Taemin looks out the window longingly, observing the world that waits behind the palace’s high walls. There are dozens of people that can only dream about crossing that wall and tasting the luxuries that hide inside but Taemin knew it wasn’t for him the moment his foot stepped inside. Everything he’s ever known, everything he’s ever had stayed right behind the wall, behind the kingdom’s border.

     The sun starts showing up when Taemin hears a soft knock at his door. He hasn’t even noticed that he spent the whole night looking outside the window. Luckily he has a room of his own; most of the servants share a few rooms together but they were too full for him to join. His disability to speak doesn’t make it any easier for him to communicate with others so a bit of solitude doesn’t hurt. In fact, he enjoys the moments like this alone better.

     Every day is similar – the servants get up early in the morning, prepare tea and food for the royalties and come to their every command for the rest of the day. Taemin hasn’t seen the king since the day he arrived. He’s only heard a few women servants whispering but they were talking in a language that he didn’t know and could only assume that they were talking about the ruler.

     “Take it to the king’s bedroom” Kibum talks softly when placing a few bowls and cups on top of a big wooden tray. Taemin nods gently and watches carefully, making mental notes for the future. He is glad that Kibum has been patient with him so far, explained how to prepare tea properly without dipping sleeves in the hot liquid. A mere peasant, Taemin knew nothing about etiquette, but he is eager to learn. Even though life here isn’t perfect, he is still alive after all.

     “Knock once. Enter the room, put the tray down and leave. Don’t wake the king up” his voice is as soft as ever when Kibum explains what Taemin’s task is. The boy nods once more and picks the tray up carefully. The clothes that he is forced to wear are long but not as long as the ones ministers and the king wear so he is not afraid he will fall over. The material is really nice to the touch as well, much nicer than the duds he used to wear before. They were itchy and sometimes left rashes around his neck. Taemin wondered at first why the servants wore such elegant and soft clothes but since they are serving the upper-class it would be inappropriate to do it in straw drags.

     Taemin stops in front of the right door, his heart beating faster when he glances at the two guards eyeing him carefully. He can’t see much behind the door covered in thick paper, only some darker silhouettes. He gives a single knock to the wooden door frame before slipping inside as silently as he can.

     The room is rather dark, the king’s precious face screened from the sun outside. Many vases and beautiful flowers stand tall at the walls almost like the guards that make sure the ruler’s sleep is undisturbed. Taemin places the tray down before peeking towards the center of the room where the king sleeps. His brow is furrowed, with a few little drops of sweat showing up. ‘Is he having a nightmare?’ Taemin wonders to himself, dropping the formalities that he should be using even when thinking about the king. A small step forward and he notices the silk sheets moving with every unsteady breath the king takes and leaves.

     Taemin can finally look at the king without fearing the other’s anger. He assumes that the king wouldn’t be as bothered though as the ministers or other officials that think of the king as highly as some deity. But right now the servant doesn’t see a god, but a human, fragile and frail one, like the finest porcelain. Somewhere at the back of his mind he knows that this is the source of all the misery he’s been through but at the same time he can’t connect this face with anything bad. All of this time he’s seen only warriors, dozens or maybe even hundreds, their scary sharp swords as sharp as their eyes. Those are the faces that keep reappearing in his dreams, not the one that he’s looking at right now. If he had been told from the beginning or shown the face of the king then he would be able to hate him as much as he should. Right, should he hate the king?

     Taemin leaves the room before the guards start getting suspicious and bows his head at them softly before walking back to Kibum. He is pleased that the servant fulfilled his task with no problem. Usually he keeps a cold and stoic posture when it comes to the servants but Taemin’s so eager to learn and actually do his best that Kibum can’t help but admire the boy. He doesn’t know what he’s been through but he will help Taemin get back to his feet.

     “Was His Excellency asleep?” Kibum asks when letting Taemin inside his room. The boy nods shortly before sitting down and placing hands on his lap. They’ve learnt to communicate with ‘yes or no’ questions, to which Taemin either nods or shakes his head. It’s a good strategy for the start, but in the long run it’s going to be difficult to get any messages through.

