"Charming, eloquent, confident. That's what a king needs to be to win the confidence of the people."
Taeyong watched with careful eyes as Hendery spoke to Jaemin, the said brown haired prince looking rather bored as he sat at the table, trying to eat.
"Leave the child alone." Taeyong said, eliciting an offended gasp from Hendery.
"You know how fickle minded the crowds can be, he needs to understand what he must do-"
"As I'm sure he does." Taeyong interrupted the black haired man, walking forward and standing beside Jaemin.
The prince looked up at him with an irritated expression, which Taeyong acknowledged with a soft pat on his shoulder.
"What Hendery says is right, but you needn't worry so much." Taeyong continued. "You're merely going to do a routine check up on the companies that work in the Neo City."
"And it's his first ever, it is vital he makes a good first impression." Hendery said emphatically, narrowing his eyes at Taeyong, who scowled back. For as long as he had remembered, he and the other had never been on good terms, from the day the King appointed Hendery to be the advisor of his son.
Perhaps it was because he strongly advised against the King's decision to allow a relatively unknown man this much power to influence the prince's thinking, especially in his young, formative years.
Hendery was rather irritating to deal with, a nuisance to both Taeyong and Johnny, but the man was sharp. He was quick on his feet but not as quick to trust, which Taeyong found out rather early on.
That made him like Hendery more. At least someone in the palace wasn't gullible. Perhaps someone he would be willing to tolerate.
Except that never really happened.
"May I please finish dinner without you two breathing down my neck?" Jaemin snapped, staring intensely at the wooden table. The other six chairs were empty, the most prominent one being at the head of the table, where the King used to sit for every meal with his son.
"We're going to be late at this rate," Hendery sighed, breaking eye contact with Taeyong first. "Maybe if you both actually shut up," Jaemin said angrily, standing up and glaring at Hendery, "then I'd be able to actually finish faster."
With that he stormed out, leaving his half eaten breakfast on the plate and a heavy silence in the room, one which neither Hendery nor Taeyong were inclined to break as they both stared after the retreating figure of the boy in shock.
Hendery shot a nasty look at Taeyong before rushing out of the room after the younger boy.
The white haired male heaved a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair stressfully. He was not suited for the palace life at all, he concluded, as he followed suit, making his way out of the room.
Instead of going to Jaemin's room, however, he headed to his own, and his heart lifted slightly at the prospect of possibly leaving tonight and being able to go back home. A few maids bustled by him, stopping to ask him whether he needed anything.
More tolerance, perhaps, or maybe an extra couple of hours of sleep, but those were not material objects that they would able to hand him, so he shook his head dismissively.
He hadn't been working for the King for very long, just about four years. He rose quickly through the ranks, he recalled, pride blossoming in his chest as the feeling of accomplishment came back to him as the memory of Johnny and him being allowed seats in the King's council resurfaced.
After all, to the citizens and residents of the palace and the three cities, he had carved out the name of being Lee Taeyong, the right hand man and the one infamous for having the most blood on his hands for his king.
But to others unknown to the palace residents, he was just Taeyong, the white haired boy who was the leader of a rebellion, royalty in his own right, and he planned to make that crown a reality one day.
He let out a sigh as he saw the door of his room partially open. Jaemin had wormed his way in and was sitting cross legged in the far corner of the room, a pout gracing natural pink lips as he tried to make himself smaller by curling up.
"Kim Jaemin." Taeyong said sternly, narrowing his eyes at the other. "You're going to be late."
He was quickly realising the longer the boy stayed in his room, the more likely his chances of dealing with Hendery for the second time that day were and he wasn't very happy about that fact. "Get out." He said firmly.
Jaemin scoffed. "Is that any way to talk to your future king?"
"The future king should be doing his duties then." Taeyong said crossing his arms over his chest. "I have Hendery telling me that enough." Jaemin rolled his eyes. "I'm not even going to do any talking, why am I going?"
"It will be your first semi public appearance." Taeyong said, walking over to the younger boy and hauling him up, dusting off the invisible specks of dirt from his black suit.
Jaemin scowled, pushing Taeyong's hands away. "It's like you're already preparing the funeral for my father." He snarled, clenching his fist tightly.
Taeyong raised an eyebrow. "That's what this is all about?" He asked, and Jaemin glanced away angrily.
"Jaemin." Taeyong narrowed his eyes. "You would have had to do the same even if your father's health had been well."
"No, I wouldn't!" Jaemin exclaimed, looking at Taeyong, and the older could see how glassy his eyes had become. "I wouldn't have to become king so soon! Hell, I wouldn't have to be king at all if everyone in this family didn't die!"
