#emelyn stone

[throneofsapphics]

Hey! Hope you're doing better mentally ❤

I was hoping we could get something (anything honestly, I'm not picky 😂) on Lorcan's kid?

Take your time!

Here have a cookie 🍪

falling down with you

Reader (Elorcan’s Daughter) x Manorian’s son 

Summary: You spend an afternoon with your boyfriend

Warnings: none

A/N: thank you for the request & cookie! Hopefully this fits what you had in mind. Manorian’s son is Orion :). Ignore my very creative title

You supposed it was a “long time coming,” but it still felt quick. One day, you were kissing your best friend and the next you were entangled in each others arms, perched on a rock in your favorite forest clearing in Perranth. 

Emelyn, your nosy older sister, always knew and did her best to cover for you. Why were you hiding again? Right - he was terrified of your father, as any sane man would be. Granted, you were terrified of his mother, well she’s adored - as much as a witch can - you as a child, but dating her son was a bit … different. Orion, the second son of the King of Adarlan. 

But, with the beautiful man next to you, it was easy to ignore the feeling that your luck was about to run out, that you’d be caught sooner rather than later.

“I missed you,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to your hair.

“We saw each other last week,” you elbowed his side. You’d missed him too, dearly, but like your father affection didn’t quite come naturally. “I still think we should run away together,” you teased. 

“The hell you are,” your father’s voice filled the clearing, you didn’t need to look to know his jaw was clenched, eyes murderous. 

Panicked, you didn’t first thing you thought of and shoved Orion off the rock. 

A loud oof, a satisfied grunt, and your yelp. Hands shoving down cold stone, dress catching on the various crevices, you tumbled next to him. Inches from the ground, you knew it would hurt and squeezed your eyes shut. Twin tendrils of magic caught you, one the black of death, the other magic in its purest and rawest form. Orion had received no such courtesy from your father, and you weren’t surprised.

The magic gently lowered you to the ground and you flopped on your back, staring up at the sky and avoiding everyone around you. Gods, this was mortifying. 

Orion, next to you, was laughing - bent in half.

“I’m going to kill you,” you muttered half heartedly. 

“You already tried,” he countered. 

From the corner of your eye, you saw Emelyn burst into the clearing, her girlfriend - Rowan and Aelin’s daughter - hot on her heels. The duo were inseparable. 

She shot you an apologetic look. 

“Well,” her girlfriend said. “Cats out of the bag - when’s dinner?” 

[00-little-worlds-00]

Angel of Grief or Weeping Angel on a grave stone is said to signify that a person has died in an accident and their guardian angel has failed to save them.

One of the most well known is the Angel of Grief sculpted in 1894 by William Wetmore Story for the grave of his wife Emelyn Story at the Protesant Cemetery in Rome. Its full title bestowed by the creator was The Angel of Grief Weeping Over the Dismantled Alter of Life.

However these two are just my ocs. I just thought the fact above was neat

Character(s): Sirius, Robert

Story: Till Death Do Us Part

[sisterforsaken]

HEADCANON : a study in haunted memories

after her second resurrection, mary is done with london. the city holds too many memories for her, too many gravestones, and she leaves without looking back. she makes her way through europe and her path is a bloody one. she sustains herself on any human she can get her hands on. she does not discriminate - men, women and even children fall to her hunger. she becomes a nightmare, a story parents tell to their children to invoke fear and she does not care. as long as it gets her away from the rotten city that had taken so much from her, she is content to be a thing of nightmares.

her travels eventually lead her to america and that is where she settles in her new life. mary does not return to london until 2018, a hundred years later. she does not really know what provokes it - perhaps it’s the mark of the century or simply an incessant curiosity she can’t seem to shake.

she flies there and lands in an unfamiliar bustle of human life. the nights are electric and the city does not sleep like it used to. she finds comfort in that, knowing she is not the only creature of the dark. her first stop is west end in search of her family’s home. not surprising, it was demolished and replaced by a row of similarly designed homes. no trace of the reid family exists there anymore, save for the graveyard.

she finds her mother’s grave there, cracked and worn by time. she takes time to tend to it and revive it until “EMELYNE REID, 1853-1919” can be read on the stone. she does the same for her husband’s grave and her son’s, whose were almost lost to the overgrowth. for her brother there is no grave. and her own had been replaced by other bodies long ago. she stays in london for some time and finds it no longer haunts her as it did so long ago. in fact, she’s even eager to explore and taste what london has to offer.

what she does not realize is london has not forgotten mary reid. and old eyes lurk in the dark. waiting.

[fist-and-fury-xiv]

xvii. novel

“you… you want him to be able to do what?”

“don’t treat me like a fucking idiot. you heard me.”

“but to… to extend the aether that far, to attune it that… that highly?”

“it’s possible, then.”

“... you’re not asking me that. you’re telling me, emelyn.”

“you’re damn right i am. he will do this. otolin must.”

“if this works, emelyn, he’ll be…”

“he’ll be everything he needs to be.”

“everything you want him to be.”

“yes. is that a fucking problem?”

“... no.”

“good. we mold the stone into something stronger.”

“...”

“every fucking Fist breaks against steel.”

[set-in-stone-writing]

Two

cw: this piece contains depiction of violence, blood, and harsh language.

The dark and ancient places of the world.

They were like a second home to you.

The cracked stone, Crumbling foundations, Unsteady steps.

You reveled in them. You appreciated their silence, the way you could take one step And be both heard and unheard in the same breadth.

Opening the first allowed you freedom. You could travel to the fringes of your world, And right as you discovered how big it was? It’s then they would pull you right back in.

Back to training. To torture. You remember asking yourself: “What’s the fucking difference?”

She’d tell you there wasn’t one.

So one day, you scurried off To one of those places, Where you too could become dark, ancient, and unbothered.

What a dream. What a day. What devastation it all led to.

She tracked you down, intent on bringing you back. So you did what felt natural. You fought.

Master and student.

Mother and son.

An unstoppable object, and an immovable force- No, no, the phrase is the other way around. Actually, what’s the fucking difference?

Even when she opened one, two, three- Your one was enough to keep her at bay. The feeling of levin lancing you through the solar plexus, As she caught Him, that exalted feeling, in the crown.

But then she opened the fourth, And the Mother/Master became something else entirely: Mutilation. Death by a thousand strikes, like knives darting in and out of the dark.

But she forgot something important.

The dark and ancient places of the world are often the ones defined by conflict. Whether by blood or book, by thought or torn asunder.

It’s why you still think of them as home to a degree. It’s why you did then. So you called upon the energies of such a place in the midst of combat.

The pain of your dozen wounds paled in comparison, To the feeling at the base of your spine, the way it dragged you down to your knees, And made you feel the earth.

The rock. The dirt. The gravel. The Stone.

It’s then you learned for the first time how to become both immovable and unstoppable.

Even if your skin still tore, and your bones broke, and your-

(One day, you’d learn to become immovable.) (Unstoppable.) (Invincible. But that day wasn’t the one.)

You fought back, and pushed. Pulled. Shattered her sternum, and then-

Then you collapsed. His burden is one you couldn’t just bear yet. But in time, you would. A tale for another day.

It makes sense you opened your second in such a place.

The dark and ancient places of the world.

They were like a second home.

[steliosagapitos]

               ~ “A graduate of Harvard College and Law School, William Watmore demonstrated his passion for art, abandoning the legal profession to devote himself to sculpture as well as poetry. Once moved to Rome in 1856, William and his wife Emelyn lived a long and fulfilling life in their home in Palazzo Barberini, surrounded by art and beauty, having become their home a fervent meeting place for Italian writers, musicians and artists. and foreigners. On the death of his wife, the goal of his life became to create a last, wonderful statue for his beloved wife, to be placed over her grave. Thus, was born the Angel of Grief, still located today in the non-Catholic cemetery of Rome, also known as the English or Testaccio cemetery. The monument became so famous that it ended up inspiring countless replicas, present in various cemeteries around the world. The angel is kneeling in front of a pedestal, with his head resting on his arm, while he is crying with his face hidden. His hand dangles helplessly over the front of the pedestal, and the well detailed curvature of the fingers lends an incredible feeling of sadness and emptiness to the entire front of the sculpture. Some stone flowers are scattered at the base of the pedestal, as if the angel had made them fall gripped by pain in a moment of despair. Even the wings, which would normally stand tall, straight and proud, are sadly curved and full of grace on the angel's back, giving the impression that he has lost hope. The body has almost completely abandoned itself to its pain and the sensation that the work transmits is of excruciating humanity.” ~

[strivia]

Late reply, but such a fun tag from @takadasaiko.

Rules: Shuffle your ‘On Repeat’ playlist and post the first 10 tracks, then tag 10 friends.

Ancient History by Set It Off

Friends on the Other Side (Disney Villain Mash-Up) by Thomas Sanders

We Have It All by Pim Stones

plot line by emelyn

Go Tonight by Krystina Alabado & Emman Hunton

Angel With A Shotgun by The Cab

Love Was Made To Break by Andy Black

Drugs & Candy by All Time Low

Choke by Royal & The Serpent

Moon by The Cab

Tagging @uttermywish, @thatfaerieprincess, @occasionallygiveadamn, @pepperf, @fuck-you-i-am-spiderman, and anyone else who wants to,  consider this your tag.

[dragons-ire]

#17 - Destruct

CW: Violence

Emelyn Stone's little shit-heeled crony was a person when it started and an obliterated waste of flesh when it was over The fiery explosion that ignited the air around him. It spread to the scrubby grass and plants on either side of the trail

It was because of that kid The one that looked fit to piss himself When Breandan's lance struck true Right through his buddy's ribcage His hands went up, and she made her move: No surrender. Surrender is death After that, the choice was simple:

He'd always had a soft spot for kids who were in over their heads

The Thanalan sun was beating down overhead The air was stiflingly hot Still, it was a nice view from fifteen fulms up Like for a moment He was doing nothing but sightseeing Soaking up the sunlight Until his lance turned and he turned with it And down he went

She prayed to a meteor, didn't she? Guess it's time to meet your god

When it was over When he was certain that he had made his extreme displeasure adequately clear He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the party

Otolin was standing there as still as the Stone of his namesake Non-eyebrows drawn together Like he didn't know what he was seeing Or that he did know And just didn't know what to say

And Severine Looked like she was going to be sick The way she always had At the sight of blood At the sight of him spilling it

Understandable This isn't what you were when she last knew you

Not too bad for a plain old lancer With his plain old lance Now was it?

Well

At least now they all know

[lil-meow-meow-goes-rawr]

Trouble Brews

⚔︎ Pairing: Jungkook x OC

⚔︎ Genre: Medieval Fantasy, Knight!Jungkook, Knight!Hoseok, Wizard!Yoongi, King!Namjoon, Prince!Taehyung, Prince!Jimin, Brothers!Yoonjin

⚔︎ Warnings: mentions of abusive relationships, forced marriages, mentions of minor character death

⚔︎ Rating: 13+

⚔︎ Synopsis: Prince Jimin and the king’s ward, Emelyn, decide to take it into their own hands to find out if the legends are true, and if they are, return the knight to the kingdom. 

⚔︎ Masterlist

“Legend speaks of a fearless knight.”

“Nelly, not again.” I groaned, propelling myself up onto the counter.

Nelly ignored my plea and continued on as if I weren’t there. “An invincible being who once protected the kingdom single-handedly against an entire army.”

“You know that’s not possible right? It is physically impossible for any one man to defeat an entire army.”

“It tells a tale of bravery and honor. A knight so strong he could move mountains, sent to protect us from the terror of the moon dragon. Before the reign of King Namjoon began, before peace was formed between the nations, the moon dragon reigned over them all. Terrorizing the kingdoms with a ruthless vengeance. Vengeance for the extinction of its own kind. A vendetta which only the Phantom Knight could stop.”

I rolled my eyes. “Must we do this now?”

“It is by the bravery and skill of the Phantom Knight alone that our kingdom remains standing to this day.”

“Alright, now you just sound ridiculous.”

“Though it was not often the knight would bleed, as no one could ever touch him, those who claim to have seen him hit say his blood runs golden. One touch from the golden blood and you are granted eternal youth. So, you see, our kingdom may never need worry, for if you look to the horizon, you may see a magnificent man atop a mighty steed, patrolling the lands and keeping watch. For to this day, the knight protects the kingdom under the reign of King Namjoon and Prince Jimin. If either were to be cut from the thrown and another took their place, the knight’s protection would cease, leaving us to fend for ourselves against the enemy’s attacks. He will only serve the royal family. There will never be anyone else he will serve. Perhaps this is why others are so keen on taking the throne. For without the knight’s protection, the kingdom would fall prey to those who wish to take it.”

I rolled my eyes at the eccentric woman. Nelly was an excellent cook, yet she had a flare for the dramatics. “You know as well as I do this phantom knight does not exist.” Nimble fingers snatched an apple from the basket in Nelly’s arms as she passed by. “It is King Namjoon’s brilliant mind and Prince Jimin’s unrivaled battle strategies that keep us safe.”

