Chapter Text
He stood by watching as guards made quick work to empty each of the small cottages nestled in the palace garden. Each concubine - well former concubine - standing silently next to the front door of their cottage as the guards tossed everything from their lives over the passed few years out of the homes. His cottage would be the last to be tossed as the head of the harem. He needed to walk through each cottage checking that nothing belonging to the royal family or the palace ended up in their trunks. Afterwards, he would escort the rest of the harem to the awaiting caravans outside the palace. The moment he walked them out of the garden, the guards would ransack what was once his home.
And as the only concubine not born to aristocracy, any gifts given to him by the future emperor, were to be confiscated. Unlike the other concubines, he would only be allowed to take what he initially brought with him to the cottage, while they were allowed to leave with any gifts or trinkets bestowed to them by the prince. Could not allow for the lowly son of the cook to have a jeweled necklace or golden bracelet in his possession. Five years as head of the harem and he would return to a life as a servant while the others would return to a life of standing. All because the prince was to marry and ascend to the throne in five months time. The queen had officially announced the courtship a mere day after the prince's rut ceased. A mere day after Minho had spent days being knotted repeatedly by the future emperor. And two mere days after the future emperor went feral during his rut.
Guards walked towards him announcing the cottages were cleared. Minho sighed before pushing himself off from the wall he leaned against. The Queen provided an itemized list of everything that is to remain in the cottages, his items making up half the list. She instructed Minho to hand over any of the concubines - nay, former concubines - to the guards should something have been taken.
"The Queen told me to conduct the walk through with you." He heard Changbin's voice from his left. Of course she did, she hated the idea of the head concubine being the child of a servant. She only agreed to her son's wishes out of desperation when her son almost lost his senses during his first rut.
It was almost comedic in a way. He had become a concubine as a means to prevent the prince from going feral during his first rut. His sudden rise in society status as a means to save the prince. And yet during the last rut he had spent with the prince, the man had gone feral anyway. The Queen probably screaming herself hoarse at the emperor for granting such a lowly servant such power when he ultimately proved to have been useless in the end.
"I did not plan to steal anything."
Changbin placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hyung, you know I do not think that."
No, just the Queen does.
"Plus, I would much rather be enjoying my lunch in the barracks than have to evict everyone from their homes."
"Me too." Minho grumbled.
Changbin held out his hand for the list, quickly scanning over each item. Something on the list caught Changbin's eyes. His brows furrowing in confusion. "You must return everything?"
"Yes."
"Even the hairpin?"
"Yes."
"The prince gave that to you before all this." He gestured about the courtyard.
"Her Royal Highness insisted that she wants the future consort to have the hairpin. No one made her aware that it had been gifted to me. She thought it was safely tucked away for his future courtship and not in the possession of someone masquerading beyond his station." He changed his voice to mimic the queen's nasally voice, quietly reiterating the berating he received from the queen upon learning her son had gifted such a priceless heirloom to Minho. "They are promised to someone else."
Changbin took a step towards him. Eyes softening and hands reaching out for comfort, however Minho took two steps back.
"Hyung," he whispered.
"I know my place." Minho twisted the list in his grasp, "Now, let us survey the cottages. I have already been assigned to help prepare the kitchens for the arrival of the prince's intended."
Changbin looked as if he had more to say but Minho stepped inside the first cottage. Passing the omega by the door who stood quietly sobbing to herself, mumbling about disappointing her father. The pair wandered through each cottage. The only conversation between them being when Changbin confirmed that an item on the list was in the home. Once they checked the other cottages, Minho handed the list to Changbin.
"I have a small sack on my bed with all of my belongings. Searching the home should be quick work. All the furniture is in plain sight and the jewelry is in the armoire. The hairpin has been wrapped up and placed on the dining room table. She wants it to be hand delivered to her so she knows it has not been stolen. You can dump my sack in my room when finished." Minho did not wait to hear Changbin's response, instead he called for the omegas - and their wait staff carrying their packs - to follow him through the courtyards.
