Stone-Faced Killer

~Stone Prince~

Prince Park rushed down the stairs two by two. His gray cape and matching gray hair bounded along with him. His eyebrows were furrowed deeply--the intruders standing outside his castle gates were not welcome.

"Get me my sword, now!" He screamed angrily to a servant that was passing by. "And my armor!"

Jimin rushed to the formidable front doors of his castle to be met with his three best knights. The trio armored up hurriedly, readying themselves to go outside to face the intruding men. One of the knights turned towards Jimin but said nothing, only glanced back down to put on his chain mail. Jimin's irate features said he wasn't up for conversation...even if the knights wanted to prevent him from going out. If the Prince wanted to fight with the knights, the knights could not stop him.

Park Jimin was quiet but his eyes cut sharper than any sword. They relayed his present agitation and silenced all around him. The knights waited until a fidgeting servant brought Prince Park his armor before opening up the heavy stone doors and lowering the drawbridge to cross the moat. Jimin, now in his sleek silver armor, showed clear determination in every step he took. The knights trailed slightly behind him as he strode furiously down the path, their faces twisted in the same rage as their Highness.

"Sir, how are we going to deal with these men?" One of the braver knights asked Jimin directly, breaking the silence looming over them.

"We'll handle them...but only on my word." Jimin's voice cut through the mid-day air like a dagger dripping with venom. "On my word."

The other members of the Stone Prince's court all stood at attention around the ledges of his castle walls. They spied curiously from the towers and parapets that dotted the large structure, all looking upon the unfolding scene with mounting apprehension. They were excited to see the show Jimin was sure to put on. He was, in fact, the finest swordsman in all of Noirwood.

As Jimin and his three knights approached the rowdy band of uninvited guests, the intruding northern men began to focus their attention on the Prince. Suddenly, their chants to open the fucking gate morphed into vile insults directed at the Stone Prince himself.

"Hey gray bastard, look over here!" A guttural voice rang out.

"Oh...he's too short to see us, do you need a ladder?" A second voice chimed, clearly satisfied with their insult.

"Do you need a servant to carry you so your stubby legs don't break?" A third voice boomed mockingly.

"Hey Stone asshole--princey princey! Cat got your tongue?"

"This castle is ours! Not yours anymore you useless, good for nothing mute!!"

"LET THE STONES CRUMBLE!"

"THE STONE PRINCE WILL DIE!"

"DEATH TO PRINCE PARK!"

Jimin continued his fast stride, seemingly unfazed by the lame threats obnoxiously shouted at him behind the closed gate. The three knights behind him never doubted Jimin's actions, but were nonetheless appalled by the threats being spoken aloud so calmly. This kind of unrest and petty threatening was not a common, everyday thing. No one would dare speak so rudely to any of the royalty...unless they wanted to be brutally punished.

Jimin knew this group of bandits had to do with the Oak Prince's message sent to him two days ago. The one about some broken pact within Noirwood, about the unrest in the north. Prince Jeon had repeatedly warned him to be careful and not to stir the pot with the band of savages.

Jimin had other plans.

"Oh, here he comes! Get ready to spill blood!" A shaggy man in leather armor shouted.

Prince Park finally made his way to the gate's entrance. His knights positioned themselves at his sides and drew their imposing swords. Jimin clicked his tongue, stopping four paces from the closed gates. He spoke four words.

"Why are you here?" Jimin's voice was loud, strong, and it clearly took the men by surprise. A few even flinched back at the demand. "What grievances have drawn you unwelcomed scum to my castle? Explain yourselves."

"Haven't you heard, Parkie?" The lead knight started, egged on by his supporters. "The real KING JEON is going to reign over your land because his sissy niece Princess Jeon made an unforgivable mistake. Weeks ago that bastard of an Oak Prince broke the sealed pact that has been standing for years in Noirwood. The pact is broken! Your ruling power means NOTHING now! Open up this gate and surrender to us, Stone Prince. If you do not, then the rest of our forces will seize the castle in a few days time. I don't think you want to be around to see that. Open the gate or feel our WRATH!"

The knight paused his speech to look at the giddy faces of his bloodthirsty comrades. One of the bolder savages stepped forward, smashing his fat face against the bars of the closed gate. "You might as well kill yourself now, Park--it'll be a death more merciful than what we have in mind. Or even better: surrender and become my personal slave! I've always wanted to fuck a little girl with pretty legs like you."

At this, the mini band of savages burst into unconstrained laughter. Hoots chortled loose from mouths that were home to black, rotting teeth.

Jimin's face had been set the entire speech, not even twitching when the knight mentioned his plans to torture him or when he was called a girl. With a slight tilt of the neck, Jimin unsheathed his sword and brought it down twice on the stone path in front of him.

Clink. Clink.

"On my word."

The band of outlaws from the north seemed confused by the sudden movement, but regained their boldness when the knight on Jimin's left pushed down hard on a lever to open the gate. The steel doors slowly rolled open. The band of savages froze in place, not expecting entrance to the Stone Castle so easily.

Everything was silent except for the screech of metal on metal. Onlookers from the castle leaned forward in their places, unblinking at Jimin's calmness. Nobody knew what was taking going in his mind...and it enraptured them.

