Minho was escorted to his room by the two soldiers. The Prince didn't say a word and he could tell that both guys were a bit uncomfortable around him, probably because he seemed to be really mad.

He was mad. At the King, because he had hurt his lover - again. And at himself, because he should have known that it was risky to kiss Taemin in the garden, where the King had already seen them together some weeks ago.

But above all... He was afraid and heartbroken.

He tried not to show it, though: he didn't want to please the King by showing his weakness and his sadness. That was why he was standing upright as he headed for his room, surrounded by the soldiers; he was walking fast and actually, it looked like the guards were following him instead of leading him.

They passed by some people, who politely bowed in front of Minho, before their eyes grew wide as they saw his dirty clothes and the blood that was slowly running down his nose. Whispers immediately spread through the castle: soon, everybody knew that the Prince had had a fight with someone but since no one knew the reason why, rumours were spreading as well.

The maids were sure that Minho had fought against a man that had a crush on Sulli, while in the kitchens, everybody knew that he had almost been killed by a spy coming from a foreign country.

Minho didn't know what kind of rumours were spread amongst the servants but even if he had heard about them, he wouldn't have cared. All he could think of was the fear in Taemin's eyes when he had been drawn away from him by that guard...

The Prince managed to keep calm until he arrived in his room, but as soon as he closed the door behind him, he let out his frustration and began to bang on the stone wall, punching it continuously until his knuckles turned red.

Finally, he cracked up and began to cry as he slowly slid against the wall, until he fell on his side and kept on shedding his salty tears, doing his best to muffle his loud sobs.

It hurt.

There was that unbearable pain in this chest that made him feel like he was going to explode soon, that overwhelming pain in his heart that turned him into a crying mess... He knew that he had to stay strong but he couldn't stand it anymore. He hadn't cried for a long time and he felt like all the emotions he had hidden inside him during the last months were suddenly too strong for him to handle, he needed to let out his pain, his fears... Everything.

He was afraid of what would happen to them in the future; he had wanted to protect the fragile love he had developed with his young lover, but now... He felt like everything they had, which wasn't much, had shattered a few minutes ago because they hadn't been cautious enough, because they were in love. It had been a mistake to think that it was fine to do it there... To kiss Taemin.

A gesture that was supposed to bring them happiness.

Minho felt some fresh tears running down his cheeks as he thought about his lover. Taemin... Taemin was probably crying as well. He knew that the boy was really sensitive and the cruel words of his father had surely dashed the tiny rest of self-confidence he still had.

He was afraid that now, Taemin would feel guilty for what had happened, that sweet kiss they had shared, oblivious of the rest of the world... They had thought that they were secure at that time, under the sprays of the trees...

That wonderful moment had turned into a nightmare. They were separated, sad, afraid, unsure of what to do and they didn't know if they would ever meet again.

The King would probably make sure that he didn't see his lover again, at least not before his wedding with Sulli, in two weeks. There wasn't a lot of time anymore... What should he do ?! Sulmyong hadn't said that he would be surrounded by guards, so he was still free to go where he wanted to but he wouldn't be able to do anything if he was all alone...

Jinki, Kibum and Jonghyun knew about his relationship with Taemin and they wanted to help them, which he was thankful for, but... Could they really do something for them ?

The Prince was slowly beginning to doubt it; the tiny hopes he had of a bright future had vanished as the King had walked on them. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was lost.

He loved Taemin, that was the only thought that kept him from totally drowning in his pain, even if he couldn't bring himself to be optimistic right now: the wound was too deep, too fresh for him to stay rational.

He felt like a part of him was missing, as if a burning hole had appeared in his heart when Taemin had been drawn away from him. It hurt even more to know that his lover was feeling the same pain and again, Minho remembered the despair he had seen in his eyes. He knew that Taemin was feeling like him. He knew that he meant everything for the boy.

He could imagine him, all alone in his detached house, almost as usual - as cruel as it sounded. This time tough, the younger boy's heart was probably aching more than before and he could almost see him in his mind, laying on his bed, sobbing and hugging the pillow that still had Minho's scent on it.

