There were 6 of them to begin with. Prisoners, that is. They were thieves, murderers, rapists.. Criminals. Or, in Jonghyun’s case, a wrongfully assumed criminal.

They had all heard of their tyrant king Kibum, and his unusually cruel punishments for criminals in his country. But nothing they had heard, any of them, could have prepared them for what they actually experienced at his hands.

They had been sentenced to death for their crimes. Even Jonghyun, who had persisted that he was an innocent man. And he was. He just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that looked… very bad in the eyes of the law, actually. Especially considering that he was holding the murder weapon, and trying to stop the victim’s bleeding while the real murderer was standing there screaming.

But once they arrived at the beheading, they were told that the king had specifically asked for them. That he would be the one to dole out their punishment. At once, every prisoner including Jonghyun felt real fear in their hearts.

When they arrived at the palace, they were taken to the dining room and made to watch their king eat. Beginning that day, at every meal, King Kibum had the prisoners chained to the wall and forced them to watch him eat. That, of itself, wasn’t so bad a punishment. At first. But, as they quickly realized, they weren’t being given any food at all.

A week with no food and barely enough water every day was taking a toll on everyone’s mentality. The prisoners agonized over the smell of food, and often struggled weakly against their chains. Now that was a punishment more suited to the king’s character. Once, during that week, Jonghyun had looked into the king’s dark eyes and saw an immense sadistic amusement in them. He was enjoying their suffering. Jonghyun shuddered, and looked away as fast as possible.

Then.. One by one, the prisoners started to disappear. They huddled together during the times they were made to watch the king eat, and muttered lowly amongst themselves to try to figure out what had happened. None of them could come up with a good answer.

Jonghyun stumbled on the truth by sheer observation skills. By then, it was down to him and Taemin, the boy who’d been caught stealing apples from the king’s orchard. While the king was pulling food onto his plate, Jonghyun noticed a piece fall off the table and roll underneath. He backed up in horror, letting out a hoarse cry when he saw a human finger on the floor. He pointed to it quietly and Taemin’s eyes widened. Taemin started to cry, forgetting all about the king and his mocking laughter. Jonghyun now noticed that the king’s hands were shaking badly, and when his eyes roved the king’s face, the king was looking at him with a knowing smirk.

Much too soon, there was only Jonghyun left. He was gaunt, almost all of his muscle having been broken down by his body. He stumbled over the heavy weights of the chains on his wrists and legs, and his vision seemed dimmer. He feared that he would be taken to the kitchen any day now, and cut up to become food for the king.

But before that happened, fate was cruel to Jonghyun once again.

In the middle of watching the king eat Taemin (And he knew it was Taemin because it was Taemin’s head was sitting at the edge of the table, mouth open and an apple perched inside. The apple was just out of Jonghyun’s grasp.), when a couple of royal guards came in dragging a half-beaten man to the foot of the table. Jonghyun felt hope burst into his chest when he recognized the murderer who’d put him in this mess.

    “Your Excellency,” the guards bowed lowly. “This man is responsible for no less than 4 murders…,” one guard glanced over at Jonghyun “including the murder this man is accused of.” Kibum’s surprise was apparent in his facial features, and for just a second Jonghyun saw such cold fury in his eyes that it made him unconsciously back away.

The king exhaled loudly. Jonghyun wondered if he would be allowed to live.. considering what he knew.

    “Fine. Chain him to the wall there,” Kibum flicked his wrist disinterestedly. “Now leave us.” The guards bowed once again before they left. The silence in the room was unbearable for just a few short seconds before Jonghyun heard Kibum chuckle. “So.. Jonghyun, is it?” Kibum stood up from the table, and walked down the table, his hands trailing the detailed edges. “Would you accept an apology… In the form of me asking you to join me for the remainder of lunch?”

Jonghyun recoiled, instantly feeling disgusted. He started to shake his head… Until he realized with growing dismay that he was actually internally struggling with denying the invitation. He was just so hungry… The king stood at the foot of the table, watching with an unreadable expression.

The smells were so tantalizing… Jonghyun looked at the table longingly, at war with himself. Kibum smirked, knowing instantly what Jonghyun’s decision would be. Wordlessly, he turned and gestured for his guards to unlock Jonghyun’s chains. He walked back to the head of the table and gestured to the food, further weakening Jonghyun’s resolve.

Finally, with shoulders slumped in defeat, Jonghyun muttered a “yes, milord” and joined the king at the table, on hsi right hand side.  He was almost through eating, fighting the urge to throw up, when Kibum stilled his hands and forced him to look up. His eyes were cold as they stared at Jonghyun.

    “You do realize you’ll never leave here?” miserably, Jonghyun nodded. It was never a question of whether he would be free to leave. It was a question of whether or not he would still be eaten. “Good. Set him up with a room, Minho,” a tall man suddenly stepped forward and dragged Jonghyun up from a chair. “From now on, Jonghyun… You will be a servant in my palace. I will not eat you. I pride myself on being a fair man when it comes to people who have done nothing wrong.”

Kibum’s eyes roved over Jonghyun’s face appreciatively and Jonghyun flushed under the scrutiny. “On second thought, Minho… Bring him to my chambers.” He smirked, and Jonghyun instantly recognized the seductive look in his eyes. Tears welled up in his eyes, tears of self-pity for what was about to happen to him. He thought of his wife and sons at home, and wished he could have at least had a chance to say goodbye.
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Omg, all the fic ideas and the motivation have come out of like.. nowhere. Seriously. XD

Anyway... I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. c:

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Til next time. ^.~