Work Text:
so, shall we start?
taehyung giggled softly as seokjin placed a carefully made flower crown on his head. “it’s pretty! thank you, seokjin!”
“you are welcome, taehyung,” seokjin smiled at his 6 year old twin. “it is of your favorite flowers, too! pink roses, daisies, and lavender!”
taehyung stood and twirled around, exclaiming, “now i feel like a prince!”
seokjin stood as well to bow, saying in a loud voice, “your majesty.”
taehyung placed his small hand on seokjin’s head, declaring through his giggles, “you are now my faithful knight!”
“and what must i need to do?”
“protect me, of course!”
seokjin straightened his posture, a ghost of a small smile lingering on his lips as he stared at his twin fondly. “yes, sir!”
“will you do it?”
seokjin reached out and held taehyung’s hand, saying in a much too solemn voice for one so young,
“i will protect you even if it means me dying instead of you.”
there was once upon a time in another place
an evil kingdom who no person dared to face
and the ruler was a boy so mean
a tiny little prince of only age fourteen
“seokjin!”
taehyung leans back in his throne, a small sigh escaping his lips. he has been so tired this week, the weight of being prince bringing him down, exhausting him.
seokjin peeks his head into the throne room, calling out, “is there anything you need?”
“just tea, if you could. and some company would be much appreciated.”
taehyung watches as seokjin disappears behind the corner again, his head leaning back as he closes his eyes. he could tell that seokjin was worried for him, but he didn’t want him to feel like that. he knew of the countrymen that consider him as cruel, as heartless and emotionless, as soulless, but he also knows that seokjin doesn’t believe that, that he believes there is still much hope for the younger twin.
“your highness?”
taehyung opens his eyes to see seokjin standing in front of him, a cup of tea in his hand. taehyung sits up immediately, taking the tea and thanking seokjin quietly, enjoying the comfortable presence of seokjin beside his throne.
… his loyal servant who’s likeness surely shows
taehyung remembers when he and seokjin were separated at a young age, the two of them barely seven years old. he had cried when seokjin was torn away from him, cried the entire way back to the palace because he had believed that seokjin was never coming back, that they were going to kill his brother and he would be all alone. the only faith he had was seokjin yelling that he’ll come back for him, to protect him, right before he was taken from taehyung.
the king and queen had then taught him all the proper manners and etiquette of being a prince, and soon, a king. taehyung hated every minute of it, as it just seemed so wrong to learn this without seokjin by his side. had they believed that seokjin was not a proper fit for the ruler of the kingdom? taehyung was positive that seokjin would rule fairly and nicely, and not end up like the queen when the king passed away a few years later.
taehyung found the trainings rather boring, his voice becoming more and more monotone the more the queen taught him.
then, one day, the queen passed away, and taehyung had to take the position of prince.
the position was stressful, to say the least. many people had come to him, begging for money, for more jobs, for assistance or his blessing for something, and it nearly drove him mad.
but he remembers, after seven years of not seeing seokjin, without a clue of whether or not he was alive, how one of the servants peeked their head inside the throne room, announcing that someone was here, that this person is now going to be his personal servant. taehyung had yawned in boredom, waving him out to go fetch this person -- until his eyes met the man the servant had mentioned. taehyung’s eyes widened, and the man smiled gently as he approached him and held taehyung’s hand.
“i told you i would come back to protect you and be with you,” seokjin whispered, letting taehyung cry in his embrace.
if you're short on money that's no fearful thing
just take it from those who you dangle on a string
“your highness , you went and had my father killed, leaving my mother, brother, and i with little to no money!”
taehyung stares down at the peasant boy that’s looking up at him pleadingly -- yoongi, he was called. “i have never done such a thing.”
yoongi bristles at the sound of this, and he responds angrily, “there is famine in this country, and yet you refuse to help? you refuse to help your own people, and kill those that take some food from your palace to feed their family?”
“enough,” taehyung says loudly, sitting up straighter, glaring at yoongi, not appreciating the look of defiance in his eyes. “once more, i have never done such a thing.”
