Jaejoong POV

I shoved the shovel into the pile of dung and lifted the contents up then, into the wheelbarrow. Surprisingly, I still have my muscles to do the job. I thought they would all be gone after I stopped hunting. It seemed like I still had some. What I was doing was a punishment, given by our strict, unforgiving, refuse to even listen to my so called explanation Matron Lee. Well, I could not complain about it though. Ever heard of a blessing in disguise? At least I could be outdoors but, why must be stuck together with the horses and their poop?! I sighed and I continued my job, thinking about how I ended being here.

"Why are you so late?" Matron Lee asked angrily.

I closed the door behind me and gulped.

"I'm sorry, Matron Lee. I really am," I apologised and did a 90 degree bow.

The room was so silent that the situation seemed so awkward. I clenched my fists, awaiting her harsh scolding. I knew I was sitting on a death sentence. I swallowed hard again as perspiration dotted my forehead. Then, opened, lashing out words so fast that I was unable to tell what she was saying. I only thing I knew was, she was extremely unhappy and I was in for trouble. No doubt I will be assigned some unpleasant task to atone. The speed that she spoke made be breathless and even more panicky. I could feel those judgemental eyes staring intensively at me without looking up.

The last few words that she said was clear, short and stern. That was the time when she needed to caught her breath.

The words: Go and work in the stables, made my head shot up.

"Eeh?!" I said.

The other girls in the room gasped.

"Even at this point, you're still being disrespectful?!" Matron Lee shrieked.

I got a shock and jerked my head forward, facing the ground once again.

"I'm really sorry, Matron Lee. Please forgo my mistakes," I pleaded, keeping my gaze on her feet.

I did not want to make my punishment any worse.

So, that was how I ended up being in the stables.

Again, I could sense someone watching me. I had an uneasy feeling. I gulped against the lump in my throat and had my fingers tightened on the handle of the shovel. Then, I decided not to scare myself and continued with my job.

When I was done, I led the horse back into it's own individual enclosure and did the same for the other horse. It neighed loudly and moved all the way back. Did I mention before? The horses were afraid of me. It was making my job hard.

"Come on horsey. Come on. I'm not going to eat you," I convinced.

The horse neighed at me again. It was beathing heavily, staring at me. It was being wary of all my actions.

"Come on, I won't hurt you," I said, cautiously opening the door and walked in.

I was so afraid of being kicked by a horse again. The feeling was.... unbearable. The horse eyed me. In a swift moment, I put on the bridle around the horse's head and clipped on the rein. I patted the horse on the neck.

"There, there. There's nothing to fear about me. See?" I said.

It whined a little. I tugged on the rein. The horse moved. I led it outside and tied it to the pole and back to the stables to clear its area.

"I need a bucket..." I thought.

I put down the rack and searched the stables for it. I looked around, leaving no stones unturned. However, it was nowhere in sight.

"Excuse me, may I know where to find a bucket?" I asked one of the stable boys who was brushing a horse.

As an answer, he nodded and pointed in a direction. I mouthed thank you. My eyes followed his finger. The bucket seemed to be in the warehouse behind the stables, approximately a fifty metres away. It was near the greenhouse. I walked to my destination at a leisure pace. Again, I felt that I was being followed. I clenched my fists. Then, I heard boots pounding against the hard soil. I spun around. Nothing. There was nothing usual; there were just spades, broom, wheelbarrows and other equipment but there was no bucket in sight. A breeze drifted past, carrying along dirt particles. I shielded my eyes with my arm. When the wind stopped, I put my arm down. It was still the same view. I turned back to my original path and continued towards the warehouse. This time, I heard footsteps again. They were much softer this time. I stopped in my tracks. They stopped as well. When I started moving, they began again. I was certain that I was being stalked.

I carried on walking, however, I did not hear anymore footsteps. I heaved a sigh of relief. I turned and moved towards the warehouse as quickly as possible. I did not like the uneasy feeling that I got. I pivoted my foot and wanted to make a turn at the corner of the warehouse to get to the door, but, I was stopped when an arm blocked my way. I whirled around, coming face to face with a guy. He was much taller and bigger in size then me. My senses had failed me. My eyes widened when another two people with similar physique as the one in front of me came into view.

I panted heavily and struggled to speak coherently,"W-what are you trying to do?"

He smirked. The other two followed. Perhaps he could hear the trembles between my words. I was frightened of being surrounded especially with humans. They reminded me of the time that I was at gun point. Mustering up my courage, I pounced on the man, thinking that I could escape from them. If he fell, I could ran away. It was a failed attempt.

"Ho," the man said in a deep voice. "Look at her, she's already throwing herself at me."

The man turned his head and winked at the other two while having a tight grip on my waist. I struggled, squirmed and screamed so that he would let go. It failed, horribly.


3rd person POV

The leader among the trio held Jaejoong and commanded, "Someone grab her legs, make her stop kicking me."

"I will do it, hyung," one of them volunteered.