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Returning to the kitchens full-time felt odd. He still remained as a cook, even when acting as head concubine, but he only prepared meals for one person. Resuming his roles as a cook for everyone would take some getting used to. At least with the harem having been disbanded, the preparations would be quicker. But it felt weird to no longer just be Jisung's personal chef. The prince trusted no one else but him - and Minho's mother whenever Minho was otherwise preoccupied - to cook for him.
When Jisung was just fifteen, a foreign dignitary had colluded with a few members of the kitchen staff to poison the young prince. Minho, who had recently begun working in the kitchens, had been selected to bring the meals to the dining room. After serving one of the foreign dignitaries their meal, he looked up and noticed that the meal placed before the prince was not the same meal his mother had prepared. The garnishes were sliced differently than how his mother and the other cooks prepared them. None of the other servers appeared to have noticed the swap - of it they did notice, none seemed to care. Minho had to slap the utensils out of the prince's hand as whenever he tried to speak up, he was immediately silenced by both the others serving the table and by the Queen herself.
Changbin, sixteen at the time and nearly done with his training, had been shadowing the king's personal guards. He had been ordered to seize Minho for assaulting the prince. However, the only one who seemed to want to listen to Minho's attempts to explain what happened was the prince himself.
A quiet, "Hyung, why did you do that?" was asked, as the prince reached for his chopsticks on the floor.
"That's not the meal my mother made."
Immediately the dinning room broke into chaos. Guards blocked every door to prevent anyone from entering or exiting the hall. The king yelled out orders while the queen was in hysterics, crying and holding her son's face. Meanwhile the prince sat quietly, eyes watching Minho the whole time. The royal food tester was pulled from his work assisting in the kitchens. Without even tasting the meal, he confirmed that the meal had been tampered with. The royal food tester had been the only other person to notice that the garnishes were different.
Next day, the prince snuck into the kitchens and quietly asked if Minho would be the one to prepare his meals from now on. Most of the other cooks scoffed at the thought of Minho, who had barely begun his apprenticeship, being the prince's personal cook. And yet for three years, the prince would refuse to eat anything unless it was made by Minho and presented to him by Minho. An exception was only made after the prince experienced his first rut and Minho could not be both a concubine and a chef simultaneously.
Each time, Jisung would thank him for the meal and praise him for whatever he made. A smile on his face as he would dig in.
One of the cooks dumped a giant pot on Minho's work station pulling Minho from his revere. "We need the vegetables prepped yesterday."
He cleared his station and glanced over to where his mother usually stood. She had left earlier that week to visit her ailing mother in the country. Jisung's unexpected rut had delayed her trip just shy of a week. And she spent several days after the rut fretting over Minho. His mother constantly appearing at his side and shooing away any and all servants who tried to speak with him about the rumors that circulated the palace.
Once he had even seen her shoo away the prince. Though he likes to pretend he had not seen her do that.
He has yet to speak to Jisung since that night. What would he even say to the prince? His fingers absentmindedly played with the collar of his shirt. Every second of that of fateful night repeated over and over in his mind. The memory of lips ghosting across his skin and down his bare neck. The feel of teeth grazing against his pulse point. The quiet whispers that tickled his neck and the content rumbles as Jisung licked at his scent gland. Then his screams for Changbin, the frenzied growls, the sound of guards tackling the prince to the ground as Seungmin dragged Minho from the room. He could still hear the queen pitching a fit as he kneeled before the royal couple on the cold marble floor of the throne room. His head pressed against the ground as his body shook from unshed tears. Minho's mother on her knees sobbing beside him begging the emperor to let them leave the palace and travel somewhere far, far away.
Feral.
The prince had gone feral and the queen blamed Minho for it. She claimed Minho must have done something that set Jisung spiraling and she demanded an execution - or at the very least the emperor agree to an exile. Jisung, who had not been allowed in the throne room, banged on the doors yelling for his father to spare Minho. His voice breaking as he pleaded with his parents from behind the closed doors. That was the last time Minho had heard Jisung's voice. Every moment for the past week, he heard that broken voice in his head.
