“Hurry, hurry, they can be here any moment now! Why is everybody so lazy? What do you lot have two hands and feet for, huh?" Shrill voice cutting through the air, the Lady turned around in search for her next victims. On a day like this, nobody was save from her. "What are you doing there, we need at least twice the amount of carpet, I told you just yesterday! Stupid fools…”

The Lady’s voice trailed off the further away she got from the kitchen, terrorising every poor servant who had the bad luck to cross paths with her.

In the past three years Jeongguk had learnt to hate that voice with a passion. But there was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to shield himself whenever that sneer was directed at him, and Lady Jeon’s voice became even more menacing than usually. 

But complaining about things that could not be changed was futile. He had learned it the hard way. Had been slow to adapt to his new reality but eventually, learn he did.

And so he bit his tongue and fought down the urge to protest when Lady Jeon stormed back into the kitchen, took one look at the roasting spit where the meat was still not ready yet, stomped over to where Jeongguk was filling stew in the bread trenchers and gave him a loud scolding.

As if it was his fault the steaks weren’t done yet, as if he could control time and make it so that the meat got roasted faster. Which was a stupid idea, really. Everybody knew spit-roasting was something that took time and could by no means be hurried.

Well. Everybody who knew a thing or two about cooking. Which certainly didn’t apply for the Lady of the manor. Why should she, a noble, know something as trivial as the basics of spit-roasting?

Nevermind Jeongguk knew things like that well before his fall from the top of the ladder. Making use of common sense was beneath Lady Jeon, though.

And so she kept snapping at him, throwing in three slaps in his face for good measure while ignoring the actual spit boy in charge.

Not that Jeongguk wanted Jimin to switch with him. He didn’t give two s about being a noble and thus standing above every single member of the household by law. Law at Jeon Manor was a fickle and easily modifiable thing anyway. And he’d rather it be him to get the scolding – he got scolded several times daily so what did a few times more or less matter, really – than the Lady raising her hand at his friend.

“And don’t tell me, you haven’t gotten the pickles ready yet,” the Lady spat in his face. “Are you too dumb to even do that? Huh? Why do I even keep feeding your greedy mouth when you can’t fulfil the simplest tasks? The royal family will be here any minute now, do you want to embarrass me? Is that it?!” Her eyes narrowed to slits as she kept staring him down. Jeongguk lowered his head. Hated doing so. But keeping eye contact only meant more beatings and his face felt sore enough as it was already.

“Listen here, you little rat,” she seethed, “if I make a bad impression at the royal family because something is not perfect, you will be very sorry for it. Did I make myself clear?”

Jeongguk nodded.

“Good.”

And with that, she stalked off.

He loosed a shuddering breath. Gosh, at times like this he really hated his stepmother.

As soon as Lady Jeon had left, Jimin slunk off his stool and went to one of the closets at the other end of the kitchen.

"Here," he mumbled and put a familiar tin on the table in front of Jeongguk. "I'm-"

"If you say you're sorry now, I'll not lift you up to reach the top shelf for the rest of the week," Jeongguk said, only partly as a joke.

With a big pout, Jimin scurried back to his place next to the spit. "I wasn't going to-"

"Yes you were." Even standing several metres away at the stove, the eye-roll was clearly audible in Yoongi's voice.

Jeongguk threw a look over his shoulder just in time to see Jimin's pout growing even bigger. If he didn't have to turn the spit, he'd have his arms crossed and would stomp his foot now.

"Can you blame me? She scolded our baby for something that's clearly my job! And it's already the second time she slapped him today!"

Jeongguk's whole face heated up. Suddenly the bread trenchers looked very, very interesting. " 'M not your baby," he muttered.

"Yes you are." The other two answered in perfect unison. They tended to do it quite a lot when the Lady wasn't around and seriously, at times like this it creeped Jeongguk out. Being that much in tune with someone at the literal other end of the room was not normal.

It was then, that Jieun entered the kitchen to fetch some cutlery together with two others of the girls. She snickered as she rushed past Jeongguk with a dangerously swaying stack of plates in her hands. Jeongguk groaned and ducked away further. Could the earth please open a deep hole for him to jump in and hide for the rest of the day now, pretty please? Would be much appreciated.

"You aren't a commoner like us, and not used to do servant work like us-"

"It's been literally three years, I am used to it now."

"Will you let me finish for once!" Jimin shrieked.

Jeongguk grinned into the pickle jar. The tin of ointment still rested on the table, abandoned. He would only put it on the still burning hand-shaped bruise on his face once the preparations for the banquet were done. "Nope."

"Brat. As I was saying, you're still a baby chick in the world of servants. And it's the task of us, your hyungs, to take care of you."

Jeongguk lifted his left arm to deliberately flex it, muscles no doubt visibly bulging under the too thin fabric of his garments. "In which parallel universe, pray tell, am I a baby chick?"

Jimin tutted. "You are, where it matters! But more importantly, back then-"

"Here we go again," Yoongi muttered. 

"-I was your personal attendant. Which makes you even more my responsibility."

"Note the past tense."

Jimin flung out a finger at the cook. "Min Yoongi, you are to always take my side in an argument, do you hear me?!"

"Nah."

"You little-"

"Hm, what was that?" Yoongi raised a hand to his ear and looked around in mock confusion. "You only want millet gruel for dinner today, Jims?"

Jimin spluttered. And Jeongguk had to clamp his mouth shut real tight to not snicker out loud. At the mention of food, his empty stomach growled. He scowled at it. Wrong time for his body to make a fuss.

The two others kept bickering for the rest of the morning while preparing the different parts of the menu, with the rest of the kitchen staff silently enduring it. Jeongguk caught Hyejin rolling her eyes every now and then but couldn't help to be endeared by the never-ending squabble. Another good thing about it was that Jimin had effectively forgotten about the scolding Jeongguk got earlier. Which meant he was no longer fretting over him like a mother hen.

Until they got to the finishing touches on the cream custard tarts, that is.

"You still haven't put on the ointment, Jeongguk-ah."

His voice was once again laced with worry.

"I will, once we are done here. Promise."

The kitchen boy stayed silent for a few minutes before piping up again.

"Also I didn't mean what I said earlier. You are not just a responsibility for me. I just worry about you so much, because, well. You are my friend."

Jeongguk gave him a warm smile. "I know."

"Ugh, my teeth are going to rot," Yoongi groaned. "Can't we talk about something more uplifting? Like, Jimin-ah's non-existent height?"

Jimin's head whipped around. "What?!"

The cook gave him a lazy grin. "I mean, sure, you do look a tiny bit taller today. But I don't believe this. Did you lend Hyejin's shoes again, huh?"

"Our shoes are literally all the same height."

"Ah, then it must be the socks. How many pairs of socks are you wearing today?"

"Listen!"

Jimin was stomping around like a foaming little gremlin, blind to anything else. Jeongguk grinned. These two fools really deserved each other. A day where the couple didn't bicker could easily be considered an off day.

Jimin was so engrossed in arguing that no, he did not cheat, this is his actual height, thank you very much, that he didn't see one of the cats darting over the floor to where Yoongi accidentally dropped a piece of meat. With a loud curse, Jimin tripped - and stumbled right into Jieun who had just taken out the big bowl for the sauce.

Both went down with little cries of pain and surprise, the bowl plummeting to the ground and loudly shattering on the ground.

The whole kitchen froze. Jimin's eyes shot to the door, wide in panic, like everyone else's. 

"What was that," a faint voice snapped.

Jeongguk gulped.

Not good, not good...

Pickles forgotten, he slid off his stool and dropped to his knees to collect the shards as quickly as possible. The others did only watch, still frozen. Already angry steps sounded down the stairs. Jeongguk turned to put the shards in the bin, slightly cutting his palm in the haste, then went back to the remaining pieces littering the floor.

The door flew open and in marched Lady Jeon, a snickering Aeri in tow. She stopped, squinted at Jeongguk on the floor, at the shards in his hand and the others piling up in the bin.

"Who did this?"

Her eyes were already trained on Jeongguk and not looking at everyone else. So Jeongguk swallowed down whatever else had wanted to climb up his throat and with a bow of his head mumbled, "It was my fault. I beg you pardon, milady."

She huffed. 

"Of course. You again. Who else? Good for nothing, as always." She nodded to her daughter, then. "See, it's always the same. Like mother, like son, very typical..."

Jeongguk's head snapped up.

"Don't," he hissed through gritted teeth, "drag mother into this. Say about me all you want, but mother leave out of it."

Lady Jeon's eyes widened, the corners of twitching. "Who do you think you are, to talk to me like this, hm? Still don't know your place yet? Don't worry, I'll show you. Aeri, dear!"

She snipped her fingers at the girl. Jeongguk could only watch from his spot on the floor as Aeri went over to the wall, where next to the door a long, thin twig was resting. Lady Jeon took the twig from her and stepped over to Jeongguk.

"Hands up," she ordered.

Jeongguk bit his lip. Subconsciously tightened his hold on the shards, the sharp edges digging into his skin as he kept his hands down.

"Hands up, or I'll double the amount. Now."

The bloody shards clattered to the floor and Jeongguk apprehensively lifted both hands above his head, palms up.

With a piercing whistle, the twig cut through the air before coming down onto his hands. Jeongguk squeezed his eyes shut, teeth digging into his lip until he could taste blood there too.

Five times the twig whipped through the silence before the lady remembered she still had to oversee the preparations for the royal entourage. Handing the now dripping twig to a pale Jimin, she cast a look around the still frozen kitchen staff and scowled.

Don't you have work to do? Stop gawking and get moving already! And you!" She flung out a finger to Jeongguk. "Stay away from the prince! And the king and the queen. And everybody else. Do not come out until they are gone, do you hear me?"

With his body curled over his hands, Jeongguk nodded. It was good enough for the lady to turn on her heels and leave with Aeri in tow.

As soon as the door fell shut behind them, Jimin was all over him. Had fetched some bandages out of thin air and now gingerly took Jeongguk's hands into his own to tend to them.

"You big idiot," he muttered. "Just what were you thinking? You already took a beating for me not an hour to go."

"Chim, you and I both know she would've declared me guilty no matter what we said anyway."

"But still! This is not right."

"A lot of things are not right."

"True that." Yoongi clapped his back and muttered, "get out of here for a bit. We got this."

Jeongguk didn't have to be told twice.

When he crept out the back door, the noise outside had grown tenfold. Loud neighing and a cacophony of bell chimes filled the air. The royal family had arrived.

Well, at least it had one good thing about him being banned from the whole grand show: nobody would miss him if he ran off for a bit. With that thought in mind he made his way over to the stables, bandaged hands almost forgotten.  Maybe this could still become a good day.

He wasn't even halfway down the boxes when Bam stuck out her head and greeted him with a soft neigh. Jeongguk smiled. With a flick of his wrist, the wooden door swung open  and he could step inside the box.

"Hello sweetie," he murmured, one hand brushing down the strong black neck of the mare and the other fumbling for the bits of apple he snatched from Yoongi earlier.

Bam greedily picked them out of his palm, warm puffs of air from her nostrils tickling Jeongguk's wrist. He chuckled. Let her have her little moment while his fingers carded through the long wavy mane.

Bam gave a last polite nibble to his hand, then raised her head and huffed him in the face.

"Care for a stroll, big girl?"

Another huff and a snort were his answer. He took that as a yes.

Not even five minutes later a warm blanket was spanning from the mare's back to the croup and Jeongguk's sheepskin saddle sat snug behind the withers, white neck rope loosely resting there too. He grabbed his old shaggy sheepskin fur and put it on, simple rope around his waist holding it in place. The wool gloves were a hassle to pull over his wrapped up hands but he managed somehow and once this was done, pulled open the stable door proper.

The stable boy on duty didn't pay him any mind when Jeongguk walked past him with Bam in tow. A quick glance around the corner confirmed that the festivities were still ongoing, Lady Jeon being more than occupied with playing hostess. Jeongguk lead the mare through the much smaller back gate, feet sinking into crisp white snow with every step. Hopefully his stepmother didn't pass by before the traitorous footprints could get covered with fresh snow.

The quiet winter forest greeted them as soon as they passed the wall. The mare stood patiently until Jeongguk had mounted and then, after a slight press to her flanks, off they went.

Riding through a forest in the middle of winter had a special eeriness to it, with how all colours were dulled and the sounds got swallowed up by the thick snow blanket, no hoof clanking to be heard at all. It almost felt as if they weren't really there, were just gliding through the forest like wraiths. Bam moved stably beneath him, muscles shifting with the confidence of someone who knew those forests in and out, step unwavering and long mane steadily rippling along with the movement.

Jeongguk didn't mind the strange, all-encompassing silence. It was exactly the stark contrast from the bustle at the manor and the loud yelling of his stepmother he needed. Here, in the middle of nowhere, he could let go for a little while. Tipping his head back and closing his eyes, he let Bam lead the way. They would find their way back no matter where the mare carried him. Those woods were his home as much as the manor. Back in the days, he used to go riding or hunting with his father everyday here. Every tree, every slope, every bend of the river snaking through the forest, he knew it all.

Which was also exactly why he could tell when someone was in the forest who did not belong here.

The muffled laughter of men carried over from somewhere to the left. Jeongguk opened his eyes. With a little tug at the rope, a slight lean backwards, Bam slowed down and then came to a stop. Her ears twisted in the direction of the unfamiliar sound.

Jeongguk nodded. "Yeah, I'm curious too. Come on baby girl, let's see who it is, hm?"

She threw her head back with a soft neigh that had Jeongguk chuckling. "Alright, alright. Here we go."

He steered her off the path and through the trees, further into the woods, eyes cautiously darting around for any hidden dangers or unsteady ground. And sure enough, the voices grew louder. They were on the right path. 

After a while though, Jeongguk had to leave the mare behind. With the river close by now, he didn't trust the ground any further. And he did not want his girl to get hurt. So he climbed off the saddle, and with a careful press of his flat palm against her chest and a hushed whisper asked Bam to wait for him. She gave him a nudge against his cheek with her muzzle, pawed at the ground once, then remained still.

With one last glance over his shoulder, Jeongguk made his way through the knees-deep snow. It had taken him off-guard for a moment when he'd dismounted and his legs had disappeared in the snow until he remembered that yes, right, the snow was much deeper off the path.

The voices - at least two men - seemed to move further away. Jeongguk huffed. If he wanted to know what was going on here, he needed to be faster. From tree to tree he scurried, following the voices until he could make out bright colours in between the washed-out greys of the forest.

He flitted around a hill and under a large pine tree with its sprawling branches hanging low, heavy from the snow.

Oh Lord. 

He silently groaned.

It's the prince.

There was no doubt, the young man in the centre of the trio with those ridiculous bright red chausses and equally red chaperone was none other than Prince Taehyung in the flesh. Who else would wear such a flashy colour when evidently going on a hunt in a forest that was made of shades of white and grey? Who else would even own such garments?

Jeongguk watched him cocking his crossbow and then saying something that had the other two men laughing again. He couldn't help but wonder what his dear stepmother made of all this. For days and weeks she'd anticipated the arrival of the royal entourage, all in hopes of showing off her Aeri to the prince. Yet here he was, prince Taehyung, running through their forest and doing a poor job of hunting with how loud he and his companion were being instead of showing up to Jeon manor. Did the king know what his son was up to? Did he even care?

A snort much closer than the three men had Jeongguk looking to his right - and coming face-to-face with a horse white as a ghost. He hadn't seen it at all amidst the snow.

They stared down each other for several seconds until the horse whipped its head to the side and trotted off to the other two brown horses, their build more sleek, everything about them screaming speed. Two handsome boys and a beauty. Nothing less to be expected for the prince and his undoubtedly noble friends. 

Jeongguk had a feeling he knew which one of the stallions was prince Taehyung's.

As if sensing his gaze, the white one turned his head and gave him a daring look over the shoulder.

Huh.

Jeongguk blinked.

What a curious, sneaky stallion, that one.

That was when he noticed the alarming silence of the three men. He turned back around just in time to see them crouching down behind a snowdrift, the prince raising his crossbow at the unlucky deer stalking through the snow.

And. Maybe it made Jeongguk a brat but someone who wore glaringly bright red to a hunt did not deserve such an easy kill. Besides, those were his woods. The royal castle was the other way, behind the forest, the manor, their fields and yet another forest.

Before he could think better of it, Jeongguk's hand already held a snowball and the other was pushing down at a branch hanging right in front of him. The next moment, his arm swung back, then whipped forward as he hurtled the snowball right at that ugly chaperone.

With a loud yelp the prince flinched and fired his arrow harmlessly high up into the air.

"Yah, what the-"

Jeongguk grinned.  He let go of the branch, uncaring of how it snapped back into place with a crackle.

"Who's there?!"

"How dare you-"

"Just you wait, whoever you are!"

Jeongguk couldn't help the giggle as he sped past the hill and weaved through the trees he knew so well.

Idiots. They should just try to catch him in his own territory.

And trying they did, but to no avail. Like clumsy puppies they stumbled after Jeongguk. Judging by the loud and very un-princely curses, one of them has almost fallen into the river.

Jeongguk dared a look behind and was surprised how close the prince was all of a sudden. But not for long. With a cheeky grin he hurtled past a tree, grasped one of the twigs and let it snap back right against the royal's chest.

He didn’t care that it was a grave insult and he should by law stop running the very moment the prince told him to. Those three men were a bunch of fools, hunting on his grounds and doing a piss-poor job at that. They deserved the snowball, and they deserved running around a little. He would not let himself get caught by any of them.

The trees flew past him in a blur of greys and dark greens. It was silent around him once more, no trace of his chasers to be seen or heard. Jeongguk grinned. Of course they couldn't keep up with him. However. The trail he dug into the thick snow with each step was easy enough to follow. He'd have to be inventive, throw them off for good.

A reckless idea began to form in his head.

If Jimin ever caught wind of this, he'd punch him good for even considering it. But Jeongguk was not one to half- things. That's why he didn't only consider his idea but put it into motion the very second he reached the old pine that had collapsed in a storm years ago yet refused to die even when snapped in two.

The trunk had fallen right across the gurgling river, branches wickedly twisting into the air and making it almost impossible to pass over as bridge. Never mind the thick layer of ice caking the bark and making the few places without branches jutting out from the trunk slippery to no end.

All these things were not enough to stop Jeongguk from sprinting right towards the tree, however. With steps too quick to consider stopping now, he stumbled over the dangerous bridge, hands flinging out for the branches. The wood bit into his wrapped palms to the point where he thought he could feel the bandages turning damp from his cuts. It didn't matter. What mattered was, that he reached the other side of the river.

And he did.

One, two, three more steps and he'd crossed the tree. He breathed heavily, adrenaline pumping through his veins and sharpening his senses.

At the other side of the river, the prince and his companions were gaping at him. With a snicker, Jeongguk waved at them and then skipped off.

He'd almost made it back to his starting point and was just about to pass the point where the river disappeared beneath the soil for a bit, when a hand darted out behind a rock and pulled him away.

"What-"

Jeongguk's shout got cut off by the force of which he hit the harsh stone with.

"Now look who got caught at last," one of the three men drawled. The other kept a hand around Jeongguk's wrist.

Prince Taehyung stood between them, gaze sharp and just as intimidating as Jeongguk remembered from his visits to the castle. He doubted the sentiment was mutual though. It's been more than five years that he accompanied his father to a ball for the last time, he'd been too young to properly participate in the festivities and had sneaked around the buffet all evening.

No, he highly doubted the prince had any clue they've met before. Which was fair. The both of them had changed a lot since their last encounter. The prince wore his hair even longer now, dark waves framing his face before disappearing beneath his chaperone and his face had lost the youthful softness from before. He's grown taller, his whole frame a lot broader than how Jeongguk remembered.

Jeongguk supposed it was the same case for him.

"I can't decide yet if it was very brave or very stupid of you to throw that snowball." The prince arched an eyebrow when Jeongguk refused to look down. "So do tell me, which one is it, little mouse?"

The other lads snickered.

Jeongguk crossed his arms. "First off, just because I wear some grey dirty fur doesn't mean I'm an animal. And secondly, I don't have to tell anything to someone who thinks it smart to go hunting during winter while looking like a big walking fly agaric."

The prince gaped. "I beg you pardon?" 

Next to him, the other men's jaws had dropped to the floor, the grip on Jeongguk's wrist slackening as all three of them stared at him. Jeongguk grinned.

"Not given."

"I... what? Don't you know who I am?"

"Yes. I just don't care. No matter who you are, you still look ridiculous."

The prince hummed. Stretched out a gloved hand to poke at Jeongguk's tender cheek.

"And do you always have such a big mouth? Is that where your bruise comes from?"

Jeongguk slapped his free hand over the fresh bruise, only belatedly realising the fault in this movement when the pain stung even deeper.

"My bruises are none of your concern, your Highness."

"Oh? And I take it, with that attitude of yours, you are not going to apologise to me either, then?"

"Sure won't."

Jeongguk stuck out his tongue at the prince, tugged his arm off the other guy's grip, ducked and barrelled right through them. A neigh to his left made him spin on his heels and head over to the white stallion who was already pawing the ground impatiently. With quick steps he approached the royal horse, only slowing down right before reaching it, to not scare the animal further.

"Hello snowflake," he murmured. "Will you lend me a hand this once, please?"

Big dark eyes bore into his. The stallion huffed against his palm.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jeongguk registered the prince shouting at him to get away. As if he was in danger or something. How absurd. The horse's whole demeanour was open towards him; no flat ears, no pulled-back lip, no traitorous tension to its body. There was nothing Jeongguk had to fear when he took a grip on the heavily embroidered saddle and swung a leg over the stallion's rear.

The horse reared only once before falling back down and running off, carrying Jeongguk exactly where he wanted. The sensation of reins running through his hands was a strange one and took him a moment to adapt. It's been a while since he last rode with full tack. With Bam, he preferred to use as few as possible.

Speaking off...

He pushed against the stallion's right flank, left hand giving a little tug to the reins, and steered the stallion onto one of the well-hidden paths leading through the forest. In no time at all they reached a familiar black shiny figure. Bam had been patiently waiting for him all the time. Jeongguk gave an appreciative to the stallion's neck, then slid off his back.

"Thank you for your help. Now go," he urged with soft voice. "Go back to your prince." He gave a little tap to the broad white bum.

