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(No ones P.O.V)

It was a joyous celebration for the majesty's King and Queen of the land. It had been a long time coming now, but their son, and heir to the throne had finally been born.

Like his majesty, Lord Seokjin, he bared his sparkling blue eyes, and brown hair. His majesty, Lord Namjoon, also bared these features himself, but none more so than his beloved Jin. The kingdom had always been in awe of his beauty and love for the people. He was never closed in behind doors, and always lent a helping hand to the poor and weak. To him, sitting idly while his people suffered was not a choice. He would help by any means necessary, even fighting in battles were he needed. In actuality, it's how the young prince Namjoon found his beloved.

It had been a war of the lands and the people of Yeoui-dong were fighting hard for their King. They fought against five other lands and their people for domination over the country. The country was split into six lands, but with only one King to rule them all. The five lands that fought for dominance over all of them were ruled by a lord each, but pride and malice can make anyone hostile towards another. The war was inevitable.

It was against tradition for nobles to fight, especially his majesty's heir to the throne, but Namjoon would not allow his people to die for his throne by themselves. As for Jin, a Lord of the noble house of Gwacheon-si, it was forbidden for a Lord to be involved in war. But, like Namjoon, He could not allow Himself to let innocents die for nobility. By the end of the war, Namjoon had more than fallen for the man and had planned to renounce his claim to the throne for him... had he not revealed his own little secret.

The previous king had died in the land wars, and this prompted anger from Yeoui-dong's people. Jihyun was the King of the six lands, but his place was among them in his castle. What mostly prompted this war was the King's favouritism with Yeoui-dong over the other five. However, with Seokjin and Namjoon, there was no anger towards the death of their king. There only came an opportunity.

When the war silenced and the lands watched their beloved king fall, Namjoon revealed his true nature to the lands and demanded the war cease for all. He made promises to keep the lands in fairness, that no one was favoured over others, and that all were loved under the royal family's eyes. No one was better or less than another. Not the rich or poor, the strong or weak, nor healthy or sick. And it was only cowards who fought for the love of one who loved all with equality.

With heads hanging in shame, weapons were dropped to the ground and all those who lived now kneeled before their new king. Young Namjoon, being heir to the throne, now carried the weight of his people on his shoulders.

In time, he and his beloved Seokjin devised a peace treaty among the lands. The agreements were simple.

First, that no one shall take up arms against each other in the future unless to fight alongside one another in battle.

Second, the lands shall remain fair in council and no one is treated more highly or lowly than the other.

Thirdly, the King has the final say in whatever shall impact his kingdom. Should there be need for war, the King will have to decide if it need be necessary.

Lastly, only those from the six lands and their noble houses are allowed to be married into the Kingdom. Should a Prince or Princess wish to wed a commoner, they must renounce their claim to the throne. Simple as that.

Two war heroes, who had resolved the fighting alongside their people, had wed in the spring... and in five years after the peace was restored, were blessed with a child.

Taehyung.

The lands gathered together on this joyous day, one month after the Prince was born to the Kingdom, and the entirety of Yeoui-dong was buzzing with excitement and happiness. Of course, this was more of a courting opportunity for those young Lords with daughters who were eligible to marry into the Kingdom.

None more so than his Lord Hoseok with his daughter Yeri.

While the party was underway, his majesty and his family enjoying the company of all those who came to celebrate, Lord Hoseok had brought up the topic to his King the moment he saw his chance.

Although Namjoon was a fair bit younger than Hoseok, the man still showed respect to his young King.

"Namjoon! Congratulations on the boy! A splendid surprise for your Kingdom, if I might say!" Came the over-welcoming words from the, rather skinny, man. "Tell me, have you decided on a bride for him yet?"

Namjoon only chuckled at the man's question. "The boy was born a mere month ago, Hobi. The topic of marriage won't come up for a while so yet."

"But no time like the present!" Said the older man. "Especially since at this age he can't fight you on the concept!"

Namjoon knew exactly what Hoseok was speaking about but only laughed at the memory. "I chose much better than my father, wouldn't you say?"

Hoseok laughed boisterously. "Of course! But not all men can be as lucky as you, my King!"

Namjoon looked down at the little bundle in his arms before sighing contentedly. "I will let my own child decide his fate, Hyung. Love finds anyone if they really want it. Especially when they aren't looking."

"Indeed." Came the soft voice of his majesty as he gently took the child from his husband. "Who knew I'd become the wife of an outcast Prince. Lord knows you aren't the Prince Charming I dreamed of as a little boy." He chuckled out.

