The Fallen Princes ft. BTS

Optional background music: GOT7 - If You Do (piano instrumental)


"Goodnight. You have a test tomorrow so get some good rest."

"Why do they get to live in the palace?" Hope's curious face looked up to Michael. Another night was being spent in her silent bedroom. She sat up in her bed and leaned against the wooden headboard, waiting for his answer.

"They? Oh! Them! Well," Michael giggled at himself, "a palace is better than a prison cell."

"If they are 'not good', why do they get to live in a palace?" she repeated.

"Remember what I said about the Balance? Those princes play a big part to it. Without them, there would be a lot of paperwork to fill out." He patted the 9-year-old's head and tucked her into back into bed. "Now sleep, dear, you have to wake up at early in the morning. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Goodnight."



THIRD PERSON POV
Her bedroom soon brightened; the morning sun rose up and peeped through the windows. The pale curtains bled light as she slowly woke up. Rubbing her eyes, Hope carefully got out of bed and looked at the ancient grandfather clock by the door.

"Wow," she said out loud, "it's already 8 o'clock. Are the others already awake?"

She quickly changed out of her nightgown and into another white dress before heading out. When she stepped out, she frowned and tried to retrace the memories of yesterday. A few minutes later, a prince walked out of his bedroom, unaware of the lost girl behind his back. He was about to creep away until she blurted something out.

"E-excuse me!" she managed to say. Hoseok, who had already forgotten about the newcomer, grabbed the hilt of his sword before facing his weapon at her. "Ah! P-please don't hurt me!"

Flustered, he slipped the long blade back into his leather sheath. "Hey, you shouldn't scare me like that! Were you just standing there? Wow. Thank goodness you aren't a ghost. If you were one of them-" he waved to the other closed bedroom doors, "-I would have sliced you."

"My bad," Hope felt a pang of shame, "but where's the kitchen?"

"Agh! Just follow me!" He stomped off with Hope, who was struggling to follow his fast footsteps. The next thing she knew, Hope found herself there. The kitchen, charming in it's own ways, was filled with bronze skillets and pans and silver utensils. Staring at the cooking pot, Jimin rubbed his eyes, a wooden spatula still in his hand. I guess only these two are awake, she wondered.

"Good morning, Hoseok, Hope!" Jimin yawned, "Did you both sleep well?"

"Better than I thought I would. Normally, I wake up earlier at seven but I guess not today." Hope said as she scanned the big room.

"Why do you care?" Hoseok blurted out, "Just finish cooking the food already! I'm hungry! Where's breakfast?"

"I slept well, thanks, Hope," Jimin yawned again, "And, Hoseok, breakfast is cooking right here." He opened the heavy lid and sniffed the rising cloud of steam of vegetables and beef. "It's finished!"

Hoseok grabbed a nearby bowl and poured his share of the stew, using a ladle, of course, before leaving Jimin and Hope by themselves. "I'll be in the armoury as usual."

"We have an armoury?" asked Hope. Jimin grabbed another bowl and gave Hope her meal for the morning.

"Armoury? Of course! It takes a while to get there, but it's full of everything Hoseok plays with."

"Plays with?"

"All the weapons and chopped-up mannequins. Here's your bowl! Enjoy!" Jimin took the pot for himself and carefully sat on the concrete ground. Clunk. He proceeded to slurp the meal down using the heavy ladle. Hope, trying to adjust to the odd situation, looked for a pair of utensils before she sat on the floor across from him.

"How about we eat at the dinner table?"

"We wake up at different times so I normally eat here, on the floor. You can join me in the morning if you want! Once you finish eating, you can put your bowl in the sink." Following Jimin's eyes, she found the sink to be piled with dishes and pans. "One of us will eventually wash it."

"That's one messy sink! I might as well wash it all myself! I'll also eat with you in the morning. By the way, are you going to finish that whole pot? What will the others eat?"

"First question, yes, I definitely will. Second question, they will eat whatever they want. Hoseok eats with me from time to time. After him, Jungkook comes-"

"Good morning, beautiful." Hope looked up to find Jungkook looking down at her. He sat behind her and pulled her into a 'back hug'.

She wriggled her way out of his awkward embrace after politely saying, "U-um, good morning."

"Good morning, Jimin."

"Good morning, Jungkook! Don't mind me, I'll be over here." Jimin continued to eat, completely ignoring Jungkook's flirtatious actions.

"Lace?" Jungkook tugged the hem of Hope's collar, "I like seeing you wearing that."

"Thank you?" said Hope, not sure if she should be pleased by a compliment like that.

"You can do more than just thank me with words. You can feed me some of that." He pointed to the almost-empty bowl of stew and then pointed to his open mouth. Jungkook winked before puckering his lips. "Kiss me, I'm bored."

"Excuse me, but I'll be in my bedroom-"

"Why not come to mine?"

"Um, I'll see you- and Jimin- later."

Once she left her dishes in the cluttered sink, she hurriedly tiptoed out of the kitchen. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. SLAM. There was a slight pause until her voice was heard. "I tripped but I'm okay!" Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

Jungkook grabbed a fresh apple from a woven basket, went to the sink to wash it, and giggled, "I like her a lot."

"You like everyone a lot."

"She's cute. Besides, Jimin, I'm-" he twirled around and waved his hands in the air, the apple still dripping with water in his hand, and laughed at himself. "I'm the hot damn prince of lust."

Notes

I hope I'm not a few days late but...
Merry Christmas! God bless all of your souls! Fighting!
Again, thank you for reading~