The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains as the group of weary travelers finally put out the last of the flames that had engulfed two of their carriages. Unfortunately, those had been the carriages with their food and tents, leaving then men starving and without shelter. Among those men were both Prince Minho and Prince Jisung, who Captain Namjoon had ordered to stick together.
Prince Minho's arm was in a sling that wrapped around his neck, his injured arm cradled to his body. He sat before a small blaze of warmth, staring into it as men moved around him. Prince Jisung sat beside him, sharpening a silver blade.
"Would you stop that!" Namjoon muttered as he walked by, carrying a large basket of silks. "It's really aggravating!"
Jisung just glanced at him, shrugged, and kept sharpening his knife. Namjoon sighed and carried on.
By the time everything was set up around the camp, there was not the slightest amount of light in the sky. The crackling flames sent dancing shadows across the men's face as they huddled together for warmth. Their tents had been burnt, leaving them only with cloth to sleep on. And of course, there were only enough to keep half the men warm, so they resorted to sharing. One mat, two men.
The princes, Namjoon had decided, were to receive the same treatment. They had to share.
"What?" Jisung's eyes flew open with shock. His eyes darted over to the older prince, his lips curling. "You want me to sleep with the dog?"
"You're the one who smells like one!" Minho huffed, shifting his weight and wincing as it moved his shoulder. "I'll share."
"Of course you will!" Bang Chan wandered over. "It's not you that's the problem!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jisung hissed, lifting his arm as if he were to punch someone. Bang Chan was not impressed.
"Nothing, Your Highness. Just that you are a spoiled brat that doesn't know how to live off himself, just the lives of other people."
"I can take care of myself!"
"Oh really? Prove it. Sharing is caring," Bang Chan sniffed before stalking off towards where Sungjin and Jeongin were arranging their silks together.
"Oish! What does he know!" Jisung whirled around, pouting. Namjoon just gave him a long stare, before finding somewhere else to be. Jisung glanced around, finding the only person that was paying attention to him was Minho.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"... fine. I'll share with you. But just to prove a point!" Jisung marched towards Minho, who had their silks sitting at his feet. Jisung took these and lay three on the ground. One he used to soften the area where their heads would rest, and the final two as blankets against the harsh cold.
Minho watched him work with a small smirk on his face. This kid... four years younger than he was, but so immature. His smile was nearly feral.
"What?" Jisung snapped, standing up and throwing his robes behind him. "Stop staring at me like that!"
"Like what?" Minho continued to stare.
"You know," Jisung said, with a teasing tone that did not reach his eyes. "I've been thinking... you are too old not to have a wife. Why has your brother not forced you to take one yet?"
"I am to have an arranged marriage with some monarch of some sorts. And empress, most likely."
Minho's eyes became slightly downcast.
Jisung frowned. "Why are you so sad? There must be plenty of pretty people around you. Even when you are married, you can still have concubines! You're a prince! You can take whatever pretty thing you see and make it yours!"
Minho stared up at him with a smile.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Look at you like what?"
"Like that! Like I'm some pretty girl at the marketplace!"
In an instant, Minho's face was cold. Jisung stared at him as his features became frozen and he stood from his rock.
"What? Prince Minho, I-"
"I'm going to go get a drink." Minho murmured, staring out at nothing in front of him. He seemed to be seeing everything and nothing all at once, and Jisung felt a twang of guilt. Was it something he had said? He watched as the Lee prince walked away.
Bang Chan, standing nearby, sighed as he watched Lee Minho. Such a happy face could become so sad in just an instance. Bang Chan almost felt worse for the Han Prince, who was staring after Minho with a shocked guilty look.
Bang Chan slowly made his way over to Jisung. "Don't take him to heart. Many things ruined love for him in the past. He still needs time to heal."
"What? What happened?"
Bang Chan gave him a hesitant pained look, before shaking his head. "It's not really my story to tell but..." a thought seemed to flash in his head. "You'd find out one way or another. Come, walk with me. I'll tell you a story..."
The lord and the prince made their way to a nearby pond, in which crickets chirped and the singing of their soldiers working to make camp could still be heard from a distance.
"So... care to tell me?"
"Prince... you realize that people can not control love, right?"
"It's not like I've ever been around any girls but yeah, I guess. From the novels and such, sure."
"Well, that's not just in novels. It happens in real life too..." Bang Chan kicked rocks as he walked. "And it happened to Minho."
"How so?"
"You see, Minho has always been a social creature. He loved going to the markets back home and just talking to subjects, which made him the most popular of his siblings. And one day, he met a girl!"
Jisung groaned. "Let me guess, he fell in love with her?"
"Right."
"Then what's the problem? He can just take her as a consort of some sorts, right?"
"Normally, that would be true. She was a noble man's daughter, so with normal circumstances, he could have just married her and lived happily ever after... but that's not the case here."
"What not?"
