ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ, Sookai

006

‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙ ♔ •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

BEOMGYU

I spend the majority of the night sitting by the door, reading the golden-covered book that I struggle to decipher and listening to the guard's movements outside. Learning their routine will help me venture this place and find out what has changed. Examining their routine during the day is too noticeable, so the late hours of eve are the best available.

And it might be thought of as rude, but I cannot hear any of Hueningkai's requests (because I know he did not invite me here to meet up with an old friend) while I do not know how he runs his Kingdom. I want to ensure that I am investing or supporting a wise and helpful King, not the one spoken about in the fables spread over the years- Or non-fables, if what was said happens to be true...

I flick through the lengthy pages of the book I found in the library, waiting until I hear the guards' feet grow further away from my door.

I crack the door open barely an inch, peer outside the slit, then open it far enough to pop my head out and survey the area. It is clear. Quickly but carefully, I close the heavy door and wait until I hear the new guards take post outside my door, counting how long it takes for the previous guards to be replaced with the new ones.

I learned this behaviour as a young boy. Am I a good person? That I am—but I can also be a sneaky one. As a kid I loved late night snacks when I knew my parents were in bed and I was meant to be too.

I had to pay close attention to guards' schedules and routines, habits of anyone protecting me and even my parents since my mother sometimes woke during the night and would check on me.

She was the first to catch me and I did not try to sneak out of my room again at night for months after, the scolding engraved in my mind like it was etched in stone. A mother's wrath is the scariest, even if she's a woman without a man to make her look powerful (albeit my mother did have that as a helping hand).

So far I have noticed a lengthy amount of time during the second rotation, I heard one of the guards mumble about an injured ankle which explains it. Meaning if I notice a pattern over the next couple days, I have found the perfect time to head out of my room and explore the castle.

Tomorrow, Hueningkai invited me to sit outside and watch some of his guards train. It is not a particular interest of mine, but I have not seen my childhood friend in a long while, so I think it'd be nice to spend some quality time together. No matter how mediocre the entertainment is. Not that it's his fault; most royals find fun in watching guards fight or shoot arrows—I'm not one of them.

Taehyun and I used to sneak away during these periods as children. And when Hueningkai became more adventurous and less angelic (albeit still enough to have that concerned innocence that used to make us fear he would one day snitch on our antics), he joined too.

One of the little escapades was how we got caught by the chef. Another was when we ventured into the (terrifying, at the time) dungeons, full of wonder and naiveté.

We had headed down each step with nothing but the soft thud of our shoes and the quiet dripping of water for sound, caged by an eerie silence despite being the ones free. Our heads turned as we passed each cell, squinting into the darkness that the flame of my torch could not reach.

I led, being the eldest, and encouraged the younger two with teasing comments and reassurance to follow when fear started to consume them. I knew they wanted to witness whatever was down there as much as I did.

Hueningkai said he was scared. That we should turn back, always being the first to retreat when things got a little too frigtening. He hated the unknown; the unknown was dangerous.