The stallion snorted at him one last time before turning around and following their trail back where they've come from.

When he turned back, Bam gave him a look of mild betrayal. Jeongguk had to apologise twice for riding another horse right in front of her before the mare lowered her head and allowed him to scratch behind her ears.

"Don't worry, you are way prettier than that other guy," he promised and watched in amusement how the mare's lip quivered and her eyes slipped half shut. "Nothing beats the beauty of a Friesian, and especially yours, okay?"

Bam neighed in agreement. 

 

---

"There you are, Byeol!"

Taehyung rushed over to take a hold of the horse's reins, eyes still wide in disbelief. The stallion's back was once again empty. Not a trace from the cheeky boy. Or man, he supposed, with the bulging muscles he'd seen where that dirty rug hadn't covered up the stranger.

"If you will pardon my saying so," Seokjin quipped behind him, "that rascal made quite a fool out of you, your Highness."

Hoseok sidled up next to him with enthusiastic nods. "Indeed. Deserves some proper spanking for it, I reckon."

"More so a reward, my Lords," Taehyung laughed while mounting his proud stallion. "For being able to make a fool of us and even have valid points. It's not everyday we get outrun like that. Not to mention how good he was with Byeol. Did you see how well he handled him?"

Seokjin hummed. "Might be the first person who didn't get thrown off right away, aside from your Highness."

"Exactly."

"And the only person daring to speak to his Highness like that - and get away with it, apparently?" Seokjin raised an eyebrow.

"Well, about that-"

The prince didn't get any further before an all too familiar voice cut through the forest.

"Your Highness!," the preceptor bellowed. And oh, did he sound pissed. 

Taehyung needn't look to know his friend was smirking. Seokjin had taken an interest in preceptor Kim since day one and was not subtle about it.

"Your Highness," preceptor Kim said once again, "what were you thinking, sneaking off like that, without a word to anyone? Lady Jeon was very disappointed about your absence, and her Majesty is worried sick."

Lie. His mother was resigned at best about him leaving during a formal gathering. No, rather than the queen being worried, that sentence translated to his father being furious. Or else the preceptor wouldn't have been riding through the forest at break-neck speed.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that he left though. Preceptor Kim had dutifully recounted the history of all the noble families they were to meet today. For the fourth time in two days. Starting with their family trees from three centuries ago. 

There was only so much a free-spirited, young man like Taehyung could take. So was he really to blame?

The problem laid with the King not remembering his own youthful days at all. He expected Taehyung to sit in on boring meetings and  listen to things they discussed twice already without falling asleep.

It was not that Taehyung hated learning or navigating politics. Rather, the issue was that he was 'too smart', as Hoseok kept saying. It took exactly one time of explaining a novelty to him for the prince to memorise and understand it. But they never talked about something just once. And it was that needless repetition what he hated.

He could tell that to his preceptor as often as he wanted, though, and nothing changed still. Preceptor Kim got his orders from the King. His word was absolute.

Grumbling, Taehyung and his friends  followed the preceptor out of the forest and back to the royal entourage.

The king's face was red with anger when they arrived.

"Where have you been?" 

His voice was composed, in stark contrast to his twisted expression. Laced with ice. That sort of controlled anger was terrifying on his father. And even with the King sitting in an open sleigh together with the queen, Taehyung up on his stallion felt much smaller, as if his father was looking down at him even from that position.

He opened his mouth to come up with some meaningless excuse but the King was quick to brush it off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't even try. Do you have any idea how much your behaviour embarrassed our family? How much it embarrassed me? I had to invite that ghastly Lady Jeon because she kept going on and on about meeting you and telling you her greetings in person."

"Invite to what?"

"To the ball where you will finally choose your future queen."

Taehyung almost fell off his horse. "My what?!"

"You heard him," his mother said in a tone that made clear he couldn't expect any help from her.

"But-"

"No buts," his father cut him off. "You have been frolicking and ignoring your responsibilities long enough. It is about time you get settled and choose who will one day stand by your side once you climbed the throne. You should be grateful, son, for other parents do the choosing for their children while you can pick out of the many guests invited to the ball."

"I do not consent to this."

The king waved him off, dismissing him. "Oh  don't worry. Your consent was never needed in that matter."

 

---

Time was running and Jeongguk was losing the race. He knew, somehow, that the visit of the royal family would be much shorter when their son was missing. Which equalled a shorter distraction from his absence at the manor. 

The ride back to the stables was a hurried thing, snow flying up in big billowing white clouds all around them.

Jeongguk's hands were soaked with a mixture of blood and sweat by the time he dried up all the traitorous sweat marks on Bam's glistening body and had brushed the stray clumps of snow out of her tail and mane. The saddle was still warm from use when he heaved it up on its holder but he hoped nobody would notice.

Fingers shaking, he weaved a wisp to give Bam the bare minimum of grooming, slaps echoing too loudly in the confined space.

"Here, sweet girl," Jeongguk muttered, unravelled the straw and held it out for her to munch away on it. Then he was off, fur haphazardly thrown into the box too, as he made a run for the kitchen.

He had to empty all the fire places in the lower levels and then scrub the kitchen floor before Lady Jeon came back. Which was a feat bordering on the impossible, even without him leaving for a while.

Luckily though, he was not alone. With Yoongi and Jimin he had two invaluable friends at his side who time and again helped him complete his chores on top of theirs. The latter was vigorously scrubbing the floor in his stead, shooing him away and telling him to keep his hands far far away from the water bucket whenever Jeongguk so much as glanced at the floor from where he was half stuck in the fire place.

"No means no," Jimin chided again. "Open wounds and soap water do not mix well. They mix very terribly, in fact. And my hands are very much fine, thanks to you. So just stay away and take care of your ash."

"Speaking a little nicer to him wouldn't hurt, ya know," Yoongi quipped while swapping Jimin's dirty water bucket for a fresh one.

The kitchen boy lifted a brow at him. "And what would you of all people know about that matter, hm?"

Jeongguk had to turn away to focus on his own task again but he clearly heard the dull thwack followed by an outraged shriek from Jimin. He shook his head. Really, those two.

"By the way, you missed some fine acting earlier."

Jeongguk hummed. "Of whom?"

"The lady herself," Jimin answered. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but usually she would not be invited to any festivities at the castle, right?"

Another hum. Jeongguk was buried so deep in the fire place all he could see, smell and taste was ash. His entire head was probably covered with a thick layer of the grey soot at that point.

"Yeah, she is not a noble by blood but only my marriage."

"Unlike you."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. But yes, the royal family does not invite commoners to any kind of festivity, no matter what title they wear. And they know very well who is and is not born nobility."

"So instead of her, the king should have invited you."

Jeongguk let out a little sigh into the depth of the fire place which he knew couldn't be heard by anyone else. "I guess. But invited to what exactly? Not that it will ever happen, but. You know."

"The king is hosting a ball," Jimin chirped with the joy of someone who strived off gossip. "To find a bride for the prince."

Prince Taehyung and settling down with marriage? Jeongguk snorted at the thought. Not a clever idea, as the ash immediately shot into his nose to tickle there and have him sniff and cough loudly.

"Jeongguk-ah, are you alright? Are yo even listening? I didn't get to the best part yet."

Jeongguk pulled out of the dark hole just long enough to give Jimin the most serious look he could muster. "Please do tell."

That was all it took to have Jimin grinning giddily. "It's going to be a masquerade ball."

Oh? Now that were interesting news. Not that it changed anything on Jeongguk's situation, but. It made dreaming a bit easier.

"You're totally straying off-topic, Chim," the cook drawled.

"Huh?"

"The lady. You wanted to tell him about Lady Jeon."

"Oh, right! So. Lady Jeon, Jeongguk-ah. Who was all too eager to show off Aeri to the prince and hope to leave the best impression so they could marry into the royal family, as everybody knows, which is completely delusional but that never stopped her before."

Jeongguk chuckled. True that.

"Anyway, the prince was missing for whatever reason. And I didn't quite catch what the king said but it sounded like something about studying nature or something. So of course your stepmother was incredibly disappointed about it and so she made up a story on the spot about some prophetic dream where Aeri and her were invited to the ball, with crying big fake tears because the dream was so wonderful and all. And somehow - don't ask me, because I really have no idea how whatsoever - she ended up pulling an invitation to the ball right out of the king's nose. So now these two are going to the ball. It's in two weeks from now, by the way."

"Wow," Jeongguk huffed. "There really are no limits to what that woman can achieve if she just wants to, huh?"

"...You would know best."

He winced. But supposed Jimin was right. They didn't talk about that specific topic any more, thank god, because he was done with the fire places in the kitchen then and had to leave the room to do the others. He had to step onto the freshly-scrubbed floor with his soot-caked feet for that and was about to apologise aplenty but Jimin threw a wet cloth at him and good-heartedly told him to get lost.

Scrubbing the floor of the big kitchen was an unrewarding task and took forever. Which was why it came as no surprise when Jeongguk finished cleaning ou the fire places and Jimin was still not done. Ignoring the older's protests, he grabbed one of the slimy cloths in one hand and a scrubbing brush in the other and got to work.

They did not finish before Lady Jeon made an appearance. The lady took it as reason to make them scrub the floor in the dining room too, seeing as how they were 'obviously out of practice'.

The dining room was maybe not as dirty but quite a bit larger than the kitchen. They managed to clean three quarters of it before Jimin swayed and then simply crumbled to the floor. Jeongguk was at him in an instant, fighting the lead pulling down his own limbs. When he nudged his friend to turn on his back, Jimin let out  a soft snore.

Jeongguk loosened a deep breath. Nothing serious, then. Just exhaustion. He gently shook the other a few more times. Jimin remained unresponsive to the rest of the world. With a glimpse around the empty room, Jeongguk let out a yawn that had a powerful shiver running through his whole body and then joined the kitchen boy on the floor.

He'd just rest his eyes for a minute. Keeping them open had become too difficult. And his arms were burning to a point where concentrating on the pain had him close to vomiting. His hands were in anything but a good shape too. He just hoped they wouldn't fester. He wasn't ready to lose his hands at the tender age of twenty-five.

 

They got lucky. The lady did not catch the two of them sleeping on the floor. And for a few days it almost seemed as if she was going easy on Jeongguk. No beatings, no too-cruel tasks for him. 

But as always, such a phase didn't last long. His hands had just healed over mostly when Lady Jeon decided it was a good idea to send Jeongguk off to do the laundry. Not in a tub with water heated over the open fire.

No, it had to be the icy forest river.

Which was stupid for several reasons, two of them being that most of the dirt could be removed far better with warm water and that Jeongguk could barely use any soap in the river as it got instantly flushed away. It was, however, a brilliant idea if one wanted to be absolutely sure to catch a heavy cold or something worse within a day.

The lady didn't even bother to come up with arguments why Jeongguk had to do the laundry in the river when the temperatures were well below freezing. It was all too obvious that the single purpose of that task was to mock Jeongguk.

With no ground to fight the order, Jeongguk had decided to mock his dear stepmother right back by against all odds not falling unbearably ill. He was a healthy young man. He had his thick sheepskin. And if he scrubbed quickly, he could be finished with the nasty task in no time at all. Probably.

But of course that was just wishful thinking.

Jeongguk was still not even halfway done when a familiar neigh had him looking up.

"By the devil," Yoongi cursed from his seat on the sleigh. He'd harnessed Bam for a ride to the town, it seemed. "Are you out of your mind?! What are you even doing there?"

"Laundry."

"In the icy river? Do you have a death wish?"

Jeongguk gave him a strained smile. "Not me, but the lady, apparently."

"She makes you do this?"

"Who else would?" He shrugged and got back to work. The pile of dirty clothes certainly would not scrub itself.

After a few beats of silence, the cook asked, "Do you want me to get you something?"

"Like what?"

"Dunno. But her Ruthlessness wants me to go buy heaps of fabric and lace and whatnot for that cursed ball."

That had Jeongguk chuckling at last. "Out of all people, why is it that she sends you?"

"Because I'm very reliable," the cook snapped.

"...Sure. If you say so."

"Yah, you little brat!"

Jeongguk snickered. Making fun of his hyung almost had him forgetting that he couldn't feel his hands anymore. "Just get me whatever crosses your path."

"Sure thing, kid."

With a wave goodbye and something muttered that sounded a lot like ' that woman', Yoongi saw himself off. And Jeongguk was once more alone in the forest.

He sniffled when he had to stick his hands into the icy water again and shifted around a bit. Kneeling in snow for a prolonged time sure was not the most comfortable thing. His knees were aching, and probably had taken a sickly shade of violet or blue beneath the flimsy linen of his chausses. Really, it was about time he finished this damned chore.

One, two, three, four pieces later he was finally done. By that time he'd spotted two deer trotting by and gnawing on some bark and a puffed up robin had curiously hopped around him before daring to take a seat in his unruly hair.

When Jeongguk was about to leave, he attempted to gently nudge the bird out of his hair but probably miscalculated thanks to his hands being completely numb. At least that's what he suspected when he withdrew his hand and beheld a tiny bloody prick in his finger that hasn't been there before but didn't even sting the slightest. The robin let out an appalled little chirp, failed to fly off when it got caught in Jeongguk's hair, violently tugged at it with another chirp, and then flew away.

Well, Jeongguk supposed at this point worrying about his appearance was futile. So he didn't even attempt to smooth over the messy nest on his head.

"Now look who we've got here."

The sudden voice behind him - damn this snow and its sound-swallowing - startled Jeongguk enough to almost drop the basket with the freshly scrubbed laundry. Jeongguk whirled around and glared at the prince. If he'd dropped the basket and had to wash the whole pile again, he would have seriously punched the prince, consequences be damned.

"Isn't it highly pretentious when you speak in plural despite being alone?," he snapped.

The prince, to Jeongguk's absolute bafflement, chuckled.

"Ah, did I really...? Dammit, seems like only father's worst habits at court are rubbing off at me. My bad, little mouse."

" 'M not a mouse."

Prince Taehyung waved his hand and even the stallion gave Jeongguk a judging look. Jeongguk would have to have words with the horse about that. Not even a little warning snort, or greeting neigh, no nothing to tip him off that he was no longer alone in the forest.

"Please. And I am not an idiot but that still didn't stop you from calling me one, did it?"

"I didn't."

"Well, it was heavily implied, little mouse."

Jeongguk pouted. He was used to the lady calling him a rat but now the prince called him mouse too? What was it with everybody comparing him to rodents? Were it his teeth? His body build? He wasn't that small! At all.

"I don't like being called like that."

The prince shrugged. "Deal with it." And then, with a glance down, frowned at Jeongguk. "Your hands are bleeding."

Jeongguk lifted the basket so he could peer past the big heap of laundry. And indeed, all of his knuckles had chapped uglily. Soaking skin in freezing water for a longer time and then exposing it to equally cold air really wasn't a great move, it seemed.

"Huh." He blinked. Then lowered the basket back to hip level and turned his head away. "Whatever. Don't worry about it, I'm used to it," he mumbled.

"I wasn't worrying! I don't even know you."

"Well, good then," Jeongguk snapped back and gave the cocky prince his best glare. 

He stared right back with a daring little smirk.

They stood like this in the middle of the road, silently looking at each other until the ridiculousness of the whole situation hit Jeongguk and a sudden giggle bubbled out of him. Soon enough they were laughing loudly about nothing, to the point where Jeongguk could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes and freezing on his cheeks uncomfortably.

"What are you even doing here, that far away from the castle?" Jeongguk asked between little giggles, then added a quick "your Highness."

The prince hummed. He'd managed to properly collect himself much faster than Jeongguk, to the latter's eternal envy.

"Well, actually... or, wait. Before I even attempt to answer the question, do tell me this: will you tell the king?"

Jeongguk snorted and pointedly hoisted up his basket. "Do you really think I have time for that? Besides," he said with a wink, throwing the words right back at the prince, "I don't even know you."

The prince chuckled. "That is fair enough."

They fell into idle talk then, prince Taehyung trotting beside Jeongguk with the stallion occasionally straying closer to Jeongguk and sniffing him. The prince chided his horse once but Jeongguk just laughed.

"It's fine. He probably can smell Bam on me."

"What?"

"...Nothing. What's his name?"

The prince gave him a look down his nose. "You apparently know my name but I still don't know yours yet you think you have a right to ask for another name on my side?"

"If someone wouldn't call me a mouse but ask for my proper name instead, then maybe someone would know how to call me," Jeongguk retorted with another grin. Bantering with the prince came surprisingly easy. And the other never was someone to hold it against him.

The prince rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, okay, I apologise. What is your name?"

Jeongguk's grin widened. At this point he'd completely forgotten his raw knuckles. "Nope, not telling you. You had your chance and missed, your Highness."

"Then I won't tell you my friend's name either."

"I'm sure I can guess it anyway. Jimin says I'm good at guessing." He gave the stallion a contemplative look. "What breed is this?"

"Does it matter to your name guessing?"

"No, just curious. It's been a while since I was on a horse market."

He realised his slip-up too late and could already see the wheels turning in the prince's head as the latter wondered why someone like Jeongguk would be at a horse market. Thankfully, the prince didn't ask further.

"They're called Lippizan. Very nimble, built for strength and comfort. I've never been riding more unperturbed. Doesn't hurt they are also very easy on the eye. Right, my pretty boy?" Prince Taehyung gently the stallion's neck.

And yeah, Jeongguk thought, he could see that. With the soft, round lines everywhere, the wide shoulders and short back. The stallion must've been a delight to ride as fast as possible. 

"Alright, I'll take my first guess. Is it snowflake?"

"I'm not a child," the prince huffed.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But considering your royalty, you've probably given him a stupidly fancy name like Duke Albert the third or something. Am I getting closer?"

"You are so far off, it's actually hilarious."

"Okay then maybe you gave him another ridiculous name. Like Peaches, or something."

"Peaches?! I didn't-" The prince spluttered. "How dare you! His name is Byeol. Byeol, okay? Not a dumb fruit."

Jeongguk laughed him right in the face.

"What-"

"You really named him Byeol?"

"Yes? He is bright and brilliant like a star, and so elegant, and sometimes it looks as if he's walking on clouds."

Jeongguk was still chuckling. How were the odds that when he named his own mare night, the prince himself decided to call his stallion star? What a stupid prince. What a stupidly charming prince.

Their chit-chat never ceased for the whole time they walked together. It continuously stunned Jeongguk. He'd never thought the prince would be so easily approachable and would have no issue at all talking with someone like, well, Jeongguk. Especially looking the way he did. But here they were, arguing about the prince's fashion. As if they were old friends.

The prince was wearing the same red garments like last time. Naturally, there had to come a point where Jeongguk for it.

"I am not on a hunt today, so it does not matter. And it's not like I had any say in this," the prince whined. "Did you know there are 132 rules about what a prince can and cannot wear, depending on the daytime, day of the week, season and occasion? We have a book in our library about it with more than 700 pages!"

"What would you possibly need so many rules for?"

"If you figure out how to ask this my ancestors, please do. And tell me what they said."

And on and on it went, until they reached the outskirts of the forest where prince Taehyung refused to go any further.

"If anyone aside from you sees me here, I will get in lots of trouble. Take care of your hands," he shouted over his shoulder, figure already retreating when he urged Byeol into a gallop back through the forest.

Jeongguk looked after him with a shake of his head. 

 

---

"Hyung, have you seen the preceptor anywhere?"

Taehyung chuckled as he watched Hoseok running by one of the doors to the parlour before disappearing out of sight again. Five seconds later he was back, entered the room with swift steps and planted himself right in front of Seokjin who was lounging on a chair close to the window without a care.

"Yah! You are supposed to help me."

"Don't want to," the older drawled. "There is no point in trying anyway. He knows very well that his lessons fall on deaf ears as long as he doesn't teach new topics."

Hoseok huffed. "Yeah, well, if we fail to at least get his Highness and preceptor Kim into the same room, the king will have both of our heads. Does that maybe sound enticing to you?"

"Fine," Seokjin sighed, shifted on the chair and plopped down again. "He's in the library."

"Oh no."

Taehyung grinned. The misery written all over Hoseok's face was understandable, considering how difficult a task it was to get his teacher out of the library once he'd barricaded himself there.

"Come on, help me!" Hoseok tugged at the other lord's sleeve. "I'll never be able to get him out of there on my own."

Seokjin pulled his sleeve out of the other's grip. "Ugh, let me be. Just tell him I said something, and you'll be fine."

"Said something? Like what?"

A shrug. "Anything factually incorrect."

With a deep frown Hoseok left to try his luck.Taehyung watched him disappear as quickly as he appeared, not bothering to close the door. In a few moments the servants would take care of it anyway.

"You know, if you keep mocking him like that he'll never fall for you," the prince said from his spot at the other windowsill, book in hand.

"There are a million ways to a man's heart," Seokjin answered cryptically.

Taehyung left it at that and got back to his book.

A few minutes later, quick steps sounded down the corridor, growing louder and louder until the door burst open, revealing a panting preceptor. He instantly zeroed in on Seokjin and gave him an incredulous glare.

"You think the earth is flat?!"

"Well, yes? Obviously? Everybody knows it is."

The preceptor gave Taehyung a swift but deep bow and then stalked over to Seokjin.

"Lord Kim, how often do I have to tell you this? We've talked about it numerous times now, I explained to you the curvature of the horizon at least twice, when will you ever accept the fact-"

Glancing at Hoseok who had found his way back too and was now giving him a subtle thumbs up, Taehyung grinned. Now if his father decided to check on him, he'd see a heated debate about the most fundamental questions in the world. What more could you wish for, after ordering your son to study - the same topic as last week nevertheless?

 

Things did not go like that, however. Instead of checking up on him, the king ordered Taehyung to come to his personal chambers for an audience. Which in itself was alarming. Whenever his father called it an audience rather than a simple talk, he was up to something.

Taehyung's hunch proved true once the king began imploring about Taehyung's preparations to pick a wife.

"I refuse to marry a stranger," Taehyung stated bluntly.

The king gave him a thin-lipped smile. "Which is exactly why you are to study the guest list and educate yourself about every single potential wife of yours."

"No. I refuse."

The smile that's been bordering on a grimace from the start turned into a snarl. "You will do as you're told, boy."

Taehyung opened his mouth to repeat his answer but his father didn't let him as he added, "If you fail to pick a fiancée by the end of the ball, I'll personally shoot your stallion. No more hunts or riding out. Did I make myself clear!"

