"Sincerity is doing things, not because someone else is doing it, but because it comes straight from the heart."
-Toni Payne
Hoseok's brown eyes squinted as they met the cold surface of his telescope, his hand scribbling down his findings as his gaze trailed over the numerous stars in the sky.
He had been in his observatory for a few hours now, his eyes hardly ever leaving the night sky above him.
The observatory was a giant room with no roof, and open walls, being held up by large, stone pillars. Hoseok often had to wear heavier clothing as he worked, the desert air was cold in the night and he could go around wearing light, silk clothes unless he wanted to get himself sick.
He sighed, removing his head from his telescope and rubbing his tired eyes as he walked towards the wooden table opposite him, placing his papers down and scribbling more of his research on a blank piece.
His ears perked up as the sound of soft footsteps entered his ears, his gaze moving from his paper and falling towards the entrance.
You walked in shyly, your head hanging low as your left hand slowly made it's way to cover your bloody shoulder.
His eyes widened at your state, rising to his feet instantly and walking towards you worriedly.
"What happened to you?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.
You slowly matched his steps, meeting him in the middle of the room, your eyes never leaving the floor.
"I'm sorry." You stated. "I don't mean to bother you but Jimin wasn't in the temple and I didn't know where else to go."
The astronomer shook his head, gently placing his hand on your lower back and leading you to his desk.
"Do not apologize. I am glad you came to me."
You allowed him to pull you, your hand never leaving your bloody shoulder.
He pulled out a chair, sliding it against the floor and helping you sit down as his chocolate eyes scanned over your wound.
"Who did this to you?' He asked quietly.
You shrugged , moving your hair to one side of your neck, getting it out of his way as he pulled out a small roll of linen bandages, placing them on the desk.
"Some of the Pharaoh's concubines." You chuckled dryly. "I don't think they like me much."
Hoseok's eyes widened as he grabbed a small bowl of water, and a linen cloth.
"You should report them to the Pharaoh, I'm sure he would not stand for them to-"
"He knows." You said. "He forced one of them to leave the palace."
The stargazer, tilted his head, dipping the cloth into the cool water.
"Something is wrong." He stated as he took in your state. "Is this about what he did to Yoongi?"
Your head shot up, your body turning to face him.
"How do you know about that?"
The dirty blond sighed, bringing the cloth up and gently cleaning your wound.
"The servants talk too much."
You flinched as the cool water touched your back, your head nodding at his statement.
"So everyone knows about it?"
He nodded slowly.
"I'm almost sure they do."
You frowned, twiddling your thumbs in your lap.
"Yoongi must feel terrible."
Hoseok's eyes studied you for a moment, his eyes scanning over your sad expression.
"Let me show you something."
He placed the bloody cloth into the water bowl, drying his hands off on hid robes and extending them to you. You raised your eyebrows, hesitantly taking his hand and allowing him to pull you from the chair.
The stargazer offered you a small smile, squeezing your hand lightly and pulling you towards the large telescope that stood in the middle of the large observatory.
You stared at the large structure in awe. You had heard the Egypt was the most advanced nation at the time, but you had never imagined that they would already have advanced technology such as this.
He stopped in front of the telescope and motioned towards the chair in front of it.
"Sit."
You nodded your head, slowly releasing his hand and taking a seat, your eyes moving to look through the telescope.
Stars.
Millions and millions of stars filled your vision, as your blue eyes scanned the heavens through the telescope. You had seen the stars before, you had even looked through telescopes before, but this was entirely different. The sky was clearer, the stars didn't just look like bright lights, they seemed different somehow, brighter, better.
A smile formed on your lips as you watched the sky.
Hoseok found himself smiling at your reaction, the way your smile lit up your face, and the way your eyes studied the sky reminded the stargazer of himself. He had always been obsessed with the sky, ever since he was a child. It was all he had ever taken interest in. But over the years, his love for the heavens slowly faded into obligation, he had lost his sense of excitement and adventure. He had lost his purpose
"Beautiful isn't it?"
His voice was calm as he spoke, and your head immediately nodded.
