𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 ‣ jjk

14. Rising Colours

Under the light of the afternoon sun, the king looks much stronger, much healthier than he had been days prior. And the advisor hopes that maybe, just maybe, the king is slowly beginning to recover.

"That would be best, sire. I will inform the maids to make necessary preparations in order to provide the best impression of Elios to the other kings."

"Good." The king answers. Looking back out of the window, he adds in a hopeful voice. "We'll only have the Gods to rely on now."

So this is what Jimin meant when he said the Capital really fancies festivals and celebrations.

The streets are bursting with colour, and if possible, they're even more vibrant than all of the the blooming flowers of spring. It's like someone just took all the colours he could find and splashed it right onto an empty canvas.

Jeongguk has never seen anything like it. They never have any celebrations like this back in Moonrock, so it's always the same dull colours. But now that he's in the Capital, watching it come to life with his own eyes, he's truly amazed.

Despite the assortment of colours, he could tell the main one is red. Children run across the roads with red streamers flying behind them. Flags and banners are held up all over the streets with the image of a dragon in the middle, signifying the royal family's emblem.

It feels nice to not walk around in heavy armour. Instead of that, he's wearing one of Jimin's black tunics and a knee-length robe, one of the chamberlain's favourites as he's been told. Although the black is such a contrast to all the colours around him, Jeongguk finds it comfortable.

At the side of the streets, various stalls have been set up for adults to sell their products. As it is the time of the year when a lot of ships will sail in from all the other kingdoms, rare products would be in the markets too. Which really explains why the Capital is bustling more than usual today.

"You'll need to close your mouth if you don't want the flies to get into your intestines."

"What the hell—gross!" Jeongguk shuts his mouth and scrunches his face in disgust, shooting his friend a subtle glare.

Jimin returns it with a teasing grin. He offers the small bottle in his hands to the younger. "Want some?"

"You really abandoned your duties for a bottle of wine?" Yoongi pipes up from beside him, donning an unamused look on his face as he crosses his arms.

"Not just a bottle of wine," Jimin counters, hugging the bottle to his chest like a prized possession. "It's the Bloody Prince. They only sell these during the Annual Gathering week. It comes in straight from the west."

Despite Jimin's excitement, Yoongi still doesn't look impressed. Jeongguk doesn't know how Jimin got a part of his schedule cleared just to come out for a couple of hours, because isn't the royal chamberlain supposed to be one of the busiest people during a time like this?

He guesses that his friend would really do anything to get a drink.

At least the knights weren't given any tasks to do today, so he has most of the time to himself. It's the first time he's actually come down to the Capital in so long. But this time, he wouldn't have to worry about getting shoved to the ground and chained up by wary guards anymore.

Somehow along the way, Jeongguk managed to tug Yoongi along in excuse that he and Jimin should get to acquaint themselves better with each other. The older knight wasn't really keen on the idea, but tagged along anyway because of Jeongguk's persistence.

"Why do they call it a Bloody Prince? That's so... unappetising," Jeongguk comments.

Jimin shrugs. "You still need to have a sip though. I'm not letting you miss out on the best wine in the world." He pops the cork out with practised ease, but before he can even pass it to Jeongguk, a gruff voice comes startles him from behind.