Royal Duty [Minjoon]

10th part

After serving the royals for a week, Namjoon had started growing accustomed to the many daily tasks that the king had bestowed upon him. He was getting used to them even though they were torture and broke him down more for every day.

Much to the prince's dispare, these tasks left no room for any breaks. There was no room for relaxation in his schedule, and the only time he got to take a break was the one time when the entire castle was quiet, the four hours he could enjoy that he did not spend working. Instead he spent them sleeping in his newly assigned room which was what used to be the servant's lounge, only now it lacked the significant presences of the other servants. It was lonely, and tiering, the servant was already close to breaking. Every step he took was painful, due to his hurting body, the lack of sleep made him want to rip his eyes out and the lack of interaction with others made him cry himself to sleep every night. Yet he refused to go to the king, he refused to quit, he refused to stop the torture. The prince had given him his trust, and he couldn't possibly let the person who had done so much for him down.

There was a little bit of light in the shadows of Namjoon's new life and those he cherished. Waking up every day to the sound of chippering birds became a part of his repetitive daily routine, he would never admit it out loud, but he enjoyed the thought of having a daily routine. Knowing what would happen and when it would happen. It was so different from the life he lived before.

In the village he had never had that option. New things and changes happened all the time. Like an example what the stores would sell, and if he could afford the things they offered. Another thing was, who were walking in the streets. Usually it would be the same people, the ones similar to Namjoon himself, who had ragged clothing and disheveled hair and that would drool over the goods in the store, but never buy them. Sometimes though the cramped streets would instead roam the presence of a traveler that had gotten lost on his way to the more well standing part of the town, on rare occasions they would even be honored enough to get to see one of the king's royal guards. The most unpredictable, but also the most important part though was the condition his mother was in. That would determine Namjoon's entire day. The times she felt well enough to get out of bed were always the best days for the boy, those were the days that he could spend enjoying the world around him, rather than it rushing by like on the days she was bedridden. Those were also the days he would receive the brightest smiles and the days when he could properly embrace the smaller body.

The servant wondered how she was doing without him. She had been very ill on the day that Namjoon had been captured and brought away from her. That is the only reason why the taunting temptation of stealing had finally caught up to him. He would have never even considered committing such a crime. If it wasn't for image of his mother's gray face coughing up blood until she lost consciousness that kept reappearing in his mind, he would have never done it either. He would have never been taken away from her or the village.

Albeit there was one thing the male did not enjoy about the scheduled days he had to follow. That, being the times when he had to accompany the prince to the practice arena in the castle yard. The prince was in every way skilled in both archery and while wielding a sword. The royal had battled multiple of the knights the kingdom had to offer, not once had he lost, not even against the most skilled men, that had the role of protecting the royal family. The servant always watched the battles in awe, watching the prince move his body smoothly like the weapons were extensions of his own body.

If watching the prince was the only thing Namjoon had to do during the practices, then it would be fine. The servant enjoyed every moment he could spend watching the prince, but unfortunately his job was not watching. Instead he was there to be the prince and the knights' moving target. The onlookers would feel sorry for the poor male as he ran over the sandy yard hiding behind a shield that was struck by royal arrows for every cowering step he took.

Unfortunately his time in the yard did not end when the rest of the men left. Rather the sweaty servant was left in the practice field, cleaning the armors and swords for hours, until they shone brightly enough to reflect the moonlight that would always make it's appearance by the time he was done.

Maybe he would have worked faster if it wasn't for the king's almost constant gaze watching and judging his every movement while also sending everlasting shivers down his spine.

Namjoon let a quiet sob escape his lips after he was done polishing the last sword. The male felt broken, but he refused to let it show. At least that's what he told himself, but during the situation his mind did not want to listen to his body, and instead of standing up like he told it to, it crumbled down on the yard beneath him, forcing his pent up tears to be released. So he cried, and cried, like he had done every night before this one.

"Namjoon, what's wrong?" A familiar voice asked, the words barley making it through the loud sobs that filled the empty night. The servant looked up and his eyes met the shining orbs of the prince, looking down at him with worry, and an outstretched hand. The taller quickly dried his tears away with his sleeve. "N-nothing my lo...." Instead of letting him finish, the prince kneeled down and engulfed the other in a warm hug, which the servant had no choice but to melt in. "I am sorry Namjoon." The royal whispered in his ear before hugging him tighter. It was an odd situation, two men who were barley acquainted, hugging. One a servant and one a prince.

"Do not apologize my prince. It is not your fault." The servant spoke up, slowly creeping out from the prince's tight grip to look the other male in the eyes. "No Namjoon it is." The royal told, earning himself a confused look from the other male. The prince let go of the other man, and sat himself down next to him, looking up at the starlit sky above them. "Do you know why I promoted you to being my servant?" He asked, eyes not moving from the starry night.

"No my lord, I do not." The servant's honest words replied as he too started paying attention to the night's source of light. The prince chuckled slightly from his position next to him. "It was because I wanted to spend more time with you. Talk to you and get to know you." I felt attracted to you, he wanted to add, but those were not words that were easy to admit out loud, especially not when he did not know the origin of those feelings himself. "I haven't gotten to do that." The prince spoke, averting his eyes to the dark silhouette of the other. "The worst part is..." He started, sighing. "That I could have prevented it. This would have never happened if I hadn't felt like I needed to prove him wrong."

"My lord, you should not blame yourself." Namjoon answered frantically. He did not in any way know what to say to the prince in this situation. "Namjoon-ah." The royal spoke once more, putting his hand on the servant's making the other's head turn towards him. The prince leaned closer. "I can talk to my father. I can apologize and make him return all the other servants." He spoke, brushing a hand through the other male's greasy hair. "It is fine, I promise. I will not make you do something you are not comfortable with." The oldest replied quickly and Jimin felt the hand tense beneath his own. "That feeling is mutual Namjoon-ah." "B-But my prince." The boy tried when he saw that the other stood up. "You were crying. That is enough of a reason to step out of my comfort zone." The prince smiled down at the boy's moonlit features and once again offered him a hand which was quickly filled with another larger one. "I am not planning on letting anyone make you cry anytime soon."

Those were the final words the prince spoke before he let go of the bigger hand and gave the owner of it a smile as he headed back into the castle. "Thank you Jimin." Namjoon whispered after him, a sincere smile on his lips.