Nelly regarded me solemnly, as if she pitied me. “The King’s ward would believe such lies.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean no disrespect, Milady,” she stammered, “of course we have the brightest King in all the kingdoms.”

I took a bite of the apple, crunching on it loudly as I thought over her words. “It’s not because I’m the King’s ward that I do not believe in this knight of yours. It has more to do with the fact that I’ve done my own research on the subject. There are many tales surrounding his name, and yet he doesn’t seem to have a name to speak of. No one has ever seen him, and it is physically impossible for anyone’s blood to be golden.” I dropped the hard facts on her with no remorse. Nelly may have been my best friend, but she lacked the common sense of most every other individual.

Nelly’s head shook sadly as she clicked her tongue at me. “You kids and the need for proof of everything.” She waved her mixing spoon in my direction. “Isn’t it enough that he protects us? Whoever this knight is, he has done his job well. I can’t bear to think what would happen if he were to cease his watchful eye.”

“Knight or no knight, as long as our kingdom is protected, I am happy.”

“Spoken like a true royal.” Nelly chuckled softly, her feet lightly padding against the stone floor as she busied herself with dinner. “Should the kingdom ever need it, you would make a wonderful leader. I dare say you love the people of this kingdom as much as our dear Prince Jimin.”

A soft smile painted itself across my lips. Jimin was the reason I loved this kingdom so dearly. For it was he who showed me just how wonderful it truly was. I could still remember the day he took me down into the villages, disguised as bakers, armed with cart loads of Nelly’s baked goods. He had introduced me to the people, showed me the beauty of the land. From that moment on, I had vowed to myself that I would do everything in my power to protect this land and all the people in it.

The moon rose to claim the sky as the sun slowly sank away, allowing millions of stars to blanket the now dark expanse. The castle was still. There were not many who remained awake. The king had sent most of the servants off to their quarters for the evening. 

I sat across from Jimin, watching as he poked at his food, occasionally glancing up to catch my gaze. Namjoon sat at the head of the table, his plate of food completely untouched as his fingers slowly massaged his head and a frown darkened his features. Something was bothering him, though it seemed he wasn’t quite ready to share.

A loud silence filled the room for most of the meal until Jimin finally spoke, “Is it true what they say? Prince Taehyung is coming here?” Excitement brimmed at the edge of his words. It was no secret the two were best friends, despite coming from neighboring kingdoms who had a tendency to fight more often than speak.

Namjoon shifted uneasily in his chair, his frown deepening slightly. “It is true.” 

Jimin beamed. “Is his presence a call of duty or has he simply missed me so terribly he couldn’t stay away any longer?”

I rolled my eyes at him, plucking another grape off the vine on my plate.

Namjoon’s eyes drifted over to me for a moment with a clear shine of uncertainty. “The Prince is coming to discuss relations on his father’s behalf.”

“Excellent!” Jimin beamed. “Without the old sot, we may be able to come to an agreement this year.”

I bit my tongue and quickly raised my goblet to my lips in an attempt to hide the grin.

Namjoon shot Jimin a sharp glare. “Watch your tongue, boy. We will not disrespect King Merek in such a way, simply because he is not here.”

Jimin lowered his head and had the decency to look ashamed. “I apologize my Lord, but isn’t it true? It is because of him that our kingdoms have been at odds with each other for so long. Without him here to dictate how this exchange happens, we may be able to come to an agreement.”

Namjoon nodded thoughtfully. “This is what I am hoping for.”

I eyed the king warily. There was something he wasn’t telling us. This wasn’t simply an ordinary meeting between kingdoms. Another motive lay hidden beneath his actions.

Jimin was the first to speak on this, having come to the same conclusion as I had. “This is wonderful news, yet there is something you’re not telling us.”

Namjoon cringed at his accusation but didn’t deny it.

“What is it? You know you can confide in us. Nothing you say will leave this room.” I said, urging him to finally speak the whole truth.

“I prefer not to speak of it at the dinner table.”

Jimin rolled his eyes. “Codswallop. It is only the three of us here tonight. You can speak your mind.” He unceremoniously leaned across the table, resting his chin on his folded hands. “Best to inform us now, rather than have us discover the true nature of this visit later.”

“I hate when you speak sense.” Namjoon grumbled. “Very well then, I suppose it would do good to tell you both now.”

I swallowed hard, suddenly growing anxious. I didn’t like the way his eyes kept trailing over to me, remorse clouding them. 

“Taehyung is coming because,” Namjoon took a deep breath, as if to raise his own courage before continuing, “we may have found an exchange that will settle all bad blood between our kingdoms.”

Jimin sat up a little straighter at his words. “This is wonderful news, is it not? You told me only last month about your doubts of ever finding peace with the Kim line.”

“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps?” Jimin gaped at him. “Are you sure you’re not ill, my King? This should be a time for celebration, and yet you look as though you are about to face the executioner.”

I watched the king expectantly as I raised my goblet once more. “Care to share with the rest of us?”

“Taehyung is coming to discuss your marriage arrangements.”

I choked, spewing my drink across the table. 

“Ugh,” Jimin groaned, wiping my spit off his face.

I turned to the King. “He’s coming to arrange our WHAT?”

“Calm down, Emelyn.” 

I stood dramatically, knocking over my goblet in the process and sending the contents trailing across the wooden table. “I will not calm down! You promised me there would never be any marriages. You promised, when I came under your care that I would not have to endure another forced engagement.” Tears threatened to spill but I angrily blinked them away.

“Why would you go behind her back in such a way?” Jimin asked, jumping in to defend me. “This very kingdom is built upon trust. The very trust which you have broken today.”

Namjoon ignored the Prince’s accusations, his attention kept strictly on me. “Will you not do this? Will you refuse to help your kingdom?”

I choked on my words as I tried to form a reasonable reply. I wasn’t even a member of the royal family. Not truly. It was true I would do anything to protect the kingdom, but this?

“I can’t, Namjoon.” I said, dropping all formality. In that moment, I was speaking to him as an equal. As a brother. Not as my King. “Not after what happened last time.”

Jimin quietly padded around the table and draped himself over my shoulders in a comforting hug. I leaned into him, welcoming the embrace. My mind now reeled with all the memories I had tried so hard to bury. Memories of him. Memories of that night.

“Emelyn, listen to me,” Namjoon said softly. It was clear he had been prepared for this conversation. He knew what my reaction would be, and he had been ready for it. “Taehyung is nothing like Borin. Of that I can promise.”

“Even I can testify to that,” Jimin said, “yet I still think it unfair to subject Emelyn to such a fate. Wasn’t her last betrothal painful enough?”

Namjoon ignored him and instead leaned over further in an attempt to meet my eyes, which I reluctantly allowed. “We were all fools for even striving toward an alliance with that king. The fact that they attempted to infiltrate this kingdom through you was unforgivable. It is the reason that castle no longer stands.” Namjoon sat back, his arms flying through the air slightly. “Why, even the phantom knight stepped up to defend you.”

I scoffed. “The phantom knight. There is no such thing and you all know it! If everyone here weren’t so obsessed with an imaginary figure, then perhaps they’d be able to have a bit of curtesy for the people around them.” Shaking Jimin off me, I stormed from the room, leaving the two men gaping after me.

I refused to speak to Namjoon after that. He had made the decision to allow Taehyung’s visit to proceed as planned, despite both Jimin’s and my own protests. Jimin loved Taehyung. They were the closest friends I had ever had the pleasure of knowing, and yet he remained on my side, never once wavering. For that, I was eternally grateful.

“Perhaps it would not be quite as bad as you think,” Nelly said 

My hands froze, hovering over the potatoes I had been chopping. “Nelly!”

She held her hands up to try and calm me, though the knife in her hand was more unsettling than reassuring. “Perhaps it’s a bit bold of me to say, but I believe Prince Taehyung would make a fine match for you.”

“That is far too bold.” I resumed my chopping, a bit more aggressively than before.

“He’s a fine man. Prince Jimin’s best friend. The three of you are together all the time. Surely it wouldn’t be so terrible to be his wife?”

“You don’t get it. I can’t take another husband. Not again.”

Nelly’s hand came to rest on my shoulder, her eyes soft and reassuring. “I’m not telling you to agree. I’m only saying that you should consider the King’s words with an open heart. If it truly is best for the kingdom, there are far worse men you could end up with.”

I hated that her words made sense. I hated that I couldn’t conjure up an opposing reason to her statement. I hated that I began thinking, she may be right.

Kim Taehyung, Prince to our neighboring kingdom and Jimin’s best friend. We had been friends for as long as I could remember. Ever since the day he and Jimin went out riding despite their fathers having just broken any connections between their kingdoms. I had tagged along without anyone realizing. Jimin and Taehyung had been far better riders than I was and though I had tried to follow their path, my reckless actions nearly got me killed. If the boys had not been there, I would have died that day. Since then, there had been nothing that could tear us apart. Until now.

Tae had hardly looked at me since his arrival. Things between us had never been so awkward. Jimin tried to relieve the tension but to no avail. Eventually, Taehyung and I found ourselves sitting together on the stone bench in the gardens, Jimin having left us for a moment to fetch a few snacks. Whether food would be the magic cure for this awkward situation or not, I wasn’t sure, yet it was worth a try.

My eyes remained glued to the purple flowers that grew by my feet as Tae shifted nervously in his seat. My mind, although racing with unwanted thoughts, seemed to be moving in slow motion. I was having a hard time processing everything. It still didn’t seem real. Taehyung, one of my best friends since I had been six was sitting beside me, not as a friend but as my potential betrothed. 

“Emelyn?” Taehyung broke the silence, though I failed to hear him the first few times he said my name.

“Hmm?” I slowly blinked up at him, attempting to refocus my jumbled thoughts.

He watched me for a moment, waves of uncertainty wafting off him. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for that. “I talked with Jimin earlier,” he started slowly, as if to gauge my reaction, “I think I understand why you don’t want this.”

“Tae -”

“No, Emelyn, it’s alright. I get it, and I am not going to force you into anything.” He kept an unwavering eye contact that made me feel a bit uneasy yet was, at the same time, reassuring. “I only ask that you don’t dismiss the idea immediately. Allow yourself some time to think about it. I promise, if you were to accept, I would not dare to treat you wrongly.”

“I know, Tae,” my voice shook slightly but I refused to look away, “I know.”

He took my hand in his and gently began rubbing circles across my skin. “You would make a wonderful queen. I know you love the people of my kingdom just as much as you do your own.” He smiled softly, his eyes dropping down to our enclosed hands, “I’ve always liked you, Emelyn. If you’re willing, I really do think we could make a good team.”

My mouth hung open at his sudden confession. Perhaps I had been too preoccupied with beating them in everything we did, but I had never known he had feelings for me. My guilt doubled. If I were to deny him now, would I be hurting him?

I decided to answer with a pitiful attempt at humor, “Was that your weak attempt at a proposal?”

He smiled sheepishly and slid his hand out of mine. “Perhaps,” he brought his eyes up apprehensively, “was it horrible?”

I laughed lightly. “It could have used some work.”

Just then, Jimin returned with some fruit and a few of Nelly’s freshly baked rolls. He happily squeezed himself in-between us with a bright smile. “I brought the snacks.”

Taehyung stole a roll from the basket and took a large bite, filling his cheeks with the soft bread, ignoring Jimin’s cry of protest. “I was thinking we should go riding today.”

“Where too?” Jimin questioned.

“Same place we used to. The creek that separates the two kingdoms.”

Before either of us could respond, Namjoon appeared in the garden. “Taehyung, Emelyn, may I see you both for a moment?”

Jimin gave me an encouraging glance as we all slowly got to our feet. Tae offered me a reassuring smile, reinforcing his previous words to me, before following Namjoon back into the castle. 

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment in which my fate was decided. I wasn’t sure I was ready for it, or if I ever would be. For a moment I contemplated running away, disappearing into the crowded streets and avoiding it altogether, but I knew I couldn’t do that. 

Jimin’s hand came to rest on my shoulder and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It will be alright. Just know, no one can force you into this. If they try, I’ll beat them until they’re unable to stand on their own sorry feet.”

A tight-lipped smile was the only response I could muster. With one last shaky breath I followed the others out of the garden.

Jimin found me back inside the gardens later that evening. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying. My head pounded as if the knights had been using it for practice. Nothing had gone according to plan. As if there had ever been a plan to begin with. Everything had been so rushed. I hadn’t had time to truly understand what was happening. All I knew was that my future had been at stake and I made the regretful mistake of only thinking of myself. 

“Hey,” he greeted, “care if I join you?” 

I sniffed and motioned for him to have a seat next to me while unceremoniously using the sleeve of my dress to wipe my eyes and nose. Jimin didn’t seem to care, or even notice as he plopped down next to me. 

Flinging his arm across my shoulders, he pulled me into him. “I heard Tae’s father showed himself halfway through.” 

“Mhmm,”

Jimin sighed. “I love Taehyung, but his father is one person I can hardly stand to be near.”

“Jimin,” I said, my voice barely audible, “I think I’ve made a mistake.”