At this simple thought, his heart broke even more than it already had.

It was unfair. Why couldn't they live and love like they wanted to, why did everything depend on their fathers' wills ?

He had already been heartbroken in the past, when Nichkhun had been killed. Again, his father had found out because they hadn't been cautious enough, because they had expressed their feelings by sharing a simple hug.

Why did everything seem to reoccur ?

The same sorrow, the same pain, the same loneliness... He was way too used to feel this, the only difference was the intensity of those emotions: it was worst than everything he had ever known, even if he would never have thought that it was possible.

He didn't want his relation with Taemin to end in the same tragic way than his relation with Nichkhun. He wouldn't stand it. If the King hurt or did something to his lover, anything... He would kill him. No matter the guards, no matter Sulli and his father's will. Nothing would keep him from murdering the King.

Still, Minho really hoped that he wouldn't have to go that far, because it would mean that something really bad had happened to his lover... And he didn't want that. Right now, he needed to calm down a bit and think properly over a plan: he still wanted to run away with the younger boy, now more than ever before.

The Prince tried to breathe slowly in order to relax his tensed body and then, he managed to stand up, yet stumbling. He decided to take care of his nose before anything else, hissing in pain as he carefully touched it with a linen towel, in order to wipe the blood away. It didn't seem like it was broken but still, it hurt. When had he even been hit in the nose ? He didn't know; his memories were quite blurry... Except for one single thing.

Taemin's eyes.

He sighed as he felt tears accumulating at the corners of his eyes again; he looked up and blinked several times, trying not to let them out. Sadly, he couldn't do anything to swallow the painful lump that had formed in his throat as he held back his tears.

Minho was about to undress himself in order to change his clothes when someone gently knocked at the door. Who was it ? He wasn't expecting any visit; why couldn't they leave him alone, just for this time ?

But... Maybe it was Jinki. Maybe he had heard that something had happened, since he was quite close to the King... Maybe he had found a plan to run away.

He walked to the door and opened it but as soon as he did, his swollen eyes widened. Sulli. It wasn't the best moment for her to show up at all.

"Minho ?" she said, obviously surprised to see him like that. "What..."

She didn't finish her sentence and turned around to talk to the guard who was behind her and that the Prince hadn't seen so far.

"Leave us alone, please." she gently said.

The man hesitated a bit and stammered:

"B... But, Princess Sulli ! I... I can't ! The usage prescribes not to..."

"Right now, I don't really care about that." she said, cutting him off with an apologetic smile. "Please, stay outside this room. I'm sure Minho won't do anything to me."

The man fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable as he stared at the Prince; eventually, he probably thought that he could trust him, because he stepped back and stood still, turning his back on the door.

"Thank you." Sulli said, before she pushed Minho inside the room in order to enter it as well; then, she closed the door and stared at her fiancé without saying anything.

Minho avoided her gaze. He was feeling uncomfortable under her piercing eyes, it seemed like she was trying to read his mind and he didn't like that feeling at all.

"What do you want ?" he finally whispered, without even looking at her but also turning his back on her.

"You cried, didn't you ?" she asked, not paying any attention to his question. "Why ?"

The Prince didn't even try to deny it; it was pretty obvious anyway... His eyes were puffy and red from all the tears he had shed.

"Please, Sulli, I... I don't want to talk about this." he stammered.

Especially not to her.

Minho heard some footsteps and he jumped, startled, when the girl rested her hand on his forearm, gently squeezing it.

"If you don't want to talk about this, I won't force you; it's fine." she said with a smile. "I just wanted to ask you if you knew why Taemin can't receive any visit anymore. I went to her cottage seconds ago but there were several guards there and no one allowed me to enter... Since that day when you danced with her, I have the feeling that you have gotten close to each other so I... Minho ?"

Her eyes widened as she saw the Prince suddenly sitting on the edge of his bed, hiding his face between his hands as he began to cry. Why ?

"Minho..." Sulli whispered, worried to see her fiancé like that.

