prince! renjun au // angst, fluff //
“and what do we have here?” prince! renjun questioned as he slowly made his way from the throne, dragging the tip of his blade across the stone floor as he drew closer to your weakened body that lay before him.
the young prince glanced over to knight commander! jeno with a raised brow, silently telling him to continue, before looking back down at you with eyes full of mischief.
“guards on the east wing found them sneaking through the spare bedchambers. all that was taken has been restored to its rightful place, your high-“
“do you want me to have your head?” the prince interjected, his voice suddenly more malicious than usual.
“and do you train your men properly, commander?” his highness began to move away from you and walked towards his inferior.
“i do, your highness. i swore an oath to protect-“
“then why the fuck is there a commoner in my castle? are your knights so badly trained that even a lowlife can squeeze their way past them?” prince! renjun spat at the knight and placed a sword against his neck, gently pressing the blade into the surface of the skin. not enough to kill, but enough for blood to come trickling out onto the steel.
“i-it was a mistake, sir, i will have it seen to that the men responsible are punished” the knight had his eyes tightly shut as his body began to temble. the prince only laughed.
“look at you, trembling for your life the second i put a blade to your throat. you are a man of the battlefield with countless wars won and dozens of deaths dealt. yet here you are, acting like a pathetic little bitch before your prince.”
you watched in silence as renjun placed his bloodied sword back into the scabbard that was attached tightly to his waist. the knight bowed and relieved thank yous tumbled out of his mouth for the prince had let him see another day through.
“so what do you suggest we do with the thief, commander?”
the prince turned his focus back to you and fear started to hit harder than ever. if the knight were to be considered lucky for having his life spared, then you were in store for certain death.
“we could have them killed your highness. a good public execution might scare the peasants into never attempting such a thing again.”
the knight was now confident, as if nothing had ever happened between him and his ruler. and he spoke of you as if you weren’t even in the room listening to him.
“don’t be foolish commander. half of your men would be out of a job without the peasants turning to petty crime.”
renjun sat back on the throne and placed his head in his hand, clearly turning bored at the situation.
“i have men strung up in public so often that peasants hardly bat an eyelid. the only thing that scares them now are the old ghost tales village hags share with the children.”
silence fell upon the room and the prince stared at you with eyes of concentration, trying to figure out what was to be of you. you hung your head low to avoid his gaze and mentally prayed for mercy. your family were starving and your last hope was to steal something small from the castle in order to sell it off for resources. but now all hope of returning home was lost.
“they will be my personal servant” the prince suddenly spoke.
“they will answer to me and only me. they will follow me everywhere i go and do everything i tell them to.”
the knight stood shocked for a short moment then opened his mouth to protest against the idea. only to feel the open cut on his neck. a reminder of what happened to men who angered prince renjun.
“as you wish, your highness.” and with that, the knight left to return to his duties.
“guards, take my new servant to get changed into something suitable. tell the maids to wash them as well but make sure the water is ice cold. i don’t want this to be a luxury.”
two large guards quickly dragged you to your feet. you glanced up to see that the prince had moved from the throne so that he could stand eye level with you.
“you should thank the gods for allowing me to be so merciful on you, peasant. if i see you place your grubby little hands on something that isn’t yours once more, i’ll cut them off. is that clear?”
“yes your highness. thank you your highness.”
it had been two long months worth of working in the castle. all of the days were spent the same. you followed renjun around like a dog and you followed his every order without question. you held his sword for him, cleaned his clothes, polished his boots, gave messages to whoever he demanded to talk to, you even fed him once because his highness was ‘too tired to lift his aching arms’.
one night, whilst you were tending to the fire in the prince’s bedchamber, you heard the prince walk into the room and fall onto his bed with a loud sigh of defeat.
“long day, your highness?” you asked without taking your eyes off of the fire in front of you, jabbing the fire poker into the flames as they engulfed the logs of wood you had just thrown in.
“what’s it to you, peasant?” renjun spat back.
you rolled your eyes, tired of the prince’s attitude, and stabbed at the fire a little harder, pretending it were something else.
“forgive me, your highness. i will not ask again.”
the room fell into a tense silence. all that could be heard was the sound of the fire crackling and the prince breathing irregularly. well, that was until the prince spoke up once more.
“i’m sorry.” was all that came from him. you turned to face renjun who was still lying on his bed as he stared up at the ceiling.
“p-pardon?” the shock of the prince’s sudden apology was evident in your voice. you wouldn’t be surprised if that was his first time saying sorry in all the nineteen years he had been living.
“i said i’m sorry, peasant- wait, what is your name?” he sat up and made direct eye contact with you.
“y/n l/n” you replied and bowed to your superior as it was the first time you had officially introduced yourself to him.
“i sincerely apologise for the way i have treated you, y/n. and to answer your question, yes, it has been a long day. you shall help make it better now and that’s an order.”
before you could ask for further instructions, renjun lifted himself up off the bed and began to rummage through his drawers.
“sit.” he demanded and pointed towards a chair near the fire. “sit down and do not move.”
like always, you followed his commands and placed yourself on the finely crafted seat.
“i am going to paint you y/n.” renjun turned back around with scrolls of blank paper in one hand and a fistfull of paints and brushes in the other. “this will help me relax.” he confessed as he positioned himself on another chair in front of you.
curiosity took the better of you as you started to cautiously question the prince on this new side of him.
“i never thought of you to be much of a painter, your highness.”
