#and as much as i love butcher my interest in the boys has dwindled pretty severely

[waltongoggins]

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billlybutcher -> waltongoggins

[mininky]

Heavy Lies the Crown - 3

Summary: (Y/N) has the fate of her people on her shoulders and according to a seer, the only way to save her kingdom from the bloodthirsty wolves is by giving herself to the god of the hunt.

Pairing: werewolf!Namjoon x reader

Warnings: none in this other than threats of bodily harm

word count: 4.2K

Prologue Chapter one two three four

   You were seated next to Namjoon at Jin's crowded kitchen table in an awkward silence after being introduced to the six others. The warm crackling fire and flickering candles cast long shadows around them the longer you all sat there, almost daring the first person to break the quiet. You weren't sure if you were supposed to speak first as the younger boys seemed like they were eager to speak but facing the same internal dilemmas. Finally, you took a long swig of the beer that Jin had handed you and began to speak. "I'm sorry for intruding rather suddenly, however, there is much that I would like to speak to you about. My people are dying, if we cannot hunt we are losing a large food source and we are also taking people out of their ability to make money and livelihoods. The butchers are nearly destitute at this point, trade is dwindling as no merchants want to travel to a place where they cannot acquire hearty meals during their stay. I will not deny that they have caused harm though, they have clearly hurt your people. Unfortunately, we are now just going in a vicious bloody circle of death. I need your help to end this."    Yoongi gave a scoff, leaning across the table towards him you asked, "Is there something that you would like to say?" You weren't about to back down from a challenge, you'd dealt with people minimizing your words your entire life and had never shrunk from it before.    Yoongi cast a venomous look at you before his eyes flickered to Namjoon. Slowly he leaned in closer to you and said, "Why, none at all princess. You think you've got this, so why don't you tell us the plan?"    Your blood boiled with rage, his careless attitude felt so painfully similar to the men in your father's courts who had oftentimes mocked you. You were too used to this attitude at this point though to allow your anger to show other than a slight tick in your jaw and the elevated blood pressure you could feel coursing through your veins. "I have a lot that I can offer your village if we agree to work towards peace. I am a trained healer and while I might not have the innate skills that you were all born with I am also a trained fighter and hunter. Most importantly though, if you do not agree to stop this eye for an eye your people will continue to be hunted by mine and there is nothing that I can do to stop it. If you do agree with me though then I can stop my people. They believe that Namjoon is the god of the hunt, they will listen to his words. If your people agree to stop then I can assure the same."    "And if they don't listen to you, princess?" Oh, how you wanted to take a knife and twist it into his ribs. Namjoon could clearly sense your growing anger as his hands soothingly rested on your back.    "Then I will agree that you are allowed to hunt the ones who killed, but only the ones who killed. Killing innocent women who've been thrown into the forest is beyond disgraceful." Your words came out with matched venom as you tried to slow your breathing. Being diplomatic had never been your strong suit and now it was your main role, but you would do the best you could.    The angry staring match was finally broken as Yoongi let out a sing-song laugh and it took everything in you to not reach across the worn wooden table and strangle him before he finally spoke, "You are unwavering, I like that. I believe you, and I'll do what I can to help. Anything else?"    That was it? After all that he just changes? You couldn't help but give Namjoon a bewildered look at the emotional whiplash you just received, but he only gave a wide smile back in response as if to say 'he's always like this.' Sighing you looked over at the rest of the boys, "Do I have everyone else on board?"    Most of them just silently nodded, too dumbfounded at Yoongi actually giving someone a compliment to respond. Jin, however, cleared his throat and spoke up, "I have one question. How exactly will you get your people on board? Will they really just listen?"    "I will have to travel back to them. The first thing I will have to do is explain the situation to my father and then we will hold an announcement to the people. I will be sure not to tell any of them who you truly are. My plan is to explain to them that Namjoon is the god of the hunt and that the wolves in this forest are his holy spirits, to kill them will mean certain death, destruction, and the downfall of the kingdom. Trust me on this, that will get all of their attention." Namjoon stiffened under your explanation of travel, in the midst of all the other discussions you had held today you realized that you hadn't explained this part of your plan to him.    "I see...well if you are traveling you will need to go with at least Namjoon. Not all of us can be away for too long, and that trip will take at least a day's full travel. I'm sure your parents will want you to spend some time there. Unfortunately, we will only be able to accompany you to the point of the clearing we...uh..met in." Jin gave you a bashful look of embarrassment at the memory of your brush with death before continuing, "Having all of the strongest leave the village for too long isn't a good idea but we can make do without Namjoon safely for a while."    Namjoon nodded in silent agreement when you looked back at him. "Thank you, all of you. I expected more of a fight, I appreciate this more than words can express."    One of the younger ones, the one who had handed you your headdress (Jimin if you remembered all the introductions correctly), squirmed in his seat after you spoke before finally blurting out, "So you're really a princess??!?"    "Ah...yes I am." You took another sip of the beer, relishing in the warmth of the alcohol as it rolled down your tongue before realizing that he seemed to want to hear more. "Listen, it sounds a lot more exciting then it is. Being a prince might be a lot of fun, my brothers seem to enjoy it thoroughly. Princesses and women in general in my kingdom though are thought of more as status symbols. A pretty young woman on your arm is always a good look." You couldn't help it as thick animosity dripped out of your mouth, but you felt yourself soften at his fallen puppy dog look. "I think being a werewolf would be much more fun." They all seemed to cheer up at this statement and soon another one was talking to you.    "You said that you're a healer, I've been starting my training to take over as our current one isn't getting any younger. I would love to know more about what you have learned." Hoseok gave a brilliant smile at you, his warm features softly illuminated as he gave you a hopeful look.    "Oh, you're training to be a healer? Well, when I go back to the castle I'll be sure to bring back plenty of books for you. After I was injured on a hunt my mother made it mandatory for me to at least learn how to patch myself up, but the more I learned the more interesting it became. I'll also be sure to fetch some of our oils and herbs if I can carry it all, that way what you aren't already growing and making we can have here. We have some holy trees that we use to make frankincense, so I'll be sure to bring at least those seeds back."    "Frankincense? I've read about its uses, but we've never actually been able to get our hands on it before." Hoseok gave a wistful gaze as he leaned back. "Not even the first day on the job and you're already making a great Luna."    You were grateful that you had already swallowed the last of your beer, you were sure you would have choked if he had said that to you while drinking. You could feel the heat radiating off your cheeks as you smiled back at him and prayed that no one noticed you blushing. Only a day, and yet everything had changed. Hearing yourself be called this foreign term, Luna, made everything feel so real. You tried to push away the feeling of desire that surged through you at the at the term as you listened to the others banter on with each other but your brain was miles away as you realized that Luna meant his, only his, and that kept your thoughts completely occupied until late in the night when you finally departed back for Namjoon's house.