Both of them brought Jaejoong into the warehouse and threw him down onto the ground. Jaejoong winced in pain. The other man closed the door behind him. With the little light that filtered through the dusty windows, he searched for the switch.

"Found it," he thought and flipped on the switch. "Strange..."

"Hyung, hyung! The lights aren't working!" he called over.

"Then, just open the doors a little," the leader shouted over his shoulder.

The guy went over and did what he was told.

The leader pinned Jaejoong against the ground while the other still held Jaejoong's legs.

"There's no way you could escape. Scream all you want, no one else would hear you. Even so if they did, you're just a little maid. No one would care much about you," said the leader.

Jaejoong whimpered. They were too strong; he could not even make them budge. Grabbing Jaejoong's face, the man spoke, "You have no idea how long I waited for this opportunity."

Jaejoong gnawed his lips. Without any warning, the leader's lips crashed into Jaejoong's. The other two sniggered at Jaejoong's feeble pushes against the leader's chest. At the same time, the leader fumbled around with Jaejoong's back, ping the uniform. When the leader pulled away for air, Jaejoong shouted for help as loud as he could. Then, the leader's hand slipped into jaejoong's clothes and felt his skin. Jaejoong blanched; the leader's touches were disgusting and frightening. They were nothing like the feathery touches that Yunho gave. Feeling helpless, he started to tear.

The leader smirked and began on Jaejoong's neck. Jaejoong cried out. Then a deep, stern and somehow soothing voice split the air.

"What are you doing here?!" bellowed Yoochun. "This is no place for such despicable actions!"

All movements halted. Jaejoong cranked his neck to look at his saviour.

"Ah, it's Yunho's brother," Jaejoong drawled.

"Your Highness..." the three men spoke timidly.

"Get out of here now!" Yoochun bellowed.

"Yeeess!" the men said and scrambled for their lives.

Yoochun dropped to his knee and draped his coat over Jaejoong's shoulders.

"Are you ok?" Yoochun asked with concern.

Jaejoong nodded.

"But, young lady, you sure have some guts in you," Yoochun chuckled. "That you dare to call Yunho hyung without his title."

Without that, Yoochun flashed a smile. Nothing happened.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Yoochun again.

Jaejoong nodded again. Yoochun was expecting the girl before him to get dizzy or faint upon seeing him smiling. However, Jaejoong did not, so he thought that something was amiss. Then, Yoochun offered his hand to help her up.

"Paw?" Jaejoong mumbled, tilting his head a little.

He clenched his fist and placed it in Yoochun's hand. Yoochun's brows furrowed.

"You're a weird person. What's your name?" said Yoochun.

"Me?" Jaejoong said, pointing at himself. "I thought you knew who I am."

"Really?" Yoochun said. "But, I can't recall of anyone who is as beautiful as you."

Yoochun was expecting a blush, but it did not occur as well.

Jaejoong pouted, "I'm Jaejoong."

"Wait, wait. You mean Yunho hyung's Jaejoong?" Yoochun exclaimed.

Jaejoong nodded eagerly. Yoochun burst out laughing.

"I can't believe it. I can't even recognise you," Yoochun commented, pulling Jaejoong up in one swift move by the arm.

Yoochun dusted his pants and walked out of the warehouse, together with Jaejoong.

"You know, you're very strong." said Yoochun.

Jaejoong looked at his arm muscles from one arm to another and then, stare at Yoochun blankly.

"No, I meant your mentality is strong," Yoochun continued. "Usually, if what had just occurred to you happen to anyone else, they would at least appear shakened."

"Actually, I felt disgusted. Those hands were.... scary," Jaejoong shuddered at the thought of it. "Yunho's touches are really very loving and sweet. Completely different from that guy."

Yoochun blushed at Jaejoong's honest comment on his brother. The one of the reasons for Yoochun's sudden outburst on Yunho was that Yoochun thought that his brother was taking advantage of Jaejoong's innocence, however, it did not seem to be the case at all. Their feelings were mutual. However, he still could not accept the fact that his brother is gay. He would be the heir to the throne and he needed to carry on the family line and homouality in their country was not really accepted.

"You should be thankful that I was in the greenhouse then. To save you, of course," Yoochun grinned.

"Thank you very much, Prince Yoochun," thanked Jaejoong and gave a bow.

They laughed and walked back to the palace.

Meanwhile, Yunho was strolling in the palace garden when he chanced upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Godfather," Yunho called.

"Oh, Prince Yunho. How are you doing?" said the minister.

"I'm doing fine. What about you and what brings you here?" Yunho said.

"I'm doing well," the minister chuckled. "I came to speak with the king and asked if he would like to come to a ball held to strengthen our country's relationship with our allies. And, he agreed."

Yunho made an 'oh' sound. The minister moved nearer to Yunho and patted on his shoulder.

"Hope to see you there," whispered the minister and walked away.

"Godfather, would you like to have a cup of tea before you leave?" Yunho said.

"Hmm... I have something urgent to attend to. I'm afraid I have to decline," the minister said sadly, turning away.