It had been one of the longest days of Prince Changmin’s young life; only a year and twenty, he had endured more suffering than anyone in line for the throne had ever faced. His ill mother had finally given into her terminal disease, a disease no doctor or nurse or even shaman had ever seen. Not long after, his younger sister was forced into an arranged marriage so she could escape her now-hellish life. His only brother was among the other thousands of casualties in the war against the Southern Kingdom. Now his father—the one light that had remained steady in his life—had succumbed to his loneliness without his wife and oldest son.

In the highest tower, overlooking the dreadfully gloomy courtyard, the prince sat upon the windowsill, anxiously twining a ribbon round his fingers; he could only watch as his father was led away by the men from the country—the men who worked in the hospital for those who have lost their senses.

“Still up here, are we?” His loyal servant, Junsu, closed the wooden door behind him. He offered the prince a clean cloth to wipe his grimy face. “I think you should cleanse yourself today, Highness. You look like a ghoul.”

“Do you think he’ll be all right?” Changmin barely moved his head, staring at his servant dully. “He’s never been to a place like that.”

“Perhaps Time will tell. If you’ll excuse me, sir…” Junsu bowed before turning towards the door.

“Hey.” Changmin rolled up the ribbon and tossed it across the room; Junsu caught it before it fell to the floor. “One last thing.”

“Yes, your Highness?”

“Were you the one who sat next to my bed last night?” He crossed his arms, a stern look on his face now. “If I so distinctly recall, you were supposed to be in the king’s bedchambers with the other servants, preparing his things for travel.” He raised an eyebrow. “Am I to understand that you paid me no heed and disobeyed me anyway?”

Junsu hesitated for a moment. “I did, sir.”

“I see.” He fiddled with a button on his coat. “Were you there all night?”

“Yes, I was.” Now Junsu sounded afraid, probably wondering where all these questions were leading to.

“So you were.” Another pause for effect. “So you heard everything I said or did, then?” That night, Changmin had shed more tears than ever before, and if Junsu had been there, he would have also heard him cursing God above for taking away the last bit of family he had left.

A very long hesitation. “I did, sir.”

“Mmm.” He examined his fingernails with interest. “May I ask why you stayed, thus defying my orders?”

There was no hesitation or pause this time. “Because that is what friends do when they worry about each other, Highness.”

For the first time in a few days, Changmin cracked a smile. “That is what friends do,” he repeated softly.