He didn’t say anything at first. I could feel him shift beside me, drawing a bit closer to offer some comfort, but he didn’t push me to say anything.

“It’s King Merek,” I blurted, “he came in unannounced and demanded I return with them to their palace.” The words spilled out of my mouth in a jumbled mess. “I panicked, Jimin. I told him I refused his offer for marriage and that I wouldn’t be going with them. Taehyung stood behind me, but King Merek was furious. He and Namjoon got into an argument and now King Merek has left with a warning that he will be sending his knights to invade. I’ve ruined everything, Jimin. I’ve ruined everything and all because I was too scared to become someone’s wife.”

Jimin took me in his arms and carefully held my trembling body. Still, he didn’t say anything. I was grateful to him for that. He didn’t offer me false reassurance, nor did he sit and blame me for what had happened, even when I knew I would have deserved it. Instead, he whispered calmly to me as we rocked back and forth on the bench together. The words he spoke were of the people. He spoke of the beauty the land held and the kindness of the villagers. He reminded me of everything in the kingdom that had captured my heart. All the days we would slip out of the castle to spend time amongst our people.

“The kingdom still stands despite the mistakes of all those who have ruled before King Namjoon. We are nothing more than human, Emelyn. Mistakes are going to be made. What’s important is how we work to fix those mistakes. Namjoon has amassed the largest and strongest army of any of the kingdoms. King Merek may try to take this land, but he will never succeed. Besides,” he grinned and poked my cheek, “we’ve got the phantom knight on our side.”

I rolled my eyes as I sat up, slipping out of Jimin’s hold. “The phantom knight does not exist. You know that as well as I do.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Have you ever seen him?”

He shook his head and tapped the side of my head. “No one ever has. Remember?”

“Well there you are,” I said, “there is no proof of his existence. How can someone exist if no one has ever seen them?”

“Ah,” Jimin countered with a grin, “but if no one’s ever seen him, who’s to say he doesn’t exist?”

He stood then, leaving me dumbfounded as he strode out of the garden.

The next few nights, I hardly slept. I laid awake, staring at my ceiling and waiting for the sound that would alert the kingdom to King Merek’s invasion. Namjoon had reassured me several times that I had done nothing wrong, and yet the feeling of guilt continued to plague me. Perhaps if I were to ride out and tell them I was willing to accept their offer, there would be no fighting. Perhaps if I did everything I could to make this right, fewer people would suffer.

With a sigh, I pushed myself out of bed. I would be getting no sleep tonight. Grabbing the blanket off the bed, I wrapped it around my shoulders and padded over to the door. Creaking it open slightly, I saw one of Namjoon’s most trusted knights standing guard just outside. The guards around the castle had doubled since Merek’s announcement. Namjoon wasn’t taking any chances. 

The guard, whom I recognized as Hoseok, caught me out of the corner of his eye and his lip twitched up into a small grin. “Young girls should not be out of bed this late at night.” He spoke to no one in particular, though I knew his words were directed at me.

“This young girl is not much younger than you,” I said, “she also holds superiority over you.”

Hoseok chuckled. “Not tonight, Milady. Our King has given me strict orders to keep you in your room.” His smile dropped and his tone became far more serious as he said, “With the impending threats against the kingdom, it is not safe for you to be roaming the castle at night.”

Stepping out of the room, I groaned in frustration as I slid down the wall next to him. “I fear I’ve made a mistake. It is my doings that have put the entire kingdom in the line of danger.”

Hoseok shook his head. “It is no one’s fault but King Merek’s. He is well known for his short temper. Even if the marriage had taken place, he would have found something to anger him. That man has been after this kingdom for as long as anyone can remember.”

“So, I just gave him the excuse he needed to attack,” I hugged my knees to my chest and pulled the blanket tighter around myself, “wonderful.”

“Do not blame yourself, Milady. We will win over his army. Of that I have no doubt.” His signature grin returned. “Besides, we have something King Merek can only dream of.”

I shot him a glare. “If you say the phantom knight, I swear I’ll rip you of your status right here and now.”

His brows shot up in surprise. “What has you so against this knight?” 

“He doesn’t exist!” I shot back. “He’s a myth! A legend! Just as his counterpart, the moon dragon, is. Neither exist and yet everyone is so determined to rely on these legends to save us. If we are to keep this kingdom, people must return to their senses.”

Hoseok frowned, his stance tensing a bit. “The moon dragon exists as well. Of that I am certain.”

“It is just like the knight, no one has ever seen it. What makes it so real?”

“I’ve seen the dragon.” Hoseok’s voice was low.

I watched apprehensively as he crouched down next to me and rolled his sleeve up past his elbow. My breath hitched when I caught sight of it. The long white scar traveled from his elbow down to his wrist and was nearly the width of his entire arm.

“I received this when I was merely six years of age. That was well before Namjoon became king. Before the phantom knight came to our aid. In those days, the moon dragon terrorized the kingdom nearly every night. That was the night my parents were killed. They were both slaughtered by the moon dragon.” Yanking his sleeve back down, Hoseok gave me a hard look. “I know you’ve chosen to believe that these things do not exist, but for the rest of us, they’re very real.” He stood then, his expression cold and blank, returning to his persona as nothing more than my guard. No longer a friend but a protector. 

I hugged my knees closer to my chest as I thought over his words. Jimin had always been so adamant that the knight existed as well. Perhaps there really was some truth to the legends. I had never heard of Hoseok’s past before, though I knew he was one of Namjoon’s most trusted knights. Hoseok had seen us through many battles before. I also knew he had no family to speak of apart from those of us in the castle. Hearing him tell his story now, I saw him in a new light. He wasn’t simply the brave knight with the lame jokes. He was a hero in his own right.

“Milady!” Hoseok’s frantic voice pulled me from my jumbled thoughts, back into the present. 

I peered up at him, a question on my lips when I heard it. The sound I had been dreading for the past few days. The sound I knew had been inevitable and yet I hoped would never sound. 

The warning bells. 

We were under attack.

Hoseok pulled me to my feet and shoved me back inside my room. “Stay there,” he ordered, “do not leave for any reason. Someone will be posted outside your door shortly.” Without another word, he slammed the door shut in my face, locking me inside.

I sat at my window, watching as the knights scrambled about, attempting to prepare themselves before King Merek’s army arrived. I hated sitting idly by. I should be down there, helping. I had trained with Jimin and Taehyung when they were younger. I could wield a sword as well as any man, so why must I be trapped here? Useless? 

My fingers tapped nervously against the scabbard on my waist. I had changed into a simple gown and had strapped my scabbard around my waist, ready to leap into action should the need arise. Should it seem that our men were losing any ground at any time, I would join the fray. Whether the phantom knight existed or not was no longer relevant. 

I watched begrudgingly as the knights collectively drew into formation and rode off to meet the enemy. Amongst the knights, I spotted the King and Hoseok together, leading the rest of the men. I hadn’t seen Jimin, but I supposed I could have merely missed him among the hundreds of other faces. 

A knock at the door caused me to nearly fall off my chair in surprise. “Come in.” I called, quickly pulling myself back together.

My personal maid, Alyse, poked her head around the door and flashed me a quick smile. “I do believe everything is all prepared for you, Milady.”

I gave a curt nod in understanding while rushing to the bed to retrieve my boots from beneath it. My grin grew as I finished lacing them up. Alyse waited for me, just outside the room, my cloak in her arms. 

“Thank you,” I said, gratefully taking it from her. 

“The King won’t much like this at all.” She warned as I passed.

“King Merek has a large army. Despite what Namjoon thinks, they’re going to need every abled body they have.” 

Alyse hurried to keep instep with me. “Are you sure this is wise, Milady?” “Wise or not, it must be done.” 

I yelped in surprise when Jimin stepped around the corner, a knowing look on his face. He bowed his head toward Alyse and quietly dismissed her, thanking her for assisting me. His attention returned to me as soon as she was out of sight. “I know what you’re doing.”

I played dumb, adjusting the scabbard on my waist a bit to avoid looking him in the eye. “I’m not sure what you mean? I am not doing anything.”

“You’re meant to be in your room, for your own safety. A knight was assigned as your guard.”

I shrugged slightly, resuming my trek to the armory. “He never made it.” Jimin grabbed my arm to keep me from leaving. “Drop the act, Emelyn. We know where you’re going and what you’re doing?”

“We?” 

Taehyung stepped around the corner, a sheepish smile on his lips. Both men were dressed for battle, clad in chainmail and each armed with their own swords. The extra sword Taehyung carried did not go unnoticed either. 

I groaned and spun to face Jimin. “I’m not going back to my room. You can’t force me to either. Merek’s army is large, you’re going to need all the help you can get, and I am just as capable of welding a sword as any man.”

“Good,” Taehyung chirped, keeping Jimin from saying anything, “because we need you to come with us.”

“What?”

Jimin shot Taehyung a dirty look. “I still don’t know why we’re bringing you, but Tae insists.”

The taller boy shrugged unapologetically. Reaching out, Taehyung offered me the extra sword he’d been carrying. 

I accepted it with an air of caution. “Where are you two going?”

Jimin’s brows dipped down into a deep frown. “King Merek’s army has grown drastically. Our own men are outnumbered, two to one.”

I gasped and nearly dropped the sword I’d been given. It wasn’t possible. Our army had always been larger than his. How had he managed to grow his army so large without our knowledge? Our kingdom had some of the bravest and most well-trained knights in the country, yet even they couldn’t defeat an army that large. Not on their own.

“It’s bad. The fighting has only just begun and we’re already losing our ground. We’ll never survive the attack at this rate.”

My heart sunk. This had to be a sick joke. We couldn’t lose this battle. 

“We think we might have a solution though.” Taehyung quickly jumped in, having caught on to my distress. “We’re going after the Phantom Knight.”

My head shot up as I looked between the both of them in disbelief. “You’re what?”

“He hasn’t shown. Too many lives are being lost and it won’t be long before Merek’s army takes our own. We need to do something.” Taehyung said.

“Of course, he hasn’t shown!” I said in exasperation. “He. Isn’t. Real.”

Taehyung shook his head in shame. “When you told me, she might not want to go because she didn’t believe, for a while I honestly believed you were joking.”

Jimin sighed. “I know you don’t believe he exists, but we’re going. With or without you. We aren’t forcing you to join us, but we are offering. The choice is yours.”

It didn’t take much thought. I may not have believed the knight existed, but I was willing to do anything to save my kingdom. “Let’s go find ourselves a knight in shining armor.”

“Do either of you even know where we’re going?” I asked, urging my horse up a bit in order to ride between them. “It seems as though we’ve been riding in circles.”

“Ask Taehyung. He’s the one with the map.” Jimin said, somewhat breathlessly from the hard ride.

I turned to Taehyung in surprise. “There’s a map to this knight’s location?”

“Well, no. Not really,” Taehyung frowned as he looked between the map and the dark expanse of fields before us, “more like rumors. Places marked down of where people claim to have seen him. Putting them all together, we can sort of guess where he might reside, but no one is certain.”

“And no one’s ever gone looking for him?” I questioned, my head shooting back and forth between the boys.

“A few have, but no one’s ever been able to find him.” Taehyung said.

“I wonder why.”

“He’s a phantom knight for a reason,” Jimin said, “if he wanted to be found, he’d come live down in the villages with everyone else.”

“Or,” I looked at each of them pointedly, “he simply doesn’t exist.”

“If I’d known you were going to be so cynical the entire journey, I wouldn’t have offered to take you along.” Jimin grumbled.

I rolled my eyes. “You need me. Admit it.”

Jimin sputtered but Taehyung merely shrugged indifferently. “You’ve been training with us since we were kids. The three of us work well as a team. It seemed smart to take you along. There’s safety in numbers, but there is even more safety in numbers who work well together.”

“Seems logical to me,” I pushed my horse a little closer to Jimin’s and nudged his arm with my own, “what’s got you so ruffled.”

“He didn’t want you along.” Taehyung answered for him.

“Why?”

Jimin groaned. “Because you’re my little sister. If anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself.”

“I am not technically your sister.” I pointed out.

“You may as well be. My job is to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting.”

“You’re not getting it!” Jimin shouted, yanking his horse to a halt and facing me with wild eyes. “Out here, we’re not protected. If the knight never showed himself at the battle raging just outside the castle, he definitely won’t be here to protect us. If anything were to happen, if the moon dragon were to appear-”

“It won’t.” I quickly stopped him. “The dragon won’t appear.”

“Uhm, you may want to rethink that promise a bit.” Taehyung said, his voice small.

“Not now, Tae.”

“No really, you may want to just want to rethink that statement.”

“Look, I get it, there’s no proof the thing doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t mean it’s all just stories either. How are we to know if these things really exist? What if we’re just riding around in circles for nothing while our knights continue to die in battle?”

Jimin threw his head back with a groan. “The phantom knight is our only hope of survival. Can you at least pretend to care for a moment?”

“Guys?”

I scoffed. “I do care! Why else would I be out here arguing with you when I could be on the front lines helping to fight?”

“Guys.”

Jimin motioned in the direction of the castle. “Please, go fight. Perhaps you can talk them all to death as you try to convince everyone that the knight doesn’t exist.”