With anger shimmering in his stomach, Taehyung reluctantly bowed his head. "As you wish, your Majesty."

The king nodded, dismissing him. "Good. Now leave. I've got a masquerade ball to plan."

 

---

"Yah, you little rascals, give me that!"

Yoongi had a hard time running after them while still trying to keep an eye on the various pots boiling on the hearth.

Jimin giggled and threw the bag of flour to Jeongguk, and out of the cook's reach. "Not a chance, Yoongs. You are just too slow~"

They continued throwing the flour back and forth, getting more daring by the second until the bag was barrelling through the kitchen at high speed from one end to the other. And maybe Jeongguk became a little too reckless without noticing, for he surely did not mean to throw the flour onto the ledge right under the ceiling. Properly out of their reach.

"...Oh." He bit his lip.

Next to him, Jimin too came to a standstill. "That... dammit."

"You morons!" Yoongi pointed a dripping wooden spoon at them. This was bad. "How am I supposed to make the pies without flour, huh? I won't be able to finish on time like that. And you know what that means."

Oh, they knew indeed. Late lunch meant a displeased lady. And a displeased lady meant trouble and pain.

As if to prove herself, Lady Jeon stomped into the kitchen not much later and demanded to know what took them so long.

It was Aeri, who joined her mother shortly after, who spotted the bag of flour on the ledge and pointed it out. Lady Jeon's eyes narrowed.

"Who is responsible for that?"

Her gaze deliberately swept over everybody before settling on Jeongguk. With a quiet voice that was dripping with venom, she asked, "Was it you?"

Jeongguk had always been a bad liar if it concerned himself.

 

"Next time you tell her it was me," Jimin decided while rubbing the ointment into Jeongguk's back. 

His whole body was aching from where the lady beat him, but the upper back was by far the worst. At times like that he wondered where that woman even took the strength to beat him green and blue, considering how she did no physical labour whatsoever. Her painful slaps must've been powered by pure hatred.

"You and I both know this is not gonna happen," Jeongguk bit out in between groans when Jimin kept pressing into an especially tender spot.

The kitchen boy whacked his shoulder. "Then you and I also both know I'll keep trying to change your mind. Now stop moving." He sighed. "She really outdid herself today. First beating you up like that - which, by the way, is a horrible sight. I hate watching her treat you like that and not being able to lift a finger. And then her new containment rule. Did she really have to go as far as forbidding you to leave the house altogether just because she didn't get her damned pies on time? Just what is wrong with that woman?"

"Jimin," Jeongguk warned, "You better stop talking like this right now if you want to keep your head. If Aeri or her catches you talking like that, there will be no saving you."

Jimin grumbled but kept his mouth shut from then on.

 

"Jeongguk, hand me the necklace."

Wordlessly Jeongguk did as told, reaching out for Aeri to take the gold necklace from his grasp. She put the necklace on and admired herself with it in the little mirror. His necklace. It was a man's jewelry, with the big gold squares holding a gemstone in the centre each and forming a broad loose line resting on the shoulders. Not at all fit for a woman clad in long ball gowns.

But whether or not it fit did not matter here. Aeri was wearing his necklace, a present from their late father to his twentieth birthday, simply because she could. To throw it in his face that she was the second-most important person of the manor and he was a nobody. It was also the whole reason why he was here and helping her dress up and try on the different things Yoongi had brought from town when usually a man helping a woman dress up would be the biggest scandal. Societal rules were out of order as soon as it was about mocking Jeongguk. And so Aeri had sent Hyejin away and called for him instead, to drive home once more how she was going to the ball - a ball she was originally not even invited to - and he was not.

"Don't I look pretty, Jeongguk? Hm?"

"The prettiest," he mumbled without bothering to look up. All he could do was stare at his necklace around her neck.

Aeri smiled and raised her chin even higher. "I know. Like this, the prince will notice me for sure. Now hand me the lace - no, the other one."

She unravelled the bit of lace and held it against her skirt, then frowned.

"No. No, no, no. This is not right." Turning her head to the half-open door, she yelled for her mother.

Lady Jeon was in the room within seconds, eyes darting around wildly before landing on Jeongguk and narrowing.

"What is it my darling, did that mishap do something to you?"

Aeri waved a hand. "No no, not yet. But mother, this is not the lace I wanted. Look. It doesn't fit my dress at all."

The lady's features softened impossibly. "Oh sweetheart, did the dumb servant bring the wrong lace? I'll send him back to fetch the one you want right away."

"And let him choose what I will wear for the ball?! I think not," Aeri shrieked. In moments like this, Jeongguk wondered how the two of them could possibly be related to each other.

Lady Jeon was already nodding. "You are right. We should go ourselves! You," she snapped a finger at Jeongguk, "go and harness that black pretty horse to the sleigh. And as soon as you're done with that, you'll go to the forest and collect wood for the stoves. Am I clear?"

Jeongguk bit his tongue. "Yes, milady."

 

He did as told. Except, not quite as soon as his stepmother would have preferred.

Instead of heading to the forest immediately once the two women had left with his dear Bam, he went back to his tiny room. It was hardly more than a dark hole, without windows and any furniture except for an old mattress.

But hidden between mattress and wall, there was a a beautiful casket, decorated with inlaying. His personal treasure box with everything he got left. A signet ring from his father, a drawing of his mother, and the chestnuts Yoongi had given him. 

He'd almost forgotten about them. Yoongi had been subtle about giving the little twig with three chestnuts to him, lest Lady Jeon caught wind of it and confiscated even something as mundane as a few nuts. Because they were a gift for Jeongguk, were the one thing that crossed Yoongi's path on his way to town when they fell into his lap. So he'd kept them and dutifully given them to Jeongguk just like he'd asked.

It wasn't much. Hardly comparable to the mountains of fine fabric and jewel and whatnot he'd brought home for Aeri. But still it was a genuine gift. So Jeongguk cherished it.

He took the twig out of his casket and ran a gentle thumb over one of the nuts.

There was a sharp snap then, and one of the chestnuts fell to the ground with a dull thud that sounded far too heavy for such a flimsy thing.

Jeongguk cursed and grappled for the chestnut. Not even a few days and he'd already broken his gift. Great.

But, oh.

When he picked up the little thing, something bright was peeking out of it. He tugged - and tugged, and tugged and tugged, as there kept fine fabric flowing out of the chestnut. Even a pair of leather boots and a hat tumbled out of it.

Magic, Jeongguk decided, mouth hanging open. It must be magic, for there was no way this beautiful hunter's garment crafted out of both soft and sturdy fabric of green and white could have fitted into that tiny nut.

And Jeongguk didn't believe in many things. Certainly not in fate, and his belief in the Almighty had suffered severely ever since he'd lost his second parent too and everything had gone downhill from then on.

But this, an inconspicuous chestnut falling to the floor and rewarding him with hunting clothes suitable for a Lord, this must be a sign. One Jeongguk was willing to listen to.

So he slipped into the clothes that fit him as if tailored to his body, wrapped himself in the warm cloak lined with light grey fur and sneaked into the stables. 

Belatedly he realised Bam could not be there. Which made things a bit more complicated, if destiny or whatever wanted him to go on a hunt in the forest. But not impossible. He snatched his trusty crossbow out of what used to be his father's study and with one last look over his shoulder left the manor through the back gate.

While making his way further into the forest he wondered if the lady was aware of the way she contradicted herself. Was it a trap? Or was she just too short-witted to notice he couldn't possibly stay grounded at the manor and collect wood in the forest that laid as per definition outside the walls at the same time?

Maybe it was the later. He hoped it was, because if it did turn out to be a trap instead, it would mean he would get a beating for bringing wood and for not bringing wood as he disobeyed one of the orders in either case.

Stuck in his head that deeply Jeongguk almost did not hear the excited yaps somewhere ahead.

He ducked himself into the protection of the trees and began to sneak closer to the sound just like last time.

A few minutes later he found them: a hunting party of at least thirty men, dozens of dogs running around between the horses. And prince Taehyung right in the centre of everything.

Nobody paid Jeongguk any mind as he crept closer between the snowy trees - but he supposed his wear rendered him near invisible in that green and white forest. Unlike a certain prince who was once again dressed in unnecessarily flashy colours. Jeongguk chuckled.

They were pointing at something, he noticed by the time he was in hearing range. A big bird of prey circling in the sky. Jeongguk squinted his eyes against the low winter sun. A kite, he'd say, judging the prominent fork in its tail. Probably a red one.

A tall man on a dappled horse raised his voice then, holding up something. The lead huntsman, probably.

"Whoever can shoot that bird will win this brooch, straight out of the kings treasure. Now, milords, who would like to try his luck?"

The prince claimed the first shot for himself - and missed. Three other noblemen tried their luck futilely. The lead huntsman was already tucking the brooch away while some men claimed the bird was flying too high for anyone to hit.

Jeongguk loaded an arrow to his crossbow, sent a silent prayer, aimed - and fired.

A few moments later, there was a piercing shriek, then a thud. The prince rushed over to where the bird had fallen into the snow, leaned out of his saddle to fetch it and then held it up at Jeongguk's arrow buried deeply into the kite.

"Who was this? Who shot this arrow?"

Jeongguk loaded a second arrow where he was crouched under a pine. He couldn't care less for that brooch and the whole competition. But it's been ages since he could test his marksmanship. And he just wanted to see if his aim still was as good as it used to be, or if the bird had been a lucky strike. If he still possessed the skill his father had been so proud of.

The arrow shot through the air with a whiz. It hit its mark as it pierced through the first arrow and knocked both arrow and bird out of the prince's grasp.

A rejoicing shriek left Jeongguk before he could stop himself. He hadn't forgotten a thing about hunting. 

Heads whipped around.

He gulped. That was not part of his non-existent plan. Already the prince was nearing his little spot, bird picked up from the snow once again and laying in his lap, crossbow aimed at Jeongguk's spot. 

"Who is there?"

And, well. Without a horse nearby there was no point trying to run away right now, was it? So Jeongguk stepped around the tree with a sheepish smile. 

"Please don't shoot, your Highness. I wasn't aware this was a coterie. My apologies."

The prince squinted at him. "Do I know you?"

Huh. Jeongguk blinked. This was one of those questions where one had split-seconds to weigh options. It was never enough time. Jeongguk wasn't sure what would be best, his head empty when it should have a dozen thoughts running around. So he just blurted out a hasty 'No' without an idea why he even said it.

The prince didn't question it further and nodded. Then waved for the lead huntsman to come closer.

"The prize, please."

The man handed the brooch over and prince Taehyung leaned down to give it to Jeongguk.

"I hereby declare you the winner of today's hunting party."

Jeongguk gingerly took the golden ring brooch and admired the glass inlays circling it. "But... I don't need a brooch."

The prince shrugged and gave him a charming smile. "You won it. It is rightfully yours now." He reached out again to curl Jeongguk's fingers around the metal ring. Then leaned even closer until he came to eye-level with Jeongguk. "Are you sure we haven't met before?"

"Positive!"

"Hm. Very well. May I get your name though?"

"Uh... no."

And with that, Jeongguk his heel, whacked one of the lower branches so a whole snow shower came down on the prince, and ran the same way back.

Maybe it was foolish. It probably was, considering the prince had a horse and he had, well. Two feet. Feet that for once were not numb with cold, all cosy in his new leather boots that were padded nicely. But he knew these woods. He'd outrun the prince once. He could do it again. Maybe.

Or maybe not. But worrying was for later. When he wasn't running through knees-deep snow.

A few thoughts made it past his haze of the escape,. Like the realisation that somehow he didn't want prince Taehyung to know it was him. He'd just get in trouble if Lady Jeon ever found out he'd been hunting. And if the prince made the connection that the dirty boy with the big mouth and the shooter who won the competition were one and the same person, how long would it take for him to come to Jeon manor and ask questions?

No. This little escapade had to remain his secret, and his alone.

He'd have to throw the prince off track.

Jeongguk grabbed a tree trunk to not lose his momentum while changing direction, and halted abruptly. There, right on top of a stone jutting out of the snow blanket, rested his clothes and the old sheepskin coat.

"Magic," he whispered to himself.

And did something very stupid.

Or how else could it be called if one stripped out of their clothes in the middle of a winter forest? It surely felt stupid. Very stupid, as Jeongguk hopped through the snow and struggled to put his old clothes on. 

The neigh of the royal stallion which he slowly grew accustomed to sounded much closer already.

Hurry, he had to hurry-

"Huh? You again?"

 Dammit. 

Jeongguk dove behind the stone, shoved his hunting dress and the crossbow in a snow pile and furiously rubbed his face on his tunic that was as always bristling with soot.

"Uh, yeah. Me again." He just popped his head around the stone. "And you? Why you again, I mean, here?"

The prince scratched his head until his hair was ruffled very un-princely. "I am looking for someone."

"Or maybe someone is looking for you? His Highness is not easy to miss today again. Those are some very," Jeongguk grinned, "very yellow chausses."

"Will you ever stop mocking my clothes?"

"Only if you start wearing appropriate things."

The prince huffed but let out a good-hearted chuckle.

"So." Jeongguk quipped. "His Highness were saying?"

"Oh, right. You didn't see a hunter in a white tunic by any chance?"

"Nope. Just a little mouse, nothing else," he teased.

The prince rubbed his face and groaned. "Are you seriously still mad about that?"

"Maybe."

"I already apologised!"

Jeongguk raised an eyebrow. "And?"

" 'And' what? Do you want me to apologise again?"

"Well, maybe you should call me by my name instead of 'you' or 'that guy' or 'little mouse'."

Prince Taehyung crossed his arms and pouted. "You literally refused to tell me your name when I asked."

"Oh." Jeongguk blinked. Ignored the blush he could feel burning on his cheeks. "Well. It's Jeongguk."

"Jeongguk," the prince repeated with a smile. "Very well. Jeongguk."

Jeongguk liked the way his name sounded in the prince's deep voice.

"Now about the hunter, did you or did you not see him?"

"Maybe~"

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe," Jeongguk mused, "I could tell you what I know. If you can get me some paint and brushes."

As if that would ever happen.

But for the prince, the answer seemed to be enough. He nodded, gave a short wave to Jeongguk and rode back to the rest of the hunting party.

And Jeongguk? For him it was time to get back to the manor - no, to saw off a bunch of branches, then return to the manor, and hide his hunting clothes and everything. There was no time to lose.

 

He made a mad dash to his room at last minute, right before the sleigh with Lady Jeon and her daughter returned. His arms were burning terribly from the hurried sawing and his palms were littered with blisters. 

Jeongguk put the royal brooch into his casket, squeezed the folded clothes between mattress and wall. And he swore he was just squinting for a second. But that was long enough for his body to decide it was time to rest.

He didn't even notice falling asleep.

 

At some point - Jeongguk couldn't tell if it was noon or the middle of the night, could never tell in his tiny room shrouded in eternal dimness - Jimin called for him to come and eat. Jeongguk staggered out of the room and blindly stuffed some bread in his mouth before dropping back into his bed.

 

"I hate her," Jeongguk muttered.

He was freezing, his blisters had chapped long ago, and the pine needles were digging into his fingers mercilessly. The wood he sawed yesterday had been nowhere near enough to keep every room heated and the stoves running, apparently. So here he was, sawing wood on Lady Jeon's behest once again.

And, he didn't know how the other did it. Jeongguk was not even close to the spot where they met yesterday. But after a while, the prince found him.

"Jeongguk! There you are."

He dismounted his stallion and came over, raising an arm.

Jeongguk's eyes widened. He flinched, eyes squeezing shut.

A tense moment filled with blaring silence passed until he blinked his eyes open again to see the prince giving him an incredulous look.

"Why do you flinch when I raise my hand?"

"Take a wild guess," Jeongguk snapped a tad too unfriendly to be justified. He just really didn't want to talk about that topic.

The prince frowned. Took one step closer and turned Jeongguk's hands palms up.

"And why do you always have new bruises whenever we meet?"

"Well. Maybe both things are connected. Besides, those are blisters. Not bruises. But I wouldn't expect your Princelyness to have experience with either of them."

"Why are you like this today?"

Jeongguk sighed. His shoulders sagged down and he dropped his head, suddenly unable to hold eye contact with the prince any longer. "Apologies, your Highness. I'm affraid I have a lot of work to do and very little time at hand."

"Do you also have no time for... this?" 

The prince opened his formerly raised hand to reveal a slim, unused brush with white bristles.

"What-"

"You promised me information on the hunter in exchange for paint and brushes. If you have so much work, does that mean there is no time to tell me what I want to know?"

Jeongguk was still gaping. He hadn't even touched the brush yet.

The prince had gotten him a brush.

Prince Taehyung himself had gotten him a brush.

What was going on?

Did he die? Was this the afterlife? Never in a thousand years Jeongguk would have thought-

"Uhm, Jeongguk?"

"W-what?! I mean, yes? I mean, no? I mean, what?"

"Will you accept advances?"

Jeongguk's jaw dropped even lower. "Ad-what?"

The prince stretched out his other hand, revealing a second brush. This one was sleek and had soft hair, with a beautifully tapered tip. 

At this point, Jeongguk was certain he must have died. There was no way this was actually happening.

"Advances," the prince repeated himself with an amused glint Jeongguk failed to notice. "If you can't help me today, you'll only get these two brushes today, as proof of my good will. And the rest when I've gotten my answers. What do you say?"

"You are awesome," Jeongguk blurted out.

Prince Taehyung chuckled. "Thank you. Now, are you going to take your brushes or not?"

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The prince gave him a smile no less tender than the ones he sometimes got from Yoongi and Jimin.

"Very well, Jeongguk. I won't interrupt your work any further." He got onto Byeol's back and maneuvered the stallion to turn around. "Take care of your hands."

 

That day, time was not on Jeongguk's side.

The brushes were easy enough to hide. But he didn't think of it quickly enough, and entered the kitchen with both brushes clearly visible clutched to his chest. Running straight into Lady Jeon's arms who was just about to discuss the menu of this week with the cook.

The lady took one look at him, snatched the brushes out of his grasp and flung them in the dancing flames of the spit fire.

She didn't even have to say or do anything else for a lone tear to slip down Jeongguk's cheek.

 

Jeongguk barely talked for the rest of the day.

Late in the evening, when they had extinguished all fires in the kitchen, he crouched down in front of the spit and stared at the sad heap of ash. The tears he usually tried to hold in as good as possible slipped down his cheeks uncontrollably, carving fat streaks into the soot and dirt caking his face.

Jimin settled down next to him, a warm and calming presence, and reached out to wipe away his tears time and again.

"How many times can the same thing break your heart," the kitchen boy asked with cracking voice.

Jeongguk's answer took a while and came out barely more than a whisper. 

"As long as you love it."

 

Then it was the day of the long-awaited masquerade day. It came upon Jeon manor with as much bravado as one could expect from such a grand event, every single servant somehow involved in it as the lady had the most strangest ideas on what to do to ensure the prince would fall for her daughter, and her alone.

Jeongguk had met the prince three more times in the forest by then, always in a different spot, wondering just how the other kept finding him without fail - or if prince Taehyung searched the forest for hours and hours in hopes to stumble over him. Which was such an outlandish thought he immediately dismissed it. And every single time Jeongguk was either actually busy with some wonderful task bestowed upon him, or had at least enough presence of mind to pretend so, dodging and avoiding the prince's questions on the by now fabled hunter. 

Somehow him not knowing anything about said hunter did nothing about dwindling the prince's interest on that matter. And with time passing by and still not an inkling who that curious marksman was, the whole thing began to turn into a myth.

Everytime the prince talked about him, his descriptions became more exaggerated. One day Jeongguk allegedly hadn't shot one but two birds at the same time, and the next time he was said to have shot a third arrow piercing the second, and then a fourth and a fifth, until they formed a circle around the kite. It wasn't even close to the reality at that point. But certainly enough to make him laugh while the prince told him his latest tale of the hunter with big hand movements and bigger eyes, the excitement almost tangible around him.

Today however, prince Taehyung would not be in the forest. And Jeongguk wouldn't be either.

"Please," he pressed out through gritted teeth. It's been ages since he's last been to any kind of festivity, let alone such a grand one. And knowing that the host was such a charming young man didn't make it better. At this point he wasn't past begging anymore. Jeongguk just so desparately wanted to be part of things again. Would even gladly accept crouching behind a curtain all night if it meant he could listen to the music and taste the atmosphere of the grand ball.

Aeri laughed, a pearly sound fitting her pretty appearance but not her twisted character.

"Say it again, won't you."

Jeongguk glowered. "Please. Just a look through the window would be enough. Nobody will ever know I was there."

"Ah, very true," his stepsister nodded. "Nobody will know indeed. Because you are still not coming. How do you want to accompany me when you are forbidden to leave the manor, hm? Or did you forget about that already?"

"No, of course not-"

"Then stop asking stupid questions," Lady Jeon snapped while entering the room. "Don't you have to clean up the kitchen and dining room? And straighten the laundry?"

"I'll work through the night," he promised, hating how a hint of desparation seeped into his voice now. "It will all be done by tomorrow, I promise."

The lady hummed. "Sounds to me like you have too much freetime and not enough work. Very well. Follow me."

Jeongguk did, and wondered why his stepmother leaded them into the kitchen now. 

He got his answer when she grabbed a pot filled with lentils, went to the spit and chugged the entire load into the cool fireplace.

"By the time we return, you will have picked every single lentil out of the ashes and rubbed it clean on top of your other tasks. I suggest you start right away. Now," she placed the empty pot on a table nearby and straightened her sleeves, "I have a ball to attend."

She left like that, bellowing for carpet to be laid from the door to the sleigh, skirt sweeping in a wide arc over the floor.

Jimin came up behind him and patted his shoulder.

"She really hates you, huh."

"Yeah," Jeongguk sighed. "I guess even trying was stupid..."

"It kind of was," Yoongi drawled. Then reached out for Jimin to pull him to the floor until the two of them were crouching in front of the spit. He turned back to Jeongguk, hands already in the ashes. "Well? What are you waiting for? We've got this. Hyejin will take care of the laundry, right, Hyejin?"

"No," Hyejin deadpanned from her place behind the stove. 

Yoongi rolled his eyes. Then pointed at Jeongguk. "Whatever. We've got this. But you, what are you still doing here, mister young lord, sir? Don't you have to get ready for the ball?"

