#kpop fantasy au
Text
«it's high tide, baby.»
― pairing : Minho x fem!Reader
― content warnings : fantasy au, pirate au, angst with a happy ending, enemies to friends to lovers, soulmates (I know you saw it coming), isekai, LOTS of pop culture references (two aldo giovanni and giacomo’s references italian readers this is for you), magic au, mention of murder, mention of drowning, unprotected sex (wrap it up y’all), fantasy au
― word count : 24k
― notes : I sure do hope you’ve read Chris’ merman fic because I’m feeding on my own lore // Ananke is meant as the greek goddess of fate // extra kudos to Black Desert for having an amazing map and kudos to me for using the videogame aesthetic because I don’t have enough creativity in me to come up with a fantasy world // I have one (1) fear and that's I'll keep adding more and more everytime I read this story because it's just so dear and precious to me // yes, yes "The Bitter Dahlia" is exactly the one mentioned in «Protect Me, My Aurora.»
― notes : this fic looks familiar?it is! I’m reposting ALL my works on this brand new blog and therefore please, bear with me! as always, askbox is always open and feedbacks are always welcome 💌
― summary :
«I think I’ve never missed Cleo so much.» you quietly sniffled.
«Your lover?» Minho questioned immediately.
«My cat.» you clarified without hesitation.
“«Everything is over, now.» the Captain spoke in a confident voice, «I won’t let anyone else hurt you.» he added, before capturing his lover’s lip in a gentle kiss.”
«Oh, holy fuck,» you blurted out as soon as you read that sentence, closing the book out of instinct, «holy shit, finally!» you added to yourself, almost closing the book out of excitement, completely aware about the fact that you were smiling like an idiot at no one but the now finished book in your lap but well, you couldn’t help yourself.
It was a book you’ve randomly found in the book-store next to your workplace, its cover had nothing special that immediately jumped to the eye: it was relegated in leather, some golden details that recalled the title written in beautiful handwriting.
Actually, if you had to be completely honest, the detail that convinced you to buy it was the small golden stone embedded right under the title, instead of the actual plot – plot that in the end you came to adore.
«You are really lucky, this is the only copy that has been sent to us.» had said the old lady working there, making you furtherly curious and giving you another reason to buy it.
It was a love story, but it contained just the right amount of adventure as well. Christopher, a young, handsome and fearless pirate, was not only the Captain of the Golden Fleece – who was capable of intimidating anyone who saw its sails in the distance, but he had become the head of the entire commercial network that passed through all the known seas. Chris had at least 200 fleets under his command, each of them committing various raids in the name of their Captain - or some might say "the King of Pirates", and now was able to sail wherever he wanted without getting his hands dirty as he had done in the past.
During his adventures, he eventually fell in love with a girl – Leana, who was originally engaged with a navy’s soldier; after an awful lot of vicissitudes and obstacles in the path of their happiness, Christopher eventually stole her away – he’s a pirate after all, making her a member of his crew and finally allowing each other to live their so craved love story.
Of course, the Captain would have never made it alone; his seven long time friends had always been more than ready to help him and support him in every case of need.
Among his crew, you definitely had a personal favourite: Lee Minho, a young former bounty hunter enamoured with the feeling of freedom he felt while sailing that definitely made your heart race more than once. Not only he was described as handsome, with black raven hair that would almost always be tied up because he "hated the feeling of having hair in his face while being on deck" - but also not wanting to cut it short, a captivating and hypnotic gaze that let you wonder if you could reach the bottom of the sea if you ever took a dive into them, but he was also straightforward and sarcastic, a reason why Christopher found himself asking for Minho’s advice the most; despite his strong personality, he truly cared for his friends, and he considered them like a family. Chapter by chapter, you found yourself admiring his character so much that you anticipated every one of his appearances, eager to read more about him.
«Oh, Cleo, can you imagine a love like this?» you sighed dreamily, absently running your fingers through your cat’s thick fur, Cleo simply mewled at you, a faint noise that you interpreted as a proper answer, «or a life like this.» you added, your voice suddenly turning a little more hesitant, a little more lonelier. During the last few months, your life had fallen into an incredibly boring and obnoxious loop: go to work, finish your shift with an incredible amount of stress spreading through your body just to stop in order to buy groceries on your way home, see some friends once in a while, take care of your cat and repeat, repeat, repeat.
Of course, you would have felt a lot lonelier if it weren’t for Cleo: you found her sitting in front of your apartment complex on a random day two years ago and since then she started living with you, as if she had been expressively been waiting for you to find her that day.
«You always look angry, don’t you?» you cooed at her, hoisting her into your lap as to cuddle her a little closer. «Just like your mom.» you referred to yourself, shortly drowning your face in her soft fur, loudly smooching her a few times while adding some incomprehensible praises; Cleo mewled, as if she was exasperated at your behaviour and you quietly giggled, your soft laughter shifting into a sigh as your eyes fell on the book once again.
“I was really lucky to get the only copy of this,” you definitely had loved everything about the story, to the point to start fantasizing and wondering what could their next adventure be now that the crew gained a new very special member.
Did Chris and Leana got married in an actual chapel or did they ask someone in their crew to randomly marry them just like Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner did?
At the same time, what if they ended up recruiting more women? The thought of a stereotypical girls night on a pirate ship made you snort, but at least, Leana wouldn't have felt lonely, since living among men must have been boring at some point.
Engrossed in your thoughts, you didn’t realize that you ended up drifting off on your couch – still uncomfortably wearing your jeans, and therefore, you definitely could not notice about the strange events occurring as soon as sleep overcame your senses.
The book you were holding in your hand seemed to be woken up by a curious kind of magic, as the golden stone began to glow in a faint light; the book opened by itself just as if it possessed personal will, and its pages quickly turned back and forth by themselves, as if it was deciding which page to read first.
The book’s golden glow gradually seemed to shine brighter and brighter, and it eventually woke you up.
«What the-» you mumbled, confused, when you felt as if someone or something was harshly tugging at your soul and all of a sudden, you felt like you couldn’t breathe anymore.
The book had closed once again, politely placing itself on your coffee table; the glowing had completely disappeared, and the golden stone returned to its original plain looking appearance.
However, in what has always been your home, all traces of your presence seemed to have vanished altogether.
Suddenly drowning was definitely not something you expected to happen on a Thursday evening, moreover, how could you be drowning when you’ve been reading on your couch until few seconds ago?
At first you thought of it as an extremely vivid dream, but as soon as you tried to breathe and water started to fill your lungs, you realized that your only priority was to get to the surface as soon as you could; thankfully, you were barely beneath the surface, so you managed to get your head out of the water soon enough, while finally breathing and coughing due to the salt water you had unintentionally swallowed.
«What the fuck?!» you shouted in disbelief, quickly glancing around yourself; first of all, judging by the sun burning up in the sky, it was the middle of the day, and moreover, everywhere you turned, you couldn’t see anything but water, except for an enormous galleon blocking part of your sight.
«Man at sea!» you heard many voices shout from its deck, and soon enough, a rope was thrown in your direction.
“What kind of rescue is this, where is the coast guard?” you thought to yourself as you swam towards the rope which was peacefully floating above the surface, unsure about how you were supposed to climb up there in the first place.
However, the answer to your thoughts came pretty fast, in the form of a boy dressed in typical piratesque clothes, urging you to grab his hand; you quickly pondered your options, and between dying from hypothermia caused by the cold water or probably being abducted and eventually killed by a boy with a strange taste in clothing, you considered the latter to be the safest.
«Everything’s fine now, don’t worry.» the boy reassured you with an unexpected friendly tone, and as soon as you locked eyes with him, your heart seemed to stop; his eyes were a deep shade of blue, while his hair, eyebrows and his eyelashes were as white as fresh snow.
Although you were completely certain that you’ve never met him before, you couldn’t help but wonder why his appearance was extremely familiar to you.
«Are you okay?»
«How did you end up so far from land?»
«She’s trembling like a leaf, poor soul.»
«Let’s just throw her back in.»
«Shut up, Minho, go fetch a blanket before she freezes to death.»
«Can’t you see she looks shocked? Let her breathe!»
«What in the bloody hell is she wearing?»
The various voices overlapped in the exact moment in which you and the snow white boy had safely climbed on deck; however, everything you could do was to look around yourself in complete astonishment.
A large group of men was working on the ship, while only seven of them and a young girl were paying attention to your arrival; your eyes quickly took in both the strangers and your surroundings, and you definitely noticed that not only they were all dressed like pirates, but the ship seemed to be built exactly like one of those you generally saw in movies, historical re-enactments or museums.
«Oh no, roleplayers.» you whined in complete deject; they exchanged a confused glance among themselves, but eventually, only one of them spoke.
«I believe you’re confused, we’re pirates.» he clarified, and once again, his features seemed to be incredibly familiar, «I’m Chris, the Captain. She is Leana, my wife, and these are my friends.» you watched with dismay as Chris ended up naming his friends just like the characters of the novel you have been reading all afternoon.
«Oh holy shit, it’s even worse, cosplayers.» you nervously rubbed your eyes, shivering every now and then because of the wind mercilessly blowing on your soaked clothes.
«Poor thing, look at her!» Leana suddenly cooed, immediately rushing at your side and taking her jacket off in order to place it on your shoulders, «She’s freezing, let’s save the introductions for later, huh?»
«What if she’s a spy?» Jisung questioned, but his option was immediately silenced by Leana’s glare.
«In the middle of the ocean, Han?» she quickly retorted with sarcasm dripping from her tone, «What if it was mutiny?» she scoffed, gently pushing you to what seemed to be the Captain’s quarter, just to quickly make you sit in front of the small wood burning stove.
The following events seemed to happen in a confusing haze, you vividly remembered Leana commenting about her unfamiliarity with both the style and the fabric of your clothes as you allowed her both to undress you and to dress you up in fresh, warm clothes that belonged to her.
Of course, now you were dressed like a pirate as well.
«What do you mean, you’re from Europe?» Chris had calmly repeated your words, «What kind of place is that?» you felt like crying out of frustration at his words.
Under the Captain’s request Leanahad brought you into the ship’s interrogation room, and now you were sitting there, the whole room definitely smelling like blood – the strong scent more than enough to give you a headache, with nine pairs of eyes studying every single one of your moves.
«I don’t really feel like joking right now, I really want to go back home.» you repeated with a tired voice, not really understanding what was happening; it was like you had casually walked in the set of a movie, however, a terrifying feeling of dread creeping in your soul was suggesting you that there was definitely more to it.
What if these people were real, and you had managed to shift inside the book you loved so much?
No, that definitely couldn’t be the case, right?
«I don’t really feel like joking either, little lady,» in an impatient tone, Minho spoke out of the blue and quickly walked next to Chris, who was sitting in front of you at the other side of the table. If your heart picked up pace in happiness at the sight of your favourite character, it started hammering in your chest in pure dread as soon as Minho harshly planted his dagger in the wooden table, right in front of your folded hands. «next up is your tongue.»
«Nice work on terrifying her, Min Min.» Felix sarcastically commented his friend’s action, noticing how you started trembling once again, but this time everyone could easily figure out that it wasn’t because of the cold any longer.
«You cut her tongue, she can't talk, it's not that hard,» someone added, and if you weren't mistaken, he must have been Hyunjin, «see why I'm the one that usually handles the interrogation part?» he added with a sinister yet smug smile, and you had to force yourself to swallow that little bit of saliva you felt in your mouth, trying to avoid eye contact with both the pirates who were so casually talking about torture and interrogations.
«What if she drank too much sea water?» Seungmin chimed in, after he had been studying your behaviour with concern, «You know, in my medical books there are plenty of examples of people suffering from amnesia due to a huge amount of shock.» he suggested, and everyone seemed to consider that it could have been your case, with the only exception for Minho, who was staring at you with a look that you could swear that had probably killed someone at some point.
«We are currently sailing the Margoria Sea,» Chris spoke again, his voice a little kinder now that he had considered Seungmin’s suggestion, «and you’re on our pirate ship, the Golden Fleece.»
“Margoria,” you thought, “of course, in this universe, she's the goddess of the waves” you bit the inside of your cheek in frustration as you tried to convince yourself not to cry, recalling the exact moment the same goddess had been mentioned in the novel.
The more you thought about it, the more the surreal possibility of you shifting inside a book seemed to be the only possible answer to your list of infinite questions, especially because if those people really were cosplayers or actors, they would have eventually broken their act due to seeing you in the verge of having a panic attack.
Moreover, the author had always been extremely descriptive in every single detail of the story, and therefore you found it a little bit too much of a strange coincidence for these people to naturally have the same somatic traits as the characters you had just finished reading about.
It was undeniable that the people standing in front of you were the stark copy of the ones described in the book.
Few hours later, Chris’ authoritative voice filled the Captain’s quarters, and your eyes eagerly wandered through the room; you’ve read about this moment a lot of times, Chris would summon his long time friends in his quarters and they’d discuss what to do because he valued their opinion as if it was his own.
«Just, what is she doing there?» Minho spoke suddenly, clearly referring to your presence in the quarters; due to your first meeting, you were extremely wary about meeting his gaze, let alone the possibility of crossing his path by accident.
Actually, it’s not like destiny was working in your favour, since you were nervously standing in front of the wooden wall and next to Minho. Everything about your body language exposed how nervous you were about it: your arms were crossed in front of your chest, and you kept your legs spread just a tiny bit – enough to have a slight chance to attempt to sprint away if he randomly started to chase you in order to throw you off the deck.
«I swear Chris entrusted her to me literally two seconds ago,» Felix replied, eagerly waving his hand as if it could make his point even clearer, «pay attention when the Captain is speaking!» he snapped his fingers, admonished his friend, and you found yourself exhale the faintest trace of the hint of a brief laughter through your nose.
However, much to your dismay, you quickly realized that Minho’s hearing must have been otherworldly, since the barely audible noise you made did not go unnoticed by his ears, consequently making your face turn blank as soon as you felt his gaze burning into the side of your head. Hesitantly, you slowly turned your head to your right, confirming that Minho was most definitely staring at you; out of reflex, you immediately looked away, just to glance back at him for a short second.
Minho, who had been staring at you, secretly pleased about the fact that you seemed scared enough not to try some stupid tricks on them, shortly uncrossed his arms from the front of his chest, just to slightly lean towards you: he quickly mimicked the gesture of grabbing something with his hands, while mimicking a bite with his mouth at the same time. Instinctively, you rapidly tilted your head back as you followed your survival instinct, but you heavily slammed your head against the wooden wall behind you.
«Ow!» you winced in pain, grabbing the back of your head with both hands; you were certain that the impact you just felt was more than enough to give you a headache for days, and still, despite Leana immediately rushed at your side to see if you were okay, and despite the fact that you were crouching on the floor massaging your head, Minho kept his original position, staring in front of him as if nothing had happened.
Seungmin was right behind Leana, attentively cradling your head to see if you actually managed to hurt yourself; unbeknownst to you, Seungmin was actually holding back an amused laughter, since it has definitely been a while since he met someone as clumsy as you.
A couple of days later almost everyone seemed to have accepted you as a new entry of the crew; actually, you considered yourself lucky since most of the pirates on board seemed to not even notice your presence. Of course, you ended up going along with the amnesia excuse because the whole “you look like you all popped up from a book I’ve been reading and I’m trying to understand if I’m having a very vivid dream or I ended up shifting on accident but I actually didn’t really mean it and now I want to go back.” would have been definitely too troublesome to explain. Most importantly, you didn’t feel ready to process what could have happened to you but also, you didn’t want to face the realization that you had suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere, without a real possibility to get back home safely.
Honestly you were pretty much useless on a pirate ship, and therefore you ended up in the kitchen, either helping Felix and the other cooks in their task of preparing the food or just cleaning and preparing the room where the pirates formed small groups and took turns to have their meals.
If the truth was that you really ended up in a novel, you had to admit that everyone beside Minho acted accordingly to their character.
Chris and Leana acted as two lovebirds, completely smitten with each other; you rarely saw them – let’s guess why, but they overall seemed to act friendly towards you. Leana had eagerly helped you decorate the room that had been assigned to you, it was a little small and right next to the storage room – the window was wide enough for you to escape just in case, but it was perfectly okay to you, since you were hoping that you wouldn’t have to remain on the ship for too long.
Since Leana seemed to trust you, so did Chris; despite the fact that you’ve interacted only a handful of times, he seemed as reliable as he had been portrayed in the novel.
Felix and Seungmin were definitely the ones you’ve seen the most. Felix was literally acting as your keeper, paying attention to you as if he was a concerned older brother and not someone who you had met few days earlier.
Still, you could expect this from him, since he had always been described as the kindest one out of their group – beside Jeongin.
Seungmin had examined your head a concerning amount of times by now, if you were to ask him; actually, he had quickly realized that you were pretending to have headaches only when Minho was around, and he simply got along with it. He treated you with respect, even if he seemed to be a little wary of your presence.
«Let’s hope you can get your memories back soon,» he would say, «so that you can return home safely.» you never answered, his words always making your heart tighten as a reflexive answer.
Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin were almost always nowhere to be seen; thanks to the author you knew that they had a gambling addiction, however, the only times you saw them they were joined by the hips, always joking around with each other – and Minho, always looking too busy to pay too much attention to you.
Jeongin was basically the miniature version of Chris: you knew that the Captain had saved him when he was still a little kid, and since then Jeongin had always followed Chris’ lead. He was the one that seemed to respect you the most, he was also absolutely certain that you must have been a Princess of a faraway land.
«I’m really no one.» you would answer every time with an apologetic smile, earning a sad pout from the younger boy.
Minho, however, was openly against the idea of keeping you on board, and often suggested to throw you off the deck as soon as you started being too annoying. You couldn’t understand why he was so mean to you, and you weren’t definitely the only one to notice; more than once, the others had admonished his behaviour, reiterating the fact that he should have been a little bit nicer to you, especially after what you have been through.
«That’s exactly the point, Chris, we don’t know! She could be a siren or just a lunatic witch,» you overheard him argue with the Captain one day, «face it, if that were the case, no one would be immune to her spells, not even your beloved wife.» your hands instinctively clenched on the broomstick you were holding to sweep the floor of the corridors, and your gaze was lost somewhere in the wooden floor.
«She might as well be telling the truth,» you heard Chris answer in his usual calm tone, «I don’t want to deny her a shelter just because she lost her memories, because that sure wasn’t her fault.»
«What are we listening to?» Changbin’s voice right next to your ear almost made you jump out of your skin due to the sudden fright; his eyes widened in stupor as you almost dropped your hold on your broomstick – thing which would have definitely expose the fact that you were overhearing a very secret conversation. Luckily, Changbin’s reflexes were drastically quicker than yours, and so he collected the broomstick just in time, before handing it to you once again with an amused smirk. He placed his ear against the door, quickly connecting the animated argument to your sad expression and he gently smiled to you in an unexpected friendly manner.
«Don't worry too much about it, Ace, he’ll come around.» Changbin briefly stated before walking away, heading back towards the deck at the end of the corridor without uttering another word; you shortly stood there, speechless, staring at his withering shoulders as his silhouette gradually disappeared in the light coming from outside.
“What the hell?” you thought, incredulous: Changbin had barely spoken to you and now he decided to give you a random and most definitely sarcastic nickname and offer you words of comfort, all of a sudden?
“Something bad is definitely gonna happen,” you quickly deduced, going back to your original task; you were about to start sweeping the floor once again, before an ominous aura seemed to fill the packed space of the corridor.
“There it is,” you announced to yourself, refusing to turn around to confirm the suspicion that Minho had left Chris’ chambers, “oh, divine Xena, mighty princess forged in the heat of battle,please help me with this one,” you instinctively moved out of inertia, backing towards the nearest wall as Minho was walking towards your frame.
“Here we go, it’s him!” you dramatically thought, hugging the broomstick to your chest as if your life depended on it, the only shield between you and Minho, who was standing in front of you with his usual furious stare that magically seemed to disappear as soon as his eyes diverted from your general direction.
«I don’t know what you did to have everyone wrapped around your little finger, but that’s not gonna work with me, princess.» Minho spoke with a harsh tone, cornering you against the wall by placing his left hand next to your head; silence fell between the two of you, and you instinctively clenched your fists around the broomstick, just to be able to attempt to defend yourself in some kind of way.
Could you do self defence while using a broom? Of course.
Could you defend yourself against Minho, judging the sheer force he used to plant a dagger in a thick wooden table? Of course not.
Minho spent few seconds studying your face with incredible attention, as if, if he stared hard enough, you would transform into a whole different creature, confirming his theories about you. However, Minho momentarily seemed to have forgotten the concept of personal space, because his nose brushed against yours at least twice as you were doing your best to avoid his piercing gaze.
«Now that I take a closer look, you’re definitely not as pretty as a siren.» he suddenly stated with a sly grin while raising his eyebrow, before detaching from you altogether, just to walk towards the deck’s direction.
«And you had to almost kiss me to find out?» you yelled back a little louder than intended as soon as he was at a reasonable distance; to say that you were outraged was an understatement, you were furious.
To think Minho was your favourite character when you were reading the novel, what were you, crazy?
Despite the fact that you were genuinely doing your best to avoid meeting Minho, the pirate was clearly doing the opposite, neutralizing every single one of your good purposes as the two of you seemed to keep running into each other.
It didn’t matter whether you were simply doing your assigned chores or you were peacefully chatting with one of the pirates, he always seemed to find something to do in order to get on your nerves; sometimes he would just accidentally knock random things off the table so that you had to pick them up and clean them again, other times he would interrupt a conversation just to be mean at you.
Minho was definitely getting on your nerves, but you did your best not to pay too much attention to him, since you definitely had more important things to think about. Inside your heart, the growing feeling of homesickness was constantly calling for your attention; you often found yourself on the verge of tears, but it was a side of you that you were determined not to show to anyone, thing that lead you to cry yourself to sleep more than once.
The part of the crew assigned to the kitchen, of course, always had their meal before the others did, and more than once it led to your small group of friend to join, and today was not exception. Walking out of the kitchen, you saw Minho, Jeongin, Chris, Jisung and Seungmin sitting at one of the long tables in the room while eating and loudly chatting, and now that Jeongin was hastily and eagerly waving his arm to let you know that you should have sat next to him to have your quick lunch, you realized that yet another time, you couldn’t escape your fate of avoiding Minho as if he was the plague.
«May I, uh...» you walked next to Leana, who was walking towards their table as well; she immediately tilted her head towards you, listening, «May I approach the bitch?» she bursted out laughing really loudly, immediately understanding that you were talking about Minho; however, that happy and hilarious bubble of joy disappeared the same moment you heard Hyunjin’s voice right behind the both of you.
«What did you say?» never did the simple request to repeat something seem more dangerous; you swallowed, feeling your blood turn cold in the same moment the flashback of him mentioning his “interrogation habits” popped into your mind.
However, the few weeks you spent living among pirates were teaching you how to build up your courage – or more like “fake it until you make it”, as someone would say.
«I said “may I approach the bench”,» you answered, pretending to be annoyed with the useless repetition of your sentence, nodding towards the long benches that you were using instead of chairs, «what did you think I said?»
The crew was incredibly hungry that day, you could easily tell from the speed at which they ate and the various groups took turns, thing that didn’t give you much occasion to chat with them as you often did; instead, you were frantically walking back and forth from the kitchen, helping two other pirates to deliver food to everyone.
“Maybe if I find a similar book I can get home,” you thought as you absently piled the dirty and empty plates on top of each other before carrying them to the kitchen, just to come back with clean ones, “where am I supposed to find a book in the open sea?” you sighed in deject, not liking the direction of your thoughts.
«I think you missed a spot, princess.» Minho’s arrogant tone caught your attention, and you watched with total unbewildrement the pirate hit the side of one of the wooden jugs placed on the tables, knocking it to the ground and spilling the water on the floor.
As if you were under a magic spell, all the traces of sadness seemed to vanish from your soul, just to be replaced by sheer anger; you were beyond furious, how dare he?
He didn’t trust you, and you could understand his point of view; it pained you to admit to yourself that if you were in his shoes, you would have probably done the same. However, you could endure the teasing, you could endure everything he was putting you through but you definitely drew the line at this kind of disrespect. You closed your fist so tightly that you were absolutely sure that your fingertips would feel momentarily numb as soon as you tried to open your hands, and you were certain that your nails were digging a half crescent moon shape in your skin.
However, you and Minho were not the only one left in the room; Hyunjin, Changbin, Chris and few other crew members were not finished eating and therefore, they saw all the scene unfolding.
«Hey, fuck face!» you loudly called out, claiming both Minho and the other’s attention, «I get you feel powerful because you can swing a fucking sword, but you should learn to respect people who are working!» you stood your grounds, ignoring your heart wildly hammering in your chest and the nervousness you felt as soon as Minho stopped walking, just to turn towards you.
«You’re that interested in losing your head, huh?» Minho replied with an undecipherable gaze, quickly walking back towards you.
If there was a god out there, you were certain that they must have glanced towards your direction in that same moment, because right before Minho could close the distance between the two of you, Changbin’s shoulders appeared in your field of view.
«Calm down, buddy,» Changbin was still peacefully chewing on his food as he stopped him, placing a hand on the pirate’s chest, who tilted his head just enough to keep furiously glance at you.
«If we were still home, I would have get you arrested!» you spat, your chest tightening at the thought of your home town but also incredibly thankful to Changbin.
«Again with those stories? You sure do have flowers growing in your head, princess!» Minho immediately answered, trying to walk around Changbin, who was still pushing against his chest.
However, what no one actually expected was for you to actually try to confront Minho from up close, attempting to walk around Changbin as well; honestly, you were too furious to notice that you were about to face a pirate while completely unarmed and not knowing how to fight.
«Easy there,» Hyunjin suddenly spoke with amusement from behind your shoulders, placing his arms under your armpits just to stop you and hold you back.
«Say that to him, not to me!» you tried to free yourself without success; Hyunjin was very strong despite his slim figure and therefore, even when you kicked both your legs in the air while urging him to let you go, he didn’t move the slightest.
«Don’t you think this is the kind of energy we need on board, Binnie?» Hyunjin laughed, eagerly chatting as he had no trouble holding you back; Changbin scoffed a laugh as well, since it’s been a while since he saw Minho getting riled up that easily.
«That’s enough,» Chris’ authoritative voice seemed to be the only thing that could calm the atmosphere; «you, go back to your room.» he told you in a scolding tone.
«What?!» you whined, «I didn’t do anything!» you added, trying to wiggle out of Hyunjin’s hold once again.
«Don’t challenge my authority,» Chris shortly admonished you, his stern gaze not leaving any room to debate his decision, before turning his attention towards Minho, «you’re going to your room as well.»
«What?!» Minho asked in astonishment, not believing his Captain’s orders.
«I don’t want to see the two of you on deck until at least tomorrow morning.» Chris added, and that was your call to understand that the argument was officially over.
Hyunjin had offered to accompany you to your room, and as soon as you were about to walk out the door, you slightly turned towards Minho: you placed your index finger on your lower eyelid, tugging on the skin as you shortly sticked out your tongue as well. Still, you immediately turned around, so that you couldn’t see Changbin struggling not to laugh, reaching out to stop Minho once again, who was glancing at him with a murderous look.
“I want to go home,” you whined to yourself as soon as you were sitting on your bed once again; you laid down on your back, missing the sensation of Cleo immediately walking up and cuddle at your side. You wondered what happened back home, even though you were certain that your cat had found a way out of your apartment, since the window was still open when you had fallen asleep, however, what about your friends? Was someone worried about your sudden disappearance? Moreover, judging by the amount of days that had passed, you had most definitely lost your job.
«Ah, I hope they choose a nice pic of me if I made it to the news as a missing person.» you mumbled to yourself, your gaze lost in the wooden tiles of your ceiling.
“I could draw tiny lines on the wall to count the days I’m spending on here,” the sudden idea popped up in your mind, only for you to abandon it as quickly as it came. First of all, you didn’t have a knife – let alone a dagger or a sword, and therefore it would be impossible for you to engrave marks in the wall, most importantly, what if they found out and you had to repay for the things you’ve damaged? Those were the basic things happening back home, and although you were unsure about various dynamics of the world you were in, you didn’t want to try your luck. Chris looked scary while pissed off, and you read about how cruel he could be, you definitely needed him on your side.
“I could try to run away as soon as we reach the first port,” you wondered, but that option was discarded as well; although touching land was the only thing to confirm the shifting theory, you didn’t know what could have happened if it was the truth.
Abduction and prostitution were sadly pretty much real in that world as well, and once again, you decided that the safest option was to stick around Chris and his crew; after all, what could harm you if he was in charge of basically everything and everyone sailing above the water’s surface?
Minho’s menacious glare appeared in your mind, and you reached out to grab the pillow from under your neck just to slam it against your face, “it’s not like I can throw a meteor at him, I’m not Zhongli,”, you thought, before suddenly sitting up in bed.
«Who’s going to do my daily commissions in Genshin Impact now?!» you mumbled to yourself, thinking about all the time you’ve spent playing – time that of course had been wasted due to what happened.
Someone knocked on your door, and you genuinely wondered about pretending to be asleep in order to avoid giving explanation about what happened at dinner; nevertheless, you allowed the person in.
«Hi there,» Felix greeted with his usual cheerful tone, «I heard you caused quite a riot today.» he added, placing a small tray with a glass of water and a plate of stew on the small table next to your bed; you sighed, falling back to the bed and hoping that those blankets could swallow your frame and teleport you back home.
«I didn’t do anything, Felix,» you clarified, «Minho just hates me for no reason.»
«Well..»
«Please, don’t tell me this is the part where you say things like “he hasn’t always been like this”, or something.» you immediately added, preventing him from talking any further.
«Nah, he’s always been like this.» Felix quickly shook his head, sitting on the small mattress and next to your knees; he tapped your thigh twice, telling you to sit up so that you could eat dinner. «Keep up that attitude though, it’s funny to watch.» he chuckled, his face quietly shifting into a concerned frown as he noticed how you kept playing with your food instead of actually eating it.
Maybe from the outside your interactions with Minho were unusual enough to be considered funny, but to you they were incredibly stressful.
First of all, Minho had always been your favourite character, and you would have never imagined that he could despise your presence so much; most importantly, he had always been described as a whole different person, and you found yourself wondering why you wanted to be accepted by him so much.
You were aware that late at night the dining room became the meeting point where some pirates gathered to drink and gamble, both because you had read it in the novel and because some sleepless nights you had passed in front of its door as you were walking towards the deck, hearing the echo of thunderous laughter or the loud chatter of the ones who lost and were unhappy with the rules.
Sometimes the door wasn’t even completely close, and as you peeked inside on your way through the corridor, you could see Minho joke around and laugh with the others, thing that always made you feel sad and somehow, lonely.
«Aren’t you hungry?» Felix gently asked, noticing how you went silent all of a sudden.
«It’s not that funny, though: he acts like I’m going to annihilate everyone while you sleep and well – he basically adores you.» you ignored his question, instead referring to the fact that he was the only one he didn’t threaten to kill anytime Lix called him “Min Min”.
«I’ll tell you a super secret secret,» Felix started to whisper, and you shifted your gaze on his lips, making sure that you could effectively understand what he was about to say, «me and Minho are half brothers.»
«What?!» you immediately shrieked out of disbelief, that was never mentioned in the novel! You clearly recalled their background stories: Minho was a bounty hunter, while Felix was… Felix… Well, he was…
“Now that I think of it, Felix’s past hasn’t been mentioned, not even once.” your questioning gaze met Felix, who eagerly nodded at the silent questions in your eyes.
«Our mother remarried,» he explained, before interrupting himself, «now that I think of it, mom and Minho’s father weren’t married – well, that’s not important.» Felix dismissively waved his hand in front of himself, and for the next hour, you had eventually started eating as you listened to his stories about him and Minho; despite all the times you wanted to clarify that “yes, I already know this part,” you kept silent, smiling at Felix’s eagerness and at the affection towards his brother that you could feel through his words.
«He’s really amazing,» he praised, «he’s always protected me since we were kids – you know, my… hair colour is a bit unusual.» he admitted, recalling the times when Minho would come home covered in bruises because he had protected Felix from being bullied.
«It’s beautiful, though,» you immediately replied, making Felix widen his eyes in sudden surprise, «you look like you've walked out of a fairy tale... and really, it suits you.» you added, making the pirate smile with a sad smile.
«I often said I could dye it, but Minho was always against the idea.» he said, but your attention was focused elsewhere.
“So, hair dye exist in this world as well?” the gears in your brain started to spin and twirl as you thought; once again, it had never been mentioned in the novel, but you thought that the author didn’t need to, since the story revolved around Chris’ point of view.
«Get some rest, princess,» Felix excused himself, collecting the now empty tray as he stood up; you nodded, the side of your lips curling into a small smile at how different the nickname sounded as it was spoken by the two brothers, «I’ll try to talk to him.» he reassured, and for a second, you decided to believe him.
Much to your dismay, nothing had changed after a week, leaving you to your usual routine; however, you had to admit that you barely saw Minho around, and when you did, you adverted your gaze before he could meet yours.
It was as if, unlike the first days, he was keeping his distance as well, and you were grateful to Felix for it.
“If you can’t defeat them, become their friend, some said!” you thought, “well, I failed miserably.”
Felix was now basically what you could call your best friend, as he had declared more than once; he always insisted for you to sit next to him when you were eating, and once you were finished with your daily chores, he would explain the most random things to you. Actually, you were incredibly grateful to him because you were finally able to tie a knot on a rope, thing which would have come handy if you ever decided to escape.
Most importantly, you and Felix had something really particular in common, and that was your admiration towards Chris’ and Leana’s relationship.
The poor couple could have been simply standing in front of each other talking about the most random things and you would say something like «they’re so pretty I could punch myself in the face,» immediately echoed by Felix that would reply «wait for it, he’s gonna move a strand of hair behind her ear because of the wind,» and the both of you would dreamily coo at them as Chris did exactly what Felix had predicted.
Seungmin was still visiting you every now and then – mostly when you pretended that your head hurt because you saw Minho appearing out of nowhere and he was definitely too close for comfort, but nonetheless he spent most of his days in his study.
Jeongin was mostly spending his time with Seungmin, now, the older pirate insisting that he needed an assistant because he was tired to everything on his own, and Jeongin eagerly following his orders.
Jisung, Changbin and Hyunjin were now seeing you in a whole different light: the day you fearlessly challenged Minho seemed to have made you earn their respect, and they often tried to lure you into joining a gamble match with them.
«Thanks, but I don’t know the rules,» you dismissively answered every time, and as soon as one of them suggested they could teach you, you immediately added that you didn’t have anything valuable you could gamble on.
Leana was more or less, an addiction to the piece of furniture in your small room; anytime she wasn’t with Chris, she would keep you company, telling you about the most various and dangerous adventures they have lived while sailing. You eagerly listened to her, often interrupting her to ask for more details, thing that she never seemed to mind, answering your question with the same eagerness.
Leana’s stories were a perfect indicator for you to deduce that between what happened in the book and your arrival on the ship, at least three years seemed to have passed; years in which Chris’ domain on the sea had become even more clear.
«It’s like being on of those cruise ships; no one dares attacking us and we can do whatever we want to, I love it.» she confessed, voicing her hopes about you liking being on board as well; you didn’t trust yourself, and therefore you simply nodded.
«Come on, girls night,» Leana had announced one day as she sat on your bed, and you furrowed your eyebrows in obvious reluctance, familiar with the concept of her words; «has anyone caught your eye?» Leana’s eyes seemed to glimmer in curiosity, and you found yourself sigh in deject.
«Yes, I mean, no.» you spoke, unclear, confusing yourself as well.
What were you supposed to say? You’ve never looked at anyone under that particular light, after all!
“Well, actually…” you immediately stopped the train of your thoughts: Minho was undoubtedly charming and handsome, but he was behaving like a complete jerk towards you, and therefore you sighed, resigning yourself to your fate as you met Leana’s curious gaze.
«Minho is cute, but don’t tell him I said so, I particularly like my head attached to my neck.» you confessed, panicking as you saw her eyes widen in disbelief.
«I would have bet money on Felix!» she yelled, just to lower her voice mid-sentence, staring at you in complete astonishment.
«Felix is really cute, but everything’s really very… platonic.» you explained, avoiding saying something she would have found too weird and incomprehensible like “he’s always nice andhe gives me really good vibes!”
However, Leana seemed to ponder your words about Minho, confessing that one morning, she saw Felix and Minho talking very animately, as if they were arguing about something.
«Now that I think about it, it was the morning after you’ve been both confined to your room.» she added, and she confirmed as well the fact that the pirate seemed to been avoiding your presence as well.
Leana had soon returned to the Captain’s quarters, leaving you in the loneliness of your room; once again, you couldn’t sleep and therefore, you found yourself headed towards the deck of the Golden Fleece.
The night sky was clear, the stars seemed a bright blanket that made you feel a tiny bit less lonelier; you tried to smile at the thought that in your life, you had never seen so many stars due to the industrialization and the fact that there was always a source of light around the city. On your way to the deck you ended up both carrying one of the blankets in your room and stealing an apple from the storage room, and in the end you were sitting alone in a dark corner of the ship, completely hidden from the helmsman’s eyes and from the few pirates who were awake and in charge of taking care of the ship as long as the others were asleep – or gambling.
As your gaze lost itself in the darkness ahead of you, your thoughts inevitably wandered to dangerous places, and you found yourself silently crying because you missed home. Although in the past days you have done your best to avoid even the faintest traces of intrusive thoughts, it was probably time to face the truth; even though it seemed impossible, you ended up in a fantasy novel, and of course the historical period was completely different from the one you were living in, to the point of not having the comforts you were used to have in your everyday life. A phone, internet, a hairdryer, heating, a microwave… Despite the fact that you were slowly getting used to this kind of life, you madly wanted to go back home, and the thing that completely broke your heart was the fact that you highly doubted it would even be remotely possible.
After all, the lady at the bookshop had clearly said that you bought the only copy of the novel, copy which was currently still on your coffee table in another dimension.
Completely engrossed in your crying session, you didn’t notice that someone had approached your trembling figure.
«See? I didn’t lie when I said you were probably a thief.» Minho’s voice shook you out of your train of thoughts, but you weren’t in the right mind to answer to his constant teasing; you stared both at him and the apple in your hand – apple that you ended up biting only once, just to wordlessly focus your gaze once again on the darkness in front of the ship.
The moon was high up in the sky, and Minho could definitely see the fact that you were crying, especially because you weren’t doing a good job to hide your occasional hiccups; he has never seen you so vulnerable, after all you’ve been arguing like dog and cat since the day they had saved you, but yet, he breathed a long sigh, before eventually walking closer to you, crouching down so that you were more or less at the same eye-level.
«Are you okay?» Minho questioned, every trace of hostility suddenly disappearing from his voice, and he saw you simply shook your head because no, you were definitely not okay.
«Can I sit next to you?» he asked again, and waited for you to answer before he dared to move.
«Why, so you can throw me off deck as soon as I cry too loudly?» you spat with annoyance, and Minho scoffed as a silent answer. If he were to be honest, he wasn’t doing it for you, but for Felix; his brother had constantly told him to give you a chance, but the pirate kept ignoring him; however, for some weird reason he didn’t want to think about, the sight of you curled up against the wall just to cry your eyes out didn’t please him as he originally thought.
«Yeah, something like that.» Minho shrugged, before sitting next to you.
A somewhat comfortable silence fell on the corner you had been secretly occupying, a silence made of you occasionally hiccuping trying to hide a sob just to wipe your tears with part of your blanket and Minho completely silence as his brain tried to come up with a reasonable question about why you seemed so unconsolable.
«Has something happened in the kitchen? Did Felix say something bad?» Minho gently tried, even if he doubted that was the case, since Felix was the first among the people who seemed to be completely smitten with your presence; confirming his thoughts, he saw you shook your head without voicing an actual answer.
«Have you been having nightmares?» he questioned again, his left hand hesitantly scratching his left thigh; «it happens a lot, especially the first times you sail.» again, you wordlessly shook your head, and silence fell once again.
It went on for minutes, Minho coming up with the most various questions and you simply shaking your head because he never got it right.
«I miss my hairdryer.» you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper.
«Your… your what?» Minho quietly echoed, confusion dripping from his voice.
«My hairdryer,» you repeated, moving your right hand in the air just to mimic a general shape of one, «it’s made like this, and we use it to blow hot hair on our hair to make it dry faster, it works with electric – oh, never mind, you already think I’m a lunatic witch.» your voice trembled at the end of the sentence, and you ended up wiping more tears escaping the corner of your eyes, as Minho was staring at you with an indecipherable gaze.
«Tell me more,» he gently spoke – almost in a hesitant way, urging you to go on, «about your crazy stories, I want to hear more.»
«And give you extra reasons to make fun of me on a daily basis? No, thank you.» you bitterly answered, and Minho’s gentle smile slowly vanished from his lips. The pirate kept studying your features, pensive, and few seconds later his right hand was hovering in front of your face, his pinky finger outstretched.
«I won’t, I promise. I call truce.» he said, and for the first time you turned your head to glance at him, unconsciously smiling at the sight of a pirate using pinky promises as a way to seal official promises; it was as if you could feel your heart tremble, the sight of the Minho you used to adore while reading your favourite book was suddenly not that unreachable anymore, and something in his determined gaze illuminated by the moon made you trust him.
Unbeknownst to you, while intertwining your pinky finger with his, a little part of your fate had changed forever.
«I think I’ve never missed Cleo so much.» you quietly sniffled.
«Your lover?» Minho questioned immediately.
«My cat.» you clarified without hesitation.
Eventually, you and Minho shortly ended up bonding over your mutual love for cats. You described her to him, explaining that to you, she was indeed unique and beautiful; her black fur was occasionally painted with ginger spots, and her eyes were a light shade of green.
«She always looked incredibly pissed off, just like me.» you scoffed a laugh, and you heard Minho chuckle softly at your words.
«To think you were going to face me without a weapon, you sure do have some guts,» he commented, and you answered with an exasperated sigh, «you could ask Jisung to teach you a trick or two.» your head immediately turned towards him at the unexpected suggestion. Minho simply shrugged, explaining that you would be more useful on deck if something were to happen.
«I used to have three cats before I choose to sail with Chris.» he admitted then, changing the topic of your conversation, smiling to himself.
«I know.» you answered without thinking about it too much; only when you felt Minho’s inquisitive stare on your face, you panicked. Clearly you couldn’t tell him that you knew a lot of details about his life before he started being a pirate because you read it in a novel, and therefore you simply settled for a simple white lie known as: «Felix told me about it.»
«I miss my hair conditioner as well,» you admitted, «I even got the special edition with keratin – you know with the golden plastic jar and everything, and never got to use it more than twice.» for at least half of the night, you ended up explaining Minho every detail of what life was like where you were living; skyscrapers, air conditioning, electricity, supermarkets, videogames and malls, along with every kind of food you ended up craving, Minho had patiently listened to your rambles, occasionally asking about few clarifications every now and then.
«You know, princess, I still think you have flowers growing in your head.» Minho spoke after the two of you eventually managed to finish conversation topics; your heart sank to your stomach at his words, and of course, you felt like crying again.
«However…» Minho spoke again, his tone a little more firmer than before, as if he understood that his words hurt you, «your stories are a bit too much filled with details to be completely made up.»
«So?» you questioned him, glancing at him while leaning your head against the wooden surface behind your shoulders.
«So,» Minho echoed, mirroring your actions, so that you were staring at each other, «I think that somewhere in that flower field, there’s a little bit of truth.» a relieved smile erupted on your features, and you felt genuinely happy about the fact that finally Minho decided to take you seriously.
Despite the fact that you had managed to calm down, neither of you dared to move, and as you kept talking about your life, you ended up sharing your blanket with the pirate, whose hands were now as cold as ice.
Somewhere during the few hours remaining before dawn, you ended up falling asleep, unconsciously leaning against Minho’s shoulders, who didn’t move in order not to wake you up.
However, as soon as the pirate saw a small glimpse of light starting to illuminate the sky as a signal of a new day, he gently picked you up just to carry you to your bedroom.
«Fucking finally, Min Min,» Felix’s groggy whisper called out from Minho’s shoulders; the younger had just woken up, and to be honest, he was convinced about being still asleep as the first thing he saw were his brother – who claimed to hate you, carrying you – who claimed to hate him, bridal style and soundly asleep towards your room.
«Not a word, Lix.» Minho had simply answered, not bothering to stop.
Few days later, everyone was aware about the drastic change of Minho’s behaviour towards you, since the pirate went to completely ignore your presence to greet you occasionally. You found yourself smiling anytime it happened, your smile vanishing as soon as you could feel two different set of piercing gazes on your face; on one side, Leana was looking at you with pure excitement in her eyes, as to say «did you see it?» while on the other side, Felix was following the scene with a knowing smile, happy about his brother’s eventual change of heart.
Moreover, you had to admit to yourself that your mood was significantly better since you didn’t have to constantly watch your back, to the point where you found yourself thinking that if things kept going like this, you could have definitely got used to this new life.
To be completely honest, you could already picture yourself trying to introduce some of your modern technology into this world, becoming the cliché mad scientist holed up in her laboratory, shouting a loud «it could work!» followed by a manic laughter as soon as you managed to create something useful.
Taking a small break from your daily chores, you decided to take a stroll on deck, enjoying what seemed to be the last days of summer; the days had already begun to shorten and in the back of your mind, you wondered how cold could it get on a pirate ship during winter, but you weren’t sure you wanted to know an actual answer, when out the corner of you eye, you saw them.
At first, you thought that either your mind was playing tricks on you or you were hallucinating, but once you turned your complete attention to the sea, you distinctly saw that there was a small group formed by seven girls not too far from where you were, casually sitting on some random pieces of wood – most definitely what remained of a sunken ship, while brushing their luscious hair; you narrowed your eyes as if trying to get a better view, because you could swear that all of them had a long fish tail.
“Mermaids?” you wondered; after all, you didn’t know how this world worked in the first place, and based on Minho’s accusations to you, for all you knew, they could be more than a superstition.
«Sirens!» the loud shout from the crow’s nest seemed to alert everyone, confirming that you weren’t hallucinating, but you weren’t sure what you were supposed to do in this situation; you saw some pirates running back to their quarters, as if it was a desperate attempt not to be lured by their voices.
Few minutes later, the situation was definitely taking a drastic and terrifying turn: some pirates were throwing themselves off deck just to try their luck swimming towards the sirens and therefore swimming towards their death, while the others kept soundlessly walking toward the railing as if they were possessed, their eyes void of any emotion.
Quirking a brow you stared at the group of sirens once again, silently admiring their beauty and their pretty tail. However something wasn’t adding up: you could clearly see their lips move, but you seemed to be the only one who couldn’t hear their chant.
Leana’s shoulder harshly bumping against yours was what made you wake up from your silent daze; like anyone else, her eyes were unfocused, and she had already thrown one leg over the railing.
«Wait, no!» yelling at her to stop, you covered her ears with your hands out of instinct, when the unthinkable happened: the fog that seemed to cloud Leana’s gaze had vanished as soon as you touched her, and she looked at both herself and you with a puzzled expression.
«What’s happening?» she questioned, confused, «why can’t I hear them?» at her question, it was as if your thoughts began to align, quickly forming a more or less clever answer; could it be that it was because you were from another dimension? You immediately tested your wild guess, wrapping around her wrist the hair tie you always kept on your wrist.
«Still nothing?» you asked, helping her safely climb back on deck, so that no one else could drag her in the water out of accident.
«I can see them singing, but I can’t hear them,» she confirmed with astonishment, glancing at the small elastic band now adorning her wrist, «is this some sort of talisman?» she questioned again but you kept silent, not sure about what you should have answered.
“Wait, if this managed to help her, this means that…”
«Leana, where are my clothes,? You know, the ones I was wearing when you found me in the sea?» you immediately questioned her: if things really were what they seemed, maybe you has a chance to save everyone.
«Come with me.» Leana immediately replied, and shortly after you both raced to the Captain’s quarters as if you were running against time.
«I have an idea, but that will make me sound like a lunatic witch» you quoted Minho, before explaining yourself, «we need to shred them in as many pieces we can and stick them inside the other’s clothes.» you kept your jeans in your hands, handing her both the cotton t-shirts you were wearing at home; however, there was no sign of mock in her eyes.
«You already saved my life, I trust you, witch or not.» she encouraged, and after nodding and each other Leana grabbed two of Chris’ daggers, and after handing one to you as well, you both ran back on deck.
“This is so wrong,” you thought, “I’m about to act like a typical heroine and I don’t have a catchphrase to say!” adrenaline was running trough your veins to the point of making you delirious, and you mentally tried to come up with an outstanding idea as fast as you could?
“How about “for Frodo”?… No, that would be plagiarism,” you kept thinking as you and Leana closed the Captain’s quarters room behind your shoulders, “I got it, “Geronimo!”… Nah, too corny.”
«I’ll take the right side and you take the left side?» Leana urged, already cutting some fabric out of your t-shirt with her dagger; she snapped you out of your thoughts, and your eyes immediately went back on the scenery in front of you.
No more than thirty pirates were left – a quarter of the crew, and much to your dismay, you noticed from the corner of your eye how Chris, Seungmin and Changbin were already in the water.
«Hey Leana, you know what we say in Europe before doing things like this?» your heart was hammering in your chest to the point you were certain it was trying to escape your body.
«Uh... May Margoria have mercy on us?» she tried, as the both of you started walking in opposite directions.
«No, no, it’s even better,» you chuckled at your own thoughts, before encouraging the both of you with a short and simple: «it’s Britney, bitch.»
From that moment, you and Leana were running like two desperate women on a mission, and you tried to ignore the pain that your heart was feeling as you were repeatedly cutting your pair of favourite jeans.
“It’s for a fucking good cause,” you thought motivating yourself, urging your legs to move faster.
Actually, if you and Leana were feeling like two heroes out of an adventure novel, the sight from the outside looked really bizarre: the deck was completely silent as the pirates were walking like zombies, and the only noise was the one made from your heels as you frantically ran back and fort, not to mention that you were occasionally screaming «tag, you’re it!» before running towards the next pirate.
Moreover, as soon as someone of the crew managed to wake up, nor you nor Leana ever stopped to explain what was going on; you just pushed a few pieces of uncommon fabric against their chest just to shout an order for them to follow.
You could feel your lungs burn, and although you desperately wanted to stop and catch your breath, you saw that Minho was in the same position Leana had been in few minutes earlier and you quickly urged your legs to run faster, somehow.
“Why the fuck I never did jogging while I was home?” you internally cursed yourself, but the most important thing was that you managed to stop Minho by a harsh grip on his strong bicep. Minho’s eyes increasingly focused, and he looked at you with bewilderment; you didn’t give him time to ask anything, because you thrusted the only piece of fabric you had left in his hand.
«See this? This was my favourite pair of jeans,» you spoke, your breath ragged due to the fact that you had been running without stopping for more time than you were used to, Minho was about to question why he couldn’t hear the sirens anymore, when you interrupted him again, «let go of this damn denim fabric, and I’ll kill you.»
«What’s going on?» Minho finally questioned, swooning his leg over the railing so that he was once again safely on deck, but before you could answer, Leana had quickly walked towards you with Felix, Jisung, Hyunjin and few of the pirates who had managed to wake up, still clutching the piece of fabric as instructed.
By now, you had managed to save everyone who was still on deck, however, you still had a big problem: the majority of your crew – including the Captain, was still swimming towards the sirens.
«What now?» Leana questioned, her concerned eyes locked on her husband.
«I don’t know.» your shoulders fell as you admitted disheartened, your trembling hands still desperately holding Minho’s hands over what was left of your favourite pair of jeans.
«Aren’t you still wearing that thing underneath your shirt?» Leana questioned, and your right hand reflexively touched your bra over your linen shirt.
“Not my Victoria’s Secret…” you thought, but Leana quickly dismissed her own idea.
«It’s not like we can throw ourselves down there, we’ll never reach them in time.» she added, and a nervous silence fell once again.
The pirates kept silent, not daring to interrupt your conversation with Leana; no one knew what was happening but for all they knew, they owed their life to the both of you.
