imagine: sitting in a car, windows rolled down, cruising down a slightly busy road at night. the streetlights cast a pattern of shadow and light over you, the gentle breeze whispering against your hair as the stereo plays a beautiful melody: silence… until a light hum from besides you interrupts it. slowly, you turn your head from the tranquil window view to one that makes your heart warm and play a frenzied beat, contrasting with the calm atmosphere. him. one hand on the wheel, the other resting against his head in his leisurely manner, elbow supported by the window ledge. his humming drifts through the air to your ears, a rhythmic blessing. the wind frolics with his dark hair, pushing it back, the strands dancing in the air. you watch in silence, as small beams of coloured light from LED signs touch him and cast an ethereal glow over his being. eyes soft with fondness, your lips tug up slightly at the moment. inhaling a deep breath, you gently lay your head back against the seat before your eyes flutter shut and you succumb to listening to his vocals and the street night sounds, a wave of relaxation washing over you. how delightfully serene.
repost - pass on a thanks to @ijustwantacue for this being up again
prince!jaebum x servantgirl!you
word count: 2.5k+
genre: mostly angst
he was crown prince jaebum, a man of nobility and humility
he respected and cared for all in the kingdom, regardless of status
a great warrior was he, a hero for his kingdom
perhaps that was what drew so many to him
or perhaps it was his handsome features, a face of such haunting beauty he enraptured those around him
his smile one which shone and fought darkness
and dark eyes which could pierce the soul and held deep knowledge from all the books he studied for countless hours within the extensive castle library
crown prince jaebum was loved by all the kingdom
for he loved all of them too
his knights swore allegiance to him so strong they were willing to ride to the gates of hell for him
of course, if it ever came to that, he would never let them go alone
truly, a most worthy inheritor to the throne
and then there was you
a mere servant girl, loyal to the royal household
you served princess jiyeon, jaebum's beloved younger sister
due to your role requiring you to be with princess jiyeon for most hours of the day, you had also spent much time in the presence of the prince
in the beginning of your role, he would always smile and nod at you but you dont know if it was just you or if his eyes seemed to linger on you slightly longer than usual
your head always itched to follow him when you passed him in the hallways
little did you know, he always glanced back at your retreating self, his smile dropping into a frown
because you enticed him
so he asked you more questions, wanting to get to know you better
he learnt of your love for stories, how you wished to read books but could not because, as a poor girl, you were never taught how
so he made it his mission to teach you to be literate
god knows how he found the time amongst all his duties
but slowly in the time you spent together
you got to learn deeper facts about each other
you learnt of his fears, his insecurities that he was not good enough to be king
and you somehow always managed to convince him otherwise, giving him words of wisdom and acting as a support so strong he came to heavily rely upon you
you came to understand his heart
and he, yours
in an intimate way that you had never managed with others before
so what came next was inevitable
the two of you became wrapped around each other
he needed you and you needed him just as much
you both fell
in
love
a love so deep, it hurt when you parted even slightly
you missed him always
he thought of you always
you loved each other
always
and so began your relationship
it was kept hidden away from everybody, the only person aware being jiyeon
a giddy supporter of you two she was indeed
but soon the queen came to learn of your and jaebum's relationship
whispers around the castle solidified
to put it simply, she was not happy
she called an immediate trial for you
you were brought in, dragged by the royal guards
and thrown to the ground before the foot of the throne in which she sat
breathing harsh from your struggle against the guards, you slowly looked up at the queen through your lashes
her expression was cold, like ice
she was a fair queen but strict and stood for no nonsense - and rightly so for they had struggled through times of war and her cool persona had aided them greatly
however being at the receiving end of this nature was not at all pleasant
you couldnt lie to yourself, you were scared
she scrutinised your face for a minute, the silence of the hall overbearing
before suddenly the back of her hand swiped through the air and smacked you cleanly against your face, at the same time that the hall doors slammed open
the force of the slap sent you sprawling but you caught yourself
jaebum's voice yelled your name, his presence in the hall calming you slightly despite the shame eating away at you
you turned your head to him, body still on the ground, as he stepped forward to approach you, his face one of shock, fear, anger, concern
but two guards grabbed an arm each and quickly restrained him
immediately he fought against them
"what is this? unhand me!"
