Life with his uncle was just as horrible as Taemin had first thought it would be if not worse.

His uncle had immediately announced the arrival of the nephew and niece of the King, the entire region was to know there were  "VIP guest" that had been specifically appointed to Alec for safe keeping.

They were such valuable guests and therefore deserved the highest treatment and security, meaning of course that they were allowed no guest and they weren't allowed out except for "special occasions" where their uncle would show them off like prized possessions. 

They were confined to the castle and more often than not they were separated because they're rooms were on different sides of the castle. It was hard, Taemin cared for his sister deeply. With their father at war and their mother long since gone they were all each other had. Taemin had kept himself almost entirely to his room, the castle and it's grounds holding very little interest for him. He knew that where ever he went he was being watched and followed. It seemed the only place were eyes weren't on him was when he was in his room. He reckoned this was because Alec knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the room. The only place he could go once in his room was the adjoining bathroom, the window was too high up to be of any concern, so basically his room became his prison... his own private prison... 

He only came out for meals or for their "outings" with Alec where they would sit in silence as the obnoxious man flaunted them around like prized horses. 

Probably the worst thing so far for Dee Dee was Simon; Sir Alec's son, their cousin. He was an obnoxious, stuck up and rather round 17 year old who seemed to think he was the perfect match for Dee Dee... Alec had raised him exactly like himself; evil and manipulating using any method to get what he wanted. He was all over Dee Dee and almost always by her side, watching her and every so often touching her as well.

You could practically hear her yells of disgust just about anywhere in the castle she was so loud. But of course no one said anything because they wouldn't afford riling Alec. But every time he thought about Simon so much as looking at Dee Dee Taemin wanted to kill him. His sister may have been older than him but he was still fiercely protective of her. If he so much as tapped her on the shoulder in a way Dee Dee didn't want he would castrate the oversized ert, Alec or no Alec.

Both of them were unhappy and neither could see it getting any better... And the next few weeks didn't show any improvement, things seemed to become even worse when Dee Dee mentioned "Flame" to Alec one night around the dining table. Clear anger and hatred showed on his face and they were forbidden to speak the name again... 

This only increased the sibling's interest in the masked outlaw... in different ways though...

As much as Taemin appreciated being around his sister these days, she was starting to get annoying. Once Dee Dee got something into her head... it stayed there... and didn't shift. 

Whenever they spent time together "Flame" was all she spoke of. She had become infatuated with him... or the idea of him at least. 

Taemin on the other hand was interested in him for other reasons. Personally if he could do everything in his power to piss off Alec in the way "Flame" did, he would, but he didn't think stealing from people was right so his respect for him stayed at nil. He let the outlaw slip from his mind, until one day he got talking to the servant boy who worked in his room every night. 

Taemin had always had good relationships with his servants, after all, they were human too. So it hurt when the boy had initially flinched away from him. It had taken several nights to get the boy to believe that he didn't mean him harm in anyway. Why he was so afraid of him, he couldn't figure out. The boy's name was Tom and by the time "Flame" had come up in one of their conversations the awkwardness of their first verbal exchange seemed rather long gone. 

"No Flame is great!" Taemin eyed the boy with a frown.

"I don't see how... He steals from people... and hurts them..." Taemin said slowly, thinking back to his first encounter with Flame. 

"But he is... Alec... umm..." Taemin sighed, how many times had he told the boy...

"I've told before, speak your mind..." he had quickly learnt that Tom hated Alec but Tom was still scared to speak ill of the lord. 

"Well... Flame, he only steals from rich people..." Taemin raised an eyebrow. "The nobles here... aren't... nice, not like yourself and Lady Devaro. Alec likes to make sure that the rich are well... looked after, you could say. It's not so bad for me and my mum because we have jobs here in the castle and the food and pay isn't too bad, but down in the villages... people are starving..."

Taemin was stunned "...What...?" He had heard this before from what little information had slipped out of the region but he had chalked some of it down to rumour. The region and land was well established and productive. Money and produce flowed in and out of the land on a regular bais. Famine shouldn't have been an issue for a land like that.

"Alec likes to change the amount of taxes on a whim... and the amount never goes down... again, it's not so bad for me and my mum because we live here, in the service quarters" Taemin stayed silent letting what Tom was saying to sink in, face rather blank. He trusted Tom enough to believe what he was saying but the reality of it left a bad taste in the back of his throat. 

"What about the rich?" He said after a while. "Are the rich taxed?" 

Tom shook his head. "Only a little. Here you are either rich and comfortable or poor and struggling. The closest to in between that is us servants"

Taemin was silent again. He thought about his father and his uncle, not Alec, but his other uncle, the one who was fighting with his father abroad; the King. It was Alec's job to look after those below him. That was the job of any leader. His father and the king had only ever ruled fairly and had taught him and Dee Dee to do the same. 

Hearing what Alec was doing made his blood boil. He had to see for himself.

"But it's not all bad" Taemin's head whipped up at the sound of Tom's voice. "Whatever Flame steals he anonymously leaves for peasants. They all know it's him though, that's why no one will give any information about Flame or his gang out."

For some reason that news lifted Taemin's heart a little and he found himself smiling. 

"Tom... Can I ask a favor of you?"

~*~

By the end of the first month Taemin was going mad... he needed to get out of the castle, somewhere that wasn't the gardens or some noble's house. He began exploring the castle, everywhere from the towers to the dungeons, and yes it was all very interesting but all rather boring. He'd perfected the art of losing the people following him. But of course he heard no complaints because Taemin wasn't meant to know that he was being followed.  

He found one place however in the entire castle of some real interest. It was an old abandoned room on the ground floor. Everything was covered in a layer of dust and by the looks of it, it was once a girl's bed room.

There was a four poster bed on one side and the end of the bed was covered with dolls and toys all neatly facing the headboard.

On the other side of the room was a vanity table and a wardrobe. He figured that wood would have been once been white. Right now it looked a dark grey.

His fingers began to glide over the various pieces of jewelry on the vanity. Old brooches and necklaces that still managed to twinkle in the light. The sight made him smile. The room had a serenity about it.

Next to the vanity was a tapestry. It reached floor and depicted a woman with long golden hair atop a white horse.

He stared at it for a while admiring the detail in the weaving, until he saw the tapestry move. The teen jumped, not expecting the movement in the still room and blinked. It moved again, the bottom slowly drifting up and then back down again.

Wind?

He looked behind him. The window was firmly shut and there was no breeze circling in the room so...

Taemin lifted the tapestry slowly and smiled at what he saw behind it. Behind a wide tapestry was a door, old, small and unused. As a young inquisitive teen he was intrigued. It took a while but he managed to pry the door open and follow the dark tunnel downwards. 

~*~

What will Taeminnie find at the end of the tunnel?