Chapter Text
NYTHERIS
˗ ·˖✶ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✶˖· ˗
“These are not enough. We need more intel about the palace and its structure. Without the drawing of the palace it's impossible to send our troops in,” the General says as his eyes strain over the papers scattered over the wooden surface.
“But no one has ever had access to those drawings. It's said that it's stored in one of the palace chambers and no one but the King has access to it.” the Commander says as his fingers trace the edges of the paper.
“It's suicidal to send our men in without knowing a way out. We can’t take that risk,” the General says as he shifts his gaze from the papers to the person sitting at the head of the table. The cold eyes stare back at him holding an unspoken conversation.
“Then how about buying a soldier inside the palace to work for us. I’m sure we can find someone like that,” the commander says.
“It’s too risky. From what we know the soldiers of Zyvoris are one of the most loyal troops out there. It’s going to be difficult to find someone like that,” the General says, fingers moving up to rub his temples.
He then looks at the man seated at the head of the table, the Crowned Prince of Nytheris, whose eyes are solely fixed on a vague drawing of the Zyvoris landscape. Yoongi has known him ever since he was a kid. He was the kid who grew up with the Prince, trained and tested to stand next to him and protect him for the rest of his life. That is Yoongi’s sole duty. He has seen the ever cheerful kid who loves running around the palace with his round curious eyes and playful giggles. He has seen the kid grow into a boy, a boy who lost his beloved father and he saw the boy grow into an angry young man. The once young curious eyes now filled with pain and anger. Yoongi can see the resolve in the Prince’s eyes and it sends shivers down his spine. There is something dark that swirls around those orbs as he stares at those drawings. Yoongi doesn’t remember ever seeing something like this before. For someone who has been through gruesome wars and bloodbaths, one who has plucked the living lights out of people with his own hands, there shouldn’t be anything that scares him. But right now as he stares at their crowned Prince, he feels nothing but spine chilling dread. The darkness swirling those eyes reflects no mercy. It is crowded by anger, pain and lust for revenge. Yoongi wasn’t scared for him or their Kingdom, but for the Prince himself.
Yoongi quickly lowers his gaze when the Prince’s gaze finds him. The Prince Slowly stands up from his chair, palms resting over the table as he slightly leans forward, shadowing his figure over the drawings.
“If we cannot buy one of them, then we become one of them,” the Prince says with a steady and clear voice.
Everyone’s gaze snaps up at the Prince’s direction, confusion etched in their eyes. They look amongst themselves before looking back at the Prince.
“What does that mean, Your Highness?” the commander gathers his words.
“Infiltration.” The Prince turns his gaze towards the Commander. “We breach and kill,” he says with a chuckle.
“But that’s-” the commander’s words are cut off by the Prince.
“Any worries Hoseok?” The Prince’s menacing voice puts an end to the Commander’s words, making him lower his head in defeat.
“No, Your Highness,” Hoseok says.
Yoongi watches the exchange and lets out a sigh, internally shaking his head in disapproval. It is as if every cell in the Prince’s body screams at him to wage war, to capture Zyvoris at any cost. Though Yoongi understands the reason behind the Prince’s rage, he cannot let the Prince make hasty decisions only to regret them later. So he politely intervenes.
“As you say, Your Highness. We will look into our options for infiltration and report back to you soon. I’m sure we will find a way to breach in.” Yoongi says and glances at Hoseok before giving him a curt nod.
The Prince doesn’t say anything but stares at his General for a few seconds before dismissing Hoseok and his men from the chamber. He goes back to his seat as the men disperse. Once the chamber’s door closes, leaving the Prince in the lone company of his General, is when he lets out his first sigh as the tension over his shoulder lessens.
“What is it, Hyung?” The Prince asks, voice no longer stoic and tight, but rather toned with the weight of exhaustion.
“What are you doing, Jungkook?” Yoongi asks as he steps forward towards the Prince.
“My duty.” Jungkook says with his eyes still stuck on the map lying on the table.
“Is directing the Kingdom towards a war your duty?” Yoongi asks.
Jungkook looks at him with a challenge in his eyes, almost daring him to question him again. And Yoongi takes up the challenge because right now, they are just Jungkook and Yoongi, not the Prince and his General. Just two brothers who grew up with each other. Yoongi takes it on him to protect the younger from putting himself in any danger.
“You are not thinking straight. We don’t have a solid plan and this way we will end up dead. You will end up dead.”
“You sound like you are afraid of dying, Hyung. Strange coming from a man who rose from bloodshed.”
“I’m afraid of you dying!” Yoongi says as his voice echoes through the walls of the chamber.
Jungkook quickly scoffs, trying to hide the crack that Yoongi’s words caused in his resolve. “I’m the Crowned Prince! Do you expect me to sit in my chamber while you protect my life, Hyung? You didn’t raise me like that.”
