The Flower That Blooms Alone - Chapter 1
The first chapter in the serious. Thank you so much @lockandminkey for editing it and to @shinwithee for drawing the beautiful cover art (it’s incredible, I’ve seen it!!! Please leave feedback and anticipate chapter 2.
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He didn’t move a single inch of his body as his mind ran with thousands of thoughts.
‘Will he kill me if he finds out who I am? Does he go to the city often? Would he even know of me?’
His thought process made him almost dizzy, but he was soon brought back to reality when the man spoke once more.
“Okay, okay! My name is Lee Taem- Taehyung.”
Taemin sat silently for a second. Why was he there? Because his father had lost all trust in him? Because he was banished from his home? Because he was accused of being a cold blooded murderer?
“I got banished from my home.”
Taemin’s mind raced once again, trying to make up a reason as to why he would be banished.
“I am a dishonour to my family. I planned to flee the kingdom with my brother but I was found. My brother being too young to say otherwise, I was accused of kidnap,” Taemin concluded with a silent prayer that his lie was worthy.
The man lowered his weapon and offered a hand.
“The kingdom is corrupt,” the stranger conceded in a decidedly softer tone, “and I don’t blame you. Kim Jonghyun. Do you have anywhere to stay?”
“No,” Taemin answered quickly, turning over the thought of Jonghyun’s comment about the corrupt state of the kingdom.
“I can offer you work. Three silver coins a week along with a bed and dinner.” Jonghyun spoke before trudging over to the kitchen area and began plucking a chicken.
“Thank you, um…sir?…but why?”
“Sir,” Jonghyun echoed with a laugh, “Hyung is fine. And I feel sorry for you. Plus, not many people pass by my cabin and I could use another set of hands.”
Taemin was shocked at just how trusting Jonghyun was.
“I’ve got nothing to lose,” Jonghyun remarked dismissively. “Now you can get some clothes from my room,” he offered as he waved a hand towards a door; Taemin complied without a word.
Changing into what he seen as ‘commoner rags’ he fully felt the reality of the situation for the first time. Not only was he banished from the kingdom, but he was working for a man who hated the very government he was heir to run. He knew he had to tread very carefully around Jonghyun. One slip up and he could be dead. He sat on the bed and reminisced of what life was like.
-
Taemin ran through the long halls of the castle, following his cousin and best friend in what would be a fateful game of tag. Jongin, the victim, ran into an unfamiliar room which seemed different from the rest of the castle that he had seen. He slowed from a run to a walk and shushed Taemin when he caught with him.
“Shh! Where is this?” Jongin questioned as they walked the hall. The windows were smaller and there was fewer candles lit. The walls were a dirty beige and the doors were less grand than in the rest of the castle. They heard a cheer of voices from a room in which they couldn’t help but explore.
“Dunno…come on.” Taemin encouraged.
The two young boys jogged to the end of the hall and pushed open the door that they heard the noise come from. Their eyes were met with a scene that they had never experienced in their lives.
They saw four boys around their age playing a game in which they had never seen.
“Can we play?” Taemin yelled with excitement.
“Yeah! My name is Kibum!” The young one introduced.
“I’m Jinki!” The older one smiled.
“I’m Minho.”
“I’m Jjong!” The last spoke with a wide smile.
The two cousins introduced themselves before they began playing what they found out was ‘Marbles’. The 6 boys played until dark which is when they returned to the more regal part of the castle.
That began a regular occurrence. Three days a week the two boys would escape playing with their new best friends.
-
“Taehyung, dinners ready. Come eat.”
Taemin joined Jonghyun into the kitchen and sat down in front of him. He was still a little wary of the man who had shown him incredible kindness.
The two men ate in silence and Taemin felt the atmosphere as thick as fog.
“So. Who are you? What did you do before you left? What do you enjoy?” Jonghyun enquired as he devoured the meal.
“Well..I…” Taemin began to speak, trying to make up lies on the spot as best as he could.
“I was a groundskeeper for the palace and that’s also what I did for fun. I enjoy nature highly. When I feel one with nature, that is when I truly feel at peace.” Taemin spoke, not all of his words being a lie. He did love being one with nature, ever since he was a young boy. It was even the catalyst by which he discovered his powers.
Taemin and his young friends had been playing an intense game of ‘Hide and Seek’ in the gardens surrounding the palace. Taemin and Jjong ran to hide behind a large shrub, one of which it’s flowers hadn’t bloomed yet, even though it was late April. They quietly giggled and waited for Kibum to come find them. Taemin, curious about the lateness of the bush, took a branch into his hand and the both boys marvelled at what happened. As soon as Taemin’s finger touched the leaves, the full shrub began to bloom magically with pink and yellow flowers, showing themselves to the world.
