{Magic Shop} · A BTS Medival Magic AU

#4 Pinecones

Seokjin's pov:

The bishop's voice droned on and on and on. And then the farmer's. And then the butcher's. Jin had long lost the point of why he had to witness the court sorting out problems, let alone who stole whose pig or who sold who the wrong type of herbs or who seduced whose daughter. Interesting things rarely ever happened inside the town walls.

"What do you think, Seokjin?", his father's voice made him snap back to reality.

"Uhm, yeah, absolutely. I am totally with you on this one.", he answered hopefully. His father glared at him. "... or not?"

"Don't worry, Andren, despite my son apparently wanting her hung, I'm sure she's learnt her lesson." Jin glanced at his best friend with embarrassment. Namjoon kept his eyes fixed forwards but a hint of a smile was on his lips. Swallowing, Jin returned to the conversation and tried to concentrate this time.

After his father caught him off guard again, he finally dismissed Jin. The prince kicked a pebble he'd found along the hall. Namjoon walked beside him calmly. He was to "go train with him. Wake him up a bit.", as the king had said. 

"It's barely my fault it's just so boring!", Jin complained, "I get that it's important, blah blah, but surely I don't need to do it yet, right?"

"Whatever you say, your majesty."

Jin gave Namjoon a glare that made him smile. Then the prince's eyes lit up. "You know, I think he's right. I should go out a bit and 'wake up'."

Namjoon knew his best friend well enough to know that wasn't what he was thinking."Meaning?"

"Maybe a patrol of the borders would help?", Jin said with a grin.

"I'm not taking you out to the forest without your father's consent."

"But he did give you consent, didn't he? Just not specific enough. Besides, unless you have specific orders against it, you should be following what I say anyway."

"Not really. The king made it pretty clear that we're on the same level until you're crowned king, remember?"

"Irrelevant.", Jin said flatly and continued down the hall, "Come on." He heard an annoyed sigh, but the knight's footsteps followed.

---

The freedom of doing something against his father's orders matched the fresh forest air and was worth the risk of having to do chores as a punishment. Although his best friend had to try and stop Jin, he knew the knight enjoyed it as much as he did. "He'll be especially strict after the threats.", he'd warned the prince who'd promptly ignored it.

It wasn't that Jin hated the city or the castle. That was where he belonged. He knew most of the people there and one day he'd rule there. But until then, he'd have to follow his parents' rules. The forest was lawless to him. Not chaotic, but it reminded him that all rules and laws were made up. In the wild, nothing cared if you were a king or a beggar. You exist as you are. Besides, it smelt like fresh plants and earth whereas the city often smelt of sewage, though his nose had long adapted to it.

The horses trotted at an even pace along the road near the end of the kingdom's territory. Jin looked through the trees, trying to decide which ones marked the border. Namjoon's gaze followed his. Jin was sure he knew what he was thinking, but there was no way Namjoon would let him. As he watched though, a movement caught his eye. He couldn't pinpoint it because whatever had made it blended in perfectly. Then he noticed a figure far off, most likely a rogue traveller, aiming his bow at something closer to them. Namjoon must have noticed the man too since they pulled their horses to a halt at the same time. If whatever he was shooting at was over the border, there'd be a bit of trouble. Rogues weren't allowed to hunt in the kingdom's forest and recently a group of hunters from a settlement further east had been spotted taking a deer from over the border. His father had made them sign a treaty which they were reluctant to do, but made sure they thought twice about where they hunted. A shriek made Jin's blood run cold when the man shot the arrow. A body fell out of a tree just beyond the treeline Jin had decided was the end of the kingdom's territory and hit the ground with a sickening thud. Namjoon and Jin exchanged a shocked glance before dismounting and hurrying through the undergrowth, a race against the archer who didn't give the impression it was an accident. Namjoon reached the place first and knelt down in the grass. Pulling out his sword in case he had to fight the man, Jin slowed and peered over his friend's shoulder at the young male lying in the grass, an arrow sticking through his right shoulder, pushed almost all the way through when he'd hit the ground. Blood started to soak through his white tunic, but his heavy breathing and occasional moans we sure signs of life.

"Back off! That's mine!", the archer growled.

Jin lifted his head in surprise. "You shot him on purpose?"

"I'm still on free land, so back off princess! It is my ticket to getting a life."

Glancing back down at the boy, Jin noticed the pointy ears of an elf. Most likely a half-elf, since they were smaller and the boy looked much shorter than what he'd learnt elves looked like. He swallowed. The rogue's plan was clear and annoyingly not illegal. Though he himself couldn't understand in what way hunting a race and selling the corpses to be turned into superstitious remedies should be allowed, there was no rule forbidding it. There weren't many who did it, but he'd heard of a village along the Tiger's Back Mountains and another further up were corpses or body parts of non-humans could be traded. 

"Let's duel for 'it' then." Jin raised his sword. "Since you shot 'it' down, If you win, you may go and complain to the king about me interfering. Otherwise, you leave with your life and payment to stay silent about this."

"What kind of payment?", he responded sceptically.

"A gold piece." He was sure he had one in the pouch at the bottom of his horse's satchel. 

"Deal." The man drew a sword, not anything like Jin's neatly crafted one, but no doubts sharp none the less.