The servants all heard that something occurred thought none truly knew what happened. Rumors began to spread when they saw a guard rushing a few of the concubines through the corridors in their nightwear and a gorget secured tightly around each of their necks. Up until that night, Minho had been the only one to spend a rut with the prince. They were all shocked when one of the maids ran into the servant's dining area yelling how all the other concubines were being brought up from the gardens. Two days later when the queen formally announced the engagement of Prince Jisung to the Gukgong's younger omega son and officially disbanded the harem, the servants quarters were abuzz with excited chatter. Though their prattling would come to an abrupt halt whenever Minho entered the room. He would often stand near a doorway to overhear whatever wild rumors were being spread. The one Minho most often overheard was that he had attempted to trick the prince into mating him during his rut. Though most typically dismissed this rumor quickly as they could not explain why Minho still worked in the castle, let alone had a head, should he have attempted to trick the prince into mating him. Minho's mother spent several days following that night sternly threatening any and all staff with whatever cooking utensil was near if they spoke about what happened in her presence.
Maybe he should speak with Jisung. At least let him know, Minho did not blame him for something beyond his control. The prince's wolf overpowered Jisung in his sleep and instead of taking control of the rut, the wolf became feral. Most often an alpha had been at odds with their wolf for a long time if they go feral. Minho knows had Jisung been of sane mind, that night would have been different. While chopping up potatoes, Minho made the decision to speak with Jisung that day.
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He tried repeatedly to speak with the prince, however he no longer had the same access to Jisung that he once did now that he was a servant once more. As a child, he had easier access to the prince because the prince would want to play with someone around his own age. The prince at age four stumbled upon the servants corridor and found Minho trailing behind his mother with a bag of apples. Jisung shocked that there was another kid in the palace besides his stinky brothers asked if Minho wanted to play with him. Minho's mother took one look at those big, round eyes and grabbed the small bag of apples from Minho. Said they should go play in the gardens where the guards can see them. They had been friends ever since. There were no emotions or subgenders that anyone need worry about. Whenever the prince finished his duties and Minho finished helping his mother with chores, Jisung would pull him into the garden to play. The queen standing there silently, arms crossed the whole time. He remembers her once complaining about her son being preoccupied with the help but the Minho at that age did not really understand what being called "the help" truly entailed.
Minho met Seungmin and Young-hyun, Jisung's half brothers, who would often join them out in the gardens. Young-hyun mostly watching over them and giving in to whatever silly demands his younger two brothers came up with. And when he was old enough, their half brother Hyung Jun would join them as well.
The first time Minho learned about concubines he was seven years old. He asked Young-hyun why Jisung was the heir instead, if he was several years older and born first. Young-hyun explained his mother was a lower concubine - well he said she was lower ranked omega, not a concubine - than the queen. While he was born first, Jisung is the first alpha son of the emperor and his wife, as such Jisung is the rightful heir. Minho remembers saying something along the longs of it being stupid that the emperor had a bunch of kids and only the alpha son from one omega would be emperor.
(Maybe that is why the queen hated him so much. He challenged her status as a seven year old.)
Their time together became more restricted when Minho turned sixteen and had his first heat. They would still see each other however, though someone had to always present. Typically Seungmin or Changbin or even Young-hyun when he was able to get away from the training grounds. When Minho became a concubine, he received a scheduled day to be with the prince. Every eighth day would be Minho's scheduled day with the prince - the other days would be spent with whichever concubine was scheduled for that day. Or at least, Jisung was supposed to spend each scheduled day with that concubine. He had overheard a few complaints from the concubines when they would chat in the gardens. They believed it was unfair how much time the prince spent with Minho, and how much authority the prince gave to Minho, considered his station. While never addressed to him directly, as head of the concubines, Minho often would relay the complaints to the prince. Jisung with a small smile would say not to worry, he would handle it better.
But as head of the harem, Minho had the ability to call upon Jisung when needed. Now, he resumed his role as servant and an omega one at that. Getting to see Jisung became damn near impossible. Minho delivered the alpha's food to his door where Seungmin awaited to talk the tray into his brother's quarters. The lower prince would give him a half-hearted smile each time and a small nod before walking away. This time, Minho grabbed the omega's wrist to stop him.
"I- I need to speak with him."
Seungmin looked around the halls, watching the guards at stood near the stairwell. "She wants him to stay away from you. She would prefer for good, but the rule is until the duke gets here with his sons." Seungmin whispered.
