“Why pretend to be someone else?” 
Jungkook stayed silent. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, his face tranquil as it always was and his eyes fixed on Jimin, without the blink of an eyelash.

“Why stay at the tiny castle quarters like a mere castle guard? Why stay and be treated like a servant at your own home?” Jimin looked at Jungkook with an incredulous face. “Why would you…why would you pretend to be a commoner?”

Jungkook still stayed silent. Jimin searched his face for any sign of emotion…anger, irritation or agreement, but found nothing.

“Your…your name is Jungkook. Not Jay. And…and…I know you have no reason to trust me. But…from everything I’ve seen, I know I’m right. You are Jungkook. You are the prince who was promised the throne. The son of King Jungmyeon and Queen Shinye.” 

Jimin stood up, his eyes running all over Jungkook and then meeting his eyes. “I know it doesn’t mean anything to you…but…you have me on your side. You have my allegiance, Prince Jungkook.” 

Jungkook’s cool face revealed just the tiniest flash of change. His eyes softened and even though he didn’t smile, Jimin could see the change in his features. It seemed like a wall had been removed after his last words. 

A part of Jimin which had been apprehensive in speaking – an occurrence that was exceptionally rare- now felt warmer, as there was something in Jungkook’s face that seemed to convey acceptance. Jungkook still did not speak.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve behaved with you till now.” Jimin said. He breathed in deeply and turned his head slightly to look at Minhyuk’s body behind them in front of the angel’s statue. He turned back to look at Jungkook. He waited for Jungkook to say something, but he received no response. “I don’t know why you want to keep your identity a secret. And I won’t get in your way if you want it to stay that way. I won’t tell anyone. But if it means anything…You have my loyalty. I’ll be there in service for you if you ever need me.”

Jimin bowed his head, as a sign of respect. He did it rather awkwardly, as he was not used to doing this since his childhood. Jimin had been sent to live at the Centanaio castle, to be in Seokjin’s service, as his father’s family had pledged their allegiance to Seokjin. But he had never bowed down to Seokjin till date. Neither had Seokjin or anyone else had the guts to question him on his reluctance to do so…Jimin’s inferiority of strength in Seokjin’s comparison was only recognized in theory after all.

So, when he lowered his head now, he did it very unconfidently and glanced up to look at Jungkook, as if to check for approval in his reaction, on whether he had executed it accurately.

But his heartbeat relaxed, seeing that Jungkook’s lips had moved up in a smile. Jimin raised his head and breathed out in relief, smiling himself. Jungkook’s smile wasn’t the disarming formidable one from the previous night which had made him feel uncomfortable with his own feelings. Right now, this was a different smile. One that was also conveyed by his eyes for a change.

Jimin remembered finding the boy attractive the previous night. His confidence and fearlessness had captivated him, in his subconscious. And when he had smiled at him, Jimin had realized clearly the motive behind it was to seduce him and silence him at the same time. And he had been even more uncomfortable with the fact that it had worked on him, despite all his resolve.

After the painful conversation with Yoongi the previous night, he had returned to his room to try to sleep and forced himself to forget about it. The truth…the lies that he had believed till now about the person he had loved madly – almost worshipped till last night. Yoongi’s betrayal…He had tried to make himself stop thinking about Yoongi, because it had become too painful to think about him now.

And the prince Jungkook.

Thoughts of the prince, the child taken from his cradle and deprived of his right, his home and even his life …only not everything in Yoongi’s story had added up. Some part of Jimin’s mind stubbornly refused to believe that Jungkook had died. He didn’t know the reason why, but this part of his mind insisted on getting to know more about the story…he had refused to buy the fact that Jungkook was no more, merely since Yoongi said so. He had stayed up all night, thinking about Jungkook unconsciously. 

Jungkook and Yoongi. 

Both of them dominated his mind. One whose face was memorized by him, every part of it.

 Another whose face was first that of the baby whose picture was there in his mind through stories, and then an imaginary idea of what he might have looked like in the present day.
And strangely, as sleep had creeped up on him, the imaginary image had shaped up as this…an attractive boy with dark hair, clad in dark clothes…hypnotizing blue eyes and the smile that had stunned him. He had woken up with a start, irritated at his own thoughts. And for the rest of the night, the stranger who had arrived at their castle remained on his mind, along with Yoongi, no matter how much he tried to drive out both.

Then this morning, being overpowered by the boy, with an ease that was beyond his imagination had left him numb. He had walked out of Taehyung’s room in a trance, the scene replaying itself in his mind…the boy grabbing his arms and the feeling of being powerless for the first time. For the first time, being forced to doubt his strength in which he had taken unquestioned pride till that moment. He had felt like a child being confronted by a giant’s strength.

He had followed Jungkook and Taehyung out of the court room unnoticed, then followed him to the guard’s quarters and over-heard the conversation between Jungkook and Minhyuk, shocked once again by Jungkook’s relaxed challenge to Minhyuk.
And watching him at work this evening, dismantling one vampire after another, there was no doubt left in his mind. 

“Service…King’s can ask for service. I’m not a king.” Jungkook said. “I’m not even a Prince for anyone. I’m just Jungkook. How could I ask for your service?” 

“You are the king. People are just blind-folded by the story that was made to fool them…just like I was till this day. But, your highness…your people will stand up for you. They will fight for you once they recognize you like I do now. People in this dominion still remember you…they love you…They will lay down their lives for you. So will I, if I need to-…”

“You’re life isn’t that insignificant, Prince Jimin.” Jungkook said. He took a few steps and came to stand right in front of Jimin. 

“Right now, I have the right to ask you just for this…your friendship.” He raised his hand in front of Jimin.