“No, I expect you to take responsibility and be there for your people. Nytheris needs you, your people need you and I expect you to take accountability for that. The King never believed in revenge.” Yoongi says the last line almost as a whisper.
“And you know how that ended for him,” Jungkook counters. Staring Yoongi dead in the eyes, he continues, “besides, you of all people should know better, Hyung. It’s always an eye for an eye.”
He gets up from his seat and moves to stand before Yoongi. “ I need to do this and you know why. So please trust me on this one and let me do it, Hyung. I’m going after only those who deserve it.”
Yoongi looks at him and sees the boy who mourns for his father. He doesn’t see the Prince but rather the ten year old child who was forced to grow up in the absence of his father. Yoongi’s resolve dissipates and he gives in.
“Okay,” he says and gives a gentle nod at Jungkook.
“Just so you know, I would never let you die,” Yoongi says with a small smirk.
Jungkook chuckles as he nods his head and says, “neither would I.”
ZYVORIS
˗ ·˖✶ ☽ ☼ ☾ ✶˖· ˗
Everyone has a tale to tell about the Kingdom of Thousand eyes, some true and some false. For commoners living in the Kingdom, Zyvoris is their motherland, a place where they are secure and happy. A place for their children to grow up and a place for the elders to rest peacefully. Zyvoris is their motherland that embraces them with love.
For traders Zyvoris is the land of wealth. The flourished economy is their golden egg and the immortal market is their greatest source of income.
For travelers, Zyvoris is a paradise, a dream that they could never have dreamt. The Kingdom treasures nature, hypnotising the eyes of its visitors. The vast landscapes and the never ending streams of honey like water are beyond human imagination. The forest and its inhabitants simply add to the beauty of the Country. In simple words, Zyvoris is divine and magical, often described by visitors as God’s Own Country .
For the neighbouring Kingdoms, Zyvoris is a friend unless they decide to ruin it for themselves. Because if Zyvoris isn’t your friend, then it can become your worst nightmare on earth.
Zyvoris can be different things to different people but to the King, Zyvoris is his home and its people are his family . Every person who has ever had the chance to sit on the throne of Zyvoris has considered it to be their greatest privilege and honour, to which they owe their lives. It is no different for Kim Taehyung, the 13th King of the Zyvoris and the only Son of Kim Seokjin.
Taehyung was sixteen when he first stepped onto the battlefield for his Country. The then King, Kim Seokjin, had entrusted the faith in him to protect their country from the foreign invasion at their borders. Kim Taehyung, known as the warrior of warriors, lived up to his name and won against the foreign forces. Ever since then, it was clear to everyone that Kim Taehyung would be the one to succeed his father to the throne. And just as believed, on his eighteenth birthday, Kim Taehyung ascended the throne. His father gracefully stepped down and watched his son adorn the throne that was built by their ancestors.
It’s been five years since then and to say the Kingdom is flourishing under his reign would be an understatement. Kim Taehyung lives up to his family’s name and has been ruling Zyvoris with peace and harmony.
A loud knock is heard from behind the giant mahogany door. “Your Majesty, your father, his Highness is on his way to meet you,” the guard announces from behind the closed doors.
Taehyung gathers the papers scattered across his table and files them to the card, winding the strings around it to secure it in its place. And as he turns to put the papers away, the door to his chamber opens, revealing his father standing before it.
“Father,” Taehyung quickly stands up on his feet and walks up to his father.
“Taehyung-ah, how have you been my son?” Seokjin asks as he embraces his son in his warm embrace.
“I have been well, father. How have you been? I haven’t seen you in two weeks, even the ministers are beginning to miss you in court.” Taehyung remarks with a playful smile on his face.
“Ah don’t remind me about those ministers, I have had enough of them. If not for you asking me to be a part of your court, I wouldn’t even set foot in there. Let the old man enjoy his retirement, Taehyung.” Seokjin says as he fakes annoyance with a dramatic eye roll.
Taehyung chuckles. His father has always been like this with him- playful and dramatic. Taehyung knows the meaning behind his words. It’s the weight of carrying the crown for more than 40 years. Unlike Taehyung, his father was neither prepared nor guided when he ascended the throne. Taehyung knows that it is one of the reasons why his father agreed to be a part of his court. Even though retirement was something he had looked forward to, he didn’t want his son to feel lonely under the weight of the crown like he did.
Taehyung’s grandfather died a sudden death, leaving behind a fifteen year old Seokjin to look after the country and his family. With no one to help and no one to teach him, his father’s accession to the throne was a war on its own. And having to carry that weight for years, Taehyung understands why his father would want to spend his time away from the court and its matters.