“Guys!”

I turned to him in annoyance. “What?”

He only raised a shaking hand to point at the sky behind me. 

I rolled my eyes and shoved his hand down. “Now is not the time, Tae.”

He shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. “Turn around.”

With a sigh, I did as he said and instantly, my breath caught in my throat. What looked to be a giant black bird was flying directly toward us – that is if a blackbird had the wingspan of the entire knights’ training grounds.

Jimin nearly fell off his horse. “Th-that’s a – that’s a d-d-” 

“Dragon.” Taehyung breathed.

I couldn’t believe it. I’d heard of dragons before, yet I had never seen one in person. They had nearly gone extinct over the past decade. 

Jimin cursed and I smacked the back of his head for it. We may be under attack from a dragon, but that didn’t leave cause for foul language. Namjoon was constantly reprimanding him for his dirty mouth. 

“Let’s not panic, shall we?” I said, attempting to keep my horse from bolting out from under me. “I’m sure he can hear the sounds of the battle and that’s what is drawing him out. We’re just three people. He’s not going to come for us.” My brows slowly sank into a frown as my words sank in. I’d said it to try and ease the boy’s anxiety, yet it had only managed to raise my own. What if I was right? What if it flew right past us and went straight for the battle? Our army was already losing ground. If a dragon were to join the fray, they wouldn’t survive. 

Despite telling the others to stay calm, fear began controlling my actions, unfiltered fear for our knights and our kingdom. I urged my horse forward, toward the approaching dragon. Jimin and Taehyung shouted after me, but I hardly heard them over the pounding of my own blood in my ears. My horse trembled under me as we raced forward, having put blind faith in my actions. Any other horse would have fought against me, but we’d been a team since she’d first had a saddle placed on her back. We trusted each other completely. In that moment, I truly questioned why. I didn’t even trust myself. Yet she did. 

The dragon didn’t even seem to notice my presence as we approached. I had to change that. I had to get the beast’s attention on me and away from the raging battle. How? How was I meant to draw its attention away from something much larger and more enticing than I was?

Taehyung was the first to catch on. He rode up beside me at a full gallop, winking at me before veering off the right and shouting at the top of his lungs. The dragon cocked its head but didn’t sway its course. Taehyung had the right idea, but it wasn’t enough.

“Jimin!” I shouted, swiveling around to find him still standing several feet away. His face scrunched up as he fought against himself for a few moments before pushing his horse into a gallop. He rode off to my left, joining Taehyung in his shouting match. With a small grin, I joined them.

Our three voices combined were enough to catch the beast’s attention. It screeched and circled above us a few times, its eyes surveying our tiny forms. I shouted for the others to scatter as the beast landed with a bound, its front claw barely missing Taehyung. 

“Hey, you large, scaly beast!” Jimin shouted, bringing his horse around to face the dragon head on. “Where do you think you’re going?” 

“The only ones allowed to terrorize our kingdom are the three of us!” I shouted. Taehyung laughed. “We do that plenty. There’s no need for your giant scaly butt to get involved.”

The dragon eyed each of us individually, as if it truly understood our words and was weighing its options. It eyed each of us individually, before its eyes came to rest on me. My breath hitched in my throat. This wasn’t merely some dumb beast. Simply looking into its eyes showed it was likely more intelligent than I was. The large, dark eyes were surprisingly soft and held such a huge contrast to what I had been made to believe. There was nothing reptilian about them. In fact, they appeared almost human. The steam emanating out the creature’s nostrils, along with the large teeth that seemed to be permanently bared, gave the impression it was there for no other reason than to cause destruction and death. But its eyes - its eyes told a different story entirely.

The large eyes blinked, breaking the spell I seemed to have been placed under a moment ago. Taehyung’s frantic shouting broke through the haze around my mind as I was brought back to reality. Jimin’s eyes were wide and frantic as he raced toward the creature, his sword raised above his head. I didn’t realize what he was doing until it was too late. With a cry of pain, the dragon swiped at Jimin who had managed to cut through his armor, sending the Prince flying off his horse and back several feet. What I assumed to be blood dripped from the wound on the creature’s snout, a dull golden color. 

The dragon shot its head back in my direction. It looked to the horizon where the sun was beginning to rise and then regarded me once more before spreading its wings and shooting off from the ground. I thought perhaps we were home free as the dragon turned back toward the direction it had come. Though I should have known we would not walk away from a dragon encounter so easily. 

I turned to Jimin with a sigh of relief. “See? I told you we would be alright.” Turning my attention back to the dragon, I watched as it circled above us. “Perhaps we should follow it? If the moon dragon is real, then perhaps there is some truth to the knight’s legend after all.”

Jimin shook his head. “There is no way I would let you ride after a dragon.”

At his words, the dragon’s head shot in our direction, locking its eyes on the three of us once more. As if taking Jimin’s words as a challenge, the dragon folded its wings and dove. Everything seemed to slow in that moment. Jimin screamed and leapt off his horse to tackle me to the ground. Taehyung unsheathed his sword and brought it up to counter the dragon, but it merely bounced off the hard scales. At the same time, I urged my horse forward, yet we were no match for the dragon’s speed. Before I knew what was happening, I was being lifted into the sky. A scream escaped my lips and I clung to the talons for dear life as we continued to ascend. Below me, Taehyung raced forward in an attempt to reach me in time, yet it was of no use. His horse was nowhere near as fast as the dragon and within seconds, he was completely out of sight. 

[snakemoltsiren]

Empty

Everything had gone wrong. It was going well. The plan - the ambush, Valka’s playacting, it was all effective. She thought. But Severine had made her missteps early. She’d made herself too much of a target. When she’d been drug out of the cart kicking and screaming the sound had barely left her mouth before she slammed into the hard-packed dirt of Thanalan and the air left her lungs. Otolin had interceded, attacking her attacker and Severine had barely made it to her feet to throw a messy healing spell towards Valka who already had an arrow sticking out of her. Severine had seen Otolin’s face when the woman had arrived. Knew without asking that it was his mother. She barely had time to process the words exchanged before that figure was a blur in front of her and something cracked her across the collar. Her vision had gone white. The next thing she knew, Breandan was checking her pulse. Severine keeled to her feet, struggling to stand, her head throbbing. She saw remnants of exploded cart and the streak of gore where Breandan had put someone to the lance. And she saw Valka slumped in the dirt. She’d staggered across the road to her friend, all the while wildly searching. He was gone. Otolin was gone. Not left, Breandan had told her. But taken. It had all been a blur after that.

Getting Valka stabilized had been her priority. They borrowed a cart from the Flames checkpoint up the road and got Viera back to the office so the Doctor could tend to her. The little Xaela checked over Severine, warned her she’d probably have a vicious headache and told her to stay hydrated. She drank more than her share of wine that night. Hydration achieved. Fear sat cloying in the back of her throat, souring every breath she drew and every word she spoke. She paced and flitted, checking in on Valka when she could, making sure word got to Adrian. They needed Valka’s help but Severine couldn’t bring herself to ask the Viera to track Otolin like she’d done before, not while she was still bedridden and healing. They needed to find him and Severine didn’t know where to start. Eventually Breandan told her to go home and she went outside for the first time in two days. Walked across the yard already back in order after the party they’d had the week before. When they and their friends had sat around the fire and floated in the hot springs and none of this had happened. She walked up the stairs and to the house next door. Otolin’s house. She let herself in and stood in the doorway, half expecting him to be there. Sitting at the kitchen table or in one chair by the fire, reading a book. The house was cold. Empty. She locked the door and moved through it in a daze. Like a ghost. She wondered why this had happened. What she’d done wrong. She wondered why they hadn’t all just been killed. Valka nearly had been. Emelyn easily could have killed Severine as well but had stopped at merely incapacitating her. If Otolin had gone down in a single hit from the pale-skinned Roegadyn woman that had subsequently hauled him away, then obviously he could have been killed there as well. Breandan had tried parlay and had been warned away. Surely Emelyn Stone had to know they would come for her. They would find where Otolin had been taken. Why would she leave them alive to do it? Without realizing it, Severine had walked through the quiet rooms of Otolin’s empty house. The little closet in his bedroom stood with one door half open, and she reached inside, pushed her hands towards the back. Going by touch alone. Tears had been constant ever since they’d returned from the failed ambush and she could feel her eyes stinging as her fingers closed around familiar fabric. She pulled and drew her arm back, patterned cloth draped over her arm. Otolin hadn’t worn his poncho much since he’d gotten his new coat. She’d thought maybe that he had gotten rid of it but there it was, curled in her dark hands. The patterns were faded into each other with wear, the trim around the collar limp with age. But it was clean. And soft. Severine bundled the poncho into her arms and carried it to the two reading chairs clustered in the corner. She folded herself into the left side one, legs drawn up beneath her. The last time she’d sat there Otolin had been in the chair next to her. She remembered the books they’d been reading - her an  intensely dry history of Limsa maritime laws and him some gormless crime thriller that he kept snorting at between sips of tea. He wasn’t there, though. And she didn’t know where he was. She balled the poncho up and tucked it beneath her cheek as she settled into the chair. The bed was across the room but that was the kind of empty that she didn’t think she’d be able to bear just now. Severine closed her eyes knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Instead she willed her mind to that place she could send it to. She walked through the sun-dappled grove that housed her memories and experiences and sat by the stream. With her eyes shut she pulled memories up like blades of grass, flipping through them like picture books. The first job she’d worked with Otolin. The room in the Quicksand they’d shared for months. Each job, each story they’d told each other. She could tell herself she was looking for clues. For some idea of where he might be right now. But really she knew that what she needed was him. Her partner. She couldn’t go out and search for him so she’d have to find him in one place she knew he would always be. As fleeting as it was she would have to take comfort in that.

@witchesandlotuses @otolin-xiv @geimhleag

[rowanwriting]

2, 10, and 18! 🙏 thank you! :D

Thank you so much @the-finch-address!

If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

Probably not! At least, not if I wanted to read what I had written afterwards. I have terribly messy handwriting, and I tend to press too hard with whatever writing instrument, as well. I do somewhat better with a fountain pen, so I use those a lot. (Who am I kidding? I couldn't stop writing if I had to chisel it into a stone slab.)

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Haunted has so many different connotations, doesn't it? This is a difficult question for me, I think. But my own writing does seem to haunt me a little. Old and abandoned WIPs that I keep going back to, and abandoning again. WIPs that I start over and over. (Also fanfiction that I keep getting kudos for from the fandom-that-shall-not-be-named, that I wish I could keep writing, but can't.) As for other's writing, it's difficult to say as I have a terrible memory and short attention span, the combination of which seems to lead me to forget things that I've read easily. In any case, I think it's the need to write that haunts me the most.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

This is actually from the most recent bit that I’ve written. Honestly. the backstory of this passage is fairly simple. I’ve  been trying different openings for The Beyond, and one is Emelyn going undercover to catch the target of a bounty, where she runs into the first alien of the book. It’s probably derivative of some experiences I’ve had or witnessed. I’m pretty sure nearly every person who is read as a woman has dealt with some kind of creep or another.

They made a noise that was like something from a harmonica, thought not quite, and Emelyn knew it was a laugh.

"Aww, don't be like that, sweetheart," the Ehlihg said, a condescending note in their harmonic voice. "I've had plenty of humans — and they've always left me more than satisfied."

Emelyn might have been unarmed, but that didn't mean she was harmless. She could see it in her head how things might go, almost feel the connection of her fist with the flesh of the Ehlihg's meaty stomach, see him bend over double with a groan, feel the sensation of bringing her knee up to collide with their sensitive carapace.

She was sorely tempted to do it, too. The anger, the rage, even, of her own recent circumstances filed her, and oh, how she wanted to take them out on this poor soul.

for the weird questions for writer’s ask game!

[fist-and-fury-xiv]

“And what... what do you see when you look at me?”

“The man who could’ve led us out of ruin.”

“I was... was never going to be that person.”

“Otolin.”

“... Yes?”

“If I had my way? You wouldn’t have had the damn choice.”

[set-in-stone-writing]

1. CRUX

Be careful what you center your world around.

It shouldn’t be something so fickle. 

The base concepts of a person are beneath you. 

You should be enlightened. 

The vices of this world are vast. You have no need for them.

Don’t embrace those who would cast aside their Personhood/Freedom to flock to you.

Grasp them. 

Clutch/Crush them tightly. 

Mold them into a form best suited to serve you. 

You/We will make them Yours/Ours.

Be careful what you center your world around, Otolin.

It shouldn’t be something fickle. 

You should feel elevated. 

Gods/Monsters are sometimes just concepts given much mortal thought. 

They are greater than the sum of their parts, the persons who believe in them, and the powers they have at their fingertips are vaunted.

It is because of this you should take care, my Son/Slaughterer. 

Soon, you will be the center of everyone’s World/Woe. 

[dragons-ire]

He'd fucked it up.

