Royal Duty [Minjoon]

8th part

Clean the prince's chambers and change the sheets, dust the pictures in the hallways, serve the royal meal in the banquet hall, rearrange the book in the library into an alphabetical order, clean the library, change the sheets in the rooms on the left wing, join the prince for combat training, bring the king's medicine from the doctor's chambers.

Namjoon eyed the list of things he had to do within the next twenty four hours with a sigh. He had never done much work and had instead spent most of his free time tending to his mother. He had never regretted the decision, he didn't have a job and he had never had friends because his mother had always been his main priority. But when he was eyeing the list filled with words of actions he was supposed to preform, but had no idea how to, it made him scared. The pulsating pain from the cuts on his back, was clear evidence of what the king would do if he failed his tasks, it made a shiver run down his spine when he thought about the harsh leather cutting through his back like knives. It was terrifying, and Namjoon could for the first time in his life say that he was scared of the one who ruled their country.

The boy eyed the list with a sigh and started moving, he knew he would have to start as soon as possible to even have the slightest chance to complete all the points on the list. The servant was not sure rather he had to do the work in the order that the list told him or not, but he took a wild shot and chose to start dusting the pictures first, at least that was on thing he was sure he could do.

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The servant was definitely proud of himself, the golden frames of all the big pictures were shining and reflected the sunlight perfectly. It looked beautiful and rich. Namjoon had never had the courtesy of such fancy things as pictures painted to perfection, but he found it to be extremely fascinating, how whoever had made the artworks, had captured the details of the royal family and made a flawless image. What the boy thought was strange though, was that he had seen no pictures of the prince's mother. He knew the queen had passed away after birthing the prince 16 years ago, but he was certain that the king loved her dearly, so why didn't the castle contain any signs of her presence at all? The servant sighed, he should wish he could ask, but he also knew that he was not even close to having the right to do that, he was a simple servant, he wasn't worth it.

Namjoon knew he had to get going and do the next task on the list. But his arms were hurting from the dusting and the pain in his back was still haunting him constantly. Still he sucked it up and went to the prince's chambers with cleaning supplies and a new clean pair of silk sheets. He was a royal servant now and he had to look the title in the eye and also claim the duties that followed.

"My lord." Namjoon said after he had opened the door to met by the firm frame of the royal prince in front of him. "Namjoon." The prince exclaimed with a smile as he saw the other enter his chambers."You look tired." The prince said when he eyed the other, noting that the tan color hadn't fully returned to the other males cheeks. The servant quickly shook his head, he couldn't possibly tell the prince that was tired. Not after all the confidence he had shown for the servant's work the day prior. "Not at all my prince." Namjoon reassured with as smile, and walked over to the bed, trying to remove the old sheets, but finding it more difficult than he had first expected, especially with the prince watching his every move.

"You seem to be a hard worker." The black haired royal said and approached the servant who stopped struggling with the dirty sheets and instead listened to the future king. "I appreciate your kind words your majesty, but I am afraid that you do not speak truth." The young servant told with a bow to the royal in front of him. "You should not say that Namjoon." The prince said and closed the distance between himself and the taller male, eying the clean silk sheets that the servant held in a firm grip. "Tell me. Out of the tasks on the list, how many have you completed?" He asked, staring into the eyes of the other, who had a clear blush on his cheeks caused by the closeness between himself, and the royal. "Only one my prince, I really am not a hard worker." The prince chuckled at that, but the servant seemed to be in distress. "I still think you deserve a break. The servants that you have overtaken the duties of always took breaks, it's only fear that you get one too." He told and put his hands on Namjoon's frame to push it down on the bed behind them. Namjoon winced slightly in pain when his scarred back hit the soft bed. "Y-you m-majesty, what a-are you doing." The servant asked, when the prince let himself fall on top of him and pinned his wrists down unto the mattress. "Making sure you relax. You haven't properly healed yet. Your fever is obviously still bothering you." The royal said and moved one of his hands to feel Nmajoon's slightly heated forehead. "Also the wounds on your back are still fresh, they must really hurt. You need the relaxation. Don't you agree?" The royal asked, then moved his own face closer to the servant's.

A silence erupted between them. A silence which Namjoon felt lasted forever, and Jimin should wish lasted longer. Their faces were so close that Jimin could feel the other's warm breath on his lips. "J-Jimin?" Namjoon asked when the prince leaned even closer and their lips touched slightly. "You should call me that more often." Jimin whispered to the other. He wanted to stay like that, watching the soft features of the other male's face forever. Unfortunately he couldn't, because moments after, a call of the prince's name interrupted them.

"Jimin!" The king's voice rang in the castle halls. The prince heard his father's calls, but he wanted the moment to last just a bit longer. The moment which the royal spent watching the pink hue on the other's beautiful face, turn into being a bright red color. "Jimin!" The voice called again, louder this time. The loud call of his name was finally enough to force Jimin out of his daze, he stood up with an awkward cough, smiling slightly at Namjoon who was still laying shocked on his bed. Then he quickly ran to the throne room to speak to his father.