Juoau was crowned the king of Samairea at the young age of eighteen and everyone at the time was excited about it. Until he completely changed the way his parents ruled over the country, making everything more strict and demanding. The air in the palace grew heavy with tension as servants scurried about, whispering about the new king's cruel decrees. The marble floors, once polished to a mirror shine, now seemed to reflect only the fear in people's eyes.

Juoau hated how gentle his parents were with the commoner people and he always felt like they needed to know their place, especially now that they were under his control. During those few months he came into the picture and utterly had Juoau wrapped around his finger without even trying. The scent of jasmine from the palace gardens still lingered in his memory when he thought of their first meeting - the way the sunlight caught his hair, turning it into a halo of gold.

Juoau was aware of him being the son of the Nortons who ruled the northern side of the country but he had no idea that he would've been the most beautiful man he's ever seen. Of course without hesitation Juoau immediately started to persuade him to start coming over to the palace a lot more, overtime things turned into something a little more serious. Their conversations by the crackling fireplace, the taste of spiced wine on their lips during midnight trysts, the warmth of bodies pressed together under silk sheets - these memories haunted Juoau still.

He at the time didn't care about being the next king over the northern kingdom, so when Juoau proposed the idea of him staying by his side as he ruled over Samairea he was more than thrilled to do so. For a few years everything between them was going well, they were openly a couple, they did romantic dates frequently, and the love between them was only getting stronger. Even during all those things Juoau was becoming even more reckless with his ruling and at this point the blood of innocent people were on his hands every single day. The metallic stench of blood often mingled with the perfumed air of the palace, a constant reminder of Juoau's tyranny.

He didn't answer any questions about why he was basically on a killing spree and he couldn't even answer, in his head his message was clear. "Don't forget who's in charge."

"Your life is in my hands."

He saw all of this, all the screams of agony that echoed through the castle walls at night, all the tears that were shed by widows and orphans, the hearts that were broken beyond repair, he saw every last piece of it. He tried to ignore what Juoau was doing but it was getting to a point where even just ignoring it is the equivalent of giving Juoau a gun and turning away when he's about to shoot everyone in sight. He was just as guilty as he was.

Not only was Juoau being ruthless with his actions but his attitude was terrible. The once-warm touches became harsh grabs, the loving words turned to possessive demands. Slowly even the romance couldn't change the way he was actively destroying his own country and people. He had enough of it all, the weight of innocent lives on his conscience becoming unbearable with each passing day. He didn't want to be apart of this bloodbath anymore and that's exactly what he told Juoau on that fateful evening, the setting sun painting the sky in colors that matched the bloodshed below.

At the time Juoau just stood there frozen with no expression on his face and let him walk away freely. He didn't beg nor plead, he let him go while the gears in his head turned with every waking second. The sound of the palace doors slamming shut behind him echoed through the empty halls like a death knell.

A few years passed and Juoau was twenty eight now, being just as cold if not worse than before. All the remorse and guilt that weighed on his shoulders during the time he left him has now vanished into thin air, nonexistent like nothing else in the world mattered. The palace had grown even darker, tapestries covering windows to block out sunlight, as if Juoau feared the light might reveal the horrors he'd committed.

His decisions became even more brutal as he ruled over the country. One little mistake a person could make have led them to getting the worst punishment they could have ever faced in this lifetimes. Juoau was a ticking time bomb that was going to explode from the tiniest things. The sound of his booted feet pacing the throne room became a constant, nerve-wracking rhythm that everyone in the palace learned to fear.

It didn't make it any better once he heard the news about him finally taking a stand and shifting to the position of being king over the northern kingdom, a place that was not like Samairea. This pissed him off in more ways than one. Not only was everyone trying to move to the north to find some kind of freedom but he kept getting that feeling in his stomach every time he thought about him. Everywhere the other man went Juoau was always there watching, if he was at an event, on tv, on the cover of a magazine best believe Juoau was going to find a way to watch him. He just couldn't let him go.

The meeting place was dimly lit with only a few torches casting long, dancing shadows across the stone walls. Rustic wooden tables and chairs filled the space, their surfaces scarred with years of use. A faint aroma of cinnamon and old wood hung in the air as Juoau sat rigidly in his chair, his gloved hands clasped tightly together. He had insisted on bringing pastries - a small, cruel reminder of the more innocent times they'd shared.

The sound of the door creaking open made him sit up straighter, his heartbeat suddenly loud in his ears. He couldn't help but smirk as he made his way into the room, the familiar silhouette triggering a storm of conflicting emotions. Juoau's tongue darted out to lick his dry lips as he gave a small smirk, taking in how time had treated his former lover. He still looked good as always.

The silence was deafening while they looked into each other's eyes, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. So much hate and love battling between the two of them that it made the air feel heavy, almost unbreathable. Juoau cleared his throat, the sound echoing unnaturally in the small space, as he looked at the guards from both sides. "Leave us, gentlemen."

The guards filed out silently, their boots thudding against the stone floor until the door closed with a soft click, leaving the two men alone. He tilted his head on his knuckles, studying him with an intensity that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Why that face? Aren't you happy to see me?" Juoau chuckled deeply, the sound low and menacing, as he smirked at his former lover's expression.