Minho watched intently as Taemin pulled back the string of the bow, his muscles straining and his face twisted in concentration. His lips were pursed and eye staring straight ahead at his target. He finally released the arrow and it hit centimeters away from the center.

Minho stared in astonishment as the boy lowered his bow, smiling in satisfaction. He was a bit relieved that Taemin didn’t know he was watching. He couldn’t imagine how much Taemin would laugh at the expression on his face.

“She’s absolutely exceptional, isn’t she, Prince?”

Minho turned to the excited girl next to him, “Yes, IU, she’s…outstanding.”

“I’ve never seen such a natural. It’s only been two weeks, and she’s already this good!”

“Yes…” Minho turned back to Taemin, watching as he lifted another arrow. His smile quickly fell, being replaced by a stubborn frown. “But this does not change anything. She still isn’t going.”

IU sighed as she turned her head to Taemin. “I know you are only thinking about her well-being, Prince, but she’s been working so hard. She only wants to help; I can see that she still blames herself, no matter how much we tell her it wasn’t her fault. And with all the rumors flying around about her and Changmin, she is determined to win back a good reputation. She doesn’t want the rumors to affect your chance at becoming King.”

Minho shifted his eyes to the floor, guilt weighing him down. “Did she- did she tell you all that?”

“She’s talked to me a bit, but most of the time, she is just easy to read.”

Minho ran a hand through his hair, huffing in frustration. “Thanks, IU. Don’t tell her I was here, I don’t want to disturb her.” He left quickly, leaving IU bowing hastily.

‘I wish he wouldn’t worry so much. He should trust me to take care of things.’

But, of course, that just wasn’t the kind of person Taemin was. There was no way he could stop the stubborn boy from thinking the way he did.

No matter how strong Taemin claimed to be, Minho just couldn’t bring himself to allow Taemin to be in that kind of danger. He admired the boy’s determination and hard work, but he wished that Taemin would just accept the fact that he wasn’t going.

Taemin was still the tiny, delicate, beautiful boy Minho wished to always protect. No amount of training could change that.

Minho surprised himself a bit with the way he had fallen for Taemin so carelessly. It didn’t take long for him to push aside his doubts and let himself completely indulge in the cute boy. It seemed as though Taemin was the only thing he could ever think about. He tried not to let the thought of his little lover distract him in meetings with the council, but he found himself thinking about sparkling blue eyes and pink plump lips as everyone spoke.

He was constantly worrying over Taemin. What was doing? Was Changmin messing with him? Was he getting harmed in his training? Was he eating regularly?

He couldn’t imagine the amount of worry that would consume him when he left for war.

~~~~~

Taemin closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the grass tickling his skin. He spread his arms and sighed contently. He felt sweaty and gross, and his limbs ached, but it was always nice to relax in the garden before he went back to his room.

He found it hard to believe that two weeks had already passed since he started training. Well, obviously the training with Changmin had ceased. He had been avoiding the older Prince ever since. The rumors that Byungchol had spread were impossible to avoid, though. Taemin couldn’t walk out of his room without receiving dirty looks. He tried not to let it bother him though. He spent most of his time worrying over the impending war.

‘The war is so close. Only one more week until Minho leaves me.’

NO!

He wouldn’t let Minho leave without him. He couldn’t…

But no matter how much Taemin tried to convince himself, the doubt only grew. Minho had been indifferent toward him lately, and he hated it. He kept hoping that the Prince would see how hard he was working and just give in to his request, but it wasn’t looking like things were going to be in his favor.

Taemin let his fingers brush over the sapphire stone around his neck. ‘Come on, help me out. What should I do about your stupid, stubborn son?’

He chuckled at his own thoughts. He really must be going crazy if he was trying to talk to his lover’s dead mother.

“Taemin!”

Taemin jumped at the voice, his eyes opening as he sat up. His head collided with another and he fell back into the grass, groaning as he rubbed his forehead. “Owww…”

When he finally opened his eyes again, he looked up to see Changmin standing over him chuckling as he massaged his own sore head. “What are you doing here?” Taemin demanded.

“Am I not allowed to be in the garden?” Changmin teased.

Taemin huffed angrily as he stood up. “What do you want, Changmin?” He crossed his arms over his chest, turning his back to the older boy.

“I…I wanted to apologize. What I did was inappropriate and out of line. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused too.”

Taemin turned around, eyeing him skeptically. “You’re just now apologizing? Two weeks after it happened?”

“I-I was afraid to approach you. I knew you were angry with me, and I- well it’s just-“

“I forgive you,” Taemin sighed as he turned around to finally face the Prince. “But don’t do anything like that ever again.”

 “I’ll never touch you again…unless you’re the one to initiate it.” Changmin smiled playfully.

Taemin rolled his eyes, before pushing past Changmin and making his way towards the exit of the garden. “Just give up already, Prince. Believe me, I’m not your type.”