“So is this finally the moment you accept that you are old?” Taehyung asks with a cheeky smirk on his face, knowing so well how his father would react.
And just as he expected his father gasps loudly, rather dramatically as he pinches Taehyung’s ear, “how dare you say that to me huh?” he says loudly in an attempt to scold Taehyung. But all Taehyung could hear is his father whining while he merely holds his ear.
The father and son soon break into laughter as Taehyung guides them to their seats.
“So tell me, where did you go this time, father?” Taehyung asks as he pours a cup of tea and hands it over to his father.
“I went to visit one of my friends. We were best mates when we were kids. Heard that he lives in one of our neighbouring Kingdoms, so I paid him a visit,” Seokjin says and takes a sip of his tea.
Taehyung looks at his father with a smile that reaches his eyes. He feels the happiness in his father’s eyes and he couldn’t wish for more.
“That’s great! I hope you had a wonderful trip, father.”
“I did but enough about me, what have you been up to?” Seokjin asks as he sets his cup back on the table.
“Just the same old work. We made a few more new trade deals with respect to the import of cotton and cotton commodities. Other than that, everything is as usual,” Taehyung replies.
“That's great news. Heard that cottons are the deals these days. And what else ?” Seokjin asks.
“Nothing else,” Taehyung says as he works his brain to think of anything important that he could have missed to tell his father.
“What about the thing I mentioned before I left?”
“What thing, father?” Taehyung is genuinely confused at the question. Did he forget something his father had tasked him with?
“I knew you weren’t paying attention to what I said,” Seokjin says, throwing his hands up in the air as he lets out a sigh.
Taehyung looks at him, blinking his eyes in confusion. He gulps when he sees his father glaring at him. His father can be scary at times.
Noticing Taehyung’s silence, Seokjin lets out a breath and softens his gaze, “about your marriage, Taehyung”
“Father..” Taehyung whines, dropping his shoulders as a small pout rests on his face.
“This is no joke Taehyung. You need someone to love and be loved in return. You need a partner, Tae” Seokjin says, gone is the playfulness in his voice. His father sounds serious, showing that whatever he is talking about is a matter of importance.
“I’m not in any relationship if that’s what you want to know, father.”
“You think that’s a secret? By now the entire world probably knows how single you are.” Seokjin says with a chuckle.
“Very funny,” Taehyung comments with a pout.
“It’s okay to be single but what I’m asking is for you to be open to looking and getting to know other people. Maybe then you will find someone who is compatible with you.”
“But I don’t know anyone like that,” Taehyung says and takes his cup to sip on his tea. The tea isn’t as warm as he would like it to be, but it’s better to sip on it than engage in this relationship talk with his father.
When Taehyung looks up from his cup, he sees his father smiling at him. Oh no, he knows that smile. It’s the same smile his father gave him when he wanted Taehyung to hide the vase that he broke from his mother. It was the same smile he gave every time he wanted Taehyung to drink those bitter medicines when he was a kid. That smile is what his father puts on when he has a plan, and when he wants Taehyung to agree to the said plan. And from experience, Taehyung knows that the plan is never in his favour.
Taehyung thinks this would be the right time to play his King card, and get out of this situation before his father makes him agree to whatever it is he is thinking.
But then that card would never work with his father. So he resigns to his fate and stays put as he watches the sweet menacing smile reflect on his father’s face.
“I knew you would have difficulty finding someone so that’s why I have an idea.” His father says with a bright smile.
And at that, Taehyung wants to cry, fall to the floor, roll around and throw a tantrum to disagree with whatever this idea is.
“I know someone who might be a perfect match for you. Would you like me to send a proposal to him?”
“Proposal?” Taehyung asks, startled by the idea.
“Yes! A royal proposal for marriage.”
“But father-”
“The boy is the son of a dear friend of mine. He is also a crown Prince,” his father says cheerfully, trying to convince him of his idea.
Taehyung thinks for a moment. How wrong could this go? He will have to get married one day and it’s not like he is in a relationship with anyone. So what could possibly go wrong if he agrees to this arrangement?
It’s not that Taehyung loathes the idea of marriage, he just doesn’t want to marry for the sake of marriage or obligation, but instead marry someone who he actually loves. Then again, love can happen at any time and maybe for him, love is meant to happen after marriage. Also, it isn’t like he would have to get married the very next day, so maybe the idea of a proposal isn’t that bad.
He shakes out of his thoughts and looks at his father, who has been looking at him with expectant eyes.
“So?” Seokjin asks, waiting for his answer.
“Okay, a proposal doesn’t sound that bad. You can send it to the Prince, father” Taehyung says with a smile.
“Very well said, Taehyung-ah! Worry no more, I’ll take care of the rest!” Seokjin says as he beams with happiness.
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