Jae closed his eyes as he leaned his head against the cool stone of the wall of his cell. He had been brought to the first layer of the dungeons and thrown into a holding cell to wait out the night. Being underground, Jae had no way to tell how much time had passed except for his innate senses. And his senses told him it was soon morning. The true blood slowly opened his eyes when the jingling of keys reached his ears. He was right. Morning was about to break.
The door to the prince's cell was opened, and two guards entered. Jae stood to his feet and followed the guards out of the cell and up the flight of steps. The prince remained silent as he was brought through the palace and to the courtyard in front of the northern gates where he was chained to the tree that grew in the center of the square.
A crowd quickly gathered as the prince's shirt was ripped to reveal his back. The heavy footfalls of the flogger reached Jae's ears as the crowd grew silent. The snapping of the whip cut through the crisp morning air as the flogger prepared to execute the prince's punishment of seventy lashes.
Whispers floated through the courtyard as the spectators wondered why the prince was being publicly flogged. "What did he do?" "I thought he is a good prince." "Poor thing, he doesn't deserve this." "This is too cruel." "How could the alpha do this to his own son?"
Jae closed his eyes as the whip whizzed through the air and made its first laceration on his back. The prince's grasp around the chains connecting him to the tree tightened as he flogger sped his pace and landed slash after slash. Jae let out a grunt as the count hit twenty. Blood began to pool around the true blood as the count reached twenty-five.
"Isn't this too much?" "I can't watch this." "Do you think he will be alright?"
The true blood stifled a grunt as the whip bit at his back over and over again, slowly tearing his flesh from his body. Jae's vision began to blur as the count rose to thirty-five. 'Halfway there.'
"Please don't die." "Hang in there." "How is he still conscious?"
Jae's grasp around the chains loosened as the flogger reached fifty lashes. If he were not a true blood, Jae would have been on the edge of life and death by lash fifty-five. The prince's back stung even when the lash was not actively hitting him when the count reached fifty-eight. The true blood slumped, so he was being supported solely by the tree to which he was chained as lash fifty-nine made its mark.
Soft footsteps sounded as lash sixty had been given. A firm hand grabbed the flogger's wrist as the whip was raised for lash sixty-one.
"Who is he?" Can he stop him?" "Please help the prince." "I can't see who it is."
Jae's breathing was faint from the loss of blood as the man knocked the flogger unconscious and took the key from his pant pocket. The prince's lids drooped as the man approached him and unlocked the chains from around Jae's wrists. Jae opened his eyes as the man crouched over him to see royal blue orbs gazing down at him from below a dark hood. The true blood fell unconscious as the masked man took him away from the courtyard and away from prying eyes.
<<<<<>>>>>
Jae was alone when he woke. The prince opened his eyes to find himself lying in the bed in his room. A pained groan left the true blood as he tried to sit up. The opening of the door drew the prince's attention to the room's entrance to see Yejin poke his head into the room.
"You're awake!" The alpha declared as he fully entered the room and shut the door behind him with his foot as he balanced a tray in his hands.
"What happened?" Jae asked the alpha as Yejin reached the bed and set the tray on a cart stationed next to the nightstand.
"You got flogged," Yejin answered matter-of-factly as he helped the true blood fully sit up.
"I know that," Jae retorted. "I remember someone stopping the flogger."
"Ahhhh. That...uh...that was Kace."
Jae's eyes lit up when he heard the masked wolf's name. "Kace is here?" Jae inquired as he looked at the door.
"More like was here," Yejin said as he set the tray on the prince's lap. A bowl of congee, a cup of water, and a spoon were the tray's contents that Yejin had ordered specifically for the prince's recovery. "He left after cleaning and bandaging you."
"Oh..." Jae lowered his head to see the bowl of congee sitting on his lap. "Thank you for the congee," Jae said to Yejin as he picked up the spoon.
"No problem," Yejin responded before going back to the conversation about Kace. "I'm glad he showed up when he did. I heard that you were unconscious by the time he got you out. I can't believe you were supposed to get seventy lashes! That's way too much!"
The true blood smiled slightly at the alpha's declaration. "I appreciate the concern, but I am a true blood. I could have taken it."
"But you would be in an even worse state and guess who would have to take care of you! Me! Would you want to entrust your health to me? I can't even take care of myself properly."
Jae let out a chuckle at the alpha's response. "Alright, I get it. Thank you."
Yejin's expression softened as he heard Jae's reply. "Anytime. Now, eat before it gets cold. Please don't let my hard work go to waste."