   There was a gentle breeze, the scent of wildflowers and evening dew carried on the wind. The night sky was completely clear this evening, the crescent moon and brilliant stars casting a dim twinkling light over the setting of the town. Your eyes wandered around the quiet village. Houses were dimly lit with warm fires, the occasional laugh or bits of conversation could be just barely heard in the still of the night over the sounds of chirping crickets and the rustling of the trees. You had never spent much time outside of the castle at night save for on the few times you had been on long hunting trips, and you had certainly never been in the actual town at night. You had heard stories of festivities, of the bars, of the brothels and the change in the ambiance that came in a large town at night but you had never actually been a part of it. The comforting feeling of peace, even in the middle of the night in the secluded forest was almost surreal to you. There was a beauty in the stillness of it all, and your heart couldn't help but warm the more you realized that this place not only already was beginning to feel like a place you could call home but it soon could be.      "You seem to be lost in thought." Namjoon's voice was gentle as he spoke to you, his body coming slightly closer into yours until your shoulders were grazing his body.    "It's just so beautiful here." You stopped as Namjoon crouched down to the ground, curious as to why he stopped you tried to bend down with him but almost as soon as you did he was back up with a beautiful white flower in his hands. Without uttering a word he pushed back your hair and tucked the flower behind your ear. Your eyes steadily held his concentrated gaze, the soft light from the twinkling stars giving a velvety glow to his golden features.    "Not as beautiful as you." His words were just a soft whisper, his hands featherlight as they skimmed across your cheek before he gave a wide smile at the flush blossoming across your face. "The flower, it's called 'queen of the night.' It's one of my favorites and it blooms only under the moon."    Your mouth opened to speak, but all you could manage was a hushed 'thank you' as you continued on the path. His house could be seen clearly now and the two of you both seemed to slow your steps, neither of you ready to finish the night just yet.    "The boys really like you. It's quite a feat to get a compliment from Yoongi." He gave a small chuckle at the annoyed grunt you gave. "He might seem harsh, but he's very loyal. The few who can win him over he is very protective over." Namjoon glanced up at the moon before speaking again. "It's best if we get everything ready before the full moon. I will call a town hall for tomorrow so you can speak to everyone in the afternoon. If all goes well then we can leave the following day, that should give us enough time to make preparations. I was thinking about asking Taehyung and Jimin to come with us. They're very reliable, although Taehyung hasn't traveled as much as he's rather prone to getting lost and Jimin has always been greatly interested in royals after reading so much about them so I thought that it would be a good experience for them."    "You speak as if it's already settled that we'll be traveling."    "I have no doubt in your abilities, and I also have faith that my people will do the right thing. There are only a few that have actually hunted your people, many of them felt that going after random humans made us barbaric." Namjoon opened the door to the house, the earlier fire just a small glowing ember in the furnace. "It's very late, and we'll have a lot to do. I suppose we should get some rest now while we can."