That was the first time she saw him cry, but also the first time that the only word coming to her mind to describe the boy was 'desperate'. What had happened to him ? Was he crying because of her words ? She didn't understand.

"Talk to me..." she said, almost begging him. "Minho, I'm your fiancée, you can trust me and maybe I can even help you ?"

"No... No, you can't." the Prince said on a low tone, yet moved by the girl's concern. "Tae... Taemin is... Taemin... Your father secluded him in his detached house."

Sulli's eyes grew wide and she covered with her hands, just as Minho gasped, realizing his mistake.

"Him ?" she repeated, shocked. "Minho, how do you know ?"

The Prince didn't know what to say anymore and he just stared at her, his eyes full of tears. What should he do ? Right now, he was too exhausted and mentally tired, he couldn't think of anything to say in order to hide the truth behind his relationship with Taemin.

Also... Jinki had told him that he should be sincere with Sulli, right ? Maybe it was not the best moment to tell her the truth but actually... He would never be able to tell her anything if he could think straight, so it was now or never.

Minho wiped his tears away and patted the mattress beside him, motioning for his fiancée to sit next to him.

"I need to talk to you." he finally said, and he waited for her to sit down before he took the floor again. "I know about Taemin because... I'm in love with him."

He had chosen to be direct, it was no use to keep it hidden any further. Sulli's reaction was exactly the one he had expected: she suddenly stood up and exclaimed:

"What ?! You... But... You are my fiancé !"

Minho rubbed his temples and sighed. Finally, he wasn't sure that Jinki's advice had been that good...

"I know..." he whispered, aware of the fact that he was hurting her feelings. "But I couldn't help it, Sulli. I... I fell in love weeks ago; I fell for him a bit more every time I talked to him. I'm sorry that I have to say it like that but... I truly love him, no matter what your father thinks about him."

"And... What about him ?" she asked with a tremulous voice. "Does... Does he f... feel the same way towards you ?"

Her fiancé nodded, sadness coming over him.

"Yes..." he said, closing his eyes. "Actually, that's why the King secluded him: he saw us in the garden while we... kissed."

He waited for her to react but she just stared at him with wide eyes, growing paler as she began to shake slightly, covering her face with her hands.

"Sulli, I..." he began, standing up in worry and walking toward her.

"Don't touch me !" she shouted angrily, cutting him off as he held his hand out to move hers away.

Minho froze, hurt by her reaction, but he didn't dare to approach her any further. He didn't want her to slap him, even if he surely deserved it.

The room was still now, the silence was uncomfortable and so thick that you could have cut a slice of it.

"Tell me..." Sulli eventually whispered after a while. "Have you ever... loved me ?"

The Prince looked down. He would hurt her even more but... He couldn't lie to her, it was no use anymore.

"I'm sorry, Sulli. I've always liked you as a friend but... Nothing else."

"I... I see." she stammered, avoiding his gaze.

She slowly stepped back, staring at everything in the bedroom but him; still, Minho caught sight of wet trails on her cheeks.

"Sulli..." he said again, hoping she would look at him.

To say the truth, he didn't know what he was going to say, he just wanted to ease her obvious pain but... Was it even possible ? He knew too well what it felt like to be heartbroken.

"I will leave you alone, now..." she whispered without even glancing at him, despite his attempt to draw her attention on him. "I will see you later, I guess."

Then, she literally ran away, flinging the door open before closing it behind her; Minho heard her quick footsteps echoing in the corridor, as well as the guard's voice, calling the Princess in worry.

Minho collapsed on his bed, not caring about his dirty clothes on the sheets. He felt like he couldn't care about anything anymore, he was disheartened. All he had ever wanted to do... had failed.

He had wanted to bring happiness to Taemin and now, they were both alone in their rooms, desperate.

He had wanted to keep Sulli from being heartbroken by his love for her brother and now, the girl was probably crying somewhere in the castle.

In the end, they were all hurt by this forbidden love.