"I, uh." Jeongguk stared. "I don't think I can quite follow." 

It was Jimin who piped up this time, giving him a gentle smile. "Jeongguk-ah. We'll do your chores. Now get ready and hurry to the ball, hm?"

Jeongguk didn't deserve such amazing friends.

 

"Okay, chestnuts," he mumbled as he opened the casket, "if you really are magical, then please, please help me to get to the ball. Maybe give me a long black coat so nobody will notice me in the darkness. Okay?"

He took the twig out of the casket. As soon as he lifted it up, the second chestnut fell off and hit the ground with an even louder thud than the first one. This time not a white but a brown shimmery bit of fabric peeked out of it.

Jeongguk frowned. There was no way this would turn out a black cloak, right? He tugged at the sliver of fabric and watched with widening eyes how a heap of fine clothes tumbled to the ground. With the last tug, a feather mask fell out of the nutshell. Spreading the fabric out on the mattress, he could only marvel at the immaculate bronze embroidery covering the pearly-white houppelande and its long sleeves. Like spots on a snow owl's feathers, but more refined, with little swirls everywhere, the metallic threads glittering even in the dark room. That was what it was supposed to be, he realized, as he eyed the painstakingly crafted mask, complete with little beak. A snow owl costume for the masquerade ball. The fur-lined coat coming along with it as pristine as white snow itself.

Not a cloak. Nothing to hide away in the shadows with. This beautiful garment was not meant to be hidden away, it was supposed to be shown. The magical chestnuts, it seemed, had a plan of their own for Jeongguk. They wanted him to dance at the ball.

Maybe he could risk it. With the mask, maybe his stepmother would not recognize him. It was worth a try.

Jeonguk darted out of his room, down the hallway, and out to fetch some water from the well.

Cleaning up proved a task more difficult than last time, until all the grime and soot was scrubbed off his skin and his hair was tamed. But then again, a hunt in the wild could barely be compared with a lavish ball at the royal castle. So it took Jeongguk a while to get ready, before he could even dare to get into the prettily tailored houppelande. But once he wore everything, chausses, dark leather shoes, fur-lined coat and all, he almost felt like back when things were good. He felt neat and tidy, something he hadn't experienced in a long while.

Owl mask in one hand, Jeongguk made his way to the stables. Passed the dining room on his way where Jimin was on his knees, scrubbing the floor. The kitchen boy appreciately called after him something Jeonggk did not quite catch but it seemed like he approved of Jeongguk's attire.

In the stables Jeongguk was grateful to see the lady had not taken Bam for the sleigh ride. He went to the far back, where his best saddle covered in meticulous embroidery had waited far too long to be taken out. What was curious however, was how the threads seemed more bronze than silver. Looked suspiciously similar to the embroidery on the houppelande. It might've been a trick of the light yet something told Jeongguk that was not the case.

Bam rubbed her head against Jeongguk's shoulder in greeting when he bridled the mare, with proper tack instead of the simple neck rope for once. He couldn't ride to the royal ball with a neck rope, could he?

The ride to the castle was a thing existing beyond time. Jeongguk rode through the thick forest in the dim light of the setting sun, painting the winter sky in soft shades of pink, then purple before it turned into a shade of dull blue. Snow flew in all directions with his mare tearing forward over white fields and up the hills.

The ball was already in full swing by the time he arrived. Not a soul was to be seen outside, so Jeongguk had to find his way to the royal stables himself. His visits years ago together with his father came into handy then. Some things sure had changed but the royal stables were still where they used to be back then. He hurried up the grand stairs to the portal, just remembering in the last moment to put on the owl mask and straighten his hair from the fast ride.

Two guards pulled open the gate for him. A smile spread on Jeongguk's lips as soon as the sublime sound of vielles, flutes and horns reached him. How long has it been since his last ball? His last dance?

A servant who carried a large plate on his shoulder subtly pointed him in the right direction, to a wrought iron gate where more guards stood alert. One of them opened the gate to Jeongguk with a deep bow.

Jeongguk took a step into the ballroom - and was hit by the opulence of everything. Lavish buffets, brightly coloured costumes, polished chandeliers laden with burning candles. Swishing skirts, billowing coats, and masks of every kind.

He was so enraptured by it all, he failed to notice the silence sinking down onto the ballroom. The stares turning his way as he went down the stairs to join the dance floor, until everyone was looking at him, the late newcomer.

Before Jeongguk could begin to be uncomfortable subjected by those stares however, the prince stepped forward.

"Pardon my directness." Prince Taehyung bowed to him, Jeongguk quickly following suit. "But it seems I did not properly greet you, for I am certain I would remember such a beautiful view. Would you allow me to repent myself with a dance?"

Hesitating for a moment, Jeongguk took the offered hand. It had been so long since he'd last moved to music.

A few steps in however, the years of training kicked in and his worries dissipated. It helped that the prince was leading. Made it easier for Jeongguk to remember the steps he was taught long ago. Soon enough they were flying across the floor together. And Jeongguk felt light as a feather.

The prince - the only one in the room not wearing any mask - was an attentive dance partner. He noticed Jeongguk slowly relaxing and getting comfortable as the centre of attention. Bit by bit, he picked up the pace. Until all the others who stared enviously became a blur of colourful streaks. The prince twirled him around time and again, and when the piece ended, dipped him into a dramatic arc. Jeongguk grinned at him with all teeth, the prince smiling right back.

The music stopped, and Jeongguk wanted to pull away. One dance was what he'd been promised. That was already one dance more than he could've ever dreamed of with the prince. The prince, however, did not let go. Only tightened his hold on Jeongguk and kept him in place while the next piece began.

This one was even faster, so they set off in a well-coordinated flurry of limbs. Jeongguk had the vague sense of his own coat billowing behind him like those of the other men present. It became secondary, just like everything else when the prince held the eye contact with a giddy smile.

Before Jeongguk knew what happened, prince Taehyung's hands slid down to his waist. And with the next beat, he got lifted up high into the air as the prince twirled him around. A delighted laugh burst out of him. So the prince did it again. Jeongguk's feet barely touched the floor as he kept being lifted and twirled around.

He didn't even know how many dances it had been by the time he got a little breathless. Dancing with the prince was easily the most wonderful thing. Across the entire dance floor they moved, never stopping, never ceasing their speed.

And all the time Jeongguk kept laughing freely like he rarely did nowadays. Once he thought he could feel a familiar glare on him, thought he saw a woman squinting at him just after another joyous shriek had come out of his mouth. But the prince picked him up again and he forgot all about it.

The prince was the one who caved first. Red-cheeked just like Jeongguk must've been and with an exhilarated smile stretching his mouth wide, he suggested to take a little break and lead Jeongguk to the buffet.

Jeongguk couldn't look as fast as delicious pastries and fruits piled up on the plate suddenly finding itself in his grasp. The prince kept adding this and that, so Jeongguk was left with nothing else but munching dutifully on all that culinary goodness.

And the prince talked. Kept complimenting him on his 'breathtaking wear, so unlike anything else he'd ever seen', and his dancing skills and bright eyes and even brighter laugh. He was a charmer and Jeongguk enjoyed every second of it. Basked in the attention the prince was giving him while ignoring everyone else.

Until he asked to lift Jeongguk's mask. That's when he remembered that his stepmother and -sister were still here somewhere. Before he was ready to expose himself and face their wrath, he had to be certain. Had to know whether prince Taehyung was willing to stand by his side even if he knew who Jeongguk was nowadays.

So when prince Taehyung asked him if he were allowed to lift the mask, with something that sounded suspiciously like a love declaration mixed into the sentence, Jeongguk declined.

"If you want to see my face, your Highness, you have to solve a riddle for me first."

The prince inclined his head. "A riddle. How so? Truthfully, I would have thought milord would like me to explain why my decision fell on him out of all the guests who came, to which I'd answer that you are the brightest star amongst them all, instead of asking me to solve a riddle."

Jeongguk blushed. "That... certainly is nice to hear, your Highness. But I am affraid I must insist on that riddle of mine. It should be no difficulty to you." At least that was what he hoped with a desparation that surprised him. "May I start?"

The prince nodded, took the plate out of Jeongguk's hands and positioned himself in a way that had him towering over Jeongguk, broad back shielding him from the still ongoing ball and creating a secret little bubble of just the two of them where they were leaning against the wall.

Jeongguk his lips and collected himself. Then he began.

"Tell me, who am I? The cheeks are soiled with ashes but a chimney sweep it is not. A crossbow over the shoulder but a hunter it is not. And lastly, a sparkling garment at a ball but a prince it is not. Who could that be, your Highness?"

The prince pursed his lips. "I do not understand half of it, I am affraid, but certainly the answer must be 'you'?"

"Ah, but what is my name?"

"Your name?!" The prince's eyes widened in something akin to panic. "I know your name? Does that mean we have met before? But how could I ever forget about such a splendid encounter?"

Jeongguk's face fell the more he rambled on.

"So you really don't know?"

"I-"

But Jeongguk had already made up his mind and took a step back from the prince, from their own little world. If he really had no idea that it was dirty, mouthy Jeongguk he had danced with, this was pointless.

He would not give himself to the prince. And he certainly wouldn't let him lift his mask.

Throat already closing up, Jeongguk mumbled a weak goodbye, then turned around and left the hall with hurried steps. By the time the guards had closed the wrought iron gate behind him, he was already running down the hallways, through the second gate and out of the castle, into the biting cold grasp of the night.

On the sprawling grand stairs he almost slipped and lost a shoe, but could catch himself on time. 

Then he was in the royal stables, where two stable boys were busying themselves with untangling Bam's mane. Jeongguk's 'Thank You' was a white cloud even inside the stables. Thankfully the stable boys hadn't removed any tack, so Jeongguk could take the reins and lead his midnight black mare out of the stables, and then past the castle's outer walls. 

It was when he was back in the saddle and turned around for one last look, that he saw the prince rushing down the stairs, shouting for him to please wait.

Jeongguk pressed his heels in Bam's flanks, and they flew into the night.

 

He should have known things would go downhill from there. 

It hasn't been long since he came back with a single tear streak frozen on his cheek, changed back into his old clothes, stuffed the fine owl costume under his mattress and then went to help Jimin scrubbing the floor.

His fall from the high peak of happiness back to reality had been swift, the landing harsh.

Jimin and him had finished the dining room and were just resting in the kitchen, Yoongi offering them some pickles as snack, when Aeri arrived.

She didn't say anything. Just swept a gaze through the kitchen and smirked. She still didn't open when she took the pot of lentils Yoongi and Jimin had tediously picked out of the ashes, went over to the pit and upturned the pot once again.

Then she left, the servants and Jeongguk gaping after her.

Minutes later, the Lady barged in and stomped over to the spit.

She whirled around to Jeongguk.

"So that's how it is?" The lady pointed at the lentils in the ash. "Disgregarding your orders and stuffing yourself on our food? I'll show you what you're getting for that, ungrateful brat!"

Jeongguk couldn't even open his mouth as fast as his stepmother held a birch in her hand. With an ugly swish that had become way too familiar to Jeongguk, the birch went down on him. Again and again the lady birched him, merciless in her doing until everything was hurting. It must've been more than twenty hits.

He could barely think straight, his vision blurred by tears running down his cheeks by the time Lady Jeon relented.

Jeongguk blindly stumbled out of the kitchen, up the stairs and across the entrance hall past shadowy figures, clutching at his side and shoulder in turn wherever the pain flared hotter. He ran into someone, thought to recognize the voice that called out for him, but couldn't bother to stop. Just pressed out a hurried apology and was on his way once more, a dull pain spreading from his knee and having him limp a few steps before he caught himself.

With shaky breath he reached his tiny room and collapsed on the mattress.

 

---

There was no logic behind Taehyung's hunch. No explanation as to why something pulled him to what must've been the Jeon manor, as if a hook had been fastened to his heart and gave a gentle but steady tug towards the place he had successfully avoided a few weeks ago.

He'd followed the trace of the beautiful stranger to the outskirts of the forest and into the woods until there was a fork in the path with hoof prints on all ways. Seokjin and Hoseok didn't question it when Taehyung chose one path, kept hot on his heels, torches held high on their ride through the forest.

His father was most likely fuming back in the castle where Taehyung had left his very own engagement ball. But he couldn't care less. Not when for the first time of his life, marriage didn't sound like that abhorrent thing. When, against all odds, he was certain he found the one at the ball. And his chosen one had run away.

So what else was he supposed to do, without a name, a face, a noble house, than chase after the mysterious man?

And now, with the trees clearing to give way to a sprawling field or meadow covered under thick snow, he could see the place where his hunch urged him to. Jeon manor sat atop a little hill, with old and thick walls running around it that told him about the venerable history of the Jeons. A tower covered with ivy and some rooftops peaked out from behind.

Taehyung had never followed Jeongguk further than this. Could barely remember his last visit to Jeon manor, whether it was a nice place or not. Now he wondered if Jeongguk knew anything about his breathtaking dance partner.

The gates were closed just like they ought to be at such an hour. A few loud knocks and shouts from Seokjin, a slowly opened peephole and some rushed apologies later, the gates swung open for the three riders.

Taehyung was lead into the entrance hall and asked to please wait there until the lady of the estate could join him. Seokjin had silently followed him while Hoseok was left behind to keep an eye on things outside. 

So they waited. It was an uncomfortable wait, filled with distant whacks and cries. Just when Taehyung began to grow impatient, someone stumbled up the stairs half hidden to his left. It took him a few long moments to recognize the hunched person staggering through the hall as none other than Jeongguk. Taehyung instantly hated seeing him like that. Seeing the always so proud and confident man shaking with the force of his crying and stumbling over his own feet. 

Taehyung stepped in his way to do he didn't know what, maybe offer a steadying grip. But the other didn't even see him and fell right into his arms. Pushed himself off the prince, apologizing for being so clumsy before hurrying off! Why was the poor boy the one apologizing? There were so many things wrong with the entire situation, Taehyung didn't even know where to start.

"Jeongguk, wait-"

His call fell on deaf ears. Jeongguk didn't as much as turn around as he slinked around a corner.

"Do you know him?," Seokjin asked.

The prince nodded. "Yeah, we are... something like friends. I think." Really, he wasn't sure what they were. But at this point it surely was save to say they were past being mere acquaintances.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go after him, your Highness!"

Seokjin had that certain tone that did not tolerate disobedience, a voice he rarely used on Taehyung. Taehyung's legs set into motion before he had fully processed the order.

For quite a while he wandered the manor. Not a trace from Jeongguk. By the time he'd made his way back to the entrance hall, he was beginning to doubt his memory. Maybe it hadn't been Jeongguk. Maybe it had been someone who just so happened to look like him.

"Your Highness, what an honour! Welcome to our humble estate," a woman around the same age as his parents, clad in a long purple gown said with a deep bow.

Taehyung wrinkled his nose. How unseemly. Did she not know purple was a royal colour? Not to mention how ghastly it looked on her. At least the girl peeking over her shoulder followed the etiquettes. No purple, no gold embroidery, no sable sewn to her sleeves. Taehyung had the distinct hunch he'd seen her before, maybe at the ball. He could be wrong, though. And care less.

"Your Highness, if you allow my bold question, what leads your Highness here in the middle of the night?"

There was a strange undertone to the woman's voice but Taehyung decided to pay it no further mind.

And, ah, right. The reason for his coming.

A picture of the young man laughing widely behind the owl mask came to his mind. Taehyung smiled.

 

---

"You must be joking," Jeongguk blurted out.

The lady sneered at him. "Do I look like I am joking?"

No, he had to admit, she certainly didn't. It still sounded outrageous, however. Him, attending the prince during his stay here. Taking care of his every minute request. Jeongguk had so many questions, starting with why prince Taehyung wanted to stay at the manor at all. But there was no time for any of them when Lady Jeon gave him a smack to the back of his head and ordered him to stand to attention.

"And no word to the prince," she hissed, "not a single one, do you hear me?"

Moments later the door swung open and the prince entered the dining hall, flanked by the same two men who had been with him on the probably forbidden hunt.

"Your Highness, I wish you a very good morning! Please do take a seat, the breakfast will be served at once," the lady said in a honeyed voice. Then she waved for Jeongguk to step closer. "For the time of your Highness' lovely visit, please allow me to lend your Highness one of our servants. He'll do anything your Highness asks him to, and listen to whatever name your Highness wishes to call him. Please do not hesitate to make use of him in whatever which way your Highness deems suited."

The the lady turned to Jeongguk. "Bow," she hissed lowly.

Jeongguk just blinked. This was all too surreal to be anyhing but a dream. There was no way this was actually happening.

Another slap to his head got him out of his thoughts.

"Now bow!"

With a flinch, Jeongguk did as told.

Lady Jeon turned back to the royal heir.

"Ah, I beg his Highness to pardon this lowly servant's behaviour. He'd always had that rebellious streak, your Highness. Got it from his mother, no doubt. But a strong hand on him works wonders. He will be no trouble, I promise."

There was a long silence before the prince nodded with an unreadable look.

"Thank you. I'm sure we'll get along wonderfully."

A quick glance was all Jeongguk got. He stiffened.

The breakfast was an awkwardly silent matter, with Jeongguk being ushered into a dark corner to practice a servant's task of not being seen or heard and stand there in silence, trying to become one with the shadows. The only comfort he had was that the prince obviously did not like Lady Jeon very much, with how curt his answers were to her every questions. And didn't so much as look at Aeri.

Things became more difficult once the meal was over and prince Taehyung attempted to talk with Jeongguk. He must've been hell-bent on receiving an answer with how often he tried. But one stern look from the lady was enough to keep Jeongguk mute.

Lady Jeon lead the prince and the two lords to the study, a room filled with books collected over many generations by the Jeon family, each one of them handwritten by diligent monks from various monasteries and adorned with meticulous illuminations. The content of this room alone was worth more than the entire manor. And here his stepmother stood, hands carelessly over the book spines as she gloated about their fine collection.

Jeongguk's whole body was shaking, his hands balled to fists and teeth gritted to the point where he could almost taste blood. This woman did not deserve to be here. She had no right to set a single foot into his father's study. Alas, she forcefully took that right and made it her own.

The prince turned around to him, then.

"It is a bit cold here, isn't it?"

"Oh, very right, your Highness!" Lady Jeon snapped her fingers at Jeongguk. "You. Fire place. Now."

The prince's eyes widened. "No, that's not what I-"

A second snap of Lady Jeon, and Jeongguk hurried out of the room to go fetch some wood.

Once the fire was kindled, the lady snapped her fingers again and pointed at the floor. At the ashes that had flown out of the fireplace when he'd kindled the flame.

"Clean this up, boy."

When she looked away, Jeongguk allowed himself a short glower up to her.

 

 

"Can I help you with this?"

One of the young lords crouched down next to Jeongguk with a kind smile.

Lady Jeon had left them for now to go search her daughter.

Still wet cloth in his hand, Jeongguk stared at the lord. "Uhm..."

He didn't wait for a proper answer and just took the cloth out of Jeongguk's hand to begin scrubbing at the floor.

"My name is Jung Hoseok. I am the smart friend of our prince over there."

"Excuse you?!" The other lord shrieked. "You must be joking. The smart friend would still be me, obviously!"

Lord Jung shrugged. "Sure, hyung." He grinned and winked at Jeongguk. 

Jeongguk tried to subtly get his wet cloth back but the lord just held it out of his reach.

"By the way, your absolutely charming lady probably didn't tell you this. But we are here to find prince Taehyung's cute owl boy."

"His... what?"

"He can speak!" Lord Jung cheered loudly enough to make Jeongguk's ears ring.

The prince groaned. "Of course he can speak, idiot. I told you we've met and talked before. Right, Jeongguk?"

Jeongguk meekly nodded.

"Anyway. Yesterday at the ball- wait, did I tell you about the ball? So there was a masquerade ball where I was supposed to find my queen, and. I found someone. But he ran away."

That - and the absence of Lady Jeon - had Jeongguk smirking at last.

"Why, were your dancing skills that horrible, your Highness? Scared everybody away?"

"Yah, you little rascal! That's not even close to- stop laughing, Seokjin-ah!"

But the other lord was already in hysterics, slapping his own thigh repeatedly while cackling loud and high-pitched. "Oh, he got you good, your Highness." The lord wiped away a tear, then pointed at Jeongguk. "You. I like you."

"Guys." Lord Jung slapped the wet cloth on the floor to put his arms akimbo. Jeongguk took the chance to snatch back the cloth and furiously scrub the last stains away befor the lord could do so. "Can we get back to topic, please? Your Highness, you said this boy might know something about the mysterious Lord."

The prince his lips, focus returning to Jeongguk. "Oh. Right. So, uhm, Jeongguk, do you happen to know a young lord with black shiny hair?"

Jeongguk tilted his head. "Your Highness," he deadpanned, "everybody in these lands who is under fifty has black hair."

The two lords snorted when the prince blushed.

"R-right. I knew that, of course. But, so, he has almost shoulder-long hair, is around our age, has incredibly big and sparkly eyes and-" he sighed- "the most wonderful smile I've ever seen. Also, he was dressed as a snow owl."

"...A snow owl."

"Yes! It was a masquerade ball, remember? And it suited him so well, he looked absolutely gorgeous. Had the prettiest laugh. So stunning..." The prince trailed off with a little smile and turned to look out of the window.

And Jeongguk, he did not know what to do with himself. His mouth opened and closed a few times before staying slightly agape as he felt a furious blush burning on his cheeks, then spreading over his entire face and down his neck. 

"Uhm, hello?" Lord Jung waved a hand in front of his face.

"Yeah, this one seems to be broken," the other lord quipped. "Good job, your Highness."

Lady Jeon returned then, with Aeri in tow, to lead prince Taehyung through the manor some more. Jeongguk had no choice but mutely trail after them.

 

The prince was a quick learner. He soon enough caught up on how Jeongguk would not say a single word as long as the lady or her daughter were around. So he ignored him until they were alone. That's when the questions began anew. Over the days, they even managed to have a couple normal conversations. Almost like back in the forest, but with the addition of the prince's two friends who piped in ever so often.

"...And you still haven't told me about the hunter yet," the prince accused while they paid a visit to Byeol in the stables, Jeongguk dutifully grooming the stallion  while prince Taehyung watched, a few other stable boys milling around them. "Which reminds me, could you make good use of my gift yet?"

