He Walks Alone in the Moonlight [COMPLETED]

AND WHEN WILL THAT BE

The crown prince felt his skin crawling as he waited for Jihyun at the front of the inn, an unpleasant tingling sensation making him curl his lips into a frown. Jaeon, the only one waiting outside with him, noticed the prince's odd behavior immediately.

"You seem particularly unsettled, your Highness," the guard remarked. The crown prince rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off his uneasy feeling.

"It is no matter. Everything will go according to plan." Jaeon only nodded, his stoic face unchanging. The crown prince shot him a glance from the corner of his eye. "You came back fairly late last night, and the clothes were not with you. I assume you ran into Minjoo upon your return?" Even if the two themselves did not understand their relationship, the crown prince's discerning eyes could not have missed the unlikely romance between his two closest companions. At the prince's question, Jaeon stiffened, the hand around the rein of his horse tightening ever so slightly. "You should go for it. Minjoo is young, skillful, and handsome. It would not be inconceivable for another to notice this and steal him from you."

"He is not mine to begin with. It is my duty to serve you, and I have no other purpose or desires," Jaeon's words came out forced, rehearsed, as if the words were what he told himself everyday. The crown prince scoffed.

"Very well. Do as you wish." Just then the door to the inn opened, and Songmin glided over the steps to meet the pair, his long sleeves swaying in the early morning breeze.

"It is an absolute pageant show in there," the scholar remarked.

"A bold statement from you, considering that you dress more vibrantly than the peacocks at the royal gardens," Chang teased, following close behind with Minjoo and Jihyun's bags.

"Are they almost done?" The crown prince questioned, his voice a bit too strained for his liking. After witnessing Jihyun's actions in the bathhouse last night, the crown prince had hardly been able to sleep, his mind replaying the image of Jihyun's red and inflamed skin over and over again.  The crown prince wasn't an anxious person, he surrounded himself with people he knew were capable and trustworthy, and although such picky behavior gained him an unsavory reputation, the crown prince had never been weighed down by mental stress from another. But he had not known peace since meeting Jihyun. At night, on the off chance that he had been able to sleep, his mind filled with either dreams or nightmares depicting the servant's delicate face. During the day he kept his distance, frustrated by his inability to communicate with his life partner. Minjoo asked him one night, in the quiet of the forest after Jihyun had fallen into a fitful sleep, why the crown prince did not simply tell Jihyun that they were to walk the moonlit path together.

~~~~

"He hates me now. I am nothing but a blood-thirsty royal to him, a monster that stripped him of his home. If he were to find out that he is to walk the moonlit path with someone like that, how would he feel?"

"Then you must prove that you are a worthy partner to him, let him know, so he is at least not so confused and frightened," Minjoo placed a hand on the prince's knee in encouragement.

The crown prince shook his head. "I cannot tell him, he must trust me first, without feeling forced by our bond. He will feel pressured to accept our relationship. I do not want to force him into anything else. I will tell him when the time is right."

"And when will that be?" Minjoo questioned, his tone slightly mocking.

"When he is comfortable with me, and when I am able to keep him safe and provide him with all the things in the world he wishes to possess. When there is no threat in this kingdom that can take him from me." The image of Jihyun being slain before him flashed through the crown prince's mind.

"And when will that be? When we return to the palace? When he falls for you? Or when you become king?" Minjoo whispered the last part, his eyes accusatory.

"I do not know. And it is the greatest agony of my life that I do not know when I should succumb to these desires and spill my soul to him."

"You are not confident, is what it is. You are not confident that he will love you, that he will accept you as his fated."

"Confident or not, I must win him over with my own merit, not some bond that tied him to a man as wretched as me."

"You are not wretched. You made a mistake while you were under duress and being overly cautious. It does not make it right, but it also does not make you a wretched person. I believe that he will see that." Minjoo could only say the words because he knew the crown prince's kindness.

"He does not even want to look at me-"
"But he does. I have noticed, that he steals glances at you. Jihyun may not know of the bond, but he is not immune to it." And damn him, but the prince could not stifle the flicker of joy that fluttered in his chest at the news. Still, he could not ruin his future based on a moment of fragile hope. Jihyun needed to do more than look at him. He needed to see him.

~~~

"We are ready," Minjoo's voice became clear as he and Jihyun emerged from the inn. Doyoon could feel the breath leave his lungs at the sight of Jihyun. His fated looked breathtaking, even with the lower half of his face covered. But Doyoon could not miss the emptiness in Jihyun's darkened eyes. This made the crown prince want to return home all the more quickly. Although the entire grounds of royal family housing and noble halls were not under his influence, the crown prince sufficiently ruled Horangi Palace. With its walls, he could watch over Jihyun and help him return to a settled state. The crown prince tore his eyes away from Jihyun and nodded at Jaeon. The guard cleared his throat, briefing the group as he brought a horse over to Minjoo.

"We'll be traveling through the capital and into the palace today. Keep the standard formation. The Crown Prince and I will depart for Yong Palace to notify the King of our return. The rest of you are to head straight to Horangi Palace." Chang gave a quick salute, smiling as he waved Jihyun over. The crown prince stared as Jihyun gathered the skirts of his robes and took unsteady steps forward. A small, greedy part of Doyoon wanted to snatch his fated away from Chang and force him to ride with him. To show his subjects just who Jihyun belonged to, and who he was. That he was a precious person to the crown prince worthy of respect, not a courtesan picked up on their travels. But this irrational part of him would not win out, because Jihyun's safety was far more important that his misplaced pride. It was safer for Jihyun to remain nameless and faceless for now, as he would only be used as a weakness against the crown prince. Still, his thoughts could not be completely repressed. The crown prince stalked over, stopping in between Jihyun and Chang.  The servant looked up, startled at the prince's sudden appearance, while Chang coughed loudly, turning to mess with the saddle of the horse.

"Are you alright?" the prince's voice sounded rough even to his own ears, hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for days. Jihyun's big dark eyes blinked slowly as he looked up at the crown prince. Doyoon felt his heartbeat in his ears, sure they were turning red as Jihyun's full attention fell on him.

"I am well, your Highness," the soft words barely pushed past the fabric over Jihyun's face, but he heard them. Although he could guess the truth of those words, to hear Jihyun say them would have to be enough. Unsure of what else to say, the prince only nodded.

"We are ready, your Highness," Jaeon's voice broke the tense moment, and Doyoon departed, swinging onto his horse with ease. Chang assited Jihyun and as soon as the two were mounted the small party left the inn, making their way to the heart of the capital.