♘
a loud knock on the door was heard, making king seungcheol let out a tired sigh. as the elvish king was just about to discuss an important strategy that could come in as handy during a battle or sudden attack on the kingdom, one of his knights had to interrupt his consultation again. they just got off their lunch where seungkwan, adora's personal joker, had done one of his famous act's that had filled the room with laughter.
"come in." the king motioned for the guards to open the door for his unwanted visitor. if things went on at this rate, he wouldn't be done with the elves in days..
in the corner of the room, seungkwan, the young jester, was still gathering the supplies he brought along to entertain the company. as a comedian with a good sense of humor, he always loved performances like these. the payments he received weren't bad either.
his head peered up on the opening of the large doors of the hall. even though he would be leaving through a smaller back door, he was seemingly curious about what was about to come next as the jester had never been part of a commotion like this. since no one really acknowledged his presence no longer, he decided to pack his stuff on a slower pace, so he was able to spread some adventurous stories to his friends.
especially chan would love to hear stories from inside the castle.
"my apologize, your majesty." oh how seungkwan praised the lords that he had a reasonable good bond with the king. as one of the only occupants in the castle, king seungcheol treated him like a friend and allowed him to call him by his actual name.
of course, it wasn't mature for a king to allow such thing. but seeing his age and position after losing his parents out of a sudden, seungkwan decided to treat him equally as a friend and leave the formalities behind.
"we found a burglar at the market." seungkwan instantly became invested in the topic, staring at the small group of gatekeepers and knights who held a boy kneeled to the ground with a burlap bag draped over his head.
just the reveal of his face and i'll be out of here. seungkwan told himself, slowing his pace down even more just to be able to catch a glimpse of his face.
"a burglar of what kind? what are the crimes on his record?" the king asked, speeding up the process just so he could continue his meeting.
"we caught him stealing from more than one stall, under more a bag of apples, jewelry and a roasted chicken." the male who held the poor boy in place by his nape explained, handing over a list of those three crimes he supposedly committed.
"has he brought any harm upon the people that were around at that time?" seungcheol asked, getting annoyed by the interruption now he knew it wasn't as important as he hoped it would be.
"as far as we know he did not. what would you like us to do with him, your highness?"
seungcheol thought about the options of what he could do with the intruder, but seeing he hadn't done any serious crimes such as assassinating villagers or harassing women there was no need for any heavy punishment. "first of all i want that sack off his head, a little inhumane isn't it? for the crimes he commit i want you to lock him up in the dungeon for three days. after that he gets the decision to work in the castle or to vanish from the kingdom forever."
seungkwan stretched his neck as far as possibles, ready to see the reveal of the burglar. in a swift motion the armored knight lifted the sack of his head, making both the boy and seungkwan gasp for oxygen.
golden strands of hair stuck to his forehead as sweat dripped down his beautifully shaped face, sharp jawline and an outpointing nose which matched with his pinkish lips. the male around his age aggressively twisted his head, to explore the room he was in. he even momentarily locked eyes with seungkwan before he was harshly yanked by his hair to look straight at the king.
"what's your name, young man." seungcheol asked, puffing his chest to come off as rather intimidating. though he visibly didn't intend to do any harm to the poor boy who had been captured. seungkwan noticed how his clothes looked old and consisted from only a few remaining pieces of the fabric. it was barely even able to cover up majority of his lightly toned chest.
"h-hansol. choi hansol, your majesty." the boy, whose name appeared to be hansol, politely bowed. well mannered for a burglar, seungkwan thought. the jester barely even noticed the grin that had appeared on his lips while following every movement hansol made.
"escort hansol to the dungeons, gentlemen. i suppose you feed him the usual meals everyday. and hansol, i hope you think about the choice i have to offer." hansol nodded desperately, bravely looking up at his king to show him his maturity.
"i will endure my time in the dungeon's and show you my service after that. thank you for the opportunity, your majesty." hansol thanked the king, bowing graciously for the second time.
"i appreciate that hansol." the king spoke, waving the gatekeepers away and giving them the following order. "now i would sincerely like to continue this meeting, take him away please."
seungkwan noticed how hansol purposely locked eyes with him again before he was dragged away by two knights, holding both one side of his shoulder. they didn't treat him harsh nor with much respect. however, with his punishment not even being that bad, seungkwan felt slight compassion towards him.
once he noticed the gathering continued, he tried to get out of the room unseen by packing his last belongings and scurrying out of the hall. and while walking back to his private room, he was given by the king, a dangerous yet alluring thought popped up in his head.
the risks of this unforeseen idea were undeniable as it could cause him a lot of trouble. in the worst scenario he could end up in a dungeon as well. or even worse, lose his job he was so passionate about.
but perhaps, he would give this mysterious thief a visit during his days of captivation..