However, the sirens have been focusing their attention on your presence for a while, and as you were considering some stupid and wild idea out of panic, the sirens had stopped singing; the pirates in the water woke up immediately from their daze, immediately yelling to each other to swim back to the Golden Fleece, and your head started to spin with confusion.
Apparently, for whatever reason, the sirens decided they weren’t hungry anymore, and therefore decided to leave, disappearing under the surface of water.
Unbeknownst to you, those sirens knew about travelers like you, for it was not the first time that someone immune to their alluring voices had defeated them.
The pirates were now climbing on deck, and if it weren’t for Minho’s arms quickly wrapping around your waist, you would have fallen on your knees as the rush of adrenaline left your body altogether.
«What a week, huh?» you joked, your voice low enough only for the pirate to hear.
«It’s monday morning, princess.» Minho absently replied, studying your exhausted features and actually concerned about the state you were in.
Needless to say, less than an hour later – as soon as everyone had changed out of their soaked clothes, you found yourself in the Captain’s quarters with nine pair of eyes studying you once again; however, this time, the atmosphere was completely different.
«Although we are grateful to you, I believe we need an explanation.» Chris simply questioned; even though his voice remained polite, you could easily notice that he was demanding the truth.
«Are you really a witch?» Hyunjin suggested curiously and without hostility; you shook your head no, and your gaze briefly locked with Minho, who gave you a short nod, as to encourage you to tell them what you had told him as well.
«I’m not a witch, I.. » you sighed, what were you supposed to say? You definitely couldn’t break out the news that they were characters from a novel, but you could definitely tell them part of the truth, «I’m from another world. Or just another dimension, I don’t know. The thing is, at home everything works very different from here and… I really don’t know what to say. I ended up falling asleep in my house and waking up in the sea, right before you saved me.»
The room was silent for some seconds, before they eventually started discussing your explanation, but overall, everyone seemed to believe you.
«We are in your debt.» Chris announced, standing up from his chair, and you felt nervous all of a sudden; you loved his character and how reliable he was despite being a pirate, however, you always thought that he was a little bit too dramatic, especially in these kind of situations.
«No, no. We’re good buddy, really.» you anxiously waved your hands in front of you, as if to shake away the thought of having a whole crew of pirates indebted to you, «besides, you saved me first, I returned the favor, we’re even.»
«At least, allow us to help you!» Leana insisted, reiterating the fact that if they were alive was exclusively because of you.
«Do you remember how you ended up here?» Seungmin added, agreeing with Leana.
«I bought a book – a very specific one, and somehow I ended up shifting.»you had shortly explained; the information sent them into another brief discussion among themselves.
«Maybe fate is really on your side,» Chris commented, «we’ll be arriving to O’dyllita in few days; the capital – O’draxxia is known for having the biggest and best-stocked library of all known land.» the Captain explained that you could try visit there, to see if you could find anything regarding shifting dimension.
«Of course, if you don’t, you’ll be welcome to stay with us!» Jeongin had quickly added, and you found yourself nodding at his eagerness, thanking everyone else as well.
«Another thing,» Leana suddenly spoke, as if a thought had suddenly came to her mind, «who is that “Britney” you mentioned earlier? Is she a goddess from your world?» she innocently questioned, but you couldn’t help but find yourself laughing at the absurdity of the situation you got yourself in.
«More or less.» you admitted, and she seemed content with the answer.
The day had eventually fallen back into the same routine rather quickly, making you realize that this kind of situations weren’t that uncommon; however, every now and then some of the pirates would greet you, thanking you for saving their life before going on with their day.
«Excuse me, princess,» an unfamiliar voice called out, and you immediately turned your head. One of the pirates was standing not so far from you; he was definitely older than you, even if despite his youthful appearance his beard and his hair was almost completely grey. He hesitantly outstretched his hand towards you, and you curiously examined the small necklace in the palm of his hand.
It was definitely plain looking, a thin looking chord with a too much familiar charm attached to it; without thinking, you took a step forward to take a better look.
Turns out – for the second time that day, that you weren’t hallucinating things: the small charm was indeed a piece of fabric from your clothes, now neatly braided together as to form a tiny charm.
«My old man was a tailor, so I learned a thing or two from him,» you patiently glanced at him, waiting for him to explain himself further as you glanced back and forth from his face to his hand, «I ended up making a talisman for everyone out of the fabric you gave us, since the Captain and Leana explained to us what you did fpr us,» you kept silent, not understanding why he was handing one to you as well, «I know you don’t need one, but we want you to have one as well.»
«“We”?» you echoed; glancing around, you noticed that few other pirates were definitely pretending to do their chores just to curiously overlook the situation, wondering what your reaction might have been.
«It’s a way to tell you that you’re in the crew,» Leana excitedly spoke, appearing out of nowhere and hugging your shoulder, «you saved a whole lot of pirates, you know what it means? You’re a pirate, love.»
«What?» you questioned, hesitantly reaching out to grab the necklace from the pirate’s outstretched hand, who thanked you for accepting his humble gift.
“Holy shit, I’m the hero of the day,” you thought, trying to process the fact that a pirate had just thanked you for accepting a necklace made out of clothes from another dimension.
«For your information,» Felix’s sudden deep voice made you turn around in surprise, since the new information had made your head spin, «it was a unanimous decision.» he clarified; as you happened to lock gaze with Minho, he simply winked at you with a mischievous smile, and you could swear that for the first time, you felt the butterflies in your stomach do somersaults.
The secret escapades you occasionally had with Minho during the night ended up being a habit, and as the weather started to become colder, you eventually decided to move things to your room; more than once, you and Minho ended up falling asleep after nights spent talking about the most various topics and every time, Minho would wake up before dawn just to sneak back to his room.
«Do you still think I’m a lunatic siren?» you quietly mumbled one night, quite scared of the possible affirmative answer. Minho was sitting opposite of you on your bed, your knees almost brushing against each other’s.
«I don’t.» Minho honestly answered after what seemed to be an eternal silence; he was still staring at you with an indecipherable gaze that made you feel extremely small, but it was significantly softer now. You were certain that something in your relationship with Minho had drastically changed since the night he found you crying alone, and somehow, even if you didn’t want to be seen in such a vulnerable state, you were happy he was the one who found you nonetheless.
Above all – most importantly, since Minho’s behaviour towards you had changed and gradually started to become softer, you could swear you felt your feelings drift towards him at a slow but steady speed. To state the obvious, he was handsome, and you often found yourself looking at him as he was talking with the others on deck, the wind blowing through his hair and his clothes making him look like a runaway Prince from a fairytale; he was also funny and an extremely good listener, and the more you spent time together, the more your heart would fill with feelings for him, just like a slow tide at noon.
«Do you believe me, then?» you mumbled, as if you were trying your luck; despite you told everyone that you came from another dimension, the topic of your conversations with Minho were a secret, and he was completely aware about that. Even though you desperately wanted him to believe your words, you couldn’t help but trying to imagine how you would react if you were in Minho’s shoes and of course, you had to admit that you would have your good doses of suspicions as well.
«I’m not really sure I can understand everything you tell me,» he admitted, «but I really want to try.» you found yourself genuinely smiling at his words.
A comfortable silence fell once again, and you searched for Minho’s eyes in the partial darkness of the place; three small candles were lightning up the room, creating an intimate atmosphere while allowing you to see each other just enough.
«Thank you, Min Min.» you quietly mumbled, now definitely trying your luck; you knew that the only person allowed to call him like that was Felix, and although your relationship was completely different from how it started, you were certain that he would admonish you, telling you not to call him like that.
However, Minho’s reaction was definitely unexpected; his eyes met yours in less than a second, and despite the little lighting in the room, you could clearly see a sudden blush adorning both his cheeks and the tip of his ears.
«Wait, did you just…? No, nevermind,» Minho quickly dismissed, his unexpected flustered state was more than enough to make your cheeks flare up as well, «let’s suppose you ended up coming here from another dimension, why do you think it happened?» the conversation took another bittersweet turn, and you went back staring at your knees.
«I have no idea.» you confessed, disheartened, since you had wondered about that a concerning amount of times as well.
«Do you want to go back?» Minho questioned out of curiosity; he had immediately noticed how you eventually managed to find your place among the crew, and how you got along with everyone.
«I can’t even explain how much I want to.» you admitted, and before you could actually realize it, tears had started to escape your eyes.
«Hey, don’t cry, I’m sorry I brought that up,» Minho seemed to move towards you as if he had been hurt by a sudden static, «I didn’t want to make you cry.» he mumbled again, wiping your tears away as gently as he could, touching you as if you were made of frail glass despite his usual roughness. Eventually, he placed your pillow over his lap and you let him adjust your position enough that you could lay your head over it.
Minho kept gently stroking your hair with clumsy yet gentle movements – clearly unfamiliar with intimacy, lulling you to sleep while mumbling that «it’s okay, I’ll help you find a way,» or even «don’t cry, pretty princess, you’re safe now.»
That night was the first time that you and Minho willingly got so close physically, and you never expected for his touch to feel as comforting as it did; although you had stopped crying few minutes after you were laying on his lap, you didn’t want for that interaction to stop, and therefore you laid there, greedily taking all the unexpected affection Minho was showering you with.
Two days later, you were officially touching land; two days later, you were completely certain about the fact that you had shifted dimension – since there was a tiny part of your heart that still hoped you were having a really weird dream.
The port was large and full of people busy working; you looked around in amazement admiring everything: the small stalls of the market a little further on, people’s clothes, the type of architecture of the houses…
However, something didn’t add up once again. There were various wooden signs hanging on the stalls, price indicators or more simply indicators of what could be found in each one of them, and despite the fact that the alphabet was a strange combination o weird symbols you’ve never seen in your life, you could understand them; fabrics, groceries, swords, you could read everything, was it another special ability you gained while shifting?
“This is crazy,” you thought as you kept looking around yourself, “it’s like I chosen a default language in a videogame.”
Minho seemed to have noticed the puzzled expression on your face as you were glancing around, and quickly got to your side.
«Not like it’s important for us, but can you read and write?» he questioned, watching as you hesitantly nodded at him.
«I’m not sure about the writing part,» you answered, looking around and not quite believing your eyes, «but it turns out I can read!»
«That’s good,» Minho’s sudden gentle smile made you feel incredibly flustered, and you shortly played with your fingertips since you didn’t know what you were supposed to answer, «I’ll see you tonight, then.» he added, making you furrow your eyebrows.
Before you could question his words, Leana and Chris had joined you, the latter informing you that he had already booked a carriage for both you and Leana.
“That’s it? They’re going to leave me here?” you met Minho’s gaze, just to switch it quickly towards Leana, who had reached out to hold your hand, gently tugging you towards her.
«I believe someone forgot to tell you,» she said, admonishing Minho with a stern gaze, «O’draxxia, the Capital, is a city in which men cannot enter, meaning that we have all the day for ourselves!»
The carriage ride lasted a little more than an hour, and both you and Leana kept staring out of the window, amazed by the scenery surrounding the two of you; it was the first time for Leana as well to venture into O’dyllita, and just like you, she was overly excited to finally visit O’draxxia, since she had often heard about it.
«From what I know, almost everyone in the city is a priestess,» she had explained, the two of you never looking at each other since your attention was completely engrossed towards opposite directions, «and they say the library is so huge that there are pillars as big as towers that are used as bookshelves!»
Despite the dense and rich vegetation, the landscape seemed to have a tremendously lonely air; in the distance you could see ruins of old structures that looked like castles or fortresses, clearly uninhabited and reclaimed by vegetation.
Overall, the landscape almost seemed fiabesque, even if you couldn’t glimpse a trace of a living soul for kilometres.
Just as Leana had said, O’draxxia was entirely populated by women, and all of them looked mesmerizing and stunning; some of them greeted you and Leana with a court nod, just like they did with the other women that were visiting the city.
Despite the fact that the city was populated and animated by the priestesses and occasional tourists, the city gave you a serene yet lonely feeling. The houses were simple and elegant, made of grey bricks with bright green plants growing along the walls, covering some parts with elegant red and orange flowers. Both you and Leana followed one of the priestess’ indications to reach the library, as the two of you kept glancing around in utter wonder as you were walking.
«I’m really glad we get along,» Leana spoke out of the blue as you were strolling around town, headed towards the library, interlocking her arm with yours; you sent her a glance, only to start once again to focus on the unfamiliar scenery in front of your eyes, «we tried to let other girls on our ship, but it didn’t end well.»
«Why not?» you questioned out of curiosity, your gaze still focused on the unfamiliar flowers decorating the streets; the novel you’ve read ended as soon as Chris and Leana got their happy ending, so her words were definitely something you didn’t know about.
«They ended up liking Chris a little bit too much, and you know…» the innocent smile on Leana’s lips was a stark contrast to the gesture she made: she ran her index finger over her neck horizontally, and you suddenly widened your eyes, gulping nervously.
«You… did you kill them?» you whispered, only for her ears to hear, not quite knowing how to feel about it.
«And threw them in the sea,» she proudly clarified with a wink, «for all I know, they could be the sirens that attacked us.» her tone was as nonchalant as if she was talking about the weather, and you furrowed your eyebrows, familiar with what she was implying, since you clearly recalled the author mentioning it once.
Apparently, mermaids – or mostly known as sirens, were the women thrown off ships because of the common belief about “having a woman on boat brings bad luck”, and therefore, as those poor women sank to the bottom of the sea, they committed themselves to their rage and their desire of revenge. You clearly remember how that paragraph made you quite uncomfortable, empathizing with those women as they rightfully wanted to take revenge on the people that killed them without reason. Moreover, the author described how they started to change underwater, their lungs adapting to the water until they could breathe and their tied legs eventually became a tail over time. They drowned sailors and pirates in revenge, but especially, they seem to target the crew that did them wrong, until they could see the remaining of their ships at the bottom of the sea.
All of a sudden, one of your first conversations with Leana came to your mind.
«So, what do you think about Chris?» she had questioned with an earnest smile, the both of you sitting on deck as you watched him ordering the others around.
«He’s awesome,» you immediately answered, excitedly, «Felix told me he’s in charge of each route of the whole sea, and he’s basically around my age. He’s really awesome for that!» you had excitedly explained, avoiding to mention too intricate details you read in the novel.
«He really is, don’t steal him from me though!» she had laughed back then, gently nudging your shoulders with hers in an almost friendly gesture.
«I wouldn’t dare,» you immediately scoffed, «you’re basically the perfect match! moreover, he’s not really my type.»
Only now you realized all the things that could have gone so incredibly wrong if your interaction had gone wrong back then, and you glanced at her once again.
Leana was now gazing around the town in amazement, since you knew that she had never been here as well; you instinctively scoffed a laugh, to thing that you believed Minho was the biggest threat among the crew.
Not to mention that the surprises were definitely not over; shortly after, Leana asked you if you believed in soulmates.
«I think I do,» you confessed; it was definitely one of your favourite genres to read about, but you couldn’t admit that to her, «why?»
«I’ve been thinking about it lately, but I never had anyone to talk about it…» she admitted.
“I wonder why,” you silently commented, but kept silent.
«Sometimes I have the feeling that me and Chris were meant to be, you know?» she fondly smiled, her gaze lost somewhere in the scenery around the two of you as she was probably recalling one of the various memories she had created with her husband; you were about to answer something encouraging and motivational, when her next words definitely made your voice die in your throat.
«I mean, I didn’t even like Chris when he brought me on the ship, let alone if I could imagine myself falling in love with him or even marrying him.» she admitted, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Wait a fucking minute now,”
«What?» you asked in complete disbelief. Once again, you perfectly recalled you read that Chris and Leana were in love before she got romantically and dramatically stolen away from him; to be precise, Leana was engaged to another man, who she didn’t love.
However, Leana was standing in front of you, telling you a completely different part of the story, making you question if the things you’ve read on your couch were correct in the first place.
«I was engaged with an officer of the navy, and I loathed pirates at first; I accepted to go with Chris because I agreed with my fiancée that I would have made Chris vulnerable in some way.» Leana hesitantly confessed, and you couldn’t bring yourself to find an actual reply, «in the end I fell for him little by little, to the point where I couldn’t imagine my life without him.»
“What the hell,” you thought; you had stopped walking altogether, and were simply standing still in silence, a whirlwind of thoughts floating around your head as you were staring at Leana. You never read something like this in the book, but if we had to be honest, the book was following Chris’ point of view, but again, by the way Leana was described, she was meant to be the typical damsel in distress that runs away from an unhappy relationship to find her love.
However, in front of you stood Leana, a damsel that was very not in distress, a damsel who had a concerning series of murders weighting on her shoulders, whose original plan was to serve Chris’ head to the navy.
«I’m glad you married him,» you ended up blurting out, «you look really cute together.» Leana loudly laughed at your unexpected comment, and as the two of you started walking again, she hugged your arm a little closer to her side.
«Wanna know who’s cute?» her teasing tone made you sigh out of reflex, not sure whether you wanted to know the answer to her question, «You and Min Min.» she chanted, making you whine as an answer.
«I don’t like him like that, let’s just – let’s talk about it another time, okay?» you pleaded, hoping that she would fall for your suggestion so that you could keep avoiding the topic forever.
The moment you stepped in front of the library’s entrance, you couldn’t believe your eyes: it was as if a huge castle had been redecorated just to serve a new and better purpose. Leana didn’t lie when she said about the pillars being huge, and the more you ventured in, the more you felt overwhelmed; you loved books, and for a second, you thought that you could become a priestess just to have a chance to read every single book you could see, even if it would have took literally a lifetime.
In the end, you ended up asking to a priestess for help, since you would have taken at least a whole day in order to find some useful information without asking for help.
«Books about teleportation?» the priestess had repeated your words, as if making sure she heard you loud and clear; you hesitantly nodded, feeling incredibly small under her gaze; she eventually nodded at the two of you, asking to follow her.
Needless to say, you ended up walking your way on the stairs around one of the pillars, just to reach the highest bookshelf.
«It’s been a while since someone asked for that,» she said, trying to make conversation with the two of you, but only Leana was answering her various questions, since you were way too nervous to speak.
As you reached the bookshelf, your shoulders immediately lowered in deject; there were only four books about teleportation, but no one of them were like the one you brought.
«Sadly, we only have these ones.» the priestess excused herself, quickly taking notice of your saddened expression; you immediately tried to smile, shaking your head and answering that it was okay.
«Are you sure you’re okay?» Leana whispered to you, as soon as the priestess begun to walk down the stairs on her own and was now out of sight; your gaze was still on the books, which you eventually tried to examine.
What if the cover was different because you were in a different dimension?
However, as your fingers leafed through the pages, you couldn’t understand your feelings; you almost seemed happy about the fact that your task had failed, as if what you really wanted was to remain into this world.
«I am,» you nodded, seeing Leana’s concern vanish from her features, «I really am.»
The fact that your mission had failed meant only one thing: you and Leana were free to curiously look around as you pleased, and that’s exactly what you did.
At the end of the day, once you were back in the carriage, you could swear you almost had a headache due to all the informations the both of you had tried to assimilate in your brain.
«What was that one again? Flat parsley and saffron?» she mumbled, massaging the side of her head.
«This planet is not flat was the first part,» you tiredly answered, mimicking her actions, «I don’t know where you got the parsley and saffron thing from.»
«It was the recipes book I wanted to steal.» she urged, trying to give you another hint, as if you hadn’t read an infinite quantitative of books within few hours.
«Oh, that one,» you hummed, recalling the moment where Leana had tried to see if the recipes book would fit under her shirt, saying that Felix would have loved it, «it was the recipe of saffron rice… There was no parsley, though.»
When you got off the carriage, Minho and Chris exchanged a quizzical glance as they saw the two of you look exhausted; both of you were dragging your feet towards them, talking with a flat tone about how amazing your day had been.
«Found anything?» Minho questioned, ignoring how his heart was beating in a silent hope that you didn’t manage to find the book you were looking for; you kept walking, silently shaking your head.
Minho didn’t say anything as he walked up next to you; the pirate breathed a soft sigh, swinging his arm around your shoulders and instinctively you hugged his waist, leaning your head towards his shoulder.
«You’ll find it.» you heard Minho’s reassuring tone, and you shrugged in a silent answer.
“I think it will be okay, even if I don’t.” you secretly thought, glancing at the pirate walking next to you.
Out of your sight, Chris and Leana were glancing both at you and Minho, before looking at each other.
«Am I hallucinating?» Chris questioned his wife; he knew that things between you and the pirate had improved, but he didn’t imagine they had improved that much.
«I think we’ll be celebrating another marriage soon.» Leana sighed, fondly smiling at the two of you. «“I don’t like Minho”, my ass.» she scoffed, mumbling to herself as an amused smirk erupted on her lips, recalling the moment you denied liking the pirate.
That night, you found out that Chris not only owned every single soul sailing above the sea, he also owned few taverns scattered around the land as well.
You and the others had ended up in the courtyard of a local tavern – the Bitter Dahlia, the musicians animatedly creating a joyful atmosphere as few people had eventually started to dance. You had let yourself convince to try a whole lot different kind of drinks by Hyunjin, and now you were tipsily strolling around the courtyard with a pint of beer in your hand, and thankfully, Minho had easily noticed it; that’s why as soon as you walked past him in order to find Felix, he reached out, placing his hand on your right shoulder and tugging you close to his body, your back pressed against his chest. You didn’t realize it was Minho at first, you simply pouted because someone was stopping you all of a sudden; when you decided to find out who was attached to the arm blocking your path you giggled as soon as you saw Minho’s face, and let him pull you closer to him.
Minho didn’t say anything, and neither did you – nor did you move away in the first place.
«I think you drank too much, princess,» his hoarse voice – probably affected by the drinks he had, spoke right against your ear, and you instinctively crossed your ankles just to press your thighs together; you let him take the pint of beer from your hand, his arm eventually found his way around your waist, and he leaned his chin on your shoulder.
«Felix!» you giggled, catching a hold of the boy’s forearm as soon as you saw him walk by, tugging him towards both you and Minho, «Look at them,» you excitedly spoke, «look at them!» you urged again, giggling excitedly as you obviously forgot that Minho was right behind you and therefore he could hear everything.
Even if he was in a worse state than you were, it didn’t take a genius for Felix to understand who you were talking about, and he followed your glance towards the small group of couples that were dancing; of course Chris and Leana were there, and of course you and Felix had felt the need to talk about how wonderful and amazing they looked.
«They’re both stumbling on their feet,» Minho had stated from behind you, holding your waist a little firmer, and you suddenly reminded that he had been unconsciously made part of your secret conversations with Felix, «they’re really drunk, like – three sheets to the wind drunk.» he clarified, amused with your behaviour.
«You don’t understand,» you quickly answered, your hand flying on top of the one the pirate had placed on your hip, «look at -» your voice vanished from your throat as soon as you turned your head towards him, and instead, your heart picked up pace at a concerning speed; Minho’s face was millimetres from yours, his gaze burning into yours, «them.» you eventually finished, your voice barely above a whisper. You and Minho had already been close enough to kiss once, but to say that the situation was completely different would be an understatement.
If back then neither you nor Minho would have considered the option to kiss the other – let alone being attracted to each other, to this day things had drastically changed. Even if you blamed it on the alcohol, you were very much aware about the fact that you would have loved to kiss him; the fact that Minho’s gaze kept shifting between your eyes and your lips clearly told you that your desire was reciprocated.
“If this was a movie we would make out while Céline Dion was singing her heart out in the background,” you drunkenly thought, “and all I get is drunk bards play the tarantella”.
«Well, this is something unexpected!» Jisung’s loud voice made you and Minho immediately turn your head towards him, and much to your embarrassment, he wasn’t alone; of course Changbin and Hyunjin were with him.
«She’s tipsy, I didn’t want her to fall over.» Minho had immediately answered, his voice a little bit too defensive if you were to ask Hyunjin, who carefully – and drunkenly, studied his expression with a sly smirk.
«And the empty chair next to you was claimed by a ghost?» Jisung questioned the pirate, who rolled his eyes without answering.
However, the worst still had to happen, because in that very moment, Leana seemed to appear out of thin air, as if she had magically listened to the conversation while she was dancing with her husband.
«You didn’t hear it from me,» Leana loudly announced as if you and Minho weren’t there, «but when we returned from O’draxxia, Minho straight up hugged her.»
You felt Minho bury his forehead in the crook of your neck, and you shortly met Felix’s gaze, who was looking at you with a drunk dazed smile: «We better talk about this!» he said.
«And, he also kissed her forehead.» Leana lied, getting drunk shouts of surprise from your friends, and you knew that as soon as you got back on the ship, you and Minho would become the most interesting topic among the crew.
«Want to scoot over?» Minho spoke against your ear once again, and you found your mind drifting towards unholy thoughts before you could stop yourself; his question was sincere, and as he voiced it, he started to move his arm away from your hip. However, you didn’t bother to voice an answer; since your hand was still placed above his, you pushed it more firmly against your hip, purposely intertwining your fingers together.
As you felt Minho’s lips hovering above the exposed skin of your shoulder in a barely perceptible kiss, you could swear that all the noise coming from the loud party around the two of you had been ignored from your brain.
Back on the Golden Fleece, everything seemed to have fallen back to the usual routine, with the only addiction that your friends had decided to constantly tease you and Minho about your almost kiss.
Of course, even if three days had passed since that night and Minho had visited your bedroom as always, no one dared to approach the topic, and you kept dancing on your tiptoes around each other.
However, what’s a princess without a fairy godmother?
That evening, right after dinner, Felix had bursted into your room unannounced, somewhat expecting Leana’s presence as well; the two of them were casually sitting on your bed, ignoring the fact that you were curled up under the covers, refusing to get out and face them.
«Well?» Felix urged, lowering the blanket just to expose your face; you hissed like a stray cat, but you quickly understood that neither of them was going to leave without an answer to the same question.
«I don’t have anything to say,» you stubbornly said, and you heard Leana snort.
«Okay, we’ll go first:» she spoke, leaning towards you, «I was drunk but I sure do have eyes, girl.» she spoke with an alluring tone, and you tried to roll over the opposite side in order not to hear her, «and my eyes are telling me that you like Minho, and Minho likes you.» choosing to groan instead of answer, Felix saw an opportunity to chime in.
«You were still dancing when it happened, but they almost kissed – like, kissed.» Felix added, empathizing the last part of his sentence, and Leana almost shrieked in disbelief, her offended voice questioning why you didn’t tell her such an important and fundamental detail.
«Did you tell him?» Felix questioned, just to add the question you didn’t dare to ask yourself, «Oh… Do you still want to go back home?»
You eventually threw the blanket off your face hearing that, meeting your friends’ eyes as your face was filled with unsure doubt; you never thought it would have happened, but you had to admit to yourself that you were happy. You had friends, you felt accepted, and you managed to have fun thanks to your friends, who cherished you. Moreover…
«I don’t really want to hurt your feelings,» Leana suddenly spoke, interrupting your thoughts, «but when we were in O’draxxia and you didn’t find the book, you almost looked… relieved.» your gaze met, and you realized you had a problem: your heart was clearly telling that you wanted to stay there, in that absurd world you’ve read about one random afternoon.
When you met Felix’s gaze, you realized you had another problem, maybe a bigger one than the previous one: you liked Minho.
Well, of course you already knew that, since he was your favourite character of the novel; however, liking the real Minho, the one daily standing in front of you, the one who went from threatening to throw you overboard to gently caress your hair until you fell asleep was a different kind of thing.
«I think I need a second.» you admitted with a sigh, staring at the wooden tiles on the ceiling,
“Let’s suppose I like him,” you thought, “I don’t think he actually likes me, he was probably tipsy,” you bit the inner part of your cheek, “what if he likes me and I like him and I find the book?” you scratched the back of your neck out of frustration, ignoring the fact that you wanted to scream, “what do I do?”
«Well, you could start with a simple “I think I have feelings for you and I don’t think I want to go back any longer”» Felix gently suggested, and as your gaze flew towards his, you realized that you had been unconsciously voicing your thoughts all along.
The same moment Felix was heading towards your room, Minho was heading towards the dining room, knowing that he would have found what he was looking for. The heavy smell of smoke and alcohol filled his nostrils, as he approached his friends’ table quietly.
«Loverboy decided to ditch his girl to embrace his old habits?» Chris glanced at him, quirking an eyebrow with a mischievous smile.
«I’m coming here in spite of myself, but I… have to.» Minho spoke in a dramatic tone that made Chris snort, waiting for his friend to tell them what was going through his mind, «I think I might like her.»
«We knew it already,» Hyunjin replied with no interest, his eyes still glued on his cards, admonishing Jisung because he was trying to sneak some of the coins off the table and inside his sleeve; Minho stared at his friend with stupor, but Hyunjin seemed too focused on their match to pay attention to his friend.
«"Like her" as in, “I want to hold your hand under the moonlight”,» Changbin – the only one beside Chris who was listening to Minho, suggested, «or “I want to ravish you until you can’t stand”?»
Minho didn’t answer immediately, choosing to think about it for a while, even if he didn’t really have to; he undoubtedly found you attractive, and over time, he found himself slowly getting incredibly soft for you, to the point where he would glance around at random moments of the day just to see what you were doing.
The more Minho’s silence went on, the more his friends had gradually stopped focusing on their match in order to look at him with curiosity and malice, enjoying how the pirate’s face gradually got flustered.
«As in… both.» Minho confessed, making his friends hum and mumble in acknowledgement.
«Ah! … Well, we knew that already.» Hyunjin replied again, his sharp gaze once again back to the table in front of them.
«What do you mean?» Minho asked quizzically, since it was the second time his friend had mentioned it.
«Yeah, well, remember when Jisung was teaching her the basic of self defence?» Seungmin – who had kept silent until then, asked making Minho immediately nod, how could he forget that day?
Jisung had been trying to teach you a few simple movements for what seemed to be hours, but in the end, you kept doing stupid and predictable mistakes because you seemed to be too tense to use a dagger – let alone a sword.
«Leave it, Han, she’ll end up stabbing herself by mistake.» he had told his friend with an arrogant tone, and he clearly remembered the flustered expression on your face.
As always, you tried to fight back, but this time it was a little bit different; that’s how you ended up chasing Minho through the deck while screaming «I’ll fucking kill you, I swear!» until Changbin decided to stop you by stopping you mid run.
«What about it?» Minho asked again, not understanding what his friend wanted to imply.
«Felix and few other saw you laughing,» Seungmin added, «therefore, it was just a matter of time.»
Minho placed his elbow on the table and roughly massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to analyse the situation he was in: he liked you, but what happened few nights ago was just a result of the both of you being tipsy, and moreover, he knew that you wanted to go back home. What was he supposed to do?
«I’m not an expert, but try with a simple “I like you, please stay here with me”.» Jisung had spoken as if he could read his thoughts; only then Minho realized that he had never been silent in the first place.
Minho had eventually joined you in your bedroom few hours after Felix and Leana had left, even if you had already stated that he either fell asleep or he was spending the night gambling with the others. You seemed to miss his presence more than you usually did, especially because that night you were freezing: no matter how many blankets you were laying under, you just didn’t seem to warm up.
“It wouldn’t be punk rock for me to die like this,” you thought, breathing in your joined fists as you tried to ignore the constant shivers of your body.
A familiar knock on the door caught your attention, and as soon as you recognized Minho’s voice whispering his greetings, you had to physically stop yourself from asking him to join you under the covers so that he could warm you up.
Unlike you, Minho didn’t seem to mind the cold that much, but nonetheless he quickly walked up to you, pressing the palm of his hand to your forehead just in case you had a fever.
«I’m genuinely wondering how the hell you manage to live like this.» you broke the silence, your jaw trembling because of the sheer cold; although you tried not to think to the accommodation of your original life, your mind couldn’t help but wander to your beloved electric heater, your faithful companions during winter.
«You just ... get used to it?» Minho questioned back, not really able to give you an actual answer; of course, during the first years he spent sailing he was in the same situation as you – everyone had, but he eventually got used to it.
Minho sat on the edge of your bed, mindlessly running his fingertips through your hair – a simple yet intimate gesture he had come to love.
«I can hear flowers blooming in that flower field,» he smugly commented the fact that you were keeping silent, and you clicked your tongue, asking what he meant, «what did you use in your world to keep warm?» he curiously questioned, and your heart soared at the realization that he was honestly and genuinely interested in your stories.
However, you were too cold for your brain to function properly, and you ended up talking about the concept of the electric heating in a very confusing way; nonetheless, Minho didn’t seem to mind you words, for his concern had increasingly risen.
«Hey,» the pirate interrupted your explanation, «are you sure you don’t want another blanket?» despite the fact that you were doing your best, he still noticed the occasional shivers and clattering of your teeth as soon as you stopped speaking.
«It’s okay,» you reassured him, «I used all the blankets Leana gave me… I’ll warm up eventually.» you answered hopefully, but Minho didn’t answer immediately; instead, he reached out, shortly enveloping your hand with his just to comment that it was as if you had stuck your hand into ice.
«Come here,» Minho said, stretching over your legs and fully sitting on your bed with his back against the wall, widening his legs so that he could form a space for you to sit in; you kept still in amazed astonishment, not quite trusting your thoughts on the hypothesis that Minho wanted to cuddle.
«Are you gonna kill me?» you blurted out, for your frozen brain decided it was the most likely solution.
«Quit that, princess,» he clicked his tongue, urging you to come closer, «you know we’re past that.» folding all your blankets around your shape, you slowly crawled in the space he made for you, trying not to lose the small amount of warmth you had created; you immediately tensed up, sitting straight and clutching the blankets closer to your body.
Since the night you almost kissed, you had never been so close to Minho, and for some reason, it was enough for your heart to pick up pace as if it was begging you to set it free through your ribcage.
«Come here,» the pirate repeated, his voice a little gentler – a little softer, and you found yourself leaning against his torso. Unlike you, Minho wasn’t using a blanket to keep himself warm and therefore he could move his arms freely; of course he used them to loosely cage you in his hold.
Although you had to admit that the position you were in definitely looked kind of weird, it was extremely comfortable; Minho’s steady breathing was slowly calming your nerves as well, and you found yourself relaxing in his hold.
«Do you want some of my blankets?» you mumbled quietly, embarrassed about the fact that you didn’t ask sooner.
«I’m good.» Minho answered immediately, gently repeating that you should try to sleep.
Despite the fact that you were comfortable, despite Minho’s presence, despite the fact that you were slowly warming up, sleep was definitely your last priority. The pirate’s nose brushed against your forehead as he was trying to adjust his position to get more comfortable, and you quickly noticed that his skin was cold as well.
«Minho,» you called out again few minutes later; the pirate hummed, and you took it at a silent question to go on, «can we please share blankets?»
«Why?» he chuckled at your distress, and you could feel his soft breath in the side of your face.
«You look cold,» you tried to justify yourself, «I have a lot of blankets, we can share.» you insisted.
Minho eventually gave up, and the both of you ended up shifting from your original position; however, this meant that your arms were touching as you were now laying next to each other, and there wasn’t a blanket you could use as an invisible barrier anymore.
Under the sea of sheets, Minho’s right arm snaked under your neck, pulling you to his body; as if you were magnets, you followed his lead, laying on your side and hugging his waist, resting your head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling as close as you could. Your nose was right against Minho’s neck, and you could almost feel the goosebumps he had whenever you breathed; you ended up blaming it on the cold temperature, since you were fond of keeping your mental sanity and you were madly trying to distract yourself from thinking about other ways to share body heat.
«You know, once we got stuck in the middle of an iced part of the sea,» Minho mumbled, talking about one of his adventures as if he was trying to prevent his mind from wandering towards the same sinful thoughts you were trying to avoid.
«What?» you hummed, too tired to try remembering if you read about it in the novel, «How did you get out of there?»
«Ropes,» was his immediate answer, «we ended up pulling on the rope until we could break the ice.»
«Like that “Vikings” episode,» you giggled to yourself in a tired voice; Minho had immediately questioned you about it, and you tried to explain to him what movies and TV shows were.
However, you were obliviously fighting falling asleep, reason why Minho ended up gently shutting you up with a gentle and earnest: «you’ll tell me about it tomorrow.»
As always you fell asleep first, but this time, when Minho moved you so that you could lay on your bed to sleep more comfortably and he could walk back to his room, you weakly grabbed his hand in your sleep.
«I get lonely if you’re not here.» you mumbled, still lost in dreamland. Minho was thankful to the lights being completely off and to you being asleep because the expression on his face was priceless: he was incredibly flustered, his blush was flaring up both his cheeks and the tip of his ears.
That night, Minho slept next to you for the first time, and as you randomly woke up in the middle of the night, you found him laying next to you under the sea of blankets; you instinctively snuggled closer to his chest, only to realize that you were partially laying on top of his firm chest. Not wanting to disturb his sleep, you tried to scoot away as quietly as you could in order not to wake him up, just to lay next to him.
However, that was your initial plan, since you soon found out that Minho was indeed a light sleeper; the arm he kept around your waist had tightened out of reflex, harshly pulling you in your original position once again.
«Where do you think you’re going, princess?» he murmured, his voice still groggy due to sleep.
«I, uhm…» you hesitated, your brain was clearly too sleepy to come up with a clever and witty answer.
Minho didn’t wait for you to find your words, though; keeping you close to his body, he gently rolled you on your back, partially draping his body over yours instead.
«Go back to sleep,» he murmured again, easing his left leg between yours, and nuzzling his head in the crook of your neck.
“He’s a cuddler?” you wondered in pleased surprise; your hand eventually ended up in his hair, running your fingertips trough it and trying to lull him back to sleep.
However, Minho found it impossible to fall asleep again, judging your wild heartbeat hammering right under his ear; he glanced up towards the small window in your room, and quickly deduced that it was still the middle of the night, meaning that you didn’t get to sleep much in the first place.
If at first he had tried to lull you back to sleep while caressing your hip in a loving manner, he quickly realized that his touch had quite the opposite effect on you; he also had to admit that the sudden proximity of your body and the position that you were in was making him significantly riled up as well.
«Can’t sleep?» he asked, shortly rubbing his eyes with his fingertips in order to get rid of sleep as fast as he could, deciding that you didn’t have to stay awake on your own; you settled for humming affirmatively at his question, and Minho effortlessly pushed himself up, partially balancing his weight on his right elbow so that he his face was hovering above yours. Due to the change of position, his thigh was firmly pressed between your legs, and you forced yourself to swallow a whimper as his knee slightly dipped in the mattress.
Despite the poor lightning, you could feel his gaze on your features, as if he was trying to see through the darkness; you were clearly trying to do the same, and another silence fell as the Golden Fleece was constantly rocking your body while gently following the rhythm of the night sea.
«Do you think the flowers growing in your head are contagious?» Minho blurted out all of a sudden, his left hand mindlessly running up your side in a gentle yet firm touch, «I think I might go back on my thoughts of you not being a siren.» he quietly added; you didn’t answer – your senses about to go overdrive due to all the different kind of constant stimulation added to the comfortable warmth of his body, settling for humming yet again, silently asking him to go on.
Minho ran his left hand from your side to your neck, and eventually started to run his fingertip over your features, delicately brushing over your skin ever so lightly, touching you as if you were some precious treasure he unexpectedly found in the middle of the sea.
«You have completely driven me mad,» Minho confessed with an earnest voice, his fingertips brushing over your cheekbones, «with affection,» he added, his touch brushing over the bow on your upper lip, «with desire,» you found yourself weakly gripping at the front his shirt as soon as you heard his hoarse voice overflowing with the feelings he was talking about, «to the point where I know I should want you to be happy, but I keep wanting – I keep craving, that you could find your happiness with me.» Minho’s confession made your head spin; you wanted to answer that his feelings were completely reciprocated, answer that you didn’t found happiness with Minho – you found a home.
However, your voice died in your throat as soon as the pirate had leaned in, his lips hovering barely above yours, yet almost constantly brushing together due to the ship’s movement.
«I am completely enamoured of everything about you,» Minho had whispered then, making you suddenly tighten the loose grip you had on his shirt to the point that the necklace he had been wearing since they day you saved the crew from the sirens’ had fallen out of the collar, now dangling between your bodies, «your body, your personality, the crazy flower field in your head, princess, I – I don’t want you to go back.»
Your heart was overflowing with a different mix of feelings, but the happiness of your feelings being reciprocated seemed to prevail.
«I stopped wanting to go back since me and Leana returned from O'draxxia.» was what you admitted out loud, your voice trembling due to all the sudden emotions that were almost setting your soul on fire.
Only then you leaned in – trusting your body more then your words, capturing the pirate’s lips in a timid first kiss, filling it with all the love you felt for the pirate. Minho returned your gesture immediately, kissing your lips slowly, tentatively, over and over again as he was trying to savour you, shortly kissing your lips just to drift his attention elsewhere and kissing your cheek, your nose, your chin, as if he was trying not to lose himself to the lust he was feeling. The kiss had eventually started to heathen when Minho leaned in to kiss you, just for you to run your fingertips through his hair and harshly closing your hand in a fist against his nape, tugging him closer to you and preventing him from running away, so that you could delicately running your tongue on his lower lip.
Minho’s kisses started to get less cherishing and more passionate, occasionally leaving a path of open mouthed kisses on your neck, his knee digging further in the mattress anytime he moved and creating the kind of friction you were honestly about to beg for.
It was as if you were a small ship adrift caught up in a sudden storm; Minho kept worshipping your body and all you could do in that moment was to take, take and take, hoping that as soon as the storm had passed you wouldn’t have completely fallen into madness, wishing to stumble right in another one because you felt addicted to the rush of adrenaline.
As your kisses grew hotter, so did your bodies and eventually, the sea of blankets you were covered with was progressively being scattered either on the floor or in a corner of your bed.
On deck, the sight of the sun about to rise in the distance was in stark contrast to the light drizzle that had started to fall, the sound of rain echoing on the wooden tiles and absorbing the faint noises of the pirates waking up for the morning shift; in your bedroom, Minho’s hair felt like gentle rain falling on your body everytime the pirate leaned down to kiss your skin as he was undressing you.
“Well, fuck,” you thought, admitting to yourself that Minho was definitely both a good and experienced lover. He had patiently took his sweet time to pay extreme attention to your body, studying how reacted to his different touches as if he was making up for all the lost time, occasionally showering you with praises as his head was nestled between your legs and he was lapping at your clit, making you quicklytumble on your first orgasm of the night.
It had definitely been a long time since you had sex with someone, your boring routine had never actually given you an opportunity to meet new people – let alone think about a relationship, but you weren’t expecting Minho to act so smug about it.
As your bodies were finally connected,Minho had sneaked one arm under your waist while steadily moving his hips against yours, harshly pulling it upwards so that your back would be a little more arched and your naked bodies would be pressed together even more; once again, you were greedily taking everything Minho was giving you, helplessly running your fingernails on his back deep enough you would leave marks, beaming yourself in the feeling of his low moans and the goosebumps erupting on his skin out of reflex.
«Going dumb on me for this little action, princess?» Minho’s hoarse voice was filled with desire as he spoke, his hips gradually slowing until his movements came to a stop; you immediately whimpered loudly at the lack of friction, trying to move your hips in circles because you were desperately to create it on your own. You wanted to feel more, you wanted for that moment to never end. As you kept your movements slow and rhythmic – you had to admit that Minho still hoisting you up was doing half of the job, you grabbed the necklace sill dangling between the two of you with your left hand, harshly tugging it and therefore bringing Minho’s face closer to yours.
«Do you ever shut up?» you answered instead, the nails of your right hand – still gripping at his shoulders, were most definitely digging half moon shapes in his skin, and you felt proud of yourself for not ending up whimpering with need somewhere along your sentence; even if it was probably dawn already, you couldn’t see him clearly yet, but it didn’t take a wild guess for you to know that he was smirking at your words.
«I don’t know, do I?» he challenged, shortly capturing your lips in a passionate kiss, starting once again to move his hips to meet your movements.
«Ruin me, Minho,» you urged, keeping him close to you with your grip on the necklace, «I want to be yours,» you confessed then, your body slowly about to lose itself to the momentary euphoria of another orgasm, «I don’t want you to be anybody else’s but mine.»
«Do you think we can sleep in?» you mumbled, tired; you could both clearly hear that it was raining, and you desperately wished for your alone time with Minho to continue for few more hours; you were now laying in bed, lovingly cuddling in your post orgasm bliss.
«I’m on duty this morning,» Minho replied, caressing the bare skin of your shoulder, and admitting that he would have loved to spend the day like this; eventually, you and Minho woke up, washed up and got ready for your day.
Of course, during the day, the pirate had used any excuse to drive you in a corner of the Golden Fleece and kiss you as desperately as if it was your last time.
Of course, you couldn’t escape a certain pair of eyes.
“Oh no, here they come, Sauron and Sauron jr.” you thought, chuckling to yourself as you saw Felix and Leana approaching with big and quick steps; you found it hard to contain your laughter, since they were lightly pushing and pulling each other as if both of them wanted to know first.
«Congratulations on the sex!» Leana had mischievously commented, and you immediately reached out to press your hand against her lips in a vain attempt to let everyone on the Golden Fleece know about your early morning activities, «you have hickeys everywhere.» you heard her mutter against your skin.
«Are you finally official?» Felix questioned, secretly happy to have you as a sister in law; you didn’t immediately reply, since you and Minho didn’t clarify it out loud.
However, as your gaze shortly wondered to your lover, who was continuously walking around on deck while changing his destination every now and then as he was trying to avoid Hyunjin’s Jisung’s and Changbin’s teasing – they were literally tailing him and occasionally trying to widen the collar of his shirt just to see «where do these scratches on your nape come from? Is there a stray cat on board or something?», you found yourself smiling gently at the sight.
«We are.» you confirmed, a smile on your face as you finally felt happy.
A month later, you and Minho were definitely official: he moved to your bedroom, and you managed to fit in your small bed nonetheless. You both spent your days doing your chores, and your nights enjoying your affection, either making love until you were exhausted or talking until you were on the verge to fall asleep.
Minho wanted to know everything about you, every single detail that you didn’t consider important, and you felt cherished, since you knew that no one had ever loved you like that. Actually, you wanted to know everything about Minho as well; although the author of the novel had paid enough attention to his character, there were a lot of things you didn’t know, and you found yourself listening to his stories, silently wishing that you were already in his company so that you could have experienced those memories together.
«You’re a pirate,» he had chuckled at your comment, «I’m sure you’ll get to experience your dose of adventures, too.»
Minho was completely smitten with your presence, and so were you; slowly, you found yourself occasionally forgetting about your life before you had shifted into this dimension, admitting to both your lover and your friends that you didn’t want to find a way to go home any longer. Needless to say, they were all more than happy with your choice.
However, a month later, your destiny gave you an unexpected choice.
The Golden Fleece was now docked to a port for your usual restock of supplies, and as everyone was busy with their commissions, you and Minho decided to wander through the nearby marketplace, since everything about that world was new to you. You ended up buying a matching necklace, since the both of you were too scared to lose a ring in the middle of the sea, and you kept playing with it as you were strolling around, your fingers loosely intertwined together.
The marketplace was filled with the most random people, but what captured your attention was a small stall that seemed to be packed with books.
«I’ll check this out for a second.» you told Minho, who had simply nodded at you, answering that he was going to check out the stall right next to yours.
As soon as you quickly approached it, a certain book seemed to catch your eye in a magnetic hold: it was relegated in leather, some golden details that recalled the title written in beautiful handwriting. Honestly, a small familiar detail was the one that caught your eye, making your heart rapidly hammer in your chest: a small golden stone embedded right under the title was quietly reflecting the sunlight.
Immediately, you found yourself fanning the pages with anxious fingers, and you couldn’t believe what you were reading; the book was talking about your life, the life you were leading before finding yourself in the novel you had been reading.
What the hell was happening?
Quickly, you jumped to the end of the book to read the summary, and you felt as if you couldn’t breathe: it was a short novel about a girl – who coincidentally had both your name and worked exactly where you used to work, who spent her quiet life in a small home town, occasionally meeting her friends.
Of course, it sounded rather plain and boring, but the description was perfectly matching your life; anxiety was slowly clouding your emotions as you opened the book at a random page.
“«Cleo, don’t sit on the window sill!» the girl had yelled from the kitchen, worried about her cat’s habits.”
You closed the book immediately, recalling the scene a bit too vividly; your cat had the habit to sit on the window sill anytime it was open, therefore worrying you to death, and every time you ended up picking her up in order to give her some extra cuddles to refrain her from climbing there yet again.
A whirlwind of thoughts were occupying your head; if this book was talking about your life, that meant you could go back to your ordinary life and keep living your days as you used to.
Going back meant not having occasional nausea due to living on a ship and not risking to die of hypothermia; moreover, all of a sudden, you were definitely craving to eat some junk food.
«Are you interested in purchasing the book, young girl?» an old lady called your attention. She was probably the owner of the stall, and you squinted your eyes at the familiarity of her face; to be honest, you were almost certain that she was the same person that owned the book-store in your original time, but that couldn’t be the case, right?
«Hey princess, if you don’t hurry up, we’ll leave you here!» Minho’s voice interrupted your thoughts, and your head seemed to clear just like the wind clears the sky after a heavy storm; you turned your head to look at your lover, who was looking at you with his hands on his hips, a smug yet enamoured look on his face. The Golden Fleece was about to sail, you reminded yourself, you had simply stopped in town to get some supplies, water and enough provisions for the next trip.
Out of instinct, you hugged the book to your chest, as your eyes remained fixed on Minho; you didn’t know anything about how you managed to end up in this messed up reality, and at this point, you didn’t care.
The chance to go back was right in your hands, but as you watched Minho scoff a laughter at your indecision, every trace of doubt vanished from your heart; you and Minho definitely had a rough start, but you had to admit to yourself that you wouldn’t want to live in another dimension without the pirate who was looking at you as if you were the centre of the universe.
Going back meant not having Felix waking you up in the morning, or Leana bursting into your room looking for cuddles because «Chris is busy with stupid pirate stuff.». It meant not seeing both Seungmin and Jeongin incredibly proud about the latter’s progresses in writing and reading, or Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin restlessly trying to lure you into their gambling circle.
Going back also meant no more Minho; no more walking up in the middle of the night just to cuddle closer to him, no more having quiet sex on deck in the middle of the night, no more laughing among yourselves because of a stupid inside joke you created, not having him gently chuckling at your unconsolable face anytime he was drying your hair with a towel as you kept whining about your limited edition conditioner.
Most importantly, it meant no more Minho telling you that he loved you, his eyes full of love and sincerity.
«Thank you, but I prefer adventure books.» you honestly answered at the lady, and with a content smile you placed the book exactly where it was; you quickly walked towards Minho, who hugged your shoulders out of instinct as the two of you walked towards the port.
«Saw anything you liked out there?» he wondered curiously; you sincerely seemed interested in the book you were holding, why didn’t you buy it?
«Yeah,» you answered honestly, «you.» the pirate scoffed a flustered breath, and you circled his waist as you kept walking.
Unbeknownst to you, the lady was looking at you and Minho with a some sort of fond smile on her lips; as soon as you were at a reasonable distance, the book seemed to vanish, as if it had completely disappeared from this world. In a blink of an eye, the old lady seemed to have disappeared as well, and in her place was standing the original owner of the stall, a man who was selling every kind of jewellery shining brightly on the table in front of him.
Few meters away, a cat with a very unique appearance – black fur randomly dotted with ginger spots and light green eyes, was quietly roaming the port, satisfied with her task.
She recalled being called in a different variety of names during her immortal life, “Ananke” was probably the most used among different cultures; however, she will always cherish the memories she had made with a very special human who had randomly picked her up on a rainy day, giving her a shelter, keeping her well fed and gifting her with a brand new name: “Cleo”.
Walking towards the Golden Fleece, your attention was caught by some pirates who were carrying a dozen crates on board that looked quite heavy.
«Did we have so little supplies on board?» you questioned Chris, as soon as you and Minho joined the others on the wharf.
«We had plenty!» Leana answered instead, «Me and Felix decided to fill your wardrobe with new clothes, as a welcoming gift!»
«But… I don’t have a wardrobe in my room…» you answered, wondering how could a wardrobe fit in there now that you and Minho were sharing the bedroom.
«Not yet!» Felix answered, mirroring Leana’s euphoria; you were about to answer him, when Hyunjin had asked you whether you had decided to stay with them.