That night, Taemin told his parents what had happened and, smiling with pride, they told him of his powers. Ever since that day, his powers had only seemed to grow stronger, as he was able to manipulate more aspects of the earth.
“So why did you want to leave?” Jonghyun asked.
“When the law changed and the kingdom outlawed immigrants, I became unhappy,” he started, and this time, none of Taemin’s words were lies.
“I tried my best to talk to my fa- to protest but I got nowhere. Eventually, they told me to either stop protesting or leave.”
“But you weren’t an immigrant…so why did it matter so much to you?”
“When I was younger, I had a friend. He didn’t come from the kingdom, but his mother worked as a kitchen hand in the palace. One day he told me she was sick and that was the last time I saw him. When the king passed that law, it hit home for me…”
Taemin’s grip on his fork became stronger and stronger as he spoke, feeling the fire burn in his palms, but he had to stop himself before Jonghyun noticed.
“What about you?” Taemin asked.
Jonghyun chuckled before answering.
“I was born, I grew, then the kingdom fucked me over so I left. Not much else to know. Once you are done you can leave the bowl till morning. I won’t be going to get more water anyway until then.” Jonghyun ordered before he began work on the fire for the night.
The rest of the night consisted of the two men laughing together over little things that did not even matter in the slightest but somehow, it felt as if they had known each other for longer than a day. Taemin felt strangely safe around the older man and he felt as if he could talk freely to him.
The next day was one of blood, sweat, and tears. After a 7am wake up, Taemin’s duty was to gather the ripe crops before washing them and placing them in the correct baskets for delivery. He was then to rake the soil before planting the crops and this was all the morning’s work.
After a rest and some water, Jonghyun left to deliver the crops, leaving Taemin (or Taehyung, as Jonghyun thought) to chop firewood.
As soon as Jonghyun was out of sight, Taemin cheated his way through his work. He extended his arms and focused them onto the smallest stump that he could see. He began to grow it higher and higher, the stump growing into a strong tree all of a sudden split into hundreds of perfectly cut logs. Smiling to himself and guiding them into the hut, he took a walk down to the lake that was behind the cabin. He removed his clothes before immersing himself in the freezing water, which at Taemin’s touch, began to slowly heat to a perfect temperature. He washed his body of sweat from the morning and lay back on a rock to relax. He began to move his hands down to his scar. It was fully healed but as prominent as day but for the first time, he didn’t feel shame. He felt a need to prove himself, to show that he was not the traitor he was made out to be and that he was a nobleman. As he watched the beauty of the trees dance in the breeze, he let time pass without notice.
He didn’t hear Jonghyun call his fake name and he didn’t hear Jonghyun walk down to the bank of the water. He did, however, hear Jonghyun when he read the word that was forcefully etched into his skin.
“‘Traitor,’” Jonghyun read incredulously. “Now, tell me if I’m wrong, Taehyung, but you do not get a mark like that for protesting.”
Part 2
News spread like wildfire in Ealaghol. The day after Prince Taemin was banished, the King had arranged an address to the people. He told them what had happened and that he was never to return home, which created a siege of outrage by many.
Some were glad. Those were the minority of the people who disliked Taemin and believed he would try and do such a thing but many were severely unhappy with the verdict.
The majority of the people disbelieved the story. They did not believe for a second that Taemin would do such a thing; as a result, conspiracies began to breed all over the Kingdom. After days of consideration and after bringing it to the courts, there were four suspects.
The first was, of course, Taemin. Both the King and all his men strongly believed he was the perpetrator. Frankly the only reason the King was forced to listen to the people’s thoughts was because of the first ever law he passed when he came into power, and everyone had strong opinions over that matter.
Oh how the king regretted that now.
The people had three more suspects in which they brought forward in a special herring.
The first was Prince Kim Jongin, second in line, and the cousin to Taemin. They believed he wanted to seize the throne instead of Taemin, and that he would have done whatever it took to do so. This case was almost completely dismissed until a maid came forward as a witness, claiming she had seen Prince Jongin alone in the medicine quarters, mixing black liquids and when the liquids in question were inspected and found empty, he became a suspect.
The second thought to be guilty was Choi Minho, whose role as Army General made him third in line for the throne. He initially laughed at the accusation and so did the King, but soon he had to be taken seriously after Prince Jongin stepped up, calming he seen Minho sneak into the kitchens early on the day of the crime.
The third was Lee Jinki, a simple kitchen hand. He was the one whose duty it was to serve the meal and the wine. He had no substantial evidence against him other than the fact that he was a cook, and would have, so it seemed, been the last person to handle the food before it reached the King.
After the hearing, Ealaghol was not the same.
Guards began to circle the town at night and security was of grave importance.
A once lively and joyful Kingdom became one of secrecy and fear.