   Your stomach was twisting, the gurgling of anxiety running through your body and clouding your mind as you saw the tavern come into view. Boisterous conversations could be heard over the clanking of mugs. You had spent the morning going over everything repeatedly in your head, small worries gnawing away at your thoughts as you had tried to just get ready. Trying to wait patiently through the morning as you bathed, ate, and then spruced up the house with your free time had shot your nerves but now that you were almost there apprehension was flooding your system in full force. With a deep breath in you gathered up your courage and followed Namjoon through the large oak doors, it was now or never. Each step as you weaved through the crowd was heavy with worry, the sounds of your steps echoing in your mind.    A hushed silence fell across the crowded room as they watched you carefully. You were used to the prying eyes and judgemental gazes, but as you looked around you were surprised to see that most of them looked at you with excitement. Your mind buzzed as you heard Namjoon give an introduction and you almost tuned everything out. You could hear your name, 'mate', 'kingdom' being spoken, but everything felt fuzzy with the fluttering of unease sinking into your stomach. The air around you felt suffocating, the weight of your kingdom resting heavily on your mind. Murmurs and congratulations rippled through the air and when the silence fell back you walked up to the front of the bar. You had everything to lose if this didn't go well but you fought past these consuming thoughts as you stood with determination, your eyes blazing fiercely as you willed out any trepidation from your voice.    "As you can all tell, I am human. I come from the kingdom in the south beyond the forest." You talked louder over the whispers that began to run through the room, "I must ask something of all of you. You have been harmed by my people, and I beg of you all to listen to my request. My people started this, I won't deny it. They were consumed by greed, they have forgotten the importance and reverence that comes with hunting and the cycle of life. I know it might seem unfair, but I stand here today to ask all of you to put an end to the bloodshed. There have been many innocent lives lost, both your people and mine. I was sent to your Alpha as a sacrifice, a peace offering to the forest. I can promise you that my people will no longer hunt you but you must not hunt them. They are dying, even those who have not hunted. Young women have been lost in sacrifices to appease this war. Food is becoming scarce as we have lost the ability to hunt for a major food source. The kingdom will soon crumble if we can't provide to our people or to other merchants. If the kingdom crumbles someone else will take over and they too will hunt and it might be bloodier for you, even more so than it already has been. I beseech you all for help in finding peace and harmony, for the pack's sake and for my people's." You bowed deeply as you waited for an answer, the crowd now talking animatedly at your silence before one voice roared from the crowd.    "Who do you think you are human? Know your place, I think this is all just a plot. We know that Namjoon was always against us going after your pathetic lot and I don't see a mark on ya girl, he's lying to us." His anger shook the crowd, the tension becoming palpable and frenzied. You could feel Namjoon growl next to you at this proclamation, his body tensing and ready to fight as angry conversations broke out among them. With a fit of rage you snapped up and grabbed a knife at the bar and thrust it deep into the wood until only the hilt could be seen, an uneasy quiet fell as everyone watched your outburst.    "SILENCE. I don't know who you are but what you say is lies. You should be ashamed for speaking of your leader that way, and you are a disgrace to this pack for such hateful slander. You can hate me and my people as much as you want but if I ever hear you utter another insult about him I will cut your tongue off myself and feed it to you." Your breathing was uneven with the rage still wracking through your mind. Your mind was reeling as you heard Namjoon speak.    "I would not lie to you. And if I wanted something to change without care for your opinions I would simply enforce it rather than go through an elaborate scheme but I am not that type of person. She has agreed to allow me to mark her only if she can save her people, I am allowing myself to possibly let my mate go at the choice of my people. She is here to ask for your decision, not to force it. But I will only tell you this once; if you ever belittle her again like that I will personally kill you." Namjoon's voice was relatively calm with restraint as he spoke, but his eyes were fierce with malice and his hands were balled tightly into fists.    Yoongi's lazy drawl could be heard from the back, "We have already spoken to (Y/N), she is fiercely loyal to her people but she will also do the same for us. She could just choose to ignore everything, she could just choose to live her life freely without the worries of innocent lives but she instead has taken it upon herself to be the change that I agree we need. We are above killing for the sake of killing, and she has agreed that those who betray this pact of peace can be sought after. I see no reason not to side with her." The other six boys agreed loudly before Hoseok spoke up.    "She can teach us the art of healing, she we be an exceptionally skilled Luna and if we push her away then I fear that we are only going to slip into darker times of bloodshed. She makes a great ally, but I don't doubt that she would make a fearsome enemy. She is fair, she hasn't denied the wrongdoing of her people and we would be liars to say that we don't have a part in this. Who started it, who agreed and disagreed is no longer important. What is important is that she is here to offer change."    There was only a moment longer of hushed air before a woman in the back stood up. "We have maimed innocent people and have decided to believe in an eye for an eye for too long. It is time that we not only live in peace for their sake but for our own. If you swear that they will not harm us then I accept." Slowly more people stood up and eventually the whole bar, even the man who had so angrily spat venom at you was standing (although he appeared warier than the others as he did so, his eyes still resting on the knife lodged deeply into the bar.) The atmosphere suddenly shifted as they all stood in solidarity with you. You couldn't help but stare at them with a dumbfounded expression as one person loudly proclaimed "I stand with our Luna" before others began to join in, their cries bouncing off the walls, reverberating around you. Namjoon was pulling you in for a hug and you nestled into his warmth as you listened to their jovial cries. Suddenly you found the two of you being flung about, greeting these new strangers, your new people with Namjoon at your side. It was all so sudden, so strange and foreign to you. You had never been close to your people, royalty ruled from a great distance in your kingdom but this felt right. They felt more like a family, like your pack.    For hours you got to know everyone. The village was larger than you first assumed. There were about eighty people in total that you met, although the village was around twice that size. They had farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, mothers, teachers, families in their pack. You couldn't help but feel absurd for not thinking that of course, they would have all of this. As the day began to set you finally felt Namjoon join back at your side, exhaustion sweeping through you as he pulled you away from everyone.    You could still hear the rambunctious noises from the distance as Namjoon spoke to you. "So...you'd cut someone's tongue out for me, huh?"    You couldn't help but laugh at that, "You'd kill someone for me?"    "I'm pretty sure cutting a mans tongue out would mean certain death." The two of you broke into fits of laughter before his tone changed into gentle warmth. "You are an honest speaker, my people felt your heart. I...am very happy that you are my mate."    You wanted to respond by telling him that you weren't his mate yet, that you two still needed to take that step but you felt the words lodged deep in your throat, thick with desire that you were unable to utter yet. Instead, you gave an awkward smile, your eyes focusing on the dirt path all the way back to his house.

