♛ To all the queens who are fighting alone ♛

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- Thunderstorms and formalities -

Third Person's POV

9 years ago

It was what the kingdom would call a planning day. When the weather wouldn't permit as the royalty would hope it would, servants, guards, maids, and the royals specifically were left inside to plan.

Or, as the Prince would call it, hell on earth.

The beautifully decorated corridors, which usually were met with one or two servants at a time were no longer peaceful. There was not the comfortable silence presented in sunlit hallways. There was not the soothing echo of polished shoes against the marble.

On planning day, there was noise.

Far too much noise for one's liking.

The King and Queen were bombarded with servants and guards, tending to their needs and questions. The hallways were filled with maids. The throne room, which was fairly empty most days except for the few visitors who insisted they speak with the royals, was filled to the brim with guards.

Everything was frantic. Everyone was frantic.

Thunder crashed outside of the palace walls. Flashes of bright, blinding lightning crept in through the grand windows. They rattled with the force that struck the ground. The chandeliers rattled, the fine china in the kitchen rattled, the windows most certainly rattled.

Thus the chaos.

The Prince, who usually roamed the palace corridors in search of his beloved friend, stayed as far away as he could from the commotion. Yet, he knew better. Everywhere he went, there was always some sort of chaos.

If he traveled to the kitchen, the maids were frantic about trying to save the rattling china. If he went to the front entrance, the guards were busy holding off the chaotic civilians that feared the thunderstorm.

Taehyung never understood what was so scary about a storm. He treasured their arrival. He praised it if you will. The young Prince adored storms. He adored the rainfall that poured down the grand windows. He admired the droplets as they cascaded down like little streams.

He especially loved the way the windows would cover in precipitation, leaving behind foggy glass that he could draw on. The Prince wasn't permitted of drawing on anything, not even a canvas.

According to his father, he shouldn't waste his time on useless skills like art. But the Prince, well, he adored drawing. He may have not been the most talented artist in the Kingdom or the most creative for that matter, but he did love drawing.

The rainy days and foggy windows allowed him to draw without worry. They allowed his creations to come to life for a few hours before they washed away into nothingness that left behind no trace of their existence.

However, the rainfall wasn't the only thing he adored about storms. He enjoyed the crashing of the thunder that, if he was lucky enough, shook the castle's grand structure. Something about the sound, the beautiful booming sound in the sky above them, was calming.

He never understood the fear that came with thunderstorms. He never understood what was so frightening about them. He may never understand, he, perhaps, was an exception to the population that feared the thunder and lightning.

However, the young male maid, whom the Prince called his friend, feared the storms greatly. It was two contrasts. Taehyung feared nothing of the thunderstorm while the young male, Jungkook, feared every second of it.

Perhaps it was the loud noise that frightened him, or maybe the shaking of the palace that set him on edge, but when the boy lived in Thesead, which was not too far from this Kingdom, there were no thunderstorms. None this badly.

Whatever it may be, it had the young male shaking as he squat down against the cupboards. He pulled his knees up against his chest and hugged them tightly as he rocked against the wooden cabinets behind him.

The other maids, the ones who practically lived their lives in the kitchen, pitied the poor boy. He was ten, and he was far too young to be working. He was to be enjoying his youth years, but the King insisted that he learn now.

So, they protected him. They lied for him. They took whatever punishment he was to face. They treated him like their own and Jungkook, the small ten-year-old boy, thanked them for it.

On the other side of the castle, however, was the Prince. He stayed in his suite, staring out the fog covered windows with a longing. A certain longing to stroll through the gardens as the rain touched his face and wet his skin.

Instead, he turned away from the grand window that allowed the sunshine in on the brightest of days. He gathered the crown his father gifted him for his twelfth birthday. It was a temporary crown, one that gave him a feel for what the real one would be in a few years.

He placed it on his head, just as his father had instructed, and he fled the suite he called his. The corridors, which he knew far too well, were overly crowded and chaotic.

Just as he knew they would be.

With a sigh, he straightened up his posture and stalked toward the nearest maid he could find. She was busy cleaning, attempting to polish the already polished marble tile. He cleared his throat, causing the young woman to turn her head.

"Excuse me," He said. His father had told him that he wasn't to be formal with the maids and the servants. He could speak to them as he wished, but his heart wouldn't allow such. So, he resorted to his well-taught manners.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, way too dramatically at that. She fell to her knees, bowing for the young Prince. "Your majesty!" He refrained from gritting his teeth and rolling his eyes. This was far too dramatic for him. He simply wanted to know of his friend's whereabouts.

"Yes, hello. Do you happen to know where Jungkook is?" She raised her head while her eyes flashed with bewilderment. Her parted lips shut instantly and she sat back on her knees. "The last time I saw the boy was in the kitchen, your highness."

He gave one singular nod then turned on his heels and walked off. The hallways instantly quieted when the Prince walked through them, but it certainly didn't last for long. A pathway was even cleared, formed by guards, servants, and maids of all ages.

The walk to the kitchen was a fairly quick one. He marched right in, pushing on the elegant, wooden door and watching it fly open. The maids stopped what they were doing, immediately greeting the young Prince just as the other maid had.