Namjoon cocked an eyebrow at his beloved, but still smiling. "Are you not happy being my wife, darling?"

"I never said I wasn't happy." Jin admitted before setting the baby down in his cradle. "I merely said you aren't Prince Charming on his white stallion coming to rescue me."

Namjoon crossed his arms. "Like you'd demand rescuing from anybody."

Jin merely shrugged. "Well, it would be nice once or twice."

Namjoon smiled as he took a moment to look over his beloved.

Seokjin was a stunning young man with his chestnut brown locks and shining sky eyes, twinkling like the brightest stars in the sky. He was lean and made any dress he wore into a work of pure art. For the moment, his red dress lined with golden silk and thread made him look like a goddess. The shining crown upon his head only doubled his beauty. He was aware that the others in nobility wanted Seokjin, but only he got to have him.

And he knew this as a fact.

He gently pulled him into a hug and whispered an 'I love you' into his ear, causing him to say so back.

After losing his father, and having no mother or siblings in his family, he had become morose and scared. But with Seokjin, he felt as though he were an actual King. Like no one could topple his stance or take his crown. With his wife, and newborn son, he was happy again...

...but, even that didn't last.

A sudden crash echoed through the castles halls and the celebrations were at a standstill. The room soon filled with darkness and all the candles were blown out. Smoke and smog engulfed the great hall where all celebrated, and swirled into a stormy mess. Before long, there came a thin and frail figure in the middle of the room and all the breath was taken away. A figure who was thought to be dead was now smiling back at the horrified faces;

Sunmi.

From the start of the war it had been her job to protect the lands and heal the sick. But things took a turn for the worse when her son fell in love with Seokjin... but he rejected him.

Heartbroken, he ended his life...

...and Sunmi no longer provided support for the kingdom.

There was no telling how old she truly was, but she'd been helping the Kingdom for over half a century and still looked as young as ever. Her son, who was learning in the art of magic himself, had been helping in the war of the lands when he fell in love with Seokjin. However, catching him in the arms of Namjoon, he no longer felt the need to live any longer and took his own life with his magic.

Now, it wasn't common for those in the lands to know magic, and those that did were either killed... or close to the King of the six lands. Sunmi claimed to be the last of her kind, but there was no way to tell anymore since those who knew magic were either dead or hiding away. It was frowned upon to know magic unless trusted in a lord's household to protect them. But, with so few being out there, one was known to show herself, and that was Sunmi.

With her son gone, however, she was more than angry at the King and Queen of the land...

...but in her own way.

Her smile didn't fall as she took a few steps forward. "My my, what a celebration! All for the arrival of the new prince? He must be a special little lad to gain all this attention."

Namjoon's eyes narrowed.

Sunmi had always been faithful to her King, but now was a different story. She used to wear white robes donned with magical gems that helped her to focus her power through her staff. But now, her garb had bled black and inky, her hair no longer gold, but the darkest blue imaginable, and her eyes were now a silvery liquid that swirled around her catlike pupils. The gems that were once red and shining were now blue and dull, and one gold lace of her head piece rested upon her forehead. A lacy fabric flowed down along with her hair crating a veil that made her look like death's bride to be. Her staff, which was once a cold silver, was now a sharp black with a deep purple orb resting atop hooks of gnarled branches.

Her smile widened slightly. "How was I not invited, my King? Surely you didn't forget about all the days I cared for you while your father visited the other lands to meet about certain duties."

"You deserted us on the battlefield, you witch!" Came Hoseok's reply. "Our King died because of you!"

"And my son died because of him!" She pointed her staff at Seokjin, her smile turning into a scowl.

Seokjin didn't shrink back, but tried to reason with the enchantress. "Sunmi, I'm sorry for the loss of your son. Believe me, it tore my heart out to learn about what had happened. But please, don't take your anger out on us. I'm the one you're mad at, so... let me..."

"No. No deals from the likes of you!" The woman demanded. "Your actions caused me the death of my child. All because of his deformities! Because he was different!"

"I couldn't marry him because I didn't love him!" Seokjin cried out, tears falling down his face. "I was in love with another, and it had nothing to do with Geum-jae's magic..."

"Silence!" The woman screamed. "You are not even remotely sorry for the devastation you've caused... not yet."

She pointed her staff, not at Seokjin...

...but at the crib beside him.

A blinding glow illuminated the great hall. "From this moment, your child will bear witness to the pain and humiliation my own suffered before his death."

At this, Seokjin tried to grab his son, but was blocked by Sunmi's guarding spell. "No one shall see him as a Prince, but merely an outcast. His scars cannot be hidden, cannot be changed, and cannot lessen over time."