«I did, Captain said it’s not a problem.» you nodded, imperceptibly pushing your body against Minho’s side as if to look for an invisible shelter; what if the gambler trio was against the idea?
However, Hyunjin had simply nodded, while Changbin and Jisung seemed to be genuinely happy about it.
«Well, that’s great!» you said, clapping your hands once, «Chris said that I could chose the first thing to do, and so I decided we’re about to raid a merchant ship!»
«Are you sure you’re okay? Did you perhaps hit your head again?» Seungmin wondered, instinctively reaching out in order to touch your forehead, as if checking if you had a fever. However, you were already walking towards the Golden Fleece with confident steps, as if you were meant to be there.
«Come on, scallywags!» you eagerly announced in a loud voice, as if you were impersonating the Captain, «Let’s go, Min Min.» you added then, your voice definitely more softer and a smile on your lips.
«Wait!» Jeongin halted everyone, his hands hovering in the air, «Did she just call him-»
«You heard the lady!» Leana interrupted Jeongin, quickly pulling the palm of her hand on the younger’s mouth. «Let’s go!»
“Ah, I really shouldn’t have wasted the Britney quote like that,” you pouted, “now I have to figure out another iconic thing to scream as we walk on the merchants’ ship.” you sighed, instinctively leaning towards Minho as soon as you felt his arm circle your shoulders.
«You seem lost in thought,» he pointed out, noticing your eyebrows furrowed.
«Does “it’s high tide, baby!” sound scary and menacious to you?» you wondered out loud, thing that made Minho burst out laughing, «Why are you laughing? It’s not like we can crash against their ship screaming “vibe check”!» you pretended to be offended, but you found yourself laughing along with your lover.
«“Vibe” what? Where did that come from now?» he asked, already knowing that this was just another one of your weird figure of speech.
«My flower field.» you proudly answered, tapping your temple twice, Minho rolled his eyes, and leaned in, shortly kissing your temple.
Everyone was busy on deck, the Golden Fleece had sailed once again; your gaze lost itself in the vast sea in front of you, and you found yourself recalling the question Leana had asked you when you were on your trip to O’draxxia.
«Do you believe in soulmates?» she had questioned you, and back then you uncertainly answered that you thought you did.
“What if me and Minho are soulmates?” you wondered, unconsciously wrapping your fingers around your matching necklace - both the one you bought at the market and the talisman made out of your precious clothes; you found yourself recalling the unpredictable change of your relationship, and you breathed a content sigh, for the first time in your life feeling completely at peace.
«Yes, we must be.» you softly mumbled to yourself, your voice barely above a whisper losing itself in the wind.
all works © lettersfromaphrodite
Do not modify, repost, translate or plagiarize my stories.
I only publish my works on tumblr & AO3.
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Fire of My Passion
group : ateez
pairing : poly dragon!ateez × reader, dragon!seonghwa × reader
genre : angst, fantasy, mature
word count : 13.2k
warning : slight gore (murder, abuse), death threat, murder intent, depiction of attacks and casualties, mentions of people getting hurt, psychological anguish
a/n : this is a fic based on @thelargefrye 's dragon!ateez universe !! honestly i really love the fics, i've been recommending it everywhere. if you haven't checked it, please read them first before you read this >:) you can find the dragon!ateez fics here here (m, mdni) here (m, mdni) AND BY THE WAY SMALLS IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SUCH A LONG FUCKING WHILE IDK WHAT I WAS DOING ASOGHOSIGOSIJ I STARTED BULLSHITTING AND I CAN'T STOP
There were things that Seonghwa was used to; calm surroundings, his books in the library, his mates, and his clan. Everything was in order, as it should be since generations before and he loves it. This castle is his home, his sanctuary, where his past happened and where he will establish his future. All were as they are supposed to be.
That was until you came.
"Sunyeol, no!"
Just the sound of your voice was enough to ruin his whole day.
The voices made Seonghwa snap his head to see you running after a hatchling not too far behind him, a little boy named Sunyeol who was holding something in his hand, running past him with glee while you were in tow. Less than three months ago, Seonghwa didn't have to worry about being aware of things around him when he sleeps as the clan was secure in the mountains but now, his mates were sleeping with someone who could potentially kill them without having to lift a finger. How will his ancestors react upon learning that he and his mates, high-ranking members of their clan, were sleeping with the enemy and have mated with the enemy and even brought said enemy to their home, their little safe haven? To be frank, Seonghwa didn't know which part was worse but he resented himself for not preventing you from being admitted into their lives. Because as usual, the witches do whatever they want and everyone was simply supposed to go along with it despite the pain and anguish. So imagine his fury when he saw members of his clan being happy with you. He hated it. He hated YOU so much.
Seonghwa's steps halted when he saw you cornering the boy and alarms started blaring off in his head. The scene was just too reminiscent of the countless murders of both adults and hatchlings in his life. "Alright, Sunyeol, you give me my stone back or else," it was obvious (to you and the hatchling at least) that you were being playful, it was nothing but a ruse to make things fun and the hatchling looked very much happy and engaged, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," each step you took made Seonghwa's heart beat louder in his chest, ringing in his arms like drums, "And we both know we don't want me using the hard way," the smirk on your face was menacing to him, it was a sign of threat. At that point, Seonghwa was no longer even looking at Sunyeol, his eyes transfixed on you, on how you were preying on that little hatchling boy.
In a flash, Seonghwa had you pinned onto the wall, his arm pressing onto your chest suffocatingly in a diagonal angle, using his sleeve to separate you from him because he couldn't imagine the disgust, the utter uncleanness, the absolute filth on your skin latching onto him. "Is that your ploy, witch?" Seonghwa's eyes narrowed as he glared at you with seething hatred, the pure anger that his eyes conveyed was enough to have your stomach sink in fear. "You come here, you pretend to be this nice little witch when the truth is you were just waiting for the opportunity to erase our entire existence, right? And this is how you start? From our precious hatchlings?" smoke started coming out of Seonghwa's mouth and fear struck you deeply. You were confused because you were playing with a hatchling, helping Mingi with his duties one second, and the next thing you know, you were about to die in the hands of a high-ranking dragon for being playful. You tried to claw his arm off of you, desperately trying to get oxygen back into your lungs, but it was apparent from his grip that Seonghwa's aim was to kill as he was seconds away from murdering you.
Had it not been for Sunyeol's cries, asking Seonghwa not to hurt you, you would have surely lost your life that moment. Even when the boy was brazenly tugging on Seonghwa's shirt harshly, screaming at the top of his lungs to let you go as tears streamed down his chubby cheeks, Seonghwa still hesitated to let you go. In his head, he was only thinking of the fact that he might not get a chance like this anymore, to get you in such a vulnerable place that he could just take your life so easily. But the sound of the boy's cries seemed to remind him that he couldn't just make a decision about not only his but his other mates' mate single-handedly. Surely the council will disapprove and his mates (the ones that like you at least no matter the small number), will have his head on a stick.
With resolve wavering (as much as he hated to admit it), Seonghwa let you go, pushing you off to the floor where you croak, struggling to breathe despite being able to feel the oxygen fill your lungs again. With a last glare sent your way, Seonghwa turned on his heels to leave but not before reassuringly patting Sunyeol on his head.
Truly, Seonghwa had no idea as to how and why would his kind be so accepting and understanding of your kind. Since they were merely hatchlings, they were already warned about what witches do, what they were capable of. Cautionary tales of how witches put enchantments on dragon folks lure them to their dwellings and make them turn into their dragon form before killing them. Their scales were sold as armour to dragon hunters, their teeth turned into necklaces that serves as wards with runes on them or ornaments like trophies in their homes, their blood drained to be used as an elixir or potion, and the rest of them were either put on display as a reminder of what they managed to kill, unable to get eternal rest or let just thrown away carelessly as if they were nothing. Those who were killed like that died a gruesome death with the lucky ones got to die in their human form. Seonghwa could never forget the time Hongjoong burned down an entire village filled with dragon hunters when he saw his father's dragon bones propped in the square as if he was nothing more than a statue while his mother and brother were killed in front of it. How he took his family who were already gone, into his strong talons and stayed there as everything burned around him. That day Hongjoong unwillingly became the clan's leader, shouldering the burden and the pain that he was yet to be ready for.
You can ask anyone and they'd say that Park Seonghwa is benevolent, he is kind and understanding, and he is compassionate. But he truly drew the line at you and your kind. He would never forgive you for just entering their lives and messing things up. Things might seem okay and good now, but he knew that the likes of you would only bring pain and misery to their lives, he knew it. It's hard being someone who can see things clearly but not wanting to mess things up as too much was on the line.
For now, all he could do was keep an eye on you and prepare for when he needed to defend himself and his mates, his clan. He'd give his life for them but moreover, he'd take your life to salvage them.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Thankfully for Seonghwa, you spent the next several days cowering in the shadows. He walked around in pride whenever he saw you clutching your chest when you saw him before turning around on your heels and running away. Usually, you'd be walking around with Wooyoung or Yeosang, Mingi would only be around you when you were working with him and he convinced himself that it was simply because he saw you as nothing more than a coworker, nothing romantic. But the three seemed to know nothing which means you hadn't told them that Seonghwa almost killed you. To that, Seonghwa gave you trust points for not being a tattle tale.
It felt refreshing not seeing your face so often as before. One might even able to see the little spring in Seonghwa's steps and the slight smile that was returning after months of not seeing it.
But of course, all good things must come to an end.
One fateful day, after the sun has long set and the halls of the castle was illuminated by candle lights, Seonghwa walked out of the library to be met with the sound of hurried steps.
"Hyung, they came! They fucking came!" San cried out, panting when he reached Seonghwa with Yunho next to him, looking equally distraught. Confused, Seonghwa looked at San and Yunho with clear confusion in his face, "Whoah, whoah, whoah, calm down there," despite his calmer tone, Seonghwa felt uneasy from how his two mates were acting. "Dragon hunters attacked the border residence, we have casualties," the words that left Yunho's mouth froze Seonghwa's body.
He didn't remember what he said, he didn't even remember moving because when he came to, he was at the place where the hunters attacked. A good dozen were being treated for trap wounds, cuts and bruises, and not far from where they were, five bodies covered in white cloth laid still. People were crying over their burnt houses and while there were only two burning houses, it was two to many.
"Where are they?" Seonghwa's voice was eerily calm and stern, an absolute darkness filled his aura and both San and Yunho could feel it. "They ran off to the woods, we have three patrols chasing after them," that was all Seonghwa needed from San for him to transform and chase after the hunters himself. It wasn't hard for him at all as his eyes managed to catch their thermal signature and they were mocking the dragons they killed, obnoxiously yelling how the tip was worth the gold they spent and it just angered Seonghwa even more.
Moments passed like a second and the next thing Seonghwa knew, he reemerged from the forest drenched in the blood of the hunters he just... exterminated. His eyes was golden and face hard, wildness and fury apparent and for a moment he seemed soulless, like a simple sentient being whose job was to kill and had no remorse nor any emotions whatsoever. Not even San nor Yunho dared to got close to him as they didn't know how Seonghwa might react. Heck, they didn't even know what was going on in Seonghwa's mind as he walked past them towards the castle. Neither of them would have guessed nor expected for Seonghwa to immediately target one person in particular.
You.
Dripping blood, he was making a trail everywhere but he didn't care. No, he couldn't care less about the mess he made. He was going to do what he should have done from the beginning. He should have protected his kind, he should have protected his mate, he should have made sure that you had no chance to hurt them even for a bit.
Luckily for him (but unluckily for you), he saw you walking from the path in the garden, seemingly coming out from the forrest it led to. And everything clicked in his head. You were the one who tipped the hunters in the first place. You were the cause of the despair that befell them. You were everything Seonghwa thought you were and more.
Just as you stepped back into the castle, Seonghwa ambushed you, pushing you off of the steps and out onto the grass. The impact didn't wound you but it surely knocked the breath out of your lungs, causing you to choke as you tried to retrieve the oxygen that was oh so harshly forced out of your body. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," Seonghwa's voice was cold as ice, void of any emotion and it frightened you. You began scrambling backwards only for Seonghwa to take steps closer to you and it was only when the moonlight hit him that you realized that he was drenched in blood. "How could you?" He caught up easily and grabbed you by the hair, pulling you up as you hiss in pain, "What could you have possibly benefitted from killing innocent people?" When you were at eye-level with him, you were able to take notice of the tears brimming in his eyes, some had dropped onto his cheek and mixed with the blood before pooling on his sharp chin. "We let you stay with us and this is the thanks we get? You tipping those hunters where we live and letting them attack us? Attack the people who are precious to us? The innocent people whom we swore to protect and you made us break our promise for what? What did they promise you?" At this point, the hand that gripped your hair had moved to the side of your head as his other hand gripped the other side with his thumbs on your cheeks, smearing blood that penetrated your nostril harshly but it wasn't as bad as the pressure Seonghwa was putting on your skull. "S-Seonghwa," you whimpered, your hands gripping his in an attempt to pry him off of you. The tears in your eyes did nothing to stop Seonghwa from trying to crush your skull. He was in anguish, he was mourning, he was betrayed and he didn't even have his trust in you in the first place. So how could he have let this happen?
Your fingers had begun scratching his hand as you cried for him to let you go, begging to not kill you while proclaiming that you did nothing, that you didn't know what he was talking about. But he didn't care, he didn't want to care anymore because he was hurt, he was angry, he wanted to punish you for what you did because how dare you deny the truth when it was so glaring?
"P-please Seonghwa, don't k-kill me," you cried, managing to grab his thumb and still trying your best to remove his grip on you. "I didn't do anything." "I should have killed you the second you stepped into this place, I should have killed you like you deserved after exterminating us like vermin." Emotions were running too wildly in Seonghwa, every emotion that he never realized he had were running through his body like crazy, controlling his mind and action to the point that he didn't even realize that he was crying hard at that point. Though tears blurred his vision, he was still able to see the look of absolute fear on your face.
Your brain was swirling with ideas on how to escape the situation because the last thing you wanted was to die in the hands of your mate's mate. And then you got the idea, you found your escape.
"T-think about Y-yeosang a-and Wooyoung! Think of how much," you momentarily paused to adjust to the feeling of Seonghwa's fingers digging into your skull and you were sure that it was permanently dented. At the mention of his mates, Seonghwa seemed to come to momentarily. The grip loosened slightly but his hands were still caging your head so while it gave you a little bit of hope that you'd be able to keep your life. "Think o-of how much they'll resent you if you were the one to make me disappear," it was apparent that your tactic was working, Seonghwa's sharp nails slowly relaxed from your scalp, allowing you feel the sting from the breeze that brushed through your hair. "Let me make myself disappear, that way they'll hate me and not you and it'll be much easier for them to move on.
Your words struck Seonghwa rather deeply as he considered your words, thinking that you had a point and he'd get an easy out with his mates. As someone who was always level-headed, Seonghwa was rather surprised at himself for being taken over almost completely by his emotions and even more so that he was even considering listening to you. It was truly a cursed day and the quicker you were gone, the quicker he can move on and forget about how shitty it is.
When Seonghwa's hand let your head go, you finally realized how warm his touch was because as soon as he let go of you, the breeze blew rather harshly and goosebumps rose on your skin. Or maybe it was the realization of what just happened, you were going to have to leave your boys without saying goodbye. Technically speaking, it was just Yeosang and Wooyoung and probably Mingi, but you think it was better for your sanity to believe that the only reason Mingi would miss you was that now he didn't have anyone to help him with the hatchlings. And God, leaving the hatchlings that you had grown so close with. Just as a couple of them proclaimed their love for you because they thought you were so cool and kind and loving and they wanted to see more of your grimoire, Weiss. How were you going to move past this life? The life that you never expected but found to love despite the obstacles in every way. How were you going to survive waking up all alone when you've been so accustomed to waking up with Wooyoung and/or Yeosang in bed with you. Their dragon warmth that could not be replicated no matter how much you asked Weiss (because he didn't want you to accidentally burn him) helped you through rainy days and anxiety-filled nights. It was one of your favourite things about them and they'd be more than happy to provide it to you. But over anything else, you can't believe you were leaving them just because your life was on the line.
Just as you were about to say your goodbyes to Seonghwa (not that he was going to care, but it was just polite that way), when he suddenly grabbed you by the neckline of your top, pulling you close to his face so he could speak lowly with his teeth bared and body vibrating. "I'm letting you off for now but make sure I can't find you, you hear me? I'm letting you off because I don't want Yeosang and Wooyoung to hate me for killing you no matter how fun it would be. Because believe me when I say that I have made a list of how to kill you in an excruciatingly painful and slow way that you would actually much rather kill yourself than have me spend my precious time and energy on you," each word was like a stab to your gut but the pain it inflicted was nothing compared to the fact that you actually believed him. Genuinely, you know for sure that he wouldn't hesitate if you gave him the chance.
Seonghwa then pushed you by your chest, not so hard that you fell but just enough to send you reeling slightly, stumbling before running off into the darkness in the woods. The last thing you remembered was Seonghwa's golden eyes turning back to their normal dark brown colour shining in the darkness as he returned to the castle. It was all you could think of as you travelled through the safety of the shadows that the trees cast, thinking that even if Seonghwa were to send his dragon guards at you, you'd still be able to feel the safety of the idea of being hidden so organically.
You must've run beyond your strength because the next thing you know, you stumbled down a hill and you fell rolling down. The impact all over your body seemed to bring your realization back a little because when you finally landed limply on the clearing of the meadow at the bottom of the hill, everything came crashing down to you. How you were so close to losing your life in the hands of your mate's mate, how you were accused of doing something you didn't even understand or know and weren't given a chance to defend yourself or even to provide your point of view, how you selfishly traded your love for your own life like a coward, and how you might not be able to see your mates again anymore. It was only then and there that you cried, your throat turned raw when you screamed out of agony. The pain of falling down and your ankle twisting was nothing compared to the pain of being separated from your mates and you couldn't even imagine what Yeosang and Wooyoung would wake up to, how they would react. For now, you for sure know that they'd have nothing but hatred towards you and you were willing to burden it all if it meant that they would be kept safe. Maybe Seonghwa was right, maybe whatever happened was your fault somehow, maybe you brought them bad luck or maybe there was a reason that you couldn't even think of at that moment. But you stood firm on your resolve that you were doing this for your boys, for them all.
As painful as it was for you, you wiped the tears off your cheeks and stood up straight, letting the pain all over your body drive you by reminding you of what was important. You could still see the castle where you had resided for more or less three months, the towers were slightly covered by trees but you could never mistake it, and you could never forget what it look like. But you couldn't focus on reminiscing now, not when you can't shake Seonghwa's accusation that you were the cause of their despair. So with a shaky breath, you cleared your mind and summoned Weiss who opened itself up for you with no question as your hands raised.
"Let's get to work."
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The past three weeks had been hell for everyone in the castle, especially for the residence. It was nothing like Seonghwa expected whatsoever. He had thought that by eliminating you, their lives would be much different and for the best. Never could he have imagined that the situation was much more complicated and dire.
"How is he?" Hongjoong asked, looking tired and stressed.
The head healer sighed and shook her head much to his and Seonghwa's disappointment. "Well, what do you know?" Although Hongjoong tried to sound confident, it was obvious that he was beyond worried, there was a slight quiver that indicated fear and while other people couldn't have noticed it, Seonghwa knew Hongjoong well enough that he was truly fearing for their newest addition. "Well... He's... Mourning, sir, the simplest explanation is that he was separated from his mate for too long that his mental state just... Broke," she explained timidly in a slightly bowed stance as to avoid Hongjoong and Seonghwa's gaze. At the mention of Wooyoung's mate, Seonghwa's body froze slightly, it was as if his body was involuntarily reacting to the trigger word or words in this case, immediately reminded of the scene where he drove you away by threatening to kill you. As far as Seonghwa knows, nobody else knew about that incident, no one knew he had almost destroyed you that night and that he didn't even see where you had gone to. He was just glad that you were gone. This, however, the news that Wooyoung suffered a mental break and Yeosang became so weak that he injured himself in a patrol was something Seonghwa didn't expect. In all honesty, he felt bad, he felt as if he was responsible, but he didn't want to believe that it was his fault so he put those thoughts on the back burner, trying to focus on how to better the situation instead.
The explanation didn't make Hongjoong feel better though as he couldn't really comprehend what is it that made Wooyoung experience such a devastating break. He tried looking at the two assistant healers but they too were avoiding his gaze as best as they could. "That's stupid," Hongjoong groaned in frustration, hands rubbing at his face harshly, "The oracle said he's our mate and if you haven't figured it out yet he's with his mates right now so you must be wrong!" he growled, terrifying the healers but didn't let them respond as he turned and walked away, yelling to them one last time, "You better come up with a better explanation and treatment plan for him!"
With a last glance spared to Wooyoung's bedroom as the healers reentered, letting the sound of Wooyoung moaning and crying in pain escape, Seonghwa followed behind Hongjoong. Maybe it was best for him to tell Hongjoong what he did, what he had done to Wooyoung's... mate. No matter how much they denied that a dragon could mate with a witch, they have to consider that fact now, especially with Yeosang's incessant and teary attempt of convincing them. The mood in the castle had gone down considerably and at a pretty drastic speed. One could argue that it was the stress of handling the dragon hunter issue and rebuilding the ruined houses and also calming the people down, ensuring their safety with double the patrols which obviously took time to assemble and set their working schedule. It was a miracle that all of them were still functional even though barely. Though, Hongjoong's dedication of time and effort to accommodate the situation was proven fruitful as they have yet to see nor sense another attack from dragon hunters. The patrolmen hadn't even sensed witches or their runes or potions around, meaning that it was more likely than not safe for them. Hongjoong and the others took this as a win as one issue is at least resolved. For now.
Other than Wooyoung and Yeosang, Mingi seemed to receive the third biggest hit. It had been a while since Seonghwa saw him practice his sword skills, abusing the life out of the dummy they usually use for practice and even managing to break three with a wooden sword for practice. As a carer of the hatchlings, Mingi was never expected to be the best in fighting as his main priority was protection over the little ones. While basic fighting skills were needed in order to protect the hatchlings if needed, none of them had ever seen Mingi letting out so much frustration and emotion which made him look terrifying. Thankfully, the children would provide him with some comfort, allowing him to still feel some semblance of warmth as he took care of them but once his duty ended, he would... clam up and go back to his sword practice. Yunho, San, and Jongho on the other hand looked detached even during their duties. While their quality of work wasn't affected, their mood does and it made them even more unapproachable, especially with the glare that Jongho and San would give to the other patrolmen. Yunho would more often than not venture off by himself, excusing it as him wanting to check something out by himself before involving the others.
"I went to the Oracle again," Hongjoong sighed as he and Seonghwa reached a secluded part of the castle, "I... Asked them about this whole thing," with his back against the cold stone wall, Hongjoong was able to lean his head back and just closed his eyes. Seonghwa sidled close next to him, his hand circled and rested on Hongjoong's hips to pull him close, the sudden act made Hongjoong open his eyes to look at his mate before accepting and just letting him get as close as he want. "What whole thing?" Seonghwa asked, his thumb began rubbing on Hongjoong's hips gently in an attempt to comfort the man. "Apparently... It was true," Hongjoong's head dropped to rest on Seonghwa's shoulder, feeling the absolute weight of responsibility burdening him so heavily that it was as if he could crumble then and there, "(y/n)... She's our last mate," an incredulous scoff escaped Hongjoong's mouth as if the words left a bitter taste in his mouth. Almost immediately, Seonghwa's body tensed up and froze, not believing his ears. "Yeah, I was surprised too," Hongjoong nuzzled his head deeper into the crook of Seonghwa's neck with his eyes closing once again, "What are we supposed to do? That little witch ran away and now once again we're left with cleaning her mess. How are we supposed to make sure that Yeosang and Wooyoung will be okay? They have truly mated with her so they're suffering greatly," Seonghwa felt Hongjoong lifting his head up slightly and when he looked down, he saw his strong leader's eyes brimming with tears, a rare occurrence that truly broke his heart, "How are we going to help them, Seonghwa? Why can I protect everyone else but them?" Seonghwa was quick to envelop the man in a tight hug despite he himself slowly becoming affected by his mate's words, he knew he had to be strong so Hongjoong could momentarily falter.
"Don't you even worry," Seonghwa said firmly, unknowingly using his own words to convince himself as well, "We're gonna get through this. We're going to be okay."
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone else, Yunho had taken it upon himself to venture off again. He had been feeling something... odd in certain areas, as if something was calling for him, wanting to be found and rescued by him.
It was odd.
Every day, Yunho woke up to the feeling of wanting to venture a little bit further out than his usual patrol would take. There was something about the hills that called to him but every single time he got closer, he found himself walking back to the clan. And each time he returned to his people, there was a sense of longing and sorrow. Today, however, he woke up and sense that he felt different than the previous days. He couldn't quite explain it, but he sensed that whoever or whatever it was that was calling him is reachable now. So he rushed to the path that called onto him, fully hoping to see something new, some kind of explanation.
What Yunho didn't expect, however, was the sound of a mountain troll roaring followed by the sound of branches crunching but louder. Immediately, Yunho got into his battle stance, thinking that the troll sensed his presence and wanted him gone from the area. His ear and thermal sensors were able to pick up where the beast was coming from and where it was headed easily. However, what intrigued him was another signature that was much smaller and seemed familiar. It was only when he saw you being thrown to the ground by the mountain troll as if you were nothing but a book.
"Fuck," You groaned, trying to get up and running away but the monster grabbed you by the leg and dragged you closer to it. You were already so weak from trying to run away from the brute, and it was getting so frustrating and hopeless as you were a lot smaller and weaker than the thing. To be frank, you could've taken Weiss out and performed magic to daze the monster so you could make your escape but that would be counterproductive as it would leave a signature and you were trying to not get caught or found by anyone. So equipped with only your with and your desperation to survive, you tried your best to pry the hand of the monster off of you by throwing whatever your hands could grab from the ground at it. But it was no use, it had no effect whatsoever and it even looked unbothered. A loud cry was ripped out of your throat when you felt its claws sink into your skin, to ensure that you wouldn't go anywhere and it was then that you realized that you were facing the last moments of your life without having your task completed.
Thankfully, Yunho stepped in just as the troll was about to drag you by your injured leg to its dwelling, possibly to be torn apart and eaten by its group. With unmatched strength and clean movements, Yunho easily sliced the monster's arm off of you and sent it running to the other side, growling, howling, and injured. Yunho could've run after it to finish the job like how he was trained to do, but he was more worried about you. When he turned his back to offer you some help, you weren't where you initially were and it made Yunho panic slightly as he hadn't even gotten the chance to talk to you. His eyes darted around to see you limping away in the direction from which you were running away from. "Hey!" Yunho called out, jogging to catch up with you easily as you were injured and he was not human.
To be quite honest, Yunho actually felt glad that he saw you again after a long while. There was a sense of relief that came with seeing and confirming that it was indeed you; his chest felt lighter as if a weight has been lifted off and he actually felt... happy. Said happiness was ripped away from him however when he first noticed that you weren't where you were on the ground. "What are you doing?" his hands shot out as you stumbled slightly, situating them near your body so if you were to fall, he could catch you, "We should be getting you back to the castle! You're injured!" he exclaimed, cringing when he saw your bloodied leg that you still forcibly use to stand. It felt odd for him to be so nice to you especially since your nice gestures had been reciprocated with nothing but disdain and rejection from him for months.
Much to his surprise, you barely spared him a glance as you shook your head whilst simultaneously producing Weiss into the open air. Oh, how the tables have turned. "Go away, Yunho, I have important work to do," ouch. "Like hell you do, you need to be taken care of right now," your stubbornness was almost endearing to Yunho at that moment as it reminded him of his mates, specifically Hongjoong. It was no secret that the leader has his priorities set on his pride and his pride only so more often than not, they were forced to use force on their leader to make sure that he gets his rest. So out of instinct, Yunho held your elbows so he could usher you to the castle to get some help and hopefully some answers. But his heart stopped in his chest when he felt you slap his hands away as you turned to look at him. Yunho's eyes widened at the impact, completely stunned and surprised. You were glaring at him but he could see that it wasn't hatred, not from how your bottom lip was trembling and tears were brimming in your eyes. "Don't make this harder than it has to Yunho, go away," you said before turning around and going back to "work" just a little bit further away from Yunho.
Yunho followed suit and he was about to scold you for not wanting his help when he watched what you were doing. Your hands moved in almost a graceful manner, going into your pocket and producing a white powder to spread on the grassy ground as you recite a spell. Slowly, a translucent film-like barrier appeared from the place where the powder was spread and up to the sky. He didn't know how tall it was, but he had a good idea of what it exactly was. "You put up a barrier to keep us inside," Yunho muttered as his eyes slowly trailed from the barrier down to you who had moved further away to continue the process. "Were you trying to imprison us?" the question had no malice in them but the way he immediately thought the worse of you made you flinch slightly, "Of course not, if I wanted to do that, Wooyoung wouldn't have been able to visit my cottage," you sighed before continuing your work. Immediately, Yunho's eyes widened at your revelation, "How did you know that? Have you been spying on us?" again, he didn't mean any harm, it was just that he was in such a state of shock that it caused him to have a poor choice of language. Still, you didn't know that and it still hurt. "No, I was never spying on you all. I was making sure that you all were safe from hunters," you planned on concluding your explanation there, clapping your hands to get the remnants of powder off before limping away.
Of course, your exit was not made easy. Yunho grabbed your arm and turned you to him, this time looking at you with genuine worry in his eyes. "(y/n) please, come back with me to the castle, you need help from the healers!"
You had been hoping for months that one of them other than Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Mingi would reach out to you and asked you to stay just as Yunho was doing. But you couldn't shake off the fear Seonghwa had struck you. You couldn't even go back to living in your cottage as you were afraid that he might find you just to make sure that you were really gone or that Wooyoung or Yeosang might find you and brought you back or even just told him that they saw you back in your cottage. You couldn't risk it and you couldn't risk going to your mother's place as they could sense the dragon off of you and they might enchant you to tell them where they were. So you hid in plain sight, you set up camp in the meadows, right where you fell off after your encounter with Seonghwa and stayed there even after your barrier was set up and it was a good thing that you did because, during the past three weeks, several hunters got close to the area and you had to drive them away with enchantments and monsters ran rampage that almost broke the ward in the barrier. You had pride in your work, everyone inside was not able to look past it and those outside can't peek in except for you. If they even thought of venturing past, the barrier would incept their minds and lead them to go back to the clan instead. Of course, they were able to go out past the barrier, but not from the front entrance that you set which was the area of your camp, they were very much welcome to use the path past the river. You mostly patrol the front entrance and every once in a while, you were able to see some of them with other patrolmen. Mostly Yunho and Jongho, but you remembered seeing Yeosang and how weak he looked just three days after you left. You really wanted to hold him, hug him, tell him that you were sorry for leaving without saying anything but it was for his own good. And then you saw Wooyoung in your cottage. You didn't mean to follow him per se, you were just making sure that in his frantic state, the hunters wouldn't find him or he wouldn't do anything stupid. You even had to enchant him to go back and that was the last time you saw him.
It took everything in you to not give up and tell Yunho everything; what had happened and most importantly, how much you wanted to go back home to them, be with them. But you couldn't. You don't belong there with them.
"I'm sorry Yunho," you whispered. Before he could ask what you meant, you had placed your fingers on his temple, the touch allowed your powers to permeate Yunho's mind and sent him into a frozen state. You could feel his consciousness lowering ever so slightly as you recite the spell that would make him think that this was a dream and send him home. Yunho could feel it, your magic coursing through him and it felt warm, it felt nothing like what his elders told him a witch's magic was like. As you and him connected on that deep of a level, unbeknownst to you, Yunho was able to feel your pain, fear, longing, and love that wasn't just for Wooyoung and Yeosang, but for every single one of them including his clan. It was his first taste of pure and genuine love and devotion and he felt safe in it. Just before Yunho lost consciousness completely, he said something that surprised you as it was the first time someone had managed to peek out from your mind spell. "W-What about Yeosang? What about Wooyoung? They- we, we need you." A soft, sad smile appeared on your face and you shook your head at him, deciding to say something that you had no idea he would take to heart completely.
"He'll be fine. They both will, take care of them for me please."
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The guilt was eating Seonghwa inside and out.
It had been a week since Hongjoong's revelation that you were supposedly their mate too and he felt like he was going insane. Days spent putting out one fire after the other with Hongjoong but thankfully it wasn't literal fire like the ones before. The things he had to handle were mostly over his mates being so unfocused they made mistakes in their jobs. San accidentally hurt himself during patrol, gashing his own leg by mistake when he tripped and fell down the stairs so harsh he had to be put to rest for two days. Jongho looked so worn out that he actually broke down crying one night to Seonghwa, saying that he didn't feel quite right and it was exhausting knowing something's wrong but not knowing where to start fixing it. Yeosang and Wooyoung were still in the same state; Yeosang's weak with cheeks hollowed, lifeless as he remained catatonic in his bed while Wooyoung reached a new level of despair; only saying "(y/n) please come back, i need you," as he made numerous attempts to travel out of the castle to find you only to pass out not even three steps from the garden. Frankly the only functional ones were Mingi and Yunho, keeping up with their duties while filling in wherever they were needed. Yunho was especially surprising because he suddenly spend his nights in Wooyoung's room, accompanying and making sure that he was okay before leaving to rest himself.
But everyone had their limits and this was it for Seonghwa.
He couldn't admit this before but he felt that his chest was hollow, his heart beating without his heart being there and his passion diminishing. Even Hongjoong took notice of this when he noticed Seonghwa slowly skipping his meals and remained to himself for the majority of the time, not saying anything when it wasn't truly dire. This, of course, led to fights between the two eldest as Hongjoong was afraid that he would be the last one standing, holding onto every last bit of remaining sanity in the group desperately while his partner was reduced to something similar to Yeosang. Seonghwa kept trying to convince Hongjoong (and himself) by repeating over and over again that he wouldn't, that he had a better grip on his sanity and control over his urges than Yeosang because he had never done the mating ritual with you. But of course, what he neglected to tell Hongjoong was the fact that he was so guilt-ridden that he has been functioning on anxiety for a couple of days and he had been travelling outside for a bit every day in hopes to see you. For the first time ever, Seonghwa was actually disappointed that he didn't see you anywhere near the castle and not even your cottage every time he checked there.
You truly did believe that he would end you and somehow he disliked that. The idea sent a bitter taste to his mouth like poison or rancid meat.
Now, however, he had to put his feelings and stress aside because he had to deal with Wooyoung who had once again left his bedroom without anyone noticing to venture out of the castle in search of you. With frantic steps, Seonghwa looked for Wooyoung, hoping that he'd be in the garden where you and he once spent hours cultivating and replanting herbs to be used or studied, or in the library where you spent the whole night reading dragon folklore to Wooyoung while stroking his hair, or even in the kitchen where you two stole cookies in broad daylight as a challenge to see if either of you were as subtle as you claimed. It surprised Seonghwa how he know so much about your behaviour yet claimed that he had no care for you whatsoever. Maybe he had been too stubborn to admit the fact that despite your identity, the connection was truly there and it was strong. His stubbornness also exists within the actions that he made namely not telling anyone else that Wooyoung had once again made a crazy escape in a very unwell state because he thought that as the oldest and the second in command, the last thing he needed to do was to involve people who were resting and made it seem like he couldn't handle certain issues by himself. God forbid that.
Suddenly Seonghwa remembered where you would sometimes take Wooyoung when you couldn't find the herbs you needed to make your (demonic mind control) potion. "Shit, he better not be there," despite his complaining, Seonghwa transformed as he jumped up to fly to where he thought Wooyoung might be. It was at the bottom of the hill where there were tons of stumps where mushrooms could grow freely and due to the type of wood growing in the area, there was one type of mushroom, a special and rare one, that could either heal someone's ailments and clean the body or kill them when consumed incorrectly. He remembered you talking about that because you had once prepared the drink for Seonghwa after he spent two weeks dealing with an issue with the neighbouring clan and was so close to passing out. Of course, back then he accused you of trying to murder him and slapped the glass off your hands harshly so that there was a large red mark on your skin for the next couple of days. Ironically, when he did pass out, he was brought back to good health by your mushroom incense which made him throw up all the toxins and fatigue that accumulated in his body from his neglecting it so bad which to stay true to his hatred towards you, he claimed that his body was rejecting whatever it was you used to incapacitate him and decided to just be better so he could fight you off.
From the sky, Seonghwa could barely see anything through the thick trees but he tried his best to sense Wooyoung. After all, he was weak and slow, it shouldn't be too hard to locate him. It wasn't until he heard sobs and a voice calling out for your name so brokenheartedly that Seonghwa dove down and transformed as he reached to ground to see Wooyoung lying on the dirty ground limply as his hands tried to pull the grass so he could crawl to his destination. Seeing him like this made Seonghwa's eyes water and his heart clench so painfully harshly that he thought it might stop beating. This was all his doing, it was all his fault for making a single-handed decision out of his sheer stubbornness and trauma, incapable of considering the fact that his mates might have been right about you because he thought he knew best.
"Wooyoung," he called out, wiping the tears that were cascading down his cheeks as he crouched down near the man who looked so broken and lost and abandoned. Wooyoung didn't even acknowledge Seonghwa's presence, he kept trying his best to pull himself forward more but the lack of strength in his body did nothing but gave him frustration. "Wooyoung," Seonghwa tried calling him again, his voice cracking slightly as he grabbed the younger dragon by the shoulders to stop him from moving more and potentially hurting him. The sight of his dirty, tattered shirt was something Seonghwa didn't look forward to finding out. To his surprise, Wooyoung was able to shrug his grasp off of him, making his escape by using whatever was left in him to stand up. "I need to see (y/n)," he croaked, lifeless eyes staring forward at seemingly nothing, "She needs me, she's calling for me," though he said with little to no facial muscle movement, the tears that sprung from his eyes indicated just how desperate he was.
The thought of scooping Wooyoung and simply taking him away flashed in Seonghwa's head. It would be so easy to just grab him and take him away, God knows it would be best for the both of them. But Seonghwa felt in his gut that he wouldn't be able to cope with the knowledge that he has once again done something that was against what his mate wanted. Another thought flashed in Seonghwa's head, was he about to let his mate do something that could potentially end his life? Not on his watch. So how was he going to convince Wooyoung to return home?
Seonghwa's deep thoughts were cut short when he heard rustles coming from the darkness in front of them and soon cloaked figures emerged from the shadows. The second they stepped close enough, Seonghwa could smell the stench on them, the stench of dead dragons. "Dragon hunters," he muttered to himself, highly alert and swiftly pulling Wooyoung back against him. It didn't even matter to him that Wooyoung was thrashing like crazy, sounds and words from Wooyoung's mouth muddled together, making him incoherent. While this just made Seonghwa panic more, as his brain immediately thought of ways how he could get both himself and the inconsolable younger dragon out of there safely, the hunters seemed to find Seonghwa's state of panic highly amusing.
One of the hunters took his hood down to reveal his face which was half hidden by a headpiece made from intricately placed dragon scales with sections that go down his jaw to his chin decorated with dragon teeth. It was highly disrespectful to wear the carcass of such majestic creatures like that but of course, those hunters don't care, the more ridiculous they looked the higher regard they got from their fellow hunters.
"Looks like we have our work half done for us, boys. We can get the crazy one to the Head of the Coven and have her turn him into a puppet for children's show or for the circus," he laughed with boisterous laughter following after him. "The taller one we can use for accessories. Did you see the colour of his scales? We'll make bank with a lot left for ourselves," the hunter's eyes zeroed in on Seonghwa as if Seonghwa was a treasure that he had been looking for.
Horror struck Seonghwa and dread washes over his body at the mention of his dragon form. It was his fault that the hunters found them, he led them here because he couldn't be bothered to take the hard way and be discreet as he looked for Wooyoung. Not to mention his stubbornness and need to prove himself that led to him not alerting the others that Wooyoung was gone and that he needed help was going to be the reason his other mates will blame themselves if anything were to happen to them both.
"Get them, but make sure you don't nick their skins, I want to make sure we can get the best price," the same man said simply, cockily looking down at Seonghwa and Wooyoung as if he was sure that he was going to get the both of them. His confidence effectively struck his companions positively as they soon took menacing steps forward, seemingly to corner Seonghwa. Between making sure he had a secure grip on Wooyoung and trying to find a way to escape, Seonghwa couldn't even estimate the number of hunters around them. Were there more? Are they surrounded? What weapons do they have? Which clan did they come from? What do they want? There were thousands of questions running through Seonghwa's head which didn't help with him concocting a way to escape.
For some reason, Seonghwa was calling to you in his head. It was odd, he didn't know what it was exactly that you could've done and to be quite frank, he had always mocked you for it, calling you useless and unnecessary because he couldn't be bothered to learn about your power. Despite that, he was calling for you in his head because he had a feeling that you would know what to do to deal with the hunters and even how to deal with Wooyoung and perhaps even calm him down a little. The grip Seonghwa had on Wooyoung was trembling slightly, he was slowly consumed with uncertainty and anxiety and he feared that the hunters must have had something on them that made Seonghwa feel like so. According to their words, they must have had witches living among them and they have been helping these hunters capture dragons. He could only assume that those witches are powerful too because Seonghwa felt his legs trembling and his chest tightening, he was slowly being overcome with anxiety and while he was still able to function, Wooyoung was wailing. With each step the hunters took closer to them, the more sure Seonghwa was that it would be the end of him and Wooyoung. His grip slipped ever so slowly but he still tried to hold on to the younger dragon, he wanted to hold on. Because however, the situation will end, he wanted to be selfless and be there for the mate that needed him.
When a sound popped out from the left side of the hunters, Seonghwa was damn near using the last of his sanity to turn into his dragon form and breathed fire at whoever made that sound. But it was a good thing he didn't because he immediately recognized you standing there, looking seemingly harmless but he noticed the determination in your eyes and it was enchanting.
"And what the fuck are you supposed to be?" One of the hunters scoffed at you, thinking that you must be a joke.
With a raised eyebrow, you whipped Weiss out and shoved both hands into your skirt pockets. "The last thing you'll ever see, unfortunately," in a split second, your gaze shifted to Seonghwa and though you spoke in a low, almost whisper-like tone that seemed to sound louder than it actually is and echoed in his ears, "Duck"
As soon as Seonghwa's front side made contact with the ground with Wooyoung in his death grip, he heard something sizzling that was followed by the smell of something burning and men screaming around him. Seonghwa couldn't look around as the sound of men screaming into the night was deafening and it caused his body to freeze in utter shock. The only thing he could see was you standing a little far away from him and Wooyoung, face emotionless with hands covered in a thin layer of white powder and your chest slightly heaving. Seonghwa didn't know what was happening and frankly, he was rather hesitant to find out because whatever it was you did wasn't good.
Your eyes met Seonghwa soon and his stomach dropped, he had never seen you like that before and he suddenly felt the urge to say a lot of things to you. He wasn't sure what those things were, but he knew there was too much to say. He was about to get up and run to you when you lifted a hand to him and shook your head, "Run," you said simply, taking small steps to inconspicuously return to the safety of the shadows. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, Seonghwa felt his heart clench when you told him to run, to go AWAY from you instead of TO you. He could only assume that you would be happy that he finally wanted to be close to you but instead you were acting so cold and dismissive towards him. The screams of men in pain snapped Seonghwa back to reality, however, realizing that all of the hunters were in fact distracted enough that they wouldn't even attempt to follow him if he were to safely return home. You had provided him with an escape.
So Seonghwa did what he thought he should do despite the aching feeling of uncertainty about whether or not he or any one of his mates would see you again, he had to prioritize and at that moment, Wooyoung seemed more important than anything else. He grabbed Wooyoung and moved to pull him up despite him wailing for you, calling out your name and trying to claw his way out of Seonghwa's grip. "Wooyoung, snap out of it!" without hesitance, Seonghwa slapped Wooyoung across his face which seemed to stun him enough to focus on Seonghwa, "We need to get out of here! We don't have time to spare or chances left!" Desperation palpable in his voice and the eyes that conveyed a thousand emotions finally penetrated into Wooyoung's mind and for the first time in weeks, he was able to give a sound response. Slowly, Wooyoung nodded and stood up, wincing as he realized just how sore and weak his body was while Seonghwa followed suit. Hastily, Seonghwa pulled Wooyoung further away from the group of wailing men, "You need to turn and fly away home, okay? Call for help, and I'll distract them as best as I could to make sure they don't follow you," Wooyoung opened his mouth to say something but Seonghwa raised his hand to stop him, "You are in no condition to argue with me, just trust me and do as I said."
Of course, even with Seonghwa's order, Wooyoung's heart still yearns for you, he wanted to be with you after being separated for so long. Hoping that he would be able to make eye contact with you, Wooyoung glanced to where you were standing only to be met with the sight of shadows casting through the woods. "Go!" Seonghwa growled, pushing Wooyoung slightly away when he only stood still. Reluctantly, Wooyoung shifted and flew back as quickly as he could to the castle, roaring in the air in hopes that someone from the clan heard him.
Seonghwa was too preoccupied with making sure that Wooyoung was okay that he neglected to see the leader of the hunter group coming at him with an obsidian blade. He only realized what was happening when he caught his shadow moving from the corner of his eyes and even then, Seonghwa knew that it was too late for him, he was going to be stabbed with a poisonous blade and he could potentially die. Things started to move in slow motion and his eyes closed, defeated, as he waited for the pain to strike him whilst he continuously reassured himself that even though he was going to die, he managed to get Wooyoung to safety first.
The sound of the blade taking flesh in between flesh was gut-wrenching to Seonghwa and he could only imagine how the stone would interact with his dragon blood, turning everything toxic and rotting his flesh from the inside out.
He waited and waited, but the pain never came. When his eyes finally opened, he was beyond shocked to see you in front of him, the blade nesting in your right shoulder as you stared up at the hunter dead in the face. There were a lot of things that Seonghwa didn't expect from you and on the very top of that list were you jumping in front of danger for him, putting your life at risk for him. He expected you to do that for the others, even Hongjoong (since he's the clan leader), but not him. Never him.
"Wrong move," you spat and before either he or Seonghwa could react, you pressed your powder-covered hands to his face. Then Seonghwa saw it, he saw the man's face sizzling under your touch in the areas where his dragon scale helmet was and around its area. As if it wasn't enough, you mumbled spells that soon caused blood to leak from the man's eyes, his pupils constricting to the point that they were mere dots as his throat vibrated with the agonizing cry he let out.
Only when the man dropped to the ground at your feet that you let your arms fall to your sides. Slowly, you turned to Seonghwa and Seonghwa could see the more relaxed expression on your face. Then his gaze dropped to your body, specifically to your blood-drenched hands. He didn't know whether it was the hunter's blood or yours, everything was just too messy for him to see clearly and he didn't even know where to start looking. "(y/n)..." he called out reaching out to take your arm in his grip gently but you scurried away abruptly as if you were scared, you would've continued if it wasn't for the tree that you accidentally hit, making you wince from the pain of the blade. "Please don't kill me," you whimpered slightly, inching to the side of the tree in hopes that you could make a quick exit. The words somehow struck Seonghwa deeply, he was well aware that he was the one who threatened to kill you in the first place but he never realized that you would be so affected by it. The fear in your eyes when you looked at Seonghwa without the safety of hunters to excuse your presence somehow bothered him. Just a couple of weeks ago Seonghwa would've taken great pride in instilling such crippling fear into you, but now he just hated how you wanted to get away from them now. From him.
"You're hurt..." Though his voice was wavering slightly, Seonghwa tried his best to keep a strong front, wanting to show that he wasn't letting his emotions get the best of him. And it worked, you only took further steps away from him because you felt that he was being so stoic and perhaps he was giving you a false sense of security just to trap you and kill you. So you quickly shook your head at him, not wanting his words to influence your decision to go back into hiding and plan a better strategy to protect them.
With every faltering step back you took, Senoghwa seemed to want to follow and it scared you. He wasn't taking more steps than you but his strides were longer. Right then and there, you could feel a pull to him, a pull that you've experienced with Wooyoung and again with Yeosang when he finally opened his heart to accept you romantically. The feeling was warm and comforting, reassuring of your safety and life despite the poison that was entering your bloodstream. You had been so focused on Seonghwa that you didn't even notice the little trick the leader hunter pulled to ensure incapacity towards any of his enemies, dragons or not. The poison he used was deadly to dragons, capable of paralyzing them in 30 seconds and completely killing them in 20 minutes. While it wasn't as deadly to humans, you didn't have much time until you grow weak in your tent and die slowly for days whilst locked in your own body, able to feel everything but unable to do anything.
Thinking that the chicken dance you and Seonghwa were doing could last a while, you decided that you should just make your escape so you could treat your wound as soon as possible. With a smile thrown at Seonghwa, your feet took their position to run, "I'm glad you both are safe." Seonghwa's body went into an immediate state of panic as he heard you say that, alarm bells started going off in his brain knowing that that was your way of saying goodbye. He had been so determined to find you and bring you home, how could he just let you go? It wasn't like he was trying to force you to come with him or even kidnap you, but he wanted to bring you back home where you belong. The home that Seonghwa had so selfishly taken away from you and for what, pride? In the name of trauma? Nothing could excuse his behaviour and that was why he wanted to make sure that he could make up for it. And he couldn't do it when the person he wanted to make up to isn't there.
As you turned around to flee, you felt something shoot up your spine and your vision turned black. The pain made you want to scream and you could've sworn you were screaming in pain. But in reality, your face was lax and your body swayed to the side, gravity doing its job pulling you to the ground when all strength left your body. The last thing you hear was the sound of someone calling your name, then a couple more that was followed by flaps of wings and rushed steps. You must've imagined things. Out of all, however, Seonghwa's voice was more prominent and you could've sworn the palm that supported your head as you fell belonged to him. Well, you must've been beyond delusional which means the poison was doing such a marvellous job. This was maybe the sound that was sending you off to the afterlife and to be honest, you could be hearing worse.
Now all you had to do was welcome what comes next.
Whatever it was.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
"Hyung?"
Seonghwa's head snapped up to the door when he heard someone calling for him. The door to your room was shut with a heavy thud and Mingi came walking in with some things in his hands. "I thought you were told to rest," the younger sighed, displeased that his older mate was disregarding the words of healers who had instructed Seonghwa to take it easy on himself. Seonghwa shook his head as his gaze dropped back to the woman sleeping on the bed, looking like a corpse with how she was unmoving and unresponsive but still alive as indicated by the flush on her cheeks and lips. Since when do Seonghwa think of you like that?
Though Mingi was worried for him, Seonghwa only waved a hand dismissively at him, "No, I... I put her in this situation, I should take care of her."
When Seonghwa brought you back to the castle, not only were his mates up and about due to Wooyoung's warning (and being absolutely surprised that Wooyoung was functioning normally), but they were preparing to save you and Seonghwa. So when they saw Seonghwa in your arms, they thought that you had died. Chaos ensued when Seonghwa reassured everyone that you weren't dead but were definitely dying if you weren't treated immediately. Coming to his senses first, Yunho scooped you from Seonghwa's arms and carried you to the house of the head healer just outside the castle area followed by Yeosang who regained some strength at the mention of you and also Wooyoung. As soon as you were out of sight, Seonghwa dropped to his knees, legs lost all strength as tears poured out of his eyes, coating the skin of his cheeks in a glittery sheen. That was when he grabbed Hongjoong's hands and confessed to what he did, how he threatened to end you because he thought you helped orchestrated an attack. He confessed how he almost did kill you that night, how he single-handedly exiled you because he thought he was doing what was best for everyone. He confessed how it was his fault Yeosang and Wooyoung almost lost their minds and how the others were suffering, not realizing that it was because their mate was told to stay away from them.