“and yet you let your servant do all this for you, to go murder people for your supposed happiness? ”
“enough!” taehyung snaps, and yoongi’s mouth snaps shut at the fire in taehyung’s eyes. “do not speak of him like that.”
taehyung glances over at seokjin, whispering, “give this boy some .. some food , i suppose. maybe some wealth.”
seokjin nods silently before going down a hallway to get what taehyung requested. taehyung stares down at yoongi with distaste, and he says, “i can have many other servants and royal assistants to carry out my orders for me. seokjin just wishes to carry them out all by himself, as we care for one another.” taehyung sneers at yoongi, adding, “but you believe that i am a ruthless and heartless boy, do you?”
yoongi stays silent as seokjin brings in some food and money, handing it to yoongi quietly. as he hands it to him, he whispers in his ear, “i know you are concerned. i am sorry for murdering your father. but it is my prince’s orders, and i wish to carry them out if it means i am able to see him at ease for once.”
seokjin leans away as another servant comes to lead yoongi out, a cold look in his eyes but a soft smile on his lips. yoongi simply watches with wide, shocked eyes as seokjin turns and goes back to stand next to a seemingly exhausted taehyung.
evil flowers
steadily bloom
with an array of colourful doom
“seokjin? where are you taking me?”
“just come with me, your highness,” seokjin smiles, leading him into the garden.
“i told you, you are allowed to call me taehyung--”
“no one believes that i still exist,” seokjin whispers, halting in his steps. “they believe that the twin of the prince is dead. that it is just a coincidence i resemble you. if they find out, they may take me away again.”
taehyung nods silently and looks around the garden in confusion. “but, why are we here?”
seokjin walks over to the large rock they usually sit on to have a nice relaxing talk, only to pick up a flower crown and go back to taehyung, placing it on his head carefully. “i made this for you.”
taehyung shakily reaches up, touching the flower crown gently. “it’s like the first one you made me.”
“pink roses, daisies, and lavender,” seokjin smiles. “it was hard to find the roses. there are many yellow and red ones, and yet so little pink ones.”
taehyung takes off the crown, examining it. “there are specks of red on here. what is this?”
“oh?” seokjin sucks in a breath. “i guess i did not wash up completely after .. that order you carried out for that boy’s father. and i worked so hard,” seokjin adds with a sigh. “all of my other attempts were futile. this is the only one that turned out good, and yet it is ruined..”
“i love it,” taehyung laughs gleefully, placing it back on his head. “the fact that you worked to make this in your spare time is enough.”
“but, your highness, there is blood on it, does that not bother you?”
“not at all; not when you worked on it even right after carrying out one of my orders.” taehyung gives him a small smile, adding, “i love it.”
seokjin stares in disbelief, before a soft expression graced his features as he smiled at taehyung fondly.
but the weeds who feel that they want to stay
they'll just die and and feed me the same anyway
the prince held a love for a man
of red who wasn't very much his fan
but instead he chose his neighbor's boy
of blue whose eyes shone like a pearl
“i do not accept your proposal.”
taehyung stares in shock at the man in front of him, jimin. he had taken an interest in him, believing he could be a suitable match for him. but he had just rejected taehyung.
“i -- what -- why?” taehyung whispers in surprise, eyes wide.
“you are indeed handsome,” jimin starts lightly, “but alas, i have my eyes set on someone else, and i wish to marry him instead. do forgive me.”
“w-who is this person?”
“jimin!”
taehyung’s head snaps up as he hears someone’s voice, eyebrow raised at the blue haired man who came to a stop next to jimin. his eyes widens and he stumbles a bit, hastily bowing and saying, “h-hello, your highness.”
“this is namjoon,” jimin says clearly. “he is the one i wish to be with.”
taehyung stays silent, before nodding stiffly and saying, “of course. i hope you two .. enjoy each other’s presence.”
trying to ignore the tears welling up in his eyes, he turns briskly and said, “come, seokjin, i think we must go.”
he doesn’t notice seokjin’s lingering glance at namjoon, the faint blush spreading across his cheeks, as he was too busy willing for his tears not to fall.
the prince knew this and was filled with rage
he called the minister locked in his cage
“your highness?” seokjin asks softly, carefully standing near the bed that taehyung was laying on, sobbing into a pillow. “is something wrong? should i help in any way?”
“he rejected me,” taehyung sniffles. “he -- he rejected me for him, that blue haired man, namjoon. a-am i not good enough?”
“i am sure you are,” seokjin reassures. “maybe he has not realized this yet.”
taehyung sits up, and seokjin winces at the tear tracks on taehyung’s cheeks. he had never liked the thought of taehyung crying, and the sight was much, much worse.