He thought about it like that as he stood in the office shower with half a bottle of wine still in his hand, dangling loosely

Being absolutely shitfaced felt like the best and most appropriate thing to do. He wanted to drown out the events of that entire mission. Actually, he wanted to drown out the entire week. It was like the universe had reached out to him on all levels to kick him in the face or the balls or wherever the hell the Forbidden Chakra Otolin kept goin on about actually was.

He assumed that actually meant being punched straight in the heart.

His week had started with what had probably been the hardest conversation of his life about the Dragonsong War and what his part had been in it. It had gone on to some strange and weird and mystical places on a black operations job up into the Churning Mists. The night before had been like a bitter reminder, like the ghost of a heartbreak from his youth come waltzing past and breezing right past him. The night before the job went great, but ended with just a little stab at things he'd sworn to himself he'd never let himself feel again.

That he's sworn he'd never let anyone make him feel again.

And at the end of it, he'd gone off on that job. And he watched a job go wrong in a way that he couldn't describe. Everything about it was wrong.

The wind that hurled him into the air should not have done that. By the time he was up on the cliff face he was gone. Frozen behind a numb mask of horror as he stared down at the Thanalan desert littered with the blown apart bone and flesh and fabric that had once been a person. His grip on his lance taut to keep his hand from trembling as he turned himself into the stone cold mask of rage that he'd been trained to in Ishgard to watch it unfold.

He tried not to think of fire spreading as Otolin had described it. Driven in by the point of a lance, rippling out in the the darkness of the underground. It flashed in his memory with awful clarity and it hit something hard in his soul on the way down. Some of the things that had started to shake loose inside him firmly back shut.

He watched it with a cold precision as it unfurled beneath him from on high. Watched things escape across the rear lines that he could have (should have) stopped and didn't. Watch Severine go done like nothing with a blink that betrayed nothing of what happened to him inside when he did.Watch Valka go bravely forth into battle without hesitation the way she would. Watched Otolin fall like he'd been stabbed, like the wind was out of him.

He hadn't known Otolin well at all when he'd been asked to partner in the firm they'd founded, the three of them. Something in the Ala Mhigan had chosen him out of any of the numerous people he knew better just because of his lack of connections to that circle. His connections with Severine. And he'd appreciated the chance to make something out of the ruins of his life after the war that could be meaningful, that could have purpose.

And he watched himself make a decision to try and break up an active melee rather than what he should have done which was stop them from taking him away.

He let Otolin Stone down. And he'd never wanted to feel that kind of failure

And he stared down the hard and remote face of Emelyn Stone, Otolin's mother when he landed on the ground to try and force a parlay. What happened next he was the only witness too, and even thinking about it brought a cold chill to his soul. As she looked back at him with an expression that was only cruel and mocking as she said some mean words pointed just at him and for his ears alone.

And just as quickly, he found himself staring back across the clear view of the carnage of the operation. The destroyed cart. The devastation beyond that he had to force himself not to think about again. Took it and swallowed it and didn't think what happened on the way down.

You fucked up.

You did it again.

When he finally let it go, he was tired, more than anything else. He was tired, and sad, and fucked up in a way that he had to drag through for the moment while he had to decide between Severine and Valka of who he'd rather see to. The choice was natural, of course, and they carried Valka back to the office and handed her to Dr. Haragin. And he sat with Severine and passed wine between them in the cool confines of her office and let her talk about what she needed. And when she finaly passed out, he took the remnants of the wine and crawled into the shower to wash off the events of the day. The events of the best and worst week of his life.

All the dirt and grime and blood. The guilt and shame. And he poured wine on it and washed it down the drain and then he asked it.

Okay, so you fucked it up:

What's the next move?

[lil-meow-meow-goes-rawr]

Tragedy Strikes

⚔︎ Previous Chapters: Trouble Brews, Illusions

⚔︎ Pairing: Jungkook x OC

⚔︎ Genre: Medieval Fantasy, Knight!Jungkook, Knight!Hoseok, Wizard!Yoongi, King!Namjoon, Prince!Taehyung, Prince!Jimin, Brothers!Yoonjin

⚔︎ Warnings: major character death, mentions of blood, large wounds, mentions of minor character deaths

⚔︎ Rating: 13+

⚔︎ Synopsis: Despite losing Jungkook, Emelyn is able to locate the wizard, Yoongi. He agrees to help her find and cure the knight, but things take a dark turn when fate intervenes. 

⚔︎ Word Count: 10.1K

⚔︎ Masterlist

Perhaps it was the sinking sun, or the razor-sharp wind on my back which gave way to my foul mood. My day had been spent searching, yet there had been no sign of Jungkook or the moon dragon. As the moon rose to take the sun’s place in the sky, I began to feel discouraged. Where would a dragon go to avoid being found? Why was it so difficult to find something so large?

I blew out a frustrated breath as I sat beside the small fire I had managed to light. Another day had come and gone. Another day in which I had not been able to locate Jungkook and my family had been left to fight for their lives. I could not keep riding in circles. It was clear the dragon did not wish to be found. I would need to acquire some assistance.

Glancing up at the mountain in the distance, I felt my heart begin to race at the mere thought of traveling there alone. The idea of braving Blood Mountain with Jungkook beside me had not seemed such a daunting task. Yet now I was forced to face it alone. I knew every tale, every horror that was ever told about the mountain. I was there the night it received its name. Some of the bravest and most skilled knights had attempted to cross over the mountain, yet only a few managed to complete the journey alive.

Taehyung would often recount the tales he had heard from the knights. Tales of horror and misery. Stories which kept me on the edge of my seat, yet they had been nothing more than a fairytale to me. Sitting here now, staring up at the mountain looming over me, the stories became so very real.

“Emelyn,” Taehyung giggled, sliding onto the bench beside me, “I overheard the most thrilling tale last night while the cooks prepared our meal. It seems another knight was granted a quest.”

“Blood Mountain?” I guessed, my eyes glowing with anticipation as I leaned in further, soaking up every word the boy spoke.

Taehyung’s grin grew. “Yes! One of Father’s knights was given a quest to cross over the mountain. He made his return only yesterday.”

“He survived?”

“I do not believe anyone expected him to. It has only been one month since he has joined our knights. Two weeks ago, he was sent on his own to face the horrors of the mountain.”

“Did he tell you what he saw?”

Taehyung shook his head sadly. “He has not said much since his return, I’m afraid. It was the servant assigned to him who finally managed to garner a few words about his journey. The magic, Emelyn, it is unlike anything we have ever seen. Ryia’s magic would appear to be mere child’s play if put against it. The knight spoke of an unforgiving wind. One which penetrates to your bones and never ceases. If you are to remain out in the wind, you will not survive for more than a day.”

I leaned in closer still, crossing my legs under me and resting my chin on the palm of my hand. I had heard the stories told of the mountain before, yet they never once ceased to draw me in. I could not get enough. Though the tales sent a cold shiver of fear down my spine, and I would most likely not sleep the night through, I wanted to hear everything. Taehyung knew of my interest in the mountain and would always humor me with more stories he had heard.

“Blood Mountain, just as we have imagined, is a place of sorcery. The blood of those slain on the night the mountain first received its name, cries out for vengeance. Even the creatures that live there are not to be trifled with. The knight spoke of pixies and the many harmless pranks which they pulled on him. Yet he also spoke of more terrifying creatures, such as the basilisk.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Snakes had always been a creature I feared, the basilisk being the most feared of all. One bite from a basilisk’s fangs would kill a full-grown man within days. The poison moved through the body slowly and painfully until it finally claimed the heart, sometimes so much as weeks after the initial bite. There was no known cure for the poison. If a man were unlucky enough to encounter a basilisk, he would not expect to live on for much longer.

When I returned my attention to Taehyung, I noticed he had become much more somber. He had gotten lost in his own thoughts and from the look on his face, they were not pleasant.

“Do you remember that night?” Taehyung asked, his voice growing unnaturally quiet.

I bit my lip as I finally sat straight once more.

“I still do not understand why magic had to be outlawed. What harm was it doing to anyone?”

“Magic killed the King’s daughter.” I reminded him.

“Yes, but magic has also saved many lives. Just as there is in everything else, magic is made up of good and evil.”

“Magic is not evil.” I corrected. “It is the people who use the magic which create the evil. Evil lies in the hearts of man.”

Taehyung shook his head sadly. “All those people hunted down and slaughtered, simply because they were born with the ability to wield a power not all of us were given. The king did not even allow them the chance to leave. I can still hear the cries from when the knights chased them up to the mountain.”

“And now it is that blood which gives the mountain its power.”

“Do you think anyone will ever restore the mountain to its natural wonder?”

I sighed as I stood from the bench. Turning to Taehyung, I offered him a sad smile. “I do hope so, Tae. I truly do hope so.”

Memories plagued my dreams that night. Memories of children screaming and mothers wailing; swords being drawn and villagers crying out in protest to the slaughter. After the death of the King’s daughter, it had not taken more than a day for the ban on magic to be announced. No one had been prepared for it. Those who could, ceased their practice immediately, fearing what the King may do to them if they did not. For those who had been born into magic and had no say in whether they kept it or not, the day became a nightmare.

The next morning, I began the harsh journey up into the mountain. The further I rode, the denser the trees became and the colder the wind blew. Never once had I imagined myself, forced to live out the same tales in which Taehyung and I had spent hours amusing ourselves with.

Beneath me, my horse trembled. This had not been an easy journey for her. I could not force her to go on much further without stopping to rest, yet everywhere I turned, the shadows seemed to move, daring me to stop and wait among them.

My horse heard it before I did. The mare had never attempted to throw me before, yet with one sudden spin and a bolt in the opposite direction, I found myself sprawled on the ground, left to watch helplessly as my horse galloped back the way we’d come.

“Why?” I called after her, my fear turning to a sudden bout of anger. “What possessed you to do that?”

The mare disappeared through the trees, taking my sword and my chance of survival with her. A shaky breath escaped my lips as I slowly turned to take in my surroundings. Everywhere I turned, it all seemed to look the same. There was no sign of human life anywhere. Perhaps Ryia’s tale of the wizard was simply that - a tale. Who’s to say I had not journeyed all this way only to find that the wizard did not truly live here, or even exist?

Grumbling slightly, I pushed myself up from the ground and brushed the dead leaves from my dress. Whether Yoongi lived here or not, my top priority became finding a place to make camp. It was beginning to grow dark and I knew I would not be able to survive in the night if I were to keep going.

It was then that I heard it. A low, angry hissing sounded from the small bush beside my foot, a few mere inches from where my head had just been. Slowly, I turned toward the sound. Barely visible beneath the lowest branches, curled up tightly against the roots with its crown on full display, sat one of the most feared creatures known to man – a basilisk. I choked out a strangled noise as I stared at it. The large yellow eyes regarded me with an anger that was just barely controlled. I had disturbed its nest, and it was not pleased to see me.

Swallowing hard, I slowly began backing away, but quickly froze again when it snapped at the movement. Hardly longer than my foot, the snake’s size was not so intimidating. Yet what it lacked in size, it made up for in speed.

A part of me knew I was not going to survive this situation. No one was around. Jungkook was still missing and I had no idea as to where Yoongi resided. I was left on my own, face to face with possibly the last creature I would ever see. Still, I wasn’t about to simply give in. I would not just stand there frozen, waiting for someone to appear. There had to be something I could do.

The creature quickly grew impatient, its anger only growing the longer I remained in its space. Faster than I could blink, it sprang out from beneath the branches. Its tiny jaws unhinging as it latched onto my ankle.

A scream clawed its way up my throat as I attempted to kick it off me. Yet the more I kicked at it, the tighter its grip became. A fire blazed at my ankle but quickly moved up into my leg and I crashed to the ground, my chin connecting with a large stone. With my free foot, I began kicking mercilessly at the creature’s head yet even that did not seem to deter it.

A blast of deep purple light suddenly blasted the basilisk squarely on the head. I froze, watching in shock as the snake released my ankle and began writhing around on the ground. After a moment, the creature went limp, its body lying motionless beside me. I stared at it, unsure of what had just transpired. Was it dead?

I nearly screamed when it suddenly sprang to life again and quickly slithered away, only to return to its original position beneath the bush.

A sigh of relief fell from my lips as my head hit the ground with a light thud and I hissed at the searing pain in my ankle when I attempted to move it. The basilisk may have left, but in the end it did not matter. The large, red wounds on my ankle proved my demise.

“That bite looks bad.”

I yelped and scrambled back at the sudden voice beside me. My head shot up only to find a young man staring at me in shock. Except his eyes weren’t looking at me, they were trained on the two puncture wounds which now adorned my ankle.

“Who are you?” I demanded, using every bit of self-control I had to keep from screaming in pain as I retreated.

For a moment, the man didn’t answer. He continued to stare at the spot my ankle had been just seconds ago. His eyes glazed over as he got lost inside his own thoughts. It wasn’t until I cleared my throat that he returned to the present.

“My apologies,” he quickly crouched down to my level, so as to be a bit less intimidating, “I heard someone scream and came to see what was happening.”

“Who are you?” I repeated.

With a shy smile, he bowed his head slightly in greeting. “My name is Yoongi. I live just through the trees there.”