     “Move closer” Kibum waves at the boy before spreading a piece of paper and glancing at the boy. He looks at the clear paper with curiosity – he’s never used paper other than pasting it over windows and doors inside the house. “Listen to me carefully” Kibum brings the boy’s attention back with his stern voice. “You absolutely cannot tell anyone what is happening here, alright? No one can find out, no one”

     Taemin agrees with another nod although he is getting a bit nervous about what he’s about to learn. Kibum lets out a sigh, his fingers getting busy with straightening the paper before he reaches for a brush and puts it in Taemin’s hand. The boy looks up with round, surprised eyes. No peasant is allowed to learn how to read or write. Their community is based on verbal communication with occasional drawings or paintings but no one is literate.

     “It’s the only way for you to communicate, that’s why I will teach you some basic characters. Never act like you can understand anything you see outside this room. Don’t let anyone have doubts. Do you understand?”

     Kibum looks deeply into his eyes when Taemin nods slowly, his fingers tightening around the brush. He can’t tell whether he is happy or not about this revelation. But he is definitely glad that Kibum thought about him and instead of ignoring his disability he found a way for them to communicate.

     The first character that Kibum teaches Taemin consists of four lines and of course it’s the character that means what’s the most important:

     the king.

     ***

     The king starts his meeting with the ministers. They recite their opinions and suggestions, bowing deeply before the king but he knows they don’t really respect him. They bow down but if they could they probably wouldn’t hesitate to throw him off the cliff.

     Taemin stands with the other servants at the wall, peeking at the ministers and sometimes stealing a glance at the king too. Some may say he looks bored but Taemin knows that expression – he is irritated. The fake smiles and prostrating of ministers seem to get on his nerve. Taemin wonders about many things: how he became the king, what happened to his parents, why he declared war with his motherland and other countries. Even if he was able to speak though he could never ask those questions directly to their ruler. Maybe once he learns a few more characters he can ask Kibum about it. They are already sharing a huge secret between themselves.

     The king moves his gaze from one of the ministers that is currently speaking before it stops on Taemin. It must be a new servant, he thinks to himself when moving his two fingers in the air, giving a sign that he needs the servant closer. Taemin moves immediately, taking quick steps before he is at the king’s side. Usually he should greet him with the words ‘Your Majesty’ but Taemin only bows his head deeply. The king doesn’t seem to mind anyway and only points towards his empty cup. Taemin reaches for the teakettle before moving it expertly without his sleeves getting in the way. Before he can pour the tea though a hand tightens around his wrist.

     The servant doesn’t dare to look up at the king even though he can feel his eyes boring holes in his head.

     “Minister Lee”

     The minister quickly stops his monologue and looks at the king, tilting his head when noticing the strange scene in front of his eyes. To him the servant probably did his job poorly and will be punished but instead the king looks at him, not the young boy.

     “Leave. Everyone leave. I am closing the meeting”

     The ministers look at each other in shock, exchanging indignant whispers and unsure looks. Minister Lee tries to smile and takes a step forward, to which the king only tightens his hold around Taemin’s wrist. He stays unfazed no matter what, only looking down at the empty porcelain cup.

     “Your Highness… We have many important issues to discuss–“

     “Are you deaf, minister?”

     The ministers lips form a straight line when he forces himself to stay silent and refrain from spilling out any curses aimed at the ruler. Instead he just bows with a fake, strained smile.

     “No, Your Majesty. I can hear very well”

     “Then do as I said. Leave”

     The king’s voice is harsh but calm, a scary mix that could make anyone’s hair stand on end. Taemin is scared too but he keeps a straight face and doesn’t show a single emotion. He’s learned it after years of hiding from the warriors. Act like you don’t exist.

     Soon all of the ministers leave the room one after the other, whispering and peeking back at the king thinking he doesn’t see. The servants stay on their places though, waiting for the king’s orders. He simply stands up, still holding Taemin by the wrist, and waves towards the general area of the room. The servants understand what the king means and start cleaning, one of them taking the teakettle from Taemin’s hands when he and the ruler leave the room.

     Taemin is surprised when realizing that they are walking towards the king’s bedroom. Many thoughts cloud up his mind and he can’t make out anything of this situation. He enters the room after the king anyway before he lets go of him and sits down on his bed.

