•Taehyung•
Flashback~
~1140~
"Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone, is right wise king born of all England "
" What does that mean father ? " asked the little boy while yawning.
The father layed his son in the bed and covered him up to the chin.
" It means that the true heir of the crown can pull out the sword. And no one else but him can do it. "
"But why do we need that sword father ? There must be someone living in the palace of London, right ? You told me once that there was a king, right ?"
The father chuckled at his son's drooping eyelids.
"Yes, there was a king. But he passed away. And his son, the Prince, is nowhere to be found. That is why they made this sword, so that when he will be old enough to rule, he will get his rightful throne back. "
"But father... how did they build this sword in the stone ? If someone put it in, they can also pull it out, right ? Then anyone can go and say 'Hey London, I'm the prince, now give me my shiny crown' !"
The Lord laughed once more at his clever son.
" Of course my boy, anyone could do that. But the legend says that the sword appeared magically in the stone. "
"Magically ? I don't believe you, father. I'm five years old, I don't believe in bed time stories anymore."
The young child turned around, crossing his arms.
"You'll see, father, I'm going to train and work hard and become a great lord just like you, and then I'll go to London and pull the sword out of that stone ! "
The Lord of Nottingham patted his son's head and while laughing again, endeared by his cuteness.
"I'm sure you will make a great Lord when you will take over Nottingham, perhaps you will even become England's King, who knows ? Now try and sleep. Good night, Taehyung."
Goodnight Taehyung.
Taehyung.
Taehyung.
End of Flashback~
~15 years later~
December 17th, 1156
"TAEHYUNG !"
The boy jumped out of his bed and nearly fell on the floor as his name was shouted. He whimmed while ruffling his hair and rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Finally, I thought I had to use plan W to get you out of bed."
"Urgh... What are you saying ?"
"I'm saying that I was about to throw a bucket of ice on your face if you didn't wake up after I screamed. Though, I think I should still bring it, since you don't look totally awaken-"
"If you do that, I'll murder you Jimin."
The said boy lifted his hands in the air.
"Just saying. But everytime I try to wake you up, I jump from plan A to plan T. Plus, it's not like I was the one who received an emergency scroll from Westminster, afterall. "
At that, all drowsiness escaped Taehyung's body in one second.
"What did you just say ? "
"That you're deaf."
"Jimin, don't make me go after you."
"Only stating the truth !"
Taehyung sighed again. It was too early for that kind of stuff. Yet, here he was, woken up by this stupid child that was still older than him.
"Jimin, if you don't tell me right now what you were talking about, I'm kicking your ass for real. "
"OOOh, challenging, but because I know that you're going to kick my butt anyways, I think its better if you go downstairs and-"
The dark-haired boy glared at Jimin which made the later change his mind.
"Fine, if you're going to make that face, it's nothing really interesting. Westminster just sent a letter to all rulers of England's territiories to announce that they will start an enrollement list for the crowns contenders. "
"WHAT ?"
« The Lord of Nottingham, Leader of Mercia, has been invited to assist the enrollement ceremony that shall take place on May 19th 1156 at London's royal palace, aiming to choose the new King of England. The Lords and Dukes willing to enroll as contenders for the crown will be asked to send an official signed scroll before the date of the ceremony. »
The boy stared at the letter without saying a word.
Probably because otherwise, he would have said something dumb.
Yet, he still tried to speak up as Jimin was tapping his foot in front of him.
"Hum... Why ?"
"Wow, your reaction was lame, but don't worry mine was the same. Actually, it was even worse since I was drinking at the same time and I ended up spitting on a maid. And it was spinach juice."
"And I did not need to know that."
Taehyung sighed while ruffling his hair.
"I just... I don't get why they wake up now ? Why do they suddenly need a king ? There obviously needs to be a reason."
"Yeah, I get what you mean," the blond boy nodded. "And the reason is simple."
The boy frowned at his friend, which made the later scoff.
"Puh-lease, don't tell me you didn't guess. Litteraly the whole country knows the reason."
Taehyung rose an eyebrow.
"I'm really going to throw that bucket of ice on you if you still didn't get it."
But the boy gave in when Taehyung rose up from his seat, fists ready.
"Okay, fine, fine, bro you really need to chill. Just saying, it's obvious no one will want the Duke of Birmingham to be King."
"Why wouldn't they want you to be King ?"
Jimin rolled his eyes.
"You know, sometimes, you look even more stupid than me."
"I'm not hurt though. Care to get back to the conversation ?"
The blond boy rolled his eyes again.
"Taehyung, open your eyes. Every single Angle wants you to be King. You're litteraly their god on earth."
"You think? But there are so many other Lords out there suitable-"
"Come on, drop that gloomy face. And you should start writing your scroll for the admitions. "
Taehyung nodded, adrenalin flowing in his veins as the new idea had set in his mind.
"While I do that, go prepare a letter stating I present myself as contender of the crown for the Angles, and send it to all of the lands. Even if you said they were ready to see me king, I don't want them to feel like they complied with anyone. I want to represent the Angles because they want it, not to make myself look like a mad man craving for power."
"Well said my lord ! I'll go make sure the letter is ready so we can send it by tonight. And we should send your letter to Westminster too."
Taehyung nodded at his right hand and then proceeded to go in his office.
Indeed, Kang Jimin had been his right hand and best friend ever since they met when they were fourteen.
An age Taehyung wished he would forget.
Because his father died when he was fourteen.
He had always been really close to the former Lord of Nottingham, Kim Ryeo-jung. His father would always compliment his intelligence and authority, as well as his amazing combat skills.
Indeed, he had trained his son since he had learnt to walk, teaching Taehyung everything about war tactics and strategy. From horse riding, to hand combat, to archery and techniques of survival, Taehyung had been excelling in whatever he had been showed.
Yet, the boy had stood out in one specific department: sword combat.
Taehyung with a sword was like an eagle in the sky. Unbeatable. Unstoppable. He could fight for hours without feeling tired, with one, or two, or even three swords. People considered him as the best fighter of England, especially the ones who had tasted his blades.
Then one day, they declared war. East Anglia. His father had to go. And despite the fact that today, both lands were in peace, Kim Ryeo-jung had given his life for it. His mother and him had mourned for months and months for his father.
Nonetheless, at the young age of fourteen, Kim Taehyung had become the Lord of Nottingham.
Dad... I'm going to make you proud... I'm going to fight for the Crown of England...