♝
the rose-pink light of dawn stretched out over the entire horizon, shining upon meadows, mountains and the kingdom of adora. a stroke of light fell through the lacework see-through curtains in jisoo's guest room, where the stableboy was already wide awake, contemplating whether to take a walk through the castle or to stay inside his room.
he had been eating his meals in the large dining hall for the castle's workers, it being offered by a maid who so happened to have cleaned his room the day before and had given him a clean set of clothes. it had been lonely, besides seokmin's occasional visits, as he hadn't even seen jeonghan in the past day.
he made the final decision to at least get some fresh air and maybe even go outside to pay a visit to the village. so with a loud creaking noise, he opened the bedroom door and carefully walked down the hallway.
serenity and calmness filled the atmosphere through the west-wing of the castle. jisoo decided to walk in the dinner hall's direction as it was the only path he knew. he would look for another way leading outside later on, admiring the framed oil paintings of ancient kings, queens, dukes and other royalties that decorated the walls.
the least thing he expected in the tranquility of the early morning was a presence to sneak up to him from behind and give him an unpleasant surprise. he also couldn't suppress a throaty yell to leave his mouth when his shoulder was yanked backwards, his back hitting someone's chest.
"got you." the familiar voice of prince seokmin entered his ear, making him politely take a step forward to create distance and turn around.
"oh lord.. please don't scare me like that at this ungodly hour of the day." jisoo tried his hardest to remain polite towards the member of the royal family, knowing all too well how spies or maids in the hallways could overhear their conversation. unlike in his room, they might not be as safe here.
"ungodly hour? oh jisoo please, it's hardly even afternoon! look i would get it if you said such thing when i wake you up in the depth of night." seokmin's laughter echoed against the walls, making blush spread across jisoo's cheeks on the lovely sound. "come to think of it, have you eaten breakfast yet?"
jisoo shook his head, reminding himself to pay a visit to the dining hall right before he went outside. "not yet, i was just on my way for it."
"oh no, i won't allow you to eat breakfast all by yourself. you should come with me instead!" without giving jisoo the chance to protest, seokmin grabbed a hold of his wrist and lead him over the red carpet. "now don't you worry, i hate eating breakfast in our own dining hall. seungcheol occasionally has guests over and the place only reminds me of my parents death. junhui, our cook, always saves me a plate so i'll ask him to make you one too."
"but sir- i mean- seokmin. you're aware that i'm not allowed there?" jisoo tried to wriggle himself from seokmin's grip yet still tried to keep up with seokmin's speed as he didn't want to get lost in the gigantic castle either.
"no one has told you you're not allowed in specific parts of the castle. come on, you sleep next to the royal suits. i don't think anyone will have an objection against you coming with me." seokmin explained, taking jisoo through hallways that came straight out of a dreamworld. the interior and details carved into the walls and pilates were gorgeous and so realistic, the simple stableboy couldn't keep his eyes off them.
"you know what, to show you my gratitude i want you to come with me to sword practice today. it'll be fun and mingyu will be there too!"
jisoo's eyes widened on seokmin's offer, finding it all hard to comprehend. "gratitude? for what? the only thing i've done is intrude your castle and steal a bedroom. with all due respect, but seeing my range i think it's for the best if i kindly decline your offer."
"oh but i didn't mean to make it sound like an offer. i want you to come with me since i know you don't have any other options to spend your day." seokmin giggled, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder to see jisoo cocking a brow.
"well excuse you? i was actually just planning on paying a visit to the village. the maids told me there's this really cozy market on the big square." the stableboy complained, taking an abrupt stop midst hallway.
yet still it didn't manage to take away seokmin's heartwarming smile. "okay then, how would we do this? so how about we have breakfast right now, then we attend sword class together. then we eat lunch and after that we pay a visit to the village."
"and why should you come with me to the village, huh?" jisoo defiantly spoke, drawing in closer as he became comfortable in their little playful discussion. which, seeing his face, came as a surprise to seokmin who instantly went along with his attitude.
"well.." seokmin wasn't as good at being confident as he previously thought, yet found a good reason sooner than he thought he would. "..what if you see something you like on one of the stalls? if you go by yourself you're not able to buy it and keep it as a memory of our kingdom."
"oh seokmin." jisoo chuckled, finally finding at least a little sense of confidence though it was all acted by both of them. "i'm not going to let you buy me anything. then how am i supposed to show you the gentleman i am?"
"just spending the day with me today would do." was seokmin's final answer before he dragged jisoo further through the hallway.
and instead of jisoo arguing back or turning back to his shy self he'd been for a day, he chuckled in delight as he followed the enthusiastic prince who was seemingly excited for the time they got to spend together.
even jisoo had to admit, he slowly started warming up to this stray of sunshine called seokmin.