   Hours later you stared at the darkness of your room, your lids drooping with insomnia as your brain kept turning while you toyed with the wilting white flower in your hands. Was he also thinking the same things, lying awake with thoughts of you just a room over? Would the two of you actually become one soon? How absurd that you just met this man and yet you were quickly being overcome with want for him. You had spent the last night in fitful sleep as your brain wondered how he would taste and now your thoughts seemed to return in full blast to that. Would he taste of tea and lemon, would he taste sweet with need? This feeling of yearning was all so new to you and yet you had a hard time thinking of anything else in moments of quiet, your thoughts just seemed to gravitate towards even the smallest of things about him. His golden skin, his deep voice, his moments of introspection, strong leadership and unwavering faith in his pack, molten eyes, thick pout, slender yet deceptively powerful build, butterfly soft and electrifying touches. You had so much to learn, so much that you wanted to do and you wanted to voice that to him, you wanted to tell him that while you didn't understand all of these feelings you did have them but somehow whenever you wanted to express this you kept stopping yourself. Was Namjoon feeling the same way? He had briefly expressed that he was holding back, perhaps he could sense your lack of experience with men and he was being patient for you to come to him first. It seemed ridiculous that you had the courage to be so bold as a woman who challenged society, as a leader who fought for her people but somehow when it came to this new urge of the flesh you felt so painfully nervous in these unchartered waters. Being bold had never been a problem before, in fact, you had always struggled with being the meek image that was expected of you but something about this strong raw feeling of lust had your mind reeling too much to be bold. But you had a feeling that you would have to be the first to make a move. Namjoon was too polite, he seemed too conscious each time he touched you and you knew if this was ever going to progress you would have to just tell him. After you finally got your people on board you would tell him soon, and with that resolution lifted off your mind you finally felt yourself slip into sleep.

