Jungkook stood on a wooden crate of horse feed in front of his men, well only 24 of them the rest had been dispersed to either the borders or out of state duties at their posts. He sighed. Despite sleeping as soon as he met with the bed, he was still exhausted and so were his men as he looked at their eye-bag ridden faces. Yet duties had to continue, there wasn't such a thing as break when the nation was at cliffpoint, an attack could rage on their boundaries at any moment and they would need to be there for their people.
"Listen up everyone. First of all, good job to all of you at the borders. Make sure to let it be known to your subordinates and soldiers that they've done well for the past 2 months. We were successful together." He stated, his gaze meeting the eyes of many. "But it hasn't ended yet and you all know that so let's get straight to it. The 4 Divisions of soldiers that have been on the western outposts since yesterday will return tonight after Divisions 7, 8, 9 and 10 replace them this afternoon. All men of Divisions 7 to 10 will be deployed to their positions this afternoon." He nodded towards the Generals in charge of the named divisions.
Jungkook was soon to continue when the closed doors of the barracks opened with creaks letting in a tall man in royal blue and silver attire. The Crown Prince.
"Jungkook" he spoke immediately as he entered and halted at the rows of men lined in front of him, all turned to face him and bow. He nodded his head lightly and continued walking past them to the elevated podium of a crate. Jungkook had stepped down and faced his older brother who disregarded the presence of the soldiers pulled his younger brother into a gripping hug. Jungkook was stunned but was soothed at the warm touch, he reached around to pat his brother's back before pulling himself away. Considering the sight of the people in the room.
The Crown Prince eyed the men quickly before returning to examine his brother's face and body for any injuries. Seeing none of serious concern he spoke, "Are you deploying men for the west? If you are, stop. I have to talk to you first." He pulled Jungkook out of the barracks. Jungkook signalled his men at ease as he left outside.
"Hyung what's going on? Why has Appa suddenly decided to crown me King? What about you? And why should I stop the soldiers? You know how critical the border is right now-" Jungkook questioned without pause until his brother cut him off.
"I'm getting married." He paused and continued after receiving no response from the other. "We need to rearrange some men for palace security." the Crown Prince uttered. Followed by a sigh as he motioned Jungkook to sit beside him on the stone edge wall. The younger without question plopped himself down, his mouth parted open in yet another sudden shock.
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIS HOUSEHOLD IN THE TIME HE WAS AWAY??!! Jungkook felt as if he was going crazy. His father's sudden announcement of crowning the Second Prince - him - KING?! And now his brother is announcing his marriage??
He took in a sharp breath, trying to control himself from raging and letting out his confusion. He looked at his brother dead in the eyes, "Explain."
Namjoon understood and began to brief Jungkook real quick. With a sigh he began, "A few months ago I travelled North, the time I told you and Appa I was going to the Northern borders for a couple of weeks. I had left you with the soldiers and just wanted some time to myself to clear my head. You know I had been stressed for weeks because of the marriage scandals and Appa trying to marry me off to cover it up right after I had returned from the western borders after we secured our outposts. I had intended to stay in Northern Alystra but crossed the border up North out of interest.
There in a Southern City of Nysa I.. I sort of..fell in love.." Namjoon trailed off, unable to meet the eyes of his brother. They didn't usually talk about the topic of romance after they matured and were given graver responsibilities to worry about than romance.
"Him and I spent time together, got to know each other but soon had to part away because I had to come home and he was going to the capital. After he left I had found out he was the Second Prince of the North.. and I took the courage to tell father and stop all the marriage proposals he's been giving me. Him and his family are arriving tomorrow evening to officially meet. But he doesn't know that I'm the Crown Prince of the South, I hadn't told him my identity."
Namjoon finally took a long breath and raised his gaze to meet Jungkook's. They stayed silent for a few minutes, Jungkook trying to process everything, thinking how to act in the moment.
"I'll reassign the men first, then let's go meet Appa, hyung." Jungkook said calmly getting up and heading inside the barracks again. Namjoon waited outside until Jungkook returned. "Let's go hyung."
As they were walking, Jungkook frequently questioned Namjoon.
"The Second Prince of the North is Seokjin, that's who you like right hyung?" Namjoon nodded. "You said he doesn't know you're the Southern Crown Prince, how do you know he's going to accept the proposal? And did you know if he liked you when he met you?" Namjoon replied "During the weeks we had gotten to know each other and spent time together I felt as if he knew what was between us. I could tell he felt the same back but he never voiced it and returned to the capital with a simple goodbye, saying he'll come back to look for me if he could. He had asked about my address and not wanting to reveal anything I just told him a was a nomad."
"I don't think he expects us to meet again. I think he's trying to move on by accepting the Southern Prince's marriage proposal." Namjoon continued after a pause.
Jungkook nodded until a small smile crept up on his face. "Well you're going to meet soon and he won't be expecting it." He chuckled, "the Southern nomad Prince Seokjin possibly loves is the Crown Prince of the Southern Isles, that's not something you come across every day." Namjoon lightly nudged his younger brother for the tease.
They entered their father's chambers. The King was seated at his desk with scrolls and parchments surrounding him. He looked up to see his sons, "Ah both of you are finally here. So did you tell him, Joon?"
"Yes Appa, we're going to continue with the preparations but Kook seems really impatient about knowing why you've decided to crown him King." Namjoon said as he sat down in front of his father, Kook shuffling beside him.
"Appa I need explanations." Jungkook said, his words lingering with confusion and impatience.
King Yeon put down his scroll and looked at Jungkook. "You impatient little brat, I said I'd tell you soon." He huffed, "But fine I'll tell you now. Thanks to your efforts at the western edge, we've extended our authority west. And now it's Joon's turn. After you're crowned the King of Alystra, I will announce Joon's mission of building and expanding in the west. Him and I thought of this together, we've seen you and we want it this way."
"But hyung-" Jungkook was about to protest when Namjoon cut in. "Kook, I want this. I want to be responsible for Alystra's growth in the west. I'll be retaking charge of our Western borders, and hopefully the Northern after.. after the marriage is sorted." Namjoon quickly shifted the topic, "And you little prince should prepare for your coronation and help me with the preparations for the arrival of the Northern Royal family, hm?"
↜•↬↫•↝
Tae was on horseback alongside Jimin and other royal guards. His parents and Seokjin hyung were in the royal carriage that was being escorted to the Southern Isles. Jimin eyed his friend from time to time who had ignored him when they met this morning after breakfast to make travel arrangements. Jimin could tell he was annoyed and just concerned about his hyung's happiness.
Evening had fallen and they had just crossed their borders, entering the edge of the Southern Isles of Alystra. The nearby city was illuminated with lanterns and lights, people going about their evening whilst others and some children stopped to gawk at the royal escort, guards and horses.
Their travel continued, beyond cities and into silent mellow fields, they had estimated to arrive at the palace in the evening of the next day and so rested the night in a small rural inn in the countryside that wouldn't attract much attention.
Taehyung had offered to stay awake during the night with the guards on shift but was scolded by Jimin who said he needed to rest for their arrival, he gave in and finally decided to sleep.