The Prince's Shadow (Taekook)
05
[City Gates – Night, chaos continues]
Torches blaze. The young shapeshifter cowers against the wall, shifting uncontrollably between forms—boy, beast, stranger, child again.
Inquisitor
*snarling* Hold it down! End this filth before it spreads!
Guards raise spears. Taehyung steps forward, eyes blazing.
The soldiers hesitate. The Inquisitor glares.
Inquisitor
Your Highness, this is no place for you.
Prince Taehyung
This is a child, not a beast. Lower your weapons.
Inquisitor
*snarling* A child shapeshifter grows into an adult shapeshifter. They are all vipers. Mercy now means blood later.
Prince Taehyung
What of justice? Of trial? Are we so afraid we kill children in the streets?
Whispers ripple through the crowd. Nobles murmur. Soldiers shift uneasily.
Behind Taehyung, Jungkook stands rigid, fists clenched. His eyes burn with conflict. He watches the child’s terrified shifting—the same fear he once lived.
Soldier
Highness… orders are orders.
Prince Taehyung
*sharp* I am your prince. My command is clear. Lower. Your. Blades.
The soldiers falter. The Inquisitor snarls, stepping closer.
Inquisitor
You dare defy the king’s law?
Prince Taehyung
I dare defy cruelty. If law is built on slaughter, then the law is broken.
Gasps. The crowd stiffens. Jungkook’s breath catches—Taehyung has crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed.
The Inquisitor raises his sword to strike the child himself. Taehyung moves instinctively—placing himself between the blade and the boy.
Prince Taehyung
Strike me, then. For I will not move.
The world freezes. The Inquisitor’s blade halts inches from the prince’s chest. Jungkook’s hand twitches at his sword, ready.
Inquisitor
*low, furious* You endanger your kingdom for a monster.
Prince Taehyung
*firm* I protect my kingdom from men who call murder justice.
Tension snaps. The king’s authority is challenged. Guards look uneasy.
Suddenly, the child shapeshifter screams. His form flickers violently—panic making him unstable. A spear flies from the crowd toward him.
Prince Taehyung
*shouting* No!
The spear should pierce the child—but in a blur, Jungkook moves. Too fast, too inhuman. He seizes the spear mid-air, splintering it with bare hands.
Everyone freezes. His movement was not human. Too sharp. Too impossible.
Soldier
*whispering* What… what is he?
Jungkook stiffens, realizing he revealed himself. His eyes meet Taehyung’s for a fraction of a heartbeat—fear in one, understanding in the other.
Prince Taehyung
*firm, to the crowd* He is my guard. My shield. That is all you need to know.
The crowd hesitates, cowed by Taehyung’s authority. Jungkook lowers his head, hiding his trembling hands.
Inquisitor
This is treason. Protecting shapeshifters. Shielding them. If the king knew...
Prince Taehyung
*cutting him off* Then let him know.
He lifts the terrified child in his arms, cloak wrapping around him.
Prince Taehyung
I will not let fear dictate my rule.
Gasps. Jungkook falls into step behind him, sword drawn. The crowd parts as they pass—the prince carrying a shapeshifter child, guarded by a man who moves like more than human.
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