Jimin snapped one of the branches in half, huffing in irritation. He watched the broken pieces drop to the ground and looked around in panic for any signs of his acquaintances or anyone else he would want to avoid. He had chosen the tree carefully almost three years ago and since then this was the one he would perch on, hide himself amongst the crooked messy branches and leaves and wait for Yoongi. 
“Where the is that son of a-…” Jimin said, ramming his fist against the bark in frustration. The surface crumbled at the spot of this blow, chips of wood crumpling off leaving a depression.
“If you keep demolishing our secret meeting places, we’ll have to stop meeting very soon you know.” 
Jimin jumped at the sudden voice coming from his left side. He turned his head to see Yoongi, who hadn’t been there a second ago but was now sitting on the branch beside him, chuckling at him. Jimin snarled, curling back his lips, giving a glimpse of his razor sharp canines and smacked Yoongi’s arm lightly. The force used for this blow was a million times lighter than the one he had used on the tree earlier.
“And if you keep making me wait for you here for an hour every time, sooner or later someone will find out about us. And that will be the end of both your tenure as High Minister and of my life.” Jimin said, scoffing at Yoongi.
Yoongi stopped laughing and tilted his head to a side, bringing his hand up to Jimin’s face and his cheek. “How many times have I asked you not to talk like that?...Besides, you’re the king’s cousin. He would never hurt you-…even if he wanted to, he would have to answer to-…”
“The regent. Not king…and our mothers were sisters…Seokjin and I are nothing to each other. And as for answering, who would he answer to anyway?” Jimin gave a sarcastic smirk. “Your highness is the supreme power in this dominion-…with your help of course.”
Yoongi sighed, rolling his eyes. “I’m only doing my duty, Jimin ah!...We’ve been over this like a million times!”
“Your duty would have been towards the king. Towards the heir-…” Jimin was cut short by Yoongi placing a hand over his mouth.
“Lower your voice! How many times have I told you not to talk about this stuff?” Yoongi said in a voice that was almost a whisper. “King Seokjin is our leader. I owe my allegiance to him and so do you.”
“Allegiance my -…you’re just scared that if we go against him, we’ll be declared rebels.” Jimin said, slapping away Yoongi’s arm.
“I am loyal to Seokjin, Jimin ah. He is a good king. And he has the strength to protect us and he has always looked out for my kind as well.” Yoongi said.
“I thought you witches could look after your own kind.” Jimin said.
“Yes, but in front of you…” Yoongi tilted his head and motioned at the bark behind Jimin. Jimin turned his head to look at the spot where his own hand had previously dented the bark. “If you hybrids wanted, you could wipe out our entire population overnight. We are tired of rebels accosting warlocks for their powers and we’re tired of losing the lives our brothers and sisters. We desperately need a king who keeps our interests in mind.”
Jimin’s face softened as he turned back and looked at Yoongi. “I know…But…” Jimin sighed and took hold of Yoongi’s hand, squeezing it. “I can’t overlook the truth. No matter how noble you say he is…I cannot forget the fact that we might have had a different king. Who may have been, by all means, more deserving.There was no fair decision for the throne. You’re the High Minister, you know better than anyone that, by the laws of Cents, a prince may not take up rule over the dominion unless he establishes himself worthy of it…by battle with his contender. To lawfully make use of the royal powers that he does, Seokjin would have needed to prove himself in battle-…” Yoongi tried to shut his mouth again but Jimin caught Yoongi’s arm. “With Jungkook.”
Yoongi groaned.
“Jimin ah…Jungkook isn’t alive.”
“What if he is?” Jimin asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Jimin ah, who knows what happened in that siege…If only we could have taken down all the rebels that night…But the ones that took him away, who knows how desperate they were and what they did with the child…I have doubt-…no, actually I am sure Jungkook isn’t alive.”
“It was very convenient, wasn’t it?...The only casualty was the infant prince. Seokjin and Taehyung were both left unharmed. Why on earth would the rebels have gone after the baby instead of them?”
“Please no…” Yoongi made a face, groaning. “Not the conspiracy theories again.”
Jimin shrugged. “Fine. I won’t talk about it anymore. Besides, we just spoilt a good ten minutes talking about this .” 