That night Seonghwa received nothing but confused, cold glances from his mates even as he was being patched up. It wasn't that they hated him for what he did nor were they mad, it was just the fact that Seonghwa kept such a big secret from them. Moreover, after Wooyoung recounted how you had saved him and Seonghwa from out of nowhere which prompted them to ask Seonghwa how you got stabbed by an obsidian blade. Of course, Seonghwa told them everything, he told them about how you jumped in front of him with no hesitance which saved him completely from danger. Then there was a conversation of dragon's honour, how they should never bite the hand that fed them (literally or not). Mingi was the first to innocently bring up the fact that you had been but nice and generous to Seonghwa but he had only returned your kind gestures in utter disdain. Hongjoong defended Seonghwa by saying that despite his actions, he did not break a dragon's honour as you had never saved his life before. Then surprisingly, Jongho backed Mingi up by saying that the dragon's honour doesn't only apply to live-saving situations, it also applies to general, mundane situations which prompted Hongjoong to snap at the youngest, saying something along the lines of "If I remembered correctly, you wanted to stake and burn her to see if, and I quote, 'she smells like rotting eel like the rest of her coven' when she first came to us" which was not received well by Jongho.
Now, five days later, you were still not up but the tension amongst his mates had died down and things had started to turn for the better. The warriors were less antsy and got even more confident with the additional good news that Yeosang was finally cleared to come back on duty 3 days ago. Wooyoung was once again able to function normally, returning to his studies with the healers whilst sharing the recipes he learnt from you during the time you lived together. Hongjoong was finally able to calm the council and was able to address the questions regarding the citizen's safety with more assurance. Mingi brought the good news that you were back to the hatchlings and they were more than elated, immediately asking Mingi when they could see you again which made him so happy. And Seonghwa felt much more at ease with knowing that you were there with him, knowing that they were once again whole despite your comatose state. One thing for sure though, you were never left alone without anyone's watch. Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Mingi had taken it upon themselves to sleep in your room with you with Mingi dragging a (not so) begrudging Yunho with him. Jongho would only stand guard outside your door in the afternoons when everyone else was too busy with their own duties while San would stand guard inside your room but away from you, both were still feeling awkward because they had been so bad towards you and they didn't feel their fussing over you would be justified. Hongjoong would keep watch from afar and through his staff, asking questions directly to the healers or (not so) casually asking the members on watch about your condition during their supper. Seongwha remained a constant by your side though, adamant about being there when you woke up. He would do his duties from his seat and only leave when absolutely necessary and even then, he would rush and make sure someone was in the room with you.
Whilst keeping watch on you, Seonghwa made the realization that you were the difference that they needed. It could be because of the fact that you were destined to be mated with all eight of them, but it was also possible that it was because you were... you. Never had he experienced such a drastic difference that happened with a person's absence and presence. It was as if you forged their life force, your mere presence elevated their energy in more ways than one. He had been a fool to let his ego cloud his judgement.
Mingi walked towards you with a gentle smile on his face, his hand gently placing a flower crown on top of your head, "Hi there, I... made this when I took the hatchlings outside to learn about nature. They missed you so much," he wanted to say how he missed you too, but the presence of Seonghwa only made him swallow his own words. Mingi then turned to the older male, sighing when he saw his eyes busily darting through scrolls for different businesses that Seonghwa needed to tend. "I'm worried for you, hyung," Mingi confessed, eyebrows scrunched in slight frustration at the older's stubbornness. "I said I'm fine," Seonghwa sighed, putting his scrolls down on the desk next to him to look at Mingi with a small smile, "Don't worry about me, okay? I know my limits and I just want to make sure (y/n) comes out of this okay," he reassured him. It seemed like Mingi wanted to say something, but the stare Seonghwa gave him made him shut his mouth as if telling him it was pointless to argue with him, he wasn't going to budge. So Mingi simply nodded and left the room after giving your hand a gentle squeeze to return to his evening duties.
Once he was back alone with you, Seonghwa thought that it was best for him to focus back on completing his task, he was quite behind already and he didn't like leaving his duties like that. But as he was about to delve back into his scrolls, he couldn't help but look at your sleeping figure and his legs automatically took steps closer to you. Every time he looked at your face, he couldn't help but remember the frightened look on your face the day he almost killed you. While he used to find pride in it, now he couldn't help but be embarrassed of himself, embarrassed of how he threatened someone who bore no arms as it wasn't a noble thing of him to do no matter the person. Above that, he was embarrassed of himself for treating his mates' mate like that. The regret played over and over in his head as if to mock his lack of judgement and he knew he deserved it, he was willing to bear the shame brought by his own stupidity and more if it could bring you back. The healers kept reassuring him that you would be up but they couldn't really know when and that scared him, the uncertainty and vagueness only made him stress more.
With the gentlest of touch, he traced your hand that was resting on your stomach, flipping them over to graze over the burnt skin as he winced, imagining the pain you must've felt. Turns out, when you burnt that hunter's face with the powder you had, the direct contact made your own skin burn and while it will heal, the pain you must've endured was more than you should have felt. "I'm sorry..." tears built in Seonghwa's eyes as his eyebrows furrowed tightly, creating a crease in the space between, "When you get out of this, I'll make sure to pay you back a thousandfold, you hear me?"
The lack of answer made Seonghwa fall to his knees by your bed with your hands still in his grip. His face rested by your hip as he cried hard, body shaking and hands trembling with overwhelming emotions. Seonghwa didn't even know why he was crying, it wasn't like you were dead despite him seeing your unresponsive body. He was glad that you were back with him despite not knowing how you would react when you finally came to and realized that you were back in the dwelling of the person who claimed wanted you dead if you ever showed your face again. But he knew a lot of them wanted you there with them and he knew you knew that fact too whilst also knowing that before this, the majority of them disprove your existence amongst them and had even pulled petty pranks as hiding Weiss in the dungeons for three days which caused you to panic and even stated their disdain towards you and your kind right to your face. So really, what was Seonghwa crying about?
"I'm so sorry," Seonghwa's voice cracked from raw emotion like he never felt before, his cheeks wet with tears that dropped and pooled on your bed. He tried looking up at you again, but he couldn't bear the sight for long before he hunched over with his face on your stomach, crying even harder. His lips kept mumbling apologies like it was a prayer or a mantra, not knowing what else to say to you as he felt his transgressions towards you had really crossed all the lines that exist in the world. But even then, especially then, you showed him nothing but kindness and genuineness. Seonghwa gripped the blanket over your body and the shirt you were wearing tightly in his hands as if to anchor him to reality, whatever it was.
A sudden touch to his head stopped Seonghwa's cries almost immediately because he thought he was imagining things, maybe his mind was starting to play tricks on him. Seonghwa snapped his head to your face only to be greeted with the sight of you smiling gently at him, your eyes lively and smile like a fresh breath of spring that made his chest bloom. Then he felt your fingers carding through his hair slowly and gently as if the action was filled with nothing but affection.
"Purposeless tears can kill your fire, dragon. Why are you wasting them?" though your voice was cracked from the dryness of your throat, it still sounded melodious to Seonghwa.
For the first time ever since you knew all of them, Seonghwa cracked a smile, albeit a teary one. He gently took the hand that was on his head and pressed them to his lips before moving them to his cheek where he kept it to enjoy the warmth of your life with his thumb gently caressing the inside of your palm. The initial fear of you rejecting him died within seconds, now being proven that you only had love and care for him just by how you were gazing at him. Seonghwa didn't even care if it was his imagination or if it was the delusional side of his brain trying to compensate for his guilt because he was seeing actual proof in front of him. Proof that you woke up from him opening his heart to you.
"No one could kill you, my fire, I won't let anything kill you."
And you believed him.
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The Legend of 3racha
Fantasy au! 3racha x reader
Genre(s): Fantasy au! (y’all are wanders who do various quests :)), Fluff, comfort, comedy (maybe???), adventurer/wander/bounty-hunter 3racha!
Warning(s): monsters, fighting (slight blood/injury), swearing, alcohol consumption, but that’s pretty much it though
W.C: 13.7k
Summary: You and your trio of misfits are known for taking a variety of quests and odd-jobs that require your skill set. What happens when you are requested for specifically to take down a monster near the dark woods?
A/N: I had this vision of 3racha as a party (in the dnd sense of the word) and I haven’t got it out of my brain since! This has taken quite a long time to come to fruition, but it's here now! Enjoy, and as usual, ignore any typos, my brain is dumb :)
2nd A/N: Okay so I had the idea to set this in the same universe as my Felix fantasy au (which you can find here) halfway through writing this. Its NOT necessary to read to understand this fic, but there will be references if you want to check it out! Now back to 3racha being a party :3
They own my heart I’m soft...
You entered the tavern, kicking the mud off your riding boots and lowering the hood of your cape. It was gloomy outside today, cloudy and muggy with a drizzling of rain, but it was nothing you four couldn’t handle.
Four meaning the members of your little party, 3racha (Just go with it pls)
It was lead by Bang Chan, a strong, mysterious fellow who looked about as deadly as they come. He grew up alone in the northern mountains, learning everything there is to know about tracking and hunting. He could track anything, animal or beast. Despite his reclusive upbringing and outward appearance, Chan is a calm, and gentle soul; He manages everything (democratically of course), such as group funds, what jobs you’d be taking, where you’d move next, what the plan of attack was, etc. The three of you placed a lot of trust in Chan, which he received by never leading your group astray.
Then there was Seo Changbin, the proudest meathead around. Despite his shorter stature, he was easily the strongest on your team. He used to be a royal guard for the kingdom of Levanter when he fell in love with the royal apothecary. This was forbidden by the king, so Changbin was striped of his position and exiled from the kingdom. He has been on the road ever since, not having a definite place to call home. He is kind-hearted and loyal above all else, and wont hesitate to protect the rest of the group no matter what it takes. He also has a bit of a temper, but that makes it all the more fun for your team to tease him.
Han Jisung was the third, a foreign prince with a connection to medicinal magic. Jisung was lined up to be duke of the southwestern plains; he even was presented with a suitor, the princess to the southeastern sea kingdom Reve. However, not liking his destiny, he ran away, only to find his place with the group. He has an exceptional way of using charms and spells to heal. But don’t let the idea of a healer fool you; He is incredibly cheeky and playful, almost like a child. While his hyper personality has gotten you into trouble before, it also lifts the spirits of the rest of the group, which is always Jisung’s goal.
And that left you, (Y/N) (L/N). You used to be an apprentice to a great warlock; he taught you a fair bit of magic before you realized his only concern was himself. Eventually, when money ran short, he tried to sell you off to a brothel, but you managed to escape and find your place among the already established and well-known group of three. You were a powerful warlock now too, using every challenge to grow and cultivate your powers and reading up on spells when you could. You tried your best to help the boys as much as possible, as they became like a family to you and you cared for them very much.
“Thank god we are finally here.” Jisung shivered, blowing into his hands after entering the tavern, “It’s freezing.” The four of you looked around at the hustle and bustle of the tavern; joyous music, lots of chatter and laughter and the smell of warm food wafting into your nose.
“Go sit down over there, I’ll talk to the bar-hand.” Chan hummed, pointing to a table in the corner. You nodded, following where Chan had pointed and sat at the table.
“I wonder what she wants?” Changbin huffed out, digging the tip of his claymore into the wooden flooring. You had been summoned by letter by the duchess of central valley, told to go to the tavern on the northern border of the city of Miroh to receive further instruction. And who were you to ignore a request from a duchess?
She was directly under the command of King and Queen Yang, the rulers of every city on the western half of the map. The central valley was a large dominion gifted to her by the king and queen; a summoning from her was not to be taken lightly...
“Not sure, but doubt it’s good.” Jisung speculated, folding his arms on the table and leaning his chin onto them, “I mean, why be so vague if it’s good?”
“Maybe it’s secret and she couldn’t write it over letter.” You suggested, trying to bring the energy of the boys up. Jisung mumbled anxiously and Changbin just scoffed, leaning back in his chair. You looked out the window and bit your lip nervously; it wasn’t like you were criminals, but (at least your’s and Jisung’s case) you were runaways... Maybe that had finally caught up to you? It stressed you out thinking of it, so you shook the thought from your head, laying your staff across your lap.
Soon Chan approached you and sat down in the chair beside you, folding his arms over his broad chest and leaning back on the back of the chair. His face was unreadable, mouth pulled into a line and eyes glancing around the tavern.
“So?” You asked, blinking nervously at Chan.
“We are to wait a bit longer, as the duchess hasn’t arrived yet.” Chan said flatly, earning a groan from the other two boys. A woman approached the table to take your orders; you knew her as the wife of the tavern owner Felix.
“We’ll have a round of ale for the table.” Chan said politely and nodded his head as she left. You and the other two boy perked up to this.
“I thought you said we couldn’t afford any extra expenses until our next job?” Jisung asked, tilting his head like a puppy who just heard its name.
“We can’t, but you guys look glum and could use a little something to cheer you up.” Chan explained with a soft smile. Changbin cracks a grin for what seems like the first time since arriving, and Jisung sits up, cheering at the idea of consuming something besides stale bread and water (which was all you could carry at the moment). You nudged Chan’s arm to get his attention and when you had it, you mouthed a silent ‘thank you’, which sweetened his smile to the point where his eyes turned into little crescents.
He ruffled your hair, before he said “So, what do you think the duchess wants?”
“Not sure.” Changbin sighs. Your drinks arrive and you swear nothing felt better than the warmth of alcohol dribbling down your throat. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Changbin continues, “Worse case scenario, she’s going to try and arrest us, but we’ll just have to fight our way out then.”
“Oh yeah? what if she brings thirty guards with her?” Chan quipped, amusement painted on his features.
“I’ll take them all on,” Changbin boasted, cracking his knuckles, “I would never let some silly duchess take you guys away.” Your heart melted at the notion, but it was soon interrupted by someone behind you clearing their throat.
“Silly, am I?” The duchess said, eyebrow raised. The four of you turned to see her standing there, accompanied by two guards who you thought could probably pick you up and throw you. Changbin’s face went red from embarrassment and Jisung stifled a laugh, coughing to cover it as Changbin kicked him under the table.
“Apologies, Good Lady of the Central Valley.” You quickly apologized, veering at Changbin, “My associate here seems to have had too much ale, as he’s become a bit foolish.” The duchess hummed, unimpressed.
“Excuse me, My Lady.” Chan said, bowing his head, “Why have you summoned us here?”
“We must talk in private,” She responded, before turning and calling over her shoulder, “Come this way.” You looked at Jisung (who looked just a unsure as you) and then Changbin, who mumbled out a ‘sorry’ from the previous incident. You rolled you eyes and looked to Chan, who simple shrugged and stood. You followed the duchess to the back room behind the bar. It was a small room, lined with barrels and crates of spare utensils and glasses.
“Close the door.” She instructed, to which you followed with a polite bow of your head. The four of you stood, staring at her intently before she cleared her throat again and straightened out her posture.
“I’ve never been fond of your folk.” She spat, grimacing like you were a plague, “Wanders do nothing beside bring mess to the places they visit.” Changbin opened his mouth to argue, but you grabbed his shoulder to stop him. You turned you attention back to the duchess, but placed your hand in his, squeezing it to hopefully calm the boy.
“They are brash and rude,” She said with a glare to Changbin. It made your blood boil, but you relaxed for the sake of a smooth interaction. She then glanced at the rest of your party, her face still sour, “Living in lawless lands before coming to my domain and thriving off the wealth of my people.”
“My Lady, I’m sure you have not summoned us here just to speak ill of our lifestyle.” Chan said, voice tight. You noticed the vein in his neck protruding and you realized he was just as angry as Changbin.
“You are correct.” She confirmed before sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose, “You see, my distaste aside, I have a job for you.” You blinked a couple times, not expecting her to offer you and the boys a quest.
“There have been reports of a large beast in the Dark Woods to the east that has been attacking my people. We have already lost a few commoners to this creature, and it keeps venturing more west. It is estimated that within a week, it would get as far as this city here.” The duchess explained, brushing her hair out of her face. Changbin’s hand tensed in yours, so you instinctively rubbed circles into it with your thumb.
“You want us to kill it, right?” Jisung interjected, to which the duchess nodded.
“Why not send your guards out to deal with it?” Chan asked, his tone slightly annoyed, which made you smirk. It was nice to see Chan subtly disrespecting the duchess.
“We already have.” She said, making your blood run cold, “They have never returned.”
“So you’re gonna send us cause we are disposable right?” Changbin grumbled, causing the duchess to roll her eyes at Changbin’s blatant disrespect.
“Because you’re useful.” She snapped back, “As much as I dislike your lifestyle, I am whiling to admit that you are more knowledgeable in the subject of monsters than my guards. As well as knowing the wild better too. “
“I would not ask you if I was not desperate, but alas, I care for my people.” The duchess finalized, sincerity in her tone, “Will you help by taking down the beast in the Dark Woods?”
The three of you look to Chan, who was deep in thought, staring at the floor. He tapped his foot lightly before looking back up at the duchess.
“We do not work for free, My Lady.” Chan said simply, crossing his arms over his chest, “What do you offer us in return?”
“I will pay you handsomely of course,” She answered, unwavering, “200 gold pieces for each of you to slay the beast and bring me it’s head.” Your eyes widened. That was quite a good price, as you’ve done much harder tasks for less, but Chan hummed nonchalantly.
“You’ll pay us half before we leave and half when we return.” Chan negotiated, tilting his head up to feel out the duchess’s desperation.
“I’ll pay a quarter now, and the rest when you bring me that monster’s head.” She said firmly, eyes sharp and scowl deep.
“A quarter now, the rest later, but you’ll fund our stay for the night at the inn upstairs.” Chan bartered, flashing her a grin, “We did travel all the way here, did we not, My Lady?” The duchess rolled her eyes but agreed nonetheless.
“You will leave first thing in the morning, and I expect your return before the sun sets two weeks from now.” She explained, She exited the tavern, the two, large guards at her side once again. The evening was still chilly and cloudy, so you were glad you could sleep inside tonight; the duchess frowned at Changbin, who still had his hand in yours, “I also expect you to address me with respect the next time I see you.”
Changbin bit back his anger, wanting nothing more than to rip her head off, but simple settled for narrowing his eyes at her and grumbling. In all honesty, you wouldn’t mind ripping her head off either; but you refrained, keeping a blank expression.
“Of course, My Lady.” Chan said politely, waving her off as she got into her carriage. It sped off down the muddy street, and once it disappeared from sight, Changbin finally let out a growl, kicking at the dirt.
“How dare she treat us like trash and then expect us to help her.” Changbin shouted, finally letting himself go after behaving in front of the duchess, “Did you see the way she looked at me like I was nothing but the pavement beneath her foot?! I just- AGH!”
“Its okay Binnie,” Jisung tried to sooth the elder boy, but letting his own aggression out, “I think she pissed all of us off with that sweet opening number about how we are scum.” Chan just let out a scoff and shook his head, before taking a deep breath.
“Lets just go to the inn and rest for tomorrow.” He suggested, patting Changbin on the back reassuringly, “at least she provided us somewhere to rest.” You still held onto Changbin’s hand, it felt almost natural at this point, but it was warm and tense; so you simply gave it one more squeeze and it seemed to relax him a bit.
You were given a room upstairs that was pretty nice. There was a fireplace along the wall and an exotic rug in front of it. Above the fireplace hung a world map. There was a chair in the corner and a matching stool, but the main thing about the room was the two double beds that looked to have wool and quilted blankets on it, making them look more comfortable than anything you’ve seen in a long time. Each was accompanied by a nightstand that held extra candles and holders for more light.
“I wanna sleep with (Y/N)!” Jisung shouted out quickly, flopping down on the closest bed with a wide smile.
“No! I want to!” Changbin argued, jumping onto the closest bed too and trying to push him off. The two of them bickered and fought back and forth for a moment, causing you to giggle at their antics.
“I’m going to go and bring up something to eat from the tavern,” Chan called out over the ruckus, before nodding towards the other boys with a smirk, “Watch them and make sure they don’t break anything, okay?” You chucked and nodded closing the door as Chan left, approaching the other bed and sitting on it. You began to take off your boots when you feel the bed dip on either side of you.
“(Y/N), please tell Changbin you’re sleeping with me tonight!” Jisung huffed, only for Changbin to shove his shoulder. Jisung frowned, but held onto your arm, “I wanna cuddle.”
“No way! (Y/N), tell Jisung you’re gonna sleep with me!” Changbin pouts, holding onto your other arm. You laugh at the two of them, shaking your head.
“Both of you, figure it out yourselves.” You sighed endearingly, “Either of you would make a nice furnace for me to sleep warm, so I don’t care.”
“I suggest we arm wrestle.” Changbin says matter-of-factly, much to Jisung’s disapproval.
“No, that’s not fair! You’d obviously win! We need to pick something fair...” Jisung pouted, holding onto your hand, “(Y/N), pick a number between 1 and 10!”
Just then, there was a knock on the door, before it opened to reveal Chan standing with a tray; it had four plates of meat, potatoes and veggies on it which he brought for the four of you to eat. But the boys barely even spared him a glance.
“Yeah that’s fair, pick a number between 1 and 10.” Changbin agreed, “we’ll guess and whoever is closest gets share a bed with you.”
___________________________________________________
“Seven is the worst number. Nobody ever picks seven...” Jisung huffs, cheeks puffy with sleep and he pushed the blanket down to crawl under it.
“I know! It’s not fair...” Changbin groaned, sitting beside Jisung taking off his jacket to sleep, “Besides, Chan didn’t even care about where he slept! He shouldn’t have been allowed to guess.”
Chan simply snickered at the boys, who had been pouting and whining for almost thirty minutes about Chan winning the silly game.
“Fair is fair, he guessed the number I was thinking of.” You explained for the hundredth time, to which the other two boys let out a groan in agreement.
“Seven is stupid.” Jisung mumbled again, eyes closed and sleepiness evident in his voice, which made you smile. Changbin laid beside him, to which Jisung immediately turned and wrapped his arms around the older male.
“Goodnight boys.” You called, to which Changbin and Jisung grunted, snuggling up together to get some warmth. It wasn’t long before you could hear the heavy breathing of them sleeping comfortably. You opened the blankets to crawl under the covers when you hear Chan putting his boots on.
“Where are you going?” You asked, staring at him from across the room. He was only illuminated by the fireplace; if you didn’t know any better, you’d find the man standing there almost scary.
“Going down to see if I can get some local information on the beast we are fighting.” He said simply, smiling softly at you, “I won’t be long, so get some rest.”
“Do you want me to come?” You asked starting to get out of bed only for Chan to stop you.
“No, it’s alright. I’ll be back, okay?” He said gently, and with that he left, closing the door behind him. You laid back down, closing your eyes and listening to the crackling of the fireplace and small snores from Jisung. But you couldn’t help but think of Chan and if he was safe; bad thoughts of him getting in trouble and you being asleep wandered through your head.
Sighing, you got up and opened one of the windows for some fresh air. You could hear the faint chattering of the tavern downstairs, which was good; you still went and cracked the door open just a bit to hear better. If Chan got into trouble, you wanted to know about it. Next, you lit the candle that was on the nightstand and grabbed your book of spells from your knapsack and brought it back to bed where you read it.
If you were to be awake, it was best to be productive, right?
You flipped through the pages, only yawning and rubbing your eyes occasionally. Most of the spells in the book you had mastered, as you’ve read this volume maybe a dozen times now. It was hard to practice a lot of them though, as they required a lot of open space and a subject to use them on.
A few hours go by until the door opens quietly and your eyes snap up to see Chan standing in the doorway. The fireplace was all but embers at this hour, so you could barely make out his figure as he closed the door gently behind him as not to make noise.
“Hey Chan.” You mumbled, yawning. You felt at ease now that he was back and safe.
“Hey, why are you still awake?” he asked with a voice barely above a whisper, taking his boots and cloak off and coming over to the bed. By the light of your candle, you could see him much better now, eyes tired and a smile that showed off his dimples present on his face.
“Couldn’t sleep with you out by yourself, so I’m reading.” You said simply. Chan sat beside you and you scooted closer to him, placing your head on his shoulder.
“What are you reading?” He asked, although he already knew the answer. He leaned his head onto yours, squishing his cheek against it; he would often do this when you sat next to each other. Just his way to show affection you supposed.
“My spell book.” You hummed, glancing down at the pages. Chan wrapped and arm around your shoulder and pulled you even closer him, his big frame bringing comfort to you as you relaxed into him.
“You should rest now, you look sleepy.” He said, pulling the book from your lap only for you to grab onto it tightly.
“Let me finish this section first.” You said, to which Chan let go of the book, allowing you to pull it back into your lap, “It’s only a few pages. It wont take long.”
“I’ll stay up with you until you finish.” He said, and when you started to protest he shushed you, “It wont take long, right? So I’ll be sleeping in no time.” He chuckled deep in his chest and you smiled, enjoying being close to Chan.
You went to reading, looking down at the ink-work on the pages. However, within minutes, Chan could hear your small snores and he smiled to himself at how cute you were. He slowly pulled the book from your grasp, reaching over to set it on the nightstand before blowing out the candle. He gently removed you from his shoulder to lay you down onto his chest, to which you naturally wrapped your arms around him.
Chan felt his heart beat faster and his face grew warm, as he held you close to him. Secretly, he was really happy about winning your silly game, because it was comfortable and nice to have you in his arms while you rested.
“Night (Y/N).” He hummed contently, placing a kiss on your forehead and letting himself fall asleep too.
___________________________________________________
You woke up to a gentle shake of your shoulder, with the sun peeking right over the horizon and flooding into the room you were staying in.
“Come on (Y/N).” Jisung whispered, hand still on your shoulder, “We gotta get going now.” You groaned, pulling the soft blanket above your head. It had felt like you just fell asleep but it was already time to leave?
“(Y/N), the boys are already downstairs waiting for us,” Jisung reasoned; He tried to pull you up by grasping onto your shoulders, only for him to flop down and crush you with his weight when you refused to sit up.
“Just a bit longer, please.” You whined, taking your hands out from under the covers to hold onto Jisung tightly, not allowing him to stand up. He sighed, squeezing you gently as he relished in having you in his arms this morning because he couldn’t last night.
“As much as I appreciate this hug right now, we have to leave if we are gonna get to the Dark Woods and back on time.” He chuckled, patting your back and leaning you up, taking you with him.
You grumbled and let him go, wiping the sleep from your eyes.
“Besides, Changbin already packed up all your stuff for you this morning and put it by the door, so you just gotta get your shoes on.” Jisung explained, fixing your hair endearingly and nodding towards the door.
“Awful nice of him.” You mumbled sleepily, before getting out of bed and stretching your arms. You got your boots on and put on your knapsack, before finally grabbing your staff and opening the door. Jisung cooed at you for getting up, saying things like ‘good job’ and ‘I know you’re tired’ and you smiled at his thoughtfulness.
“Finally, sleeping beauty is awake!” Changbin teased when you came down the stairs. You rolled your eyes at him, used to his antics. Chan handed you an apple, saying breakfast was on the road today.
“Lets get going.” You agreed, biting into the apple, “lead the way, Tracker Man.” Chan smiled at the nickname, but nonetheless started the trek east. It was silent for the most part, aside from Jisung humming a tune and the crunch of your apple.
It wasn’t long until you finally got to the edge of the city when you finally made some conversation.
“So, do you guys know what kind of monster we are dealing with or..?” You asked, kicking at pebbles on the dirt road as you walked.
“Well, from what I learned last night at the tavern,” Chan began, talking over his shoulder at you, “Rumor has it the beast is something big. I heard stories of it eating whole horses.”
“We already knew that, silly.” Jisung said matter-of-factly, earning a glare from the eldest, “The duchess said it was big.”
“Yeah but I didn’t think that big!” You complained, feeling a bit nervous about the nature of your opponent, “What else Chan?”
“I heard a story that one of the farmers warded it off with a torch, so maybe it’s afraid of fire?” Chan said, but you could hear the pout in his voice, “But I can’t know for sure how effective that is without knowing what kind of monster we are dealing with.”
“I don’t care what it is, I’ll kick it’s ass all the same.” Changbin said proudly, smirking while lacing his fingers together to stretch his arms out in front of him.
“That’s because you do the same thing for everything we fight: swing your claymore around and hope you don’t take one of our heads off.” Jisung teased, earning a scowl from Changbin, but it quickly changed into a tiny grin when you giggled along with the jokes.
“I do not!” Changbin half-whined half-giggled, nudging Jisung with his elbow, “I’ll have you all know, I’m very calculated and tactical when in battle.”
“Oh yeah? You ‘calculated’ hitting the tree and one of the big heavy branches falling on my foot while we were fighting a pack of goblins in the forests on the edge of NCity?” Chan asked in a playful tone, eyebrows raised as Changbin tried to defend himself.
“How was I supposed to know the branch would fall if I hit the tree! If anything, you should have just moved before it fell.” Changbin shouted, crossing his arms and lips pulled into a pout, “Besides, Jisung healed you up well and you were fine within an hour.”
“Not to mention, last I checked, you were the one to call for Changbin’s help that day anyways.” You said with a cheeky smile, before wrapping your arm around Changbin’s shoulders, “He was just trying to help, so don’t be so picky about it.”
“You wont be saying that when its your foot getting crushed by a stray swing of Changbin’s claymore.” Chan reasoned, huffing out a sigh, but smile gracing his face nonetheless.
_________________
After a rather uneventful week of travelling on foot, you finally reached the little village of Alsea the evening of your seventh day; it was a river-fishing village that bordered the Dark Woods. Chan thought it would be best to stay for the evening, get more information from locals about the monster, as well as be fully rested and regain the most strength for a battle.
“Alright, it’s best if we split up.” Chan suggested as you entered a crowded pub. The air smelled of mud and rainwater, as it was a hot spot for many of the local fisherman to visit after work.
“Me and Bin will go talk to some of the tougher looking fellows over there,” Chan explained, pointing to a corner where there seemed to be an arm wrestling competition going on, “You two should go ask the barkeep and see what they know. We’ll meet up in an hour or so and go to bed, alright?”
“Sounds good, c’mon (Y/N)!” Jisung said with a nod, pulling you in the direction of the bar. You waved over your shoulder at Chan and Changbin, before following Jisung through the crowded pub to make it to the bar. You hopped up on one of the stools, Jisung settling down beside you.
“Excuse me, Sir.” Jisung called to the bar-hand over the chatter and music of the loud pub. He was young, and handsome if you do say so yourself. He looked up at the two of you, putting down the rag he had been cleaning the bar with, “We’ll have an ale for me and a glass of wine for my partner here please.”
“Right away, Boss.” The bar-hand said with a nod, preparing the drinks before serving you both. He grinned at you, looking you up and down and making your face heat up a bit from the attention.
“Here you are.” He almost purred, sliding the glass towards you and handing Jisung the mug of ale he ordered, “Enjoy.”
Jisung frowned, grabbing his drink and taking a swig of it before scooting closer to you.
“This place is pretty busy,” You said sweetly, “Is every night like this?”
“Usually, but it’s much more busy when the snow comes around,” The bar-hand replied, “I guess folks are wanting to find a way to stay warm, and the atmosphere and alcohol help.” You hummed, taking a sip of your drink. The bar-hand eyed you closely, biting his lip bottom lip as you swallowed the drink. It made Jisung feel sick they way he was watching you.
“What brings a pretty individual like yourself into these parts? Alsea isn’t really a tourist spot.” The bar-hand asked, brushing his hair away from his face. Before you could answer, Jisung slung his arm around your waist and pulled you into him, causing you to let out a little squeak in surprise.
“We are actually on our honeymoon, isn’t that right, darling?” He replied in a passive aggressive tone, frowning at the man behind the bar before plastering a fake smile on his face.
You resisted the urge to chuckle at Jisung’s behavior, but nonetheless leaned closer to him and nodded. Playing pretend doesn’t hurt anyone, besides, its a fun idea for you to tease Jisung....
“Yes dearest, and what a lovely honeymoon it’s been! I thought we were going to get lost on the way here though, with all the detours you decided to take us on.” You laughed, trying to keep your voice even. You playfully hit Jisung’s leg, making him chuckle and look at you teasingly. Game on.
“I only took detours because I wanted to get here as fast as possible for my love. ” Jisung confessed(?) while dragging his hand along your waist, earning a sarcastic pout from you before he turned back to to the bar-hand, who looked a bit annoyed now, “And it was lucky I did because this is the only town before hitting the woods. We would have missed meeting this fine gentleman if not for my detours.”
“Well how sweet of you, dearest.” You sighed, downing your drink and placing a kiss on Jisung’s cheek. It quickly burned red and Jisung prayed he kept his expression at least a little bit under control. You smirked and turned to the bar-hand and smiled politely while you pushed your empty glass towards him, “We are headed out east through the Dark Woods. I heard it’s lovely this time of year.”
The bar-hand cleared his throat, regaining a bit of his composure before giving a fake smile at the two of you.
“Under normal circumstances, it is.” He confirmed, grabbing you glass and putting on the counter behind him, “But I wouldn’t recommend going there now. There is rumor of a monster that lurks there.”
“Oh really? What kind of monster?” Jisung asked boldly leaning on the bar and drinking from his glass. A bit of a direct question to ask the bar-hand, but at least it was useful.
“Nobody really knows.” The bar-hand replied, face serious and voice in a hushed tone and he leans closer to the two of you, “from what I’ve heard, it came down from the northern mountains, and its bigger than anything we’ve ever seen come from the woods.”
“do you know anyone who has actually seen it?” You probed, chewing nervously at your bottom lip as the bar-hand shook his head.
“Nobody who has gotten a good look at it has lived to tell about it.” The bar-hand replied solemnly, before sighing and brushing his hair away from his face once again.
The seriousness of this monster made your anxiety shoot through the roof. It was obvious by now this would be no easy feat to kill the beast, but the more you heard about it, the more it sounded impossible.
The atmosphere felt cold and you felt a sudden warm hand on yours. Turning to Jisung, you felt him squeeze your hand comfortingly as he smiled at the bar-hand.
“Well, maybe it’s best we don’t go through there for our honeymoon, Love.” Jisung teased, finally looking back at you with a gentle grin. He wrapped his arm around you once more, and you could feel your anxiety melt away, just for this moment.
“Well, I agree. The two of you should pick another route. Sorry you traveled here for your plans to be ruined, but better safe than sorry!” The bar-hand hummed. Jisung took some gold pieces out of his pocket to pay for your drinks, thanking the bar-hand.
The two of you hopped down off the stools, but Jisung didn’t let go of you. He held your waist firm and lead you towards the center of the tavern where it was cleared out to dance. A man was playing the fiddle and while a woman sang some folk song.
“Care to dance, Love?” Jisung asked, teasing smile on his face as he turned you to face him. You nodded and slipped you hand into his empty one and reached up to grasp at his shoulder. You began to sway around to the music, carefully avoiding others who also decided to come out and dance.
“You know, you played a very convincing jealous newlywed.” You chuckled, pulling Jisung closer to you so you could whisper in his ear, “I almost thought you were jealous for real.”
The two of you continued to dance, spinning and stepping around the space smoothly. Jisung let out a sarcastic laugh, rolling his eyes at you before leaning in to whisper to you.
“I was jealous.” He argued flatly, tightening his grip on you once again, “That stupid bar-hand was practically drooling on the counter looking at you. I didn’t like it.”
“Oh, you didn’t?” You scoffed playfully, shaking your head at him. He let his annoyance play just slightly on his face, causing you to smile, “I couldn’t tell.”
The song ended, and Jisung pulled away slightly. He still held onto your hand as he gazed at you with a slight grin on his face. He placed a quick kiss to you hand, thanking you for the dance. You let out a squeal of surprise at the action as you swatted at him with your other hand. You both laughed at each other, walking away from the dance floor as another song started.
“Let’s go find the other two knuckleheads.” You suggested, holding onto Jisung’s hand as you weaved through the crowd looking for your companions.
You approached the table at the back with a crowd formed around it, shouts and cheers heard just barely over all the other commotion of the pub. You pushed your way through to see what all the excitement was about; you couldn’t say you were surprised at what you found...
Sitting in one of the chairs was Changbin, who was locked in an intense arm wrestling match with one of the biggest fisherman you’ve ever seen. You let out a laugh when you see Changbin yawn before he effortlessly slams the fisherman’s hand down on the table. The crowd of men cheers as Changbin celebrated his victory.
“Why am I not surprised..” Jisung sighed, as you just patted his cheek soothingly and shoved your way to the table.
“Who’s next?” Changbin boasts, making a ‘come here’ motion with his hand, “Who dares challenge me?” When he caught sight of you, His expression lit up and he swatted at Chan, who stood behind his chair monitoring the whole ordeal. By the looks of it, he also seemed to be making bets on Changbin, as he was handed a small pouch by one of the fishermen. When Chan saw you, his expression mirrored Changbin’s as he smiled and waved you over.
Another man sat down across from Changbin, his arms the size of one of your legs; it was a mystery on how he even got into the building as he looked to be bigger than the doorway.
You and Jisung slinked your way over to where Chan stood, greeting him before looking at Changbin.
“Who invited Goliath?” Jisung asked in a hushed tone, swallowing as he gazed at the big man across from Changbin.
Chan folded his arms across his chest and hummed. “I saw him earlier when we entered. I thought it was only a matter of time before he came to challenge Bin.”
Changbin sat unwavering, grasping hands with the beast of a man. He glanced up at you, to which you gave him a firm, but encouraging look. That seemed enough to give Changbin confidence, as he looked back at the man with determination.
“You guys seem to have been working hard at finding information out.” You mumbled sarcastically to Chan. The other fisherman were chattering, placing their bets as the two strong men prepared for their battle.
“We got a bit.” Chan protested, taking his eyes off of Changbin to look at the two of you, “But I’m starting to think this fisherman is our beast...”
You and Jisung chuckled at Chan’s joke, looking back to your friend to support him and cheer him on in this seemingly impossible feat. Changbin was the strongest person you knew! Surely this big scary man was no match for him!
______________________________
“I can’t believe it was over in three seconds!” Changbin whined as he flopped down on the bed, “my pride is more hurt than my arm!”
“So you don’t want me to massage your shoulder then?” Jisung asked teasingly, only for Changbin to grunt out a ‘no, please’. Jisung snickered, sitting down beside the dishearten man and began to gently rub his shoulder; an aura of blue coming up from his hands, causing Changbin to groan out in delight.
With the winnings from the bets on Changbin, Chan purchased a stay in the inn down the street. It wasn’t as nice as the tavern in Miroh, but it was much nicer than sleeping outside. Besides, you were going into the woods tomorrow to fight whatever this thing was, so it was best to get a good rest.
“Okay, so we know it’s big, it’s furry so probably mammalian, it’s prone to fire, and it’s supposedly from the north.” Chan hummed, tapping his chin lightly as he looked through one of his journals that he kept for monster information.
“Could it be a Worg?” You asked, looking up from a different journal of Chan’s to see him shake his head no.
“Worgs are usually bound to the plains, never up north or the forest.” He replied, flipping through the pages as he sat down on the other bed, frown on his face.
“Maybe it’s not from the north?” Jisung offered, turning to look at the two of you as he gently smoothed his hands offer Changbin’s shoulder, “I mean, it’s just rumored to be from the north.”
“I guess...” You hummed, closing the journal to hand it back to Chan as you yawned, “Whatever it is, we at least have a general idea of what it could look like and how we should attack it.”
“Yeah, we should rest up instead of worrying about whatever this mystery creature is.” Changbin suggested, voice muffled by the pillows. Jisung stood up, allowing Changbin to rise, “Besides, as long as we all have each other’s back, we can take on anything.”
“Like that fisherman you lost to?” Chan teased, causing Changbin to grunt, throwing a pillow at his companion. Jisung let out a laugh, earning a second pillow being thrown at his head.
“If I had all of your guys’ strength too, I could have won!” Changbin huffed, catching the pillow as Chan tossed it back to him and laying it under his head.
“I think that’s why we work so good together. We all have different strengths and we can depend of each other.” You said sincerely, going over to pick up the pillow at Jisung’s feet and bring it over to where Changbin laid.
“How endearing!” Jisung cooed before frowning, “I think I’m going to puke.” You chuckled, taking your jacket off and setting it on the chair beside the edge of the bed, pulling out the covers.
“Hang on, how come Bin get’s to sleep next to you!?” Jisung whined, coming over to your side and holding onto your hand.
“Because I slept next to Chan in the last inn and we got to play newlyweds earlier.” You replied with a grin; Jisung resembled a puppy in this moment, lip stuck out in a pout., “It’s Changbin’s turn.”
“And you had the audacity to shame us on how much information we were gathering...” Chan tutted, looking to Changbin as if to say ‘can you believe them?’. Jisung paid them no mind as he held onto your hand with both of his, almost pleading.
“Yeah, we’re newlyweds! Shouldn’t we sleep together?” Jisung bargained, “Besides, I hate sleeping with Chan! He drools and snores so loud!” Chan let out an offended protest as Changbin simple pushed Jisung away from the bed.
“(Y/N) said it’s my turn.” Changbin said matter-of-factly, causing Jisung to frown as Changbin slipped under the covers too. He laid on his back with a smug grin; an open invitation for you to lay on his broad chest.
“Next time.” You promised apologetically, blowing out the candle on you bedside table as Jisung sighed in defeat. He trudged over to Chan’s bed with a disappointed ‘fine’ falling from his lips
“Next time, I’ll just get us a room with one king sized bed and we can all sleep together if it’s going to be this big of a problem!” Chan scolded like a parent, opening up the covers for Jisung to crawl under.
“I’d rather eat one of Changbin’s sweaty socks than be trapped between all three of you.” You grimaced, causing the boys to chuckle.
“Goodnight.” Chan called out, blowing out the candle and sliding down in the bed. Jisung latched onto him a bit too quickly for someone who “hated sleeping with Chan” in your opinion, but the two of them seemed to relax, as their forms sunk into the mattress.
You laid down, ready to sleep close to Changbin so he would keep you heated; he seemed like he still wanted to be playful, as he flipped over so his back was facing you, tugging all the blankets with him.
You lightly smacked his back before shifting so that you were flush against him. You tugged some of the blankets back over to you before you buried your face against his shoulder blades and draped an arm over his stomach to keep him close.
Changbin laced his hand over yours, keeping it in place as he relaxed into the bed, letting out a gentle sigh. He whispered out a ‘goodnight’ to you; you hummed in response, nuzzling into him. You then allowed yourself to fall asleep under the gentle thrumming of his heartbeat.
_______________________________
Branches crackled under your boots as you trudged along; The canopies of the trees stretched far above your head, forming almost a roof that blocked sunlight due to haw thick the overgrowth was. but despite the lack of sunlight, much of the forest floor was overrun with many different species of flora.
“Ow! Son of a bitch...” Jisung mumbled, hitting the bramble he was standing in with his sword and instinctively bringing one of his hands up and shaking it. He picked out the thorn that seemingly was stuck into his finger and grumbled.
“Hey Chan, isn’t there another path that isn’t so.... poke-y?” Changbin asked, looking down at the bushes that came up to your waist.
Chan was leading you through the Dark Woods, following a seemingly invisible trail to your beast. The eldest turned back from his place at the front of the line, frowning at you all.
“Yeah, I’d assume so.” He answered simply before waving his long sword towards the bushels in front of him, “But based on these markings, this is the way the beast went. So I’m following that.”
“I can’t see anything?” Jisung huffed, his hand covered in a slight blue aura for only a moment before he shook it again to loosing his joints.
“That’s because you’re not a tracker,” Chan replied, rolling his eyes, cutting more of a path in front of him and continuing on, “Now quit complaining and lets go.”
“Let me go right behind Chan,” You suggested, squeezing past Jisung; you whispered a simple spell into the top of your staff, causing it to start to smoke. You grabbed it three quarters of the way down, tipping the top into the bushes to burn the edges, creating a more clear path.
“That should be better.” You hummed in delight, sweeping your staff from side to side as you walked, careful not to linger in one place too long lest to light the whole forest on fire. The two boys behind you let out grunts in agreement and you continued the trek deeper into the woods.
It was calm for a while, with the four of you just listening to the stillness of the air and the sounds of you and Chan making a path before you finally decided to speak.
“Chan, if you’re following a track made by the beast, you must have some idea of what it is, right?” You asked, careful not to burn the ankles of the man in front of you as he stopped abruptly.
He was quiet, looking out into the woods; you followed suit, dissolving your magic and silently coming closer to him, placing a timid hand on his shoulder as not to scare him. He didn’t move, eyes squinting to see farther into the distance.
Suddenly Chan crouched, whispering out a frantic “Get down!” at the three of you; you quickly comply, crouching low beneath the underbrush as your heart rate increased rapidly. Jisung and Changbin shuffle their way over to the two of you, close enough to hear their breathing as you all waited for Chan to explain anything that was going on.
That’s when you heard it; A distant thumping. It sounded like footsteps coming closer and closer to your party.
“Chan....” Jisung whimpered slightly, gripping the hilt of his sword, “What is that sound?”
The ground shook with each step the beast took; you tried to peak through the foliage to see what it was, but it was nowhere to be found. The footsteps seemed to be getting very close now, the crunching of branches loud as you could hear the beast.
Chan looked pale, holding a shaky finger up to his lips to tell you all to be quiet. He slowly removed the black bow he carried to notch an arrow in it. Changbin prepared his claymore, gripping it tightly with both hands, his expression stone cold.
And then, the footsteps stopped.
The air was silent, the only sound you could hear was the rushing of blood in your ears and the breath of your party members. The once calming stillness of the woods had now bred a tense atmosphere, causing a sense of unease to wash over you all as the silence continued.
You shifted you weight with uncertainty, looking up and around to try and get even a glimpse in the right direction before your eyes fell on Chan, who was gazing at the three of you with a look of concern.
And then it happened in a flash
The bramble around you peeling back, a loud roar that causing a great ringing in your ears and Jisung flying up towards the sky helplessly in the grasp of this great beast, screaming and flailing around in distress.
It’s fur was snow white as it stood on two powerful legs; it was easily 10 feet tall, gnarled teeth and small eyes pulled into an aggressive expression as it roared out again, brown spit flying from its mouth. You gazed in horror as his grey meaty hand held Jisung by the ankle.
A Yeti.
Jisung!” You cried out, quick to stand and try to conjure a spell with your staff; But just as quickly as you reacted, the Yeti was faster, swatting you into a nearby tree with the back of it’s other flat hand, sending you tumbling down through the sharp branches while knocking the wind out of you and sending your staff flying.
Chan shot his arrow, landing it directly into the knuckle of the beast’s middle finger; it reacted by letting Jisung go, dropping him into the thick bushes below with a crunch. The yeti let out an anguished cry, balling its fist to crush Chan, but he leapt out of the way and helped Jisung stand.
Changbin quickly dove between it’s legs, slashing at it’s knees with his claymore. The beast turned and swatted at Changbin; it missed it’s mark, slamming it’s hand into a tree and sending one of the large branches down on the ground.
It grasped it’s newfound weapon and swung it around at the ground, nearly taking Chan’s head off if he would have held it just a bit higher.
“Chan, what is this thing?!” Changbin barked, ducking his head as the yeti swung his tree club at him, “and how to we beat it!!?”
“Yeti!” Chan shouted, notching another arrow and shooting it at the monster’s face; it was unfortunately blocked by the tree branch it weld, but not without the yeti bellowing at Chan and attempting to crush him with its foot. The oldest jumped out of the way, pushing Jisung down with him.
The beast threw its branch away, slamming it into another tree as it let out another booming roar and leaned forward, placing it’s knuckles on the ground in front of it.
You coughed, a groan of pain escaping your lips as you sat up and clutched your back; the pain was indescribable as it took the brunt of the impact, not to mention your skin was also cover in cuts from the sharp branches you fell through. Your vision was a blurry still from the initial impact, but once it cleared up a bit, you were able to see Changbin slicing once more at the yeti, getting a good cut in at its hip area. This small victory was short lived, as the beast reacted on instinct and swatted at him, sending him flying a few feet into the nearby bramble.
Chan was able to use this time to climb up into one of the trees and get a good angle on the yeti with his bow. He got one good hit in on the yeti’s shoulder before it caught sight of him and grabbed at his legs, pulling him from the tree and shaking his body until he dropped his weapon.
Jisung went to help Changbin, clutching his sword tightly as he ducked into the overgrowth and helping Changbin up; he seemed to recover fast, moving to stand at Jisung's side.
“This isn’t working!” Jisung cried out as he slashed at the yeti, trying to get it to drop Chan. The beast tried to kick at Jisung, but the healer dodged to the side in the last second before scrambling back to his feet.
“Fire!” Chan yelled, beating the yeti’s fingers with his fists as the beast flailed him about, much too distracted with trying to get Jisung, “yetis hate fire!”
You blinked rapidly, processing what Chan was shouting about.
Fire...
Fire!
You could make fire! all you needed was-
“My staff,” You mumbled, looking around frantically for the object. You pushed aside some bushes, crawling around on the ground searching for the one thing you needed to help your party.
You finally found it, laying ten feet away on some gnarled tree roots. It looked to be damaged; a big crack running along the length of it. But it would work for now.
You used it to stand tall, trying to ground yourself despite your state; you willed all the power you could into it, conjuring up a bright ball of white hot fire with one of the most advanced spells you knew. You weren’t sure how strong it would be, as you’d only performed this spell once and that was in your best condition and a fully functioning staff...
The ball grew, sending waves of heat outwards before you launched it into the yeti’s back, setting its white fur ablaze. It howled in pain, dropping Chan ungracefully and starting to slap its back to put the fire out.
Unfortunately for you, the raw power of that spell send burning embers down the crack in your staff, effectively breaking the tool for good as it slightly crumbled in your hand.
What now?
Shit! It was risky for any warlock to try and do a spell without a magic tool to direct their power.
But you had no other option as of now and you needed to help the boys.
“Fuck you!” You spat angrily as threw your broken staff to the side and picked up a branch that had fallen from one of the trees; using a different, less complicated spell, you shakily conjured a weak flame and lit the tip of the branch on fire. You then lunged forward with all your strength, using the branch like an inferno-covered spear to stab at the beast.
You continue to push it back, burning it’s grey skin until you reach Chan, allowing his to recover a bit and grab for his bow that he dropped earlier. He placed a gentle hand on the small of your back before moving to the side of you.
The other two boys had seemingly made fire, Changbin wielding a burning branch covered in foliage with Jisung behind him readying his weapon.
The beast roared swatting at both you and Changbin with it’s hands, however still trying to maintain a distance between it and the fire you held. It looked to be backing away from you as you closed in on it.
Chan slung his bow around his shoulder and unsheathed a longsword before shouting “I have an idea! I need (Y/N) and Changbin to focus the fire down to the undergrowth and make a perimeter. We can’t let it get away!”
You and Changbin exchanged a knowing look, nodding at Chan before you sprang into action. You dipped you flame covered branch down into the bushes and ran around to make a big circle. As you did this, Chan kept the yeti’s attention by swinging at it with his sword, Jisung coming to help the ranger by diving between its legs to appear next to Chan.
You finally met up with Changbin about 5 feet behind the beast, giving it very little room to maneuver without stepping in the fire.
“You look like shit.” Changbin exclaimed, seeing the state you were in with scratches and sweat covering your body.
“Thanks?!” You replied simply, tossing the broken branch into the already blazing inferno creating a perimeter.
Changbin unsheathed his claymore before calling out, “What now Chan?”
“Now we all close in and attack it with everything we have!” The eldest shouted, already starting to move in and stab at the yeti with his sword. Changbin let out a yell before rushing the beast, using both his hands to swing his large weapon at it’s waist. Jisung let out a shout too, using his sword to attack near the beast's legs.
You reached for the only weapon you carried, a dagger that sat on your hip.
But before you were able to charge, you felt a wave of pain wash over you from the center of you back; it spread like electricity all across your body, making you feel weak in the knees.
Your vision grew spotted, with the sounds and sights of your friends going in and out of focus.
Ah shit...
that stupid monster really did a number on you...
And with that high level spell on a broken staff, your body was spent.
Falling to the ground you try and stabilize yourself with your hands;
But it was no use as you slumped forward and pass out.
------
When you finally came to, the sky was dark and the only sound that filled your ears was the crackling of campfire and the soft humming of a folk-song.
You felt a strong pair of arms wrapped tenderly around your frame as you laid in the comfortable lap of one of your dearest companions.
"You should be resting." Changbin whispered, delicately brushing a stray hair from your face, "Although I'm thankful to see you have some life in you."
