... And Other Ships

YoonMin: Little Prince

The hall gleamed with intense ferocity, just like the eyes of the thirteen-year-old peasant boy surrounded by guards. 

He was chained at the wrists and ankles, forced to his knees by one of the guards before the king, Min Jungwon. 

Jungwon glared down at the convict, his crown nestled in his jet-black hair. At his side was his pregnant queen, who kept a hand on their first-born's back. The five-year-old hid partially behind his mother, peering at the blood-covered boy wrapped in chains. 

"Park Jimin, age thirteen, is accused of stealing the sword of a palace guard, killing him, and running off after being pursued by other guardsmen," the head of the Imperial Guard announced. 

King Jungwon raised a questioning eyebrow, partially impressed with the boy's skill. No one has ever succeeded in stealing from a guard before. 

"Why did you murder the guard, Jimin?" he asked, waiting a moment for the boy to reply. 

Jimin sighed, staring down at the pristine flooring. "He tried to rape my mom. We went to the market, and he wasn't in his right frame of mind, and he pulled her away from me and tried to rape her. He deserved his death." There was no waver of guilt or fear in his voice; it was obvious that he was ready for any punishment thrown at him. 

While the king conversed with the convict, the five-year-old prince, Min Yoongi, continued to study Jimin from his mother's side. 

He admired, as well as feared, the boy with the baby face; whose eyes shone with such an intensity that anyone would drop dead if they glanced into them.

Yoongi was intimidated, but definitely not completely afraid. If anything, the young prince was intrigued and believed that the dead guard was in the wrong, not Jimin and his heart of fire. 

Yoongi knew that Park Jimin would grow up to become a beautiful, yet ferocious, warrior. 

He felt a sense of safety wash over him when his father declared Jimin begin training. 

-------

"Come on, Park! Fight like you mean it!" Jungkook, the palace trainer, roared at the now sixteen-year-old Jimin, who lay winded on the floor. His practice sword was just out of his reach, while Jungkook's remained in his own hand. 

"Hyung, I can't breathe!" the trainee gasped, chest heaving with effort. 

Jungkook scoffed. "If you can tell me that you can't breathe, then you can breathe. Get up." 

Yoongi watched the pair from his spot above them, high up in the rafters of the training room. 

It had become a hobby of his to watch Jimin in his natural habitat: the training room. The boy moved with a type of fluidity that Jungkook didn't have, which caused him to be able to out-maneuver the older man and nearly win their private matches. He still needed to work on predictability; Jungkook knew every move the boy was going to make, which was why he always won. 

Yoongi learned all of this while simply watching from the rafters. 

"Excuse me," one of Yoongi's attendants, Jung Hoseok, entered the training room, bowing to the pair, "have you seen the prince? His tutor is here." 

Jungkook and Jimin shook their heads, only one of them telling the truth. 

"Check the family cemetery. He goes there to see his brother occasionally," the trainer suggested with a shrug. 

Hoseok left, the sound of the door closing echoing in the large space. 

Jimin rolled out his shoulders, continuing their match. "Where is Prince Yoongi? I've heard about him, but I've never seen him in all my time here."