The duke would arrive in three days. He could wait that long... right?
Minho must have looked in a disarray for Seungmin sighed and placed the tray back in Minho's hands. "Be quiet and follow me quickly."
The omega tugged Minho down several corridors towards the library. He pushed the large mahogany doors opened and Minho's breath caught. Jisung sat in the center of the room, a book open in front of him that he barely paid attention to. The setting sun bathed the room in a warm, golden glow. Jisung looked younger, softer in this light, than he already did. A ring of golden hues reflected off his mess of dark hair, which looked as if he had not let his manservants take a brush to them. The golden hue almost making half a crown around his head. As if reminding Minho of their stations.
"You can leave the plate on the chair. I am not hungry." Jisung muttered, hands tugging at the mop of hair on his head.
Before Seungmin could say anything, Minho quietly let out a relieved, "Jisung."
His voiced echoed in the silence of the room. Jisung's head shot up. His beautiful brown eyes looked as if they shifted faintly to a color Minho could not place. He stood abruptly, his chair teetering on its back two legs before falling to the floor with a loud clatter. With swift strides, Jisung glided across the floor towards Minho. The tips of the prince's boots nudging against his from how close they now stood. Jisung's mouth open and closed repeatedly, unable to find the words he wished to say. Instead, he reached his hands out slowly towards Minho's face. Fingertips gently trailing across the apple of Minho's cheeks and then down the length of his jaw. His thumb brushing against Minho's neck. However, the moment Jisung's thumb brushed against Minho's pulse, Jisung jumped backwards as if burnt.
"You should go. You should not be near me. Seungmin should not have brought you here" Jisung's voice was raw as he backed away, nearly tripping over himself. "You need to leave." His jaw clenched tightly.
"Jisung wait." Mino reached out his hand which was batted away.
"Stay away," Jisung's voice cracked, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes, "You should not want to even be near me."
This was not what he wanted. He had stayed away for too long and allowed Jisung to became too much in his own head. He could see the eyes of the other darting about the room in a frantic desire to get away from Minho. Especially since the older stood blocking the only feasible exit. There was a secret exit hidden that led down to the servants quarters near the fireplace, but that required having to push on the left side of the fireplace until a small corridor. Minho had seen Jisung open that exit a handful of times to escape from his mother or his tutors. It typically took the alpha a few minutes to push the fireplace far enough to be able to run. Jisung would not be able to get very far at the moment.
Minho reached out once more. His finger circling around the other's slim wrist. "That should be my decision, should it not?" He said firmly. He ignored Jisung's measly disapproval and instead continued on. "Han Jisung, had you been of sound mind, would you have tried to claim me?"
Jisung's eyes widened in fear. The younger of the two stammering out the words 'hyung' and 'I' several times however not proceeding any further.
"Would you have tried to claim me?" Minho repeated, voice quieter, almost a whisper.
Jisung's other hand came up to play with the fingers wrapped around his wrist, slowly peeling each finger off one by one. "I- I honestly do not know how to answer that."
"What do you mean?"
Once each finger had been lifted, Jisung turned Minho's palm over in his hands. Both of Jisung's hands cradling Minho's left hand as if it were the most prized treasure in the palace. "I do not remember most of what happened, but I do remember waking up in this fog. I felt different than I usually do in my ruts. My skin felt too tight for my body. Looking back, it was more than likely my wolf thrumming below the surface trying to claw his way free." Minho opened his mouth to ask why Jisung felt he was at fault, when a single tear fell down Jisung's cheek. "I remember looking at you at some point and putting my nose to your neck. I have spent almost every waking moment since my rut ended thinking about me putting my nose to your neck because I truly cannot remember if the collar was in place."
That stupid fucking collar. The metalsmith had fashioned a series of gorgets to fit each concubine. A snug piece of silver and gold that covered the lower third of the neck and spread out over the wearer's collarbone. The collars designed to prevent the prince from accidentally biting the concubine wearing it during his ruts. The only gorget that actually saw any use had been Minho's. The metalsmith having gone through a few redesigns of his work in the past few years to accommodate for function as well as an attempt at comfort. Minho could not enter Jisung's chambers without it properly fitted around his neck. The metalsmith was also the only person with the key to unlock the gorget and would only do so once it was deemed that Minho's services were no longer required. That night after a long deserved nap, Minho woke to the gorget missing from his neck. Teeth marks and claw marks cutting clean through the metal.