"jaebum, is it true you have been harbouring feelings for this servant girl?" the queen asked him eerily calm
his eyes drifted to you as he continued to push against the guards, your hair loose and flopping upon your face from the impact of the slap, body forcing shallow breaths, sad eyes upon him, watching
"...yes."
"do you perhaps love this girl, jaebum?"
your eyes widened slightly, shifting to the floor
you had never admitted it to each other but you were certain you loved jaebum
did he love you?
his eyes didnt leave your figure
jaebum didnt have to ponder, he knew he was doomed from the way you always shyly bit your lip, smiling, and looked away when he said something cheesy, from the way you bashfully played with your fingers when he lightly touched the small of your back, from the way you gently tap his nose when you find something he was looking for
"...yes."
your eyes instantly shot up to look at him, lips parted in surprise befo-
"it is settled then. she is to be banished."
jaebum whipped his head towards his mother, enraged
"what? no-"
"fool, i shall not allow any relationship between my son, crown prince, and a mere servant girl! do not forget your duty to this kingdom, jaebum, it comes first and foremost-"
"rubbish! in what way will my relationship with y/n affect my duty?"
"you forget that your marriage is an opportunity to form stronger alliances with the other kingdoms-"
"i refuse."
"jaebum, do not dare to go against me. i am your queen-"
"and what of being my mother?" he yelled, "what of supporting me as your son?"
his eyes glossed over
"i love her"
a tear slipped from your own at the pure anguish in his voice, your heart aching
"if being king means i lose all compassion for those i love then i dont want to be king. if being king means having my love banished from me then i dont want to be king."
everybody in the hall seemed to stop breathing as he spoke
everybody seemed to freeze
because everybody could feel what he was next going to say-
"i relinquish my entitlement to the throne."
the reactions were immediate
your mind reeled and a huge gasp escaped you
the queen took 3 steps forward towards jaebum and slapped him just as hard as she had you
his head shot to the side, his breathing heavy
as was the queen's, her eyes wide in disbelief
"you are not in your right mind, my son would never say such a thing. it is okay, i understand this. i shall speak to you when you are in a saner state of mind"
meanwhile you could not believe jaebum had just tried to give up his future throne to be with you were you really worth that much?
"take the girl to pack her bags. she has until nightfall to leave the citadel and three days to leave the city."
"no," you screamed "no- please!" you begged, countless tears leaving you as another two guards grabbed you and began to drag you away
jaebum roared and with all his power shoved his captor guards away and legged it towards you
his name fell from your mouth repeatedly, despairingly, your sobs racking through your body
his arm wrapped around your waist
his front pressed to yours
his lips pressed to yours
in one last, desperate attempt to display sentiment
before he was ripped away from you
both yours and his heart tore
the pain of separation washed over you
bile crept up your throat
and tears fell from your eyes and his
he struggled helplessly against the guards dragging him in the opposite direction, towards the dungeons
(it was not uncommon for the queen to imprison her own son when she was angered)
"i'll find you, y/n! i promise," he cried
you released a long scream through gritted teeth as you were both yanked further and further apart
the agony in your voice tugging his heartstrings
to all those that inhabited the castle, the screams of jaebum and his lover echoed throughout
haunting everybody
---
your banishing changed jaebum
he broke inside
he remained true to his duties as crown prince, fought courageously in battles and upheld his role in state matters
but he was always on the search for you, trying to listen to whispers of where you had gone
his heart ached without your presence
his body yearned to be against you
he spent much more time with jiyeon, as she had been with you for years before he had fallen for you, listening to the memories she turned into words for him, seeking solace from them
he turned down each and every offer of marriage from the neighbouring kingdoms, much to his mother's distaste
he didnt care
he just
wanted
you
it was two years later, when the queen passed away due to a great ailment befalling her
she was still his mother so jaebum mourned greatly, with jiyeon and the rest of the kingdom
his coronation took place shortly after, with jiyeon there to support him
crown prince jaebum became king jaebum
