The Black Prince & The White Prince

Black Family

*again, reminder that all of this is just fiction*

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Life became a disaster in a blink of an eye. Guards and maids were running up and down the palace. Some treating the wounded, some getting the horses into the barns, some preparing food but everyone was doing something except Minhyun. He merely sat in his room. He noticed the sheets tossed into a corner but didn't move over to pick it up or even put a new one on. He felt empty again. He touched the bed gently, trying to find for any trace of warmth left but that was impossible. His chest felt pain as he curled his fingers in a fist.

He laid down, trying to feel Baekho there with him. How he missed the other already. He wished he wasn't a prince. He wished his family weren't like this. He wished he could have had a normal life. He couldn't even sneak out if he wanted to. His moping was cut short when his door opened with a bang. He sat up quickly, straightening himself as his sister strutted into the room.

"Phew. Your room stinks. Since when did my clean neat freak of a brother become a dumpster?" She asked with a brow up. Minhyun glared at her but didn't attempt to fight back. He knew things could only get worse if he did so. She walked in and noticed the bed sheets. "Huh? Were you throwing a childish tantrum because we are back? My, my, when would you grow up? This is why father chooses to ignore you."

Minhyun held his pants, trying to transfer his annoyance elsewhere. "What do you want?" His tone came out much calmer than he had expected it to.

"I'm just here to check on you. I heard some very interesting things earlier," She said, watching Minhyun's unchanging expression. He was internally shaking though.

"Is that so?"

"Why, yes. I heard you took over some countries of your own. Why? To suck it up to father that you can do it too? You know that petty tactic won't prove anything if you can't even win me at a swordfight."

"If you're just here to gloat... do it somewhere else," Minhyun said uninterested. His sister frowned and walked over to him, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him up.

"Acting so high and mighty just because you get to rule the kingdom for a bit, aren't you? You better watch your pretty face or I'll cut it open," She hissed and shoved him aside before turning around and walked out without shutting the door. Minhyun sighed and didn't move from his bed as he sat up again. It was barely even an hour and he already felt more tired than any of the days he had spent with Baekho.

When dinner rolled around, things escalated even more. The maid came into the room to inform Minhyun that he was requested at the dinner table for dinner. He thanked the maid and dragged his feet across the hallways towards the dining room. The needlessly huge one. He kept the memories of walking down the hallways with Baekho at the top of his head to keep him sane.

When he arrived, his family was already there. His mother and sister were talking while his father was just looking through documents silently. He took his supposed seat and didn't say a word. No one said anything to him either. It was uneasy to just sit there and pretend to exist. Hoping to matter. But things never got better as the food was served and they ate in silence. The silence was choking. Minhyun could tell he missed Baekho's little talks now even if the other wasn't the noisiest while eating.

It was much better than suffering like this. Once he finished his food, he got up and bowed before leaving.

"Ah, Minhyun. I'll come by later," his mother said and he nodded in response, quickly walking away after. He breathed in, realising he was barely even breathing properly when he was around them. It was suffocating to be around people who didn't care much about him.

And like the good child he was meant to be, he sat in his room and waited for his mother. Though he felt a little more restless and cleared the bed sheets, replacing them as well. He felt as though he was covering traces of Baekho but knew the male himself had left a mark deep enough to remember him by. He smoothed the bed out and thought about the times they laid together. If only he could go back in time and be nicer from the start, maybe they would have been able to share more good memories together.

"Still doing your own bed?" His mother's voice asked. He flinched and turned around.

"Y-yes, mother," he said nervously and motioned for her to sit. She did and looked around his room with a brown envelope in one hand.

"Always the clean boy I've known," She said with a smile. "You don't change much, do you? Always trying to get your father's attention and doing things you're not capable of."

"What do you mean?" Minhyun felt a nervous jolt go down his spine. He held his hands together so his mother wouldn't be able to see him shaking slightly.

"This, I mean." She lifted the envelope and opened it, pulling out papers filled with research that Minhyun recognised. They were his after all. His research on Baekho's kingdom. He thought he had threw everything out already.

"Where did you get that from?" He asked in a breathless tone. He wanted to snatch them away but knew that would make things more suspicious than they needed to be.

"As far as I'm concerned, I was told you didn't take over the White Tiger kingdom even though you did go there. Why is that?" Minhyun had to think up of an excuse on the spot but couldn't pull anything to mind. He was getting flustered and nervous, not a good combination.

"I..." He wanted to tell the truth too but knew his mother would only laugh it off. "I... I thought there would be better kingdoms to... control over that one."

"Really? But your research shows very convincing material... Never mind that. We know better than to trust you with winning over countries so I've decided. In 3 days time, I'll send your sister to conquer this kingdom. I suppose you won't have any objections, right, Minhyun?"

Minhyun froze. There was nothing he can say if that's what his mother decided. He could only nod his head.

"Another thing, your room smells of another person. You should air it out a little."