"Yes. It is."
Your mind fell back to Jimin. The first night you met him, the two of you stared at the stars almost all night, talking about your lives, neither of you judging or speaking over the other. You just listened. You supposed that's what drew you to the prince in the first place. His ability to be silent in a world that was always so loud.
You missed him.
Did he miss you too? Did he and the others even know you were gone? Did they even care?
Hoseok moved his hands to one of the dials, adjusting it slightly, making the vision clearer than before.
"When I was a child, I used to think that there were other universes out there, that the sky we saw was only one of many others, that the universe we know it only a small portion of the greatness that we cannot see, but I suppose that was all foolishness. My family believed me to be crazy.....maybe they were right."
You removed your eyes of the device, sending him a smile.
"I don't think you're crazy." You stated. "I think that you are far closer to the truth than you believe."
The stargazer couldn't stop smiling at your words. You were the only person he had met, who did not judge him for his beliefs, or his way of thinking, everyone else he had told about his theory would immediately call him a fool and scold him for even considering his own thoughts.
You were a breath of fresh air in his lungs, a relief from the stressful world that surrounded him. The day you arrived, he would never have imagines that he would even share another conversation with you, yet here he stood, spilling out his thoughts and theories like you were the only person he could talk to and in a way.....he was right.
"The Pharaoh is a fool." He stated suddenly.
Your eyes widened at his words. You didn't think anyone was allowed to speak about him like that, but Hoseok just proclaimed it to the world.
"He has forced you inside a cage." He continued. "But you were clearly meant to fly."
You smiled sadly, nodding your head at his words.
"Thank you for saying that."
Hoseok shook his head.
"Do not thank me, it is the truth." He sighed.
"You should be free to touch the stars."
____________________________________________________________________
A quiet sigh escaped your lips as you walked down the upstairs hallway towards the Pharaoh's room.
You had spent a good two hours in the observatory with Hoseok, the two of you talked on and on about different things. He told you about his childhood in the palace and all of his adventures as a stargazer. He had asked you questions about your previous life, but you always changed the subject. What were you supposed to tell him? "Oh I traveled through different universes and fell in love with seven different men and controlled a dragon named Drake"? Yeah that would not have ended well.
You guessed that it was about one in the morning, which meant that almost everyone in the palace was asleep. You managed to sneak up to Taehyung's room unnoticed, but your stomach sank at the thought of having to face the angry Pharaoh.
You frowned as you approached the wooden door that led to his room, taking a deep breath in as you mentally prepared to get scolded.
You pushed down on the handle, opening the wooden door waiting for the yelling to come.
But it never did.
Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked around the empty room, your blue eyes scanning every nook and cranny.
Taehyung wasn't there.
A small note on the night stand caught your attention.
You slowly approached the wooden stand, your hand grabbing the small paper as you read it.
"Y/n,
I have come to realize that my actions today were foolish and demeaning. I intended to cause you harm, by hurting one of my most loyal subjects, and neither of you deserved that..and so, once again, I apologize. I would also like to apologize for the actions of my concubines, I would like for you to know that I have relieved them all of their duties and sent them back to their homes.
I have had my handmaidens remove my things from my room and in to the one you previously occupied. I believe you will find my room far more comfortable than the other. I will not force you to sleep in the same chambers as me, it is not fair to you. As part of my apology I planned to have a bath drawn for you, but I did not want my action of peace to be taken as vulgar.
I understand that these small actions cannot and will not fix all of the pain I have put you through, but I believe it is a good first step......I am really trying to be better. Once again, I apologize for this morning. I hope this will allow us to slowly move closer to a friendship.
Sincerely,
Taehyung"
A/N,
DOUBLE UPDATE.
Thank you all for your concern and understanding. I was so touched that I decided to publish another one. I love character development *wipes tear* My precious little babies have come so far.
ALSO
All these fan theories are so awesome to read! I don't know how some of you come up with them, but they are truly something else.
Comment any questions you have and I'll try my best to answer them #nopromises. And feel free to comment any theories you have. I love reading them!!!<3
-Max