"What happened?" You mumbled, turning your head to look around. you seemed to be at a makeshift camp, with Jisung laying on a soft bedroll sleeping as still as humanly possible. In contrast, Chan was sat up against a tree, arms crossed and eyes shut, but seemingly asleep as well.
Your boys were safe, that's good.
You drew your attention back up to Changbin, who just stroked your upper arm comfortingly. His face has a few cuts on it and his shirt seemed to be torn, with quite a few massive bruises covering his arms.
"We beat the beast, everything is okay. You fainted, but Jisung healed you up good." Changbin relayed in a hushed tone, gazing at you softly. You frown, weakly reaching your hand up to touch one of the scratches on his face.
"He didn't heal you?" You asked, voice trembling. Your arm felt heavy as Changbin grabbed your hand, placing a kiss on it and returning it to your side.
"Couldn't." Changbin replied simply, keeping a warm hold on your hand, "You were so badly injured he used up all his energy to heal you."
Changbin's voice shook slightly as he looked away. You could see the wetness of his eyes reflecting the light of the fire as he tried not to let out a tear.
"Hey, I'm okay." You whispered, squeezing his hand.
"I was scared we were going to lose you." Changbin admits, biting his bottom lip to keep it from quivering. You could hear the fear in his tone, which broke your heart. Using all the strength you could muster, you sit up, wincing ever so slightly at the ache in your back. You scoot closer to Changbin before you engulf him in a hug, holding onto him as if he would shatter.
"I know, but I'm alright now." You affirmed, reaching to gently stroke his hair as the usual barbarian let out a quiet sob into your shoulder. He carefully wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to sit in his lap. Changbin wanted to hold you as close as possible, worried you would be gone of he let you go.
You couldn't help but feel at ease in his grasp, melting into his touch as you tried to soothe him with hushes and adoring touches on his hair and back.
You both sat like this for a while, not a sound passing between the two of you besides Changbin's shaky breaths. When he finally did let you go, you placed a quick kiss on his cheek, right where a cut laid. Wordlessly, you kissed another, and then the other.
"There, all better." You joked with a cheesy grin. Changbin chuckled at you, before you cringed from another sudden wave of pain.
"You should rest." Changbin hummed, shifting so he sat up more straight, "I have to keep watch for a bit longer, but I want you to sleep right here with me, okay?"
He helped you lay back down in his lap before he reached for his blanket that was rolled up by his pack. He covered you lovingly with it, keeping his arms around you to make sure you were warm.
"We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow, so sleep well." Changbin wished. You hummed in response, closing your eyes and grasping onto the hem of the blanket.
"Sorry I wasn't much help fighting today. I'll be better tomorrow." You apologized, letting yourself relax in the safe embrace Changbin provided.
"Nonsense," Changbin reassured you, voice barely above a whisper, "You were brilliant today."
"Thanks Bin. Goodnight."
"Goodnight (Y/N)"
---------
"I can't believe you guy's were cuddling again." Jisung let out a huff, blue healing magic from his hands rubbing the bruises out of Changbin's skin.
"You were out cold too! You wouldn't have even known if (Y/N) slept beside you." Changbin argued, shaking his head at the healer and offering up his left arm for treatment.
"Even if he was awake, there was no way you were gonna let them go." Chan teased, turning to whisper to you, "He wouldn't leave your side from the moment you passed out. Not even while Jisung healed you."
"Knowing Changbin, I'm not surprised." You giggled, packing up your things relatively slowly; Your whole body still ached, but you were sure you'd be alright after a long rest, "I think its endearing how much of a big softie he is."
"Doesn't matter, it was my turn." Jisung grumbles under his breath. a pout played on his face as he finished up healing Changbin. The latter stood, saying a small thanks before he started to pack up his belongings.
Soon the four of you were all but ready to go. The fire was getting stomped out by Jisung, while Changbin made sure the monstrous yeti head was secured in a burlap sack.
You weren't entirely sure if the duchess meant it genuinely when she said she wanted its head, but better safe than sorry in your opinion. maybe she wanted to mount it as a trophy of the victory for her people? And if not, it would be entertaining to see her face when you brought it to her.
Changbin began the trek ahead, hoisting his things over his broad shoulders and making a move to go ahead and lead. You tried to tie the end of your bag to secure it, but you couldn't stop the trembling in your fingers enough to complete the fine motor skill. it frustrated you that you weren't back to your peak performance yet.
Jisung's healing can only do so much, especially when it came to magical damage; sure, your body was sore, but there was an underlying weakness that came from casting a spell without your staff. In the heat of the moment you didn't feel the toll due to adrenaline and being in survival mode.
A stick with no magical properties was better than casting a spell with nothing, but you would still pay the price for using such a common item with no embedded magic; weakness, fatigue, muscle spasms, and a whole plethora of other possible side effects was inevitable. Luckily it would fade as time went on, but it didn't make you feel any less of a burden now.
"Let me help you with that." Chan suggested warmly, crouching down and tying your bag closed quickly. You thanked him, moving to sling the bag over your shoulder as you stood. But before you could grab it, Chan lifted it and tossed it to Jisung, who gracefully caught it and slung it over his shoulder.
"Ready to go?" The healer hummed, smiling at you.
"I can carry my own bag." You huffed in annoyance; you began to walk over to Jisung to take it back when Chan grabbed your arm, stopping you in place.
"Nah, there is no way you're lugging that all the way back." Chan insisted, before nodding to Jisung with a grin, "Besides, Jisung strong. what's an extra couple pounds?"
"This feels like nothing to me!" Jisung piped up, adjusting it with ease on his shoulder.
"Fine." You replied, knowing it was better to pick your battles when it came to Chan when he made a decision.
"Great." The eldest responded, before turning around and patting his shoulder, "Now hop on so we can get going."
Oh... this was a battle to pick!
"What? No! I can walk just fine." You argued, patting Chan's shoulders. When he turned back around, a frown played on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest in classic Chan fashion.
"Really? Because you could barely even stand up on your own." Chan reasoned, tone firm before his eyes softened ever so slightly, "I'm sure you could walk the entire journey if we had all the time in the world. You're strong."
"But we don't." He finalized, turning around and crouching down, speaking over his shoulder, "We have to get a move on and we don't have time for you to lag behind so I'm going to carry you."
You groaned; mostly because you knew Chan was right, as per usual... You would slow the party down and you didn't have time for it if you were going to meet the duchess on time. The least you could do at this point is not hold everyone up.
"What's taking you so long? Quit smelling the flowers, we have places to be!" Changbin barked back at you three. You turned to Jisung, who shrugged and went on ahead.
You rolled your eyes and sighed, giving in and climbing onto to Chan's broad back. The man hummed, seemingly pleased by your dismay.
"If you get tired, tell me and I'll make sure I can keep up." You said, almost as a whisper because of how close you were to Chan's ear. He could feel your breath tickle his cheek ever so slight as you rested you head on his shoulder. You felt frail in his grasp, as he made note to try and be and gentle as possible while moving around.
"I won't get tired, don't worry." Chan reassured you, shifting your weight in his strong arms before beginning the long trek back to Miroh. His large hands provided sturdy support to your legs as as he walked, trying to catch up with the other two boys.
You would never admit it, but you were secretly a bit grateful for Chan, as you weren't sure if you truly were strong enough to make the journey without his help. And being secure in his hold, feeling the warmth of his body close the entire trip would definitely a plus, bringing you a sense of ease you couldn't describe.
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"I can't believe she's making us wait. I'm tired of hauling this smelly monster head around." Changbin complained, leaning back on his chair.
"You're lucky they let us bring that thing into the tavern." Jisung scoffed, kicking the Yeti's head lightly, "It reeks!"
"That's because it's rotting." Chan said matter-of-factly, shaking his head, "Did you guys expect it to smell like roses?"
"No, of course not!" Changbin said, annoyance ever present in his tone as you grimaced at the head, "I just didn't think it would be this bad!"
The boys continued to bicker back and forth about the head as you sat quietly, picking apart a scone that Felix had baked today. You had begun to regain a bit of strength along the journey, not feeling as sickly as you once were. You were almost certain that a good night's sleep in the inn upstairs would bring you right back to normal.
But you had to wait until the duchess arrived for you to collect your payment before you could do that. But of course she was late, as she didn't seem to care about your time; it was probably negligible in her eyes.
You ate the scone, washing it down with a entire mug of fresh fruit juice before she finally did arrive with two guards in tow. Long after the sun had set, like she agreed, but she showed up nonetheless. And when she did, you swatted at your companions to quit arguing on whether or not rotting head smelt worse is worse than Changbin's armpits.
Chan stood from his spot and bow to the duchess as she approached, "Good evening, My Lady."
"What is that awful smell!" She wrenched, scrunching her nose up and covering it with her wrist.
"The Beast's head, just as you requested, My Lady!" Jisung beamed, standing to bow as well before he presented the duchess with the grotesque thing. You watched as Changbin tried his hardest to keep himself from smiling at her expression.
"Well, I did say I wanted it's head didn't I..." The duchess huffed out, expression sour. with the wave of her hand, one of her guards takes a hold of it and takes it away, finally allowing you to breath fresh air again.
Right, well," The duchess hummed, clasping her hands together, "Might I say well done. My people are safe thanks to you, which is all that matters to me."
"We are also glad such a creature can't terrorize helpless folk, My Lady." Chan agreed, standing up straight with a graceful smale across his face.
"Yeah, super glad." Changbin grunted out, eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, "anyways, I think it's time you paid us?"
The duchess scowled at Changbin who only smiled tantalizingly at her. "We did what you asked, My Lady." The title sounded patronizing coming out of the his mouth, but it was more so when accompanied by a haphazard nod that you could barely argue as a bow.
"It seems you still have yet to learn manners on all your travels." The duchess sighed, snapping her fingers quickly. The remaining guard pulls a bag out and places it on the table, "Thank you for your service to my kingdom."
With that, the duchess turned and walked away, practically stomping as she exited the tavern.
"Please doing business, My Lady!" Chan shouted after her before taking his seat again. Jisung followed suit, scraping his chair as he opened the bag, dumping the contents onto the table. He tucked the bag away after making sure all the pieces lied safely on the table in a pile.
"Splitting it up? Usually we pool everything together" Changbin asked, as Chan began to count the gold pieces.
The eldest nodded, jutting his head in your direction, "(Y/N) asked if we would this time." You nodded.
It was true, you had asked Chan if the earnings from this job could be split. It was pretty unusual for your group to split up earnings, as you were practically inseparable so you wouldn't make frivolous purchases outside a group setting. But this time, you felt you had a good reason for it.
"It's the most fair in my opinion." You explained, adjusting your bag in your lap, "I need a new staff and you should know that magical items cost a pretty penny. This way, it'll be a purchase that doesn't take away from your guys' funds, since you wouldn't use it anyways."
"That's very kind of you." Jisung said softly, touched at your thoughtfulness. He reached his hand over and held yours, squeezing it as a sort of thank you for your consideration. The moment didn't last long as Chan let out wry laugh.
"That crook, doesn't she have enough?" He scoffed under his breath before shaking his head and looking up at you all, "She scammed us."
"What?" You asked, looking down at the gold pieces; sure enough the piles were quite a bit smaller than expected.
"She only gave us half of what was promised," Chan stated sharply, half in disbelief and half in agitation, "and that's including what was given to use before we left."
"Last time we ever trust a high class cheat ever again!" Changbin growled, slaming his fist on the table. You could practically see the smoke billowing off him as he stood up furiously.
"It's alright, we still have enough to make ends meet." You reasoned, placing a delicate hand on Changbin's arm to calm him down. It does the trick, as he sits back down and folds his arms angrily.
"Yeah, but what about your staff? There is no way your portion will be enough for it..." Jisung said, shoulders slumping as he gazed at you apologetically.
"No, not even close." You sighed, standing and taking your share anyways, "but I'll just have to make do until I have enough. At least we have enough to put warm food in our bellies and a roof over our heads for a bit."
You tried hard to not sound so defeated; you weren't exactly sure how you would be able to practice magic without a magic embedded object to wield, but there was nothing you could do as of now. And truthfully, you had waited long enough for such a disappointment, you felt exhaustion catch up and felt more like something to deal with tomorrow.
Plastering a wistful smile on your face as you stretched your arms over your head. you placed your share in your bag before slinging it over your shoulder haphazardly.
"Where are you off to?" Chan asked, standing too.
"Bed." You said with a tired yawn, jutting your thumb in the direction of the staircase where the inn suites resided, "I'm still recovering, so I think a long rest in a comfy bed is exactly what I need."
"We'll come!" Changbin exclaimed, standing too; you shush him, and shake your head, quickly disagreeing.
"No, you guys should stay out and celebrate! don't pack it in on my behalf." You urged, smile finding its way onto your face as you looked at the three boys. You couldn't help but think about how much you adored them and how special your little family was. Sure, you got swindled, but at least everyone was alright. That's all that mattered to you.
"We defeated a huge beast and lived to tell about it! And we did get paid! Maybe not as much as we had hoped, but enough to have a few drinks and be merry." You encouraged, lips curling into catlike grin.
"(Y/N) right. There is no need to sulk on what we don't have when what we do have is wonderful company and good atmosphere." Chan agreed, cheerful expression slowly growing as he gazed back at you. He stood, grabbing a few gold pieces from his share and pointed to the bar, "First round is on me fellas!"
"Sure, why not!" Changbin agreed, collecting his share and placing it in his wallet.
"Enjoy the night. Be sure to come to bed when you're ready!" You cheered. Chan grinned, pulling you into a hug and placing a chaste kiss on your cheek before he whispered 'goodnight'. The ranger quickly slipped into the crowd, going to barkeep to get refreshments for his companions.
Changbin waved you over and placed a kiss on your other cheek, playfully telling you to dream of him. You agreed, barely able to contain the chuckles that bubbled up in your chest at Changbin's nature.
"Cheer up Jisung!" You laughed, poking the healer with your finger when he stayed slumped in his seat. A pout played on his face as you ruffled his hair, gazing up at you silently from his spot.
"The boys will keep you company, and if that fails, try the scone. perked me right up." You suggested, lightheartedness in your tone as you wave goodbye to the boys.
You scamper up the stairs, entering your usual room at the inn. You close the door behind you with a sigh, making quick work of lighting the fireplace and a few candles so you could see what you were doing as you prepared for bed. You took your boots off, followed by your jacket. You set them off to the side with your bag, trying to keep your things organized.
Just as you crawled into one of the beds, there was a soft knocking at the door. You hummed affirmatively, feeling too tired to get up and check for who it could be. Besides, it was most likely the tavern owners or one of the boys.
The latter was correct as Jisung opened the door, slipping inside before closing it behind him. He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, much to your amusement.
"I thought I told you not to come to bed on my behalf!" You chuckled, sitting up and letting the covers pool around your waist.
"I didn't!" Jisung exclaimed defensively. He brushed his hair from his forehead as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, repeating his statement much softer now, "I didn't..."
"Then why are you here instead of celebrating, hm?"
"Because!" Jisung looked at the floor bashfully, biting his bottom lip before squeaking out, "it's my turn..."
You're only confused for a minute until you remember what he means. Snickering to yourself you open up the covers, fluffing up the pillow and pat the place beside you.
"Come on then," You invited, causing Jisung to grin joyously as he frantically starts taking off his shoes and jacket. In no time at all, all his outerwear is discarded and he practically leaps into the space beside you.
"Blow out the candle, would you?" You asked in a hushed tone, to which Jisung obliged, leaning away from you for only a moment to do what you asked. He snuggled up to you on his side so that you were facing one another before he wrapped one of his arms around your torso.
"Comfy?" You whispered, to which Jisung replied simply with a 'mmhmm'. "I've been waiting two weeks to not have to sleep beside Sweaty Changbin or Drooling Chan." He sighed dreamily, showing off his gums with a bright smile. You cant help but find him cute as you chuckle at his antics, clutching his shirt as you tuck your hands in the little space between the two of you.
"Hey (Y/N)," Jisung murmered after a few moments. You could feel his breath on your face as he spoke, tickling your flushed cheeks.
"Yeah?" You mumbled, eyes shut as you relaxed into the comfy bed.
"I'm sorry about your staff."
"It's alright. I'll get a new one eventually."
"About that... Me and the boys decided tomorrow we'd go down to the shopping district and pool our earnings together to buy one for you."
Your eyes fluttered open to be face to face with Jisung. His eyes held a sense of fondness in them that touched your heart, "Why would you guys do that? That's not fair to the three of you at all." You asked simply.
"Because we love you." Jisung said, as if he had said it a million times before.
"You do?" You feel your heart race as a well of emotions begins to fill in your chest at the notion.
"Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?"
"I don't know."
"Don't you love us too?"
"Of course I do." You replied delicately.
Because it was true. How could you not love them?
Chan was the leader, kind and thoughtful without fail. He would always try and take care of you, putting your needs over his in any given situation. He always made sure you were comfortable, doing everything in his power to help achieve your happiness and safety. He grew up alone in the mountains, but would brave the elements ten times over if it meant he could do it with you.
Changbin acted tough and strong, but truthfully was the most doting and affectionate of all. He used his strength to protect you from any harm, but when you were, he was adamant about never leaving your side until you are better. He's fight for you no questions asked; He already had his love taken once when he was exiled, he would rather die than have it taken again.
Jisung, a once foreign prince who understood you more than anyone. He was bright and playful, like a dream in a world where you have to fight day in and day out. He would heal you not only with his cheerful nature, but also his natural ability; even to his own detriment sometimes. In his mind, his body could be broken and energy spent up, as long as he was able to see your smile again it was worth it a million times over.
They were your home. Your team.
Of course you loved them.
"I love you all more than you could ever know." You spoke breathlessly, hoping to somehow convey all the feelings stirring up inside you at this moment.
"Good, then it's settled." Jisung said gently. You could tell he was beaming from the way his pitch sounded before he placed a toothy kiss on your forehead, "Now rest up. Big day tomorrow."
"Goodnight Ji." You whispered, not being able to help the corners of your mouth quirking up.
Life as an adventurer was hard; braving the likes of monsters, the elements, and scamming duchesses. But as you laid in Jisung's warm embrace, thinking about all the things you loved about your boys, you knew everything would be just fine, as long as you had each other.
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A/N: Ending is kind of dodgy/corny cause I'm always awkward when it comes to writing endings, but I finally finished this piece !!! When I tell you it's been in the drafts for l i t e r a l y e a r s... But its done now so hooray! I hope you enjoyed it <3
Also if you're reading this and liked Felix And Your Tavern (the fic I mentioned at the beginning)... I do have a part 2 in my drafts as well, but it has references to this story in it and I wanted to publish this first. So stay tuned for that, as it's not quite ready yet!
#fluff#angst#kpop#stray kids#skz#3racha#fantasy au#bang chan#chan#seo changbin#changbin#han jisung#jisung#kpop fantasy au#skz fantasy au#3racha fantasy au#bang chan fantasy au#seo changbin fantasy au#han jisung fantasy au#stray kids x reader#skz x reader#3racha x reader#minho#hyunjin#felix#seungmin#jeongin
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Hi!🎀
-I’m a new coming writer, I’m a artist, and music addict
-everything Pink tbh 🙄
-Svt & Stayc are my Ult fav
-I will post many different things such as stories, tips and advice, journal prompts, journal entries (so y’all can be in my business🥱), or even fanfiction drabbles.
-If you have/want anything for me to touch up on such as advice, story ideas,music rec,or just to vent then this is the place to do so😊
-any negative comments towards anyone, racism, colorism, homophobia, or even bashing any sexuality you wil be block and reported so (CLOCK ITT⏰)
-Anyways…… xoxo kisses kisses💋
#new writers on tumblr#fanfic#pinkcore#black girl beauty#pink pilates princess#pink aesthetic#kpop fanfic#kpop fantasy au#writers on tumblr#female writers#pink moodboard#palate#angelcore#it girl#becoming that girl#pastel pink#pinkpantheress#enhypen#svt#stayc
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Anomalous Fate: "Now what?"
Author's Note: Finally another chapter for this series, I'm sorry it's taking so long omg, but we're finally passed all the technical stuff so hopefully we start moving more into the main plot. It's still minor bad writing but I'm hoping to get better lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did, xx
Pairing: OT7 x Reader
Warnings: kidnapping, BTS not thinking situations through, Jimin being kinda creepy
“So, four of us share a soulmate?” Yoongi asked, and as the other four boys nodded, he sighed and sat back on the couch in their dressing room.
The concert was long over, giving the boys thirty minutes to get ready for the little meet and greet they have in just a few minutes now.
Namjoon is stuck in his thoughts, wracking his brain for a solution to the problem, and wondering if any solution he comes up with is the appropriate one, until he gives up.
“It’s nearly impossible to even think about what comes after this. We go back to Korea in a week, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Hyung, you’re not serious?” Jimin’s shoulders deflate slightly at the possible outcome of this situation.
“Yes, I’m serious, it’s a curse that this is how our fate is tied but We. Can’t. do. Anything.” Namjoon is stern while looking at Jimin and sits, but as each member processes his words, Jimin’s eyes brighten up and he opens his mouth to speak, but Jin beats him to it.
“Nope, no, I know what you’re all gonna say and nope, don’t even think about it.” Seokjin dismisses
He glances around the room and shakes his head at his younger members, “You can’t just kidnap someone!”
Yoongi tilts his head, “It’s not kidnapping if she’s our soulmate…”
Hoseok butts in, “…and if we already know she likes us…”
Seokjin pinches his forehead, “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.”
Jimin stands and walks to the other end of the room, “Hyung, we can’t just let her go. Not when we finally know who it is, not when we’re so close!”
“Jimin look, I get it. If that was my soulmate I would be feeling just as conflicted, but we need to think rationally here. Her life is here, her friends, family, school, job, everything she has, is here. Our life is in Korea, we can’t just take her and expect her to adapt to that. And what if word gets out that we kidnapped a girl? What would that do for us, our career. Shit, what would that do for her?” Jin rants, looking at the four boys in shame.
“Hyung said no, and I mean it.” Jin finishes with a strict tone so his younger members know not to ask again, diminishing any last hope his brothers had.
Jungkook and Taehyung are sitting on the couch, staying quiet. Taehyung couldn’t really believe the chaos that unfolded in just a matter of a couple hours. His hyungs finding their soulmate, finding out they share said soulmate, and now asking if they can just take her with them back to Seoul. He could almost relate to his hyungs though, knowing that if he found his soulmate here, he would everything in his power to have her move with him.
Jungkook was much the same, he was trying to process everything, but more than that, he found himself hoping that his hyungs would go through with the idea, because deep inside, he hoped she was his soulmate too. They were brothers, they shared everything, why not this?
“NO! You can’t make me!” Y/N struggles against her friend’s arms, dragging her toward the room where they’ll be meeting the boys.
Kristie groans, “Y/N, that’s enough, you’re meeting them because Jasmine’s dad didn’t spend all this money just for you to stand outside the door.”
Y/N slumps down the wall and looks at her friends guilty, feeling sorry for ruining what was supposed to be a good night.
“I’m sorry I’m roping you guys into this.”
Kristie and Jasmine sit beside their friend and grab her hands, “Hey, it’s fine, this is actually a lot more amusing than you think.”
Jasmine nods, “It might be scary now, but hey, you finally found your soulmates, you should be ecstatic. Sure, it might be a few of the BTS members, but they’re still normal guys. You’re a dime and a half Y/N, I’d be more surprised if they didn’t accept it. I know they will.”
After calming a little, Y/N smiles at her friends’ words, “I guess maybe I am overthinking it all, but it’s very overwhelming,” she slowly stands and helps her friends up as well, “It’ll be nerve-wracking as hell but, I do want to meet them.”
Kristie and Jasmine cheer and they all file into the room, one after the other, and are met with a shorter line than expected, moving to the back, and smiling politely at the fellow army.
Jimin is lost in thought as he follows his members down the hall, he was hoping to see his soulmate waiting for him in the meeting room after he saw her run out of the theatre.
He understood that it may have been overwhelming for you, but he didn’t expect you to just leave like that.
He hears excited murmuring and squeals as they approach the meeting room, and when he enters, his eyes are immediately glancing at the fans, waving, and smiling politely.
As his eyes reach the end of the line, he has to contain his excitement when he notices his string ends just on the other side of two girls, his mood lifting.
It’s another hour before he notices there’s only two more girls before he gets to properly meet you and what looks like your friends.
He looks at Namjoon, who gives him a slight thumbs up.
“Look who’s excited.” Hoseok teases his friend. Namjoon huffs a laugh and looks down, “Aren’t you?” Hoseok nods, “Of course, it’s about time we get to meet them.”
Namjoon nods knowingly, and the boys all smile for the photos, making sure to give the fans in front of them their complete attention.
As the two girls walk out of the room, the staff mention, “Last three, you can come up now girls.”
As each boy glances at them, the seven boys feel a sudden pull in their chest to the girl with blue hair, and Seokjin furrows his eyebrows in confusion at the feeling. Shaking it off as him being tired, as he pulls the tallest girl in for a slight hug.
Taehyung smiles politely and makes out a quick, “Hello, nice meeting you.”
As Taehyung is smiling at the shortest girl, he glances at her shoes, nodding along to make sure she knows he’s listening, and his eyes wander from her shoes to her friend’s shoes, and as his eyes go to flicker back to the girl in front of him, they land on her friend’s wrist, pausing at the time written on it.
He flickers to his own wrist and tenses at the fact that they’re the exact same.
He shakes his head slightly and focuses back on the conversation, he feels bad that he’s missed a bit of it, but she doesn’t seem to notice, which he’s grateful for.
As the girls move around and make conversation, Jungkook finds himself standing in front of Y/N and he bows his head slightly, “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Jungguk.” He holds his hand out to shake and as the girl takes it, she smiles nervously, “Hello, uh my name is Y/N, it’s really nice to meet y-ow!”
Jungkook and the girl both pull back when they’re hands meet, Jungkook hissing at the pain and Y/N rubbing her palm.
“Yah, Jungguk-ah, you okay?” Hoseok asks in Korean, and the youngest nods, turning his attention to you, “You okay?”
He sees the girl nod, but she continues rubbing her palm, “I’m fine.”
Namjoon clears his throat at the weird encounter and stands beside the two, “Shall we take a picture?”
Everyone nods and Jimin immediately pulls Y/N toward him, standing her right in the middle of the group, Y/N laughs nervously and smiles for the picture, not noticing Jimin or Yoongi’s tight grip on her waist.
She’s still very nervous, not talking much at all, but the members are being sweet to her, maybe a little too sweet but none of them bring up the soulmate thing and Y/N isn’t sure anymore whether the pull in her chest is because of their ties, or her heart breaking at the thought of them not wanting her after seeing her up close.
Jimin ignored the string, Hoseok didn’t mention the hair, hiding his beneath his beanie, Yoongi didn’t say anything about his itchy wrist, and she saw that Namjoon had washed off the writing on his forearm.
Her eyes burn with tears, but she blinks them away as soon as they come, putting a smile on her face as to not bring any concern.
She notices Taehyung staring from time to time, but she ignores it as much as she can, she saw his time when she first hugged him but decided against saying anything, she couldn’t handle having yet another member as her soulmate, or more so, she couldn’t handle another member rejecting their tie.
She found she was most comfortable around Jin because there was no correlation as to them being tied together, naturally gravitating at the fact she didn’t have to worry about looking or acting a certain way.
He was making her laugh with his jokes, wanting nothing more than for her to be comfortable around him and his brothers, it was working, but either of them failed to notice the death glares shot at the pair.
“It was very nice meeting you all today, we hope to see you very soon again.” Namjoon spoke for him and his members, smiling at the three girls, who all slightly bow and return the smile, “Thank you for the great show, we hope to see you again as well.”
Y/N waves as she walks out with her friends, her hopes diminishing at the fact that none of them wanted her, or even brought it up. She can feel her eyes burn and before she leaves, she glances at Jimin once more who smirks, “We’ll see you very soon, love.”
She nods and smiles as best she can, walking out of the door and into her friend’s arms, Kristie rubbing her back and comforting her as they walk out of the theatre, Y/N sniffing quietly.
“You’ll find someone eventually Y/N, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t have a soulmate or who were, uhm…left alone…but don’t worry too much about that.” Jasmine consoled her friend as much as she could, but truthfully, she didn’t know what to do. It was rare to have a soulmate that didn’t want you, and what made this situation a little worse, Y/N already had so much love and care for hers.
“I just don’t understand why they totally ignored it, they could have at least told me they didn’t want me, instead of completely disregarding the elephant in the room.”
“They were jerks for that, but at least Jin was nice.” Kristie tried and Y/N nodded, “He really was, maybe if I had him as a soulmate, he would have been nicer. Instead of being ignored by all five of mine.”
Jasmine frowned at Y/N’s words, “Five?” Y/N nodded and looked down at her clock, “Taehyung’s clock is the other half to this one, making him my fifth soulmate.”
“…then I guess that means Jungkook is your sixth?” Y/N looked at Kristie with confusion, but her eyes followed where she was pointing, and on the inside of her right palm, written in lovely cursive, ‘Jeon Jungkook.’
Groaning loudly, she threw her head back and rubbed at her puffy eyes, “Fuck.”
“Listen, I’m fine, that was a few days ago now and I have to move on, it’s whatever.” Y/N explained to her friends, finishing up her late lunch and moving to put her plate in the sink.
“I know, but we’re just making sure everything is okay with you, but if you say everything is fine then we’ll take your word for it.” Jasmine shrugged, Y/N smiles at her friends and thanks them and all three girls startle at her phone that suddenly blares.
“Hello?” Y/N answers, hearing her boss on the other line,
‘hey y/n, I was wondering if you can make it in for an evening shift in like two hours? I know it’s last minute, but Hailey needed to leave, her babysitter bailed’
Y/N thought about it and decided it could take her mind off everything, so she agreed, telling the girls, and going off to get ready.
It’s been six days since the meet and greet, and Y/N was doing better honestly, she accepted her fate and didn’t want to dwell on it too much. But even she had to admit, in those times of quietness or in times of loneliness, it still hurt to know.
What made it easier for her was the call back she had gotten the day after the concert about an opening they were having at a clothing store she applied to at the mall. She stumbled upon the website when she was shopping and since summer was around the corner, she thought she’d apply. It’s where she’s been training for the past four days and although she wasn’t supposed to officially start until next week, her boss gave her an opportunity and of course, Y/N jumped at it.
Not wanting to be distracted by her thoughts anymore, Y/N took a quick shower, changing into semi comfortable clothes and brushed through her hair.
She took her time in doing some makeup and thinking about which bag she was going to take, making sure all the necessities were included, grabbing her keychain with her Mall ID and walking out of her room.
“Ready? Did you need a ride there?” Kristie asked
Y/N nodded, “Yeah that’d be great.”
“Let’s go.”
“Will you need a ride home afterwards?” Kristie asks her friend, watching her gather her things and put her hand on the door handle, “I could order an Uber, I know you have that dinner with Darren tonight.” Y/N reminds and Kristie nods
“Yeah, but if you end up needing one, just hit me up, I gotchu.” Y/N nods at her friends and words and opens the door, stepping out and turning back around to smile and wave, “See ya.” She shuts the door and walks to the side of the mall, going through the little alley and into the side door.
The hallway is quite hectic, she’s passing other workers of the mall and smiling politely, memorizing the way to the clothing store.
As she comes to the back entrance, right into the stocking room, she’s greeted by her manager, who smiles in relief upon seeing her.
“Thank god you came, we’re understaffed right now and need someone else on the till, as it starts slowing down you and Ali can slowly restock the racks and counters in front, we have a new line of clothes that are just waiting to be viewed.” Y/N nods at her words, walking at a faster pace to keep up, before coming up to the till.
Ali smiles at her to which she returns, glancing at the hands of her boss, “Here’s your password and user for the system, you’re trained on the POS already but if you have any trouble do not hesitate to walk away for some help, it’s always best to have customers wait a few seconds while you get help than to have customers wait a few minutes for you to figure it out on your own.” Once again Y/N nods and her boss leaves her to it.
She lets out a sigh at the longer than usual line and calls up her first customer.
‘here’s to my first day…’
“I can help who’s next!”
“So, where do you go to school?” Ali asks, scooping a little bit of her fro-yo and glancing at y/n
“I go to U of C; do you attend school?”
Ali nods, “I go to California State, I’m in my first year actually.” Y/N hums, “Oh okay, I remember my first year really well, I couldn’t imagine having to balance work and school though, but now this year I decided to try it out.”
“It gets hard sometimes, but it’s worth it I guess.” Both girls nod knowingly and continue to eat in silence.
“Do you guys close early if there’s no customers, or do you stay for the full shift?” y/n asked
“Sometimes we do that, but most times we like to stay for the whole shift, depends on if we have stocking to do.”
She hums and stretches her neck to see around the store, after that chaos of a line, both girls managed to get everyone satisfied with their purchases and out the store. It took about two hours to get it all sorted and as soon as the last customer left, they both collapsed on the floor, their other co-worker Gina bringing them fro-yo as a little treat.
“I think Gina is sorting through the back, I guess we could start bringing the new collection out. But first, we need to take those-” Ali points to a section of winter jackets, “-to the back, and bring out whatever she has for us.”
y/n nods and stands up, throwing her cup in the trash and making her way to the back of the store, taking out a cart and wheeling it over to the front of the store, carefully grabbing each jacket and taking it off the hanger and throwing it in the cart.
Her ears perk when she hears a couple boys laugh, glancing over and noticing three guys with masks on and some beanies. Paying them no mind, she goes back to sorting the jackets but when she looks and make eye contact with one of them, she notices him smile and slightly bow his head but before she can return it, her palm gets itchy.
Scratching it a little, y/n sees Ali walk up to the rack, “I brought this for the hangers.” She gestures at a basket and sets it down, picking up the hangers that y/n left and putting them inside.
y/n takes a chance and glances toward the man again, when she notices he’s gone, her eyes scan the stores that she can see and furrows her brows when she notices he’s completely disappeared. Shrugging it off, she goes back to her work.
It’s several hours later when the girls are double checking the store, making sure everything is in its place and nothing is out of the ordinary.
In the past few hours all three girls have put away the winter clothes, sorted through the spring and summer collections and placed them out for everyone to browse through. Shoes were placed on the rack and bikinis were folded neatly on the display tables, right down to the jewelry in front of the tills.
A few customers came in but after a while, as the mall was slowly closing, less and less of a crowd made it through, but each girl didn’t mind much.
“30 minutes until closing time, I’m going to run over to the food court for a quick bite, did you guys want anything?” Ali asked to which y/n and Gina shook their heads.
As she walked out, Gina’s phone rang, and she went to the back to open it.
y/n shrugged as she was left on her own, but her ears perked up when she heard someone come in, she gently smiled at the younger male, although you can’t really see it under her mask, and she waited at the till for them to browse.
y/n enjoyed her first day at work, which she didn’t expect, it was hectic at first but once she got used to the busy atmosphere, she found herself feeling happy that she was given this opportunity.
She rang up the customer as his eyes looked around the store, his gaze flitting to the back and to the front, and he grabs some hairpins that were displayed on the counter, “for my young niece, she’s only five but she’s learning to do her own hair already.” He explains, earning a gentle nod from y/n.
y/n tried her best to converse with her customer, wanting to waste these last few minutes of her shift, and once she bagged the man’s items, she sent him on his way, walking behind him to the front and pulling out the storefront gate and sliding it shut, making sure to leave a little space for Ali to walk in.
Gina comes back in from the back, already dressed and texting on her phone, “You were given keys, right?” y/n nods and pulls them out of her pocket.
“Okay good, Ali usually exits out the front and I lock up in the back, but my mom just called and she needs me to watch my younger brother, I have to be there in like ten minutes, you don’t mind locking up through the back today, would you?”
Y/N shakes her head, “No, no, that’s totally fine.”
Gina sighs in relief, “Thank you so much, I’ll see you on your next shift, good night!” y/n returns her words with a smile and wave before once again, making sure all the clothes are in place and her till is turned off, taking the money out, and walking to the back room.
She’s in the process of counting when she sees through the cameras that Ali is back, seeing her setting her food down and grabbing her till as well before walking in the back, her figure appearing in the room just a moment later.
“Gina had to leave early, so I’ll be locking through the back.” She explains, Ali nods, “Sounds good.”
They made small talk and put their till and the extra money in the safe, grabbing their things and going back out to the front.
“Well, I’ll see you on your next shift, hopefully that’s soon.” Ali speaks, she turns to see y/n nod, “I hope so, today wasn’t bad, I enjoyed it.” Ali quickly agrees, “It’s one of the best, although on bad days, that could seem like a lie,” she giggles, “but I’ll see you, have a good night.”
“Night.”
Ali shrugs out of the store, shutting and locking the gate, and marches toward the exit.
y/n pulls out her phone and orders an Uber, signalling that it will be here in the next 5 minutes, before grabbing her bag and closing the store lights.
She shuts the door behind her and locks it before making her way down the hallway, seeming much quieter now that most of the other employees are gone, and steps outside, seeing a black suv parked outside.
She makes sure to see the Uber sign before opening the door, “Is this for y/n?” the driver nods and she gets in, shutting the door and leaning into the soft seat.
As the driver pulls away, y/n turns her head to the side and out of the corner of her eye she notices movement in the backseat.
Startled, she goes to look behind her but the figure leans forward and places his hands arms, pulling her into the seat.
Y/N shrieks and leans forward, “No, stop!”
Another set of hands place themselves on her eyes, and she doesn’t see the figure grab the cloth in his lap, just feels the fabric over her mouth and taking a deep breathe in.
She fights for a bit before going completely limp, falling into the seat.
Both figures take off their beanies and masks, the first one flicking her head, “Did it work?”
“Of course, it worked, dummy.” Namjoon pushes his younger member’s shoulders
“Well, I don’t know, we haven’t exactly done this before hyung” Jungkook argues
“He’s got a point.” Yoongi speaks from the driver’s seat, he glances at the girl on the seat before looking at his members, “Now what?”
“What do you mean?” Jungkook asks, and Yoongi furrows his brows, “Don’t tell me you didn’t NOT think about what happens after this?”
Jungkook shrugs, “I came up with the first part, I thought you guys would have contributed a little.”
“Contributed?! Why would we-” Namjoon stops himself from shouting and sighs, pinching his nose bridge
____________________________________________________________
“You did WHAT? After I specifically told you NOT to?!” Jin shouts as he paces the room, all three of his friends sitting on the floor, and an unconscious girl laying sprawled on the couch
“We leave in one hour; how do you expect us to-I mean how did you even-oh my gosh.” Jin is almost panicking, having no clue at all how to fix this.
“Even if we did send her home, she’d wake up confused and scared as hell that something happened to her, but we just can’t take her either, and we sure as hell can’t exactly wait until she wakes up!” He explains to his members
“What’s with all the shouting?” Their heads snap at the door being opened and the other three members walking in, Jimin immediately perking up, “You actually, did it??” Jin glares at him and he clears his throat, “I-I mean, shame on you guys, this is…bad.”
Jungkook huffs, “It was your idea too Jimin!”
Jin crosses his arms and looks pointedly at Jimin, who throws his arms up exasperatedly, “Okay, and?? So, I helped a little, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she’s here…with us…with me.” He walks over to y/n’s sleeping form and smiles to himself
“C’mon hyung, she’s our soulmate, you can’t just expect us to leave her!” Hobi whines and Jin feels like screaming into a pillow.
Taehyung pipes in, staring at his clock, “If she’s tied with all of us, who’s to say she isn’t tied to you too?”
Jin pauses and glances at the girl, there’s a chance, but a slim one.
He sighs heavily, “Okay, fine, here’s the plan…”
#kpop fantasy au#kpop imagines#kpop fanfic#bts fantasy au#bts x reader#bts imagines#bts aus#min yoongi x reader#jin x reader#jung hoseok x reader#kim namjoon x reader#park jimin x reader#kim taehyung x reader#jeon jungkook x reader#jungkook x reader#taehyung x reader#jimin x reader#hoseok x reader#namjoon x reader#ot7 x reader#ot7 x yn#jungkook x yn#taehyung x y/n#jimin x y/n#namjoon x y/n#hobi x y/n#jin x y/n#yoongi x y/n#my writings
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OF LOST SOULS AND POISONED HEARTS | Pt. 4 |
Based on: The Yin Yang Masters - Dream of Eternity
Kpop Group: WayV (and some NCT members)
❄️❄️❄️
Word Count: 1351
Pt. 4 - ◊ We must protect ◊
The master knew that Kun had only wanted to help him, but in such a situation he needed all his strength. He simply could not take care of him. And this way, he could at least alert the others, so they could come and support him together. Another crack formed in the ice wall and he could see the scaled body of the demon behind it. He had hoped not to see him again so soon. The earth shook beneath his feet. The power emanating from the scaled one was immense. If it managed to break free, the damage to the world would be unimaginable. Snowflakes trickled down on him incessantly, as if they knew nothing of the impending battle. Highly concentrated, the master reached into his sleeve and pulled out three sealing papers. With them he could stop the demon. Slowly, he brought his index finger to his lips and bit into it, until a drop of blood emerged from the small wound. His allies could only be summoned by his blood. With a quick movement, he spread it on the three seal cards before tossing them into the icy air.
No sooner had they left his hand, than he was already forming a magic formula with his hands. Mumbling softly, the words came out of his mouth and combined into a soul spell that awakened his allies. "With my blood I command the souls." The power of the spell tore slabs of ice from the ground. The wind tore up the snow on the ground and enveloped the master. Glowing golden, the ice crystals above him coalesced into a magic circle as only true masters could form it. The storm subsided. The circle hovered above him and three figures descended from the beam. The first one wore light leather armour that clung tightly to his body. His hands were clenched into fists, he was ready for battle. Two long white wings shot out from his shoulder blades allowing him to glide elegantly to the ground. "Snow Guardian!" Simultaneously, a small boy appeared, his robe glowing as golden as the magic circle. His shoulder-length hair blew in the wind. He was graceful and at first glance looked almost frail. On his forehead was emblazoned a decorative scar, similar in shape to the magic spell above them. "Golden soul!" Lastly, an elegantly dressed man appeared, sitting on a long brush as he approached the ground. He had his black hair pinned up in a braid, so that it did not distract him. Everything about his clothes reminded Kun of a painter, which he was. "Mad painter!" Even as the three of them approached the ground, the ice wall shook. More and more cracks formed in the thick layer of ice. "... must protect." The master was deep in his meditation when a loud bang jolted him from his thoughts. The golden light surrounding him contrasted starkly with the icy blue of his surroundings. The three soul guards understood their task. Yangyang, the snow guardian, shot out of the circle in a flash and soared into the air with a few flaps of his wings. Hendery, the mad painter, on the other hand, concentrated his powers on his legs and hovered a few centimetres above the ground towards the ice wall. The magic within him made a golden tail appear behind him. Under less serious circumstances, it would have been a wonderful sight. But as it was, the threat of the demon overshadowed the fascinating side of the magic. The three soul guards had entrusted their lives to the master and vowed to support him especially in dangerous situations. The golden tail behind Hendery grew unceasingly. Thousands of small characters joined it and made the golden glow increase. He kept unerringly towards the ice wall, regardless of the danger that lurked behind it. In such moments, he felt no fear. Hendery felt nothing. His thoughts were only about the threat and his task to stop it. "Come to me," he called to his brush. He would get to the ice wall even faster with it. The characters followed him, tracing a ribbon of light across the snowy icy landscape.
The ice wall was already within reach. Abruptly, Hendery jumped from his brush and stopped his flight. Ice crystals rose. Holding the brush tightly in his right hand, he straightened to his full height. "Protect!" he muttered with a wave of his hand that sent the characters rushing past him. Thousands and thousands of golden characters shot across the ice and up the ice wall beneath his feet. Small characters flared up on his forehead, giving him a mystical appearance. Hendery repeatedly muttered the words "protect" to himself, while more and more signs climbed the wall and covered every spot. Like a magical barrier, they supported the ice wall in its fight against the demon behind it. Meanwhile, Yangyang flew through the icy air. His large white wings gave him enough lift to avoid the gusty winds from the cracks in the ice wall. Deftly, he approached the thick ice until he was so close that he could feel the cold on his skin. With a small touch, he let ice crystals grow. They were covered by the characters, thus supporting the stability of the magical barrier. He flew higher and higher until the master below him had become a small dot. The characters followed him tirelessly and so quickly that he could hardly keep up. More and more crystals sprouted from his fingertips and connected with the ice wall. Breathing heavily, his flight came to a halt and he settled for a moment on a small ledge. From up here, Yangyang could keep a close eye on his comrades-in-arms. Hendery was still racing across the frozen ground like a madman. Yangyang realised that his work on the wall was done right here on the wall. He pushed himself off and jumped into the depths below him. Cold air hit his face and robbed him of his breath for a few seconds. It burned his eyes. Then he opened his wings and elegantly broke the fall.
Yuta, the golden soul, sank to the ground in front of the master. Cross-legged, he remained there, waiting for his cue. The ornamental scar on his forehead flared up. It became brighter and brighter, until a ball of pure magic was released and slowly floated to the master. It was a rare gift to release so much power willing by his thoughts. It could give the master extra power at the crucial moment to decide the battle in his favor. But it came at a price. With each magic ball Yuta formed, his own power and energy diminished. Yet he felt no hatred or fear. Yuta was grateful to be able to contribute something to the safety of the world. And that although he was only a child. The master grasped the radiant orb and swallowed it in one bite. Immediately, he could feel the energy flowing through his body. Despite the cold around him, he felt a pleasant warmth. A nice side effect of the high-dose energy. It permeated every fibre of his body. His eyes lit up briefly and the same symbol as Yuta's ornamental scar glowed on his forehead. Meanwhile, the characters poured inexorably up the steep ice walls. The three soul guards had appeared in front of the master again. Speaking magical formulas, a wave of energy pulsed over them and made the air tremble. Snow was stirred up and thrown against the wall. More and more chunks of ice broke out of the wall and fell to the ground. The characters glowed brightly. Dismayed, the master looked at the wall, which was becoming more and more cracked despite the reinforcements. He could do nothing but watch as a huge serpent's head smashed through the ice wall. With a deafening scream, the snake-demon tore open its mouth, showing several rows of its venomous teeth. Lambently, it reared to its stately height and fixed its gaze on the master and his three soul guards.
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Of lost souls and poisoned hearts | Pt.4 |
Long chapter and there is finally some action. This chapter is also the introduction to Hendery, Yangyang and Yuta :)
#wayv scenarios#wayv ten#wayv kun#wayv fluff#ten nct#nct fanfic#nct wayv#wayv fanfic#nct fantasy au#nct scenarios#fanfiction#stories#fantasy story#kpop fanfic#kpop fantasy au#wayv au#nct 127#nct yuta
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🌲☀️🦊Jeongin-Elf Druid- The Stray Kids DnD AU
“Jeongin is a young Elf Druid with a fun loving heart. He often spends his time practicing his spellcasting and wild form transformation, which is still a work in progress. He has found a deep connection with the land-specifically foxes.
Abandoned as a young Elf, a group of Druids adopted and trained him to follow the heartbeats of the earth. He found a connection with the Fox, Fun, playful, and incredibly sneaky.
Reaching the age towards proving his mastery, Jeongin left to travel the realm practicing what he has been taught only to return to the place he has called home once he has proven himself to the Druidic council.
He has been training for years getting lost in the fun and play along the way with his best friend, Little Red.
But in reality Jeongin craves more interaction beyond the nature around him and proving something to a council of people, hoping to find more than foxes to keep him company along his journey.”
Who will we meet next of The Stray Kids?
#skz#stray kids#stray kids fanart#skz fanart#kpop#kpop fantasy au#kpop fanart#jeongin#yang jeongin#in stray kids#in skz#jeongin stray kids#jeongin skz#dnd#dnd au#dnd art#small art account
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Fight or Flight Mini Masterlist
Fae!AU & Yandere!AU - Part of the CoDN Thrill of the Hunt Collab
Genre: Fantasy, Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Smut
Pairing: Mingi X Reader
Words: 57,852 (Yes, you read that right, almost 57.9k words)
Rating: Mature - 18+ MDNI
Warnings and links found below the cut
Warnings: Please read the warnings carefully, as this is a very heavy story dealing with many dark topics. 8 ft tall Mingi. Slow burn. Violence: depiction of a massacre, a deer being slaughtered, as well as physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional, both alluded to and not. Blood and gore. Abuse: physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual, both alluded to and implied. Assault: physical, and sexual, both alluded to, implied, and attempted. OC has a really rough past, really this isn't for the faint of heart. Whipping, both alluded to, and done. Mentions of branding. Heavy themes of possession and ownership. Deception. Arson. Really, there's a lot of dark subject matter. Mingi falls hard and fast, thus, he simps a lot for the OC, but it's not a story written by me if Mingi doesn't simp for the OC. The reader is mentioned to be both tall and chubby, but it is not mentioned often, so it shouldn't disrupt the flow of the story when ready if you are not tall and/or chubby. I think that's everything, but if I missed something, please let me know! Smut: Biting/marking, outdoor sex, fingering (fem. rec), oral (fem. rec), hand job (male rec), come eating, overstimulation, Mingi has a dig bick, sex in a spring, really, it's very soft in comparison to the subject matter. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.
P.S. If there are any spelling or grammatical errors, please ignore them. I did my best through many rounds of editing, but some are liable to still slip through.
A/n: I am SO sorry this took me LITERALLY forever to complete. I meant to have this out so much earlier, and actually posted on time, but it turned out much, much longer than I ever anticipated it being. I'm really proud of how this story turned out, and I didn't want to split it into multiple parts because I felt it would take away from the story as a whole. I'm super excited for you all to read this one, as I had a tremendous amount of fun writing it, and I really hope you all love Mingi's and OC's journey as much as I do. Huge shoutout and thanks to @anyamaris and @kwanisms for listening to me ramble and rave about this story both before and during the writing process, and for always encouraging me while writing! Also, huge thank you to @sanjoongie for being so patient and understanding with me as I write this all out in full. I hope you all enjoy! As always feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!~
Summary: Out of one horrible situation and into another, the cycle of abuse never stops. You've lived with monsters your whole life. So, what's one more?
P.P.S. Please don't let this flop guys. If you enjoyed it, please reblog!!!
→ Part One
→ Part Two
→ Part Three
→ Part Four
→ Part Five
→ Part Six {M}
#thrill of the hunt#cultofdionysusnet#mfu-net#yandere mingi#yandere ateez#yandere kpop#mingi scenario#mingi smut#mingi x reader#ateez scenarios#ateez smut#ateez x reader#mingi imagines#ateez imagines#atz x reader#ateez au#kpop au#kpop smut#kpop scenarios#fantasy au#fae au#chubby reader#tall reader#collabs
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[11.11]
― pairing : Chris x Fem! Reader
― content warnings : wolf AU, Chris is a wolf, reader is a witch, soulmates, medieval settings, unprotected sex (wrap it up y’all), fantasy au
― word count : 3.939
― notes : this fic looks familiar?it is! I’m reposting ALL my works on this brand new blog and therefore please, bear with me! as always, askbox is always open and feedbacks are always welcome 💌
🐺🔮 WOLVES! STRAY KIDS SERIES
Chris part one | part two // Changbin // Jisung // Hyunjin // Seungmin // Minho part one | part two // Felix // Jeongin
Quickly spinning on your heels, you hastily hid yourself behind an oak tree, your heavy cape hugging your frame and its cape successfully hiding your face from the woods' prying eyes.
“Damn King going on a hunt when I need to gather herbs,” you thought, annoyed.
With a harsh tug, you freed the part of your dress that was stuck in a lump of roots near your feet, an annoyed whiff escaping your lips.
«Gowns are impractical.» your witch Mentor told you, many years ago.
«Unpractical but stylish.» you justified yourself, back then.
“I should have listened to that old lady,” you thought to yourself, as you quietly started to make your way back home; truth was, you only considered a dramatic change of style as occasions like this happened.
After all, you were a powerful witch, you could wander anywhere without fearing anyone; you only needed to be quick and stealth during those few times where you roamed in the King’s territory to gather few of the herbs you needed for your spells.
