Metanoia

Chapter 1: The Trial

The castle was nothing like Jimin had ever seen. Not that he had been to many fancy establishments before, being an orphaned commoner before his knighthood. The grip on his simple steel sword tightened as he looked at the high ceilings and colored walls, awed. He had applied for the royal knighthood out of pure spite, as it was the highest position a common-born could achieve, and somehow, fighting the other knights hadn't been as interesting as the visit to the castle itself. Absentmindedly he wondered what the crown prince was like, the only thing he knew of the royalty was their revered raven hair, a great contrast to his own light peach locks. Out of habit, he ran a hand through his fringes, pushing them away from his face.

A few of the other knights looked at him and Jimin heard them snicker, not even bothering to cover their belittlement. One of them even had the audacity to openly point at him, eyes narrowed in a mocking gaze, self-righteous with his towering form. They were probably judging him; his height, his stance, his delicate-looking face. He had seen this look maybe a thousand times before. Keen on not bending under the ocular assault, he returned the stares with a flat look, unimpressed. Jimin hated the ones like them the most, those who attributed quality to what was barely observable. He hoped to be paired with one of that lot, so he could make a silent example out of them. A strict voice calling out tore them apart from their mutual malicious intent.

The commander guided them to the open throne room where they would display their skills against each other in front of the Prince. Jimin found himself gripping the scabbard tighter, he had trusted his skillful sword his entire life...Then what was up with this sudden rush of nerves? He didn't have much time to muse about this however, as all ten of the candidates were called upon.

The knights all lined up, seeing an empty throne. That was odd, as they were informed that the prince would be overseeing their trials. After all, the actual goal of today's trials was to see if there was anyone worthy to be his personal knight, a feat that hadn't been achieved by anyone yet. Time stretched endlessly as the knights waited, some of them getting restless. Soon enough chattering started.

"You know none of us will be chosen. Just like last year and the year before." One knight whispered voice laced with barely concealed disgust.

"The prince has no respect for our skills." Another whispered back. "The only reason why I keep trying to get this position is so that I can have a more luxurious life." Somehow this comment bothered Jimin. He clicked his tongue, not caring if the others heard it.

"How shallow." Unsheathing his blade, Jimin ran a ragged cloth over the scarred metal, a habit he had acquired over time to keep himself centered and calm. Others were right about one thing though, he thought to himself. Where was the Prince? The Commander looked bothered as well, which clued Jimin to the fact that this was indeed not the expected occurrence. Jimin's golden gaze slid to the throne and he wondered. What kind of person sat on there every day?

The chattering had caused a slight wave of hum from the knights, whispering intensifying as minutes passed by. Then unlike how it all started, the hall suddenly fell silent, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of someone approaching.

The steps were hurried but soft, each one echoing clear in the now silent room. Soon enough the object of everyone's chattering entered, prince Taehyung. Like all the other knights, Jimin looked.

His presence was... strong and serious. As he walked he looked straight across, not sparing a glance at the less than dozen knights that were lined up waiting for him. The rumors however, were true. The prince had hair dark as ravens, framing his structured face in a precisely styled way, right side covering the eye beneath. Jimin thought it odd, as the hair on one's face was often disturbing but opted to think that there was probably a reason for it that he did not know. Once the prince arrived at the obsidian carved throne, he looked around the room, at all of the knights. The sharp blue gaze lingered upon each one of them for a mere second and he seemed to be unimpressed. Until his eye found Jimin in the line of capable men. His gaze lingered on him enough for the knight himself to notice.