I nearly choked as I took in the man before me. He was nothing quite like how I imagined him to be. Not much older than I was, the man did not seem like someone who would practice dragon magic. The word which came to mind as I took in his presence was ‘delicate’. Soft, dark curls fell just above a pair of the kindest eyes I had ever seen. His lips seemed to be drawn in a permanent pout and his cheek reminded me of Jimin’s young cousin. There was a simple boyish charm to him, yet his eyes reflected wisdom far past his years.

“You are Yoongi? The wizard known for using dragon magic?”

He cringed. “I am still learning.”

“But you do know it?”

“To an extent, yes. Although I have spent years studying it, one can never truly improve without first putting their skills into practice. That is not an easy task when there are no means in which to do so. Magic that powerful cannot be used for any mundane thing.”

“I need your help.” I blurted, worried he may leave before I got the chance to ask.

“I can see that. Basilisk bites are a nasty business. One cannot treat it on their own. It takes a certain type of skill.”

I shook my head. “No, not me. It is my friend. He is in dire need of your help.”

“But your ankle . . .”

“Please, your magic is the only thing that may save him.”

“So, you do not wish for me to help you treat your wound?”

“Pardon?”

“The basilisk bite,” he motioned to where my ankle was now tucked beneath my dress, “you do not wish for me to treat it?”

I scoffed and gently removed the bit of fabric which now covered it, wincing as I did. The wound had already become inflamed. I could hardly feel my leg and my ankle was slowly turning an odd shade of yellow. “What good would it do? I am as good as dead. It is not I who requires your skills in this moment.”

Yoongi eyed me curiously, as if he thought perhaps I was jesting. Perhaps he thought the poison had gone to my head, for when he spoke, his words were slow and enunciated. “That bite is still new. There is a chance you may live to see tomorrow if you would allow me to help. After I have seen to your wounds, I shall help you with your friend.”

“You’re willing to help Jungkook?”

He cocked a brow. “That is what you drew from what I just told you?” Shaking his head, he sat back on his heels. “Would you like my assistance or not?”

Deciding that I truly had nothing left to lose, I agreed with a small nod.

A large, endearing smile spread across his features. “Seokjin may not be pleased about visitors arriving unannounced, but I believe he can make an exception just this once.”

Though I had tried desperately to do it myself, my ankle simply would not allow me to stand, much less walk with him. Yoongi did not seem at all surprised when I crumbled to the ground after my third attempt to stand.

A small, shy smile graced his lips as he asked if I would allow him to carry me. As I did not have much of a choice, I granted him my consent. I worried he may struggle under my weight, as he was not much taller than I was, and he did not appear to be quite as strong as any of the knights, yet he lifted me with relative ease.

Yoongi did not take to the path as I expected him too, instead veering off into the thick of the trees. My heart began to pound furiously inside my chest. Other than his name, I knew nothing of this man, yet I had handed him my full trust willingly. In that moment, as we travelled further into the densely packed forest and all light seemed to be blocked out, I wondered if that had been the right decision. Yoongi was a powerful wizard, a man of great strength who lived in the most dangerous of all places. Ryia had warned me against him. In my desperate state, I had not heeded her words. Namjoon once told me my carelessness would get me killed someday and I was beginning to believe he had been right.

After walking in silence for several tense moments, I decided to voice my concern. “Where are we-”

The words died in my throat as Yoongi approached a large tree. My eyes immediately trailed up to the branches above us, as if I were expecting to find house among them. To my disappointment, they stood empty of any such thing.

Carefully setting me down, Yoongi hurried to remove a loose piece of bark, revealing a small nob in the trunk of the tree which he carefully pushed in and twisted. Immediately, an opening appeared, revealing what appeared to be a lovely little cottage.

He turned to me, his shy grin returning. “Welcome to my home.”

“You live . . .” my eyes darted between the wizard and the large opening, “in a tree?”

“Not quite. The tree is simply a disguise. In case you have not noticed, I do not live amongst friendly neighbors. The only way to survive, is to stay hidden.”

“I never would have found you on my own.” I breathed disbelievingly.

He chuckled as he crouched down next to me. “Most people do not even come looking for me. I am considered dangerous for what I do.” Offering me his hand, he smiled encouragingly. “I’ll help you, but the door’s not wide enough for me to carry you through, so you will need to walk. Can you manage?”

Somewhat reluctantly, I took his offered hand and carefully balanced myself on my good foot.

“Just take it slow. I promise the magic door will not close unless I tell it to.”

“Who’s to say you will not close it once I start passing through?”

He cocked a brow. “I suppose you’re just going to have to trust me.”

“Can I?”

“How badly do you need my help?”

I glared, “Fine.”

Letting out a slow breath, I hobbled toward the opening. The edges shimmered in a dull purple and a warm heat radiated from it. I hesitated a moment, swaying precariously on my good foot.

“It won’t bite.”

Stealing my nerves, I closed my eyes and hopped through. A warm sensation ran through my body, but it did not last for more than a second. When I opened my eyes again, Yoongi had returned to my side, his arm looping through mine to offer his support. We were standing in a small room with nothing more than a small bench present. Through another doorway, I could see the flickering of a candle’s light. The heavenly scent wafting through the small home nearly knocked me off my feet.

“Yoongi!” A loud voice called out from the other room.

Yoongi flinched beside me and muttered a curse under his breath.

“You better not have come empty handed again. I swear if I do not have those herbs on my table in the next few minutes you are going to-” A large man stepped around the corner and froze, his eyes widening in surprise when they landed on me. He was stunning; his appearance rivaling that of any man I had ever seen, and I could not help but stare.

A nervous chuckle escaped Yoongi’s lips. “Seokjin, I have returned.”

The tall man, Seokjin, pinched the bridge of his nose with a disappointed sigh. “When I told you not to come home empty-handed, this is not what I meant.”

Yoongi grinned sheepishly. “She needed my help.”

“Yoongi, we’ve been through this. You cannot help every person you come across.”

 “But she got into a fight with Flower and she would have died if I had left her on her own.”

Seokjin raised an eyebrow as his eyes darted back to me. “What on Earth possessed you to anger a basilisk?”

“You named the basilisk Flower?” I asked, perplexed.

“Yes,” Yoongi nodded fervently, “because when she puts her full crown up, she resembles that of the sunflowers which used to grow back home. The ground here is too coarse to grow them, so Flower is the closest we will ever get to seeing one. I wanted to call her Sunflower, but Seokjin would not let me.”

I began to wonder just what sort of men I had found myself amongst. A basilisk had no right to a name, yet they spoke of it as if it were a pet.

“How did you become tangled up in a fight with Flower?” Seokjin asked. “She has a nasty temper.”

“I did not mean to. My horse threw me, and I landed next to the bush which she was occupying. It was not my intention to anger a basilisk.”

Seokjin frowned slightly as he took in my appearance. “You are from the royal family.”

I was confused by the sudden accusation but still I nodded, “That is correct.”

“What is someone of your stature doing all the way up here on Blood Mountain?”

Yoongi bit his lip nervously, glancing between Seokjin and myself. “Jin, not now.”

Seokjin ignored him. “Do you not have knights to do your bidding?”

“Pardon?”

“What need does someone from the royal family have to be this far into Blood Mountain? Wouldn’t it have been safer to send one of the knights?”

“Seokjin,” Yoongi scolded, “stop it. Now is not the time.”

I pushed myself away from Yoongi to stand on my own, making certain my head was held high. “I do not understand, nor do I care to know why you seem to hate me so much. It is of no concern to me whether or not you do, for it is not your help I seek.”

“Well then, what is it you need my brother to do?”

“A friend of mine is in dire need of your brother’s magical abilities.” I answered simply.

“Seokjin,” Yoongi interrupted before the other could speak, “gather some henbane. I must treat her wound before it festers any further.”

Grumbling to himself, Seokjin shot me one last glare before turning back into the room he’d appeared from earlier.

“Sorry about him,” Yoongi said, his voice small. “He’s not usually quite so demurring.”

“Why does he seem to hate my family?”

Yoongi hesitated while carefully helping me onto the bench. Motioning toward my ankle, he silently asked permission before rolling the bottom of my dress back. “Do not take it personally. My brother blames the royal family for what happened to our parents. He has never truly been able to move on. The memories have haunted him since the night our mother was executed.”

“Oh,” my heart broke for the man. I knew first-hand what it was like to lose a parent, for I had lost both of my own as well. It was a wound one could never truly heal from. It was of no surprise that he disliked me, even if I was not from a direct royal line.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice quiet.

“I fear it is not my place to tell you. If you truly wish to know, you are welcome to ask my brother, though I would advise against it. It is clear he already dislikes you.”

I nodded solemnly, resting my cheek on the palm of my hand. “Why is it that you do not despise my family?”

His shoulder lifted into a slight shrug as he observed the snake’s bite. “I do not blame anyone for what happened. It was tragic, but it would be far more tragic if I were to place the blame on someone innocent. It all happened with the ban on magic. King Namjoon was not even on the throne at the time. Why would I blame him for something he did not do?”

“You’re a good man.”

“No,” his smile was empty as he glanced up, “I am far from being a good man.”

“So you say, and yet you are helping me when you do not even know my name.”

“Emelyn.”

My eyes widened in shock. “How did you-”

“Just because I live at the top of a magical mountain does not mean I do not know the family who rules over us. Blood Mountain rests on your kingdom. Namjoon is as much my king as he is yours.”

Just then, Seokjin marched into the room. Without a word to me, he left the herbs on the end of the bench before striding back out.

Yoongi sighed. “Give him some time. He will not hold this grudge against you for long. Once he takes a moment to realize that you are not even of direct line to the King’s family, he will return to be the friendly man he usually is.”

“I do not hold it against him. I know what it is like . . . losing your family. Never once have I ever gone through anything quite as horrible.”

“Your own parents?”

I shook my head lightly.

Yoongi nodded his understanding and returned his full attention to the wound on my ankle. The longer he looked at it, the bleaker his expression became.

I swallowed hard and tore my eyes away from him. I knew it was of no use to try and treat it. The basilisk had not only bitten me, but she had held on for a while as well. The poison that now ran through my veins was great. I would not have put much faith into healing it, yet Yoongi had been insistent. Even now, he set his shoulders back determinedly and gently spread the herbal paste across the wound. I hissed in pain and bit my lip to keep from crying out.

Yoongi flinched. “Sorry. Did I not mention it was going to burn?”

“No,” I spoke through clenched teeth, “you failed to mention that.”

“I hoped you would have assumed it would burn. A wound like this won’t be treated without pain.”

I groaned and stuffed my face into the crook of my arm. Before long, Yoongi came to kneel next to my head, having done all he could for the ankle.

“You may look now. The worst is over, for now.”

“For now?” I said, gingerly sitting back up.

He nodded with a small hum. “It was only last month that Seokjin got himself bitten by Flower as well. I used the last of the poison’s remedy on him. The new batch is still being made, though it should be done in a few days. For now, the herbal remedy I gave you will help with the pain and work to contain the poison to one area of your body.”

Crossing his legs, he sat himself down and simply stared at me for a while. The curiosity in his eyes was evident. It was clear he wasn’t used to interacting with anyone other than his brother. Yoongi was nice enough, but his way with other people left something to be desired.

Fidgeting somewhat beneath his gaze, I broke the awkward silence. “Did you mean what you said? About helping my friend?”

“You talk a lot about your friend. This person must be truly special.”

I hummed in agreement. Jungkook was more than special. He was the only hope I had of saving my kingdom, but he was also so much more than that. Jungkook had one of the biggest hearts I had ever seen. He was someone to be admired. Never had I had the pleasure of meeting anyone quite like him.

“You are smiling.” Yoongi pointed out with a grin of his own.

“What?” I snapped my head around to look at him before quickly turning away again in an attempt to hide the blush that was coloring my cheeks.

  “This friend of yours, he is more than a friend?”

My eyes grew large as I quickly shook my head. “No! No, nothing like that.”

“Why the strong denial? Simply by observing the way in which you think about him, it is clear that he is special to you.”

“I have only just met him. It would be far from appropriate to assume such things.”

Yoongi lifted a shoulder with a knowing smile. “The heart does not understand what is considered correct or inappropriate. This friend of yours has charmed your heart, whether you have yet to see it or not.” His tone, though light, held no room for argument. “Why is it your friend is not with you? If it is he who needs my magic, why would you come alone?”

“I-” I hesitated. How was I meant to tell Yoongi I had managed to lose Jungkook somewhere along the way and haven’t been able to locate him on my own? “I do not know where he is at the moment.”

“I’m afraid I cannot help him if he is not here.”

“I was hoping you would be able to help me find him. See, Jungkook is a dragon.”

Yoongi’s eyes shot open wide as he leaned in closer. I had piqued his interest. “Did you just say a dragon?”

“Well, part dragon I suppose. He was cursed when he was very young. Since then he has been forced to shift into the dragon with the rise of every moon.”