"Your gift?"

"Yes? The brushes I got you?"

"Oh." Jeongguk lowered his head and looked away. Doubled his efforts of grooming, tilting his head forward so he could hide behind a curtain of shaggy hair and blink the tears away before the prince could see anything. "No," he mumbled quietly. "I couldn't."

He didn't elaborate further. And thankfully, the prince did not ask him to.

 

---

Something was off, Taehyung decided. Said as much to Seokjin who instantly nodded.

"Yeah, he sounded incredibly sad. Even I could hear that and I was, like, three boxes away from the both of you."

"So what do I do?"

The lord plucked a grape from the plate Jeongguk brought them earlier and popped it in his mouth.

"It is obvious he doesn't want to talk about it. So, go ask his friends."

"His... friends?"

"Yeah?" Seokjin shrugged. "The grumpy cook and that other kitchen boy, the one with the droopy eyes. I've seen them talk a few times, they seemed close. Right, Seok-ah?"

Hoseok nodded.

Taehyung looked from one lord to the other. "What- how come you know who he is friends with, but I don't?!"

"Because you were too busy mooning over that mysterious owl lord to pay attention to anything else, obviously."

Taehyung spluttered.

 

Later that day, after sending Jeongguk away to go look for Byeol, he followed Seokjin's advice and made his way to the kitchen.

The moment he reached the lower end of the stairs, everyone fell silent and bowed deeply while muttering 'Your Highness'. Which made localizing a guy whose most prominent feature were his droopy eyes not exactly easier, with how everybody resolutely looked at the floor. But certainly the one who held a big wooden spoon and stood right next to the stove was the cook. Right?

"You may rise," he hurried to say and watched how the servants listened hesitantly. Taehyung zeroed in on the one who must've been the cook. "Are you Jeongguk's friend?"

The man's mouth twisted. Before he could answer, however, someone else stepped forward - glowering at him.

"What do you want from Jeongguk? Haven't you done enough already?"

Done enough? Taehyung frowned. What was he talking about? But more importantly, the way he got so defensive must've meant he was friends with Jeongguk, probably.

So Taehyung cleared his throat, raised his hands and said with his calmest voice, "I just wanted to know if something happened with the brushes I gave him. He seemed... rather upset about something."

The kitchen boy's eyes widened. "The brushes were from you?"

Taehyung nodded. "Yes, of course. I mean. Hold on, what do you mean, 'were'?"

It was the cook who spoke up this time.

"The lady burnt them." His voice was a deep, scratchy thing, dripping with displeasure. He jerked his head over to the spit. "Right there. The moment he came back and she saw him holding new brushes."

There was a sour taste in Taehyung's mouth. Something ugly churned in his guts.

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't want him to have anything-"

"That's enough," the alleged cook cut off the kitchen boy and gave him a smack on the arm with the wooden spoon, together with a warning look before turning back to Taehyung. "It would probably be best to ask her yourself, your Highness, if you must. We already told you far too much. I personally prefer to stay on this side of life for a bit longer, so if you may, please do not ask us again on why the lady treats the poor boy the way she does. And if you are a kind prince, you won't ask him directly either."

With that, he got back to the several pots boiling on the stove, dismissing Taehyung. And around them, everybody else slowly picked up where they left too. Only the kitchen boy lingered.

"Don't hurt our Jeonggukkie even more," he said with a last glare before going back to the spit.

Taehyung left the kitchen fuming. It was the lady's luck she didn't cross paths with him then, for he was not sure what he'd have done if she did. In the entrance hall, he called out for Seokjin who came flitting out of the right wing.

"Come with me."

The lord's features sharpened at his tone, at the ice lacing his words. Wordlessly, he followed Taehyung outside and to the stables.

Taehyung plucked the little pouch from his belt and took out a gold guilder.

"Here," he said, took one of Seokjin's hands and turned it palms up to lay the coin there. He glanced towards the box to their left, where Jeongguk was busy combing Byeol's white tail, then continued with a low hush. "I want you to go to the town and buy as many good painting brushes as you can get from this, right now."

The lord took the coin with a nod. Taehyung could see the questions in his eyes, but for once Seokjin kept his mouth shut and did as told.

Within minutes his chestnut trakehner was bridled and Seokjin rode through the gate in a fast trot, posting proudly, several heads turning his way. Soon enough he was out of sight. And Taehyung was left behind to think about what he'd learned back in the kitchen.

 

---

"Listen here," Lady Jeon sneered after pulling Jeongguk around a corner, "you better not let it get to your head. And don't you think for one second this will become a regular thing." She jabbed a finger at his chest. "The only reason I'm telling you this is because I don't want to embarrass myself with serving the prince cheap food. Now go, hurry."

Despite her vile words, Jeongguk couldn't help but grin. It's been years since he'd been allowed to hunt. Since he could take Bam for a ride without having to sneak around and fear the consequences of breaking one of the lady's many prohibitions. The fact that Lady Jeon had to ask him of all people through gritted teeth to go hunting because everybody, even her, knew he was by far the best hunter of the manor made it just that much sweeter.

Sure, Jeongguk would do as told. Would come back with a big nice catch and happily skin, gralloch and dismantle his prey for being allowed to do what he loves for once.

And because this was such a special occassion and he was in high spirits already, Jeongguk decided he could have just a tad bit more fun. With a tell-tale skip to his step he went to clean himself, then fetched the hunter's garments that had come out of the first chestnut and got dressed.

If he were allowed to go hunting for the manor, then he could as well look the part.

"Hello, sweetie," he gushed with a bright grin as soon as he stepped foot into Bam's box. "Guess who got permission to take you out on a ride?"

 

---

At first, Taehyung was convinced he must be dreaming.

How were the odds that, when he went on a ride to get away from the manor and its lady, he would meet the miracle hunter from over a week ago?

But it was him. There was no doubt about it, especially when he lifted his crossbow, aimed, and neatly shot the stag stalking through the woods at first try. 

When the hunter took down his weapon, Taehyung dared to call out for him.

"Stealing my prey again?"

The hunter whirled around.

"Your prey?"

"Sure." Taehyung lead Byeol closer to the hunter who was now busying himself heaving his kill onto the Friesian's back. "Stags are big game and thus reserved for high nobility."

The hunter huffed. Gave another push, and then the stag - a knobber - was sprawled securely over the horse's back. "Good thing I am nobility, then. And these are my forests. Not yours, your Highness."

"How do you-"

"This jewelry comes straight out of the royal treasure and will go to whoever can shoot the kite," the hunter intonated mockingly.

"...Oh."

"Mhm."

"But these woods belong to the Jeons."

The hunter's mouth pressed into a straight line. "Right." He turned his back on Taehyung. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a kill to deliver."

And with that, he stalked off. Lead his horse through the woods without any regards of already existing paths, with the confidence of someone who was all too familiar with his surroundings.

"Wait! I still haven't gotten your name."

"Tough luck," the hunter called over his shoulder without bothering to look back.

Taehyung was too stunned to follow him for several moments. But when he did move, it was to get back on the path he'd left earlier. Riding after someone when he was all alone in foreign woods sounded a tad too reckless even for him.

How very strange. He kept running into charming young men who had a mouth on them and refused to tell him anything. First the lovely lord at the ball who refused to reveal his identity, then Jeongguk who hadn't told him about his brushes, and now that hunter. The funniest part of it was, that the miracle hunter somehow remembered him a lot of Jeongguk and his antics.

But, no.

That was absurd.

Caught deep in his thoughts, Taehyung rode back through the forest the way he came, and almost missed the sight of that hunter entering Jeon manor through the front gate.

"What..."

This must've been a joke. He'd been at the manor for days now, but there had been no trace of the hunter.

Just what was going on?

 

---

"I swear it was him. And he was coming here. So you better tell me everything you know."

The prince was lounging in father's reading chair, a sight that admittedly unnerved Jeongguk not half as much as it would if it were Lady Jeon sitting there. It... didn't unnerve him at all. Which was a confusing matter of its own.

But for now, Jeongguk couldn't think much more of it. He had to steer their conversation away from the matter of his hunting shenanigans.

Help, surprisingly, came in form of his greatly detested stepmother who entered the study just then. The moment the door swung open to reveal her, Jeongguk shut up and did no longer speak a word to the prince.

And when the lady ushered him down into the kitchen to help prepare the banquet, she unknowingly helped him even more with avoiding the prince's questions.

So Jeongguk wasn't even mad at her never-ending chores for once. He made his way to the kitchen, where Yoongi and the others were already in the middle of preparations.

"I'm sorry, I can't- I just can't do this, I-"

Jimin was on the verge of crying, his arms both stuck in the kill and covered with blood. Jeongguk scurried to his side to pull him away from the dead animal. The smile on Jimin's face when he saw the younger was one of pure relief.

"Jeongguk-ah, it's so good to see you! Would you mind to, maybe, uh..."

"Of course. Get away from there, I've got this."

Somewhere behind them, Yoongi grunted. "Of course you do. What kind of kitchen boy can't even dismantle a deer and faints at the view of a little blood?"

"Stag," Jeongguk mumbled in the same moment as Jimin snapped, "Well, at least I have a heart!"

The cook hummed. "Did you just call our boy heartless?"

"I'm not your-"

"I never said that!" Jimin shrieked, went over to Yoongi and slapped him on his chest, leaving a bloody hand print behind.

Jeongguk snickered and let the two bicker to their heart's content while going through the different steps of turning a carcass into boneless meat for Yoongi to cook. He didn't have to think about a single hand movement at this point, the words of his father guiding him through every step echoing in his head, hands moving on their own.

In between all the banter, Yoongi did not forget to put aside a little something for everyone. Made a plate of fruits, a pastry that was on the wrong end of crisp and a few tiny pieces of already fried meat for every servant to take a piece when they passed by.

It was then, of course, that Lady Jeon came to check on the dishes, just when Jeongguk went to take a bite from that plate. He hadn't even chewed half of the piece of meat when her ever-searching eyes zeroed in on him.

Five, six, seven steps of her and she was there. Flung out a hand and slapped him hard into the face. 

Bits of meat flew out of his mouth, another one lodging itself in his throat until his whole body was shaking from violent coughs.

Just after he'd caught himself did he notice the prince standing in the hallway. Jeongguk could not tell how long he stood there already, how much he'd seen. 

Turning around to leave, the lady noticed the prince's presence too.

"Ah, your Highness!" Lady Jeon bowed deeply. "Please, I'll be with you in a moment, your Highness mustn't bother to come into this dirty room."

The prince's expression was blank as he stared past the lady, at Jeongguk. He didn't say a word.

Jeongguk weakly shook his head. Of course he didn't. What did Jeongguk expect, really?

Without a word, he pushed past the lady and the prince. Hurried up the stairs, deaf to the enraged shouts of his stepmother, and burst out of the manor.

He didn't go far. There was nowhere to run in the middle of the night anyway. Just took a few steps down the stairs until he could sink into the snow and press handfuls of it against his burning cheek. He didn't like having bruises in the face, lest of all now, when he had to attend to the prince all day. Maybe this could at least stop the swelling a little.

The rhythm of the winter night was a slow and steady beat to him, guided by the puffs of air coming out of his mouth in little clouds. Calming him down enough to collect his thoughts.

Once he could feel his heartbeat slowing down to the same rhythm as his breat, Jeongguk made the decision not to go back inside tonight. Instead, his feet carried him to the stables.

Bam was almost asleep by then. Only gave him a warm huff in the face before closing her eyes again. Jeongguk fully slipped into the box, closed the door from the inside and then crouched down, leaning into the mare's side. Bam let out a soft neigh and looped her head around until it rested in Jeongguk's lap.

They fell asleep together like that, warming and comforting each other. Far away from Lady Jeon.

 

The next day Jeongguk woke up to loud voices in the stables. With a little grunt he snuggled back into Bam's heat and closed his eyes again.

"Your Highness, if you'd stop for just a moment, I'm trying to tell you-"

With a frown, he blinked his eyes open. There was no point in trying to fall back asleep, not like that. And he already dreaded whatever punishment the lady had thought of for him running away like that.

"Seokjin, can't you see I'm busy?"

That was the prince's voice.

"Well, fine then," the lord snided. "Sure, send me away to make some errands for whatever reason and then refuse to acknowledge them when I return to present you with my retrievings. I just wanted to bring you the brushes you requested."

Jeongguk froze.

What?

Brushes?

...Why?

The prince mumbled something that seemed to placate the lord. The next time he spoke up, he sounded a lot less annoyed and more so smug.

"Also, I can't quite pinpoint it but I do have a feeling you are being a huge idiot right now, your Highness."

"Why, thank you," the prince remarked dryly.

Another voice mixed into the banter, together with hurried foot steps.

"Your Highness!" It was Lord Jung. "Your Highness, preceptor Kim just arrived. And he does not look pleased at all."

"You did tell the guards or someone else where we went, didn't you, your Highness?," the other lord asked.

Muffled curses and quickly retreating steps were the answer.

Jeongguk waited until nothing else was to hear, then peeled himself away from Bam's softly snoring form and out of the hay.

He made his way down to the kitchen undisturbed and was instantly greeted by his friends, Jimin pulling him into a tight hug and Yoongi discreetly pushing a plate with a few bites for breakfast towards him.

"You've been lucky," Jimin confided in a hushed whisper. "The lady was here just a few moments ago. But she left now, wanted to go out with Aeri. Probably buy even prettier dresses, until the prince finally asks for Aeri's hand."

Jeongguk snorted. "As if that would ever happen."

"Oh, trust me, we know that. But your stepmother doesn't."

They snickered together, then Jeongguk finished his breakfast and asked about his chores for the day.

"The usual," Yoongi shrugged. "But the two pests will be gone all day. So you probably got an hour or so before you really gotta get started."

Jeongguk didn't need to be told twice. He quickly scrubbed his plate - together with the other dirty tableware that had piled up by then - and made his way back to the stables.

An hour was not much, especially with everything that went into preparing a horse for a ride and then taking care of everything afterwards. Every minute was valuable. WIth that in mind, Jeongguk omitted the saddle completely, just grabbed the neck rope as tack, slung his trusty sheepskin around his upper body, and lead Bam out of the stables.

With the prince and his friends gone after the arrival of some court member and Lady Jeon being out in town with her daughter, he didn't even have to be careful not to be seen. Because if Jeongguk knew one thing about the servants of Jeon manor, then it was this: they might've not all been his friends exactly. But more than anything else, they collectively disliked the lady. And so nobody would ever rat out Jeongguk to her. It was a soothing thought, even more so as it was the undeniable truth.

Today, Bam was incredibly attentive to him. The mare keenly listened to his smallest cues, sometimes moving, turning or slowing down before he could even think it properly. It was one of those experiences where the whole ride is dreamlike and nothing else exists, Jeongguk and his mare perfectly in tune with each other. Exactly what he'd needed for a while now.

That's how his hour of freedom passed, with Jeongguk serenely riding over the field and into the outskirts of the forest before trotting back to the manor.

 

---

What he did not see was prince Taehyung halting in the shadows of the manor's outer wall and staring after him in disbelief, wondering how it came that Jeongguk was riding the miracle hunter's horse, and so effortlessly at that. Normal kitchen boys usually didn't know the first thing about riding. But Jeongguk - and there was no doubt it was him, with that unmistakable ugly fur wrapped around him - surely was not new to riding. No, it couldn't be further off the truth.

Taehyung asked himself how many more things the boy hadn't told him.

The preceptor called out for him then. Begrudgingly, Taehyung pressed his heels in Byeol's flanks to trail after preceptor Kim and the guards he had brought, Hoseok and Seokjin following after him.

He'd leave for now, return to the castle and get a proper scolding from his father. But as soon as possible, he'd return to Jeon manor. Maybe he could already come back tomorrow.

 

---

The days that followed prince Taehyung's abrupt leave were decidedly calmer for Jeongguk - though only in the sense that staring at a prison wall nonstop is a calm thing to do. Meaning, life for Jeongguk was less calm and more so glum. 

Lady Jeon never failed to shower him with chores and remind him at least every second day of his place in the manor's hierarchy - at the very bottom. With the prince gone and having made not a single promise to Aeri, they also had no more reasons to head to town and buy new goods urgently. Which meant everyone was trapped at the manor and the lady was constantly in Jeongguk's hair.

It made sneaking to the saddler and showing him Jeongguk's comfortable vaquera saddle with the sheepskin an almost impossible task. But after several failed attempts, he managed to do it, not least because he really needed the saddler to have a close look at the girth. Back when he'd taken Bam out for hunting, something had felt a little off. And he didn't want to potentially endanger his beloved mare, or risk falling off just because getting his saddle to the saddler without the lady noticing was an incredibly taxing challenge.

An entire saddle was not exactly easy to hide when slinking from shadow to shadow and across the courtyard. He had to be certain Lady Jeon was nowhere near in sight to make this trip. Because if she'd caught him, oh. He'd have to explain how the saddle could wear off that much from one single hunt. Luckily by some miracle he succeeded in sneaking the saddle to the saddler and back.

The matter of getting his saddle fixed was not Jeongguk's undoing, no.

It was his lovely stepsister. Or maybe his carelessness. But really, how could he ever know she'd go into his tiny room and snoop around there? The very idea of Aeri bothering to enter his room was so improbable he'd never even considered it.

Yet here they were. Aeri holding his owl mask in one hand, Lady Jeon calling for the porter who was known for his strength, other servants slowly backing to the kitchen walls. Jimin was already trembling, face half covered with his small hands as he buried himself into Yoongi's side, the cook's expression fiery.

None of them would help him get out of this, nobody could. The lady's word was law. The only one who could outrank her in the manor was Jeongguk himself - and he failed to establish that long ago. So if Lady Jeon decided he was to receive at least ten lashes with the cat, then that was what he'd get.

The lady was nothing if not inventive if it came to his punishments, so in the absence of an actual pillar suited for whipping, she ordered Seungmin to rip off Jeongguk's tunic and then have him laying with his chest flat on the table while the shaking boy was to secure his arms and make sure he'd stay in place.

The preparations for his whipping passed in a haze. Barely registered to Jeongguk who had fled into a corner of his mind where the pain wouldn't register as much.

He'd gotten a whipping once, but that was with a simple whip and by the lady's hands. 

Now however, the lady was enraged. Was furious at him like never before, blaming him on why the prince hadn't asked Aeri's hand in marriage yet to turn the two of them royalty.

"You will get what you deserve, you nasty cockroach," she seethed somewhere behind him.

Heavy steps at the stairs announced the porter's arrival. An uncomfortable silence fell over the kitchen, the entire manor in a sharp breath - and then the cat swished through the air. Jeongguk couldn't help the shout ripping its way out of his throat when the multiple tails of the vicious whip made contact with his for the first time. Another lash, and he could've sworn he both felt and heard his skin tearing.

Every single lash was worse than the one before. Lash after lash the porter delivered, cornering him further into that certain headspace where the pain did not register completely. It still hurt enough to have him screaming his agony into the night.

Through the haze Jeongguk could make out bits and pieces of accusations and of the lady calling him all sort of names. He heard the words yet could not process them. His entire back was sticky, and he could feel wet trails running down the shredded skin, soaking into his trousers and underwear. Seungmin's grip around his wrists was tight, the boy's hands shaking.

The cat went down on him again and Jeongguk screamed against the burning in his throat. His head grew fuzzy.

Not much longer... he couldn't do this much longer.

The whip cracked again.

 

---

Taehyung was in a sour mood, and Byeol was giving him for it. 

He had meant to go back to the manor several days ago, but no. The king insisted on teaching him a lesson, which most of all meant grounding him like a child.

If Taehyung were a bit smarter about it, he would've remembered that approaching a horse - or any animal, really - with negative emotions was a terrible idea. But he was not smart, at least not now. And so he'd stomped to the royal stables the very second his father had rescinded his punishment, huffing and cursing, frowning deeply while a stable boy bridled his stallion. 

The Lipizzan didn't take lightly to such a kind of greeting. And so he'd refused to cooperate a few times now. Driven his hoofes into the frozen ground and outright refused to go on as soon as Taehyung had wanted them to enter the forest stretching between the castle grounds and the Jeon manor. Which had prolongued their arrival at the manor and thus displeased the prince even more. But alas, if Byeol wanted to throw a tantrum there was little that could be done about it. He supposed he could be thankful the stallion had carried him to the manor at all.

Honestly, Taehyung had not wanted to arrive in the middle of the night again. He felt like some kind of bandit, especially when nobody answered the gates and he snuck around to the back gate where he'd seen Jeongguk leave on that Friesian. It proved to be unlocked, so with a glance over his shoulder, Taehyung pushed it open and let himself in.

That's when he heard it.

A muffled scream.

Byeol pranced nervously.

Taehyung rubbed a soothing hand along his neck when the sound repeated itself. It came out of the main building.

Without a second thought, Taehyung tied the reins around the nearest post, then drew his sword and slowly made his way to the manor.

Another scream, sounding much more hoarse already, the sound breaking in the middle.

It seemed to be always the same person. Only this one repetitive shout echoed through the manor. Probably not a raid, then.

Taehyung followed the pained shouts into the left wing and down the stairs. He was halfway down when he picked up on the swish of a whip for the first time. A beating. Someone was being punished there.

On near-silent feet he mastered the last few steps, then leaned against the wooden door until it creaked open the slightest bit, just enough to peer inside.

Everything in Taehyung ran cold at what he saw. At Jeongguk bent over a table, held down by someone, blood running down his back, at the glistening tear streaks running all over his face. At the anguish in which he cried out when the whip went down again. The young man's entire body jolted and his head snapped to the side.

For a short moment, Jeongguk blinked open his eyes and looked right at Taehyung. His eyes widened and his mouth seemed to form a word but Taehyung couldn't catch it before the whip hit Jeongguk's raw back one more time and his eyes fell shut, head thumping onto the wood.

Taehyung was frozen in place, the image of Jeongguk losing consciousness burning itself into his mind. He almost missed his chance to slip up the stairs and squeeze himself into a dark corner before the lady opened the kitchen door. Only snapped out of it when he saw a boy whom he recognized as one of Jeongguk's friends crumble to the floor.

From his place behind the curtains he watched the lady marching through the hall, her daughter trailing behind her, holding something in her hand that seemed vaguely familiar to Taehyung. But in the darkness of the night, with barely a torch lighted, he couldn't make out much. Just had the sense that, whatever the girl was holding, he'd seen it somewhere before.