Sharpening your ears, you took the hint to move once again, trying to be as quick as possible to finish your task. Your basket was almost completely full of everything you needed, and haste suddenly became your best friend, since you knew that the King and his men would be back soon and you needed to get back home quickly.
You were not banned from the King’s territories, in fact, you have been requested many times to work as a medic for the Castle, but you always refused, answering that you did not want to be part of the King’s domain. You were a witch, and your Mentor had always taught you that witches only belonged to the Moon and answered to the laws of nature. Witches could never belong to a King, trapped inside a Castle.
Small, pained whines caught your attention, and you froze in your steps, trying to identify where those noises were coming from; those complaints definitely seemed not human.
Drawn by a strange force, you changed your original direction, your feet walking towards those little cries almost as if something was steadily pushing you towards that way.
«Oh, no.» you whispered, catching the attention of the creature –a large grey wolf, which immediately sapped its head towards you, big and inquisitive red eyes staring back at you with a wary snarl.
Your brows furrowed, wondering what to do. Wolves and witches had never been on good terms, but how could you leave it to die? Your eyes shifted on its form, laying on its side, grey fur covered with blood, which slightly pooled around its frame.
“Screw that,” you thought as you swallowed loudly, slowly placing your basket on the floor, and taking a hesitant step closer. The wolf growled at you, still wary of your presence, and you halted your steps once again. You knew it could not attack you due to the amount of blood staining its side – you deduced that it was a quite big wound, but nothing guaranteed you that the wolf would not try to bite you as soon as you were within its reach. You were enemies, after all.
«Okay, I-I’m not trying to hurt you,» you lift your hands, taking off the hood on your head, so that the wolf could see that you were not challenging him, in fact, your eyes never once tried to hold its gaze, «I know you don’t understand human language, but I want to help you.» you said, sincerity transpired through your voice, and since his growl momentarily stopped, you took it as a sign to get closer.
For a single second, you thought that maybe, just maybe, the wolf understood what you said, but that thought disappeared from your mind as soon as, kneeling next to its side, you hesitantly touched its grey and bloody fur, drawing your hand back as the wolf whined again, painfully.
To your dismay, it was indeed a large wound, and judging by the look of it, it must have been pretty deep, too. Your shoulders fell in dejection, you could not heal the wolf using a spell, it would take too much time and neither of you were safe out in the open; you needed to take him to your house to treat him back to health.
“It must have been the King and his men,” you concluded, “may Artemis curse them.”
You were never particularly fond of wolves – you basically grew up both fearing and despising them due to your mutual and unmotivated hatred, but you couldn’t stand how humans decided to make a ricreative activity out of something like hunt.
«I’ll take you to my house to heal you. However… I fear the way back won’t be comfortable for you.» you mumbled the last part, getting back on your feet and untying your cape by the small, neat ribbon in the middle of your collarbones. The wolf was still cautiously looking at your every move, and you ignored him, carefully spreading your dark green cloak on the ground.
The wolf was far too big and far too heavy for you to lift it up and carry it all the way to your cottage, so you decided to move it on your cape – with extreme difficulty, so that you could at least half drag, half carry it.
Your eyes flashed golden as you casted a spell on the both of you, making the wolf’s weight partially non-existent and also, that any human that crossed your way back would not have seen you. It took you a lot of effort and all the strength you had in your body to walk back – your basket full of herbs obediently floating in the air and following the both of you.
You made sure to be as careful and attentive as you could, trying not to worsen the wolf’s wound and stopping as soon as its whines seemed more painful. A part of you wanted to wonder why the wolf seemed so obedient and less wary of you, but the part of you focused on getting home unharmed had the upper hand.
Your cottage was not particularly big; in fact, it was quite humble to belong to a powerful witch. You could have had any house you wanted and yet, you decided to settle there: two floors, grey and uneven bricks, a large garden around the perimeter of your house – part of it served as a small vegetable garden, everything surrounded by a wooden fence.
It was humble, but it was fairly distant from both the woods and the closest village, and you loved it.
You dragged the wolf’s still whining frame – which you found out being a he, all the way to your house. Your forehead was sweaty, your body completely ached, you most definitely needed a bath, and you were sure that your cape was definitely damaged, but still your main thought was to check his wounds, since the fear of them being infected made way into your brain.
Your eyes flashed golden once again, and some pillows and blankets re-arranged themselves on the floor near your small sofa, in order to create a bed large enough for him to be comfortable.
Carefully, you laid the wolf on the makeshift bed, taking a deep breath and slowly stretching your arms in the vain attempt to get rid of the ache and soreness on your limbs. Absently, you kicked the bloodstained cape out of your reach, and quickly knelt next to him. You took another deep breath, aware of the wolf’s red eyes plastered on your face, watching your eyes flashing golden once again as you casted spells, once after the others.
Next to you, immediately made their appearance a small basin full of steaming water with a white cotton cloth immersed in it, you reached out to the tools in mid-air, focusing on the wolf’s wound.
«This is going to hurt, please don’t bite me.» you mumbled, barely above a whisper, unaware that he heard you loud and clear. You carefully began to wash his wound with slow but firm strokes, your heart skipping several beats anytime he whined and writhed in pain. Trying to be as delicate as you could, you meticulously wiped away all the blood, the steamy water in the basin now of a reddish colour, and once the wound was clean enough, you quickly stood up and walked towards you small kitchen, hastily creating an herbal compress using your marble mortar and pestle.
What you feared the most ended up being the truth: the wound was infected.
You massaged a side of your temple; you have never felt so stressed in your whole life. The wolf’s life at this point was completely in your hands. The wound was too big and infected to heal by itself.
«Okay, big boy. It’s gonna hurt – like, a lot.» you dared to look at him in the eyes, feeling a random sensation in your stomach, but didn’t gave it any importance as you kneeled once again next to his side and coated your fingers with the herbs, slowly spreading the medicine on his would while casting a healing spell. Although you were completely focused on what you were doing, the wolf’s painful whines raised goosebumps on your skin.
You closed your eyes, running a hand through your hair and trying to ignore the sensation of exhaustion spreading around your body, and as you also tried to ignore the headache you got anytime you used too much magic in so little time, you felt a tentative bump against your skin. Your eyes shot open, and your gaze locked with the wolf’s big, red eyes. He repeated the action, nudging his nose against your knee, noticing how the emotions behind his eyes definitely shifted from wary to gentle, almost as to say “thank you”, and you let out a short, breathless laugh as you erupted into a wide smile.
«It’s still infected,» you hesitantly reached towards the cotton bandages floating next to your head, «But at least, you won’t die.» you muttered to yourself as you proceeded to create a tight bandage around his side.
Once you finished, your brain finally took notice about the huge grey wolf now asleep in your living room, and you decided to take a hot bath and get a nice change of clothes. Your new provisory bed became the small sofa right next to the peacefully sleeping wolf, so that you could check up on him every now and then.
A week passed pretty quickly, and you most definitely ended up giving up the majority of your sleeping schedule in order to watch over the wolf – not like the strained howls coming from the woods nearby would have let you sleep anyways. The fact that he was not conscious most of the day worried you more and more, not to mention that the infection had not yet gave any sign of healing despite the herbs compresses and the continuous use of magic.
What surprised you, was that anytime the wolf was conscious, he seemed to somehow search for your presence. If you were kneeling on the ground, busy with his bandages, he would place his large and fluffy head on your legs, making you giggle because, «don't be silly, how am I supposed to heal you like this?» Therefore, he would just nuzzle his nose against your thigh and settle for placing his paw above one of your legs.
It was not an unpleasant feeling, instead, something about it made you feel warm, somewhere among all the concern you were feeling.
You’d still spend your days with your nose buried in all the books in your house, some of them scattered on the floor in a disordered way, desperately looking for a way to definitely help him.
As your Mentor always taught you, infections irredeemably lead to fever, and the wolf’s fever irredeemably led you to one of the biggest scare in your life.
You woke up around the middle of the morning due to a loud noise of bones cracking right next to you, and you opened your eyes just in time to see the big and grey wolf you have been treating for over a week, shifting into a brown haired boy around your age.
Needless to say, the loud and shocked scream that instinctively left your lips woke him up, and to your surprise, instead of threatening red eyes, your gaze was met big, brown and confused eyes.
«Y-You!» you shrieked, unable to move due to his head still on your lap. The boy, which you just realized being stark naked, groaned, reaching over to rub his face with his hand.
«Chris.» now, you didn’t expect his voice to be so… Beautiful.
«What? Who is that now?!» you tried to keep a calm voice, frantically moving your gaze around the room and trying to look anywhere but the boys’ toned and pale body.
You felt him chuckle, «It’s my name, witch.» he mumbled, his voice strained due to him still being in pain. «My body shifted back due to the fever, I’m sorry.»
You stared at his face as he slowly shifted around, laying on his back and turning his head so that now, his nose was almost pressing against your navel.
Before you could even think about a proper answer, he doze back to sleep, mumbling a soft, almost inaudible «thank you.» before falling back into unconsciousness.
Mindlessly, your right hand reached out to gently caress the other’s brown hair – a gesture that you did quite often with his wolf form since his grey fur was so incredibly fluffy and relaxing to caress, as you stared into the void for several minutes.
«He’s a werewolf,» you mumbled with a frown, the fingertips of your left hand carefully hovering above his features, «and he’s hot.»
Chris eventually shifted back into his wolf form within the next hours, and you tried to ignore the loud noise of bones cracking, since it seemed really painful.
The routine fell back into normal, even after the shocking news. A blush would sometimes cover your cheeks anytime the random thought of him having a human form crossed your mind, but you focused on his infected wound, which luckily started to heal.
Chris managed to spend at least half of the day awake now, and your spells were finally more effective than they were before.
Your magic mixed to wolves being able to heal faster, resulted in Chris spending a bit of the day in his human form, and you being incredibly flustered about it.
You grew up with your mentor witch, who was a woman; the only boys and men you have ever met were the villagers, but you have never been alone with a boy, let alone having one inside your house and, well, completely naked. You resolved the matter quickly, giving him a blanket and excusing yourself for not having clothes that suited his body. Chris just shrugged, thankful for being alive in the first place.
«I’m not going to lie, witch.» he spoke in a soft, tender voice as you helped him sitting on the wooden chairs of your kitchen. «I literally owe you my life.»
You laughed loudly at his statement, sitting down in front of him on your small wooden table, after placing two plates full of food in front of the both of you.
«Indeed you do, wolf.» you answered with the same tone, playfully pointing a wooden fork towards him. «I hope I didn’t grow white hair due to all the pent up stress and lack of sleep.» You mumbled, more to yourself. «Even if I could definitely embrace the title of “scary, lunatic witch”, now.»
An unexpected and melodious sound naturally drew your eyes back to his face, making you almost drop your spoon. Chris was chuckling, his eyes closed in two crescent moons and his mouth tightly closed as he kept chewing his food, but yet his smile was incredibly cute and the dimples that framed it contributed to make him even more handsome.
«How did you manage to end up like that?» you asked, clearing your voice, secretly hoping that by changing the topic the blush covering your cheeks would have faded, and your quickened heartbeat would have slowed down.
Chris sighed, heavily, «Me and my pack were on a hunt, we stumbled upon some hunters which had… Enchanted weapons.»
«And they just left you there on your own?» You asked, incredulous, watching as Chris nonchalantly shrugged before answering you.
«Alpha’s orders are pretty absolute, you know.» he explained, politely smiling as you got up from your chair, collecting both your plates and spoons and casting a quick spell so that they’d wash, clean and set back into their place by themselves. You noticed Chris watching in awe your eyes flash golden once again, and questionably raised an eyebrow at him.
«It’s cool,» he immediately explained, «Your magic, I mean, it’s pretty cool.»
You smiled at him, before shaking your head. «You can shift into a wolf, I believe you’re the cool one.»
Butterflies erupted into your stomach as Chris’ dimples showed up again, beautifully framing his wide smile.
Even if Chris’ wound was healing, you still did not move back to your bed upstairs. Instead, you would rather spend your days talking to him, both of you occasionally sitting on your sofa facing each other.
You tried to confront Chris about why even if you were supposed to dislike each other due to centuries of mutual hatred, you got along pretty well and anytime, Chris would brush it off, adverting his gaze with a nervous laugh and saying that he really had no idea.
He did not convince you at all, but you let it go.
«Do you think they’ll come looking for you?» your hands brushed against Chris’ ribs, as you changed cleaned and disinfected the wound once again. You were both sitting on his makeshift bed, a blanket covering his crossed legs as he obediently kept his arm in the air, so that you could easily finish.
Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him nod. «They most definitely will. We recently started living nearby, so it won’t be too hard for them.» the goosebumps on Chris’ skin anytime your hands brushed against his skin definitely didn’t go unnoticed. «I could still come visit you, sometimes.» he added, tentatively.
Hearing his words, you felt once again that familiar sensation of unexplainable warmth, wondering why in the world could seven words even made you happy, your heartbeat soaring because “Yes, I’d love to see you again”.
«The feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear. Your heart beats fast. Your senses are heightened. You grow light-headed, maybe even dizzy. Be wary of it, young witch. It might make you immensely powerful, it’s true. But, it might also mark your downfall.» you briefly lost yourself in thought, as you recalled what your Mentor had once told you. You did not notice how the arm that Chris was obediently keeping in the air eventually lowered, until he took your hand in his.
With hesitant, gentle movements, he silently kept his hand on top of yours, guiding it above his heart, your wide eyes meeting his soft gaze.
His heartbeat was matching yours: rapid, wild, fearless.
Chris’ soft gaze was locked with yours, his gentle and warm eyes giving you the confirmation that he knew you were falling for him, and he was falling for you, too.
You breathed out a sigh, your eyes glued together and shy smiles plastered on your faces. As if you were magnets, your lips eventually met, slowly, tentatively. Chris firmly kept your hand above his heart as he other snaked around your neck, weakly gripping your nape.
You and Chris kissed like two distant lovers meeting after painful lives spent looking for each other.
You could feel his soft breath against your cheek, helping you realize that it was real, and you balanced yourself, placing your hand on Chris’ naked shoulder as if it was your only anchor to reality. The kiss was soft, almost shy. Chris would giggle against your lips anytime your noses brushed together a bit too roughly, and you would giggle along with him, before kissing each other again, feeling already intoxicated and addicted to his soft lips and warm skin.
Chris pecked your lips once, twice, before placing your foreheads together, your fingers now interlocked above his heart.
«I don’t want to sound cheesy or anything, but,» Chris unexpectedly raspy whisper broke the silence. «I knew you were the one as soon as you found me in the woods.» he smiled, rubbing your foreheads together as he was met with your confused expression «Wolves just know who they are supposed to spend their life with.» he mumbled.
You lips met, parted, and met again for countless times that night.
Sunny spring days were your favourite. The weather was not too hot, the wind would gently blow and most importantly: laundry would dry quickly.
The amount of covers and blanket you have been using to create Chris bed was insane – you did not even know why you owned so many blankets in the first place.
Lost in thoughts – wondering if using your magic to collect the blankets instead of doing it manually, you definitely did not realize that a pack of wolves made their way towards your house, not until, as you collected one of the blankets from the clotheshorse in your garden, you suddenly faced a large, black and threatening wolf.
You instinctively shrieked, the wolf’s deep red eyes staring into your soul. It was like a deja-vu, but now the wolf had a black fur and by his side appeared another black wolf out of nowhere, but its eyes were mismatched: one was deep blue, and one was yellow.
The more you walked backwards, the more they followed you while growling menaciously, as if they were on a hunt and you were their prey. With the corner of your eyes, you saw more of them, and as you were about to cast a spell to stop them, you heard Chris’ authoritative voice.
«Oi! Why don’t you stop scaring my mate?» Chris was leaning on the doorway, a blanket hanging loose around his hip and white bandages hugging his stomach. «Changbin, Hyunjin, back off. Now.»
You were still hugging the blanket close to your chest, as you saw them obey immediately, lowering their heads and putting a reasonable distance between you and them.
Chris’ arm draped around your shoulders. «I hope you have seven spare blankets.» he told you, an amused giggle on his lips.
«Why would I need more blankets-» the question died in your mouth, as they began shifting in front of you. Seven naked boys took place of the seven threatening wolves, and your gaze immediately shifted to Chris’, as your eyes flashed yellow and immediately made blankets fall over their heads.
Chris laughed loudly, kissing your forehead. «Do you want to meet them?» as you answered with a shy nod, he raised his voice, «Come on, boys, let’s go inside. Family meeting.»
“I’m gonna have to do the laundry again.” You sighed, and let Chris walk you back inside.
As your eyes met, you both erupted into shy giggles, and Chris pressed your body closer to his, affectionately kissing your temple.
all works © lettersfromaphrodite
Do not modify, repost, translate or plagiarize my stories.
I only publish my works on tumblr & AO3.
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[22.03] reaper/devil!hongjoong × reader
⇀ i love you to death. but why do i have to love you when i already died ?
⇁ tw : suicide (attempt, mentions of previous attempts), self-depreciation, talks of death, some depiction of the afterlife based on christian belief, dark themes
⇁ do NOT read if you're easily triggered, read at your own discretion. you've been warned.
⇁ a/n : i've been wanting to publish this since last year but one day in august i think tumblr deleted my progress and i was so heart broken that it took me almost a year to finally rewrite this lmaooooooo
Your eyes fluttered open as you slowly regained consciousness. You had expected to feel frozen or to not feel anything. The last thing you remembered was succumbing to the cold world and water, closing your eyes and just letting yourself go. So why do you feel warm?
"You know there are better ways to contact me, right?"
The voice startled you, nearly making you jump up. When you snapped your head towards the source, you saw an annoyed-looking Hongjoong, standing not too far from you with a steaming mug. Unbeknownst to you, Hongjoong made you his favourite tea. He remembered it from when he was still alive. It looked very hot but you believe that's Hongjoong's intention to let warmth get into your body as quickly as possible.
Lips curling into a one-sided smile, you sassed him, "well, wouldn't be me if I didn't call you in the most dramatic way, would it?" you said, chuckling at him. He rolled his eyes before plopping down next to you. He placed the steaming mug on the coffee table before pressing his hand to your forehead with his eyes closed, focusing. In the close distance, you couldn't help but admire his beauty. You may have not met any reaper/devil other than him, but you were willing to bet that he was one of the most beautiful ones there is. After all, they're supposed to be tempting to humans.
"Your body temperature's returning," he simply stated as he opened his eyes to stare at you, "drink the tea I made. I... can't taste anything, but I put some sugar in."
Once your eyes met his own, you can't seem to pull away. You weren't sure if it was his ability, or if you were just naturally drawn to him. The way his eyes bore into your soul, the way he look so damn hot when annoyed (which is constantly), and the way he took care of you despite the stupid shit you pulled. Stupid by his definition, to you, it was a desperate decision and attempt.
As you reach for the cup of hot tea, you couldn't help but let out a chuckle, confusing Hongjoong. "What's so funny?" The devil asked. You took your time blowing and sipping on the piping hot tea as you thought about how to answer him. "Just.." You drawled while putting the mug back on the coffee table, "You must be fucking tired of me... Of having to always come here to safe a lonely loser whenever she decided to pull some dumb crap," despite the heaviness in your words, your tone was lighthearted.
Hongjoong wanted to scold you for thinking so lowly of yourself. And also for thinking that he could ever be tired of you. But he bit his lip from blurting out the first thing he thought of. After what you had just tried to do, he thought that the last thing you needed was a lecture or for him to be the one who pushed you over the edge. Kim Hongjoong might be soulless, but he's not heartless.
So he scoffed to mask his true feelings. "Might as well, had you not accidentally summoned me, I would probably just be stuck screening The Book, waiting to pick someone up. Or worse, I'd be babysitting Wooyoung, preventing him from ruining hell even more," he blurted out. The way he seemed tired of his friend made you laugh. It was a rare occurrence for you to openly laugh like that. So Hongjoong was glad that he managed to be the one who elicit such melodious sound from you, evident from him cracking a smile at you.
With your laugh subsiding, came a wave of headache. You can only assume that it was because of the cold water earlier, but you don't quite care for the reason. You leaned to rest your head on the couch, not realizing that you had made yourself even closer to Hongjoong.
Eyes widening, Hongjoong froze in his spot, not knowing what to do. Initially, he wanted to pull away and even dash out. But he saw the way you were seeking for warmth from him despite his cold body temperature what with being not alive and all, your body inching closer with your eyes closed. It was as if you both were magnets, just slowly being pulled to each other. In the end, he let his guard down and pulled you to fully lean on him as he draped a blanket over your body. Once again, with the blooming smile on your face, the devil was glad to have such a positive effect on you.
"What was it this time?" He asked.
Your eyes opened slightly, immediately staring blankly at the floor. Usually, you'd be rather apprehensive talking about your triggers or your feelings as you felt that no one can fully understand what was going on with you. Not to mention the trust you'd have to put on people to not make fun of you or use your situation against you for their advantage. You've been through that before and it was once too many. But Hongjoong's different. Is it the fact that he himself is not human? Is it the fact that he deals with death on a daily basis? Whatever it was, you know you can trust him.
"Just..." You started, eyes darting to your kitchen then it slowly dragged all over your apartment. A lump began to form in your throat but you pushed it down, "I just realized how lonely I am. I know for a fact that if I went missing, no one would even bat an eye," you chuckled bitterly at your own word.
Hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows at that. But then he remembered seeing only one pair of chopsticks, one spoon, and one fork in your drawer, three cups maximum, and maybe two bowls, a plate, and other lonely-looking things. He understood that you don't have many friends, those you have are not physically close to you and you can't always depend on them for anything urgent or even invite them for leisure time at your place. He understood your loneliness very much, he was much like you when he was still alive. More often than not, he'd always have his nose deep in his work and he wouldn't socialize because he felt that he wasn't enough for other people. Maybe that was why he was so attached to you, he saw the part of himself in you that he wanted to save you from.
Unconsciously, he pulled you in closer, "You know for a fact that people will look for you. People love you, (y/n)," he said, trying to reassure you. You scoffed at his words, "Not romantically though." Without you realizing it, you had tears streaming down your face from the thought of no one loving you romantically. You looked up at him with glassy eyes that would wrench his heart if it was still working. "Why can't I be with you in death, Joong? I wanna be with you," you asked in a broken voice.
It was the first time Hongjoong heard someone verbally needing him. In life, when people need him it was always because they want to abuse his skills. In death, it was always about work and his responsibilities. No one has ever asked to be with him, not like this.
Hongjoong wanted to pull you in, kiss you, and take you with him, but he knew it would be wrong. He wanted to comfort you, he wanted to make sure that you would never be sad anymore. But he knew that he can't, he was already as much attached to you as you are to him. It would be beyond wrong.
So he pulled you even closer to him, plush. Your head now resting on his shoulder as his arms completely surround you in a protective grasp. You had your legs draped over his lap as his hands caressed your hair, "You know it's not your time. You still have your life to live and while this is merely a bump in the road, your life will turn for the best and you're gonna leave when the time is right which is when you're old and grey," he said, now smiling to himself. He was given a vision of you and your future as he spoke. He saw you ageing gracefully (to him that is, as he saw you complain about your slowly developing wrinkles), how you look so mature and wise. On your side, he saw a man that he seemed to recognize which caused him to let out a silent tear. Then he saw you in your golden years, surrounded by many people, some were your friends, some were your husband's friends, he also saw adults that he assumed were your children and even your grandchildren. Then he saw you in your deathbed and from the way it was shown, he had a feeling that he will be the one to pick you up.
You couldn't help but scoff at that, "I don't wanna die when I'm old, I wanna be young in the afterlife," you said as you let out a yawn. The soft caresses Hongjoong gave slowly lulled you to sleep. Hongjoong rolled his eyes at you, "Everyone is 33 in the afterlife, you'll be in your prime by then," he reassured. You had drifted even more, but you still wanted to talk to him. "What if I look bad in my 30s? What if I'm at my ugliest at 33?" you asked before completely drifting off to slumber. "Not possible, you're never ugly. You'll be the most beautiful of them all, or at least to me you will," he said in a hushed tone, realizing you had already fallen asleep.
Seeing you in such a calm and serene state in his arms made him tear up.
"I love you to death. But why do I have to love you when I already died?" he whispered to himself as he finally let his emotions take over and tears began flowing down his face.
The next day, you woke up to a knock on your door.
You sat up and look around in slight confusion. You tried to remember what happened and you slowly began to regain your memories. As per usual, Hongjoong's visit was like a mere dream to you. Although it was very much real, a real spiritual encounter will be presumed as a dream state in humans. That's just God's way of making sure that some mysteries will be left.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" A voice appeared at your front door.
You snapped into realization and rush to your front door. When the door swung open, a handsome man appeared in your vision. He had droopy eyes and a charming smile, he wore a baseball cap backwards with some comfy t-shirt and sweatpants. Even with the outfit, he seemed fit. Somehow, he looked very familiar but you can't really put a name to it.
"Hi, so sorry to bother you," he said sheepishly, "I literally just moved in the next door unit but the moving company seemed to be lost and I wanted to call them but my phone charger is in one of the boxes in the truck, can I borrow yours?" he genuinely looked like he needed help so you immediately move to the side to let him in.
After lending him your phone charger, you decided to make him some tea as he deal with his issue.
"Oh gosh, you didn't have to do this! You were nice enough to help a stranger like me! Which is rather dangerous, like what if I'm a serial killer?" He asked jokingly as he stared deeply at you. Not knowing what to do, you simply stared back at him blankly, causing him to slightly panic, "Joking! I'm sorry, I'm totally joking! I get nervous around pretty girls," he blurted out. After realizing what he said, he cringed and sighed in utter disappointment of himself.
"Don't worry, you don't seem like a bad guy and I'm happy to help," you chuckled. "Besides, what are the chances that I'm also a serial killer?" you joked back, making him break into soft laughs. "I like your humor," he said before taking a sip of his tea. You mirrored his action, completely missing the recognition in his eyes and how he stared into the cup of tea with longing.
After a while, it seemed that the issue was resolved, and the man seemed to be in a more relaxed state. "Can I leave my phone here to charge fully? I'll be back later with some jjajangmyeon and tteok," he suggested, biting onto his bottom lip nervously, something you completely missed. "Oh, no you don't have to bring anything, you can leave your phone here however long you want and just get it any time," you waved your hands at him, reassuring him that you didn't expect anything from him. He raised an eyebrow and tilt his head slightly, "Please, it's the least I can do after your help. Besides, you're my first friend here, it'll only make sense for me to spend my first meal with you!" he smiled.
You felt your breath hitched and your heart stopped. "F... Friend?" You repeated, the word felt unfamiliar when spoken. He simply nodded with a bright smile, "Yeah, friend! So please, let me do this?" You sighed as you began picking at your nail in a nervous manner, "Look, it's not that I don't want to, but..." you glanced to your kitchen and sighed, deciding to just rip the bandaid and let the handsome stranger realize just how much of a loner you are, "I only have one pair of utensils and a couple bowls and a plate, it's just... I don't know," you couldn't help but drop your head to stare at your feet in embarrassment.
The man walked closer and leaned down to search for your eyes, "I can always take my own utensils and plates out when they arrive soon and bring them here so we can eat together. But I understand if you feel uncomfortable," he said. Your head shot up in surprise. It had been a while since you let yourself show your vulnerability to someone in person and though he knew you for barely an hour, he seemed so genuine and you were not used to that. But it felt so nice.
All of a sudden, you remembered the dream you had last night. The real interaction that your brain remembered as a dream. You remembered Hongjoong telling you that your life will turn for the better. Is this the start?
Slowly, your head shook at the man in front of you, "No, if- if you're okay with bringing your own utensils here, I- I- I'll be glad to eat with you," you told him, breaking off into a gentle smile. The man immediately perked up as he nodded excitedly, "Awesome! I'll be here later for my phone and food or whichever comes first I guess," he laughed before turning around to head to the door.
That's when you realized that you never got his name.
"Hey!" You called out, stopping him as he was just about to close the door, "I never got your name," you told him. "I-I'm (y/n)," you added, pointing at yourself. He smiled and repeated your name softly, seemingly trying to remember it but in reality, he was admiring how pretty it sounded.
"I'm Bumjoong, Kim Bumjoong,"
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Felix and Your Tavern <3
A/N: Okay Okay, so I’m gonna do this bullet point form cause 1)I’m kinda lazy to explain everything and have proper sentence structure, etc., 2) This would be much longer than it already is if I wrote it normally, and 3) I’ve had this concept in mind for a fantasy au with Felix for a while and my brain go brrr, so I need to share it. Anyways, I’m sorry for any spelling mistakes and for how messy this will be, but I hope you enjoy my brainrot nonetheless!
**Warnings: Fighting(shouting, kinda physical), swearing, alcohol mentions, running away from home !!! [reader also is called the term “wife”]**
Part I Part II
W.C: 9.4k
So you first met Felix, he was known as Prince Yongbok of the Clé kingdom, Second son to King and Queen Lee
You were employed by them to be the young prince’s courtier, which was a great honour to you, as you came from a family with no particular title or wealth
You were chosen due to shown proficiency in intelligence, manners, strength, respect during the summer tournament; all good qualities to hopefully rub off on the prince
He was known as the trouble child
blowing off his duties often to do things that were unsightly of the royal family, such as baking, gardening, and other pleasantly activities.
Your first day on the job was a mess, as you couldn’t even find the boy for half of the morning
He was up before the break of dawn out in the greenhouse tending to roses when you finally found him. He did not look up at you as he continued his work, humming to himself pleasantly.
not only was he still in his night wear, dark shaggy hair sticking out in all different directions and skin dull and dry
but he was also covered in dirt and water, creating stains and spots on the loose tunic he wore to sleep.
“Come with me, your majesty. It’s time for your dance lessons.”
“Oh, no thank you. I’d like to stay here and prune these roses. You are free to take your leave for the day!”
You were quite taken aback, as you were quite unsure what to do at this time. Did you obey Prince Yongbok, who was giving you direct orders or stick to the schedule that was given to you by the Queen and the King?
Fearing the Queen and the King more, you stood firmly in your place and cleared your throat.
Felix looked up at you for the first time with a furrowed brow and a pout. He was surprised at your blatant disobeying of his orders, yet you seemed to intrigue him nonetheless
“I really must insist, your majesty. As your courtier-”
“what is your name?” He interrupted you, tilting his head curiously at you
“(L/N) (Y/N). I am your new courtier after the last one was fired.”
“Do you know why they were fired?” The prince asked abruptly, setting the pot of roses aside and leaning over the workbench they sat on to get a closer look at you.
“Of course not, your majesty. It isn’t my business.” You said firmly, feeling like you were under a microscope with how his gaze wracked over your form. He looked like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it.
“It was because they failed to morph me into the perfect little prince that my parents want.” Prince Yongbok said, carting one of his dirty hands through his hair. You stood stiffly in front of him, trying not to waiver.
“And I assume you’ll eventually be fired for the same reason.” He hummed, a hint of venom laced in his tone as he pushed off the workbench and came around to approach you.
“My brother might be the prodigy son; heir to the throne, the golden child.... But you can’t change me. And standing here with a stick up your ass won’t make a difference.” Prince Yongbok scoffed, standing straight with his arms crossed over his chest.
You had to admit, the Prince was a bit intimidating, irritated expression painting his features. but luckily, you were able to hold your ground well enough. You weren’t going to let some bratty prince cost you your job.
“I don’t want to change you, your majesty.” You said, tone even and eyes stone cold.
The prince seemed surprised by you standing your ground, expression faltering just a bit.
“However, you have duties as a royal that need attending to. And seeing as your duties are given to you by the king and queen themselves, if you are to disobey them, it’ll be treason.”
you weren’t scared of some pretty boy prince. He was all talk, and you could tell when his expression shifted from annoyed to one of worry.
“So I suggest you come with me to your dance lesson, your majesty. Unless you want me to call for the guards to come and get you instead?”
Checkmate
Prince Yongbok gaped at you, processing what you had said in his head before letting out a exasperated sigh when he realized you were technically right.
He grumbled out a reluctant agreement before following you outside the greenhouse as you lead the prince back inside to be cleaned up for his lesson.
“We can come back out here later to tend to the flowers more if you’d like. This afternoon if you finish your history lesson early?” You proposed as you reached the door to get inside.
while you were strict with his schedule, you really meant it when you said you didn’t want to change Prince Yongbok.
so compromising on his activities seemed like a pleasant solution for both parties.
Prince Yongbok seemed to agree, enthused he was going to be allowed to come back out to the greenhouse later.
None of the previous courtiers were like you; they were mean and strict, shouting at Yongbok for hours, yet their gripes with him fell of deaf ears.
or they were pushovers, leaving Yongbok alone for their entirety of their stay at the castle.
But you were different.
You were stern, yet gentle
Prince Yongbok didn’t know how to feel about you.
But as your time together grew, the Prince seemed to warm up to you a bit more.
Sure, he still avoided going to his lesson and tried to barter his way out of attending the royal court, but you always made sure to reward the Prince with some recreational activities later in the afternoon or evening (depending when he was finishing his lessons)
He spoke to you in a nicer way now, yet he was still distant. Just polite, but not friendly.
He spoke to you as if you weren’t a real person, just a personified schedule.
It didn’t really matter to you
not at all
as long as he was fulfilling his duties, which he was
for the price of an hour of recreational activities before bed.
You have learned he was really good at baking, and he always seemed happiest while he was down in the lower level kitchen with the servants.
And he always made sure to interact with them, speaking casually like they are all old friends.
However, there was one question you did have about when he was with the servants
you finally decided to ask one day as you were bringing the prince to his quarters after a long day of working.
“your majesty, may I ask you something?”
“sure, go ahead.”
“I noticed while we were down in the kitchen today, you were speaking to the servants...”
Prince Yongbok stopped in the corridor to turn and face you. His expression was a lot softer than usual, lips pursed, slight grin adorning his features. He was feeling the same sense of intrigue the day you had met, except there was now an underlying adoration that had grown from being around you
He looked like the sun, bright and curious.
“They call you by a different name... Felix, they call you.”
“Yeah, they do.” The prince nodded in agreement, grin growing as you frown, confused at how casual the situation was.
“why?” you asked, lifting your gaze to meet his eyes. you’d never met a royal who voluntarily spoke to servants, let alone let them call them by a nickname so freely.
the situation nipped at your curiosity, so you finally had to ask.
Prince Yongbok smiled fondly at your confusion, a little giggle bubbling up from his chest.
“The servants aren’t as educated as you and me, so the name Yongbok is sometimes hard for them to pronounce. So I told them to give me a new name. an easier name.” The prince explained, as if it clarified anything to you.
“your majesty, why would you allow them to call you by your name and not your majesty anyways?” You asked, tucking your bottom lip in between your teeth as you couldn’t hold in your obvious confusion.
Yongbok couldn’t help his smile from growing
you were so endearing to him in this moment
“Because they are people (Y/N).” He hummed, turning around and continuing his walk towards his chambers.
Your brain froze for a second as you tried to understand his thought process, before you followed behind Prince Yongbok.
“you say they are people... however, you have me call you by your title. Am I not a person too, your majesty?”
You let the words tumble out before you even register what you said. once you do, you immediately slap a hand over your mouth and bow furiously at the prince, who has stopped dead in his tracks.
“Forgive me, Your majesty! I spoke without-”
“so that’s what this is all about!” The prince lets out a laugh, turning to look at you as you stiffen out of fear.
“Look, (Y/N), you could have just asked if you wanted to call me by Felix too.” He huffed playfully, enjoying watching you squirm nervously under his gaze.
You looked cute, nervously fiddling with them hem of your sleeve
“I-no! that’s not what I meant your majesty! I was simply-” You began, before the prince silenced you with a gentle wave of his hand. You felt like you were going to explode, tears threatening to spill over your cheeks.
you were embarrassed at your unprofessionalism, but most of all, you were worried you had upset the prince or offended him by having him think you were being rude and ungrateful.
But Prince Yongbok just looked at you sweetly, the corners of his lips quirked up playfully.
“(L/N) (Y/N), as my courtier, I give you full permission to call me Felix. I actually wish you would have asked me sooner.”
You feel your nerves unravel, like the tight coil in the pit of your stomach releasing all the pressure. You felt like you were made of jello, but in a good way.
“You do?” You asked tentatively, trying your best to save face as much as possible.
“yeah. It’s awkward how formal our relationship is when we spend everyday together. This way, it’ll make me more comfortable around you.” The prince explained
you reached his door, meaning it was time to send him off to bed. You had felt a great wave of relief, which must have shown on your face because Yongbok let out a chuckle.
“See you tomorrow (Y/N). Good night!” The prince hummed, waving you off as he opened his door and slipped inside his room
“good night... Felix.” You said softly. Felix couldn’t help the sudden quickening of his heartbeat and the drop of his stomach when he heard the name tumble form your lips.
his name
It sounded great coming from your mouth, he thought
and so, with the establishing of names, your relationship with Felix became a lot more friendly as the months went on
of course, when you were with the king and queen, you called him by his title, no matter how much it caused Felix discomfort.
He hated to admit it, but he had grown very accustom to you being by his side everyday; more than just a courtier, but as a friend.
he enjoyed your company. You were a good listener, and you always tried to provide a solution to his problems when he shared them
not to mention you encouraged him to do what he enjoyed, which nobody had ever done before.
you made him feel cared about, which made him really happy.
yep, you were a good friend alright!
just a friend, though.
nothing more!
...
okay so maybe Felix was starting to fall in love with you.
It wasn’t his fault that on top of being nice, you were also very pretty and it wasn’t his fault he got butterflies whenever you praised him or encouraged him
but as much as Felix wanted to tell you the truth about his not so platonic feelings, he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable
you were forced to spend every day with him no matter what, so he’d probably never forgive himself if he upset you and you just had to stick around anyways.
relationship with each other aside, today was a very important day
The royal family from the neighboring kingdom Naevis was to come today and present Felix’s older brother with his suitor.
Minho was the eldest Lee prince, heir to the throne of Clé. He was a perfect fit for the throne too!
responsible, poised, hard working, and very caring of his subjects.
Felix tried not to be spiteful of his brother, despite the constant comparisons made between the two by his parents.
Nonetheless, Felix knew his brother would make a good king, and a good husband to whoever he was set to marry.
However, he was just as surprised as you were when he was also presented a suitor for the same kingdom
Her name was Winter and she was as beautiful as fully bloomed chrysanthemum and brighter than the stars in the sky
she was sweet like honey and smarter than most tutors,
she was so full of life
She was what any young prince could ask for when it came to a suitor
but Felix couldn’t help the sick feeling burning up in his throat at the proposal
Of course the king and queen accepted the marriage proposals for both of their sons
The alliances between the kingdom would be twice as strong now, which was very advantageous for both Clé and Naevis
Minho had been set to marry the eldest daughter Karina for many years now, so the two were pretty well acquainted already
But Felix had only ever spoken to Winter twice in his whole life
and with that, it was only formal greetings...
and now he was being told they would be married by next spring?
it was all too much too fast.
and of course, she wasn’t you.
As Felix’s courtier, you had advised the king and queen schedule a few meetings a week with Winter into Prince Yongbok’s weekly duties, to help them feel more comfortable with each other
of course, the queen and king expected you to chaperone the young royals during these meetings
you accepted the responsibility with great honour
but you couldn’t help the nagging feeling tugging at your heart
you spent everyday with Felix, and through the months of working with him, he had become a lot more responsible with his duties
you were excited he was able to move to the next step towards becoming a proper royal with such a lovely suitor
so why did you feel nauseous at the sight of them together?
You were supposed to be happy your majesty was finally going to live the life he was supposed to
so why did you want so badly to jump in between then while they strolled through the garden with their arms linked?
You didn’t know why you felt that way
Well...
you did know.
But you didn’t dare mutter a thought of those feelings aloud at anytime!
it wasn’t your place to get in the way of Felix’s destiny
With the announcement of the engagement, there was a rift created in your relationship with Felix. One where you went back to a more professional demeanor and he stopped being as talkative.
Felix hated it
he hated every moment he had to spend with Winter because he didn’t want to marry her.
And as more meetings happened and more time went on, the wedding drew closer
and you pulled even farther away from Felix
you had lost all the life and became a shell of a person who barely spoke a word to Felix besides what his schedule was and where he was to meet with Winter
You even refused to stay with him while he was out in the greenhouse or in the kitchen with the servants, opting to stay outside the the doorway awaiting to escort the prince to bed.
He was lucky you still allowed him the free time he wasn’t entitled to, but it made him unhappy with you now gone from them.
The final straw was when you called him by his title.
“Good night (Y/N).” Felix said weakly, pushing open the door to his room.
“Good night, your majesty.” You mumbled, bending at the waist to bow to the prince. Felix felt like he had been shot with an arrow as he froze in place.
Truthfully, he felt his anger bubble up and spill over, face stone cold as he stared at you
“What did you say to me?” He spat, eyes meeting yours as you rose from your bow. You looked unfazed, lips pressed into a thin line.
“I said good night, your majesty.” You replied flatly. As you were turning to leave, you were shocked as Felix firmly grasped your wrist and tugged on it, making you turn to face him
You could feel irritation ignite in you as you glared at him
Normally, you’d be afraid of being fired, but you secretly hoped you were fired
it would be easier than seeing him everyday
“No.” He growled, roughly yanking you into his room before going to slam the door behind you
“Your majesty-” You sighed restlessly, but were quickly cut off by Felix.
“What happened between us?” He said, raising his voice as he came closer to you.
He looked scary now; dark eyes burning with a fury, jaw firm and expression heated as he brushed his dark hair away from his face. You felt afraid of his strong demeanor, but knew deep down he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.
When you didn’t answer him, he just continued, pacing back and forth with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You don’t even talk to me anymore. You act like I don’t even exist beyond being a task for you! And on top of that, you are calling me by my title now... Is this all business to you?! What happened?! Did I do something to upset you?” Felix huffed, letting all the anger from the past few months spill out.
“No, you didn’t do anything.” You replied, fighting back the tears that were threatening to leak from your eyes.
no, you had to stay strong
“I’m sorry for upsetting you, your majesty. I’ll refrain from doing that in the future.” You said simply, bowing politely at Felix before moving to the door and reaching for the handle
you had to get out of there.
“Did you even listen to what I said, (Y/N)?!”
Felix was shouting now, palm pressed against the wooden door to keep you from leaving.
“Let me go.”
you were the one who was getting angry now
“Not until you talk to me. I just want to-”
“Let. Me. Go...” You were shaking from rage now, pulling at the door, but Felix wouldn’t budge
It wasn’t fair
It wasn’t fair you had to be the one who was rational and you had to be the one who was responsible
all while Felix got to act like a child, throwing a tantrum because you were being respectful and doing your job.
“No.” Felix said sternly, pressing his palm against the door even harder, coming closer to you he could feel the heat radiating off your body like plumes of smoke
why were you being so difficult?
Felix’s life had already gone to shit with this stupid marriage stuff, and now you were making it worse by being cold to him
You turn to him, expression fierce and body trembling
“You want to know so fucking bad?!” You spat, shoving Felix away from you as you felt tears of frustration spill over.
“You are going to be married to the perfect woman and there is nothing I can even do about it! I watch from behind the two of you and pray that in another life, it could be me holding your hand. I wish I was as pretty as she is, I wish that I was as smart as she is, I wish that my family had some sort of status because maybe then I wouldn’t have the person I love engaged to someone else! And life is cruel and unjust because I just have to watch you become who you are meant to be, but there isn’t a place for me anymore!”
Sobs fought their way out of your chest, feeling like you were absolutely broken at this point.
You knew this would probably be the last time you saw Felix because of your outburst, but you tried making peace with that as you sucked in a shaky breath, only for more sobs to fall out.
Maybe you’d move far from the kingdom and live in a cottage in the woods
that way you wont have to worry-
Felix was holding you in an instant, arms wrapped tightly around your torso as broken sobs coming from his throat.
You were still catching your breath and your racing mind, but you finally held the prince in front of you, rubbing a soothing, yet shaky hand along his back.
He clutched you tightly as if you would dissolve if he let go
“for fuck’s sake (Y/N), you have no idea how much agony I am in everyday because I am utterly in love with you.” Felix wailed, burying his head in the crook of your neck.
“I hate being engaged. I hate wedding planning. I hate everything about this situation because she’s not you.”
You let out a weak sigh, feeling the weight of this confession crushing down on you
You felt a lot of things in that moment, but the most prominent was relief he felt the same way
Felix pulled away just enough to look at you in the eyes, his own were blurred from tears.
“I love you so much.”
And you allowed, just this once, for your feelings to prevail over your brain as you kissed Felix for the first time
He kissed back with as much fervor as possible, as he was still out of breath from crying
and when you finally did part for air, it only lasted a second before Felix was diving in for another kiss.
His lips were trembling as he clawed at your waist, seemingly trying to get you even closer to him.
You brought your hands up to tangle in his shaggy hair, holding his head lovingly as you willed every ounce of emotion you had into the kiss
Felix parted from your lips, leaning his forehead against yours
“please, stay with me...” He whispered desperately, placing a peck on your face between each word
but you were rational
and responsible
“I can’t.” You said breathlessly, sniffling and sliding your hands down his back weakly.
“you know we can’t Felix...”
“Just for tonight.” Felix bartered, already walking backwards towards his bed, pulling you along with him.
“Just for tonight...” He repeated, legs hitting the edge of his mattress as he placed another kiss to your lips.
“please... be mine, just for tonight?”
And you let your heart make one more choice over your brain
you let yourself have one night in Felix’s arms, clutching onto him as if he was the most precious thing in the world
one night where your tongues danced together and teeth crashed into each other
One night where you whispered sweet nothings to each other late into early morning
one night where you could call him yours
because when the sun rose, you were gone. Back to the reality of your situation.
You relationship with Felix got better
You went back to calling him Felix in private and you began spending his free time together doing what he loved again
but you kept your distance, opting to never speak of that night to him again.
no matter how much he brought up the subject of your love
You refused to entertain his ideas, changing the subject when he tried to speak to you about what happened that night
or you pulled away whenever Felix tried to grab your hand as you walked or held onto you a bit to long after a hug.
You began to notice him stealing glances at you whenever he was with Winter,
and when he was paying attention to her, he looked bored and acted very formally around her.
When it came to wedding planning, Felix was even more distant.
“I don’t care, whatever flowers you want for the ceremony.”
“All these cakes taste good, so it doesn’t matter to me”
“Why are wedding colours even important? Just go with that one.”
You knew he wasn’t thrilled to be marrying Winter,
but at least put in a bit of effort for her sake...
“Yongbok Darling, you know how we were unable to have an engagement ball a few months ago due to complications in my kingdom?” Winter asked her fiance.
it was a beautiful spring afternoon and the two were having tea out in the courtyard (under your supervision of course).
You knew the wedding was a few weeks away, yet the king and queen still seemed adamant on Felix meeting with Winter a few times a week because he still hadn’t quite warmed up to her yet
with the wedding so close, why was she bringing up an engagement ball?
Felix stirred his tea nonchalantly, looking out at the pond in the center of the courtyard. How much he wished he could just dive in right now and drown
that way he wouldn’t have to be in this situation anymore
when Felix didn’t answer, you kicked at his ankle to get his attention.
“hm? oh yeah, the engagement ball...” Felix hummed dismissively, giving a haphazard glance to his fiance before staring down at his tea cup
“Well, what if we had one? It would be for both our union and our sibling’s, but I think it’s a very important tradition. Don’t you?” Winter said sweetly, picking up a biscuit and dunking it in her tea delicately
“Isn’t it too late to plan one? Our wedding is in a few weeks.” Felix said politely, but grimaced at the thought
“Our parents already have it planned out,” Winter explained, “It was supposed to be a secret, but I wanted to tell you in advance so you could prepare.”
Felix perked up at this, finally looking at Winter. His expression morphed into one of nerves as he let a frown play on his face only for a quick moment
“When is it?”
“in a couple of days. I suppose your parents wanted it kept a secret until the day of...”
Felx let out a small ‘oh’ before plastering a fake smile on his face
“I’m glad we are able to have one finally. Thank you for the extra heads up, Winter.”
“Well I actually said something for (Y/N)’s sake,”
You perked up when the Princess addressed you directly. You were used to being not even acknowledged during these meetings between the two, so it was surprising to hear your name come from Winter’s lips
You didn’t even know she knew your name, as she referred to you as the courtier when she did reference you
“Can you fit in dancing lessons into Yongbok’s schedule? I would hate for him to make a fool out of himself at the ball.” She asked, turning to you with a gentle smile. You nodded in agreement, clasping your hands behind your back as you bowed to her.
Felix looked at you, bittersweet expression adorning his beautiful features before he turned back to Winter.
“Wonderful! Shall we go inside now?” She exclaimed, finishing her tea and dabbing her mouth with a napkin. Felix stood from his place, gathering the tea set just as you started to as well.
You hands touched for a moment while reaching for the sugar, and you felt an spark shoot through your fingertip.
“Leave that for (Y/N), Darling. Wont you walk with me?” Winter asked, holding her arm out for Felix to take.
Felix froze for a second before wordlessly leaving you to collect the rest of the tea set and laced his arm through Winter’s
But not without having his gaze entirely focused on you
even as you began to walk them back to the castle, tea tray in hand, He barely spared his fiance a glance
all Felix could look at was you.
even when she kissed his cheek and said her goodbyes, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you...
The ball came in the blink of an eye,
you felt a bit unprepared in all honesty, but it worked out well
elites from both kingdoms gathered at the castle, wishing well onto both of the happy couples
however, by now, Minho and Karina had already been married some time in the winter
kind of redundant for them to have an engagement ball as husband and wife, but tradition is tradition
They sat up with the king and queen, stoic and poised
as if it was possible for the future king and queen to look anything BUT put together.
the only sign they were really present and not just wax figures was their hands intertwined fondly as they spoke in hushed whispers.
You stood off to the side of the ballroom
as a member of the court, you were technically invited, however you didn’t dare speak to any of the royals.
You were dressed in your best attire, but you felt incredibly bored as you watched the elites mingle.
You almost wished you were dismissed to go down to the kitchen and help out there
you’d be more useful that way anyways
But that all changed when Felix entered the ballroom, arm and arm with Winter
He looked breathtakingly beautiful; his messy hair styled out of his face and he wore a spangled, velvet suit that glittered under the lights of the chandelier
he bowed and greeted guests, grin adorning his features
Winter looked equally as lovely, smiling and waving cheerfully as she mingled with guests as the two whisked around the crowd
they were the guests of honour after all
Finally, the two of them came close enough for Felix to see you
You felt your face burn at the way his expression lit up when he recognized it was you.
He hastily whispered to his fiance, before releasing his arm from hers and weaving through the crowd to you.
now that Felix stood in front of you, he looked even more magnificent; you could clearly see the rosy dust of his flushed cheeks and the star-like freckles that littered his face and neck.
“Good evening (Y/N).”
Felix spoke in a formal, even tone. Considering your current surroundings, it made sense; but nonetheless, you were taken aback by his demeanor
“Good evening, your majesty.” You replied with a bow, trying to hold in a laugh when you catch Felix making a sound of disgust at the title.
luckily, the prince was able to keep his composure
“You look lovely as ever.” He said, a politeness in his tone. Yet you knew he meant much beyond formalities
“You look quite dashing yourself, your majesty.” You hummed in reply, smiling as you see the blush across his cheeks spread to his neck and ears
“May I ask for your assistance on something?” He asked, lips quirked into a playful grin.
“of course. Anything you need, your majesty.”
“Come this way then, please.”
Felix lead you out of the ballroom and down one of the corridors until you reached the familiar view of his bedroom door.
He opened it and ushered you inside, closing the door behind the two of you tightly
“So, what do you need-”
Before you could finish your sentence you were quickly cut off with the prince’s lips on your own
they tasted of champagne and sweets
Taken by surprise, you stood stiff, placing your hands on his chest to push him away
“Felix, what are you doing?” You asked, secretly wishing you wouldn’t have to pushed him away.
“God, you have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to do that in the past few weeks.” Felix chuckled breathlessly, wrapping his arms around you and leaning into another kiss.
This time you kissed him back for just a moment, only to push him away again
When you parted, Felix looked at you perplexedly
did you not want this?
