway. “Remember the border patrol we established at the meeting?”

Taehyung nodded.

“Well I wanted to pay them a visit and just observe how things are going. It’s always good for a prince to show his face to his calvary when times are stressful. It encourages morale.”

Taehyung listened carefully to all of this, amazed at all this wisdom Yoongi had at such a young age.

“Why did King Yejun put you in charge of the army?” he asked out of curiosity. Before, he would have been too scared to ask such a question, but talking to Yoongi almost came as easily as breathing now.

Yoongi took a deep breath and sighed. “You may have noticed that my father’s presence is very lacking around the castle. He scarcely ever leaves his room these days, and it has sparked many rumors that he has grown ill.”

“Is he?” Taehyung frowned.

“No, not at all,” Yoongi assured him. “But he is old in age. At first he said his absence was to help me understand what things would be like once he was gone. He wanted me to be able to handle the role of king when he passes, but I think he’s just scared.”

“King Yejun? Scared?” Taehyung said in disbelief. All of the paintings around the kingdom depicted him as such a large and frightful ruler. Taehyung couldn’t imagine him being scared of anything.

“He’s scared of war,” Yoongi admitted. “My father never had to deal with a war, because his father before him settled everything all those years ago. Now, with all this talk of the Kingdom of Seoul planning a strike, it has him feeling anxious.”

“So he left it all to you.” It was more of a statement, than a question, but Yoongi nodded.

“Yes, he left it all to me.”

Taehyung knew Yoongi didn’t want to talk badly of his father, but he could see the resentment in his eyes.

“How was your visit with Prince Jimin yesterday?” Yoongi suddenly asked, remembering how the brunette had complained about the other prince’s request a few days ago.

“Dreadful,” Taehyung whined, and he really wished he wasn’t so afraid to punch Yoongi in the arm when he laughed. “It’s not funny! Prince Jimin makes my head feel like it’s going to burst with how quickly he changes moods.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Yoongi quickly apologized, but the amused smile on his face told Taehyung that the words were barely sincere. “Why did he want to meet with you?”

“He said we should spend more time together since we are the same age, but all he did was keep asking questions about you.”

Yoongi scratched his cheek nervously at that and sighed. “I really am sorry you had to get caught up in his antics, Taehyung.”

Taehyung shuttered at the memory of the demanding young prince. Spending time with Jimin had left him feeling drained for the rest of the day. “Why does he always ask for you anyway, Prince Yoongi? Is it about the papers you never signed?”

Yoongi glanced out the window. “Yes, something of that nature.”

“Then why don’t you sign them? Maybe then he will finally leave us alone.”

Yoongi looked to Taehyung then, a sly grin taking up the corners of his mouth. “Us?” he repeated.

Taehyung felt his heart stop for a few seconds, before starting back as a thunderous pounding in his chest. “I-I mean you! H-He’ll finally leave you alone!”

Yoongi was shaking his head and stepping closer, causing Taehyung’s back to hit the ledge of the windowsill. “No, no. You said ‘us’, did you not?”

Taehyung looked everywhere but at Yoongi’s mirth filled eyes. “I have no idea what you speak of, Prince Yoongi.”

Yoongi’s eyesmile shun brightly as he leaned his hands against the windowsill, effectively caging Taehyung in between his arms. “Oh so you are calling your prince a liar now, is that it?”

“No!” Taehyung quickly protested. “I would never, Your Highness. I--”

“Trust me, little flower,” Yoongi whispered, causing Taehyung’s breath to hitch at the term of endearment. “You don’t want me to sign those papers.”

“I-I don’t?” Taehyung whispered back, completely mesmerized by Yoongi’s eyes. Usually such a close proximity would have him babbling and sweating bullets, but for some reason he felt oddly at peace in the prince’s arms.

Yoongi shook his head. “You don’t.”

“Alright,” Taehyung breathed, and the prince finally took a few steps back.

Taehyung hated himself for thinking about the next time he could possibly be in between the prince’s arms again.

“Tomorrow at noon, by the front gate?” Yoongi casually said, as if they hadn’t just been breathing each other's air. “Make sure to bring Sir Jeon with you. I’ll be handling business while we are there and I won’t be able to stay by your side at all times.”

“Yes, Prince Yoongi,” Taehyung said with a flustered bow.

Yoongi readjusted the flower behind his ear and then patted him on the head like he always did, only this time his warm fingers seemed to linger.

“Very well then, little flower.”

Taehyung suddenly wished he had his sisters to talk to.

Maybe they would understand the flutter in his stomach and chest.

^{*slow love song playing in the background* The prince and the theif are falling for eachother! I love how this chapter came out *pats self on the back* and I really can't wait for everything else I have planned for this story.} 

^{What do you guys think? Please leave a comment below <3}