[lewishamledger]

Top of the chops

Catford-based butcher David Oakman is one of those long-standing local shops you feel lucky to know. Owner David Oakman, who gets most of his meat delivered fresh from Smithfield Market every morning, tells us how he came to run it

Words: Seamus Hasson; Photo: John Yabrifa

Butcher David Oakman is telling me about the trials and tribulations of running a small independent business, while boiling the kettle at the back of his shop on Muirkirk Road.

“Along this parade, there used to be two butchers, two bakers and a greengrocers,” he says. “It’s just dwindled down and now I’m the last remaining bastion.”

We meet a few days before FA Cup final weekend. The royal wedding will be televised across the nation and Saturday is predicted to be a scorcher. With barbecues planned throughout Catford and beyond, David and his colleague Mick – who is holding fort out front – are expecting things to get busy.

David’s introduction to the butchery trade came at 13 years old, when he got a Saturday job with a butcher called John Curling in Sidcup. While the shop no longer exists, for David it was an invaluable learning curve.

“As a Saturday boy you got all the dirty jobs,” he laughs. “Cleaning out the hand boiler and all the old liver tubs, which used to stink.”

Despite that early baptism of fire, David was not put off. “As soon as I turned 16, I applied for a vacancy at the shop and went on the old Youth Training Scheme, which paid you £27 a week in those days.

“The bloke who taught me [John Curling] was obviously a traditional English butcher and as well as working in the shop and getting hands-on experience, I spent two days a week at Smithfield College.

“Mick also did the same apprenticeship at Smithfield. It gave us an advantage on most people, in that we learnt the cuts and just how to cut properly. Unfortunately the college isn’t there anymore.”