"You see, Minho is having an arranged marriage, one that could save our kingdom. Unfortunately, as part of the agreement, either party can not have any lovers or relationships before the union of the states. This meant that Minho could not marry here and could not be with her, even in secret."
"... right."
"That girl..." Bang Chan sighed. "I don't know if she really loved him or not. One day, she just showed up at the spot they would always meet, and told him she was getting married to someone else. A rich man's son. Someone she would be special to, or something like that. She said she wouldn't wait for him, and she had to get married, and she left him heartbroken and alone."
"Normally, the loss of one lover is not the biggest deal. What made her so special?"
"I don't really know. Maybe it was because she was Minho's first love, or maybe because he was naive enough to fall for her, but it broke him in two. In my opinion, the youngest prince doesn't trust the people in his life will not just pack up and leave. His parents disappeared out of nowhere, leaving him to be raised by servants. He turned her back on him, and even his brother shoved him away to rule with a steady hand, and sent him here, to a foreign country to try to make peace. It seems like nobody in his life seems to stick around long."
"Is Minho their peacemaker?" Jisung asked, picking at the silk itching his chest. "Are his other siblings unfit?"
"Well, the Council of Masters found it unfitting for a female to be an ambassador of peace for their country, and if you ever meet them, you'll realize that both of Minho's other older siblings are lacking in some way. Jihoon has likability issues sometimes, and he can be cold and entrusting, and Min-hyung... has communication problems sometimes and is too carefree. They are all lovely people, but Minho really is the best suited for this job."
"... of course..." Jisung blinked at the fact that Minho actually had siblings. "Then when did the late King Lee pass to the heavens?"
"The youngest prince was but an infant, and his siblings just a little older. I fear that when they put his oldest brother on the throne, he was still too young. Poor boy..." Bang Chan trailed off.
Jisung suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Did this count as talking behind Minho's back? He didn't intend to make it seem like that, but here he was, talking to a trusted young master of the Lee Court, about Minho's past lovers and hardships.
A flush burnt on his cheeks.
"I think it is time we head back to camp..." Bang Chan murmured, bowing his head as he started to walk back. "I feel as if we will have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Indeed," Jisung murmured, lost in thought.
When the two reached the camp, Jisung found Changbin waiting for him. "Why are you just standing there?" Jisung asked, motioning for Changbin to walk with him.
"Just enjoying the feeling of being outside once more. I felt like when I was back at the palace, I was cooped up and chained."
"Ha! Welcome to the life of a prince!" Jisung laughed sarcastically.
Changbin gave him a small look.
"Changbin..." the prince's tone turned dark. "The only reason you really felt trapped was because you locked yourself in there as soon as Prince Yongbok left."
Changbin froze up upon hearing his name, his lips pulling back from his teeth. The expression of one who hates. But Jisung knew better than that. His friend was hiding his sadness and pain behind his perfect face of hatred, which would work on anybody but him.
"Be careful with those Lee men," Changbin hissed. "The royal family's men are cursed!"
"Cursed?" Jisung raised an eyebrow.
Changbin gave him a smile that would rival a cat with a bird in its jaws. "Indeed, my prince. Why, didn't you know?" he stopped, a wicked look in his eye. "They were cursed to forever be sick and in need of the comfort of man."
Jisung stared at him.
"What?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Changbin rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Why don't you ask why your Lee Prince is eyeing you? They long for the touch of men. Don't fall into their trap!" Changbin spat on the ground and stalked off, leaving Jisung to stare at the Lee Prince who was indeed staring at him.
His heart thudded in his chest.
Lee Minho pushed off the tree he was leaning against and started walking closer. "What's the matter?" he asked as he drew nearer.
Jisung quickly glanced around, to see if anybody was watching that could save him. Unfortunately, all the men were within the grasses, sitting by the warm fires. Minho smirked and pressed on. "Someone got your tongue?"
No, I-"
Minho's hand darted out faster than a dragonfly across the water, catching Jisung's tongue as it slipped across his lips. "Gottcha!" he said with a slight smile, releasing the other prince's tongue.
"Lee Minho! What are you-"
"Now, now... don't scold me, my prince!" his eyes gleamed. "I'm just bored. You see... haven't been able to have much fun since I left... been feel rather lonely."
"Go pick on someone else!"
Minho looked around. "Like who? Nobody's around!" he ran Han Jisung right into the tree that stood behind him, pressing their chests together. "But that's alright, right?"
Jisung said nothing, his heart beating widely in his chest. "I think we'd like some privacy, for our-"
"NOTHING!" Jisung pushed Minho away, sending him stumbling back a few steps. Jisung nervously ran his tongue over his lips, averting Minho's gaze. "Nothing. We're just going to go to sleep, and that is it!" Jisung ran over to where their blankets were set up and slipped off his shoes and top robe layer, before jumping under the warm blankets.
Prince Minho watched him with a smirk, shaking his head slowly, before he too stripped off the top robe, and removed his shoes, and settled in next to Jisung.
Jisung tried to catch his breath, but his heart beat made that very hard. It was going to be a long night.