“Yes well, very few dragons were not part man. The dragons died out several centuries ago. Most of the creatures you hear about nowadays are much like your friend.” Yoongi explained excitedly. The passion he felt for this topic was evident. This was his entire life and he was more than happy to share any information he could. “What is it he needs my help with?”

“Recently he has been losing control of himself even as the sun shines brightly overhead. That is why he is not here with me now. We were attacked and it caused him to shift. He flew away and I have not been able to find him since. I was hoping you would be able to help me.”

“You lost a dragon?” Seokjin stepped back into the room, wiping his hands on the end of his tunic.

I looked up to find him watching me incredulously. “I can assure you it was not my intention to do so. Jungkook is my last hope. If I am not able to return with him to my kingdom soon, we will all surely perish.”

Yoongi frowned in confusion. “Why would we perish? Namjoon is a wonderful king.”

“While that is true, there are many who wish to take his throne. If it had not been for Jungkook’s protection, we would have faced war years ago. As it is, with Jungkook unable to control the dragon, he has been unable to offer his protection. King Merek has taken advantage of his absence and has declared war on our kingdom.”

Seokjin raised a brow. “This dragon friend of yours has been protecting the kingdom?”

“Virtus Invicta,” Yoongi breathed.

“Pardon?”

Looking between Seokjin and I, Yoongi let out a slow breath of realization. “Virtus Invicta. Jungkook is the Phantom Knight.”

Seokjin groaned. Turning on his heels, he marched from the room once more, muttering to himself. “This is not happening to us. We are not getting mixed up in that mess.”

“You know?” I asked Yoongi once Seokjin was fully out of sight.

“It is the only thing which makes any sense.” Jumping to his feet, Yoongi began pacing, his excitement bubbling. “I should have seen it before. It’s been right there, staring me in the face the entire time.”

“What has?”

“Virtus Invicta,” Yoongi repeated the words as if I should know what they mean, “it is a powerful incantation. One that even I would not be able to recreate.”

I stared at him blankly, still not seeing how any of this was at all connected.

“The incantation is ancient. In the times when the dragons were becoming extinct, the ones who practiced magic created the spell in order to preserve the race. Before they were hunted, the dragons used to do what your Phantom Knight does now. They were our protectors. All it took was one dragon to go rogue and the humans turned on them. After the rogue dragon nearly burned down the east village, the king declared the banishment on dragons. From there, dragon hunting became a game of sorts. Their hides could be sold for large sums of gold, and the oils on their skin were excellent for healing potions. Powerful sorcerers used the people’s greed to their advantage. The people would pay large sums to have the dragons hunted down. It was not long before nearly all the dragons were gone.”

“That is truly horrible.”

Yoongi hummed in agreement. “Those who wished to preserve the dragons created the incantation. It allowed the dragons to live on, while offering them a disguise in a human body. It worked for a while, until the people began realizing what was happening. The incantation was outlawed and soon it was looked on as a curse rather than a blessing.”

“It was never a blessing.” Seokjin called out from the other room.

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “My brother is a bit more skeptical.”

“I’m not skeptical,” Seokjin stepped back into the room, “I simply do not refuse to see all the facts.”

“What facts?” I asked, my curiosity spiked.

“Oh, the incantation certainly helped to preserve the dragons for a while, but there is a reason it was outlawed shortly after. Once a person’s life has been morphed with that of a dragon, they lose a part of themselves. When in their dragon form, they no longer act as human. The instinct to protect, which once lived inside every dragon, did not live inside these newly formed beasts. The dragons created from this curse were monsters. Killers.”

Yoongi scrunched his nose at Seokjin’s choice of words. “I would not call them killers.”

“Whatever you call them, it was clear they were not the same creatures we had grown to admire.”

“Is there a cure?” I asked, dreading what the answer may be.

Seokjin shook his head sadly. “There was never one that could be found. Whether the original creators of the curse also created a cure was never known.”

“I’m sure there is one out there somewhere.” Yoongi said.

“Even if there isn’t,” Seokjin gave him a soft smile, “if anyone could create one, it would be you.”

I smiled as I watched the exchange. It was clear that Seokjin held great pride in his brother. I had to wonder just what they were doing so far up on the mountain. I knew Yoongi needed to be away to practice his magic, but why had they remained so secluded? Something told me there was more to their story than Yoongi had let on earlier.

Just then, there was a loud bang at the door which drew everyone’s attention, quickly followed by another. Yoongi scrambled to his feet and both brothers came to loop their arms through mine, guiding me to my feet.

“What’s going-”

I was cut off by Seokjin slapping a hand over my mouth. He gave me a sharp look and shook his head once. The message to remain quiet, rang clear.

The pounding only grew to a higher intensity as Yoongi motioned toward the back room and the three of us quickly made our way there. Without a word, Yoongi marched directly over to the far wall and tapped it once. Immediately, it opened up to reveal a dark passage. I could not be sure, but it appeared as though it was underground, which did not make much sense, as we were technically still inside a tree.

Seokjin prodded me to move forward. The banging on the door continued and though the passage did not look overly inviting, it was a better option than facing whatever was outside. I followed Yoongi inside.

Once we had all made it through, the opening closed, trapping us in a blinding darkness. I swallowed hard, my hand reaching out to grip onto the back of Yoongi’s tunic. I could not see my own hand when I held it up in front of my face. How were we meant to navigate this tunnel?

“Do not worry.” Seokjin’s voice sounded beside my ear, causing me to jump. “Trust in my brother. Do not let go of him and he will lead you out.”

“How?” I asked, my voice shaking slightly. “He cannot see.”

“I would not be so sure.”

When Yoongi began slowly moving forward, my grip on his tunic tightened. I shuffled along behind him, giving everything I had to keep my feet under me. The medicine Yoongi had spread on my ankle allowed me just enough freedom to use the foot without collapsing with every step. Though the fire which erupted up my leg with each step was unpleasant, I was simply grateful I was able to remain standing.

“Almost there.” Yoongi said, his voice low.

My foot caught on what I assumed to be a root in the ground, causing me to fall forward onto Yoongi’s back. A string of apologies left my lips as I scrambled to pick myself back up.

I could hear the laughter in his voice as he turned to help me. “You are clumsier than even I am. What on earth did you trip on? The path has been clear.”

I shook my head with a frown, though I knew no one would be able to see it. “My foot caught on a root.”

“There is no root here.” Seokjin spoke from behind me. I could hear him lightly tapping the surrounding path with his foot. “The ground is smooth.”

“Then what did my foot catch on?”

A small orb of light suddenly flickered into view, the light purple glow emanating from Yoongi’s hand. He held it up to illuminate the area around us and I heard his breath catch. Somewhat reluctantly, I turned my head to follow his line of sight. What I saw confused me. The tunnel we had just come through had been completely taken over by dense foliage. Vines and roots extended from every inch of the dirt walls, completely blocking the way in which we came, and I realized with a growing terror that it was slowly reaching out towards us.

Yoongi cursed under his breath. “They’ve found the tunnel.”

“Who?” I asked, dreading the answer.

Both men ignored my question.

“We need to get out of here.” Seokjin said, as if that weren’t the most obvious solution. “How much further?”

“A few yards maybe?”

I spun back around and began pushing him along. “Then let’s go.”

Yoongi nodded in agreement and extinguished the light. With one quick demand for Seokjin to grab my hand, Yoongi took my other and together we raced forward. I did my best to keep up, hobbling along as fast as I could. Seokjin helped, eventually bending down a bit to offer more support, allowing me to wrap my arm around his shoulder.

“Yoongi!” Seokjin shouted, his voice laced with panic. “The exit!”

“I’m working on it!” Yoongi shot back.

It was then I felt it too. The vines and roots behind us were growing faster, the ends reaching out to begin wrapping around my feet and legs.

A strangled noise sounded from the back of my throat as I leapt out of the vine’s reach. “Why are there vines chasing us?”

Seokjin groaned. “Ogres.”

“Ogres?”

“Annoying little creatures.” Yoongi sighed.

“That’s putting it lightly.” Seokjin said.

“I did not believe they even existed.” I admitted, feeling rather foolish.

“Perhaps it is time you start believing in things you cannot always see.”

“But ogres are simple creatures. They are not capable of magic.”

“What the stories tell and what is actually true are not always the same.” Yoongi corrected. “Ogres are indeed capable of magic. In fact, they wield a highly powerful earth magic. One which rivals even that of a dragon master.”

“So, what you are saying, is-”

“-if we do not hurry and find the exit to the tunnel, we will all become dinner for the ogres.” Seokjin interrupted.

 “Why exactly are there ogres chasing us?” I panted, only barely having managed to catch myself after tripping over another vine.

“I suppose you would not know,” Yoongi replied, “ogres enjoy hunting humans. Preferably smaller ones such as children or infants, though they will eat any they find. Since there are not many people to be found on Blood Mountain, once they catch our scent, it is difficult to shake them off our trail.”

“They’re trying to eat us?”

“I would assume so, yes,” Seokjin grumbled, “and unless you plan on sticking around to find out for sure, I would suggest we continue moving ahead as quickly as possible.”

“The exit!” Yoongi cried, suddenly surging forward.

I yelped as he dragged me forward, my hand having still been securely wrapped in his tunic. Seokjin kicked a particularly close vine out of the way and quickly followed after us. We raced forward blindly, Seokjin and I placing all our trust in Yoongi to lead us safely out.

“Here.”

I froze at the sound of Yoongi’s voice. I heard him shuffle around for a moment, before I was suddenly blinded by the light that came flooding into the tunnel. I blinked several times, allowing my eyes to adjust. Yoongi wore a proud smile as he ushered us through, and I sighed in relief.

The sun’s rays blinded me as I stepped out into the open and my heart skipped a beat when I looked behind me, for the exit to the tunnel had vanished. There was nothing apart from an open field. Yet that could not be right. I had just left the tunnel. It had been right behind me.

“Mind your step!”

I reeled back at the sudden cry from Yoongi, my eyes dropping down to where I heard his voice. The tunnel’s entrance stared up at me, ready to swallow me back in if I were to take one more step. Seokjin marched straight up the side of the tunnel, his feet sticking to the walls as if they had been molded together. He came to stand directly beside me after fully righting himself.

“You should try closing your mouth. The birds may try to build a nest there if you do not.” He said with a smirk.

I immediately snapped my mouth shut, though my eyes remained wide as I stared between Yoongi, who was still inside the tunnel, and his brother. “How did-”

“Do not think too deeply about my brother’s magic. It will only serve to make your headache.”

Frowning, I backed away from the hole as Yoongi made his way up. I was not fond of the way in which Seokjin continually interrupted my words. It was rather rude.

It struck me as strange as I took in my surroundings, that not a single blade of grass was wet. Hadn’t it been raining when we’d left the brothers’ house? Surely it could not have dried so quickly. I blinked up at the sun, searching for any signs of the massive clouds which had ruled the sky just moments ago.

“The weather changes dramatically from one end of the mountain to the other.” Seokjin said, coming to stand beside me.

I peered up at him, confused. “How did you-”

“You were staring up at the sky as if you were questioning your own sanity.”

“Seokjin!” Yoongi’s shout drew both our attention.

Seokjin’s eyes grew wide and he immediately rushed to help his brother. I was confused at first. Nothing seemed to be out of place initially. The vines and roots had not grown past the tunnel’s exit. We were all safely back on the ground, standing upright. It was not until I caught the first glimpse of the hideous creature that I understood their panic.

No one knew much about the ogre. Most assumed they were not real, claiming them to be a creature formed by the imaginations of those who had survived Blood Mountain. Until that moment, I had not believed in them either. Perhaps Seokjin was right. It was time to start believing that there was some truth behind every tale.

The first ogre protruded its ugly head from the opening, just as Yoongi began to close it. Seokjin jabbed his foot into its face, sending the creature careening back down into the hole. Yoongi squeezed his eyes shut, doing everything he could to keep his concentration as he worked on closing the exit. I did not understand why he would not simply seal it like he had the other side, but then I suppose the ogre’s magic could have been preventing him from doing so.

My ankle throbbed as I began searching for anything that may help. There was nothing around us for miles. I could just make out a tree line in the distance, but it was nowhere near close enough to offer any help. At my feet, I noticed a particularly large stone and quickly snatched it up. Struggling under its weight, I hobbled over and shoved Seokjin aside. Ignoring his cry of protest, I let the stone fall. It connected with three different ogres, pinning them all down to the ground below. They were scrawny creatures. Nothing at all like how I had imagined them to be. Each one shorter than I was, and each had an ugly scraggly mass of hair on top their heads. Their greyish skin stretched thin across their heads and hands yet was saggy and wrinkly over the rest of their bodies. With heads larger than their chests, the creatures were surely the sight of nightmares. A greenish mucus was built up around their eyes and they squinted as if unable to see clearly because of it.

“So, what is the plan?” I asked as I began picking up and hurling every stone I could get my hands on into the hole.

“Yoongi has to close the exit, but the ogres are using their magic against him.” Seokjin said, glancing up worriedly at Yoongi. “There must be dozens of the horrid creatures down there. Alone, their magic is enough to battle Yoongi’s, but together it appears they are a bit overwhelming.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“All we can do is try to keep them away from Yoongi until he’s managed to close it.”