~~~~~

Sujung watched as her husband laughed carelessly with the woman she despised more than anyone. Although, she couldn’t seem to decide who she hated more; Jaejoong, the that seemed to hold her husband’s heart; or Taemin, the foolish little commoner that was ruining her son’s chance at becoming King.

‘Jaejoong’ she decided.‘Definitely Jaejoong.’

Her fingernails dug into the wall she hid herself behind, as she watched Yunho’s hand Jaejoong’s cheek so tenderly. She could see the pure love in Yunho’s eyes. She didn’t want to believe it, but it was impossible not to.

It was as though nothing had changed. It felt as though she had gone back in time, back to the time when she had to watch Yunho fawn over…her.

“Minjung, how is it possible for you to become more beautiful every day?”

“Yunho! Stop being silly!”

And then she had to watch as Yunho kissed the foolish , silencing her annoying giggles. Sujung thought she would never have to worry about Yunho’s attention being averted from her after she killed Minjung…

She could still remember the satisfaction of watching the former Queen die at her hands; the feeling of the knife being buried in Minjung’s skin, the look of shock on her face, and the sight of the blood spilling onto the floor.

And the next day, as she watched Minho find the dead body of his mother, she had never felt more satiated. She watched as the ever calm Minho sobbed and screamed over Minjung’s bloody form.

She wanted to be rid of Jaejoong quickly, but…she was a good distraction. Jaejoong was useful to have around, to distract the King while Sujung took care of the Minho’s little Princess.

Sujung turned away just before she could see her husband kiss Jaejoong. She stormed down the hall toward her room. She was unexpectedly surprised when she opened the door to see Byungchol waiting for her. “My son,” she said warmly, caressing his hair. “I didn’t expect you.”

“I know, Mother, but…I-I wanted to speak with you about a few things…about Taemin.”

“Ah…well, I must say, you’ve done a good job spreading that rumor. It is a small blow against her, but it was helpful non-the-less.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “But Mother, I’ve been patient like you said, and we have done nothing besides sabotage her reputation. Killing the soldiers was brilliant, and the rumor of her unfaithful deeds made things even worse for her. But when are we going to get rid of her for good?”

The Queen chuckled. “Byungchol, it isn’t easy to get to Minho’s princess when he is around. I’m waiting until he leaves for battle to do any real damage.” Byungchol nodded thoughtfully. “Although, I don’t want to kill her just yet, I want to have a little fun before I do.”

“I want to see her suffer.”

~~~~~

“Are you sure she won’t be sleeping? I don’t want to disturb her.” Mir glanced at IU nervously. His eyes widened and his cheeks turned pink as another thought came to his head. “What if my brother is in there?! I don’t want to disturb them if-if-“

“Prince Mir!” IU interrupted, cheeks a similar shade of pink. “Prince Minho is still in a meeting. And if Princess Taemin is sleeping, then we won’t wake her. Let’s just hope she is awake. We need to discuss changing the time of our training.”

Mir nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away.”

IU giggled, waving it off before she made her way down the hall, Mir close behind her. She didn’t bother knocking, Taemin had told her she was welcome anytime, and she had gotten used to coming straight in. “Taemin!”

But when she opened the door, she was met with a sight she didn’t quite understand.

5 minutes earlier

Taemin almost collapsed on the bed when he finally arrived to his room, but he knew he had the bathe. So he forced himself to walk away from the comfy sheets that were calling to him.

He was eager to take his disgustingly sweaty clothes off, so he stripped down completely in the middle of the room and threw the clothes to the side. He grabbed some comfy robes before making his way to the bathroom.

“Taemin!”

He dropped the robes in surprise, eyes wide as he glanced to the door.

He was horrified to see IU and Mir staring back at him, their smiles fading into a look of shock as they eyed him. He hurried to pick up the robes and cover as much as possible, but it was too late. IU had squeaked in surprise, covering her face with her hands, and Mir stared at him with wide eyes, his face a dark shade of red.

“I can explain.”

A/N: Dun dun dun!

lol ok it's not that shocking, you probably knew it was coming x)

Someone else was bound to find out about Taemin's gender.

& Changmin isn't a total jerk, he's just a confident little er who likes to 2min

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