Jimin smiled, his eyes glistening with happiness. “As long as I’m alive to give it.” He raised his hand grasped Jungkook’s hand. “You’ll have my friendship.” 

Jungkook’s smile deepened. The curtain of coldness had faded. Jimin looked at his face now and his smile was genuine.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......................................................

“Do you remember what you people did to her Seokjin?” 

Seokjin had his eyes down, his face was stained with tears. 

“Or do I have to remind you?” Sehun asked. “Because I remember every detail of how you killed my sister.”

Seokjin’s head shot up, his eyes frantic. “S-s…sister?”

“Yes.” Sehun’s lip curled up at one side, his eyes blazing with emotion, his bitter smile deepening as savored the look on Seokjin’s face. “My sister.”

“Y-y-you…you?? …you are Shirina’s younger brother?” Seokjin asked. His eyes filled with water again as he shook his head, opening and closing his mouth, unable to form proper words.  “B-but….n-no her brother’s n-name was SeungHun”

Sehun did not speak. His eyes remained on Seokjin’s face, observing the guilt in it. “He is known as Sehun now.”

Seokjin lowered his head and a tear fell down. “I did not…I did not wish to kill her. I loved her. And she betrayed us-…”

“QUIET!” Sehun’s voice was thunderous. He stood up and walked up to Seokjin’s cage, grabbing hold of the bars. “Do not DARE to repeat that. You and your lot…making up stories to twist the truth to save yourselves…this talent runs in your veins doesn’t it? I WISH I could just kill you right now! But no…That wouldn’t be enough. It would be far too kind a punishment for you.”

Seokjin looked up at Sehun. “So that’s why you-…”

“Yes, THAT’S WHY. And it’s good that you asked. I’m glad you’ll know now. The day you hold your Taehyung’s corpse in your arms, you’ll know WHY! You didn’t even give me the chance to see her for a last time.”

“NOO! No! Please-…Taehyung had nothing to do with this. He isn’t like me, Sehun….Please…He’s innocent!”

“So was my sister.” Sehun said, smiling. 

Seokjin hung his head, sobbing. “I loved her Sehun…I did love her. I didn’t want her to die.”

“Did you say that to your father when he passed the orders for her execution?” 

SeokJin covered his face with his hands and wept. 

“Didn’t think so.” Sehun said. He turned and started to walk away.

“I didn’t love her any less than you.” Seokjin said.

Sehun stopped at the sound of Seokjin’s words.

“I did love her. No matter how much you hate me, it won’t change the fact that I did. I know…I’m to blame for her death. I didn’t stand up to save her…I couldn’t speak against my father. I couldn’t violate the Centanaio law-…But my love for her was real. I-…I still love her Sehun. I haven’t been with anyone else since her death….There-there was no way I could have saved her.”

Sehun turned slowly and faced Seokjin. “Keep telling yourself that. Keep those words at the tip of your tongue, Seokjin.” Sehun took a few steps towards the cage.  “Maybe they’ll help ease your pain a little bit when you will have no other way but to watch Taehyung die as well.”

“NOO!”

“Yes! I’ll make sure that happens. I want you to know the pain of losing everything….just the way I lost my sister, who was everything to me.” Sehun said. Seokjin looked up at Sehun’s face. His eyes were red and his lips shook from rage as he looked at Seokjin, and a tear fell from his eye. “She was everything I had left after my parents were killed-…also by one of your filthy blood rebel beasts. I was five when they died and she took care of me like I was her child rather than her brother. She was my world-…We didn’t have much…no family, no proper home, no wealth…but we were happy. I never needed anything more than knowing that my sister would come home at the end of the day and that she was happy. I never wanted anything Seokjin-…nothing-… She never let me feel the absence of a family.”

Seokjin gazed at Sehun, his face full of pain. 
The words, in a voice that he had heard last more than three decades back, came back to him, as if she were right next to him right now, her head on his shoulder and hands entwined with his own, speaking the words in an adoring cheerful voice as he listened.

"I can’t wait to make you meet him. My little Seunghun, he’s so grown up…I can’t believe he’s going to be fifteen this year."

"I wonder when his training will be over. Every time I visit them, the teacher tells me he is so gifted. Better than all of the students combined…He says he will grow up to be one of the best warlocks of the century. I can’t believe it…my little Seunghun!"

"He’ll love you just like I do. He loves anything that makes me happy. And he is such an angel…so kind. Always smiling, always ready to help anyone who needs it. I don’t care if he’s the most gifted warlock in the world…I am this proud of him because he is such a good child. Umma and Appa would have been so proud, if only they…"

Seokjin looked at Sehun now and he felt his heart being wrenched. 
There had been more than one death with Shirina’s execution. A part of him had died that day, unable to forgive himself. And the innocent child whom Shirina had brought up to care for and love the world, to be good to everyone, without any conditions, just like herself…that child had been killed. Seunghun had been killed to give birth to this Sehun, whose life was driven by vengeance and hatred.

“She was all I ever had Seokjin. And you had to take her away from me.” Sehun said, his face red with rage. “The day she fell in love with you, everything changed. And what did she get? After loving you like she did…more than me…for the first time she loved someone more than me and I didn’t mind at all…You know why? Because I knew how lonely she was, taking care of everything by herself, playing the role of mother and father at the same time to me for so long…I didn’t mind that she cared more about you, because I knew that you would keep her happy.”

Seokjin hung his head and sobbed, shaking his head. “Please…stop.”

“The last time she came to visit me at the school, she told me that you both got married…secretly. And I thought I had heard wrong. The prince, who was possibly going