Namjoon demanded her head and guards rushed in for the kill.

"Only an act of love can repel my curse. An act of true love from a beating heart can melt away the wounds he shall suffer. Only a noble love... a Majesty's love... can break this curse."

The guards inched closer.

Her scowl deepened and her voice quieted to a whisper barely audible to anyone in the room. "Taehyung... your Majesty... V.... I bid you goodbye... until the day you will love."

The beam of light hit right on target and the room flashed into a blinding light before Sunmi's laugh of triumph faded behind the light and into the air from whence it came. After the light came darkness, and soon the candles were lit once more on the walls. The only horrifying sound to be heard was the baby's agonizing screams of pain.

Seokjin ran to his child's side and went to pick him up but backed away. He looked to be on the brink of tears when Namjoon joined her.

The two stared in horror as the once soft skin on the baby's face became lined with black ink on one half of his face and it only grew larger down the neck and shoulder. The screams did not lessen as the child was being branded alive.

Seokjin finally brought the child into his arms and prayed to the gods to make this torture stop for him. They must have heard him, for not long after did the screams die down and the ink no longer spread about the infant's body.

His majesty cried in relief for his child as he fell to his knees, his husband holding him and their child close.

Namjoon looked over to the older man beside him. "Hoseok, tell everyone to leave immediately. Make sure no one straggles behind, and come back right away with Lord Yoongi."

Hoseok did so right away without question and before long the entire hall was emptied aside from the four adults and the now sleeping child.

Lord Yoongi, who had been a long-time friend of Namjoon, was just as horrified to see what had happened to the young Prince.

"How could anyone disfigure a baby like this?! What a monster she was!"

Hoseok agreed. "We must hunt her down immediately!"

"No," Namjoon said calmly, but morosely. "She's probably already halfway across the six lands by now. We must take what is now and come up with a plan."

"What do you mean, old friend?" Yoongi asked.

Namjoon looked back at his child and held in his tears. "We must do as Hoseok says and find him a wife."

"What? But why? An arranged marriage at this age..."

"I know it isn't true love when they're children. But what I plan is for when he's nearing his eighteenth. We will invite all eligible bachelorettes from all six lands and in every noble house. One of them is bound to fall for him, and him for her."

"But, why a noble?" Hobi asked. "Why not from the cavalries or the guard?"

"Sunmi said that the love would come from a noble... from a majesty. She must mean his bride of a noble household. Once he marries one, she will become a majesty. It's the only way to break this curse."

"But, what about just leaving it?" Yoongi suggested. "I mean... yes, it looks bad. But I doubt it will have any effect on your people. In fact, I believe he'll looked menacing as a king with a scar!"

Namjoon merely shook his head. "No, he won't. Sunmi's curse was specific. He will be an outcast to the people. No one will follow an outcast."

Yoongi gave in to his words and nodded. But then remembered something.

"But... what about the words she whispered right before she shot at Taehyung? What did she say?"

They all looked at each other, but none could repeat what she had said. I guess only Sunmi would know... for now.

Seokjin hugged his child close. "What will we do before then, Namjoon?"

The man's eyes drooped into sad orbs. "We'll have to keep him locked away for the time being. Just until the days before his eighteenth. We'll let him out into the garden and the garden alone, but he may never leave the castle grounds." His eyes then grew more serious. "Servants who will care for him must have tolerance, and those that spout rumours or laugh at him will be punished. If I so much as catch a word out of line about my child, I will take action."

Jin only sighed. "But he'll have no friends if he's locked up. And you can't stop every servant from speaking their minds."

Namjoon took the child from Jins' arms and hugged him close, being careful of the inking. "It's what's best for him. Until he finds love, we can't let anything happen to him."

"But if you stop anything from happening to him," Hoseok spoke up, "then nothing will happen to him."

Namjoon ignored the man as he left the room, child in arms, and made for the baby's room where he could sleep more easily. He didn't care about the consequences of locking away his son. No one could mock him if they couldn't see him. He needed to do what was right.

A tear fell from his eyes as a sudden wave of remembrance washed over him and he suddenly heard Sunmi's whispers again;

'Taehyung... V...'

Why had she called him this? Had it been a spell? What did it mean?

"V..." he repeated out loud.

The babe moved in his arms after hearing this and the man stared in amazement. This child... responded to simple letter.

"V." He repeated once more.

The babe moved once more and his eyes opened up. Those two blue eyes were as bright and cheerful as ever. Like he didn't even remember being hurt. Just a happy, regular, child.