"Okay." Jimin lowered his voice to calm instruction. "You have to get through me if you want my castle."

The dozen or so men stood in shock at the gray-haired prince in front of them who was eager for a fight despite being wildly outnumbered. The gates continued rolling open until they ended their stiff movement with a metallic thunk.

Jimin raised his sword and pointed it directly at the band of people in front of him. He slid his feet so that he was facing sideways, side-eyeing his enemies down the sharp edge of his sword. No one moved. The spectators hardly breathed.

"Is this his version of surrender?" The main knight cackled abruptly. "I guess I'll just have to kill 'im then."

The smirking knight launched himself through the open gate at Jimin's figure. His sword scraped out of its hilt, raising high to strike down the Stone Prince. Jimin's side knights tensed as their Highness stood still, waiting for the savage to get closer. Closer...

"Your highness!"

As the tip of a sword was about to pierce Jimin's neck, he suddenly swiveled and twisted around the man's back with lightning speed. Without hesitation, Jimin's sword slashed into the back of the man's exposed neck. Jimin was cleaning off his blade in the grass before the rest of the group even realized what was happening.

The corpse of the knight flopped down at Jimin's gray boots, blood spewing across the stones in a wild spray of maroon. Jimin stood next to the dead man's bleeding head, face static. He had not even broken a sweat.

When the others saw their leader fall, they rushed past the open doors of the gate. The savages charged at Jimin with such ferocity that half of them forgot about the three escort knights standing by the edges of the gate. In a mere handful of seconds, three more savages died by the knights' brutal weapons, their corpses swiftly kicked to the side to make more room for fighting.

War cries echoed off of tall stone walls and bounced sweetly into Jimin's ears. His face was blank, completely void of any emotion, and it scared many of the people who raced towards him. Two men flung themselves at him desperately, trying to get a swipe at the composed prince. Jimin easily danced around their poorly made swords, kicking one of them into the other. They both flopped down hard onto their leader's corpse on the ground and grunted. Jimin beheaded one of the men as he struggled to pull himself off the ground. He smashed the hilt of his sword into the other's nose, breaking it. The man screamed and swung his sword out carelessly, managing to slice Jimin's gray cape in two.

Jimin kicked the sword out of the man's hand and stabbed him in the chest. It wasn't long before others were on him and on the other three knights that fought near the entrance of the castle gates.

The servants, bookkeepers, guards, and knights that watched gaily from the castle windows gaped at the sight. They weren't witnessing a cruel bloodbath, but a beautiful gray prince dancing among vermin that were lame excuses for men. They watched Prince Park kill them off one after with each calculated stab of his sword. Cut, parry, stab, dodge--the whole array of skilled swordsmanship was delectable to watch.

When all twelve men were on the stone path either dead or dying, the onlookers scoured the Stone Prince's face for any inkling of a smile that they thought would come after a hard-fought victory. They watched and waited.

However, the smile never came. On Jimin's face-

Nothing.

No emotion.

A stone face.

Like the stone that the castle was built from or the title that the oldest prince was given, Park Jimin's face was gray and emotionless. His gray hair was matted with the blood of his victims and from perspiration that dotted his forehead. Jimin neatly sheathed his sword, wiping the blood from his hands onto his torn cape. His head snapped to the side, emitting a victorious crack of his neck. No other sign from him revealed any outward joy or despair.

With blood speckles decorating his round cheeks, Prince Park walked calmly back into his castle, the other knights staying behind to clean up the mess.

Upon entering his castle, he turned to the nearest servant.

"Prepare my horse for a ride to the Laurel Castle. I need to ask Prince Kim about his army. We'll need to fortify the Stone Castle from the oncoming northern attack in a few days."

"Sir, based on intelligence we received this morning, the Laurel Prince left his castle today to ride to Prince Jeon's. It seems he has heard the news of the coming northern army." The servant handed Jimin a wet rag to wipe his dirty face.

"Then..." Jimin ripped off his armor and plopped down on the nearest stone bench. "Prepare a mount for the ride to Jeon's Castle."

"Alright sir, right on it."

Even though the Oak Castle was a full day's ride to the south, Prince Park needed to gather reinforcements from the other large powers of Noirwood if he were to keep control over his castle. There was no way his measly army of northern volunteers could possibly handle a full blown northern attack.

When Jimin was sure that no other servants were in the room and everyone else was busy attending to some accommodation or other, Prince Park let his head fall into his hands.

'What is happening? What did the Oak Prince do to break this pact and start this mess?' Jimin thought.

Tears ran in streams down Jimin's pale face, his lower lip quivering and hands shaking. If his court saw him in this state, he would be completely ashamed. He was supposed to be strong like stone, strong like his father and all of his ancestors. But his heart was full of sadness, was gray like the storm of men that was headed for the Stone Castle. Most of the time he felt helpless and weak...and no one even knew about the countless times he spent the night crying himself to sleep in his chambers.

'When I meet with the two other princes...what will they think of me?'

Jimin glanced down at his rings and remembered how he had lost his favorite one earlier in the day.

He cried even harder.

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