Royal Duty [Minjoon]

18th part

The prince leaned back on the chair he was seated on in the library. The love that his father clearly had for his mother, is what he too longed for. Someone who could light up his father's cold dark eyes. Someone who could stay by his side in even the darkest of times and not even thinking the thought of leaving, because they were with him. Someone who would fight through their last breath to say "I love you." Someone just like his mother was to his father.

Jimin bit his lip at the thought, this was a habit he used to have as a child, but had been told off for too many times to remember. "A royal shall only have wounds from battle. Futile self inflictions like these are not approved of." It had taken months of careful scolding from his teachers and nannies, but eventually the habit had gone. He had found himself reindulging this habit lately. Ever since..... The prince abruptly stood up from the chair, pushing it back on the stone marble floor and making a screech fill the empty library.

"Namjoon!" He nearly screamed as he remembered the poor newly-employed servant. They have barely spoken since then. Only once at the market, but since they only had that short amount of time where they could hide from the guards, the encounter had been short and with few words. If he were in Namjoon's shoes he would've found the situation very unfair. Firstly Jimin uses his authority over him against him, selfishly getting the other to kiss him because he felt like it, then after stepping out of his own zone of comfort to please the royal, Jimin only leaves to go to a meeting and the next thing he knows is that the servant is being placed in a chamber, stuffed together with all the other servants, and sleeping with only a blanket on the floor.
Jimin knew he would have to talk to the other soon, now that his father was no longer tense and angry about Jimin promoting him and to bat was happy about the due marriage. The prince finally had the time to properly talk it out with him, to make sure he had the right idea. So Jimin headed off to try to find the other, his confusing thoughts about the princess pushed to the back of his mind.

But Namjoon was nowhere to be found. As the prince, he had been updated on the servant's schedule and all the new tasks he had been assigned after the arrival from the other kingdom. Neither was he in the servants' chamber, the others told the prince that he hadn't been seen since morning.
After a long scavenger hunt, there only was one more room for him to check where the other could possibly be: the throne room. Once again Jimin found himself biting his lip, his pace quickened. Suddenly he felt all tense. What if his father had done something to him again? The thought made Jimin's heart feel....pained? It almost felt like someone had tried poking a hole through it, but only made it halfway, leaving it bruised and bleeding.

"Father!" Jimin's voice shouted as he opened the heavy doors leading into the huge throne room. There, at the very end of the room, beyond the vertical long table and the polished stone floor, the king was seated on his matching stone throne. The man looked a mix between confused and angry as to why his son was calling him in such a manner. "You do not speak to a king like so." He told back. His son's flexed body relaxed a bit, leaving him with his normal royal posture, head raised, feet facing forward and chest puffed out. There was no point in fighting the king on the small matters, when he had a big one to discuss.
"I apologize, your majesty." He said, walking over to where his father's throne was. "I am just wondering if you know where Namjoon is." The king huffed, clearly not amazed by the prince's question. "I do, but why do you want to know?" As if that wasn't obvious, Jimin felt himslef think, but he said nothing, he did not feel like dealing with his father's wrath right now, he had to find Namjoon. After some silence, the king gave in. "He is not here. I sent him home."

What?

"What?" Jimin all but screamed. "You have no right. I promoted him, he is my servant. I am fine with you giving him jobs in the castle, but you can't fire him or send him anywhere without my consent. He is mine." His son's crude words made the king lean forward in his chair, head looming over Jimin's own, and eyes staring into the orbs reflecting his own genes.