“You do not possess any magic?” I asked, tossing another particularly large stone at an approaching ogre.

Seokjin’s eyes grew dark and he angrily shoved his hand inside the bag at Yoongi’s waist. “Only Yoongi was blessed with the gift of magic. He alone is our hope of survival.”

I swallowed hard and stole a glance at the wizard. Sweat beaded his forehead and his eyes were kept tightly closed. His hands balled into fists at his side as he chanted words I could not understand.

Seokjin shoved a few small, glowing orbs into my hands.

I recoiled at the slimy texture and wrinkled my nose at the odd scent wafting off them. “What is this?”

“Toss them at the ogres,” Seokjin said, “they shall work far better than the stones.”

I was about to ask how a bundle of glass orbs was going to help us, when Seokjin threw the first one at the nearest ogre. A loud popping sound reverberated through the air and the ogre was thrown back. The creature didn’t move after having been hit squarely in the head with what appeared to be a small explosion.

“You are suggesting we blow them up?”

Seokjin shrugged and threw another orb at an approaching ogre, sending it flying back into the tunnel. “It is worth a try, is it not?”

Deciding it was a better alternative to being devoured by one of the ugly creatures, I joined the man in his endeavor to protect his brother. Though the strategy worked for a time, it was not long before we began running out of orbs, yet still more ogres made their way out of the tunnel.

“Yoongi, it is of no use.” Seokjin said, racing over to shake his brother out of his concentration. “We must run.”

“We would never outrun them.” Yoongi shouted back, anger and frustration brewing in his words.

“Yet we cannot remain here! They will not stop their assault until they have acquired at least one of us. It is clear that their magic combined cannot be overcome with your own. It is time we made our escape. We make for the trees. If we can reach that, we will be able to get away.”

Before Yoongi could respond any further, a scream fell from my lips as I fell forward, my leg having been yanked out from under me. I clawed desperately at the ground, as the creature latched onto my ankle and began pulling me down.

“Emelyn!” The brothers shouted in unison.

Yoongi dove for my hand and Seokjin ran to try and peel the ogre’s hand off my leg. I clung to Yoongi’s arm yet all that managed to accomplish was having us both dragged back toward the opening. Seokjin managed to beat the ogre back until it finally released its hold on me and the three of us scrambled out of reach.

“Run!” Seokjin shouted, helping to lift me to my feet before taking off in the direction of the tree line.

I followed closely behind with Yoongi on my heels. Behind us, I heard the angry screeching of the ogres as they began emerging from the tunnel.

“We’re never going to make it.” Yoongi panted, clutching at his side as he ran. It was clear using his magic was draining. I noticed how his legs shook beneath him as he forced them to keep moving.

“Try to look on the bright side,” Seokjin quipped, “we survived the tunnel. We can survive this.”

Stealing a glance over my shoulder, I saw a hoard of ogres surging toward us. Some carried clubs, others wielding small swords while some came at us with nothing but their magic. Each pursued us with a hungry cry and an evil glint in their eyes.

Yoongi was right. It appeared as though our chances of surviving this encounter were minimal. I rested my gaze on the man in front of me. It was my own doing which had brought on the ogre attack. Whether it was due to the fresh scent of human flesh on the mountain which drew them in, or the ruckus I caused with the basilisk, I knew the brothers would not be running for their lives if I had simply not shown up at their doorstep.

Looking to the sky, I wished again that Jungkook was with us. Perhaps he would have had a few ideas on how to stop the gruesome creatures.

The first vine shot up two feet from Yoongi’s face. He yelped, skidding to a halt before skirting around it. I glanced behind us once more to find the ogres advancing. They may have been small and disproportioned, but they were fast.

Another root shot up and tangled itself around Seokjin’s foot, sending him crashing to the ground. I dove to help but Yoongi was quicker. He shot a beam of purple light at the root and it shriveled away back into the ground. Seokjin scrambled to his feet once more and we continued our retreat.

“We’re not going to make it!” Seokjin shouted, leaping to the side to avoid another shooting vine.

“We have to!” I shouted in return, determined I was not about to become an ogre’s meal.

A strangled scream escaped my lips when the vine shot up beside me and wrapped securely around my waist, sending me crashing to the ground. My hands clawed at the plant as it began dragging me back. Distantly, I heard the others shout after me, but my focus was held entirely on escaping. Tears clouded my vision as I struggled against its hold. Blinking rapidly, I craned my neck to look across my shoulder, only to wish that I hadn’t. The ogre whose magic was holding me, stood only a few feet away. A gruesome smile stretched across its face.

My head snapped back around when I felt two pairs of hands wrap around both my legs. Seokjin and Yoongi both began pulling me away from the approaching ogre. I screamed as the vine’s hold on my waist grew tighter and I began struggling to breathe. Still, the struggle continued. My fingers clawed viciously at the plant, yet the effort was pointless.

Yet another root shot from the ground then, wrapping itself around Seokjin’s neck. Yoongi screamed and immediately tackled his brother, fighting against the root as Seokjin’s face grew redder with every passing second.

I froze, watching with bated breath. Yoongi’s magic wasn’t working against it and brute strength was not going to work either. Something had to be done, but what? My arm scraped against a rough surface and I hissed in pain, frowning as I peered down to see what it was. My eyes grew wide when I saw it. One of the ogre’s clubs lay abandoned and forgotten in the tall grass. Scrambling to snatch it up, I twisted around and threw every ounce of strength I had into bashing the approaching ogre over the head. It swayed for a moment before crumpling to the ground, the vine immediately releasing its grip on me once the ogre was out.

Leaping to my feet, I rushed to Yoongi’s aid. Seokjin had long since lost consciousness, his face unnaturally red. He was not breathing. My chest ached as I thought of the worst. I did not want to believe it, but my gut told me one of us would not be surviving the night.

Large tears trailed down Yoongi’s cheeks as he fought with the root. Dropping down beside him, I snatched the bag at his waist and dug inside.

“Yoongi! Do you have any more of those odd smelling orbs?”

“What?” He snapped, not bothering to cease his efforts to free his brother.

“Never mind,” my hand wrapped around a familiar slimy orb and I pulled it out triumphantly.

Yoongi’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “What are you doing? That will kill him.”

“It is not for your brother,” I nodded toward the ogre drawing closer, “it’s for him.”

With as much force as I could muster, I threw the orb at the creature. It connected with the ogre’s chest, sending him flying back. Seconds later, the root around Seokjin’s neck went slack.

Yoongi ripped it off and began shaking his brother, trying to wake him.

I laid a hand on his shoulder; my attention being drawn to the mass of ugly creatures coming toward us. “Yoongi, we need to leave.”

“Wake up, Seokjin. I cannot lift you on my own. Wake up!” Yoongi’s voice shook as he pleaded with an unconscious Seokjin.

“I will help.” I said, reaching down to loop one of Seokjin’s arms around my neck. “But we must hurry.”

Yoongi nodded, jumping to his feet.

We carried Seokjin between us, his feet dragging across the ground as we raced for the tree line.

The ogres were growing tired of the chase. They wanted their meal and it was escaping. The ground beneath us began to tremble and Yoongi suddenly froze in his tracks. His voice shook when he screamed for me to get down. Before I could so much as blink, we were surrounded by a haze of soft purple light. An explosion of light shook the earth and the ringing in my ears forced my hands up to cover them. Ducking my head, I fell to the ground beside Seokjin, praying for it to be over quickly.

As the ground finally stopped shaking and the ringing in my ears faded, I slowly raised my head. The world was hazy and spun around me. Sounds were muffled causing me to become disoriented as I searched for Yoongi, my eyes eventually coming to rest on a hazy figure which I assumed to be the wizard. What I did not understand was why he seemed to be moving away from where Seokjin and I were. Glancing down, I realized with a shock that Seokjin wasn’t there. Snapping my head back up, I blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear my vision. Yoongi was chasing after a group of ogres as they carried a large floppy lump between them.

“No,” I breathed as my vision finally returned to full focus. It was Seokjin.

Scrambling to my feet, I nearly fell back to the ground as the world continued to spin madly. My feet stumbled forward, chasing after them. I was not sure what had transpired just moments ago, yet most of the ogres had gone. The few who remained were the ones carting Yoongi’s brother away.

Yoongi tripped, crashing to the ground in a heap, yet he did not remain there for long. Pushing himself back to his feet, he chased after them again. Anguished cries left his lips as he desperately tried to awaken his brother. Cries which fell on deaf ears.

The ogres disappeared back into the hole which they’d crawled out of, sealing off the entrance as they did. Yoongi shouted after them, dropping to the ground where the exit had been. His hands tore at the ground with uncontrolled desperation, sending grass and dirt flying in every direction. Sobs wracked his body as I slowly approached. I was not sure what to say or do. My heart ached for Yoongi as I silently watched him tear apart the earth. I had acted much the same way when my mother was taken. After having been suspected of using magic, my father and I had been forced to watch as she was carried away. I had spent the next several days at the doors of the prison. My hands had become bloodied and bruised from the constant attempts to open the door. It had only been a few days later when she was publicly executed, as an example of what would come to anyone who practiced magic.

Dropping to my knees beside him, I gently wrapped my arms around Yoongi’s shaking shoulders. He tried to throw me off only twice before falling into my embrace. His shook his head as he cried into my shoulder, his hands wrapped securely in the fabric of my dress.

We remained that way for a little while. Yoongi’s sobs eventually calming and his breathing became a bit steadier. I held him tightly. I knew there was nothing I could say which would ease his pain. There was nothing I could do to bring his brother back to him. The most I could do was remind him that he was not alone.

 After a while, Yoongi sat back and wiped at his eyes, which had glazed over as he stared at the place his brother had disappeared.

Reaching over, I took his hand in mine, gently rubbing my thumb across his skin. Glancing over, his eyes dropped to our hands before rising back up to meet my eyes. “He was my best friend.”

Those five words shattered my heart. No one would ever be able to replace what he’d lost. Squeezing his hand, I let him know he wasn’t alone. I may not have been able to change things, but I was not going to leave him on his own.

Looking at Yoongi then, I wondered if I was truly doing the right thing. I had left my family behind to fight for our kingdom. Jungkook was lost because I had sent us out on an impossible journey, and now Seokjin was gone as well. It seemed everywhere I went, I brought destruction with me. Perhaps if I had simply stayed locked in my room, none of this would have happened. If I had only accepted Taehyung’s offer in marriage, Seokjin would still be alive. I had vowed to make things right when I left the castle, yet all I had managed to do was make those around me suffer in unimaginable ways. Would I truly be able to restore peace to my kingdom? I was no longer sure I could. 

[set-in-stone-writing]

30. SPLINTER

Thoughts around the fire.

Winds bite at the desert sands. 

Stars shine bright in the night sky high above, and what may be winks in and out of existence in the distance. 

The cycle of life and death is everywhere.

They both see it.

Teacher and student. Mother and son. Creator and destroyer. 

One and the same.

She looks at him tiredly over the flames. 

“And you believe them to be gone?”

Not a bit of sadness. Of longing. Just a cold and harsh inquiry.

He looks back at her with the same glance. Tired. His lips purse before unfurling to speak. 

“It’s… proven… proven more and more difficult to find them.”

His voice is a whisper with volume, like the sort of thing that ruffles the back of your hair.

“And you believe that to be… the product of what?”

Her voice is like scorched earth, singular, direct, driven with a purpose.

“We banished you.”

That they did.

“You had help.”

Always defiant.  Her master is probably laughing wherever he is. (For all his curses? The hells probably.)

“And when… when I didn’t?”

Otolin raises a fine point.

They were alone at the end of it all.  Teacher and student.  Predator and prey. Mother and son. Killer and soon-to-be killed. Creator and destroyer. Her side and the splinter that needles. Burrows. 

He is the bane of her existence.

The failure. 

But even he has his uses. 

“You didn’t kill me.”

He just stares. 

Unblinking. Unmoving. The flames flicker and dance about his visage, only making the shadow he casts a little longer. Bigger. To a child, it might even be terrifying. 

When he speaks, it’s with… a little something more.

“You learn more by… by scratching by and living through your mistakes.”

Emelyn stares.

Then she opens her mouth.

And laughs. 

A howl that might make wolves hunt them down.  (They’d be no threat.)

When she’s done, the smile painted on her features has spread to reveal her teeth.

“You did listen, didn’t you?”

A pause.

“I listened. Whether or not I… I made it part of me is another story.”

Again, he’s right. 

A failure.

Maybe it’s more than just using him.

“You wish to know where they are? Our little group? The youth? The old?”

“Yes.”

His answer is quick. Direct. Not at all drawn out. 

“Why?”

An inquiry again.

“To help… help them get their… their feet back under them.”

Emelyn stares. 

Otolin looks back.

Of course he does.

Forgiveness. 

Even after all they did to him, even after everything-

He wishes to help. Who’s really the creator?  The destroyer? 

Both.

“Fine.”

Perhaps he can go be a splinter in another’s side instead of hers.

“They are…”

Their conversation is lost to the wind.