A curse woven with LOVE (Jikook)

RESPONSIBILITIES

PRINCE JIMIN

“Prince Jimin, the King has requested to see you”

I was peacefully looking out of the window of my room when the royal guard informed me that my father has requested to see me. Directing a nod towards the guard in affirmation I made my way towards the royal court. I wonder what it is this time. Walking through the lavish hallways of the palace, admiring the artworks and the portraits of my ancestors hung on the wall; I finally found myself standing in front of the door leading to the court. I took a deep breath in as the doors opened and I stepped inside the room and walked up to where my father was sat on the throne. I bowed down and greeted him.

“Good morning Father. You requested to see me?”

“Ah yes, my son”
My father smiled, directing his attention towards me and continued talking

“As you know, you’ll be turning 22 soon and with that the responsibility of our kingdom would come on your shoulders. Its time you realize your duty and start working in that direction”

“What exactly do I have to do Father?”

“In order to become the next ruler, you must find a suitable girl and marry her; as the kingdom needs both, a king and a queen”

“But Father, what if I don’t want to marry right now? And don’t you think I’m still too young to rule this entire kingdom? I still have a lot of things to learn and-”

“You don’t have a say in this Jimin. It is decided that you’ll be the next King. I don’t want to hear anything against this decision. On your 22th birthday, we’re throwing a royal ball; all the royal families are invited. I expect you to be on your best behavior that day. All the Princesses will be there; maybe you can find a potential suitor for yourself.”

I just nodded as I knew my reasoning would not even be acknowledged. I turned around to walk away when he spoke up again.

“Don’t disappoint me Jimin. The people have high expectations from you; just keep that in mind before doing anything.”

I nodded again and walked out of the court room. I made my way back to my room, the conversation I had with my father constantly playing over and over on repeat in my head causing my head to throb with every heartbeat. I entered my room and laid on the bed looking up that the huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

I was frustrated and being in the same palace that controlled my every step wasn’t helping at all so I decided to sneak out of the palace. I rummaged through my closet and finally found a royal blue velvety robe; I quickly wore the robe and put the hood over my head to hide my face. Hiding from the security guards and maids, I finally made it out of the palace through the back doors. I heaved a sigh as soon as I exited the back doors and made a dash for the forest.

The forest was sprawled in the west side of the kingdom or to say the west side was just the forest. There were stories related to the enchanted forest; some said that the creatures of the night haunted the grounds of the forest or that the mystical beings resided in the deep parts of the forest. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s true or not but one thing that I was sure about is that the forest is surely mystical. I agree that it is a little creepy but there’s a sudden calmness that lies within the vicinity of the trees. I walked deeper into the forest listening to the birds chirping and small animals and rodents running around here and there in search of food. A smile unconsciously played on my lips. It’s so calming here that I have no intention of going back.

As I was busy relishing in the comfort of the nature, a small bunny hopped on my shoe; coming out of my trance I crouched down and petted the bunny. It was really small and adorable. I was playing with him when it suddenly hopped out of my hold and headed north in the forest. I decided to follow the bunny but he was faster than I expected and ran farther into the forest. I quickly stood up and ran towards him to catch him before he gets out of my sight.