He remained in his spot for a bit longer, just to be sure Lady Jeon wouldn't come back, and was about to go back to the kitchen when another two figures slowly walked past. They were carrying Jeongguk between themselves. Even in the dark, Taehyung could see the irregular trail of dark splotches they left on the floor.

With a quiet cough, he came out from behind the curtains. The two faltered and turned around.

"Can I help you?" Even his whisper was loud in the empty hall.

They flinched.

"Y-your Highness?!"

"Shhh. Yes, I'm back." Taehyung lowered his voice even more. "And I want to help. Please. In whatever way I can."

"We need to get him to his room," the one who must've been the cook griped. "If you really wanna help... grab a leg, or something. He needs to lay down. Quickly."

They carried Jeongguk through the mansion together, until they reached the furthest corner of a hallway and the cook pushed open an inconspicious door barely tall enough to let through a grown man. Taehyung couldn't see a thing in the black hole beyond it, but the other two tugged him forward until his ankle knocked into something amd he almost stumbled.

"Crap, can't you pay more att- I mean, please be careful not to drop him, your Highness!"

Taehyung huffed. "Excuse me for not being a cat, or an owl... or any other animal that can see in the dark."

The cook grunted, and, once they've lowered Jeongguk onto something soft, prompted the other guy to go fetch a torch or candle.

It took a while before he returned with a lantern in one hand, water bucket in the other, numerous rags thrown over his shoulders. He set down the lantern right next to Jeongguk's head. Like this, Taehyung could finally take in the room. It was, by all means, tiny. Barely wide enough to fit what seemed to be a straw-filled tick on which Jeongguk was now laying, and just as wide. Aside from the tick it was also bare, but not much else would have fitted here anywhere.

"Is this... a storage room?"

"Sure was," the cook grunted while dipping the first rag into the bucket and begining to wipe down Jeongguk's back. "We used to keep brooms, buckets and stuff in here, before, well."

"Before what?"

"Before Lady Jeon decided it would make a good sleeping quarter for Jeonggukkie," the other guy spat.

Taehyung's eyes widened. "Sleeping quarter?!" He looked around again in the dark, tiny room that held absolutely nothing. "This... he lives here?"

Solemn twin nods were his answer.

The prince shook his head, aghast. "Even the prison cells in the castle are more comfortable than this. How can anyone be expected to live in such a rat hole?"

The cook turned around enough to give him a wry smile. "Lovely person, our lady, isn't she."

"But... why? Why doing all this?" He motioned to the room, to Jeongguk and his horribly lacerated back.

"Because he is a threat," the droopy-eyed guy blurted out. "Jeonggukkie's the real Lord of- ow!"

The jab of the cook's bony ellbow looked painful even to Taehyung.

"Quiet, now," the cook hissed. "Or do you want to hang as feast for the crows by morn?"

The other pouted but kept his mouth shut from then on. Taehyung was beyond confused.

They watched the cook clean up Jeongguk's back in silence for a while, the lantern's light flickering and at times making the open gashes look even more gut-churning than they already were. The one who seemed to talk too much for his own good - a scullion, maybe, although he seemed too old for that - kept kneading his hands in his lap and biting his lip.

Taehyung cleared his throat. "You do know how to properly treat him, yes?"

The scullion, spit boy or whatever looked away while the cook glared up at Taehyung.

"Do we look like ing-"

This time the cook got a kick into his side. He glowered at his companion.

"-I mean, 'm affraid not, your Highness. See, usually she doesn't get that mad at him, only a few hits and that's it. Which is bad enough but we can just put ointment on it and wait for the bruises to heal. But this time..." He shook his head. 

The prince stilled.

"So all those bruises everywhere - they were not just because he is clumsy, were they?"

The other guy snorted. Remained silent at a warning glance of the cook.

"No," the cook affirmed. "All courtesy of the lady."

Taehyung stared down at the unconscious figure of his friend. This was worse than he'd thought. Lady Jeon had made her dislike of the young man obvious during the prince's stay but to think she'd go that far...

"I'm taking him with me."

" you will-"

"For 's sake, just for once stay quiet, Jimin," the cook snapped before adressing Taehyung once more. "Your Highness, how do you imagine this to go? How do you want to get him to the castle? And what will happen to him there? I can't imagine the king to be fond of wounded nobodies invading his home."

All good questions. The cook made valid points. Yet Taehyung's mind was all set. He'd rather get grounded for an entire year than leave Jeongguk here just one day longer. Not when the lady of Jeon manor seemed hell-bent of prematurely bringing him to his grave. 

He zoned out when the two servants discussed in hushed whispers how to get wine without Lady Jeon noticing the theft and pondered the cook's questions.

"Do you have clean cloths? Or something to bandage him with?" he interrupted their hushed discussion that grew more heated by the minute.

"Uh." 

The two shared a quick look.

"He was on laundry duty yesterday, right?"

"Yah, Yoongi-ah!" The cook cashed in a slap to his arm. "You were the one who told him his chores of the day. Yes, he was on laundry duty. Again. Moron."

Ignoring a few more slaps on his arm, the cook turned to Taehyung and nodded. "Yes. We should have a few. Jimin will go get them."

"Why do I have to be the one who makes all the errands?" Jimin huffed.

'Yoongi' raised an eyebrow at him. "Out of the two of us, who is the one who cannot see blood, please do remind me?"

The other pouted but left.

As soon as he was gone, the cook grew solemn. "You will take good care of him?"

Taehyung tilted his head. "I promise."

"For you royals, what holds more weight, a promise or a vow?"

"...A vow."

"Then I want you to swear that you'll take care of him, your Highness. That you'll do everything you can to heal him and keep him far away from here."

So Taehyung did. It was a vow easily made, for he intended to keep true to it with everything in his powers. He had to give credit to the cook's bravery too. Being so daring as to request a vow from a member of the royal family, all for his friend, truly was admirable.

"I swear it. Upon the crown that one day will be mine."

That seemed to pacify the cook. 

Jimin returned with the clean fabric then. They made quick work of ripping it into stripes and wrap them tightly around Jeongguk's torso. Taehyung shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around him. The other two helped him carry a still unconscious Jeongguk to his horse and carefully lay him across the saddle, Jeongguk's face smooching into Byeol's hindquarters. Yoongi held Jeongguk while nervously glancing down to Byeol's prancing hooves. Taehyung and Jimin secured the body with bits of rope the latter had fetched from somewhere on their way, tying him around the ribcage and a thigh to the saddle. Then the prince mounted and took his place right in front of Jeongguk and the two servants took quick steps away from the horse.

"Remember your vow," the cook said. Motioned for Jimin to help him open the gate.

Taehyung nodded and rode off into the night, taking Jeongguk with him.

 

"His Majesty won't be amused once he finds out," Seokjin remarked.

"Then leave. You don't have to help me if you don't want to."

The lord gave Taehyung a look as if wanting to say 'you must be truly stupid if you think I'll actually leave you alone with this' and continued pouring wine into the open gashes on Jeongguk's back. The bed linens were already soaked with it but the two of them figured too much wine was better than to little, lest the wounds began to fester.

"No but seriously, does anyone of you know how to treat wounds? Because I sure don't."

Taehyung ignored Hoseok but Seokjin gave it a long thought.

"I'll go ask preceptor Kim."

Taehyung pursed his lips. There was a good chance the preceptor would snitch on his father. But he was undoubtedly the most well-versed person at court on any topic. And as long as he didn't learn Taehyung basically took a servant from their Lord - or Lady, in this case - without consent, which could be seen as theft of property, everything should be fine.

With a hum, he gestured for the lord to do just that.

Sure, they had called one of the royal medics already, whom Taehyung knew they needn't worry about telling the king a thing. However, as long as there was the slightest chance preceptor Kim knew something the medic didn't, he'd take that chance.

Jeongguk had woken up once during the treatment. Had squinted at the high ceiling of the room with bleary eyes, looked into the candle's flame next to his bed, groaned, and closed his eyes again.

Taehyung had stayed by his side through the night and most of the day after, except for when he had to leave for meals with his parents and lessons with the preceptor. By daylight, the wounds hadn't looked half as bad as at night. They still must've hurt, though, angry welts littering Jeongguk's back and the few open streaks slowly turning a dark red.

With a deep sigh, Taehyung stretched out a hand to comb through Jeongguk's hair while he waited for Seokjin's return.

 

Unsurprisingly, preceptor Kim was not amused about the situation at hand.

Surprisingly, he easily agreed to help and instantly forwarded a valuable bit of knowledge to them.

"Not too long ago, a travelling merchant came by and told me about an ointment that is said to cure all wounds and ward off infections," he confided with increasing excitement. He sure was a man who loved to collect new knowledge. "They call it bald's eye salve. I had to pay three gold guilders to get the recipe."

Taehyung and the two other lords had eagerly nodded along - until the last part.

"Eye salve?" Hoseok questioned. "You do know we want to treat his back, not his eyes, yes?"

The preceptor didn't even react to the teasing tone, too eager to share his knowledge. "It's just a name," he waved off. "The merchant swore on his life and the one of his seven children that it worked on any kind of open wound."

Taehyung leaned forward. "So, could you make this salve for us? Or show the medics how it's done?"

"I, uhhh." Preceptor Kim scratched his nose. "I might have... already made some?"

The three others gaped at him.

"Just out of curiosity! I wanted to see if I can get it done at first try, and, I mean, I didn't have any means to try it out yet, but I followed every instruction and it looks exactly like described in the recipe, so..." He shrugged with a sheepish grin.

 

The salve worked.

Not a single one of the deep gashes began oozing thick yellow pus. Instead, over the next week they grew together into clean lines that potruded from Jeongguk's back. He still had to rest on his stomach or side most of the time but all in all was in good health, considering the circumstances.

Taehyung and his friends had unanimously agreed to not tell him he'd been secretly sneaked into the castle to keep him from worrying. If the time came when the king found out, Taehyung would take care of the matter.

Maybe by then he'd have found the beautiful lord from the ball and his father would be in good humor about his son presenting the one who'd stay at his side for the rest of his life.

Another sign that Jeongguk was on his way of recovery aside from the clearly visible ones was his bratty behaviour making a comeback. After the first few days he started conversing with Taehyung whenever he sat next to his bed and soon enough Jeongguk's retorts became cheekier again until they could fall back into the easy banter they had established back in the woods.

It also lead to the servant trying his best to bargain with Taehyung for anything. Especially once he learned Taehyung had to go back to the manor for a few days to not raise suspicions in Lady Jeon that he could somehow be connected  to the sudden disappearance of her favourite victim. Sure, Seokjin and Hoseok had both promised to keep an eye on Jeongguk and be good company for him, but. He didn't exactly know them.

"Please, the medic said it's okay to get out of bed," Jeongguk begged with big round eyes.

Taehyung had to concentrate on the words to make sense. His eyes kept flitting over Jeongguk's face, over his hair. With each bath, ever since he was no longer on the brink of- well, since he was doing better, he began looking more and more like that hunter.

Maybe Taehyung should go see the medic or have a lengthy talk with the preceptor himself. He felt like he was starting to see ghosts. Jeongguk and the hunter, as if!

He sighed and forced his thoughts back to the question. "Alright. But you will always take someone with you. I don't want you to overdo it and collapse somewhere all on your own or something."

Jeongguk beamed. Brightly, all teeth, eyes crinkling around the corners. "Thank you, your Highness."

Taehyung had to get his thoughts back in line again. The semblance of Jeongguk and his mysterious encounter at the masquerade ball was just too uncanny when he smiled like that. It was the first time Jeengguk truly smiled at him at all yet here he was, making far-fetched comparisons.

"Ah, don't mention it," he waved it off. "Just remember, if you want to go to the library, you better not annoy preceptor Kim. He is not someone you want to be angry at you, trust me."

Jeongguk chuckled. "Sounds like you speak from experience, your Highness."

Taehyung grinned right back at him. "Wouldn't you like to know."

 

---

Despite what the prince told him, Jeongguk found the preceptor not to be scary at all. Rather, he was a gentle man who loved nothing more than to pour about books all day and had the bad luck of being extremely clumsy which lead to little emotional outbursts every now and then. But aside from that, he was kind, calm and patient.

It made Jeongguk wonder what the prince could have possibly done to make someone like preceptor Kim angry.

Albeit distant and unapproachable at first, the preceptor had softened up to him once he saw that Jeongguk could read - and loved doing so.

Which, admittedly, was understandable. What kind of lowly servant would know how to read, let alone appreciate the wonder that was the royal library? So the surprise on the preceptor's face when Jeongguk had timitdly asked if there were any works of Geoffrey Chaucer to be found here was to be more than expected.

"You know Chaucer?", had been the first proper words the preceptor spoke to him. Followed by a bewildered "wait, you know how to read?!"

From then on, Jeongguk made a point coming to the library and silently reading next to the preceptor everyday. They developed a little routine, and at some point preceptor Kim began bringing plates of fruits or small treats to share between the two of them.

Sometimes Lord Kim - with the same family name as the preceptor yet coming from a different house if Jeongguk recalled correctly - joined them. He usually muttered something about his babysitting duties as the prince's best friend, however, whenever Jeongguk lifted his eyes from the book he found the lord blatantly staring at the preceptor rather than him.

That was, until one day the lord remembered something and left the library in a hurry unfit for such a place of serenity.

Jeongguk was trying his best to tune out the dripping sound of snow melting on the roof tops, around the window frames and everywhere and get back to reading when Lord Kim returned.

"Here," he wheezed and slammed down an entire fistful of brushes on the table. "I was, apparently, supposed to give them to you long ago but then things happened. And. Maybe I forgot."

Jeongguk was smiling so much his cheeks hurt.

"Thank you very much, milord."

And then...

"Do you happen to have paint, too?"

 

---

After six excruciating days of playing friends with Lady Jeon and having to listen to her increasingly insulting rants about her useless runaway servant Jeongguk without being able to punch her square in the face, it was safe to say Taehyung did not expect to come back to this:

Jeongguk sitting in the room that slowly but surely was becoming his, with an easel in front of him, serenely painting his view out of the window.

Not far away from him the preceptor was perched on a stool and reading to him, a heavy book about the complexity of the human anatomy in his lap.

They didn't even notice Taehyung's arrival.

And the prince, well. There was not a single thing about that scene in front of him that didn't confuse him.

Starting with how absolutely magnificent the parts Jeongguk had already painted looked. Yes, Taehyung could have guessed the other liked painting, with how he'd asked him for paint and brushes. But he would've never thought him to be that good. Jeongguk could probably paint a portrait of Taehyung and the prince would not be ashamed to send it to another royal court.

Then there was the entirety of preceptor Kim's presence and the fact that the two of them seemed to get along wonderfully.

And lastly, the incredibly difficult things he was reading to Jeongguk who occassionally made a comment about this and that and seemed to have no problem followong the topic at all.

"He is so good," Hoseok whispered into his ear out of nowhere. 

Taehyung nearly jumped out of his skin.

Ignoring his deadly glare, the lord pulled him back into the hallway.

"We were all amazed by his astounding skills, your Highness. His first tries looked a bit wonky but after the second time he got the hang of it. Says he hasn't painted in years, can you believe it?" Hoseok kept gushing while he lead Taehyung further away from the painting man. Was smiling broadly at every word. "Would you like to see what he painted for me?"

And Taehyung knew it was unreasonable, yet these words were enough to make him a little, well.

Jealous.

Why did one of the lords get a painting from Jeongguk, but he didn't?

He must've looked the part, for Hoseok laughed and gave a light tap to his back.

"I specifically asked him to paint something for me after I saw what the boy could do with a little paint. He didn't offer it to me, and first was very reluctant to humour me. I doubt he didn't think of you. I mean. You are his saviour, are you not?"

"I didn't save him just so he could be eternally grateful and grovel before me," Taehyung muttered.

The lord nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, and we all know that, trust me. Most of all him. Here." He pushed open the door to his room and marched over to where a stunning picture of two horses was leaning against the wall.

"Look!" The lord ed the piece into Taehyung's hands. "He did all this during your absence. Isn't that unbelievable?"

"Unbelievable," Taehyung echoed quietly, eyes roaming all over the painting.

"I know." Hoseok puffed out his chest. "Seokjin already tried to steal it from me twice, but I didn't let him. That's why the boy is making another painting for him too, now."

Taehyung pressed his lips into a thin line. "Jeongguk. His name is Jeongguk. Not 'the boy'."

"Of course, of course," his friend easily agreed, hands raised. Then his smile turned mischievous. "I bet, if your Highness asked him nicely, he would paint something pretty for you too..."

Taehyung hummed. "Maybe I will."

Maybe he should.

If only to see what other wondrous things Jeongguk could do if given the chance. Funnily enough, during all those revelations it never occured to him that he should be mad at Jeongguk for finding a way around their agreement. After all he still hadn't told Taehyung anything helpful about the miracle hunter. So if they were to be accurate, he hadn't earned the paint yet. But things like those became secondary in the face of the sheer talent Jeongguk held.

And not for the first time, Taehyung had the distinct inkling that Jeongguk was a treaure trove. That he had many more surprises and hidden talents in store for the prince to uncover.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd ask Jeongguk to paint something for him too.

 

Taehyung woke up to bare feet slapping onto the stone outside his chambers. With a grunt, he slowly opened his eyes and blinked into the stream of silvery moonlight until his sight had adjusted to the dim lighting.

The slaps of skin drew further away, then stopped and came back. Taehyung groaned and with heavy limbs got up, then padded over to the door. He didn't like being up to such an hour. Call him a scaredy-cat but the big empty castle at night was not what he'd consider a welcoming place. Every sound in the dark was suspicious, so Taehyung didn't even need to think about it before slinging his sword belt around his waist, over his nightgown.

Hand on the hilt of his sword he carefully opened the door - and came face-to-face with a wide-eyed Jeongguk.

"What-"

"O-oh, your Highness, I didn't mean to... I swear I didn't know..."

He was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Taehyung pulled him into his chest before the poor boy could stutter out more excuses.

"What is going on?" He splayed out his hands on Jeongguk's back, hoped the touch didn't hurt him and that the streaks had healed as well as the other claimed. He faltered. Jeongguk's back was drenched in sweat.

"Nothing, I... uh..."

"Jeongguk." Taehyung's voice was low yet stern. "This is not nothing."

Jeongguk, stubborn as always, made to pull away and kept his mouth shut for a few heartbeats. Taehyung said his name again, and he caved.

"...Maybe I had a dream."

Taehyung let the other pull away far enough to lift a brow at him. "A dream."

"A... not so good dream."

"These are called nightmares, Jeongguk."

"Yeah, well." Jeongguk pouted. Crossed his arms and looked away, arms still trembling.

And. It might be the middle of the night, and the castle was a repelling thing at that time, but. Taehyung would be damned if he let Jeongguk be on his own like that. With a tender smile, he opened the door further.

"Would you like to come in?"

 

If Taehyung hadn't disliked Lady Jeon before, he sure did now. Maybe it could be called hatred at this point, he didn't know. What he did know was that he'd never forgive her for what she'd done to Jeongguk.

The other had taken more than an hour to fall back asleep and even then he startled back awake several times, breath coming out in short gasps, cold sweat glittering on his temples, hands quivering where he clutched at Taehyung's bedsheets.

The prince had told him to stop fretting and come to bed with him, had prescribed the body heat and tight hug of a friend to him on the spot and left no room for arguments.

It was by the third time of jolting upright with a hoarse cry that Jeongguk told him about his nightmares. Not much, but certainly enough for Taehyung to guess the rest.

There was no doubt what he was talking about when Jeongguk mumbled, head buried in his hands, that he could still hear the snap sometimes. As if the sound was trapped between his ears.

He was not the only one. The terrible sound of the whip cleaving air and skin haunted Taehyung too. He'd never know, however, how much worse it was for Jeongguk. Could only guess about how deep that fright ran. And for that, for those scars Jeongguk might carry with him for the rest of his life, Taehyung hated Lady Jeon.

"Every night?" 

Taehyung mumbled the question into the crown of Jeongguk's hair after pulling him into his chest, one hand up and down the other's arm.

"...No." Jeongguk's voice was a raw thing, jagged stones rubbing against each other until splinters came off. "Only sometimes."

"How often?"

The following silence stretched even longer. A brown owl cried out from one of the towers.

"Not often. Maybe four times?"

"Four times?"

"Mhm." Jeongguk buried deeper into Taehyung's hold. "It was worse right after. Sometimes I could hear it even when I was awake. Could feel it on my- my-"

"Shhh." Taehyung's hands got back into motion where they had momentarily stopped. "You don't have to tell me."

So Jeongguk didn't. Only let out a deep sigh, a warm puff of air on Taehyung's collarbone.

"...Will I get hanged for sleeping in the same bed as a member of the royal family?"

Taehyung snorted hard enough for Jeongguk's hair to tickle his nose and make him sneeze loudly.

"Only if I tell anyone."

"And? Will you?"

"I was the one who invited you, why should I do that when I'll tell on you later, hm?"

"The ways of the royal mind are unfathomable."

Taehyung pinched his side. "You must really think lowly of me to say such things," he teased.

Again, Jeongguk took his sweet time before deigning to answer. 

"...No, not really."

"Hm. Thought so."

Taehyung ended up telling Jeongguk the tales of young brazen prince Taehyung on his search for an own horse, then. It was a long story, and one where he felt unspeakably stupid while telling it. Seventeen-years old Taehyung had been neither smart nor patient - which had been cause for a lot of unnecessary trouble and turned him into the scorn of the castle for several weeks. 

The embarrassing tale was good for one thing though, at the least. With Jeongguk snickering about Taehyung's stupidity and even going as far as mocking him, it was safe to say his mind had been taken off more... unpleasant thougths.

Like that, sleep could finally find the two of them.

 

---

The prince, it turned out, was a cuddler.

He was also a bad case of hogging the entire bed for himself. Which, granted, was reasonable considering it was his bed. Still. One fourth of the bed was still too few space for a grown man like Jeongguk. But when Jeongguk tried to peel away from him, or at least push the prince over just the tiniest bit so he was no longer on the verge of falling off, he was met with grunts of protests and an even tighter hold around him.

With a roll of his eyes, he resigned himself to his fate.

 

When prince Taehyung later asked him to paint something for him too, Jeongguk blanked.