Jisung dropped Minho's hand and took another step back, "I do not remember removing the collar, but if the collar was not there when I woke, I should have said something. I put you in danger hyung."
In his mind, he could hear the possessed growl Jisung let out that night when Minho called out for Changbin. Could hear the sounds of Changbin yelling out to someone to get the muzzle.
"You should go."
Minho took a step forward. Jisung took two steps back. "Jisung, I do not blame you for what happened."
He watched as the prince sped over to one of the stacks, his voice a whisper as he disappeared behind the rows, "You should."
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Seungmin stood off to the side as the queen mother fretted about. A carrier pigeon already sent notice that the Gukgong and his son had reached the city. The footman already stood outside the palace doors ready for the royal family's grand procession down the staircase and into the courtyard. He looked over to his brother who stood directly in the center of the entryway. Jisung stared directly ahead at the closed doors, yet Seungmin could tell the other focused on nothing. Jisung's hands repeatedly clenched and unclenched at the material of his pants. Seungmin let out a low sigh and walked up behind his brother. "You need to eat more. Your waist is already small enough. Your pants are going to fall in front of your future consort." He grumbled quietly, pulling tightly at the ties of his brother' baji.
"Consort," Jisung mumbled, "Right."
Seungmin walked around to face his brother and placed a hand on each of the other's shoulders, "Take your time getting to know them. You never know. They could be your fated mate."
Jisung's eyes flashed a fiery red as he let out a snarl. The queen mother and the few servants rushing around stopped to stare agog at the prince. The queen shooed the servants away and turned on Seungmin, "You! What did you do?!"
What had he done? All he had said was for his brother not to rush the courtship. He knew that this was not what Jisung wanted. Jisung would have preferred to fall in love naturally and that his queen would be someone he chose himself. Seungmin did not envy his brother. As the heir, Jisung's life was dictated for him. As a spare prince, Seungmin could chose what he wanted to do with his life and whom he wanted to spend that life with - so long as it was not his brother's intended. (And had the harem not been disbanded, a person his brother wished to join the harem.) The queen turned near purple with fury as she yelled at Seungmin for upsetting her dear sweet son. What had Seungmin said to upset the other? Jisung had seemed near catatonic since his last rut. The only time he had seen his brother show any emotion in a near fortnight was when Jisung saw Minho for a few brief moments. He watched as Jisung smacked himself lightly a few times in the forehead, grumbling to his wolf to stop.
They could be your fated mate.
Jisung had always hoped he would meet his fated mate. That his queen would be the one Luna herself picked out for him. Had that been what set off Jisung's wolf? The idea of the Gukgong's son being his fated mate?
"You need to leave, the emperor is on his way down and the main line are the ones in the procession." The queen mother said tersely, pointing towards the stairs. "You are welcome to join after the opening reception." Seungmin looked over to Jisung. At this point, his brother would typically voice his disapproval of her treatment of the lower princes, however he just stared blankly ahead.
"Yes your Royal Highness." Seungmin grumbled, "Let me just adjust my brother's baji, he has been loosing a bit of weight."
Seungmin drowned out the queen fretting over her son's physique and whatever her plans were to fatten up the future emperor. Seungmin stopped closer to Jisung and grabbed the edges of the ties once more. He leaned in to whisper in his brother's ear, "Do you want him to be your fated mate?"
He got his answer in the form of a low, pithy growl.
Huh? Interesting.
Seungmin slipped out from the entryway and swiftly took the stairs two at a time until he reached the upper landing. Changbin stood far enough from the banister that he would not be noticed during the opening reception but close enough to intercede should he be needed. "Bin, have you spoken with Jisung recently?"
The other looked up from his nails, dark eyes scrutinizing the other, "I speak with him most days. Job gets rather boring otherwise."
"Has he said anything to you about a fated mate?"
Changbin's eyes lit up, "Fucking finally, I have been dying to speak about this with someone for weeks."
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