David left the Sidcup butchers when he was 25 years old and came to work in the Catford shop which he now owns. That was 25 years ago and he has owned the business for the past 12 years.

“When I first came here the shop was owned by a gentleman called John Wrake and was called John Wrake & Sons,” he says. “When John retired I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ so I decided to dive in and get the finance to buy it off him.”

As well as supplying local residents with a wide selection of meat, from beef mince to pork chops and everything in between, David also has a number of outside contracts. “We supply Bromley High School, a number of old people’s homes and various pubs,” he says.

The variety of the work is something he enjoys. “One of the things I love about the business is that it changes from day to day,” he says. “Tonight for example, I’ll finish work and I’ll do a little meat run up in Biggin Hill.

“About three or four pubs will phone me up in the day, I’ll get the bags of meat ready and deliver it all to them. Tomorrow night, I’ll do West Ruislip. You find yourself going a bit further afield and it takes up more of your time, but if we didn’t do that we wouldn’t be here.”

David is engaging company and refreshingly candid about the difficulties faced when running a business. “I’d say in the last two, three years I’ve nearly closed twice, but I managed to hang in there,” he tells me.

“The thing is I invested a lot of my money into the business, so if it did fail, it’s not very good for me. Also it’s the only thing I know; it’s all I’ve done all my life so I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

He says that running an independent butcher undoubtedly has its challenges. “Twenty years ago there were 60,000 independent butcher shops in this country, now there’s 4,500 – that’s a massive decline,” he says.

“As well as the large supermarkets you’ve now got the emergence of online shopping. Meat prices are our big problem. Lamb prices have increased by 30 per cent in a year. We export most of our lamb from this country so there’s not enough to go around to satisfy our demand.

“This week chicken fillets have gone up from £3.60 to £4 – in a week,” he emphasises. “There’s no rhyme or reason. As a result our margins are getting squeezed. The shop can absorb a little bit of that, but you end up not making what you need to make.”

Like all quality butchers, David is meticulous about the standard of his meat and says that 95 per cent of his produce is sourced from the UK. “You still cannot beat our produce. Our livestock, especially the beef is pretty much the best in the world,” he says.

“We keep to free range, the best quality you can buy. It’s always been my principle that I won’t sell meat to a customer that I won’t eat myself.”

David gets most of his meat from Smithfield Market delivered fresh to the shop every day before 8am. Luckily Mick lives near the market and David says he is always on hand to “pick up my bits and bobs, whatever I need for the day really”.

In more recent times, in order to meet with new challenges, the shop has diversified and now sells fish and bread products. David says he has never really had a “very big steak trade” and says that sausages are his best seller.

Goat meat is another product that is popular with customers. “We’ve got a big African and Caribbean community around here so we do a lot of goat meat and mutton, chicken as well,” he explains.

David makes all his own sausages and burgers and has about 12 different varieties of sausages available at any one time. “Our biggest seller is a plain or herby pork sausage,” he says.

“We do a lamb merguez, it’s like an Algerian, French influence type sausage. We do a Kentish hop sausage which is very popular, a firm in Kent provide me with the seasoning. It’s a very herby, pungent sausage and also very nice.

“Increasingly people want to know where their meat has been sourced – traceability is important. With all of our products you can follow it back to the farm it was bred on. Each cow has got a passport these days, believe it or not, so you can trace it all back. If people have got confidence in what they’re buying then that’s half the battle.”

In spite of the well-documented challenges that small retailers face, David is confident about the future in Catford. He credits the Corbett Residents Association with “bringing about positive changes” to the area.

He is also encouraged by future plans to re-route the south circular. “Things are changing and I think it’s definitely for the better,” he says. “It’s just a shame these changes didn’t happen 10 years ago; there would be more shops open today.”

As for the future of his shop, so far neither of his two boys have expressed an interest in going into the trade. “One plans to join the Royal Marines and the other does corporate stuff up in London,” David says, before adding: “Still, I don’t plan to retire for a long time.”

Words that his customers in Catford will no doubt be very pleased to hear.