He didn't hate the respect. What bothered him was how dramatic they were about it.

He gave a nod once more, glancing around the beautifully decorated kitchen. "I'm looking for Jungkook." The maids spoke in hushed whispers until one of them stepped away from the shaking male who was crouched on the ground.

Taehyung's eyes widened. He was taken aback by the younger's frightened state. Without a thought, he rushed over and instantly fell to his knees before his friend. Jungkook's tear-stained cheeks were covered by his trembling hands.

"Hey," the Prince whispered, "look at me, Kook. I'm here." Jungkook was hesitant. He knew his place. He had been reminded of it hundreds of times. He was to respect the Prince and his wishes. He was to bow when the Prince was in his sight and to not speak unless given permission.

Taehyung had given him a command, yes, but he had not told him to speak.

Jungkook had been friends with the Prince for three years now. They had learned everything about one another, from the smallest details to the biggest ones. They had spent as much time as they could together without getting in trouble, but Jungkook was still forced to respect the Prince.

However, at this moment, the rules didn't matter. He didn't just look at Taehyung. He threw himself into his friend's arms and cried as the thunder crashed into the castle. Taehyung's reaction was instant. His arms flew around the younger's body, wrapping around his torso and hugging him tightly.

This had been one of the worst storms the kingdom had seen in years. There had been storms for a few months, but none had been this bad. Taehyung knew of Jungkook's slight fear, but he had never suspected this.

Instead of questioning his dear friend, he stood, using a strength the maids didn't know the Prince had and carried him out of the kitchen. He walked with him like that all the way back to his suite. No one questioned the Prince, and no one stopped him.

Upon arriving in Taehyung's suite, he shut the door with a soft click and set Jungkook down on the edge of the bed. The young male looked into the Prince's worried eyes, studying the brown orbs that flickered over his own tear-filled eyes.

"I-I'm not supposed to be in here," he confessed miserably. Taehyung didn't care. No one could do anything to him. Only the King and Queen could punish him, but he knew his parents wouldn't do that. "You're the Prince, I'm supposed to respect you... Taehyung- I'm sorry. I- I- I broke the rules."

Taehyung took Jungkook's hands into his own. He let Jungkook's smaller and softer hands sit in his warm, larger ones. He held them there and he looked directly into his friend's eyes.

To anyone else, Jungkook was just a maid. He was someone who was to follow the rules, just as any other maid would. But to Taehyung, Jungkook wasn't a maid.

He was his best friend.

Maybe something even more than a friend.

"I don't care about the rules," he said in the thick silence that covered the area between them. "They can't do anything to you. Not while I'm here, they can't touch you, they can't yell at you, and they certainly cannot tell you that you broke the rules."

The younger's eyes widened. He knew Taehyung would stand up for him, but this? This he didn't expect, especially not from the Prince. Someone who could make men and women fall to their knees with a mere glance. Someone who could behead a soldier for one wrong step.

Yet this someone, this prince, was defending him.

"Are you scared of the storm?" Taehyung asked carefully, scared that he'd say something wrong and the waterfalls would come streaming down. "Yes... your highness." Taehyung's lips turned downwards. He knew the guards had trained him to respect the royals, but this was uncalled for.

"No," he said. His foot was being put down. "While you are with me, you do not address me as someone higher than you." No one would believe that a twelve-year-old would think this way, but the Prince was an exception.

"To you, I am Taehyung. I am not the Prince, I am not your majesty, and I am not your highness. As long as you speak to me, from this day forth, you address me as Taehyung." Jungkook's doe eyes widened once more and lips pretty pink lips spread open in shock.

"Are you sure?" He asked softly. He was terrified, for a multitude of reasons. He was terrified of the storm, but perhaps he was more terrified to anger the Prince. "I am certain, Kook. I am your friend, not your owner. I am not someone you will address formally."

"I understand," Jungkook responded, "but can I ask why?" Taehyung's gaze didn't falter. He didn't look away and he most certainly didn't get angry with the younger. Jungkook was somewhat expecting it. He had heard stories of the Prince getting angry over small questions, and he assumed that Taehyung would do so with him too.

"Because I pleaded for you to stay here, in the castle, so that I could befriend you. I didn't do it to show off my superiority. I did it," The Prince began as he caged the younger with his strong gaze, "because I wanted to make you my friend."

Jungkook blinked. "And my friends do not address me as maids do."

Tears pooled at Jungkook's eyes. They streamed down like waterfalls, creating a path down his porcelain cheeks and dripping down his chin. "Thank you for being my friend, Taehyungie." The Prince's gaze softened as he brushed aside the warm tears.

There was a reason why he addressed planning days as hell on earth days. There was a reason why the Prince hated all the commotion in the corridors and the chaos that flew through the hallways. There was a specific reason why planning days were always his most dreaded days in the palace.

Yet this particular planning day was one he'd never forget.

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This actually plays an important part in the story. Not necessarily Jungkook's fear of the storms, but how Taehyung instructs Jungkook to address him.

It'll connect with Jungkook's future personality.

I purple you 💜

~Pisanthrophobia.