He caught hold of Yoongi’s collar and pulled him to him very slowly, the latter smiling before planting a soft kiss on his lips. 
“I wish I could do that in front of the court.” Yoongi whispered.
Jimin sniggered loudly. “Yeah, one fine scene that would be followed by. You could kiss my severed head later on if you don’t mind the gore.”
Yoongi was about to retort when Jimin motioned for him to stay quiet, by placing a finger on his lips. Jimin nodded and Yoongi closed his eyes in disappointment. This meant that Jimin had heard hybrids approaching, from maybe a few blocks away. Hybrids had insane sight and hearing abilities and the ones approaching would have heard if Yoongi had talked from here. Yoongi, lacking Jimin’s hearing abilities, had other tricks up his sleeves nevertheless. He grabbed Jimin’s arm and in a moment, they were gone from the branch. Jimin felt his feet land awkwardly on grass and he steadied himself by grabbing Yoongi’s arms. He had always thought that he was remarkably clumsy and graceless for a creature with vampire blood. 
Jimin looked around and realized Yoongi had teleported them to the garden behind the castle.
“Why did you bring us here? There will be a crowd at the castle today. The fight is about begin in an hour…” Jimin asked.
“Yes, Jimin ah…” Yoongi said.
Jimin narrowed his eyes at Yoongi for a few seconds, studying his guilty expression before he finally realized the reason and he closed his eyes, clenching his jaw to keep down his anger.
“I have to attend this,  Jimin ah. This is a prestigious event for King Seokjin and I have to be present as his minister.” Yoongi said, taking Jimin’s hands in his and fixing him with a pleading face.
“Ughhhh…Okay. Fine.” Jimin said, exhaling loudly. He straightened Yoongi’s collar and patted his jacket, smoothening it out to make it look presentable. 
“I should’ve thought of it earlier, didn’t notice you were wearing a tux.” Jimin looked at the castle and sighed. He then turned to Yoongi and made a formal curtsey with a stiff smile. “So, Yoongi Shi, lets grace the sparring arena with our presence.” He motioned with his hands for Yoongi to go forward. “After you.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………........................................................................................... 

[At the arena]

“Not the head…not the head…not the-…Aish!” Taehyung covered his eyes as the crowd in the gallerias shouted in tones of horror, enthusiasm and delight blended together. “Why do they always have to go for the head?!” Taehyung removed his hands from his face but did not dare to look up. He looked down at his shoes instead, shaking his head to get the scene he had just witnessed out of his mind.
“Because these brains have never bothered to use it or what’s inside it themselves.”
Taehyung’s head snapped up at Jimin’s voice, his face now full of relief. He reached over, grabbed Jimin’s sleeve and pulled him. Jimin was sitting at a full arm’s length from him and Taehyung’s application of strength was as effective as a child trying to displace a building. Jimin relaxed his back against the rear of the bench, propped up one foot on his other leg and started to yawn. 
“That one is going to leave this place with his spine in powder form.” Jimin said, with an amused grin.
Taehyung cringed at Jimin’s words and avoided looking down at the sparring ring. He slid along the bench until he was just beside Jimin and smiled at him. Jimin moved his eyes to look at Taehyung, without moving his head. Taehyung gave him a nervous grin.
“What?!” Jimin snapped at him.
“I’m really scared.” Taehyung said in a very small voice.
“Aish…you know Taetae, I understand your parentage and everything, but you are more chicken than you are human.” Jimin said.
“Yeah, say whatever you want to. But you know why I’m scared.” Taehyung said, looking down with a pout.
Jimin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. Our beloved common cousin, our highness, Seokjin – is going to fight with the one who comes out victorious here in the final duel.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as he saw Taehyung gulp. “But why worry? Seokjin is the strongest hybrid in this dominion. What do you have to fear?”
Taehyung smiled at this and looked up, seeming a bit reassured at Jimin’s words. He immediately looked away, shuddering, as a vampire with a large build smashed a young vampire’s head into the ground. This was the second time he had seen this happening this evening. Seemed like Jin’s sparring partner for the final round wouldn’t take very long to be decided.