“Felix, what are you doing?” You repeated quietly, eyes sad and expression soft
“what are we doing?”
“What do you mean?” Felix asked, rubbing his hands up your back to land at your shoulders. His touch was delicate and gentle
You let out a scoff, looking away from the lovesick boy in front of you.
You could hear the muffled sound of the ball outside the door, as you gazed out Felix’s open window to look at the bright moon hung up in the sky
you could see the pooling of storm clouds in the distance, somehow foreshadowing how this conversation would seem to lead
“Felix, tonight is the night of your engagement ball. Your engagement to the Princess, not me.” You explained simply, taking his hands in your own and removing them from your body
“So?” Felix said desperately. He didn’t want to hear about the ball, the princess, OR his engagement...
“So, we can’t be doing this.” You said simply, feeling your heart sink
you wanted nothing more than to lean back into his touch and to stay here for another night together
but you knew better than that.
You had to be stern and direct with Felix, or else he just wouldn’t understand tha-
“Do you not love me anymore?” Felix asked, eyes already swelling with tears, “that night... did it not mean anything to you?”
“Felix I-”
“Every time I try to talk to you about my feelings- show you my feelings for you... you don’t let me.”
“Felix, it’s because-”
“Do you not love me anymore?” Felix asked once more, his voice coming out as more of a whimper. You could see the way his lips curved into a pout, trembling as he tried to keep his emotions in control
You took a deep breath, feeling like you were being stabbed in the heart as you watched the man you love in such a state
“I do love you.” You confirmed, coming close to Felix to wiping his cheeks with the pads of your thumbs.
Felix immediately reacted to your touch, leaning his head into the palms of your hands. He brought his own up to rest atop of yours, brushing his fingertips against yours
“That night represents everything I feel for you all the time. All the things I’m not allowed to say or do.” You confessed in your moment of weakness, wanting nothing more than to place a comforting kiss to Felix’s lips
but you had enough sense to refrain from that
“If you love me, why do you push me away? Why are you making me go to the meetings with Winter? Why do you ignore my love for you? If you love me, why don’t you show me?”
Felix wasn’t crying anymore, but you could still hear the brokenness in his voice as he spoke.
He was always so emotional around you. It was one of the things you loved about him; the way he was so in touch with his feelings and how empathetic he was.
but it was a curse sometimes, blinding him from reality
“Felix, I do those things because I love you so much.” You sighed, slipping your hands away from his face and letting them lay at your sides lifelessly.
“That doesn’t make sense.” Felix huffed out, coming closer to you and reaching out for your hands. You didn’t fight him as he interlocked his fingers with yours
“Lovers don’t do things that make the other person unhappy. So why are you forcing me into a life that makes me unhappy?” Felix said. His tone seemed tired now, emotional exhaustion overtaking the prince.
“Because it’s your destiny. It’s what you are meant to do. Who am I to stand in the way of your future?”
You could feel the tears escape your eyes now
It hurt you more than words could express to let Felix go, but you knew it was what was best for him.
“If this is my destiny, I do not want it.” He whispered now, leaning close to your face. He kissed your tears away gently, tone even and serious
“If this is my future, I do not want it.”
He slowly leaned in once more, placing a kiss on your lips as you couldn’t find it in you to refuse him anymore
He moved took his hands from yours and brought them up to cup your face as he kissed you more.
you felt yourself melting into his touch, kissing him back
because you were just as love-struck as Felix was
“Lets run away.”
Your head was spinning, so you weren’t even sure if you had actually heard him right until he leaned his forehead against yours and his eyes meeting yours
“Lets run away tonight.” He whispered again, lips brushing against yours as he spoke. You shook your head in his hands, leaning away from him again
You couldn’t do this to him
“Felix...”
“Look, I’ve thought about it a lot these past few weeks.” Felix said frantically, reaching out for you as you pulled away from him and opting to take a step back.
“Everyone is busy at the ball, so it would be easy for us to leave.”
“Oh yeah?” You chuckled bitterly.
You hated how it always had to be you who was reasonable
it always had to be you to bring him back to reality...
“And how are we going to leave then? On foot? We’ll be caught before the sun rises.”
“The stables. We take a horse and ride it far away from here.” Felix explained. You sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing your face wearily.
Felix stood in front of you, holding onto your hands again.
“Okay. Say we do get a horse and we are able to get away and hide before anyone catches us.” You sighed, gazing up that the man in front of you, “What then? We live out in the woods with no food, no water, and no home?”
Felix glanced over to his nightstand, where his expensive jewelry box sat open. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds; gold and silver, all shone in the light of the moon
“We are not stealing from the royal family- your family, to run away Felix!” You cried out, pulling your hands from his. He hastily knelt down in front of you and clasped your hands in his again.
“We only take what we need to get a start! I’ll work after that.” He bartered, eyes desperate, “Besides, everything in there belongs to me anyways...”
You looked down at where his hands held yours, gold engagement band shimmering in the light
taunting you as you listened to Felix’s silly request.
“And what about your fiance? Your kingdom? You are going to throw it all away for what?” You said exasperatedly
“For you. For our happiness.” He replied simply, pleading with you to run away.
You could feel the walls around your position crumble the more Felix tried to convince you.
You resolve was deteriorating quickly, so you tried one last effort to change his mind
“You’re a prince. You have duties. I can’t-”
“No!” Felix interrupted you firmly. His eyes were filled with a sense of determination that shook you to your core.
“Prince Yongbok has duties. That’s his future, not mine. My future is with you, (Y/N).”
You felt all the air was being punched from your lungs as your last ounce of will power shattered
Okay.
“Okay...” You whispered, finally giving into what you wanted in your heart.
You could see Felix’s face morph into a grin as he stood up excitedly. He looked like a puppy now, eyes shining and hyper fingers that pulled at you to come close to him again.
“But if we are going to do this, we are going to do it right.” You spoke in a hushed tone, pushing away from Felix once more to smooth out his outfit.
The sounds of the ball still sounded lively from ballroom, laughs and music echoing off the halls
“We’ve been gone for too long already, so you need to go back in there and be with the Princess.” You explained, much to Felix’s dismay.
“I’ll prepare everything for us to leave. New clothes, food for the road, something to protect ourselves, things like that. We’ll meet at the stable in an hour or so and we’ll leave.”
Felix nodded enthusiastically, leaping into you and squeezing you tightly, to which you gladly reciprocated.
This was the most happy you think you have ever seen him, and knowing you were the cause of that was worth so much more than trying to secure his future.
and so, with Felix being sent to return to the ball to throw off suspicions, you began to gather the things needed to leave.
Clothes that were much less conspicuous that your formal attire
cloaks to help hid the two of you in the dead of night
The jewelry box from Felix’s nightstand
a long, silver dagger and a bow with a few arrows from the armory that would be useful for you to protect Felix with if you needed
peaches, bread, and bottles for water for a couple days, as you had no idea how long you’d be on the road for.
You prepared the largest horse in the stable for your journey
a pure brown Clydesdale with the most inconspicuous looking leather saddle you could find.
Your hands shook from sheer adrenaline as you tied the saddle firmly to the horse
You knew if you were caught now, you’d be executed for treason
The thought made you nauseous, but you pushed it down and tried of focus on Felix
you thought back to the first day you met him
he was dirty and scuffed up from tending to the roses all morning
you thought of the small details, like how the sun shone through the glass and illuminated Felix so brightly and how delicately his fingers worked to prune those roses
That beautiful image was a stark contrast of now, dark and gloomy
the storm had washed in sometime within the past hour, leaving you soaked and cold
However, it meant people were less likely to come out and catch you
That idea didn’t stop the panic you felt when the stable door swung open
You reached for the dagger and pointed it at your lover before even realizing it was him.
He was soaking wet too, dark hair matted to his forehead as he tried to catch his breath
he must ran here
He was in new clothing as well; a brown hunting jacket and a pair of black trousers
He also had a small knapsack slung over his shoulder
“You stopped at your room first?” You asked, rolling your eyes as Felix nodded. He took the bigger bag from you to put his knapsack in it.
“I had to.” He replied, jamming the knapsack with the heel of his palm, “I had important things with sentimental value in there.”
Felix grabbed the second cloak your prepared and swung it around his shoulders
He watched as you fastened the pin, and he couldn’t help but place a quick kiss to the tip of your nose as you finished.
“We don’t have time for that.” You grumbled, climbing aboard the horse and holding your hand out to help Felix up too.
“We can kiss all you want when we are safe,” You said under your breath, heat crawling up your face as the words effortlessly tumbled from your mouth.
You flicked the lead only when you felt Felix snake his arms around your middle securely, burring his face somewhere between your shoulder blade and the crook of your neck.
there was something comforting about being in his grasp again, but you couldn’t dwell on it now, as you needed to focus on the road ahead
And just like that, your trusty steed galloped away, as fast and as far as it could before stopping
You took a sigh of relief as the two of you passed through the city gates and off into the hinterland
You closed your eyes for a moment, letting the cool rain drops hit your face
You really did it.
You didn’t stop your travels until the sun started to peak up over the horizon, long after the storm had passed.
there was a forest that marked the base of a mountain, which provided enough cover for you to safely rest for a bit.
Past the mountain would be a small farming village, in which you will hopefully be able to rest for longer and get your bearings.
and beyond that was a city
that was the end goal
for now, you allowed your great Clydesdale a place in the long grass to lay and sleep for a bit
all while you spent your time in Felix’s hold, showering him with all of the attention you didn’t allow yourself to do before.
you watched the sun rise paint his skin in a soft golden glow
you found yourself falling in love with him all over again as he just enjoyed your company.
in this time, He explained he had a gift for you, sitting up before pulling something shiny out of his pocket
It was his engagement band, with a gold chain looped through the center of it
“When I get married, it will be to you!” He promised, placing the chain around your neck and adjusting it accordingly
“I love you.” You hummed dreamily, placing a chaste kiss on Felix’s lips
“I love you too.”
The trek was more dangerous than you thought it would be
the mountain proved to be rough terrain, a very narrow pass and hard rock with little traction
to pass the time, Felix would sing folk songs, his deep voice echoing off the rock
And when you reached the town, it was in the middle of the night a couple days later
You were exhausted,
The journey had been physically and mentally taxing on you, and you honestly couldn’t wait to sleep in a bed for the first time in a while.
however Felix felt uneasy at the thought of seeing people
What if someone recognized him? by now, there had to have been search parties out for him.
and it wasn’t like a small farming community was used to travelers coming through...
“(Y/N), I think it’s best if we move on and just go to the city. It feels safer to me.”
You hummed, taking long slow blinks
It was only about one more day’s ride to the city, meaning you could be there by morning if you were quick.
Felix was right, but you weren’t sure if you could last that long
“Let me navigate, you should rest, my love.” Felix said simply, taking the reigns from your tired hands
He placed a quick kiss on your forehead as you leaned into his chest, allowing yourself to sleep
“don’t let me rest for too long...” You mumbled, Hearing Felix’s hum in agreement, before allowing yourself to drift off to sleep
You didn’t wake up until early the next morning, just before sunrise
so much for ‘don’t let me rest too long’
“Hey, we are here.” Felix said, you could hear the grin in his voice
In front of you laid the city of Miroh
It was the largest city in the west, with a populations almost double that of Clé
It had been safely under the rule of the Yang dynasty for centuries now, with a large army supporting it.
And with the mountain being one of the only entrances from the south lands, it was an independent nation, having only alliances with the neighboring kingdoms around it
A perfect place for someone to disappear
You and Felix found home along the very edge of the city on the north side
Using almost all of the precious jewels that you had brought, the two of you bought a run down, little tavern with a the modest inn upstairs.
It was not the best conditions, dirt and grime covering every inch of the bar, a few broken floorboard, and a bit of weather damage done to the outside
it would be tough to fix this place up, but with hard work you could do it.
and boy was it hard work
Felix got a job as a farmhand for a rancher, working long hours out in the sun with livestock
he would be up before the break of dawn and come back after the sun went down, but it was discrete.
you got a job cleaning at an inn in the city center
It paid next to nothing and the owners were cruel, but you always tried to look at the bigger picture
for months you and Felix were just scraping by, working every single day just to be able to live
and slowly, but surely, you were able to replace the broken floorboards
then a couple months after that, you got proper furniture for the tavern and bedding for the inn
and when you finally replaced the few stone steps out front, you were so close to being able to open
Just a few more weeks of this to buy alcohol stock and meal ingredients, and you could finally start your life for real this time
it was late, the moon high overhead when you heard Felix return, boots scuffing against the wooden floor
He always looked so tired now, body heavy and eyes drooped as he shuffled to the back where your room laid.
“I cooked some stew if you’re hungry.” You said as cheerfully as possible.
truthfully, you both had become shells of who you once were, but you felt it was best if you were as happy as possible for Felix when he came home
“Thank you.” He grumbled weakly, emerging from your room with only a loose fitting tunic and his work pants. He sat at one of the many tables as you came over to him with a bowl of what looked to be mostly root vegetables, cream, and small bits of meat from a prairie chicken you bought off a traveler at the inn you worked at.
“Work was tough today?” You asked innocently enough, but it seemed to upset Felix as he frowned
“very much so.” He replied flatly, scooping more stew into his hungry mouth.
His skin was much tanner now from working outside, and you could prominently see his freckles
“well, I’ve been thinking...” You said quietly, watching as Felix barely paid you any mind. The only reason you could tell he was listening to you was through the way he haphazardly grunted in response
“We are so close to opening this place up, I just wish we could do it tomorrow, y’know?” You started out, before reaching for something and placing it on the table in front of Felix
He looked up from his meal at you as you revealed what you had placed
his engagement ring on the chain he had given to you months ago
“I crunched the numbers, and if we sell this, it’ll be enough to start us up. You wouldn’t have to work out there anymore and we could just start running the Tavern everyday.” You explained, chewing your bottom lip.
You hated seeing Felix like this everyday, so if you could give up something to make it stop, you would do it 100 times over
“You... we cant sell that.” Felix said, a look of sadness on his face
he reached out for the ring, looking between the piece of jewelry and you
“Felix, I don’t want you to have to keep living like this for us. It’s killing you!” You cried gently, grasping onto his hand as you felt sadness well up inside you
“I gave this to you, because I made a promise to you. I promised I would marry you” Felix said pushing his meal aside to lean over the table closer to you
“I know, but-”
“So we can’t sell it. not until I marry you.”
“Then marry me.” You blurted out. Felix stared at you in shock, shaking his head
“I can’t yet, you deserve a proper wedding and I can’t give it to you yet.” Felix explained with a heavy sigh
when had he become the rational one in your relationship?
“Marry me now, and we can have the wedding after if you want.” You replied, as if it was the most casual conversation you’ve ever had
You took the engagement ring from Felix’s grasp and walked over to his side of the table
you knelt down in front of him, holding the ring out to him
“Lee Felix, will you marry me? Right now?” You asked, playful grin adorning your features
and for the first time in months you saw Felix smile again, shaking his head as he let out a chuckle
He held out his hand and you slipped the ring back on his finger, chain dangling from it as he pulled you into his lap
“Is this the part where I kiss you?” He asked teasingly, holding you close to him as he planted his lips on yours in a sweet kiss.
when you parted, you couldn’t help the heat from burning across your cheeks
“Lets go to bed, my wife.” Felix said wistfully, lifting you off of him opting to clean up his dinner before taking you to your room.
He was your husband now
Felix, your husband
(Y/N), his wife
Titles felt good for once.
That night, you laid in Felix’s arms once more, and you were reminded of that first night you shared
lots had changed since then, but it was for the better now
And so, after finally being able to open up the tavern, you and Felix lived a relatively happy life
every night, patrons would come to your establishment
your home
and they would eat, drink and be merry
you would have different musicians come and play to add to the atmosphere
every once in a while, you would run into trouble
bounty hunters and adventurers trying to make quick cash from the King and Queen trying to bring Felix back home
They tell people you kidnapped him and he needed to be saved
but you always set them straight with a drink, a story, and a smile, telling them good luck if they tried to take Felix away, because he wouldn’t allow it
usually that was enough to send these people on their way, not without staying a night upstairs and enjoying an evening downstairs
but sometimes it didn’t work
people were still adamant on taking Felix
usually they had to be paid off or you’d have to resort to more unsightly methods
in the end, it was still working out for you
but you tried not to worry Felix with the trouble
He was finally happy again, spending most of his time in the kitchen or behind the bar
he got to bake everyday, which is quickly what your tavern became known for
Looking for pastries, tarts, cookies, and fresh bread? You must go to that tavern on the north side!
Yes, Felix was finally happy, but mostly because he got to crawl into bed next to you everyday
His wife
his love
He sometimes lays awake at night, long since you have fallen asleep in his hold and thinks about what would have happened if he hadn’t have met you
He’d still be the problem child, a disgrace to his family
he’d be married to Winter, probably have a few children, and be a ghost of man who never felt true joy
and god, does he feel grateful he chose this life with you
___________________________
A/N: This had so many more plot details than I originally planned, but I hope you enjoyed it. Honestly, I might write an actual fic that has to do with Felix and (Y/N) living in their cozy tavern later in the future, because I didn’t really expand on it too much because I couldn’t without going into ANOTHER heavy set plot, but who knows!
#kpop#kpop drabbles#kpop fluff#kpop fantasy au#kpop oneshots#stray kids#skz#felix#lee felix#felix skz#lee yongbok#lee felix x reader#skz x reader#skz fantasy au#stray kids fantasy au#lee felix fantasy au#lee felix fluff#felix skz fantasy au#bullet point fic
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Sly Bunny. Dumb Fox. (S)
warning: Yeonbin have animal instincts, brat Yeonjun/dumb fox, surprise dom Soobin/sly bunny, dacryphilia, mean dom reader with Yeonjun, mistress kink, pegging, tail and hair pulling, Soobin fucks like a bunny,panty thief Bin, scent kink, heat(?), size kink, bin is a white bun w blonde hair, manhandling, soobin starts off very subby, breeding kink, multiple orgasms, squirting, unprotected sex, insomnophilia at the end of you squint
note: this is the NSFW version of Sly Bunny, Dumb Fox if you want the SFW version go here, THIS IS FOR YOU @nightlytyuns
Summary: in which your hybrid boys are in dire need for relief
paring(s): Bunny!Soobin x Reader, Fox!Yeonjun x Reader
Dumb Fox
“Ah- Mm-Ah! Mistress- please!” Yeonjun moaned, lifting his head from the pillow as you pounded your curved strap into his tight red rimmed ass. “Shut up- Take it like a good fox.” You hissed spanking him and pushing his head back into the pillow he held onto so tightly before using his ass cheeks as leverage to fuck into him harder.
You hit the perfect spot, the hybrids head spun and his jaw fell slack, tongue rolling out with drool. “That’s it, take my fucking strap.” You huffed, grabbing his tail with one hand and his hair with the other before pulling, hard. The fox rose up fast with a growl, instincts running faster than his brain could process. “oh~ that’s how you treat mistress while she fucks your whore ass?” You growl back, pulling his tail again as a test.
Yeonjun bared his fangs in response before you pulled him back by his hair again, forcing your hips flush. You quickly stopped your thrusts, causing a whine to slip from him. “You don’t like it? Let’s stop then.” You whisper before nipping at his ear and pushing him back onto his front, a yelp came from him like a hurt puppy on the way down. You stayed completely still, letting the strap pull out of him fast, a loud whine left the fox boy at his sudden emptiness, his hole clenched over the air, desperately looking for relief and you just laughed, meanly at that.
“Mistress please.. ‘m sorry” The fox hybrid panted, head turned to the side so you could see the tears rolling down his face. You knew his game, the cunning fox always pulled the water works when he didn’t get what he wanted. “Oh my poor baby~” you cooed, leaning down and pressing yourself against him while planting tiny kisses on his cheek. “Shhh, mistress forgives you.” You whisper to him, a small whine coming out of him for confirmation. You gave Yeonjun soft nod, looking into his eyes before licking the tear that ran down when he blinked.
“M-Mistress will let me cum?” He questioned, just like that his tears were gone, and he was moving his hips to both rut into you and the bed. “Of course not.” You mutter back before clawing at his ass to keep him still. A loud whimper left him as you spoke. “If you cum we’ll just keep going until we have enough out of you.” You threaten before pushing that strap back into his gaping hole, squelching noises adding into the lewd room.
“Oh- Oh god! Mistr- please no Mistress!” Yeonjun begged, ears pushing down as he sobbed into the pillow, claws ripping into the sheets to keep himself from cumming at the way you slammed yourself into his prostate, abusing the nerves with all your might. “Pleee- ‘m good fox, Mistress!” He tried to convince you, begging you to stop before he came on himself.
“Bad fox. You know bad foxes get punished.” You pant and continue, refusing to let up when you knew he was so close, clenching so hard over you simply because he didn’t trust you’d stay if his legs began shaking. “N-No! ‘m goo- oh- good fox! Jjunie good f-fox!” he argues with a moan his cock pushed against the sheets every time you thrusted into him which only built his inevitable orgasm more.
“Good f-fox- I’m go-good fox- oh there- jju-jjunie is-s good fox-“ Yeonjun babbled, mind completely gone. He was so fucked out he didn’t even notice he had cum all over the sheets, cock still spurting the white strings when he realized. And then the crash of pleasure slammed into him painfully, his body fell limp, eyes rolled back and his legs and ears twitched. You knew the moment he came to, he was fucked.
Sly Bunny
You and your bunny have been together for a few months, having gotten him in the winter it was now rolling into spring! Soobin, your bunny, has always let it be known how much he loves you, he’s been saying it the moment he realized you were his forever home. You loved every time you’d catch him staring at the walls of your home in awe, completely moved at the fact that he no longer has to run from predator hybrids to stay safe.
You and Soobin were laying in your bed, rewatching his favorite anime to catch up with the new season release when you could feel his body heat completely take over you, leaving you to sweat. “Binnie you’re hot.” you mutter before fanning your hand over your face, trying to catch a breeze. You could feel Soobin tense up around you once your words hit his big floppy ears.
Soobins foot began to kick lightly, thumping against the bed before he quite literally pushed you off him completely, getting up himself and running fast into the bathroom before you could say anything. “Bin?” You felt bad, your intentions weren’t to hurt his feelings, you just felt like he should have known.
“I-Im okay!” You heard him on the other side of the door before the sink faucet began to run. “Are you sure?” You tried to call over the noise, but you weren’t granted a response. With a sigh you turned off your TV and grabbed your lint roller as Soobin would shed quite a bit, fluffy ears and tail needing to rid itself of its extra fluff during the warm weather.
You lint rolled your bed sheets and pillow before moving into the kitchen. With no idea what was wrong with your bunny you did the only thing you knew would make him feel better. You began prepping a plate of lettuce, carrots, and bok choy, making sure to double wash and clip the bad bits so he could enjoy his meal. After wards you cut the veggies up into strips, the way he liked, before plating it and scurrying back to your room.
“Bun? I have your favorite, wanna come eat?” You waved the plate around from outside the bathroom door. “H-Ha~” You heard from the other side before Soobins signature thumping. “L-Leave it on the table- Please- Just give me a moment please.” His voice rung in between groans. “Bin? Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked through the door before attempting to open the door and check on your bunny.
The door cracked open slightly before slamming shut in your face with Soobins full body weight. “Im okay! B-Bunny is okay- Just- I’ll be out soon please wait for me-“ The tall hybrid panted against the door. You gave a frown before sighing, “okay, be out soon.” You muttered before moving to the kitchen.
You had no idea why your perfect, sweetest, most loving bunny was acting this way, it was like a switch flipped in him and now he wanted nothing to do with you. You placed the plate on the table and sat in one of the seats. You were still fairly new to the whole hybrid owner thing, google has been your best friend in getting information, so what better than to look up the bunny’s symptoms.
As you pulled your phone out to type in the search bar of Google, a loud thud was heard from your room. “Bin?” You called out, no response. “Bunny?” You call out further, but still no reply. He wants to be alone; you have to remind yourself, reluctantly you stay seated, put your attention back on your phone, and began to search.
You searched for a while, and writing his behavior only led you to omega verse terms like heat and knots; which in your opinion was very fictional and only told in wolf stories, not bunnies like your boy. Minutes passed, five minutes, ten minutes, fifth-teen minutes, until you decided you weren’t going to ignore the occasional groans and moans from your bedroom. With your mind made up you got out your seat and moved to the bedroom again.
Your room looked different, your drawers open wide and ransacked, pillows folded and pushed to the opposite end of your bed or the floor, and your bathroom door cracked open, a big difference compared to when the door was slammed shut in your face. Slowly you pushed open the door, soft moans and whimpers coming from the other side of it.
Once the door opened you were floored. Your bunny was sprawled across the floor, long legs curled due to the wall in his way, his hard, red, almost irritated, and weeping cock wrapped up in your cum stained panties. The hybrid was like a deer caught in headlights, cum covering his bare thighs and tummy; God how many times did he cum?
Before you could even speak Soobin began to move his fist again, a long moan following as though the realization that you caught him settled in. The bunny's jaw dropped wide, thighs trembling as his weeping cock leaked small drops of cum, unable to push out anything more. “Please- Please momma- just wanna breed you- ah~” Soobin moaned out, dazed from his orgasms yet still thrusting into his fist. You had no idea what to do in the moment, your bunny was a panty thief pervert.
Just the thought of it had you soaking wet, now two of your panties were ruined. “H-Help me momma please- need you-“ Soobin begged and whined before finally removing his hand from his overstimulated cock and making gravy hands at you. Unable to watch any longer you pulled off your shirt and shorts and crawled on top of the hybrid.
Soobins big hands held you tight over his cock, immediately grinding you down for more reprieve. With a whine you followed, your soaked panties rubbing against him the way he wanted this time, no longer having to use his hand as a simulation. With some abnormal strength you had no idea your bunny possessed you were lifted as pressed against the way, legs wide and over the hybrids shoulder as he held and bucked into your clothed clit.
“N-Need more, momma please~” he whined in your ear, his normally gentle hands, rough and bruising as he tried to keep his trembling legs from dropping you both. “You can fuck me, Bin- Need it too- so big~” You whimper, trying hard to help your bunny in what you’ve already accepted to be the self-claimed fiction, heat.
“Thank you- Thank you momma” Soobin was quick to rip apart your panties and shove himself in, not necessarily caring for his size, only thing on his mind was whether or not he’d have enough cum to breed you properly. He was so deep, tip kissing your cervix, but that didn’t stop him from trying to push in further, not wanting to take any chances of you not getting pregnant with his bunnies.
“T-Too much! No more-“ You tried to push the bunny off but the hybrid was far bigger than you, fortunately for you, he pulled out, looking down at the way he left your clenching cunt dripping before pushing back in, this time not stopping to feel you. Soobin began to thrust fast, faster than you’ve ever had it. His floppy ears fell to the side as he pushed off his foot to get leverage into you.
Never has a cock hit this deep, not at this speed either, your legs were jello and your mind went blank as Soobin pushed an orgasm out of you fast, before you both could even realize he came as well, filling you full. You couldn't even think straight as Soobin kept going, never slowing for a moment. “Need to get momma pregnant- ah” Soobin babbled as he kept thrusting, the floor was wet with your mixed cum, your wall stained with sweat and your neighbors were ready to call the cops the moment you came to, screaming and moaning about how deep he was.
Your stamina was no match for the bunny to the point where you went completely limp in his arms only small whines and whimpers came out as you rested, letting him use you as a breeding toy for the rest of his heat-dazed time. You had no idea how long it would take him, you just knew you were on your sixth orgasm and his fourth before he began to slow down, his thrusts now organized and hitting that spongey spot in your gummy walls continuously. “Gonna cum- Gonna fill momma full~” Soobin whined before bringing a hand to your clit, he began rubbing in tight circles which caused the knot to snap in your stomach again.
With white spots blotting your vision and your jaw hung all the way open, you squirted all over the bunny hybrids cock and floor. The clench of your walls against Soobin pulled his last orgasm out of him, deep against your abused cervix he let your walls milk him. “Fuck-” Soobin panted as he pulled out and sunk down to the bathroom floor with you.
“So full of my cum momma” Soobin panted, watching his seed leak out your red, sore, and abused hole. You gave no response, passed out completely on the floor. “Mmm love you momma, but need to fuck my babies back in, can’t let you lose them.” Soobin grumbled before pushing back in. His heat lasted far longer than expected but lets say he won’t experience it any further now that you were full and pregnant with his bunnies.
i’ve literally never written hybrid smut before so i’m nervous that this is a bit far-
#txt smut#smut requests#txt hard hours#kpop smut#txt#txt x reader#yeonjun hard thoughts#yeonjun smut#yeonjun hard hours#hybrid!yeonjun#hybrid!soobin#soobin hard hours#soobin smut#soobin hard thoughts#non idol au#txt fantasy au
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The Reaper | Jungkook x Reader
Pairing: Yandere Mercenary Jungkook x Reader
Word Count: 14.6k
Warnings: 18+, Yandere, Obsession, Fear, Non-Consensual Touching, Symptoms of Panic/Anxiety, Stalking, Murder, Lots of Blood, Attempted Sexual Assault (Not By Jungkook), Mild Smut, Dub-Con, Cunnilingus, Decapitation, Throats are Slit, Wolf Attacks
I do not condone the acts displayed in this story nor do I believe any members of BTS would actually engage in this type of behavior. This is simply written for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as a reflection of my own values, opinions, or morals.
Preview: “With your skirts drawn up over your thighs, the skin raised with goosebumps from the cool spring air, his hand retreated only to return with what looked like a stamp but where the rubber should have been, there were instead tiny needles all coated with bright red ink. Before you could begin to squirm again he quickly pressed it against the side of your thigh pulling a pained cry from your throat.
When he removed the faux stamp beads of blood rose to the surface of your skin, blending with the red ink that has been left behind. But the image imprinted on your skin was clear as day, a symbol your town had come to associate with fear: a skull pierced by a sword and ensnared by a snake. It was the mark of the reaper.
You had been marked for death.”
A/N: Here I am at almost three in the morning again lol. This is super UNEDITED but I will edit it tomorrow so please bear with me when it comes to any grammatical errors. I HUSTLED to get this done before classes start Monday so hopefully the quality did not suffer. This also ended up being 4-6k longer than intended. Very on brand. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I can’t wait to see you in my inbox and the comments, love you 💜💜💜
It was supposed to be the happiest day of your life, but your stomach was twisted in knots.
You were one of the lucky ones, at least that was what your father had told you when he excitedly grabbed hold of your hands with a winning smile.
“A diamond in the rough,” He had whispered in awe, “How lucky I am to have had such a beautiful daughter born out of this village.”
It is true that none of us have a say as to what family we are born into, and that couldn’t be any more true for you. You were born into a poor family in a dilapidated village in the woods, you had been destined to live a destitute life like everyone else who had come before you. But you were happy. You enjoyed your spring days running barefoot through the Brooke, the lingering heat of summer nights beneath the stars, the crunch of autumn leaves underfoot, and the bite of cold winter wind against your cheeks. You adored the simplicity of the only life you had ever known and you never wanted for more.
But oftentimes, parents desired more for their children, more than they ever had. And that was why your father had jumped at the chance to marry you off to a visiting lord.
Had you not entered the forest that day to forage, maybe you would not have ended up in this situation. But you had so there was no point in dwelling on the alternate possibilities of what could have come to pass rather than what actually had.
~~~~~~~
You had always been warned about the danger of the woods growing up, but those warnings had been about wolves, bears, and mountain lions. There had been one dangerous animal you had ignored, one you walked amongst every day: men.
You had been sitting down in the soft grass, your legs folded beneath you at the knee as you carefully plucked berries from the bush, your cupped palms pouring them into the basket beside you when he had approached. At first, you considered that you had been so focused you had not heard him follow you, but you soon came to understand that he had been perfectly silent - his body so trained to move in stealth that even the woods would not give him away.
A firm arm wrapping around your waist and the cool glide of metal against your throat startled a shriek from you as your body flinched back only causing you to corral yourself into his arms, your back pressed against his solid chest as the knife posed at your neck barred you from moving.
You panted in fright, your eyes clenching shut as you felt his lips brush over the shell of your ear while he hushed you and cooed like you were a little injured animal.
“Stay still, little lamb, I don’t want to hurt you.” He muttered, his voice low and rhythmic as he spoke a language you had no way of understanding.
“I don’t understand,” You said after an uncomfortable swallow, your neck tense beneath the blade of the knife.
“There are many things you can’t understand, not yet, the hunt hasn’t begun.” He said with an amused chuckle.
The humor was lost on you, his words nothing more than a jumbled mess of sounds strung together that you were unable to decipher. His actions though, were readable. You jerked in surprise as his knifeless hand slid down your body, tugging your layers of skirts up over your knees and not stopping there.
“Stop! Leave me alone!” You cried, your legs kicking frantically as you grabbed his forearm and tried to still it.
You were quick to learn that he was incredibly strong as your grasp did nothing to dissuade him. Another laugh vibrated through his chest and against your back, he was clearly amused by your thrashing which only served to send chills down your spine. He pressed the blade harder against your skin, the metal just barely piercing the soft, vulnerable flesh causing your body to go rigid in fear that he would slit your throat.
“Good girl,” He hummed, the tip of his nose grazing over your cheekbone in what felt like an almost affectionate gesture. “Be still,”
With your skirts drawn up over your thighs, the skin raised with goosebumps from the cool spring air, his hand retreated only to return with what looked like a stamp but where the rubber should have been, there were instead tiny needles all coated with bright red ink. Before you could begin to squirm again he quickly pressed it against the side of your thigh pulling a pained cry from your throat.
When he removed the faux stamp beads of blood rose to the surface of your skin, blending with the red ink that has been left behind. But the image imprinted on your skin was clear as day, a symbol your town had come to associate with fear: a skull pierced by a sword and ensnared by a snake. It was the mark of the reaper.
You had been marked for death.
A pained cry of devastation filled the forest, a sound that had unwillingly left you that was not unlike the call of a wounded animal. Out of everyone in your village, why had you been chosen to die? Who would have paid the hefty price to target a quiet village girl?
You knew what came next, you were going to be hunted down. That was what they did - they marred the flesh of their victim so that they could find them if by some miracle they had found a way to run away. And that meant the runner would have an entire band of reapers on their tail, chasing them until they grew too tired to continue running and were unwillingly dispatched - their soul severed from the body in one fell swoop of a blade.
You weren’t going to survive this, no one ever did. And why would you be the exception?
The reaper behind you hummed in what he attempted to make a soothing manner as he lowered his knife from your throat, the hand that once held the horrific stamp was now freely caressing your arm in short smooth strokes.
“Did it hurt that badly, little lamb?” He whispered in what you now knew to be the coded language of the reapers.
There was no way you would ever be able to understand what he was saying and he knew that so why did he bother speaking to you in his language at all? Why didn’t he speak the villages’ language? At least then you could understand what he was planning to do to you, and your wild imagination was only frightening you more than what he had done so far.
His fingers brushed your tears away, they were long, nimble, and calloused, the perfect tools to wield an arsenal of weaponry but were instead attempting to soothe you. You were utterly confused.
“Don’t cry, this is a happy day, you’ll see that soon I promise you.” He spoke softly, his hands gently cupping your face and allowing you to face him as his thumbs continued to swipe the tears away.
Your vision was blurry making it difficult to identify him, your body still shaking with frightened hiccups. You could make out the honey hue of his smooth skin and the dark strokes of coal around his eyes as well as the black leather and linen that covered his body. You could tell that he was young and most definitely strong, his linens straining against the cords of muscle that built his shoulders. Even with your limited vision, you were able to tell that he was perfectly sculpted to be a reaper, a hired killer to whoever offered the highest price.
His fingers lightly traced down the length of your jaw before freezing, his entire body stiffening like he had heard something you were not able to hear. And you were exactly right, he had heard the incoming party of hunters.
You heard him unsheathe his sword before you had seen it, the sound of metal slicing through the air as he wrapped a strong arm around your shoulders, tugging you into his side.
It took a moment before you heard it, but the sound of hooves was unmistakable. And, a few short seconds later, the first horse broke through the trees before being followed by a band of its fellows. Seated astride the first horse was a man that was near your father’s age, his clothing refined and expensive along with the gold and jeweled rings that covered his fingers. And the sigil he bore on his horse was enough to confirm your suspicions - he was the lord of the land.
Your body sagged in relief and, as a result, relaxed against the strong chest of your captor whose grip only tightened further. You were going to be saved.
“Release the girl, or suffer the consequences.” The Lord spoke, his voice still and commanding.
The man behind you was motionless, his breathing steady and calm despite the massive hunting party that was armed to the teeth staring him down.
“I won’t tell you again,” The lord called, and with that, his men raised their bows and notched their arrows - all waiting for the command to fire.
The reaper leaned forward, his warm breath beside your ear as he whispered the only words he has been permitted to say, “When the time comes, I will find you.”
And with that, he threw a small pouch with lightning speed, the fabric unraveling as it met the ground and releasing a massive and unrelenting stream of dark plumes of smoke blinding everyone in its vicinity - giving him the perfect cover to slip away.
Your eyes teared up as the smoke cleared, whatever powder had ignited had greatly irritated your eyes and filled your lungs with smoke causing the hunting party and yourself to violently cough away the burning sensation in your throats and chests.
You dug the heels of your palms into your eyes as you recovered from the unexpected attack. You were shocked that you were alive more than anything else. It had been a twist of fate and a shot of luck that a highborn had traveled this far into the land and because of that, you were alive. But for how much longer, you were unaware. The mark on your thigh still stung, demanding its presence be known. With that mark, you were as good as dead. No, you were a walking corpse - it was only a matter of time before the reapers came for you.
The sudden appearance of a hand before your face startled you back to reality causing you to fall back onto your rear in an embarrassing display of clumsiness.
It was him, Lord Ilseong.
“Are you unharmed?” He asked, concern heavy in his eyes.
You gratefully took his hand and allowed him to help you to your feet before bowing your head to him and bending at the knee in a show of respect, your eyes trained to the ground.
“Thank you,” Your voice wavered, heavy with emotion, “You saved my life, I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
Lord Ilseong hummed in appreciation at the sight of your submission, “How unusual, someone of your status who understands etiquette.”
Your blood warmed in irritation from his remark, despite the heroic actions he was like every other highborn of the land. They saw the people of your village as uncouth, dirty, and uneducated. You were surprised he hadn’t wiped his hand after helping you up.
You flinched in surprise as your chin was held still once more today by his hand. The creases around his eyes deepened as he smiled, turning your head from side to side to appraise you.
“Why you don’t look like the common peasantry at all,” He said with an amused grin and lecherous eyes, “In fact, you are quite the beauty.”
“Thank you, my lord,” You forced the words out from a strained smile. You knew better than to disrespect a high born, lest your head would be swiftly removed and your family slaughtered from your careless wrath.
One of the firmest lessons you had learned had been how to control your anger. Village people were expendable and you were not special.
“Well trained,” He mused before releasing you from his hold, “I think I know just how you can repay me, my dear.”
You were suddenly struck by the thought that you had escaped one dangerous trap only to wander into another.
Lord Ilseong and his men had escorted you back home. The entire process was quite the spectacle, especially for the village people as you returned astride the horse of the lord of the land. He had helped you up and sat you directly in front of him, his one hand holding the reigns and the other settled on your waist. It had put you in an uncomfortable position, you couldn’t pull away from his wandering touch or you would tumble off of the horse. You had nearly collapsed in relief upon returning to your shack, your body slipping down the side of the horse and making for the front door in record time.
Your stomach turned when he followed you inside. He had greeted your father enthusiastically who in turn fell to his knees in a deep bow. You rushed to his side and slid your arms beneath his, helping him rise back up to his feet.
It was then that the horrible deal was made.
“I have saved your daughter’s life and in turn, I expect to be repaid.” He said after he recounted the tale of your rescue to your father.
“Repaid, my lord?” Your father asked, his voice wavering in fright, “I am afraid there isn’t much we lowly peasants could offer you.”
“It is not money I require, nor land, nor tax,”
“Then…what more could you request?”
“Your daughter’s hand, assuming she is untouched of course.”
Your heart dropped into your stomach as soon as his words met your ears. Lord Ilseong was not much younger than your father, in fact, you were certain that had your father not been subjected to decades of hard labor he would not look as aged as he did now, his stature would resemble that of his lords’.
The sickness that brewed in your stomach was only made worse by the elation present on your father’s face. You could tell what he was thinking, being the father of the lady of the land would ensure the end of his days of work. He could find comfort and peace until the end of his days.
“But of course,” Your father nodded excitedly, “Forgive my questioning, but what could you want with a peasant girl?”
“The previous lady was unable to birth me a son before her untimely passing. Your daughter is young and not nearly as uncouth as the rest of this village and her upbringing while unfit for that of a lady has no doubt made her strong. She will surely give me many children, and with training, we shall break her into the life of a lady.”
You stood there, floored by the conversation that transpired before you. Your maidenhood and your liveliness were being haggled as if you had no say as if you weren’t even there. He spoke of breaking you like a mare and reducing you to nothing more than a child bearer.
“She has certainly passed marrying age, I am doing you an immense favor by marrying her, really.”
“An immense favor, indeed,” Your father mused, his hand cupping his chin as he pretended to be deep in thought despite already having made his decision, “Consider it done.”
You felt as if you were on the verge of fainting.
“Excellent, I shall send for my new bride in a week's time, until then I shall make preparations for the ceremony,” He said with a triumphant grin that told you that he was all too accustomed to getting what he wanted. “Until then, my dear.”
In a matter of moments, your life had been irrevocably changed. And at that moment, you desperately hoped that the reaper would find you first and dispatch you before Lord Ilseong would ever have the chance of taking you.
You shivered in disgust as the lord left a parting kiss on your hand before shutting the door after him. You frantically wiped your knuckles against your patched skirts before running to your room. You could hear your father calling after you, demanding you to stop but you did not listen.
The yelling only continued when your mother returned home. You could hear your parents fighting the entire night, your father raising his voice over your mothers as he explained what this marriage could do for your family. Your mother understood your plight, she too was against the idea of your being wed to a man twice, almost thrice your age.
But at the end of the day, your father’s decision reigned supreme. There was a hierarchy to all things, to society, to work, and of course to families. You were to be wed, regardless of your and your mother’s protests.
Your fingers traced over the red-inked mark on your thigh, the imprint of the reaper still there with nowhere else to go. You relayed your thoughts as you traced the mark, a mantra barely parting your lips as you begged for the reaper to find you first.
Your index finger traced the lower curve of the circle that surrounded the symbol, and just there you could feel the raised bumps of a word, of a name.
Jungkook.
~~~~~~~
That was what had landed you where you were now, seated in a carriage sent by Lord Ilseong and dressed in pristine, elaborate robes.
It was your wedding day, it was supposed to be the happiest day of your life but you could not help but entertain the thought of throwing yourself from the carriage and allowing your body to be crushed beneath its wheels. While that seemed dramatic, you knew that the only way you could escape that old man was by death. He was a Lord, he took what he wanted and didn’t stop until he obtained it, and that included yourself.
Your stomach churned with nausea, not only from the ceaseless swaying of the transportation but from the ever-present anxiety you had felt all week which had come to a climax on this very day.
Perhaps, if you were lucky, he would take many mistresses and would be satisfied with them after you birthed him a son and he would leave you alone for the rest of your days. And maybe if you were even luckier he would die within ten years' time - stricken by disease or the halt of his heart. But you could only dream, dreaming would get you through this inevitable endless nightmare.
The reaper had not come to save your soul.
That was what you had reasoned, your untimely death would save your soul from being tainted by his lordship. You would much rather die young than be bound to that man for the remainder of his days. You would much rather be impaled by the cool steel of a blade than ever allow him to touch you again.
You allowed your body to go limp against the side of the carriage, the cool spring breeze soothing over your face like a gentle caress. You were in the thick of the woods now, the winding branches of the trees casting twisted shadows over everything below them. They looked like snares just waiting for the right prey to wander into them.
After that thought entered your mind, everything changed. In the blink of an eye, an array of arrows were let loose, flying into the wheels of the carriage and sending it careening off to its side.
You shrieked in surprise and fright as the carriage was easily tipped over, your body following immediately causing you to slam down all of your weight against your right shoulder and the other carriage door which now lay against the ground.
You cried out in pain as your body thrummed in shock from the fall, your head ringing from the collision against the door. You could feel a stickiness in your hair causing you to raise your hand to touch your scalp, and when your fingers retreated they were coated with thick, red, blood.
A gurgled scream had you snapping back to awareness. That had to have been the driver, you could just faintly make out his form, from the small slatted windows toward the front of the carriage, which was steadily slumping forward as all life was rapidly draining from him.
“What?” You gasped as you struggled to sit up, all of your weight resting on your bent forearms as your vision blurred. You had hit your head well.
The carriage shook with a loud thump, your throat tightening in fright as you heard several more steady thumps follow. Someone had landed on top of it, they were coming for you.
You hissed as you were blinded by a sudden burst of light, the other carriage door that was now above you had been wrenched open. As you blinked away the stinging sensation in your eyes you realized that you were no longer alone.
There was a man standing above you, straddling the entrance to the door. He was clothed from head to toe in black cloth and leather, his left arm bare and exposed, and a mask covering his mouth and nose. All that you could make of his face was the glinting metal pierced through his eyebrow, both of which were furrowed in what was concern but came across as intimidating.
“Stay away from me!” You yelled, your head throbbing in response to your shouts.
The man shook his head silently before settling into a squat and gripping the door of the carriage in one hand before leaning inside and grabbing the sleeve of your robes. Now that he was nearer you were able to make out the stitched symbol on his shoulder that you hadn’t been able to see before - a red skull, sword, and snake.
He was a reaper.
You didn’t know whether to struggle or flee due to the fact that your whispered wishes in the night had suddenly come true. The reaper had come for you first, Lord Ilseong would not have you. Due to your plight your body had frozen, your mind overloaded by your sudden realization.
The reaper - Jungkook, took the opportunity to swiftly pull you out of the carriage and gently set you down on the soft grass. You stared at him dumbly as he dropped into a squat in front of you, his hands taking hold of your face and maneuvering it so he could assess your head wound. He tisked to himself in displeasure, his fingers lightly prodding the area around the wound forcing a wince and a groan out of you.
“Poor little lamb,” He hummed, his fingers retreating only to lightly trace down the curve of your jaw.
“Please, if you’re going to kill me do it quickly, and don’t make me suffer. Let me die with dignity.” You said, boldly grabbing his hand and pulling it away from your face.
You had heard tales in your village, tales of what some of the reapers had done to some poor unfortunate girls - stealing their innocence and leaving them behind to deal with the burdens that have been relinquished to them whether they had been marked or not. The marked girls were luckier than most - their pain ended along with their life.
Jungkook cocked his head to the side in curiosity. He was not stupid, he knew what you were asking. But what truly puzzled him, was why you would think he would do something like that. If he had wanted to kill you he would have done it that very day he had met you.
“Mea Lunatta,” He replied despite knowing you could not understand him, “My wife.”
With that, he scooped you up into his strong arms and began to walk deeper into the trees. Your body went limp, you knew very well there was no way you could fight a born killer, it would be futile. Instead, you stared ahead, the light disappearing as he walked, his grip firm and strong. Although the woods were quiet you could not shake the chill that curled around your spine, you could feel that you were being watched. And you were not wrong, all it took was a little concentration and your eyes adjusting to the dim light before you saw it.
There were eyes in the trees.
~~~~~~~
Jungkook had finally come of age. At the age of twenty-five, he was finally permitted to partake in the hunt.
The hunt was an annual occurrence, it happened like clockwork every spring. The reapers lived far from the villages, deep in the woods in their homes they had built all in a clustered community. And because of this reclusiveness, they often operated much like the predators of the woods. And that contributed to the start of the hunts. Every spring, like animals in rut, they hunted for partners - for wives.
On the first of spring they dispersed, all the men that were twenty-five or older, and searched for their prospective partner.
Jungkook had found you that first morning, on a cold spring day. He had heard you humming to yourself in the early hours of the morning. The small piles of melting snow glittered with the golden light of the steadily rising sun. You were hanging up white sheets on a clothesline, the fabric fluttering around you from the cool breeze. You looked absolutely breathtaking, like an angel shrouded in white with golden rays.
From that moment on, he knew he had to have you. And as protocol instructed, he followed you around for the next several weeks. He grew attached. You radiated a warmth he had never felt before with your gentle smile and kind words. It was a warmth he wanted to steal for himself, a warmth that he could not bear the thought of sharing with anyone else.
He found it endearing, how shy you were. But you were oh so tempting. He liked to think that you were inviting him into your room when you left your window unlatched, you were just too bashful to say anything. So he took the opportunity to sneak inside whenever you “allowed” him to. He wasn’t embarrassed to admit that he had rummaged through your things while you slept mere inches away. It had become a habit of his ever since he had trained to become a reaper, to learn all he could about a person.
He learned that you were a bookworm from the hidden stories he found tucked behind your dresser, the pages creased and torn with love from the continuous thumbing through them.
He learned you loved flowers from the blossoms he found pressed between those pages, bright blooms of daffodils, violets, and buttercups greeting him.
He learned you often went hungry from the lack of food in your family's pantry.
So began the second stage of the hunt, the courting. You seemed puzzled but unconcerned from the sudden discoveries of presents left on your window sill. By all means, you were delighted by the short stories, the bundles of wildflowers, and the occasional carefully wrapped veal and loaves of bread. Your excited smiles were enough to make his heart thump in his chest.
And so the courting continued until the week before the ceremony. That was where he was finally permitted to touch you, to mark you.
The marking always occurred one week before the new moon, the date on which the official hunt would take place. The mark of the reaper meant different things depending on where it was placed on a person’s body, something which outsiders were typically unaware of.
A mark on the wrist meant the mark of death.
A mark on the chest signified that you were a reaper.
And a mark on the thigh was reserved only for potential spouses - for a wife in Jungkook’s case.
Jungkook hadn’t anticipated that a lord would be in the area that day, nonetheless, Hell’s Hollow as the reapers referred to it. And he certainly could not have anticipated that said lord would come to your aid. Jungkook would have fled, taking you with him had he been permitted to do so. But there were rules he had to follow.
The first rule was that he was not permitted to speak to outsiders. Although you were marked, you weren’t considered to be one of them and you were not allowed to have any knowledge of what was to come.
The second rule was that after the marking, he was not permitted to see his potential spouse until the night of the hunt.
The third rule was that the official hunt always took place on the new moon. The lack of moonlight gave the potential spouses an advantage - the darkness created a new challenge for the reaper that was seeking them.
And the fourth rule was the most important of them all: if the runner made it outside of the reaper’s territory they would be given their freedom - no strings attached.
That was a rule that made his heart clench uncomfortably. It was a rule engrained in tradition, if you were to best him, prove yourself capable, he would have to let you go. Despite what most of the villagers believed, reapers were bound by their honor and if they were to break those rules they would be dishonoring their brethren, and they would be exiled.
But the thought of that didn’t frighten him nearly as much as the thought of you successfully evading him. He knew he had an advantage, he had been tracking marks his entire life, he was confident that he would be able to capture you before you broke the boundaries of their territory. He couldn’t afford to doubt himself, doubt leads to mistakes and mistakes led to failure.
He would not fail.
You were surprisingly still in his hold as he trekked through the forest. He had expected you to put up more of a fight, to try and flee. But he had forgotten that you were indeed smart, you most likely knew you would not be able to escape him like this, especially now. Pride swelled within him at the thought of how clever you were, but at the same time worry quelled in his mind, your cleverness might take you away from him.
He glanced down at you several times as he continued your journey, he would be lying if he were to say you were not distracting. You smelled fresh and clean with a lingering scent of oils that had been rubbed into your skin which was practically glowing, especially with the added intricacy of the garments you wore. They were familiar to him, the style, the embroidery, it was from someone he knew. Someone he wished he didn’t know. And that greatly confused him, but not as much as the sight of you inside that carriage that they had planned to attack. They had thought the lord himself would be inside, departing the village with collected taxes. But instead, you were there, his chosen.
He could feel the eyes of his comrades in the trees, burning into his back. This was something he had been trying to avoid.