“s-seokjin? may i ask you for something?”
seokjin shifts carefully. “o-of course.”
and his eyes widen as taehyung says in a soft voice to not be heard,
"make sure the blue country is badly stirred."
houses of the people were burned to the ground
so many voices would no longer make a sound
taehyung looks up when seokjin walks into his bedroom, scrambling up when he sees the blood stains all over seokjin.
seokjin looks down at his clothes curiously, before letting out a tight laugh. “i am sorry. did i scare you?”
“none of this is yours, r-right?” taehyung asks quietly.
“no, your highness.”
“has the blue country been ridden of?”
seokjin gives him a tight smile, and taehyung notices the shine of tears in seokjin’s eyes as he nods, saying, “they are all dead.”
the people who had suffered so much pain
didn't get pity from the one who'd slain.
"oh, it's tea time!”
evil flowers
steadily bloom
with an array of bloodied doom
“more flower crowns?” taehyung questions as seokjin hands him a flower crown.
“i think you deserve one, after getting hurt so much,” seokjin whispers. “i got as many of the prettiest flowers i could find.”
“this one has got a lot more blood on it,” taehyung says in shock. “did you do this while you were covered in blood once again?”
seokjin fidgets nervously. “i-i needed to get my mind off of what i had done.”
taehyung looks at him guiltily, saying, “seokjin, i am sorry, i should not have asked you to do that.”
seokjin shakes his head, reaching out to squeeze taehyung’s hands as he says, “remember what i said? i would do anything for you if it means you are happy and it would satisfy you.”
even though the flower is so very refined
the thorns had driven it's garden to decline.
to defeat the prince was no easy task
but the people could no longer wear their mask
like a flock of birds they were led by
a yellow male mercenary into the nigh
seokjin glances out of one the large windows, staring at the growing crowd of people in front of the palace. “your highness, the people are rebelling against you and your policies.”
taehyung blinks in surprise. “are they now?”
“it is being led by that boy, yoongi,” seokjin notes. “jimin is by his side as well. i do not recognize who is on the other side of yoongi. perhaps it is his brother.”
taehyung scowls at this information. “how many are there?”
“more than half of the country, your highness.”
taehyung stands, going over to seokjin and glancing out of the window. “that is quite a lot of people.”
seokjin notices the nervous and scared look in taehyung’s eyes. he reaches out, taking hold out taehyung’s hand. when taehyung glances at him, seokjin smiles at him grimly, saying, “do you remember my promise?”
“y-yes?”
“i promised i would fulfill it as much as i could. this is another one of those instances.”
“b-but… seokjin--”
seokjin shushes him gently, kissing his forehead and leading him gently out of the room.
all the anger that had built up over the years
now consumed them without any fears
and his army was battered from the blue war
their attacks were not much of a chore
“yoongi, is this a good idea?” hoseok asks timidly, staring up at the palace.
“he had father be killed , hoseok,” yoongi hisses, “is that not enough for you?”
noticing the hesitant expression on his face, yoongi strokes his hair, saying, “i promise we will be okay. it is for the better.”
hoseok nods and yoongi turns back to the people, yelling, “take down the doors!”
jimin approaches him as the people attempt to break down the palace doors. “i assume we both have reasons for wanting to get rid of the prince?”
“he ordered for his servant to have our father killed,” yoongi says. “and you, sire?”
“he had his servant kill the man i was about to marry. i suppose you know him? his name was namjoon. the one they say was the most beautiful of the entire blue country.”
yoongi sucked in a breath, saying, “i am sorry.”
“thank you.” jimin glances up at the palace windows, furrowing his eyebrows when he saw a slight glimpse of a person staring down at them. “it is a pity, really, that we must take down the servant with the prince. he was a rather nice man. loyal to the prince, but a nice man.”
“they say he was the lost sibling of the prince.”
“hm. it would make sense,” jimin nods. “they do look alike. it would also make sense as to why he is protective of the servant, and the other way around.”
yoongi hums in response. “a fatal flaw. it would not surprise me if he did anything to hide the prince from us.”
once they fell the countrymen surrounded the court
the servants ran away as time was short
little male prince would never pose a fight
and he was finally captured in the night
yoongi and jimin enter the throne room, inspecting the room carefully. they notice the prince standing near a window, and jimin says loudly, “your highness.”
the prince pays him no mind, standing still as he continues to stare out the window. yoongi nods to hoseok and a few other of the countrymen, and they hesitantly approach the prince. when they see that the prince isn’t making an attempt to escape, they lunge forward immediately, grabbing his arms and making sure he won’t escape from their grasp.