a great leader
after your banishing, you had moved to a small village over the mountains
there you lived as a farmer, sowing and tending to crops
as well as being the apprentice to an elderly woman physician called soo ahn
she taught you much about herbs and medicines and caring for the body
you patched up injuries, looked after the ill, kept them company
the village people loved you
kind, sweet y/n
gentle, nimble fingers with bandages, gentle, nimble fingers when harvesting crops
but they could sense the pain underlying your sweet smile
it was two years after your banishing that a group of riders passed through your village
they wore red cloaks with the royal crest
your eyes widened upon realising they were from the citadel
and your hands shook upon realising the middle horse held a man of familiar stature
but there was something wrong with his posture
and daunting fear rose inside you
upon realising the knights around him had dismantled from their horses and were shouting for help
upon realising they had to pull an unconscious jaebum off his horse
upon realising there was deep red staining his tattered shirt
and suddenly you couldnt breathe
your legs acted automatically, pulling you towards him
he always was like a magnet
a scream left your throat, you shouted for soo ahn
the knights turned towards you as you hurriedly approached
their eyes all widened as they saw your face
panic stricken, pale, a tear tracing down your cheek
no, that wasnt why their eyes widened
it was you, y/n, the damsel whom their king had restlessly searched for
and here you were, running to them
ironic indeed
and as you reached them, as you tried to grab jaebum's body, as you tried to hold him after so long regardless of his injury, as you did all this, did soo ahn approach, and with her old but strong hands, hold you back, passing you on to one of the knights
"quickly. follow me," she instructed the knights holding jaebum, one carrying his arms, the other his feet, and she led them to the physician's working quarters
the knight holding you back went with them, allowing you to come but he spoke to you and forced you to calm down
because you were frantic, you havent seen jebum for two years and you still loved him just as much and this is how you are reunited, with him bleeding out, his white shirt now red and-
breathe
soo ahn didnt let you help, forcing you to stay away because clearly you werent in the right mind in the presence of whom she gathered was the king
and it clicked in her mind that this was the reason for your hidden pain
so she better damn make sure he survived then because there was no way she was allowing you to wallow in more hurt than you already suffered
flash forward to later that night where jaebum is all patched up and resting in the spare bed kept for the seriously ill
you refused to leave his side
the knights were being cared for and fed
you found from them that they had been attacked by smugglers as they made their way to the nearest neighbouring kingdom, to visit the king jinyoung and discuss increasing funds for orphan children
jaebum had defended mercilessly, fighting back true to his warrior status
but unfortunately one smuggler had managed to ram him with their sword
fortunately, the wound was not fatal and he would be okay
but you couldnt keep your mind from ceaselessly worrying as you held one of his hands in both your own
tracing the lines of his palm
it had been too long
staring at his face, you noted that he essentially looked the same
the two familiar moles above his left eye made you smile
his sunkissed skin glowing
his hair a little longer than before, falling into his hawk eyes
hawk eyes which were open, dark brown staring at you
you gasped
his lips parted slowly with a shaky breath and the hand between yours slowly lifted to your face
his fingers grazed your cheek and you shivered, eyes fluttering shut as you leaned against his warm palm
"jae..."
the whisper held so much raw emotion
suddenly his hand dropped from your cheek and you opened your eyes confused
he used both hands to try and lift himself up into a sitting position
"no, jaebum-"
he hissed as his torso pulled slightly, looking down to see thick bandages wrapped around him, a small spot of red appearing on the surface
he sat up anyway and his hands moved forward to grab yours
he gently pulled at you
you sat as close as you could comfortably get, without hurting him also
he opened his mouth
"i-" his voice broke
he shut his eyes, swallowed, and reopened them, staring at you as though you would disappear any second
"i missed you"
you laughed through your nose, a sad smile painting your face
"i missed you too," you replied, pressing your forehead against his and brushing your thumbs against his cheeks, "so much."