The letter... the consonant it responded to. It was a brand Sunmi had put on him. Like a title of sorts. And the baby was fully aware of it as well. Like it was his own name that his parents had given him that he'd been called by for years. As much as he was Taehyung... he would be known as V too. Namjoon did not mind this, though.

He smiled slightly. "Don't you worry, my son... ...V... we will break this curse. I promise you that."

And so began the long, long, LONG years of solitude for the young Prince.

And the troubles that would soon follow him.

—

Meanwhile

"We can't pay you for this week, Hyunsik. Please give us another month...!"

"If you can't pay the loan you owe me, then maybe you shouldn't have had that child of yours!" The stout old man yelled at the woman. "A harlot like you should learn to keep her legs shut!"

"Jeongguk is the son of a warrior from the Battle of the Lands!" The woman screamed back. "You should know your place!"

"And where is the father now?" He egged her on.

The young woman fell silent. The man was no longer seeing her anymore after learning about her pregnancy and stayed with his wife now and three children. She had thought he loved her... but it had been a lie.

The old man snuffed at her. "I didn't think so, harlot. Get me that money by next week, or the guard will have to hear about how you've botched another payment!"

The man stormed out of the house, slamming the door, and Jia got back to caring for her little one. In truth, she was unaware who the father was but was more than sure he was the son of a warrior from Yeoui-dong. There was no way to prove it though.

She lived in a broken old home that was on its last year. She would have to find a new home before it caved in on her, but with the winter being harsh she would have to wait until spring to go looking for a new home.

She took the child in her arms and grinned when he started giggling. Jeongguk was always happy, even when she believed there was nothing to be happy about. What it must be like to smile all the time.

There came another knock at the door and Jia cringed. If this was Hyunsik again, then she was in trouble. Being thin and not very strong, there was only so much she could do to defend herself. Her words were powerful, but not effective.

She opened the door hesitantly and was relieved to see that Hyunsik was nowhere in sight. Instead there stood a short, old woman with a grin on her face. She was covered by a cloak that did not look very warm.

"I'm sorry to bother you, dear, but might I trouble you for lodgings tonight? It's quite cold out and I will be travelling quite far tomorrow morning."

Amalia grinned back. "Please, come in and make yourself at home."

"Thank you." She said kindly before shuffling into the ratted home.

The old woman sighed. "Ah, Jeju. One of the best in the Six Lands. Where we find beautiful and heartwarming women such as yourself."

Jia blushed. "Please, my dear woman. I'm nothing special..."

"Oh, but you are! I can sense it! You and that promising young lad of yours! Please, do yourselves a favour and leave a dreck home such as this. I hear his Lordship of the Cheongdam house is looking for a seamstress. Are you any good with clothing my dear?"

Jia didn't know what to say. This woman, whom she had only just met, was now ushering her out the door to find a job with a noble household? This was absurd.

The old lady took her hand then and kissed it before looking up at the young woman and smiling. "Please, for the sake of your son, go to the Cheongdam house and take the job. Your son cannot thrive here in this lifestyle. Believe me, you will find all the happiness you can in, due time, if you just take this chance. Trust me, my dear."

Something in those silvery, liquid eyes told Jia that this woman was indeed telling her the truth and that she should take this opportunity. But... it was such a decision to make.

In no more than an hour, however, was she packing her things and heading for the door. Jeongguk safely in her arms.

When she came back down from her room she noticed the old lady was gone. She'd merely thought she had gone off on her travels like she had said beforehand and Ji made off for her own.

The Cheongdam house took her in straight away and Lady Jennie, who was older than Jia had expected, had made her the head seamstress of their home. Lord Jong-in offered her more than enough to pay back her loan to Hyunsik, and before long she was happily working full time with the Cheongdam house. Her son was well taken care of while she worked, and she soon discovered his unnatural abilities in the magical world. She kept it hidden, however, and made sure no one could catch on to her son's talents.

This proved futile, though, and everyone from the maids and butlers to the pageboy knew of Jeongguk's talents. Had it not been for Lord Jong-in's son and heir, Minhyun, she would have faced a penalty worse than death.

Minhyun, however, said that as long as her child used his abilities for their house then it would not be an issue. In reality, it was by law that he be confined or put to service.

But, with no one to teach the boy, the abilities soon faded over time. But not forgotten.

Jia never got to thank that old woman for making her leave her slum of a home to live in a better place, but she sent prayers to the woman any time she could. As for her son... he was still happy as ever. And in the years to come he would serve the Cheongdam household with as much favour as herself. For the rest of her days she would owe them for all the kindness they showed her.

And Jeongguk would believe just the same