Jimin had a smirk on his face as he looked at the large vampire. “How satisfying it would be to wipe that smile off his face.” He said in a low voice.
“Say Jiminnie, speaking of strongest…people do say you are supposed to be the second strongest after Jin hyung. How come you never participated in the tournament?...You would have kicked their asses to dust. Inspite of being the cute little munchkin that you are.” Taehyung giggled, patting Jimin’s head as he said this. Jimin turned his head towards him and bared his canines. Taehyung retreated away promptly. 
“Because I have absolutely zero interest in this barbarism. You have fighting skills, you take them to battle. Not to the ring, to show off with this unnecessary slaughter. Disgusting.” Jimin said with a bored face.
“AAAND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!” 
Hoseok’s enthusiastic commentary announced the end of the round and victory of the large burly vampire.
Taehyung gulped again. “So this monster is going to fight Jin hyung?”
Jimin let out a bored sigh. “Relax. This guy is huge, he’s got huge muscles but that’s about it. Jin is a Cent. He’s got the strength of the ancient blood as well as unparalleled fighting skill, I’ll give him that.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………................................................ 

Yoongi walked into Jin’s room to find him sitting without his shirt, with his back to Yoongi.
“Your highness…you aren’t dressed yet!” 
Jin turned back and his face lit up in a smile. “Yoongi! Where were you?” Jin got up and picking up his shirt from beside him, started sliding it on. “Help me with my sparring suit.”
Yoongi walked up to help him. As he helped Jin put on the different parts of his sparring suit, he couldn’t help but notice that Jin looked a bit absent minded.
“Your highness?” Yoongi asked but didn’t receive an answer.
“Jin shi!” Yoongi said, louder this time. Jin seemed to wake up from a trance. 
“Huh? Did you say something Yoongi?”
“No…but…your highness, is something bothering you?” Yoongi asked.
“Yoongi…” Jin sighed. “I was just thinking about something.”
Yoong did not probe further. He went back to tying Jin’s armour.
“You know…this year…he would have been twenty three. You know what that means?” Jin breathed hard.
Yoongi’s hands stopped. He kept his eyes lowered. “Your highness…I assume you are talking about your brother, Jungkook. It means…he would reach the official age to spar with you for deciding the heir to the throne.”
“There would have been no fight.” Jin said. His voice was strangely desolate.
Yoongi looked up, surprised. Jin seemed to return to himself after a few moments and looked like he regretted having said too much.
“What do you mean, your highness?” Yoongi asked.
Jin shook his head, indicating that he did not wish for the topic to be continued any further. Yoongi lowered his eyes again and resumed helping Jin with his suit.
After a long silence, when his suit was secured in place, Yoongi was about to step away but Jin grabbed his arm to stop him. Yoongi looked up to see Jin’s brow creased. He looked like a man who was worried about something but was hesitating to talk about it from fear of embarrassment. 
“Your highness… Are you feeling okay?”
“Yoongi…” Jin hesitated for a few breaths as Yoongi studied his face in worry, before finally asking, “Is Taehyung out there?”
“Yes, your highness.” Yoongi replied. 
“Oh… good… ok.” Jin nodded his head, looking down. “He’s safe, right? He is terrified of the fights, but he’ll be there to watch out of anxiety for me. Even though it’s totally unreasonable to worry for me-…” Jin shrugged non chalantly. “But you know, there are so many outsiders here at the arena today. I don’t like leaving him alone… ”
Yoongi smiled in a consoling manner. “Don’t worry about it, your highness. Prince Taehyung is with-…” Yoongi coughed awkwardly once and continued with a forced calm tone. “He’s with your cousin, Jimin shi… He’s more than capable of dealing with any possible threat.”
Jin breathed in deeply and smiled in relief. “Yeah, you’re right. Taehyung will be safe with Jimin.”  Saying this, he turned to face the mirror and studied himself, now dressed for the fight. 
“Besides, nothing is going to happen to him under my watch.” Yoongi said, the calm smile not faltering for even a second. 
Jin looked at him and nodded. “You are the one I trust and believe in the most, Yoongi. I couldn’t handle this dominion without you by my side.”
Yoongi remembered Jimin’s words.