And when late in the evening, the prince asked him to come to his chambers for the night from now on, he blanked again.

Jeongguk couldn't make sense of the prince.

At night, the prince kept telling him about the life at court. Most of the things he told Jeongguk weren't new to him but he let the prince ramble, left him in the assumption that Jeongguk knew nothing about the world of nobles and royals. It meant that he didn't need to pay close attention to what prince Taehyung said and could concentrate on the way moonlight caught in the soft waves of the prince's hair instead. (He'd never admit this to anyone, but there were already more than a handful of drawings and sketches of prince Taehyung he'd made. They were well-hidden between the bed's headboard and the wall, for nobody else to ever see.)

During one of those nights, Jeongguk had just teased the prince about his disastrous first encounter with Byeol, the prince grumbling about never should have been telling Jeongguk.

"I beg your forgiveness, your Highness." Jeongguk sat up enough to sketch a bow in bed, grinning.

The prince poked him in the side. "You little brat."

Jeongguk's grin widened.

"...Also stop calling me that."

With a huff, Jeongguk fell back down. "Now you're being weird. You are a prince, of course I'm gonna call you your Highness. I like to keep my head atop of my shoulders, thank you very much."

The prince fumbled around with a lose thread. "But. I consider you my friend. Aren't you my friend? Friends call each other by their names, no?"

Jeongguk hummed. Alllowed himself the time to marvel at it all, at the idea of calling a prince his friend, and even more so, be considered as one by him too.

"Lord Kim and Lord Jung call you by your titles too, though."

"Yeah, but they are nobility themselves. Titles, ranks and everything similar are the most important aspects of their lives."

"Ah. And I am just... me," Jeongguk concluded with a little bit of an edge to his words.

"Yah, that's not what I-" the prince spluttered, "I just meant, when we met, it wasn't in the confines of a social setting. You didn't meet my titles, but just me."

"Except that I knew who you were from the start."

"Yeah, well, I'm still working on that part of my argumentation. Anyway. I keep calling you by your first name all the time, so you should do the same." He sketched a bow, then stretched out a hand for Jeongguk. Jeongguk blinked at him. The prince wiggled his fingers and coughed pointedly, until Jeongguk hesitantly put a hand into his. The prince smiled. Pressed a short, gentle kiss to Jeongguk's knuckles. "My name is Taehyung."

"I know who you-"

The prince raised an eyebrow. Jeongguk huffed.

"Fine. I'm Jeongguk. But you already knew that."

"Ugh, you really had to ruin it, didn't you," Taehyung groaned.

Jeongguk snickered.

 

Three days later, Taehyung - Jeongguk still added a prince in front of his name mentally everytime - was still very much a bed and blanket hogger. But Jeongguk found he didn't particularily mind. 

What kept bothering him a lot more was that he had not the slightest idea what to paint for the prince. What would be something who already had everything could still appreciate?

His mind kept drifting back to the prince's stallion. He knew how fond Taehyung was of him. After already painting the two Trakehners as good as memory served him for Lord Jung, it seemed like a cheap idea, however. 

Maybe Taehyung would prefer a pretty landscape painting.

Or... maybe not.

Seriously, he did not know.

Thinking of horses and Byeol had him also thinking of his lovely Bam.

"I wonder how my girl is doing," he sighed, chin propped up in one hand.

Next to him, Taehyung stilled. Stopped reading whatever the preceptor had given him to study and eyed Jeongguk strangely. "Your girl?"

Jeongguk hummed dreamily. "Yeah. She's got that cute mark right on her forehead, like a star, with rays and all."

"A... star."

"Mhm. And her mane is so lush, so long and flowy and gorgeous. She is such a pretty girl. Listens so well. Knows me better than anyone." He sighed again. "...I miss her."

Taehyung chuckled then, and it sounded oddly relieved. "Oh. You are... you're talking about a horse."

"Hm?" Jeongguk blinked at him. "Of course I am. Didn't I say so?"

"No. But I'm glad we cleared that misunderstanding."

"...Sure?"

Study material forgotten, Taehyung leaned forward and perched himself up on the desk. Gave Jeongguk a teasing bat with his eyelashes. "I'm curious now. What do you mean with 'my' girl? You don't own a horse yourself, right? I mean. These are quite expensive."

Oh. Jeongguk bit his lip. Pressed out a laugh and swatted at thin air. 

"What an outlandish thought. As if someone like me could ever call such a wonderful horse their own, hm?"

Taehyung squinted at him.

"You sure are a curious one. But if I think about it, maybe that could help me. See, I've got this problem..."

And he told Jeongguk about the riddle.

The one he'd given Taehyung at the ball, and that the prince evidently had not solved yet.

"...I feel as if I'm this close to the solution, but then it slips my mind again, like sand through my fingers," Taehyung lamented. "That breathtaking lord must be connected to your manor in some ways, I just know it. There also is quite a taxing likeness to the miracle hunter - wait, did I tell you about that one already? I think I did - so maybe they are related. Maybe they share the same father, or something similar. What do you think about all this?"

Jeongguk sighed deeply and rubbed a hand over his face. This whole ordeal was getting exhausting.

"You've got all the clues right, but at the same time you are completely wrong. I don't know what to tell you."

"Wait." Taehyung straightened up to his full height. "You know, right? You actually, truly know them? And have the answer to those questions?"

"Yes." Jeongguk nodded, then turned away. "But I'm not telling you."

He wouldn't. If Taehyung ever were to learn the answer, it would have to be because he solved the riddle on his own. Every other way would make the whole ordeal futile. The prince would not get a single hint from him.

And despite how much time had already passed, Jeongguk still clung to the fading hope that maybe, Taehyung would one day get it right.

 

"No."

"But-"

"Your grace, we have strict orders from his Highness to not let you do anything that might be considered a servant's work," the red-cheeked woman retorted and ushered him out of the kitchen.

Jeongguk crossed his arms and pouted. He couldn't just sit around all day and do nothing! If the prince forbade him to be useful, he'd find other ways to keep himself occupied - and his body in shape. Taehyung had taken up the role of smearing the eye salve on Jeongguk's back every night and it was working wonders, so yesterday the medic had given him permission to move around and make use of his back muscles again, as long as he took it slow.

Maybe the prince or one of the lords could even lend him a crossbow for a bit.

 

"You know what would piss off prince Taehyung?" Lord Kim snickered. "If you took his horse out for a ride without asking."

Jeongguk blanched. He did not want to piss off the prince. Ever. Taehyung might've said they were friends now, but going against a prince's will was still a very bad idea. Especially if his father, the king, was known to sometimes have a little bit of a temper.

"I-I didn't want to take his horse!"

"Uhum, sure." The lord grinned at him. "And you were also not staring at and lurking around the royal stables all day, right? Here is the crossbow you requested, by the way."

He carelessly handed the weapon to Jeongguk, who had to hurry and sort out his limbs to catch it in time.

"You know what? Take it for however long you want. I doubt his royal Loneliness will go on a hunt anytime soon anyway, as long as he hasn't found his dance partner. And to be honest, I was never big on hunting myself." He leaned closer and whispered not all too silently, "I prefer mocking the prince and Hoseok whenever they miss their target instead. So yeah, use it to your heart's content. And don't worry about wasting arrows, the squires are on arrow-making duty every Thursday."

Jeongguk blinked. He certainly did not see this coming. "I...Thank you!"

"Eh, whatever," the lord waved off. "Also, the thing with the prince's horse was a joke. He actually has this dare going on, that whoever manages to stay in the saddle is allowed to take his precious Byeol for a ride. Many have tried, many have failed. But considering how easily you rode off back in the forest I do think it is save to say you'll have no problems like that. So." He patted Jeongguk on the back, then froze, apologized multiple times before opting for clasping his shoulder instead. "Uhm, yeah, what I wanted to say is, have fun, kid. Just don't overdo it. I don't want the prince to behead me, this Lord here," he pointed at himself,  "looks too gorgeous to die a timely death."

With that, he pivoted on his heel and left Jeongguk in the middle of the courtyard, crossbow in both hands.

 

Jeongguk did not dare making use of those bits of freedom yet. It sounded too good to be true. Simply, he was not used to being treated that kindly by nobility, and getting close to every wish fulfilled. Three years could be a long time when spent in any kind of confinemet, be it physical or otherwise. So he didn't trust his newfound luck first.

And in a way, it felt like he was betraying the staff at the castle. They didn't know of his heritage. For them, he was some servant who had the fortune of having caught the prince's eye. He was not supposed to be treated like a lord.

With those things in mind, he brought the crossbow to his room and headed for the library instead. To seek answers, and a save place, away from prying eyes. Preceptor Kim was already waiting for him, a plate of small pastries and a warm smile at the ready.

"There you are, Jeongguk." There was a challenging glint in his eyes as he said it. "What will it be today?"

Jeongguk answered his grin and took the chair across from him. "Surprise me."

"Very well." The preceptor gently pushed a stack of books out of the way, clearing the table between them, then propped up both arms on his ellbows. "Then tell me, is violence inherent to humans?"

 

They spent the rest of the afternoon debating, sky outside turning from blue to dark grey with a few snowflakes fluttering down, then turning blue again and colouring itself pink and purple later on.

After preceptor Kim had begun reading whatever book he currently was buried in to Jeongguk while the latter was painting and Jeongguk did not stop asking questions on certain things, the preceptor had come to the conclusion Jeongguk was bright enough to make a good partner in debating. Several hours and even entire days had passed with the two of them discussing the most diverse topics ever since. From medical methods, to the system of feudalism and its fault, to different philosophical views of the old masters the preceptor was so fond of.

And Jeongguk found it was actually fun. He hadn't really tried debating before. Sure, with his father he used to talk and discuss things but it's usually been more of a friendly banter than anything else, thanks to their competitive nature. The preceptor however, he had a very different way of arguing. Made Jeongguk question his own point of view constantly and had him work for his arguments. Gave him heavy books to read about the topic when Jeongguk hit a low or refused to believe the things preceptor Kim told him.

Jeongguk had never considered himself to be a scholar. Yet spending that much time with the preceptor and being met with challenges of the mind again and again, he found that he enjoyed it. Learning new things, especially to either enhance or change his point of view was fascinating. And the royal library held so many books on the most diverse topics, more than Joengguk could ever dream to be fit in his father's study. This place, under the guidance and watchful eyes of the preceptor, was a feast of the mind.

He had no inkling how the prince could withstand it and visit so little.

The preceptor tapped his finger on the table. "We are Cain’s children, though. And if we consider this, then Man is a predator whose natural instinct is to kill with a weapon. Give a weapon to a human and you will see them make use of it sooner or later. Or have you ever happened upon a person who resisted the pull of power?"

Jeongguk thought of Lady Jeon's hands and what they could do to him, how she delightened in his pain. He shook his head.

"Extraordinary claims like this require extraordinary evidence. You can't generalize behaviour without ironclad proof to it. Or else it would be fit to call the entire population of the papal states kin slayers, as they derive from a man who slew his brother."

The preceptor's eyes widened. "You are familiar with the myth of Rome's creation?"

Jeongguk frowned. "Yes?"

"My friend." This time it was preceptor Kim who shook his head, expression full of disbelief and something that might've been awe. "How come you know the story of Romulus and Remus? It is certainly not one to be read during mass." He tilted his head then, and gave Jeongguk an inquisite look "Are you sure you are a mere servant?"

Jeongguk merely hummed. But from the look of the other, he knew the preceptor wouldn't let it go that easily. For the time being, however, he let them return to their debate.

"Fine. If you mention such an ancient tale from the Italian ula, then I might as well enlighten you on what I read one of their brightest heads say the other day..."

 

After they finished with no clear winner, Jeongguk lingered in the doorway. The preceptor gave him one of his kind smiles.

"You still have questions."

"One question," he corrected.

"Very well. What would be the aforementioned question?"

"It... it's not that important, really," Jeongguk started, scratching at his nape and looking away.

Preceptor Kim chuckled. "I might not know much, but from what I learned about you, I can already tell that whatever comes next is the complete opposite of unimportant. At least for you. Go ahead."

"Well it's just," he hesitated despite what the preceptor had said just moments prior, "I was merely wondering if the rumors are true. About the prince allowing anyone to ride his stallion who manages to stay up in the saddle. That is all. ...Do you know? If it's true?"

The preceptor laughed good-heartedly. "It is. But I would weigh risk and gain carefully, if I were you."

"I will." Jeongguk bowed deeply. "Thank you for your time."

 

---

Arguing with the king was tiring.

Arguing with the king when he was also your father was even more draining, Taehyung found.

He'd been in the king's private chambers for more than two hours. Two hours of his father telling him to stop chasing a mirage and pick another wife or husband and Taehyung refusing to do so. His father, of course, had not been pleased and given him two more weeks to find that mysterious lord of his, not a day longer.

And. How was Taehyung supposed to find him in that time when to this day his single lead was Jeongguk, who refused to tell him anything helpful? Maybe he should pester him more, should not let him off that easily.

With that in mind, Taehyung made his way to Jeongguk's room, only to find it abandoned. And almost missed a step of the stairs leading down to the Great Hall when Hoseok told him where it was that he could find the young man instead.

He went over to the courtyard, then to the Knights' quarters, not willing to believe a single word from his friend. Yet when Taehyung had almost crossed the place, there he was: Jeongguk, a crossbow lifted in a way that made it obvious he knew what he was doing. Taehyung watched him, steps slowing down, quietening. Jeongguk adjusted the crossbow, took a deep breath - Taehyung held his own, watching with rapt attention - and fired.

"Centre" one of the squires who'd been standing next to the target announced. "Again."

Taehyung let out  quivering breath.

Jeongguk nodded, took a few more steps back from the target, loaded another arrow, and fired once more. Even from the distance Taehyung could hear the wood splintering as the second arrow embedded itself in the shaft of the first. The squires applauded.

"You are in great shape today as well," the one who'd earlier announced the result called over.

Jeongguk bowed his head with a smile, then loaded a new arrow. "Could you suggest a new target for me, maybe?"

It took a little while of the squires whispering amongst themselves, then the one who seemed to speak for all of them pointed up the keep.

"Under the third window, there is a stone missing, the hole got filled up with dirt and soil over time. Can you see?"

Jeongguk lifted the crossbow, aimed, and cleanly embedded the arrow in said hole. He nodded. "I see it."

Taehyung gaped.

 

The second time he remembered he'd wanted to ask Jeongguk about the hunter and the lord from the ball, he wasn't to be found anywhere again. This time it was Seokjin who told him where he'd gone.

"Heard him say something about going on a ride again," the lord said around a mouthful of roast rabbit.

Taehyung's knife missed the meat on his own plate and screeched over the metal. "A ride? And what do you mean with 'again'?"

The lord rolled his eyes. "It is called 'again' when something repeats itself multiple times, no?"

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"It does."

"The other one!"

"Ah." Seokjin tapped his own nose and smirked. "I see. His Perkiness doesn't know about how Jeongguk basically adopted Byeol over the past days."

"I- what?" Taehyung swivelled around to Hoseok but the other lord just shrugged and nodded while helping himself to a second serving. "I wasn't even gone anywhere! How did I miss this?"

Seokjin turned to Hoseok too, now. "Doesn't it remember you of how his Highness was being oblivious to things at the manor as well, back then?"

The younger lord thought about it, chewing on his bite before nodding again. "There is a certain similarity to the situation at hand, yes."

"See?" Seokjin adressed Taehyung and waved a hand at Hoseok. "Your problem, your Highness, is that once you focus on one thing you forget everything else. Jeongguk has been taking Byeol for rides since more than a week. It is the talk of the entire castle, the boy who tamed the royal stallion and stubbornly refuses to fall off. Your mind was just elsewhere. When was the last time you've had a proper talk with the boy, hm?"

"Last night."

The lord tilted his head. "Why would you talk to him at night? Nights are for sleeping, and resting in one's room."

"Uhm." It was not his story to tell.

He found himself at knife's point the next moment.

"You know, it makes sense what preceptor Kim told me now," Seokjin quipped. "Fate could be loudly knocking at your door and you still wouldn't see it. He keeps pressing me to tell him what went down at the manor, has an outlandish yet possible theory now. It all makes sense. But I promised him not to tell you yet."

Taehyung threw his hands in the air. "Why does everybody refuse to tell me anything?!"

"Because you're dumb."

He gave the lord a flat stare. "You know, for that alone I could behead you."

The lord merely rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I am too handsome to be killed for such a petty little thing."

"There is literally no connection between those two things."

 

Two days later - two days of Taehyung sneaking after Jeongguk and watching him shoot arrow after arrow, amazement at his skills never ceasing - a group of bards arrived at the castle. They played for the royal family at dinner, then stayed a few days to continue the action. In that time, Taehyung barely saw Jeongguk as his father was suddenly busy planning festivities to make good use of the admittedly great musicians. And when the king planned anything, it meant Taehyung was there to watch and learn all day.

So when he could finally make time to go see Jeongguk and was met with an empty room once more, he was understandably not delighted. And this time, neither of the lords knew where to find him. 

He was about to stomp back to his chamber, when the preceptor called after him. Taehyung groaned. He really, really didn't have the nerve to argue with him about missed lessons right now. To his surprise, preceptor Kim didn't look the slightest bit mad when he approached.

"Your Highness. I heard you are looking for Jeongguk?"

Taehyung nodded stiffly.

The preceptor hummed. "I see. You might want to follow me, please."

Letting out a little sigh, he did. What did he have to lose at this point?

The preceptor lead him down several hallways, up a few stairs, then down again, until there was a faint melody audible. The bards must've been practicing in one of the rooms here. They stopped in front of the door to the small art gallery, music loud and clear now coming out of the room to their right.

"Please." Preceptor Kim gestured towards the slightly ajar door of the gallery. "Take a look."

Taehyung pushed the door further open, and for the nth time if it came to Jeongguk, was floored.

Jeongguk was clad in a simple yet nonetheless pretty tunic of pristine white, dancing through the empty room by himself, eyes closed. His steps were light and effortless as he floated over the polished wood, fitting his movements to every change of music he could hear from next door.

Even in clothes not suited for a ball and without dance partner, he was beautiful to watch. There was a broad smile on his face when he swirled on his heels, feet never faltering. The music built up its momentum and Jeongguk moved further into the room then, stepping right into a square of golden sunlight falling through one of the windows. His entire form was drenched in honey, tunic glowing, Jeongguk tilting his head back and beaming at the ceiling, eyes still closed, dark hair swaying elegantly and gleaming bronze around his head, like a halo. He was a vision. Ethereal, that's what he looked like.

Taehyung didn't know what to make of it.

"He is stunning, isn't he," preceptor Kim muttered next to him. "Jeongguk of house Jeon, oldest and suspiciously quickly forgotten child of the late Lord Jeon."

The prince pulled away from the door to stare at the preceptor instead.

"What," he pressed out, "wha-what did you just say?"

The preceptor gave him one of those infuriating secretive smiles. "The answer to the riddle bestowed upon you, your Highness, has been right under your nose all along, it seems. Sometimes reading old dusty tomes and looking up ancestral charts can have its benefits."

"What..." Taehyung still had trouble processing what he just heard. "But. Lady Jeon? Why would she, why didn't he, and, what?"

"Ah." The preceptor hummed. "The current Lady Jeon seems to be the late Lord Jeon's second wife - and not Jeongguk's mother. She also seems not to be of noble blood."

"But then if, only if, all what you said is true, then how did she become the new master of the manor? Why not him? It makes no sense."

"That, I reckon, is a question only Jeongguk can answer you." Preceptor Kim bowed. "I'll take my leave now, if you'll allow it."

"Sure," Taehyung mumbled, already back to staring at Jeongguk.

With that white garment and neatly combed hair, the likeness to the lord who stole Taehyung's heart was indeed uncanny. Still, he was not convinced. This entire story was much too far-fetched to be possibly real. Jeongguk, the rightful Lord of Jeon manor, and the man Taehyung had been searching for months now? It would need more than a few words from his teacher to convinve him of such an unlikely truth.

A plan was beginning to form in his head. With determined steps, Taehyung left the gallery behind and went looking for his father next.

He needed to do some persuading and have his father turn the already planned ball into a second masquerade ball. Let's see what Jeongguk would make of it.

 

---

"Another masquerade ball?," Jeongguk repeated what he just heard.

The prince nodded. Jeongguk could feel the movement of his chin against his head where Taehyung had pulled him into a loose hug, chin nestled into his hair, as so often just shortly before they fell asleep together.

"Yes," Taehyung confirmed. He hummed something to himself, then added, "I wonder if that beautiful lord with the owl mask will appear again."

Jeongguk clenched his hands into fists. Oh, he would come. The stranger with the owl mask would be at the ball. He'd make sure of it.

"That reminds me..." he tried to make it sound like an off-handed comment, "am I allowed to return to the manor?"

The silence following his question was not a comfortable one. Jeongguk wondered if he said something wrong, wondered what the prince's face looked like right now. With the clouds covering the moon, even if he pulled away he wouldn't be able to make out a single thing.

"That might be unwise," Taehyung finally muttered.

"Why?"

"The lady might still be searching for you. And if you appear in front of her all of a sudden again, I can imagine she will be not happy about it."

"Why?" Jeongguk absentmindedly tugged at the sleeve of Taehyung's nightgown. "Doesn't she know where I am? Did you not tell her you took me here for better treatment and will return me as soon as I can work properly again?"

The next silence was even worse than the first one. It felt heavy, laden with something Jeongguk could not discern, pressing down on him from everywhere. It was unnerving.

The prince took a long while to answer. 

"...No."

"No?"

"No. I didn't tell her a thing. Nobody knows where you are, save for your two friends from the kitchen."

And. Jeongguk had had a hunch that his presence at the castle was not exactly well-discussed, but this? This was a lot to take in. Taehyung had taken him away from the manor. Without the lady's consent. He'd stolen a servant from its rightful owner. Except that Jeongguk was not a servant, nor was Lady Jeon his owner. But he often enough forgot that tidbit of knowledge.

"Then..." He gulped. Did that mean he could never see Bam again? Or Jimin? Or Yoongi? "Then, could you send someone over to get something for me, please?"

"Get something for you?"

"Yes, I... I have that little casket, it's hidden behind my mattress. Jimin might know where it is. And if I am not allowed to go myself, then maybe someone else could be so kind to get it for me..."