Jungkook was strong and he was promising, it was well known knowledge that once the leader of their troupe stepped down he would be in the running for the position, a position that was highly sought after. And while Jungkook had many friends, brothers, amongst the reapers, he had just as many enemies. So what better way to scorn him than by stealing his chosen?
They all knew now, and he was certain that they would be hunting you alongside him tonight.
That was a part of the hunt, after all, to challenge themselves. Reapers that were of age that did not bring a chosen partner would hunt from the pool if they wished to. And if they died in the process, the reaper that killed them would go unpunished. Jungkook was certain he would have to kill for you tonight, and that thought did not bother him.
Your body suddenly tensed in his arms and in turn he stopped, immediately going on the defensive. He could feel you shrinking back into his chest in utter fear, harsh pants of breath parting your lips in pure fright.
“Wolves.” You gasped, your hand involuntarily squeezing his bicep.
A loud snap severed the silence of the forest and from the bushes emerged a wolf. It had the brightest blue eyes and pitch black fur, standing as tall as a horse.
“Direwolf,” He said, a word that was the same in your language.
You shrieked as he began to walk forward, your body wriggling for the first time since he had grabbed you. He hushed you, patting your back as he neared the wolf. The wolf did not appear to be aggressive, in fact, it seemed quite relaxed, even happy at the sight of Jungkook. Its massive tail swung slowly in excitement as it walked beside Jungkook, consciously slowing its pace so it did not overtake him.
“My wolf,” He explained. He knew very well that you could not understand, but he could not remain silent, he wished to speak to you.
The Direwolves had become their companions, they respected one another's borders and in turn, had formed a close relationship with select reapers. The Direwolves guarded their campgrounds, and in turn, the reapers ensured they would be fed in the barren days of winter. The Direwolves were the reason why no one ever tried to ambush them, they’re massive bodies, fanged teeth, and tough skin made them an impossible adversary.
They were incredibly good at keeping people inside as well.
His wolf made a good guide, leading the way into the campgrounds. The sun was nearly set, the forest growing impenetrably dark on these short spring days. It would not be long before the hunt started and he still needed to prepare you.
The campgrounds were fairly empty, not many reapers or families milling about. They all knew what tonight marked and they were all preparing in their own ways. The wolf followed behind closely, coming to stop and sitting by his cabin, his bright blue eyes steady and alert.
You began to struggle again as he crossed the threshold, the missing presence of the wolf instilling your instincts to fight once more.
“Put me down!” You yelled through gritted teeth, your irritation from being carried around like a rag doll boiling to the surface.
You could see his jaw clench beneath the cover of his mask, you were making him angry.
He slammed the door shut behind him before setting you down, leaning against the only exit to make sure you wouldn’t try to leave before it was time.
“I won’t let you touch me,” You said with a shake of your head, “And I won’t go down without a fight.”
You were impressed by the steadiness in your voice in spite of the deep-rooted fear you felt inside. You were not necessarily lying to him, you would make it as hard as possible for him despite knowing just how easily he could restrain you. You were terribly frightened.
His body shook with laughter, his eyes crinkling in amusement which only served to unsettle you as well as frustrate you. He too knew that your threats were useless, in fact, he found them to be adorable. But, he did not have any plans that were like what you were insinuating. He would not be able to do that until after he caught you, fair and square. Not until you were his wife.
He crossed his strong arms over his chest, leaning back in a relaxed manner against the door before nodding his head in the direction of the table where a white garment was folded on top.
“Change.” He instructed.
You looked between him and the table before shaking your head, “No.”
He cocked his head to the side, his pierced eyebrow raising in questioning at your defiance. He pulled down his mask and let it rest around his neck before he spoke again.
“Change,” He smirked before sliding a knife out of his leg sheath, “Or I will do it for you.”
You didn’t have to speak his language in order to understand what he was insinuating. He would have no problems slashing your clothes into ribbons so you would have no other choice but to wear what he was giving you.
You could feel your eyes burning with unshed tears that were threatening to pool over. Whenever you became overwhelmed with emotion you cried, especially when you were angry and you hated that so much. You sniffled pitifully and rubbed at the skin beneath your eyes, the playful smirk immediately dropping off of Jungkook’s face as he took a step in your direction.
“Look away,” You snapped, stepping backward and grabbing the plain fabric from the table.
Jungkook seemed distressed, his lips pressing together in worry as he watched you. But, after a few moments, he nodded and faced the door to give you your privacy. That was at least one kindness that could be afforded.
You were woefully embarrassed to not only be changing in the same room as a man, but also by the attire he had provided you with. It was a dress that was thin and breathable with loose angel sleeves as well as a skirt that ended mid calf, it was made to offer mobility and comfort. You felt horribly exposed, the dress far too scandalous to be anything but sleep wear. You felt naked, in your village this would be just as bad as being naked.
But it was either this, or nothing at all.
“What are you going to do to me?” You asked, and despite your attempts, worry penetrated your words.
He looked over his shoulder before slowly turning to face you, his dark eyes roaming over your body from head to toe in what could only be described as appreciation. He didn’t answer you, and from what you understood that was in his character. Instead he approached you and in turn you took several steps back until you were halted by the table behind you. He advanced and did not stop until there was barely an inch of space left in between you two.
Your harsh swallow was cacophonous in the quiet cabin, your gaze was turned downward in an attempt to avoid his eyes.
He softly lifted your head up with his thumb and forefinger on your chin, forcing you to look at him. Your hands gripped the table behind you in response, your eyes flickering off to the side in anxiety.
“I’m going to love you,” he whispered with a soothing tone as he retrieved a small silver jar from behind you filled with red pigment, “I’m going to protect you, and if anyone tries to take you from me I’ll slaughter them without hesitation.”
He gently smoothed your eyelids shut and proceeded to paint the red pigment over your eyes, over the crests of your cheekbones, and dragged down the hollows beneath your eyes. Even without seeing it, you could recognize the pattern as the same one he wore on his face in coal dust.
“You are mine, and I am yours,” He said while cupping your cheeks tenderly and pressing his forehead against yours.
After Jungkook had finished preparing you, he grabbed you be the hand and lead you out of the house. The Direwolf was still there and it continued to follow the two of you around like, well like an overgrown puppy.
Jungkook’s grip was firm but not painful, it was meant to keep you by his side. It was dark out, the dirt paths just barely lit by a line of torches leading toward the center of the ground where a massive until bonfire was constructed. And surrounding the unlit fire was a massive crowd of reapers as well as women dressed almost identically to yourself.
Your heart clenched in your chest, what was coming next? Were you going to be sacrificed? Roasted and cannibalized? Whatever is was, it wasn’t going to be good for you.
You dug your heels into the ground, surprisingly, startling Jungkook. He turned to face you, the light of the torches glinting off of his piercing and the red hue of his lips. You hated to admit it, but he was painfully beautiful. With a strong jaw, prominent brows, dark eyes, and pouty lips, he was the most attractive man you had ever seen. He looked as if he belonged among nobility, not here, in the middle of the woods with a bunch of wild men.
“Please,” You whispered, stepping closer so he could hear, “I need to know what’s going to happen to me.”
His jaw clenched, his lips pressed firmly together in thought. There was a beat of silence before he warily looked around and flipped your palm over so it was facing the sky. And then, he began to trace patterns, no, letters over the surface of your palm.
You focused, memorizing the letters and stringing them together in your mind until they formed coherent words. Words that sent a violent chill throughout your entire body.
“Run, don’t hide.”
~~~~~~~
The bonfire roared to life behind you as you sprinted through the forest, an eerie red glow casting long shadows all around you. The women that hadn’t figured out what was happening right away were far behind you, you had been granted a head start. But you knew that time was precious, eventually the reapers would descend and if they didn’t manage to catch you, you didn’t want to imagine was the Direwolves would do to you.
You could only imagine that this was how they entertained themselves. Perhaps someone had not hired Jungkook to kill you, but instead like an apex predator he desired to hunt you. This had to be a game for them, whoever slaughtered the most people won.
But then why did he tell you to keep running and not to hide? To lengthen the game? Or, if you hid, would the others find you? Did he want to claim your life instead?
Your legs and arms burned with exertion as you ran, the cool earth soggy and soft beneath your shoes that were most definitely not made for running. They were a size too small and pinched you in all of the worst places sending searing pain throughout the bottoms of your feet. You debated kicking them off but thought better of that, the nights were still freezing and if you managed to make it out of this alive you would prefer to keep all ten of your toes.
Despite your head start you could still hear everything that happened behind you. You could hear the other women screaming and fighting for their lives and that only served as motivation, forcing you to push yourself past your limits and sprint faster than you ever had before.
A scream parted your lips as a large black mass shot out of the trees and just barely brushed against you. You stumbled but did not fall and continued running but you couldn’t stop yourself from looking over your shoulder. Black fur and piercing blue eyes, it was Jungkook’s wolf who was pinning a reaper down to the ground. You watched as he snarled and lunged for the man’s neck and crushed it with one snap of it’s jaws before slowly dragging the corpse back into the trees and ripping his throat open. His blood rolled down his neck and practically sizzled from the cold air.
Your stomach turned and your throat tightened, you were definitely running slower now from your nausea and the muscle fatigue. How had you not noticed the wolf tracking you? Or the reaper? They both had been perfectly silent, one with the forest, and you had not even realized that man had been less than a foot behind you.
You were out of your depth, you were going to die.
Your body had been rife with adrenaline at the beginning of this horrible race, and that still was present especially after what you had just experienced. But your mind was contesting your body and you were horribly frightened and confused.
In your panicked state and the deep darkness of the night, you had failed to see it. A wire had been strung up and the minute you ran through it your ankles were caught, you tripped and fell and the wire wrapped smoothly around you ankles: binding them together.
Someone had set traps before the start of the hunt, they had done something that felt an awful lot like cheating.
“No!” You cried, smacking your palm over your mouth from the volume, “No, no, no, please no,” You whispered.
You flipped yourself onto your back and sat upright, your hands instantly pulling at the wire and attempting to unravel it from your ankles. You hissed in pain, a stray tear falling from your eye as the wire slashed at the delicate skin of your palms - crimson blood beading up and slipping from the wound.
You clenched your jaw tight to muffle your sounds of discomfort and got to work, whimpering at each slice as you pried the wire open and unwound it painstakingly slow. You grunted under your breath as you pulled it free, a clear indent left in the flesh of your ankles that was bloody and fresh. You let out a soft breath of relief before turning over onto your hands and knees, attempting to stand back up so that you could continue your escape.
Before you could move any farther a boot connected with your back, forcing your down to the ground like a helpless bug. A sharp wheeze left your lungs as pain radiated through your back, your fingers curling into the dirt beneath you as you tried to drag yourself out from underneath whoever was pinning you down.
“There you are,” The man said with a pleased tone in the language you spoke.
You cried out as he wove his gloved fingers into your hair and sharply yanked your head up by causing shocks of pain to blossom over your scalp. He turned your head to face him, his other hand tightly grasping your cheeks.
“Oh yeah, you’re Jungkook’s bitch,” He laughed, “You’re pretty too, that’ll make this hurt even more.”
“Please, please let me go! I swear you’ll never see me again, I just want to go home!” You cried, emotion swelling up in your chest to the point where you couldn’t stop yourself from crying.
You hated crying, you wanted to be strong but fuck, you were so scared. You knew that you were moments from dying, this had to be it and you weren’t ready.
“And that’s exactly what I can’t have, what better way to piss that asshole off than to steal his woman from him? To make him see you everyday knowing I rightfully won you and he can’t do anything about it? Hell, I could even fuck you against the side of his house if I wanted to and he wouldn’t be able to do a fucking thing about it.”
His woman? His woman?
You suddenly came to realize a horrific thought. They weren’t hunting for sport, they were hunting for wives.
“You’re a little older than I would have liked, but I’ll make do,” He sneered, flipping you over onto your back and straddling your waist.
“Stop, let go of me!” You screamed, wriggling underneath him and hitting whatever part of his body you could reach. You caught him by surprise, your nails catching on his skin and dragging down over his face drawing blood beneath them.
“You fucking bitch!” He yelled, wiping the blood from his face before grasping your wrists and pinning them down to the ground and above your head.
“I was going to be nice to you, ya know? But now, now I’m going to make you suffer,” He spat, the veins in his neck bulging with rage.
You screamed, panicked sobs filling the air as he gripped your hands with one of his own, the other going for the waist of his pants. You knew what was coming next, you had heard the stories of what they did and all you could do was cry and struggle beneath him, he had you pinned well.
You clenched your eyes shut, your lashes clumping together from the amount of tears you had shed. You didn’t want to look, didn’t want to see what was about to happen.
In a last ditch effort, a small ember of hope, you screamed once more, “Jungkook!”
And it was all over in a flash. A warm, thick, wetness sprayed over your face - a coppery taste misting over your lips as a gurgled, choked cry sounded from above you before the weight of the man fell off of you.
You kept your eyes closed, still too afraid to move, your body was completely frozen against your own desire to flee. You jolted at the feeling of fingers ghosting over your cheek, fingers that were rough and coated with something that felt tacky.
Warily, you opened your eyes. It was Jungkook. His mask was pulled down around his neck again, his expression was one of panic and rage. You swallowed harshly as he wiped away your tears and whatever was coating your face. You allowed yourself to take in the sight of him from head to toe and you were met with the startling realization that he was covered in blood. His forearms, his palms, his chest, and his boots, and not to mention the light smattering over his sharp jawline.
He had killed many people tonight.
Your eyes wandered behind him and on the ground a lifeless corpse was splayed out. It was the man that had captured you, his throat was savagely slashed so deeply you thought you could see bone.
You frantically began to rub at your face, the white sleeves of your dress stained with dirt and blood rubbing roughly against your skin. You were certain your face would be raw by the time you were done.
You hadn’t even realized you were panicking, frantically mumbling sentences that didn’t make sense as you attacked your own face, until he spoke.
“Sh, sh, sh,” He hushed you, pulling your hands from your face, “It’s over, you’re safe now.”
Your body froze, it took you a few moments to realize that you could understand him, this was the first time he had spoken your language.
“Please, I want to go home now,” You whispered, your hands limp beneath his as your shoulders shook.
“I’ll take you home,” He nodded, standing up and helping you to your feet. Your knees were still weak, your ankles protesting as they continued to bleed. You were sure they were going to get infected at this rate.
“You’re hurt?” He asked, his voice much softer than you had anticipated. You merely nodded in response.
He recognized those marks, they were from a specific snare that only reapers used. And, on the night of the hunt, they were banned. His jaw clenched in anger, he was trying his best not to explode, not to scare you. His rage would be wasted, after all he had already killed that bastard and his little band of low-lives. Just as he had suspected, they were all after you that night.
He stepped forward, opening his arms to pick you up. You jerked away, your body still trying to protect you - not sensing that the danger had passed. Or was it right? Jungkook was one of them, he had marked you, brought you here, he was just as dangerous.
“I won’t hurt you,” He said, trying to keep his voice calm and soothing, “You need my help.”
As reluctant as you were to admit it, he was right, you wouldn’t be able to walk all the way back with him, you were in far too much pain. You nodded slowly before inching towards him and allowing him to gently cradle you to his chest.
Jungkook paused once he adjusted you in his hold. Your face was still stained just as badly as the rest of him despite your frantic attempts to clean yourself. The makeup that has once been on your face was smudged and dissolved by your tears. But, you had made it. He knew he chose you for a reason, you had ran the farthest, you had outrun so many men and the ones you couldn’t he and his wolf dispatched.
His heart thumped in anxiety as he looked over his shoulder where the bloody snare laid. You had been so close.
Another two feet, and you would have broken their borders and had been free to go.
~~~~~~~
The bonfire was still burning just as strongly as it had been at the start of the hunt. That led you to believe that it had not lasted as long as you thought it would. The reapers were proficient hunters and killers just like the Direwolves that protected their lands. It was foolish to believe that anything about this would have been challenging for them.
Upon your arrival you were met with the sight of a substantial crowd. All of your fellow runners were there each in a different state of despair and disbelief. But besides them, there were many newcomers that you had not seen before. There were families, large families. Mother’s occupied with their babies, young children giggling as they chased one another, and the glowing eyes of the Direwolves surveying, their massive bodies folded into themselves as they laid on the ground by the tree line.
They were on guard, not from outside threats, but guarding the way out. It would be suicide for anyone who tried to leave. You had seen what those wolves could do, you would not dare try to leave with them here.
“What is this?” You asked Jungkook who had set you down on a soft cushion a fair distance from the fire.
“A celebration,” He explained “For good fortune and prosperous futures.”
Prosperous futures? What future could anyone have after this? That was of course, if he was lying to you. If he didn’t know that you knew what all of this was really about.
“So it has nothing to do with the fact that you chose me to be your wife?”
Jungkook flinched, his doe eyes widening in surprise before a small smile crept onto his lips, “You figured it out then? I knew you were smart, that was one of the reasons I chose you. I could see the cleverness in those eyes from a mile away.”
You shifted uncomfortably underneath his stare before straightening your spine, attempting to appear far more confident than you felt.
“I’m not yours, I never will be.”
His lips twitched into a frown, “You were mine the second I laid eyes on you. You accepted my gifts, my proposal, and I caught you fairly. This may not be conventional in your village but it is tradition in mine. You bare my mark, you followed me here willingly, and we completed the ceremony. You are mine and I am yours in a way that is far more binding than any church could declare. Do you understand me?”
He was thoroughly angered, you could practically feel the heat simmering off of him, stronger than the fire that was not too far away. You watched as he stood, dragging one of several large barrels filled to the brim with water over to you. He grabbed a spare cloth and dunked it into the water before dropping down to his knees and beginning to clean your hands and feet, removing the dirt and blood from beneath your nails and the wounds on your ankles.
You watched him work for a moment, his brows furrowed in irritation as well as focus. Behind him several reapers watched on in astonishment, several looks of surprise as well as disapproval coloring their features.
“Why are they staring at us?” You whispered, curling into yourself from the attention.
“It is tradition for the spouse to cleanse the reaper after the ceremony, not the other way around,” He mumbled, grabbing a new cloth for your face.
His intense, dark eyes bore into your own as he cleaned the blood from your cheeks, “I am willing to break tradition for you, rules for you, does that not prove that I am yours as much as you are mine?”
Your heart thumped against your will. Adoring words like those should not leave the mouth of a killer so easily.
“I can’t be yours.”
“And why is that?”
“I,” You swallowed harshly, the words burning your tongue before your could even form them, “I am promised to Lord Ilseong.”
Fire blossomed in his eyes, those dark coals igniting in an instant. You had never seen hatred grow so quickly in a man or woman’s eyes before and it genuinely frightened you.
“Lord Ilseong?” He hissed, his strong shoulders squared and tensed.
“Y-yes,” You stuttered, unnerved by the sudden shift in demeanor, “He will come for me, you must know that. I am his betrothed.”
Jungkook said nothing, instead he quickly rose to his feet and grabbed you firmly by the wrist, pulling you in the direction of his cabin where his wolf still laid in waiting. You struggled to keep up with his pace, stumbling over your own feet as you were nearly dragged by him into his home.
“What are you doing?! You said you would take me home!”
“And I did not lie to you, this is home, our home now.”
“Lord Ilseong-”
“Say his name one more time,” He warned as he fixed you with an intense glare, “One more time, and I’ll make sure mine is the only one you’ll be able to remember.”
You froze, your body refusing to move as you were pinned in place by his intimidating glare. You had been tossed from one fire into another. From one lecherous old man to a wild young one. You had yet to decide which was worse.
“Why do you hate him so?” You asked, surprised you were able to voice such a question when he was clearly on edge.
He laughed, a bitter and cruel sound. You could see his shoulders shaking in barely contained rage. He did not hate him, he loathed his entire existence.
“Why do I hate him?” He echoed, his jaw clenched tightly, “Lord Ilseong is my father.”
You couldn’t stop your jaw from dropping, he had taken you completely by surprise. Jungkook looked nothing like Lord Ilseong, Jungkook was far too beautiful. But, if you looked hard enough, the faintest traces of him were there, in his jaw and brow, but for the most part you could conclude that Jungkook was blessed with his mother’s features.
“That…that’s not possible! The lady was never able to conceive a child. Lord Ilseong has no children.”
“None that were legitimate. No, I am his bastard. And I had quite a few siblings to show for his unfaithfulness. He sought out any pretty face he could and took them with or without their regard. That is something that all reapers have in common, we are the rejected children of nobility and we have come to reap what they have sown.”
You could see it now. Many of the reapers you had seen at the fire were painfully attractive, the offspring of beautiful people who had been abused and taken advantage of. And in turn they were rejected by those who had given them life. But just like the nobility they had been born from, they too were tainted with corruption, that much was evidenced by your capture and what had almost transpired before Jungkook had slain that man in the forest.
“That is why he wishes to marry me, to finally have a legitimate child to continue his legacy.” You confirmed. You had thought before he was a perverted old man, and that much was true, but he had much bigger plans.
“He what?!” Jungkook was seething.
“That was what he told my father, he wished for me to give him many children.”
As soon as you were finished speaking, you could see him snap. He grabbed you by the wrist and dragged you to the back of the house where his bedroom was. He slammed the door shut and pushed you firmly in the chest causing you to stumble back onto his bed.
“He has taken everything from me, but this I will finally take from him.” He said, tugging your skirt up just as he had done the week before spurring a squeal from your lips.
The red mark was still there on your thigh. No amount of scrubbing from you or your mother has managed to remove it from you skin. You gasped as he dropped to his knees and leaned over you, pressing a fervent kiss to the mark while his hand gripped your other thigh.
“This means that you are mine, I found you first, I chose you first. You have a purpose here, you are important here. Make no mistake I am not giving you a choice, you will not return to him. But if you try to run know this, a life with him will be one of misery and suffering. Here, I am offering you my love, my soul, whatever it is you desire. But in return I desire the same. And if you were to offer those to anyone else I would kill them without hesitation.”
You sat there in shock. Never had a man ever knelt before you in such a position, in submission. No man had ever declared such a violent love for you.
You knew, despite Jungkook’s vehement denial, that you did have choices and there were three.
The first was to return with Lord Ilseong when he inevitably came for you. And what would come of that. A life of misery, Jungkook had said. You would be doomed to marry a man nearly thrice your age, endure a horrific wedding night and several more like it until you missed your cycle, and then give birth. And that would continue over and over again until he died, an endless cycle to ensure he would have a pool of children to choose from in the event that his first born perished or, worse in his eyes, was a girl. And the thought of him, his wrinkled hands, touching your body had your stomach churning. You would rather fight the Direwolves.
The second was to run, to go back home. But that posed several problems. For one, your father would never take you back. You would become his greatest disappointment just as quickly as you had become his pride. He would send for Lord Ilseong and your fate would be sealed. Or, more likely, Jungkook would find you first. And you knew then that your family would no longer be safe.
The third option, the final option, was just as difficult as the first. And that was to stay with Jungkook and his reapers. To be his wife. You would be trapped with the man who had captured you, who had stolen you from your home. You would stand by for years on end, watching the cycle continue as people were either slaughtered for money, or were captured to be wed. But, you would still have some freedom. You wouldn’t be “broken like a mare” as his lordship has said. You would still be where you thrived, in nature. And your “husband” would not be an old decrepit man. As unwilling as you were to admit it, the thought of Jungkook touching you was not entirely repulsive. Had he been another village boy, had he been sweet, innocent, and kind, you would have jumped at the chance to be betrothed to him.
Jungkook was the lesser of evils.
“Let me have you,” He said, his hands stroking slowly up and down the expanse of your thighs which had pressed themselves together tightly out of not only anxiety but something else all together. It was a horrible, addicting blend.
And you couldn’t help but think to yourself, what better way to spite that old man than to lose your innocence to his bastard. You knew that Lord Ilseong would come, without a doubt he would not let you be free. But when he came with his army and slaughtered the reapers you would be free. Jungkook would be dead and the Lord would not take you, you who were no longer a virgin and tainted by his illegitimate son. Jungkook was right, you were clever.
You finally met his gaze, his head still craned up to look at you. There was something enticing about having a powerful man on his knees. You had never had power, you were always the pawn.
And so, when his hands moved higher, fiddling with the hem of your undergarments, you did not stop him. As nervous as you were, frightened as you were, this was a part of your plan and you would see through it. You would do it if it meant you could have your freedom.
And anyone else was better than Ilseong. Especially the attractive man that knelt before you like a devout worshiper at his altar. If you were lucky, he would not make it hurt.
A desperate sigh left his lips as he rolled your skirt up over your hips and hastily removed your undergarments before pulling you to the edge of his bed and forcing your legs over his shoulders as his head disappeared in between your thighs.
You shrieked in surprise as you felt his lips meet the skin of your inner thigh. His hands were holding your hips tightly, preventing you from moving as he left long, lingering kisses there. His lips were surprisingly soft, wet, and warm, creating an unfamiliar ache at the apex of your thighs. Your hips twitched without your permission, writhing in an attempt to get him to do something your body understood better than your mind. His soft laugh vibrated against your thigh, his dark eyes shooting up to look at you in a way that could only be described as mischievous before he ducked his head down and his lips met a place you had not dared to touch.
A cry of shock broke free from your lips, your head falling back and your chest heaving in pleasure.
“W-what? Jungkook wait-” You stuttered in confusion, your words easily silenced by the strokes of his tongue.
The entire inner workings of what happened between a husband and wife on their wedding night was a mystery to you. And that was not your fault. Mothers and fathers often kept that from their daughters, too afraid to tell them too much lest they learn how to rid themselves of their virginity before they marry. Your mother had told you enough the day you were to be sent to Lord Ilseong, but this, this was a far cry from what she had told you.
Despite your pleas he did not slow down, in fact he only became that much more enthusiastic. Your arms turned to jello, collapsing out from underneath you sending your back down to the mattress as your legs shook around his head. You could feel him groaning against you sending vibrations all throughout your core, it was like he was the one receiving immense pleasure and not you.
It felt like he wanted to devour you.
He broke away once to catch his breath, his shoulders heaving as he panted.
“So pretty for me,” He mumbled, his voice much lower than before and riddled with lust.
You jolted with a strangled moan as he pressed a long, lingering kiss to that place once more before his fingers firmly stroked up and down the length of your sex, just barely sinking in to your entrance in a teasing manner that had your hips bucking pitifully against his iron grip. He would to decided to give you what you needed when he wanted to. The chase had been great fun, but the capture was the true reward and he planned to thoroughly enjoy it.
“So sensitive,” He laughed, pushing your hips down, “Have you never been touched before?”
Your eyes were clenched shut, your mouth twisted into a frown as he continued his touches that still left behind a pleasant thrum but also an intense ache as he deliberately avoided every part that would provide you pleasure.
As soon as he realized you weren’t paying attention his withdrew his fingers and you could only whine from the lack of his touch.
“I asked you a question,” He said, very clearly waiting for your response.
“No,” You admitted despite your embarrassment.
His face was set with determination and glee, he was happy to know that he would have you first in every aspect.
You wriggled away from him as he stood up, joining you on the bed and attempting to remove your dress. You had never been exposed to someone else before and while you felt desire burning inside you the thought of him seeing you bare was frightening. But he smiled at your bashful actions and he knew that he would have to rid you of your clothes quickly.
You froze as he removed a very familiar knife from the strap on his leg, your heart beating louder than thunder. Maybe he had been planning to kill you all along, maybe he was finally going to do it.
But instead of killing you like you thought he would, he pulled your dress taut and with one impressive slash slit it open from the bottom to the top. Your chest heaved against the cool metal of the blade that now rested at your breasts - the feeling just as exhilarating as it was frightening.
“Easy, little lamb,” He cooed, setting the knife aside, “What use would I have for a lovely, dead, wife?”
You watched in awe as he stripped down, revealing every inch of honey skin and toned muscle. But, more surprisingly, and arm full of tattoos. He had always kept one arm bare and the other covered. The covered one hiding the collection of inked markings on his arm as well as the reaper’s mark on his chest, the mark that you shared with him on your thigh. He quickly noticed where your attention strayed to.
“Each one signifies something different. Some of them are milestones, ranks, and others represent kills,” He explained, grabbing your hand and resting it on his bicep, encouraging you to touch him.
Your fingers smoothed over the scarred skin, enraptured by the sight. You had never seen so many markings on one person. You could only assume Jungkook had killed many, many people.
He sighed at the feeling of your touch, eagerly wrapping his arms around your body and pulling you onto his lap, pressing your chest against his firmly so that there was no space left in between you two. Your body was rapidly heating up, the feeling of his strong thighs and hardened manhood beneath you only making the fire in your veins burn hotter.
He gently cradled your jaw with one hand, the other spread over your ribcage just beneath the swell of your breast. And, with a surprising tenderness, he pressed his lips against yours in a soft, slow, sweet kiss. But it did not remain soft for long, his hold grew firmer, his kisses more intense and hard like he could not get enough of you, like he needed you more than air itself.
And, with a flood of heat, you realized that he had kissed you in-between your legs before stealing your first kiss from your lips.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” He whispered against your mouth, misreading your trembling body, “I’ll never hurt you, I only want to pleasure you.”
And he followed through on his promise. You had never thought that hands that could bring death could also bring pleasure, but you had been mistaken. In the veil of darkness, under the absence of the moon, the two of you indulged in a night of debauchery.
You had been told that this night would be painful, that you would cry and wish it had never happened. But instead you had found immense satisfaction and a desire for more. While your life had been riddled with misfortune you had been granted one ounce of relief - Jungkook was a gifted lover. So gifted in fact that you found yourself unwilling to part from him, your hold on his body almost as strong as his grasp on you. Your nails had found themselves embedded in his back, raking down the once smooth skin and leaving marks of your own on him. You were certain that your inner thighs would be bruised from just how tightly you encircled his waist. You had allowed a part of yourself to escape that you did not recognize.
“My good little wife, taking me so well,” He had moaned into your ear, his hips desperately rutting against yours. “Absolutely perfect for me.”
And he continued on like that, whispering praises into your ear and bringing you to the edge over and over and over again, his stamina prevailing even as you weakly mewled and attempted to draw away from him, every inch of your body screaming in oversensitivity but even then that pain felt horribly good.
“You can take another, for me, I know you can handle it,” He growled out from behind gritted teeth, at this point he had become more animalistic than man.
“I can’t -”
“You can, and you will.”
That was something you had come to learn about Jungkook. He always followed through on his promises as well as his threats.
When he had finished for the second and final time he held you close to his chest, the scent of sweat and intimacy still fresh in the air as you unwillingly began to doze off, all of your energy completely drained from your body after not only the intense coupling but all of the energy you had expended prior running for your life.
But as you drifted off you were reminded of exactly why you had done this in the first place. You still were meant to leave, you still craved your freedom.
All it took was one sentence from Jungkook to remind you of your plan. As long as you stayed complacent you would never be free.
“I can’t wait to see what you’ll like, round with my children.”
This was what he had meant by “prosperous futures.”
~~~~~~~
The next morning you were abruptly awoken by the scent of smoke thick in the air and the sound of harsh pounding on the front door.
The space beside you was empty and faintly warm, Jungkook had been up for a little while. You could hear his voice now as well as another reaper’s.
“What is it?” Jungkook’s voice.
“We’ve spotted a decent band of soldiers a few miles out, they definitely belong to a nobleman from the crests they carry. They’ve set fire to the forests, they’re trying to burn everything down in sight - they’re either looking for us, someone else, or both.”
“How much time do we have?”
“Not much, the scouts we sent ahead have returned so I imagine that the soldiers can’t be that far behind. We’ve been ordered to to go ahead and assume our positions, the rest will evacuate.”
“Is that necessary?”
“For now, yes. For everyone else’s sake, they’ll only get in the way. Once we clean this mess up everyone will be escorted back. But we need you too, we can’t do it without you.”
“I understand,” Jungkook reluctantly said, “Thank you, Hoseok.”
You sat up in bed, the blanket tightly wrapped around your body as Jungkook came in. He looked distressed not because of the impending fight, that he was familiar with, but because you would be leaving. And while he wished he could trust you after what happened the night before, he knew that he couldn’t. When given the opportunity to flee, he was certain his little lamb would run for safer pastures.
He dressed you quickly, helping you pull on a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants, men’s clothing. You had never worn men’s clothing before.
“Easier to run in, if they come for you, you have to be ready to run.” He explained, bending down to help you lace up the boots on your feet.
“Don’t be afraid, Fang will protect you while I’m gone.”
“Fang?” You asked.
“My wolf.”
So, that was its name. How uncreative.
Jungkook paused, his brows pinched in stress as he looked at you. This was happening too quickly. He thought he had some time before Ilseong and his men would come, time that would get you to trust him.
He stepped forward, cradling your face before pressing his lips to yours again. You had found that each kiss with Jungkook was different and new. This one was desperate, this one felt like a promise, a promise to see you again.
“I love you,” He said, his dark eyes wide and glistening, “Come back to me.”
You could only stare back at him, you refused to make a promise you could not keep. You were going to try to leave if you could and you would not lie to him.
Fang was waiting outside, pacing impatiently and whining in the back of his throat. The Direwolf was agitated, you would be too if your home was burning.
“Follow him, he will take you somewhere safe. I will see you again, that is a promise.” Jungkook said before giving you one more final parting kiss and melting into the tree line.
Jungkook always followed through on his promises and his threats.
A few moments later you heard the cries of wounded men from the forest. The soldiers had arrived and they had not anticipated the reapers armed with bows and arrows high in the trees. It was foolish to try and ambush trained killers, that was something you had forgotten. The chances were that Jungkook would not die today, no, that army would. You had to move, now.
Fang moved swiftly beside you and, to your surprise, split off from the evacuating party. He was taking you somewhere else, perhaps a safe place the Jungkook had in case something like this were to happen. A place where he could find you again.
You were caught in a rock and a hard place. You had seen Fang tear into that reaper the night before, you had watched him consume him with no regret. He and Jungkook were bonded, but you were not. You did not want to test him and see if he would deliver upon you the same fate. It was another waiting game.
Your only other plan would be to follow him to the safe point and try and make your break from there. But, even then, you were certain that Direwolves had impeccable senses. And, like the reapers, Fang would have no problem hunting you.
The massive wolves' steps were hard to keep up with, you were practically jogging in an attempt to stay by his side. He was tense, his ears flicking now and then as he listened for a threat, his piercing blue eyes scanning the trees. Direwolves seemed far more human than regular wolves, especially with their intelligence.
Fang froze, sniffing the air rapidly before his hackles raised and a deep growl left him that was so loud it shook the ground beneath you. He backed up, his large body shielding your own as he waited for the threat to emerge.
And it was quite a threat. Lord Ilseong had not only sent one army but two. One surveying and burning one side of the forest, and another scouting the other side. And they too were armed, smaller than the other force, but still armed.
Fang lunged instantly, his jaw snapping down on three men at once and wildly shaking them around like they weighed nothing while blood and their screams filled the air.
And then you were off.
Once more, you had found yourself running for your life in the woods. Although this time you were much more efficient. The clothes Jungkook had given you were, in fact, much easier to run in. And now that the sun was out the forest was perfectly illuminated allowing you to see every fallen tree, root, and stump in your path.
You were going to run until you couldn’t anymore. This time, this time for sure you would make it out, you would be able to be free again.
At least, that was what you had thought, that was what you had hoped for. You had been wrong.
The trees were beginning to thin out, and what you had thought to be the clearing to a village turned out to be the small resting place of the noble army that had been abandoned save for guardsmen and of course, Lord Ilseong himself.
“My bride, there you are!” He called excitedly causing you to stumble backward, ready to begin running in the opposite direction but you were quickly stopped by his guards behind you.
“I have been looking all over for my pretty little bride, when my men found your carriage overturned we had assumed the worst.” He explained, coming to stand right in front of you leaving you with no exit to run to.
“What is this that you’re wearing?” He sneered, “What happened to the robes I sent you?”
He was more worried about the damn clothes than you, not that you cared at all what he felt for you but if he claimed to want you as his Lady you would think he would show an ounce of worry for your state of being.
“They were stolen from me, forgive me.” You said, your hands clenched into fists.
Lord Ilseong did not care, his beady eyes were still trained on the shirt and pants that donned your body.
“These are a man’s clothes!” He yelled, grasping the collar of the shirt and jerking it so strongly that it tore, the fabric falling to expose the column of your neck, your collarbones, and your left shoulder.
“Infidelity!” He screamed, rage burning red under his skin as he saw the marks that Jungkook had left the night before. A good portion of your body was littered with bruises but that spot was by far the worst, deep dark marks were clustered together along with a clear bite mark.
“It-it’s not what you think your grace!” You cried in an attempt to save yourself. Your eyes were burning and your heart was pounding, you knew what was going to come next.
“Do you know what the price of unfaithfulness is?” He hissed, his men forcing you down to your knees before him.
You whimpered as you heard the familiar sound of a sword being unsheathed, the metal glinting in the sun as it was passed to Ilseong.
“The penalty is death.”
You squeezed your eyes shut as warm tears attempted to fall. You refused to cry this time, you were done crying. And now, as you faced your certain death you refused to show this man your tears. This man was punishing you for a crime you did not commit against a relationship you did not have. A relationship you never wanted.
“What a shame, I had such high hopes for you, but you were just another common whore.” He seethed as he raised the sword above his head.
A sharp whistle shot by your ears and then another, the sound of something cutting through the air quickly. And almost immediately after two loud thuds sounded.
You cracked open your eyes to see the two guards laying limp on the forest floor, an arrow embedded in each of their throats. You peered over your shoulder and there, blending into the shadows of the trees sat a reaper high up in its branches. He was the man from this morning, Hoseok.
And if Hoseok was here, that meant -
Two more arrows sliced through the air, one piercing Ilseong’s left hand causing him to drop the sword and scream in pain only for another arrow to pierce his right hand. Both of his arms were spread out, each hand pinned to a tree and unable to move. He was defenseless.
Jungkook emerged from the shadows and behind him, Fang followed closely. Blood was matted into his fur, some was his own but the majority of it was not.
And Jungkook, he was trembling in rage.
“All you do is take. You took my mother from me, her life, my sibling's lives, and then you steal my wife from me not once but twice. Your judgment had been long awaited by not only myself but everyone under your rule.”
For the first time, Ilseong looked frightened like he was staring death in the face. Not unlike how you had been moments before.
“I promise you that I will take everything from you. Your riches, your land, and your life. That, that is the penalty for trying to murder another man’s wife.”
“J-Jungkook, I’m your father, have mercy, please!”
“Did you show my sisters mercy when you slaughtered them in their sleep? Or my brothers when you had your men shoot them down in the fields? Or my mother when you strangled her to death?!” He said, his voice growing louder and louder as his rage rolled off of him in waves.
“Please, I’ll give you whatever you want, anything!” Ilseong begged, his eyes wide in fright and panic.
“I want your life,” Jungkook said before picking up the sword from the ground and began hacking away without hesitation, once, twice, and three times until Ilseong’s head came lose from his neck and fell away his body going completely limp - only being held up by the arrows that still kept his decapitated body upright.
You couldn’t stop the raw scream that ripped freely from your throat. You had never seen a sight so horrific before, so violent and unforgiving. That image would forever be burned in your mind, haunting you each time to tried to sleep.
You watched in horror as Fang approached, grabbing what remained of Ilseong in his strong jaws and ripping his corpse free from the tree, dragging it back into the forest where he would no doubt be consumed.
“You shall reap what you sow.” Jungkook and Hoseok spoke in unison like it was a ritual.
Jungkook’s shoulders finally relaxed, the sword dropping from his hand as he turned to look at you. Blood was heavy on his face, covering the left side of it almost entirely. But he still smiled at you, the blood on his face making his teeth seem unbearably white only making your stomach turn ten times worse.
You whimpered in fright as he approached you, settling down in a crouch in front of you before tugging you into his arms. The scent of blood was ever stronger now as his hands smoothed up and down your back.
“Remember what I told you little lamb?” He grinned, “Without hesitation.”
#bts x reader#jungkook x reader#jeon jungkook x reader#yandere#yandere bts#yandere jungkook#bts fanfic#yandere jungkook x reader#yandere kpop#yandere bts x reader#mercenary jungkook#fantasy au#bts fantasy au#jungkook fantasy au
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OF LOST SOULS AND POISONED HEARTS
Summary:
Kun, a young master of soul magic, is summoned to the imperial court to fight the vicious serpent demon together with three other masters. After meeting one of them under unfortunate circumstances, he quickly realizes that, despite Ten's intriguing personality, their different views might get in the way of their shared mission. Forced to work together, they must save humanity. The imperial court is in turmoil - and the snake demon is not the only one to blame. And what is it about the mysterious Xiaojun, who always suddenly appears on the scene?
Based on: The Yin Yang Masters - Dream of Eternity
Kpop Group: WayV (and some NCT members)
Author´s note:
This is going to be a really long story, I´ll try to update regularly. The inspiration was the combination of the really good movie and the fact that I miss WayV and haven´t read some cool stories about them in a while. This is Kun and Ten centric but all WayV and some NCT members appear. Thank you @d-p-f-m for helping me and being the best beta-reader. Love ya!
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Word Count: 500
Pt. 1 - ◊ Coldness ◊
Snowflakes trickled softly to the ground. Complete silence surrounded them. There was no soul to be found, with the exception of the boy and the man. The expanse of the icy region spread far, almost endlessly around them. It was an area hostile to people. The boy looked at the man with wide eyes. He, who had his back turned to the boy, gesturing for him to continue. Silently, the boy closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts. Then, he gracefully folded his hands in front of his face. The two tips of his index fingers barely touched when they were encircled by a fine, shimmering golden band. They glistened slightly in the freezing winter air. Seconds passed, without the man turning around or the boy moving. The ribbon grew with time, until it finally came off his fingertips. It was a magical moment to watch the release of soul energy. It fluttered slightly in the cool wind. Then a jolt went through the ribbon and it curled into a circle. Barely closed, a flicker filled the air. He had made it that far last time, too. Just a little more. The flickering increased and small characters appeared in the circle, connecting with each other and forming an elaborate structure. No sooner had the boy finished the thought of finally completing the spell, the ribbon suddenly shattered and dissolved into a thousand tiny splinters. It was a fascinating sight, yet still … that was it. He had failed. Again. Discouraged, he lowered his gaze. Was it even possible for him to control soul energy? What was he doing wrong? Just then the man turned around and looked at the boy empathetically. He could understand him only too well, having felt those same doubts before, too. "Master, I still cannot perform the protection spell." The disappointment was plain to hear in the little boy's voice. "Kun, is there someone you would protect with your life?" Of course there was, Kun thought. The image of his mother had immediately flashed in his mind, the most important person in his life. "My mother." The memory of her warmed him and at the same time, it hurt immensely. "Then think of her." Kun nodded and clasped his hands again, his fingertips glistening and the bond formed anew. And just like the first time, the spell burst like a soap bubble. "Again," his master encouraged him. No sooner did the golden shards trickle to the floor than he told Kun to try again. Caught up in his thoughts, he heard his mother calling. She was calling for him, calling his name. Other voices joined in. Male voices. "Don't let the fox demoness' son escape. Get him!" "Run!" His mother's voice was high with fear, she could not lose her son. "Mum!" But the cry for his mother faded as quickly as the protective spell. Kun tried again. And again. Again and again. And again and again the band of the protection spell burst.
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Of lost souls and poisoned hearts | Pt.1 |
Hope you enjoy! 💙
#wayv scenarios#wayv ten#wayv kun#wayv fluff#ten nct#nct fanfic#nct wayv#wayv fanfic#nct fantasy au#nct scenarios#fanfiction#stories#fantasy story#kpop fanfic#kpop fantasy au#wayv au
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Stay Alive (11)
BTS poly!ot7 x Reader
Magical Creatures AU
Series Masterlist
Warnings: None
A/N NOT BETA READ (I did try the best to my ability). We're heading into the chapters where I tell you guys about their creatures. I want to hear your thoughts for each one! Shoutout to @laymegentlytorest and @kingarthurscat for your reblogs and comments. I love you guys lol. Keep them coming!
That day you had walked into work, you had thought it was going to be like any other. You had grown accustomed to the normal notes you would take on a daily. There had been nothing new to write about so you had no idea on how to deal with one of your patients withering in pain on the floor.
You hadn’t been able to find the boy in his room until you walked further in and heard his distressed breathing on the other side of the bed. You rushed over to find him curled up in a fetal position, breathing harshly.
“Kook?” You gasped, falling to the floor as you hesitated touching him. “What hurts?” You asked, trying to look him over and find the problem.
“Get away.” He gritted out, hands slapping onto the floor as he tried pulling himself up.
“No, you have to tell me.” You moved your hands to help him, tightening up your body as his hands gripped tightly onto your scrubs. “I have to take care of you.” You told him, helping him onto the bed.
“(Y/N). Please.” The boy whispered, panting. “It's not a good day.” He curled back up on his bed, groaning as his body seemed to twitch in pain.
From what you could see, he wasn’t physically hurt. Not to the naked eye at least. Whatever it was that was causing him pain was on the inside of his body. You figured it must have to do with his condition.
“Let me get you something.” You told him, moving to find the first aid kit. As you found some pain meds, you quickly filled a cup with water and moved back towards him. “Here take these.” You told him, handing him the pills.
Jungkook looked at your hand, smiling stiffly at your way of helping him. “They won't help, Tokki.”
He almost broke down when he saw tears well in your eyes. “Please, Kook.” You whispered. “I don't like seeing you in pain.” You sniffled.
He tried his best to get up to take the medicine, but someone shoving the door open stopped him from moving more. You both turned to the intruder, frowning at the nurse who had interrupted.
“(Y/N).” She said, looking between you and Jungkook. “ Doctor Hanseol would like to see you.”
You furrowed your eyebrows as you watched Jungkosk shiver from pain, clenching his muscles to soothe them. “I can't leave Jungkook.” You spoke up, shaking your head.
“He's in the lab.” The lady told you, not caring about Jungkook’s stability. You frowned deeply, looking at the man in worry.
“Will you be alright?” You softly asked him.
“Nothing I'm not used to.” He gave you a grin, wincing as his body shuddered again. You hesitated in getting up to leave, however seeing the stare the other nurse gave you made you rush outside.
You walked out into the main lobby to get access into the lab. While your badge had access to most rooms in the facility, the lab was not one of them. It seemed much more secure that not even the lab workers could get in. They needed someone to buzz them in. You understood all the security, however it was a bit excessive.
“Sir.” You bowed when you noticed your boss looking through a window.
As you grew closer you noticed it was to show the lab where the medicines were produced. They didn’t have large machines doing the work. Rather it was a variety of researchers hand making the drugs. There were a total of 5 each, being careful with whatever it was they were mixing.
You knew the company wasn’t large, even after 10 years. They had spent a good while with research from what you saw. They had barely started to give out their drugs for trials a few years ago which meant that they weren’t out to the public yet. It takes a long while to create the right medicine. And by the looks of it HYBE was heading in the right direction.
“Hello, (Y/N).” Hanseol kept his eyes on the window. “How are you?”
You tried not to frown at the small talk. “I'm fine. It's a very nice day today.” You spoke up.
“Yes.” Hanseol said. “Indeed it is.”
You hummed, turning to him as your anxiety flowed over. “Is there anything you need, sir?” You asked, trying to be polite. “Jungkook is not feeling well and I need to check up on him.”
“Is he now?” Hanseol squinted his eyes. “I think I know why.” He turned to you finally. “Not to worry, he goes through those episodes monthly.” He explained to you.
“He does?” You furrowed your eyebrows.
“Such a terrible thing for him really.” Hanseol hummed, turning back to the lab.
Just as you were about to ask for more of Jungkook’s information, an alarm started beeping from the lobby. Both you and your superior rushed out to the lobby following after the security that ran into the facility.
A large gathering had formed towards the bedroom sections, which made you have to push through the crowd. Your eyes went wide as you realized the security were all in Jungkook’s room. Without thinking you ran forward to enter. However, you were held back by someone.
“Jungkook!” You yelled. You watched as the man wildly thrashed around in the arms of some larger men. He had his teeth pulled back as growls seemed to ripple from his chest. He was hunched over, trying to throw off the people holding him down.
“Hey!” You tried to punch at the arm that was tightly holding you back. “What's wrong with him?” You cried out.
“Miss you need to step back.” The security man spoke.
“No, he's my patient!” You screamed. “I need to check on him.” You wriggled more, feeling tears well in your eyes as you felt frustrated with the security. When a whimper left Jungkook’s mouth, your head shot up, wide eyes on the man.
“Jungkook!” You cried, grunting as you started kicking and thrashing.
The man quickly looked up hearing your voice. When he saw the tears in your eyes and the man holding you back, the loudest of growls ripped from his throat, scaring those in the hallway. He grew angry seeing you be held in such a horrendous manner. He pulled a security guard off his arm, throwing him to the side.
“Let her go!” He screamed, throwing the guards off him. They were quick to hold him back once more, Jungkook going back to fighting them off.
Outside in the hallway, all of Jungkook’s brothers were trying their best to rush in and calm him down, however they too were being held back. Hanseol had a scowl on his face as he watched the boy beat the best security his kind had. He guessed even ogres couldn’t hold down an angry dog.
“Hoseok sedate him.” Hanseol told the boy.
Hobi quickly looked up to Hanseol, a worried expression on his face. “But he's not in the right state of mind.” He told the man.
There were consequences to doing things wrong. With how fragile Jungkook was at the moment, hypnotizing him would put him into a deep sleep that almost resembled a coma. Hobi would need more energy to wake the boy up.
“Do it.” Hanseol sneered.
Hobi glanced at Namjoon, getting a deep sigh from the taller man. He nodded his head once, glancing back into the room where Jungkook started to break furniture by throwing bodies over them.
Hobi moved past all the guards, making quick work to enter Jungkook’s room. He had been turned around which allowed Hobi to place his hands on the boy’s head. “I’m sorry.” Hobi whispers as purple mist flowed out of his fingers and into Jungkook’s eyes.
Jungkook didn’t do any else other than fall over onto the ground in a heep. “No!” You cried, tears falling down your cheeks. “Stop! Let him go!”
“Hey.” Namjoon spoke up, taking you out of the guards arms. As the guard tried to take you away from Namjoon, the dimpled man only gave him a death stare causing him to back off.
“(Y/N), he's going to be okay.” Namjoon soothed your, wiping your cheeks. “It'll pass.”
“What happened?” You began to hiccup, soflty rubbing your face into Namjoon’s clothing. The other boys gathered around you, trying their best to calm you down.
“It's what he's here for.” Jin told you, rubbing your back lightly. “He'll be fine.”
Hanseol sighed deeply as he rubbed at his nose bridge, turning aorund to head out his god forsaken facility. When he turned up at the lobby, he found his co-founder watching from the securtity cameras. The man turned to his friend, hands in his pockets.
“He's never acted out in that way before.” He spoke up nochalanty. “He's protective of the girl.” He added looking down at the computers that showed the hallway camera.
“She's not the first one.” Hanseol rolled his eyes. “However, you are right.”
The man turned to his friend, a deep frown on his lips as he suddenly felt annoyed. “Where have you been? You know we have three patients who are affected by the full moon. I only need you two days out of the month and you weren't even here.” He glared.
“Stop calling them patients.” Kyong rolled his eyes. “You harvest from them.”
“No. That is inhumane.” Hanseol shook his head, looking appaled. “What I do is simply extract certain things at a certain time to get the DNA I need. It’s to help those who need it most.” Hanseol smiled to himself, thinking about all the sick people he was helping.
“I don't see the difference.” Kyong deadpanned.
“Of course you don't, you big idiot.” Hanseol returned to glaring. “Now come on. You got two patients to sedate.”
I'm a bitch for people using the nickname Tokki when it comes to Jungkook.
Series Masterlist
@h3arteyes4mingi , @fangirling-all-the-way-tbh , @rinkud, @rln-byg ,
#bts fanfic#bts#bts jungkook#bts jimin#bangtan sonyeondan#bts v#bts jin#bts namjoon#bts jung hoseok#kpop fanfic#bts imagines#bts min yoongi#jeon jungkook#bts x reader#bts x you#bts x y/n#bts ot7#bts fantasy au#jungkook x reader#jungkook x you#jungkook x y/n
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