JiMina Collection

More Than Gold ~ Part 28

     Jimin had been looking forward to spending the day with Mina again, but it seemed as though the world had other plans for him. He'd been summoned for another morning lesson, and barely had time to scrawl out a note to Mina before being shepherded to his class. Here he was an hour later; staring out the window with the constant drone of his tutor's voice travelling through one ear and out the next. He would have spent the next hour doing the same, if it weren't for a timely interruption.

     With a deafening bang of wood on stone, the door flew open. A frantic page stood panting in the doorway. "Your Highness, his Majesty, the King, has requested you join him in the throne room."

"Now?" Jimin could feel a mysterious sinking in his stomach.

"Y-Yes, immediately." The page struggled to catch his breath. He had obviously sprinted from the throne room to summon him.

"Alright then," Jimin clapped a hand on the page's shoulder. "Get some rest in the meantime, won't you?"

"Of course, your Highness. Thank you."

     Jimin briskly made his way through the halls of the castle. The flash of obvious fear in the page's eyes was seared into Jimin's mind. Several maids rushed frantically past him on his way. Every time he tried to ask them what the matter was, they simply shot him a worried look and picked up the pace. He had been curious at first, but now all he felt was dread. What could possibly be so bad that no one could look him in the eye for more than a split second? Jimin wasn't quite sure he wished to find out. 

     As he quickly approached the grand doors of the throne room, Jimin was left with nowhere else to go. With a steadying breath, he pushed open the ornate doors and forced himself in.

     The throne room would typically be bustling with people attending to his father's every demand. Not now. It was eerily silent. There was only one imposing figure standing in the room, back turned ominously. Jimin approached, feeling quite a lot like a quivering mouse in the King's presence. The closer he inched forwards, the louder his father's heaving breaths became. And yet, when the King spoke, it was barely louder than a severe whisper.

"How long did you think you could hide this from me?"

     A thousand thoughts shot through Jimin's head. There were many things the King could be referring to. He felt physically sick. "I don't understand what you mean-" Jimin began carefully, but the King immediately cut through.

"What, do tell, gave you the nerve to abandon the future of the kingdom? You are nothing. A pest beneath my boot. You dare deface the Kingdom with your ignorance."

     The King did not strike him physically this time, but Jimin felt that the wounds inflicted by his sharp words were far worse.

"Father, please. What are you-"

"Don't you 'father' me," the King spat with rage. "You would rather toy around with a useless peasant than do your sworn duty to this kingdom! You are no son of mine."

     There was too much to digest in that moment alone. Jimin felt his mouth open in shock, his hands tremble in anger. The King seemed to take his silence for subdued obedience, launching into the same lecture Jimin had received all his life, albeit more aggressively than usual.

"You are days away from inheriting the finest kingdom in all the lands, and you decide to fool around with some peasant girl instead-"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Jimin snapped. The swell of hot rage that bubbled up from within him made his fists clench in his palms. For a blissful moment, Jimin forgot who he was talking to. Blood pounding in his ears, he pushed forward. "And what do you mean 'finest kingdom' only half of it is fine! The outer villages are knee-deep in poverty and you wont even lift a single finger to help them-"