     “Entertain me”

     That was unexpected and at first Taemin can only stare at the king with wide eyes. Entertain the king? What is he supposed to do? Taemin gulps and fidgets uncomfortably on his place. Maybe the king means something ual…?

     “All those dances and music are giving me a headache. Not to mention the ministers’ babbling” the king nearly rolls his eyes, waving his hand in the air carelessly. His eyes never leave Taemin, even for a second. “Show me something different”

     ‘Or you will die’ Taemin adds in his head. He’s seen how the ruler acts when he is not pleased so he quickly searches his memory for anything that could be at least half as entertaining as dancing or playing the instrument. He doesn’t have many talents and can’t talk his way out of this obviously so he does the first thing that comes to his mind.

     He pulls out a piece of material that servants carry around with themselves in case they need to wipe something before he folds it a few times so it’s almost the size of a playing card. The king tilts his head in curiosity before propping his chin on his palm, eyes still on Taemin. The servant decides to show a magic trick, something that he used to do with his friends all the time when he was younger. He moves the makeshift ‘card’ in between his fingers expertly, making it disappear and reappear in his hands thanks to the long sleeves but from the king’s point of view it dissolves into thin air. For the grand finale Taemin shows his empty hands to the king before taking a few steps closer and pulling out the makeshift card from behind his neck.

     It’s silent after that and Taemin quickly lowers his gaze, thinking that maybe the last part of his show was too daring and he shouldn’t have been this close to the king. But soon his laughter fills up the room, a soft but honest laughter that lets Taemin let out a breath that he didn’t know he’s been holding all this time.

     “I’ve never seen anything like that!” the king is all smiles and Taemin now notices how much younger the ruler looks when his face is not covered in frowns. “What’s your name, servant?”

     Taemin bows his head deeply, as if apologizing to the king that there is no way for him to reveal his name.

     “I asked you a question, servant” the king’s voice is colder this time, his short happy moment gone. Taemin raises his gaze and his legs start shaking underneath him. He is ready to fall down onto his knees but right in that moment there is a knock and another servant peeks in, asking the king to come and see an important official.

     Soon Taemin is outside, taking rushed steps towards the safest place so far in the whole palace. Kibum looks up from some book, furrowing his brow when his eyes meet a panting servant.

     “Something happened?” Kibum asks, encouraging Taemin to come closer and moving a clean sheet of paper with a brush in hopes that they can communicate in a few characters that Taemin’s learned so far. The boy draws a bit clumsily, but Kibum understands what type of character it is supposed to be.

     “The king? What about him?”

     Taemin doesn’t know many character so it’s difficult. He decides to look through the papers on top of Kibum’s working space but of course he doesn’t understand much from them either. He points at one line, hoping that it’s what he needs.

     “What? It’s your papers, they are clean because I don’t know anything about you”

     Taemin nods eagerly before pointing at the papers again.

     “The king and your papers… Does His Majesty want to know something about you?”

     Taemin nods once more, glad that Kibum quickly grasped the meaning.

     “Your name?”

     Taemin sighs defeatedly because there is no way for him to tell the king his name. He is afraid that the king will get mad when they meet next time and he still doesn’t reveal his name.

     “Wait, I have an idea” Kibum exclaims after a long while of thinking before finding a heavy book in between many others. He opens it and moves his finger along a few lines before asking Taemin to scoot closer so he can look too. “Those are the family annals. Everyone born in the kingdom is right here. Let’s search for the name that is like yours”

     Taemin’s eyes sparkle in happiness. Kibum is really smart and always finds a way to help him out or communicate with him. They spend the next long minutes studying one name after the other before they come across the first half of Taemin’s name. After a bit more of searching they find the second half too and Kibum smiles gently, proud of his skills and great ideas.

     “Taemin… Your name’s Taemin, right?”

     The boy nods with a smile, glad to hear his name from someone else’s lips. Kibum takes a brush before writing Taemin’s name on the paper with precise, beautiful lines. Taemin admires it for a while before he folds the paper and hides it in his clothes, hoping that he can show it to the king later without getting in trouble for even carrying around a piece of written paper. The king may look at him kindly after his successful magic trick but he is still nothing more but a servant. And he needs to be careful.

well, i was inspired so i wrote another chapter! this one is longer so i hope you all enjoy it ♥