"I'll go myself tomorrow," the prince said. It sounded like a vow.

 

Taehyung went out early the next day. Which was good, Jeongguk supposed, for the prince did not witness him sleeping through half of the day like that.

Maybe Jeongguk had been a little too excited about the news regarding the upcoming ball. And maybe, just maybe, that meant he had lain awake half of the night, trying to plan out the event. Which had been on the wrong side of smart for several reasons, one of them being that a big part of the planning was dependant on what the third magical chestnut would gift him this time - and there was no telling what it would be beforehand. 

Either way, once he was up and about, Jeongguk headed up to Lord Kim’s chamber, the room that somehow had become a meeting point for shared meals of the two lords, occasionally preceptor Kim – most of the time dragged there against his will by Lord Kim himself – and Jeongguk himself. And he tried to be subtle about it, he really did, but it seemed this time he didn’t do such a great job considering it took only three questions of his before Lord Jung laughed and said,

“You really are eager for that ball, aren’t you? Look at you, b with excitement already. It’s still a few days, kid, take a breath.”

Jeongguk blushed. Mumbled something incomprehensible to himself that had the two lords laughing even more.

His embarrassment did not end then yet, Lord Kim making a point to about missing breakfast and only coming out for lunch, hair still unkempt. Jeongguk’s hands shot up to his head, eyes widening as he felt the dishevelled nest that bespoke a night’s rest with lots of movements.

The lords only laughed louder.

He sighed and resigned himself to his fate of being the laughing stock of the day. Which made the decision to sneak down and take Byeol for a long ride easier. Everything, to get away from the lords’ snickering. His head was still flaming red.

Byeol neighed loudly when Jeongguk drew closer. He imagined it was a happy neigh. The stallion and him had gotten close over the past days, to the point where Byeol was no longer making fun of him and giving him judging looks every now and then. But not as close as he was with his beloved Bam, of course. Jeongguk really hoped he could sneak out to the mansion soon and check up on the mare – and that until then, the stable boys were taking good care of his girl.

The day passed like that, in a rush of mocking cackles and trees flying by, wind catching in his hair. The sun was already setting by the time Jeongguk rode over the drawbridge. The guards positioned at the portcullis tipped their heads at him, the sight of Jeongguk returning from a lengthy ride astride the prince’s horse already familiar to them.

Where Jeongguk always had to be in a hurry with Bam, now he deliberately took all the time he could with tending to Taehyung’s stallion. Brought two large buckets of water for the stallion to drink, untacked him, then began the thorough grooming. Braided a wisp with hay from the stables and banged and strapped Byeol, just how his father taught him, the sound of his slaps ringing through the stables. He also picked the hooves, combed mane and tail and wiped down the tack by himself, no matter how often the many stable boys of the castle urged him to leave those things to them. Jeongguk was the one who had taken Byeol out for a ride, so it was his responsibility to take care of him afterwards. Things like that, he took very seriously. Had always hated it when he’d had to cut short his treatment of Bam because of the lady.

By the time he made his way back inside the castle, the sun was already setting. Jeongguk longingly looked up into the sky, wishing for the days to become longer again. But every winter ends, eventually. And you never knew what the next spring would hold.

He’d just finished dinner on his own – the two lords had to attend some of their lordly duties – when Taehyung waltzed into his room. The prince was grinning widely.

“Here.” He reached under his cloak and pulled out the casket.

Jeongguk accepted it with a deep bow and three ‘Thank You’s. He opened the casket, just a bit, to peek inside if everything was still there. It was. He could make out the last chestnut, the brooch and his other small trinkets that had survived Lady Jeon.

“By the way,” the prince quipped, “Jimin did not know. It took him quite a while, and the cook three different excuses to Lady Jeon, until he found this. He also found a few other things there, but didn’t want to tell me what.”

“Good, that’s. Good,” Jeongguk hurried to say. Shut the casket close with a snap and put it away quickly. It was not Taehyung’s time to see the content yet.

The prince gave him a gentle smile.  “I’ll leave you alone with your treasure box now,” he said and slowly pulled the door shut behind him.

Jeongguk was too slow with his thanks this time.

 

The next days passed in a blur, Taehyung once again most of the time gone as he was heavily included in the preparations for the ball.

Only at night, Jeongguk could spend some time with the prince, the latter not failing to bring Jeongguk into his chambers even when he insisted that he could sleep alone, the nightmares hadn't come back that often lately. Taehyung was having none of it, just drew his sword, pointed it at Jeongguk with a cocky smirk and ordered him to follow him to his chambers now for his daily dose of prescribed royal cuddles.

The days, Jeongguk spent in the library, with Byeol, or in the room next door to wherever the bards were playing.

He drew away from the two lords a bit, after they've given him twin looks of pity and explained to him that the ball was only for high nobility. That he should better stay in his room, lest a commoner like him got discovered at such a festivity and caused trouble for the prince.

Jeongguk didn't want to hear it again. So he began making up excuses to eat alone. Even if the way how Lord Kim had spoken about the matter had sounded irritatingly challenging - as if he was daring Jeongguk to contradict him. As if he knew  Jeongguk fell into the small group pf people who would actually be permitted to come.

But Jeongguk kept his mouth shut and his head low. Let them believe what they wanted.

 

Two days before the ball, he dared to sneak out all the way to the manor with Byeol. Put on the white tunic one of the servants had gotten him, together with a lightly-coloured hood, making himself almost invisible on the white stallion against the snow. Just in case. He'd take the back gate, but if by chance the lady was in one of the upper levels of the manor and looked outside, he wanted to keep possibilities of spotting him as low as possible.

When they neared the outer wall, the stallion began prancing and threw his head back, eyes rolling. Jeongguk needed several minutes standing right in front of the gate, gently Byeol’s neck and murmuring comforting words before the Lipizzan calmed down. It had him wonder if anything happened in the night the prince got him out of here.

There was no use pondering it now though, he had to simply try to make the best of it, hope that Byeol would not lose his cool and give them away.

Jeongguk was slow with pushing the gate open, one eye always on the stallion behind him. He peeked inside, and was lucky enough to see Seungmin walking past.

“Psst.”

The boy’s head whipped around.

“Pst, over here, at the gate.”

Seungmin still hesitated to come closer, eyes darting from side to side. Jeongguk didn’t want to risk saying his own name yet. Didn’t know who else might be nearby and hear him. So he tried something else.

“Is the lady at the manor?”

The servant shook his head, daring to carefully creep closer at last.

It was good enough for Jeongguk to push open the gate and let himself in, reins in one hand, Byeol trotting after him.

Seungmin gaped. “J-Jeongguk?!”

Jeongguk took off his hood and smiled. He bowed his head. “I apologize for the trouble I may have caused. But I won’t stay long, I just came here to pay a visit. Please do not tell anybody I’m here.”

“Pa-pay a visit?”

He nodded. “I’ve been gone too long already. Gotta see how my girl is doing.”

And with that, he strode past the bug-eyed boy, Byeol in tow, and made his way to the stables.

Bam let out a string of loud neighs the moment he set foot inside the building. Jeongguk laughed. Strapped Byeol to one of the beams, relieved the stallion didn’t make a fuss any more, then skipped over to his mare.

“Hello, sweetie,” he crooned, the mare sticking her head out and not even letting him open the box door before she got some ear scratches. Jeongguk chuckled but of course humoured her. It’s been too long.

Then he was inside, hands grappling for Bam’s neck, the horse pushing against his cheek, his neck, his shoulder, softly nibbling there and letting out warm huffs against his skin.

“I missed you too,” he whispered into her mane. Pressed a tender kiss there, then another one at the star on her forehead.

Bam curled around him and didn’t let him take a single step back for several minutes. Needed that close contact after weeks and weeks of Jeongguk gone. Just like him.

So they stood there, snuggling in Bam’s box to their heart’s content, until eventually Jeongguk drew away to take a good look at the mare.

Her fur was shiny, the pretty black glistening even in the stable’s dim light, muscles shifting powerfully with each motion. She looked healthy. Only her tail could use some extensive untangling with all the hay stuck in there. Jeongguk let his hands roam all over Bam in slow, gentle moves. He let out a deep sigh when he couldn’t find anything amiss. From the look of it, Bam was perfectly fine. The stable boys seemed to treat her well.

“You’re okay,” he breathed, back to caressing the mare’s head. Repeated it like a mantra. “You are okay, you are alright.”

The mare nipped at his shoulder and let out a snort. Jeongguk chuckled, but the sound got stuck somewhere in his throat.

“I’m sorry, I can’t take you out now. I have to leave soon again, before the lady knows I’ve been here. But if things go well, I’ll be back again soon. And maybe things will get back to normal. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

Bam let out another neigh and Jeongguk laughed.

“Yeah, thought so.”

He was about to go and tend for Bam’s tail himself, when there were hurried steps and a familiar voice shrieked thorough the building.

“Jeongguk-ah?!”

Jimin was over and standing in front of the box faster than Jeongguk could step around the mare.

“You big idiot, what are you even doing here, do you know what the lady will do once she finds you? What were you thinking?!”

Jimin’s voice climbed higher and higher with every word, until he was shrieking again, Bam flattening her ears already at the noise.

Jeongguk pouted and threw an irritated look at Seungmin who’d just reached them and was panting heavily.

“I thought I told you to not tell anybody.”

The boy gulped. “I, uhm, I didn’t know you meant him too.”

Jeongguk bumped his head against the box wall and groaned.

Jimin scowled at him, then began pointing fingers. “Jeongguk, you big idiot, it is your own luck that poor Minnie over there let me know you’re here. Sneaking into the manor without telling me. The audacity! I thought we were friends.”

“We are, of course we are,” Jeongguk tried to calm him down. “I just thought, the fewer people knew, the better. I’m not staying long anyway, just wanted to check on Bam.”

The kitchen boy thought about it with pursed lips for a long moment, then nodded reluctantly.

“I guess that makes sense.”

Then his eyes widened.

“Wait, does that mean you’ll leave soon?”

“Uh, well-“

“Stay right where you are! I’ll be right back!”

And with that, Jimin ran off as quickly as he’d arrived, leaving a puzzled Jeongguk behind.

 

“Here.”

It could’ve been only a few minutes since Jimin left when he came back and ed a linen bag in Jeongguk’s hands.

“Take it. Put it away, show it to the prince, I don’t care. But take it, these are yours anyway, and they are much safer with you than they are here.”

Jeongguk peered inside the bag.

“I- thank you!”

Jimin snorted. “You don’t need to thank me. Seriously. But maybe be more creative with the place you chose for hiding things next time, yeah?”

Then he gave Jeongguk a tight hug before proceeding to usher him out.

“Now go, go, you don’t know when the dragon will be back! Don’t worry about us or your horse, we’ve got this.”

Jimin shoved him out, barely gave him time to untie Byeol, pushed him over the courtyard and out the gate.

“Don’t show your face here before you got your title back and a royal wedding ring on your finger, you hear me?!” He gave a happy wave that betrayed his mean words, then closed the back gate behind Jeongguk.

The bag resting in his lap and heart a lot lighter than it’s been before, Jeongguk headed back to the castle.

 

It was the day of the masquerade ball, and Jeongguk was not exaggerating when he said that the whole castle was up and about, everybody in a hurry to get a never-ending string of tasks done. Even the nobles residing here were all rushing to get things done. Nobody was to be found at their usual places. Jeongguk spent the morning looking for anyone, be it Lord Jung, Lord Kim, the preceptor or the prince himself, in vain.

He's never seen something like that before – the extensive preparations for a grand feast hosted by the King, that is.

Unsure what else to do, he retreated to his room to look through the bag Jimin packed him once more. Everything that’s come out of the first two chestnuts was there, the entire hunter’s dress, complete with green hat and all, and the snow owl’s costume too. Even the mask itself.

Jeongguk didn’t want to think about what would happen once Aeri found out Jimin had been in her room. That he’d not only taken Jeongguk’s owl mask but his gold necklace too. There was the possibility she wouldn’t treat his friend that harshly for the theft, considering these two things never belonged to her in the first place, but it was a slim chance.

At least, Jimin still had Yoongi who would look after him. And who knew, maybe his stepsister wouldn’t note these two things gone any time soon. Jeongguk hoped she would be ignorant enough not to miss them.

The next few hours, he spent sketching. Finally had an idea what to paint for Taehyung. He kept going back in his memory to the night of the first masquerade ball, to how the prince had looked dancing with him, what he’d worn, how his face had been glowing and he’d radiated so much joy.  Jeongguk wasn’t sure about the final motive yet, but now he knew what emotions he wanted to get across. Knew which atmosphere to go for, which set of colours to primarily use.

Again and again the charcoal scraped over the paper and covered it in thick black lines, until his hands were as black as the charcoal itself. As dirty as they used to be for three years every single day.

Morning turned into noon turned into afternoon, and soon enough it was about time to get ready for the fun.

Jeongguk ignored the servants throwing their hands up in despair as he fetched and heated water for a long bath all on his own. One of them attempted to rip the water bucket from his hands but Jeongguk simply tightened his hold and pulled it back. He was too strong for the woman to try again.

One long soak and extensive scrubbing of his whole body later, he sat on the bed, casket in his lap. The last chestnut clinging to the little twig weighed heavy in his palm when he pulled it out.

“Dear chestnut,” he mumbled, “if you take my wishes into consideration, please give me a second gown for a masquerade ball. One, where the prince will immediately recognise me as the one from last time, even with a mask on. Please.”

The chestnut grew heavier and heavier and heavier still, until Jeongguk had no other choice but to let it go.

It plunged to the ground, loud enough to wake a sleeping man two rooms away. Jeongguk rubbed his ringing ears. Honestly, he didn’t know what to make of the increasing noise those chestnuts made.

This time, when he picked it up after putting the now empty twig back in the casket – who knew if it held any wonders on itself – there was no fabric peaking out of the nut. Only a jagged crack running down from top to bottom. Jeongguk fumbled around until one of his fingernails got into the crack and he could slowly, carefully, pry the chestnut open bit by bit.

He held his breath when the crack deepened and buried itself further in the shell. Then, with one last tug, the shell split in two and both halves fell to the floor in a cloud of dark smoke.

Jeongguk coughed against the immediate scratching in his throat, arms waving, trying to clear the air.

Once the smoke had receded, he got a good look at the mass of black fabric covering the ground.

Jeongguk frowned. Had the second and third chestnut gotten mixed up somehow? Was this the black cape he’d requested to blend into the shadows with but had gotten the gorgeous white gown instead?

Still confused and ridden with doubt, he picked up the garment and laid it out on the bed.

That’s when his eyes widened.

This too was a fit suited for a ball. Because it was not black at all.

Rather, it was like a dark rainbow. Metallic threads of green, copper, purple, blue and silver glistening on the fabric in elaborate embroidery patterns, small gemstones of the same colours filling up blank spaces. The sleeves were slashed in several places where an undershirt could be pulled through, and when Jeongguk lifted up the dark yet colourful piece of garment, he could see a pearl-coloured undershirt with the tell-tale shimmer of real silk tugged underneath it.

There was also a massive gold belt with the same kind of gemstones and glass as the hunter’s brooch held sitting in the centre of each bit.

And what he’d thought to be a plain black coat earlier, turned out to be a cape indeed – one of those worn on only one shoulder, with a thick rope of twisted silver fastened to it to keep it in place. But it was not plain black, nor was it a simple cape. Because it was not made of fabric at all, only the underside. The upper side, however, was covered entirely in giant iridescent feathers that were black one moment, then green, purple or even golden in the next. It was unlike any other cape he’d ever seen.

The mask still resting on the ground was made of the same, albeit smaller black yet not black feathers, with tiny pearls evenly spread over it in a pattern of white dots.

Jeongguk understood, then.

This time, he was not to be an owl. These were the feathers of a starling.

A common bird, easily overlooked. Which was a shame, considering how pretty they were. Especially in spring. And they had such a unique voice, could imitate near to every sound they picked up which made them able to create the most diverse melodies.

Jeongguk smiled.

 

He stayed true to his fashion of turning up late. The bards had arrived at the Great Hall and filled it with joyous music hours ago.

The buffet was even larger than last time. In the middle of the room, he could see Taehyung dancing with some woman in a light blue gown. Everything about the prince’s garments screamed royalty, from the intense purple colour of his houppelande, to the heavily gold-embroidered doublet, to the fur-lined sleeves hanging down his arms and the set of heavy necklaces adorning his neck, clearly visible even from afar. And lastly, his bare face. Not a single person on the dance floor showed more than their eyes, chin and sometimes mouth, except for him. He was the main attraction, after all.

Testing the hold of his own mask one last time, Jeongguk fully entered the room. Again, heads turned his way. But he refused to straight head over to Taehyung. Went to the buffet first, and waited for anyone to ask him for a dance.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Only two bites into his snack, a tall man whom Jeongguk recognized as a count who used to be close to his father approached him.

Jeongguk didn’t think twice about accepting the offered hand and let himself be led onto the dance floor. The moment he began dancing, he could feel eyes on him. Ignored them in favour of having a little fun.

The count was a good dancer – but he was not outstanding. Did not lead him nearly as effortlessly as Taehyung did.

The music changed; dance partners swapped. Jeongguk let it happen, let himself be handed from one noble to the next as he steadily made his way over the dance floor.

He was about to take the hand of yet another masked stranger, when said hand got pushed away and another one with familiar slender fingers entered his vision instead. He grasped it, slowly looking up the purple sleeve, the fur hugging it where the outer sleeve began, the golden threads glittering in the shine of countless candles lit on the chandeliers high above.

 “How long do you plan on letting me wait,” the prince murmured. His eyes were glinting as they roved over Jeongguk from head to toe.

Jeongguk gave him a small grin, then bowed. “I wasn’t aware we had an appointment, your Highness.”

Taehyung huffed, then tugged at Jeongguk’s hand so he twirled right into the prince’s arms.

“Do you really think this entire feast is for anyone but you? Yet you didn’t even come to say your greetings.”

He twirled Jeongguk out again, then laid his other hand onto his hip.

“Apologies, your Highness.” Jeongguk dipped his head but had no doubt the prince could see his smile anyway. “I was running a little late. Got lost on my way here.”

The prince hummed. “Why is it that I don’t believe a single word coming out of that pretty mouth of yours?”

Jeongguk gasped in mock horror. “Your Highness, would I ever lie to you?!”

“You tell me.”

And then they truly began to dance.

Not the careful and regal steps Jeongguk had taken with the other nobles before, but plunging head-first into a maelstrom of bold movements instead. The feather cape trailing from Jeongguk’s right shoulder swished and billowed, feathers tickling his cheek at every fast turn.

That mesmerized smile from last time was back on Taehyung’s face.

“You look splendid,” the prince breathed, then tugged so powerfully at him that Jeongguk’s feet lifted off the ground as Taehyung whirled him around in a wide arc, the other guests taking hurried steps away from them.

Blushing, Jeongguk lowered his head. Looked at their feet moving so swiftly across the floor it had him turning dizzy.

They danced through five more pieces without catching their breath once. Jeongguk had the vague sense of the others ceasing their dance in favour of forming a circle around them and just watching the pair dance and dance and dance, to a point where Jeongguk was certain there must be sparks flying off their shoes.

Then the piece ended, and with a kiss to his knuckles, Taehyung lead Jeongguk to a bench, taking two filled goblets from a servant passing by on their way.

“To the most astounding dancer this kingdom has ever seen,” he said, offered Jeongguk one of the goblets, then clinked his own against it.

The flush on Jeongguk’s cheeks deepened. “You must be joking.”

“Am I?” The prince raised an eyebrow at him. “Then do tell me, how come nobody else kept dancing once you were in my arms, as they could not pry their eyes off the stunning sight of you?”

“If I were to take an educated guess, I’d say there were looking at you, not me, your Highness.”

Taehyung tapped a finger at his mouth. “Ah, but I have been here from the beginning. And they haven’t acted like that, until you came, that is.”

Jeongguk didn’t have a retort to that.

So, he tried something else.

“Have you been thinking of my riddle, then?”

Another hum, as Taehyung took Jeongguk’s empty hand and laced their fingers together, one by one.

“I have.”

“And?”

“And, you certainly did not go easy on me.”

“Good.” Jeongguk gave a short squeeze to the prince’s hand. “That was never my intention.”

The prince chuckled and turned away, then looked back at him. “Could you maybe repeat your riddle to me?”

Jeongguk grinned. “So young and such a bad memory already, your Highness?”

“You sure love to tease me, don’t you?”

“You just make it too easy,” Jeongguk said, grin now wide enough to make his cheeks hurt. “Very well. Let me see… face covered with ashes but a chimney sweep it is not. A crossbow over the shoulder but a hunter it is not. Beautiful garment at a ball but a prince it is not.” He evenly met the prince’s eyes. “What is my name?”

Taehyung gave him a long look, gaze turning intense.

“If I slip my hand beneath your cape and put it on your back, will I feel the welts of scars under the fabric?”

Jeongguk tilted his head, cheeky grin turning into a pleased smile. He knew now that Taehyung already had his answer.

“If the fabric is thin enough, you might.”

The prince stretched out a hand to run his fingers over the golden ring brooch Jeongguk had fastened at the coat, right where the silver rope began. “And if I pointed at a kite flying too high for me to hit, would you shoot it in one go?”

“I might.”

“And if I told you to climb onto Byeol’s back, would he throw you off like all the others who tried before?”

Jeongguk shook his head slowly. “He wouldn’t.”

“And,” Taehyung’s hand trailed up, one finger running up Jeongguk’s neck then under his chin, tilting his head up, “if I were to head towards Jeon manor and ask the servants there for their true lord, would they tell me your name?”

Tears began stinging at Jeonguk’s eyes at those words. With the mask still on and both of his hands occupied, he could do nothing to stop them from sliding down his cheeks and soaking into the mask’s material.

“They might,” he croaked out.

Taehyung’s smile was a warm, tender thing, like a lover’s hug, when he put down his empty goblet and reached up to lift the starling mask off Jeongguk’s face.

“Jeon Jeongguk. You surely kept me waiting for quite a while, you cruel thing.”

Jeongguk’s lips wobbled as he pulled them into another smile. “Took you long enough, Taehyung.”

The prince huffed out a laugh, then pulled him into a sweet kiss with all the care of someone who’d finally found their treasure.

“I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”