Minho spent the rest of the day in his room, lying on his back, staring at the high ceiling as he slowly drowned in remorse, guilt, pain and sadness. He wondered if Taemin was doing the same or if he had ended up falling asleep, his face still wet from his tears.

He tried to only think of the beautiful moments they had shared in order to distract himself from the endless pain he was feeling but eventually, it ended up reminding him of how much he had lost today.

In the evening, he didn't even go to the dinning-room: he didn't want to see the King nor Sulli; he didn't care if the noblemen wondered where he was or were mad at him for his absence. Anyway, he was sure that the King would come up with an appropriate excuse: everything but saying that the Prince was crying in his room because of a boy.

So, he remained in his bedroom but asked to a servant to bring him a plate from the kitchen, because he was a bit hungry.

He ate alone, wondering if it was how Taemin felt whenever he had dinner: it hurt not to be with the person you loved, especially when you knew that said person wasn't far away from you.

He was too busy thinking over everything to notice the weird taste of the food and his drink. Too busy hoping that his lover was still believing in their love to notice that he was slowly beginning to feel dizzy. Too busy hoping that they would be fine in the end, to notice that his body was slowly growing weak.

***

Sulli was worried about her fiancé. She hadn't seen him since the previous day and she felt like something was up with him. Actually, she hadn't been surprised to see that he wasn't in the dinning-room to have dinner with the royal family, she had even felt relieved, but now, it was past ten in the morning and she still hadn't seen him.

Though, she had to talk to him.

She didn't know how to act around him anymore. It had probably been really awkward for him to stand her behaviour with him, now she understood it; still, she didn't know what to do.

She had been mad and hurt when he had told her everything and right after leaving his room, she had run to the infirmary, hoping that Jinki wouldn't be too busy and would be able to listen to her.

Her friend had tried to cheer her up, even though it had been really hard. But he had helped her to clear her mind and think over her feelings. He had told her to think about everything, about Taemin's happiness, about a wedding without love, about... Yes, everything.

She was still hurt but... She also thought that Minho had been brave to tell her the truth. And brave to fight against her father. Still, she was jealous. Why Taemin ? She was pretty as well, so what did he have that she hadn't ?

Strangely, she had felt bad for being jealous of her own brother, who had never been happy before... Before he met Minho. Yes, Jinki had told her that he was happy.

She wanted to be happy for him but it was so hard !

She was lost. She needed to talk to her fiancé; she didn't even know what would result from their talk, but she really needed it.

She gently knocked at the door of Minho's bedroom but she didn't get any answer. Though, the maid had said that the Prince hadn't left his room yet, he hadn't even answered to her when she had brought him his breakfast: she had brought the plate back to the kitchen, a bit disappointed.

Sulli glanced at the soldier following her, then she shrugged and opened the door, that wasn't locked.

"Minho ?" she hesitantly said as she walked in.

Only the silence.

She took some steps forward and then, she let out a shriek yelp as she caught sight of her fiancé, lying on his back on the bed, his eyes wide open. A plate was broken on the floor, next to him.

She rushed at her fiancé, followed by the guard, and she grabbed Minho's shoulders, shaking him abruptly.

"Minho !" she screamed in fear as the motionless body didn't react at all. "Minho, wake up !"

"Princess, he... He isn't asleep." the guard stammered. "His eyes are open..."

"Please, bring back Jinki !" she shouted, tears running down her face. "Run, now !"

The guard quickly did as he was told and soon, Sulli was alone in the room, still grabbing her fiancé's shoulders. She didn't know for how long she tried to wake him up but after a while, she was gently pushed aside by Jinki, who stared at the boy with an unreadable expression.

Her friend grew pale as he took Minho's wrist in his hands, furrowing his brows; then, he rested his head on the Prince's chest, listening carefully.

Nothing.

He glanced at Sulli and slowly shook his head from the right to the left. Then, he gently brushed his fingers against Minho's eyelids, closing them in the process.

"I'm sorry, Sulli." he whispered. "He is dead."

Remember: there isn't any "charater death" tag for this story... :p

See you soon~