the prince looks up at the countrymen holding him, eyes seemingly blank but his expression is one of rage. yoongi frowns at the sight, as the expression looks too … fake. the prince catches yoongi’s eye, and says in a rather loud and strained voice to yoongi,
"you're such a disrespectful man!"
evil flowers
steadily bloom
with an array of finest doom
how the paradise that he made for himself
put this broken doll right back on the wooden shelf.
jimin approaches the throne of the prince curiously, hand reaching out to stroke one of the many flower crowns adorning it. “why are there so many of these lying on the prince’s throne?”
yoongi studies them, then slowly says, “it was a well known thing the prince and his brother used to do. whenever the king and queen had walked around the country with the two, they always stopped in a meadow. when they left, the prince was seen wearing a flower crown his brother had made.”
jimin blinks in shock. “you mean the servant really could have been the prince’s twin?”
“perhaps.”
jimin stays quiet as he examines the flower crowns more closely. he frowns at the ones laying on the seat of the throne, and asks, “is there more to the flower crown thing that the prince and his twin did?”
“his brother would constantly do it,” yoongi shrugs. “they became more delicate and prettier the more stressed he was, if he needed to get his mind off of something. why do you ask?”
“because,” jimin starts, holding up two flower crowns, and yoongi backs away in shock at the blood stains on the two. the first barely had any specks, while the second had a majority of it covered in blood. “i think this can confirm everyone’s suspicions on whether or not the servant was the prince’s twin. he could have done this to distract himself from the deeds the prince ordered him to do, hence the blood on it. perhaps he did not wash off properly and went straight to making some.”
yoongi nods slowly, saying cautiously, “that could be it. but..”
“but?”
“have you realized the servant of the prince was nowhere to be seen?”
jimin sucks in a breath. “i suppose we can worry about that later. for now, we worry about the execution of the prince.”
the two didn’t notice, as they left the room, the shadow of a young boy, watching them through a closet, holding back a small sob as he nearly collapses with grief and guilt inside the small, dark closet.
there was once upon a time in another place
an evil kingdom who no person dared to face
and the ruler was a boy so mean
a tiny little prince of only age fourteen.
he was to be punished at three o' clock
when the church bells resounded a tock
the person who was once royalty
was bored in jail with no loyalty.
the prince sighs in boredom, reaching into the pocket of his coat and bringing out a pocket watch. he smiles gently as he opens it carefully, staring at the picture on the left side of the watch.
it was of him and his brother as kids, barely 5 or 6 years of age. his smile wavers as he remembers how simple times were before they were separated and brought back together many, many years later.
the prince snaps shut the watch, bringing it to his mouth and pressing his lips against the cool metal, whispering, “i am sorry, brother, that you had to live in such agony, whether i was by your side or not.”
his lips tug up into a grim smile, glancing out the window as the church bells sounded that the time was now three o’clock. “but i hope you can stay happy without me by your side.”
at the time that eventually came
the church bells to him sounded rather lame
the prince stares at the ground as yoongi and jimin lead him to the guillotine. he pays no mind to whatever jimin was shouting, but he glances to his left and catches yoongi’s eye. the prince’s eyes sparkle and yoongi stares at him in shock, realization dawning on him.
the prince brings a finger to his mouth, signaling for yoongi to not say a word. yoongi nods reluctantly, but he glances at jimin, exchanging a silent conversation with him. jimin’s eyes widen a fraction before returning back to his stoic expression, raising an eyebrow at the prince. the prince nods, and jimin guides him to the guillotine, placing his head and arms in proper position before placing the wood on top of them to secure him from moving.
the prince could hear the countrymen cheering for the prince to be executed, and he glances up briefly to search for a person in the crowd. once he catches their eye, he gives a small, faint smile, before looking back down at the ground beneath him. and, without looking to faces of the crowd, he says with eyes in a shroud,
"oh, it's tea time."
a lone figure kneels in the center of the square, staring up at the guillotine with tears trailing down his cheeks. he almost gags at the sight of the blood stains covering the wood, the metal, even the ground beneath the execution center.
he reaches into the pocket of their coat, taking out a small, gold pocket watch, staring down at it as tears continue to fall from his eyes and onto the watch. he opens it to stare at a picture, whispering softly, “i am sorry .. so, so sorry, brother..”
a single tear falls from his eye, dropping down onto the picture,
blotting out the face of one of the royal twin brothers.
evil flowers
steadily bloom
with an array of colourful doom
now the people speak of him without a second thought
the son of evil had received what he sought..