You’re just scared that if we go against him, we’ll be declared traitors. 
…
I just can’t forget the fact that we may have had a different king. 
“Yoongi?” 
Yoongi looked up and it took him a second to regain control over his thoughts. 
“Yes, your highness. I owe my loyalty to this dominion and to its ruler… to you. And I could give my life for both. ” Yoongi said, pushing Jimin’s voice to the back of his mind. “But your highness, you don’t seem perfectly composed this evening. It seems like you are rather unsettled. I am worried about you going into a fight like this.”
Jin’s lips moved up at one side.
“You should worry.” Jin turned and walked toward the door, nodding for Yoongi to follow him. “About my opponent.”
……………………………..

Namjoon sat, in watch, his back against the granite surface of the statue of an angel that adorned the apex of the north tower of the castle. As the head of the castle guard, this was the place he had assigned for himself. He could keep watch over the entire castle and its surrounding forest this way. 
He remembered every detail about that night vividly, even though he hadn’t been present at the capital that night. Rebels entering the royal castle and making it out of there unharmed, with the infant. His father, his predecessor at this post, had been suspended and exiled, the very next morning, for his unthinkable, disgraceful failure. Namjoon hadn’t gotten the chance to see him for a last time. 
When Namjoon had returned, demanding his father’s whereabouts, he had been captured and brought in front of King Seokjin. He had pleaded for mercy for his father, pleaded that his family would be led to ruin without the presence of his father. The court noblemen had insisted that like father, the son should be banished as well…Seokjin, however, had silenced the court and asked for just one opinion, that of his friend, the warlock Yoongi. Yoongi had said that he considered Namjoon should be given a chance, for the sake of his family of three in the village, and also a post in the castle guard.  Seokjin had listened to him and ordered that Namjoon be released immediately. He would give Namjoon a second chance to serve the dominion, to make up for the failure of his father. Namjoon would be the new chief of the castle guard, Seokjin declared, at the dismay of the noblemen. 
It was said that that night, the guards at the outermost circle of defense had been confounded by magic, forced to stand inactive watching, as around twenty rebels entered the castle premises. They had come in a planned manner, overpowering enough of the guards at the immediate circle outside the castle, that around seven rebels gained entry inside. Their advance had been met by a group of noblemen who resided in the castle, Seokjin’s trusted friend, Min Yoongi being one of them. A fight had ensued that lasted till most of the rebels were killed but two escaped. They later scoured the castle in search of these rebels, but did not find any trace of them. Neither could the infant prince, Jungkook be found. 
Namjoon closed his eyes and tried to forcefully push the thoughts out of his head. But like always, it didn’t work. 
How could a group of rebels come that systematically prepared for an attack on the royal castle? The manner in which they had advanced, taking care of each circle of defense, one after the other… they had known how to get through each level. 
How had it been possible?... Without help from someone who knew the defense arrangements thoroughly themselves?
But even then, even with that knowledge, it would never have been thought possible… not without the aid of magic. But there were only hybrids who had attacked that night… or had there been someone, a witch who may have gained entry without coming into anyone’s notice? 
That would also explain how they would have gotten away with the prince. Magic may have shielded their visibility.
These questions never left Namjoon alone in a moment of peace. He had never found the answers to them either. Nor had the pain of his father’s banishment ceased to sting, even after twenty three years. 
And that little child… what must they have done to the prince? 
Namjoon shook his head, mentally scolding himself. He could not let himself be distracted from his duty with emotion. He flexed his neck from side to side and shook out his shoulders and arms, flexing the muscles. He shook his head, shaking away his train of thought with it and closed his eyes for a moment before opening and focusing them on his watch below. As soon as he had opened his eyes, his muscles tensed and he straightened himself up to his full height, zeroing in his gaze on the dark robed figure that had made its appearance in the blink of an eye. As his hybrid senses kicked in, he could make out that the person was covered from head to toe in black, what seemed like some sort of golden embellishment at the front, over the chest. The figure was headed towards the castle. 
Namjoon rolled his eyes. What kind of a joke was this now? He craned his neck and looked below at his guards situated at various points, strolling around the periphery and at different parts of the grounds inside the castle. The fight wa