Silence ensued after his little outburst, Taeyong watching with his mouth pressed in a thin line and Jaemin tried to claw back whatever remained of his self control to form a decent image of himself, taking deep breaths as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I don't want to be king." He whispered brokenly, lowering his head as spots appeared on the carpet where his tears landed.
Taeyong tilted his head. The boy hadn't told him this before, but it wasn't unexpected.
He'd overhead Hendery mutter about it angrily to himself.
The heir to the throne of three cities didn't want it.
He shook his head, putting his hands on Jaemin's shoulders firmly. "I understand, but there isn't much we can do now." He glanced at the clock, sighing.
"We'll discuss this a little later, alright? For now, go to the Capital, play your role, and come back."
Jaemin clenched his fists, nodding. "I'll call the Capital prison and tell them to send your personal guard to you the minute you're there. Would you like that?" Taeyong asked, leaning down slightly to look at Jaemin's tear stained face, a smile forming on his lips as Jaemin looked up at, a small glint of hope in glassy orbs.
"Will you be going home?" Jaemin asked. "Yes, but only during the three days you're in the Neo City. I'll be right here to talk when you come back." Taeyong said reassuringly, before offering the younger a handkerchief to wipe his tears with and ushering him out of the room.
The prince took no notice of Johnny standing silently near the open doorway, hurrying down the hall as the sounds of Hendery yelling his name began to fade.
Johnny turned to a silent Taeyong, clocking an eyebrow at the shorter. "You heard all of that, I'm assuming." Taeyong said, seeing the sadness in Johnny's expression.
"He's been through so much, hasn't he?" Taeyong asked. "Death of mother, death of sister." He paused, a smirk playing on his lips. "Death of brother." He said.
Johnny grit his teeth, closing his eyes. "Yeah." He agreed. "You seem fond of him." Johnny mentioned as he followed the white haired into the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Jaemin isn't someone you can hate." Taeyong said as he began to move around the room, searching for a bag. "It's his father you and I are against, is it not?"
"Jaemin doesn't want to be king." Johnny said lowly. "I can't say I'm surprised." Taeyong said, letting out a soft noise of triumph as he found one, beginning a monotonous task of shoving clothes into it. "Hendery might force him to, though."
"Hendery," Johnny let out a breath through his nose. "Is a very annoying obstacle. He is here, there, everywhere."
"I think he suspects us." Taeyong shrugged. "Or rather, me."
"You are a very good actor, I will have to admit." Johnny said, grinning at his friend. "I'm sure I can convince some producer in Neo City to give you an acting job."
"I would love to, but then I'd have a hard time making sure the boys in Mad City don't go wild." Taeyong said drily.
"About that." Johnny said, taking a seat on the edge of Taeyong's bed. "Mark and Lucas got home safely." "That's good." Taeyong nodded. "I was thinking of visiting them had they been in the prison right now."
Taeyong stopped his work, frowning. "Come to think of it, I've never been in the second or third level of the prison." He turned back to Johnny. "Have you?" The other shrugged, before saying, "There was apparently a third prisoner there."
"Oh?" Taeyong cocked an eyebrow, now interested. "And?"
"Well, there were no records of her in the archives, not even a trace, and I haven't had the time to speak with the boys after Yuta told me they got home last night, being so swamped with making sure news of a breakout doesn't reach the city news headlines."
Taeyong nodded, pursing his lips."They weren't very clean with this whole affair, were they?"
"No." Johnny sighed. "But only a few guards know, and most of them have only told a couple of people, it should be easy to cover up. I'm more worried about whether the virus will take hold of the information we want."
"We could always just wait until Jaemin becomes king and figure out how the King converts him into an NCT." Taeyong said, lip curling in disgust.
"Taeyong." Johnny said darkly, the white haired male sighing and nodding. "I know, I won't let it come to that."
Silence fell over the two of them.
"When will you leave?" Johnny asked. "Soon." Taeyong said, glancing out the window, watching darkness began to fall. "How soon?" Johnny frowned.
"Meet me at the gate." Taeyong said, deciding he wanted some fresh air before grabbing his keys as he walked out the room, ignoring the sounds of protest.
"Charming, eloquent and confident."
Taeyong snorted as the words came back to his mind, the cold breeze caressing his face with icy fingers as he stared the open gate, tapping his foot impatiently.
A king, he smiled as Johnny rushed out, winded and out of breath, needs to have the loyalty of his people as his biggest asset.
The two of them got into a car, Johnny glancing in the rear view to make sure no one was following them.
Loyalty, that's what neither Jaemin nor his father had at the moment. The King's Court was still full of liars and deceivers, Johnny and himself being the most successful ones. The rulers of the kingdom were about as safe in the palace as a hunter in a nest of angry cobras.
But that is what he had, Taeyong thought, glancing out the window as the sights became a blur. And he was very grateful for it.
The car picking up speed on the highway as they made their way back home.