“i am self taught y/n. it’s certainly a hidden hobby of mine. kings don’t take to the idea of their sons spending their time painting all too well.”
renjun smiled sadly to himself as his mind went back to the time when he was a young boy and had been caught painting pictures of the castle’s flower garden. the king had struck him for wasting precious time that could be used in sword practice on something as peaceful as painting.
“and, if i may ask, where is your father? you are a prince yet you sit on the throne and demand like you are a king. your father is still alive, is he not?” you kept perfectly still as the prince began sketching your figure onto the paper.
“the king is still alive but he decided to take to the seas and travel. he left me here to run things whilst he is gone. i guess this is his way of seeing the world he ruled over one last time before he dies and a way for me to prove myself to him before i take over. have you ever whitenessed the oceans, y/n?” renjun kept his focus on trying to do your beauty justice in his art.
“i can’t say i have, your highness. the sea lies far from here. but i have heard it’s more dangerous than a cave full of dragons and an army of infinite men combined. i overheard the baker’s wife say that there are sea-people called sirens that can take down an entire shipload of men with their voice alone.”
the prince laughed and looked up at you with a smile that you had never seen on him before. it was a smile full of warmth and genuine happiness.
“so those are the sort of stories that people of the village tell…” renjun took one long stare at your body, which caused you to advert your eyes in embarrassment, before going back to work.
“we are alike. i am yet to see the ocean too, y/n. i am yet to see everything this world has to offer beyond this one kingdom. when i am forced to fight against men on foreign lands i will see it all though. i’ll bring you with me so that you can see it all too.”
your mind seemed to completely forget about the fact that you were his personal servant, that you following renjun on adventures was an obvious part of the job. because you found yourself blushing over his words, already imagining the wonders you would one day see.
“i used to dread the idea of leaving this castle. i would often have nightmares about the horrors that wait beyond these walls. but now i’m not so scared. because i will have you right by my side.” renjun confessed.
the now shy boy held the paper up closer to his face in hopes of hiding his red cheeks.
your heart grew fonder at his words. at first, you thought it was strange to hear the usually vicious prince speak such soft things, but when you glanced back up to take in his features, the words of kindness seemed to suit him more than his unkind ones. for renjun had a face full of beauty, a smile full of sunshine and a laugh full of joy. he took more to the talent of art than he did fighting and it made you wonder why he put up such a harsh demeanour whilst sat on the thrown.
“please, call me renjun.”
once again the prince left you in shock at his sudden outburst of words you would never have expected to leave his mouth.
“r-renjun, you are said to be the prince with a heart made of stone yet you sit here with worlds full of kindness. why must you act the way you do on the thrown? a ruler with compassion is not a bad one.”
you watched as renjun thought carefully about his answer. his eyes seemed to turn sad the more he thought about it. you were about to tell him to forget you had even asked before he cut you off with his answer.
“i’m scared of disappointing my father more than i already do. i want to be an artist. i want to travel and paint every landscape i see. i want to paint every beautiful person i meet eyes with. i want to paint every animal from the birds i see in the tree outside this room, to the wolves that hunt in the mountains of the north, far beyond here.” his eyes softened as he lost himself in the dream life he had created in his mind, the low glow of the fire adding a shimmer to his dark pupils.
“i don’t want to be this bloodthirsty prince my father demands me to be.”
renjun placed the paintbrush down and proudly turned over the paper in his hand to reveal his art to you. it was beautiful.
“it’s beautiful isn’t it? but at the same time, not beautiful enough.” renjun sighed as he turned the art back to face him, his eyes scanned over every detail, analysing for any mistakes. “i’m afraid i could never do your looks justice y/n. the gods took their time creating you.”
you could sense that the prince was being harsh on himself about his work. probably telling himself he should do better next time. he had spent his entire childhood being trained to become the very best. and now, he spent his days trying to please his father through being someone he wasn’t.
it was a bold move but you slowly leaned forward to place your hand atop of renjun’s. he seemed slightly stunned at the sudden contact, probably unfamiliar with such small yet intimate actions, but soon enough, he melted into the touch and intertwined his hand with yours.
“renjun, you need to show the people who you truly are. if you show respect to them, then they will show respect to you. you will have the strongest kingdom of them all. generations from now will speak of the kind king who was just as good with a paintbrush as he was a sword. don’t let the pressures of royalty ruin who you are.”
the prince had never heard someone speak to him like that before. he had never heard someone care so much about him and his wellbeing. his body and heart ached to hear more, for as long as he lived.
“i want you to never leave my side y/n. i want you with me as i become the king i was born to be.” renjun stared down at your hands and began to gently play with your fingers.
“of course i’ll stay by your side. i swore an oath of loyalty-“
“no, y/n, i want you with me forever, but not as my servant. i want you with me as my companion. i want you to rule with me one day, regardless of your background and upbringing, even if the laws don’t allow it.”
the prince moved closer and closer with every word until his nose was brushing against yours. he glanced down at your lips before looking back into your eyes.
“what do you say, my love?” it came out as almost a whisper but you heard every word.
“you’ve got yourself a deal, my prince”
and with that, the prince connected his lips with yours. everything else seemed to fade away around you, your full focus was on him and only him. you smiled into the kiss, breaking it slightly. renjun pulled away only to place another quick peck onto your lips before placing more across every piece of skin exposed to him.
“i look forward to eternity with you, y/n.”
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