"Umma, look at me!"

A small Han Jaejun was running around with a stick as a sword, pretending to fight off the enemies. He was smiling happily with no worries in the world.

The woman smiled, nodding. "Very good, Jaejun. A little bit more practice and you'll be able to live in the king's headquarters."

Jaejun cheered and clapped, dropping his sword. His happiness was short-lived.

"Do not teach that boy any nonsense! He needs to know what it's like to be a real man, and I'm going to teach him tonight." Jaejun's father walked out and headed to the next village to hang out with his buddies, leaving his son and wife alone once more.

Yunho walked through the palace, a sly smile plastered on his face. He never expected to feel so good, especially with a man. His ual orientation was changing by the minute as he thought about it, and whenever he passed a guy, he compared him to Jaejoong, always ending up siding with his queen. His beauty really did defy nature and reason.

"Your Majesty!" he heard somebody call behind him.

Yunho spun around, only to find Yoochun running up to him, huffing and tired.

"Your Majesty," he panted, leaning over and putting his hands on his knees. "I have some bad and good news."

This sparked the king's interest. "Speak."

The most trusted advisor stood straight, his chest sticking out proudly as he announced everything. "The king from the Silla kingdom is currently on his way with his daughter to propose a union between the two of you, and is hoping of a sire to his kingdom."

The king pursed his lips in thought, wondering what to do about this. "Is this your bad or good news...?"

"That was my bad news, Your Majesty."

"Tell me the other."

Yoochun nodded, taking a deep breath. "Your mother is bringing your father and sisters to the royal ball in three sunsets."

"Wait." Yunho's eyebrows rose. "What royal ball?"

"Don't you remember?" Yoochun asked innocently. "I informed you of it five mornings ago."

Yunho cursed under his breath. He couldn't remember because he was too infatuated with worrying over getting his queen or not. Sighing, he nodded. "Yes, yes, I remember. Have you prepared anything?"

"Yes. We have your outfit planned, the meal, the guests, and decorations. I believe that would be everything."

"Of course," Yunho said, nodding. "Well done, Yoochun. Please go find Jaejoong for me. I have some important business with him."

At the tone of Yunho's voice, Yoochun smirked, guessing what this business was about. "Yes, Your Majesty. I will show him to your royal quarters once I have found him." With that, the advisor headed out in search of Jaejoong, a skip visible in his step.

~~~~~

Even though Jaejoong had a hard time getting used to castle life--as a queen, nonetheless--he was beginning to enjoy being served by other people that he didn't have any emotional ties to. He was y, bossy, and bratty, but that didn't stop him from treating the servants with respect. Sure, they shouldn't have meant anything to him, but he thought they needed to see that they were cared for. They were humans, too, and he knew what it felt like to not be treated like one.

As Jaejoong sauntered into the royal winery, he ran into someone. He fell to the ground, clumsy as ever.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," the person said, holding his hand out for Jaejoong to take, and he did. When he looked at the mystery man, he bit his tongue. His face was proportionally uneven, and Jaejoong didn't like it. He kept his mouth shut, though, and walked off, not planning on meeting up with the guy any time soon.

While out in the hallway, Yoochun came running up to Jaejoong. "Jaejoong-sshi!" he panted.

"Yes?" Jaejoong asked, eyeing the man. He had a worried look on his face, and he didn't like it.

"King Yunho wants you to meet him in his quarters in five minutes. Please, hurry there."

Jaejoong pouted cutely. That was definitely worrisome news. He didn't want to be penetrated two nights in a row, especially when he hadn't had for months. Even though he had lain with plenty of men in one day before, if he didn't have constantly, his hole would tighten up quickly and it would feel like the first time all over again. He disapproved of that bodily function.

Being a good queen, Jaejoong huffed and began his slow walk towards the king's quarters, hoping he'll be able to argue his way out of this situation. How would he approach Yunho about it? Would he just come out and say that he didn't want to have again? Would he slowly get him turned off by being obnoxious so he wouldn't touch him? Either way, he would try his best to keep Yunho's out of him again. Even if he did love it.

As he gently rapped on the door of Yunho's room, he took a deep, worried breath.

"Come in."

Here goes nothing.

Jaejoong slowly slid the door to the side and peeked in, only to find Yunho standing in front of a small window, staring out. The man seemed overtaken with some kind of urgent thoughts, and it brought surprise to Jaejoong. As he knelt and bowed a little behind Yunho, the king turned with a stern look. Jaejoong knew that look all too well: unpleased. Maybe Yunho hadn't liked the . Maybe he wanted to tell Jaejoong that he didn't want to see his face ever again around the castle and he'd be banished back to his village where all the evil in the world to him lurked. He didn't want that. Not because there weren't any servants, but because he really did enjoy time with Yunho. The man was pretty decent.

Yunho let out a frustrated sigh. He was still going through how to tell Jaejoong everything when he just blurted it out: "A princess is coming in a few sunsets, with her father and mother there. They have not gotten news of you yet, so I would like you to stay out of sight for your safety. I do not know what this kingdom is like, but I cannot trust them until I have met them. Please listen and do as I say."

The king explained the plan he'd gone over in his mind only a few mere seconds before Jaejoong entered, and by the end, Jaejoong looked relieved and very happy. Yunho was now sitting by the beauty, smiling at him. "I will tell them I am not interested and that I wish them luck. You will be my main focus for the rest of the night after the ball."

Jaejoong would have normally said he was thankful and happy the king was trying to protect him, but he couldn't hide the small tinge of resent. "But... why can I not be out on the floor with you? I like to dance, too."

Yunho didn't know how to explain it to Jaejoong, so he just whispered, "Trust me on this. I know what I am doing."

The young beauty nodded gently, his shoulders slouching with a small sigh. "Okay. I guess I shall stay hidden."

"Thank you." With that, Yunho stole a quick kiss from Jaejoong, smiling against his lips. It felt nice to casually kiss Jaejoong whenever he wanted, but he knew he had to do it in private if he wanted to do it at all. Hardly anyone in the palace approved of the relationship the king had with the young man, and most of the women envied Jaejoong. He was too beautiful to be real, so they made up rumors that floated about quietly with none of the officials' noticing. That was one good thing about the rumors: they were nothing but that.

The night came and Jaejoong slept in Yunho's room that night, eventually getting coaxed into once more by the heir. It felt better than the first time, and that was wonderful for both of them. Jaejoong never remembered anyone feeling so good inside of him, and none of them got him to release that ferociously. He would fall against the pile of blankets and pillows every time, worn out and tired, lying in his pool of... personal liquids. Yunho cuddled with him afterward, which made it all even better. By the time Jaejoong fell asleep, he was very pleased and didn't wish for anything else in his life except Yunho and being happy with him, which was a wish for fools. He found that out the hard way.