Sanguis , Sudo atque Fletus
 

In the deep and thick forests of Britannia it is easy to lose your mind . Cold mist is sweeping off your rationality and takes away your stability . It's like you are constantly trying to kneel on shaking mud to pray to gods that already deserted you .

In the faceless , nameless cold it is easy to lose yourself and become one with the deadly yet restless silence .

He felt like he was stuck somewhere beyond the edge of the world ; far away from the busy streets of Rome everything seemed to be dull .

He was nothing but a stranger trapped into a foreign land that seemed to resent every fiber of his being . It was like the earth himself was against him and his armies .

" We invaded sacred lands so now the gods are punishing us . " Namjoon told him one night over too much wine and the older's words became ingrained into his brain .

He was a pragmatic man , like every respectable roman , so he was raised with the knowledge of the fact that gods were always smiling and sending their blessings upon the brave citizens of Rome so he should not have taken those words into consideration ; he should have treated them as nothing more than a drunkards' rambling yet there was a part of him that accepted them as the undeniable truth . It was that part of him that took over him while he was asleep : the one that painted images of a lithe , body laying on thick gray furs behind his eyelids . It was that part of him that was yearning for a man , a king nonetheless , that resented everything he represented .

It had to be a curse .... the way in which the memory of those amber colored eyes the were burning with pride and fierceness haunted him every time he did as much as breathe .

Captivum intro mendacium

He was sitting into his tent nursing a cup of red wine when Namjoon entered :

" There is this man asking to see you as a representative of the Britons . "

" Let him enter . " he said and he was met with the broad shouldered guardian that he remembered from the first day he met Hoseok .

" Roman " he said and Jungkook would have punished  him for the way he addressed him if not for the fact that he was tremendously interested in what the other had to say  " my King sent me with a message for you  . "

" Is that so ? "

" He told me the two of you met near the river a few days ago . " the man said smiling mischievously " It seemed to him that you were regretting your poor knowledge regarding the customs , traditions and culture of our kind . "

" That is indeed true . "

" Well , you see , roman , my king is kind . He believes every men needs to be educated if he is to learn how to act in a proper way . "

" How considerate of your king ! "

" Yes . He wishes you to accompany him . "

" In what way ? " he asked only to have the tall Briton laugh .

" Don't overestimate your value , roman . He wants to educate you , nothing more and nothing less . "

Quod malo est 

Being the son of the emperor caused Jungkook to have met a vast array of men from the poorest to the highest ranked and smarter ones . He was acquainted with all of these persons yet none of them was in any way similar to Hoseok . None of them loved his people as much as he did . None of them was as gentle with the unlucky ones as Hoseok was . None of them held his head so high in front of the largest and most powerful empire the world has ever known because he knew he had to protect his people from slavery and unfair domination .

He was the gentlest soul to his loved ones and the most ruthless enemy to the ones that wronged him and his kingdom . He was fair , just in his judgment and Jungkook found him utterly beautiful sitting on his throne .

" Jungkook ? "  Hoseok asked and Jungkook turned around only to be shocked into silence .

The other one was sat between thick furs , the upper part of his body and faintly glowing in the candle light . He was holding a thick book but his now curios eyes were looking above the pages at the flustered young roman .

" Yes ? "

" Won't you join me ? "

" I ? "

" Yes ... there is this poem that I simply can't understand as much as I want and ... I figured that , perhaps , you would be kind enough as to explain it to me . "

" Is that so ? " he asked but immediately sat himself near the other as close as he could wishing that the two of them were the only two persons in the entire world . Just the two of them lost between the thick furs without a worry . No empire , no conflicts . No victors ; just the two of them , skin upon skin ; warm breaths and warmer hearts ; hushed promises and loving words .

" What are you thinking about ? " Hoseok asked gently . his gaze never leaving the book .

" How cruel the gods were to me . "

" Why so ? " he inquired , his hands taking Jungkook's ones , letting the book fall on the furs with an almost silent thud .

" It is really cruel , you know ... the fact that you are the only one I hold so dearly yet you are the only one that will always be too far away from me . It is unfair how we are close enough for me to feel your warmth but in reality there is a whole world between us . Here is just the two of us and I can look you in the eyes but outside  .... outside I am the one that is supposed to take away from you the kingdom that you hold so dearly to your heart . I swear upon the dark waters of the river Styx that I would give away my rank as a praetor  , the entire empire that I am supposed to rule one day too , without even blinking , if I would know that there is  a chance of you allowing me to hold you close and never let you go .  Would you still want me ? Without my rank ? Without my empire ? "

" You think it is easy , saying all of these to me .... but it is not . I could never ask for you to give up your empire . "

" But would you accept me without it ? "

" I would . "