Suga Fluff - Tumblr Posts

Him and I, and these heavenly drops

Kim Namjoon

Kim Seokjin

Min Yoongi

Jung Hoseok

Park Jimin

Kim Taehyung

Jeon Jungkook

Illicit Affairs - Yoongi

Pairing: Yoongi x reader (nicknamed Kitten)

Wordcount: 13.2k

Genre: smut, fluff, established relationship, idol!Au

Rating: 18+

Plot: After exchanging a series of steamy texts while he was away, finally Yoongi and Kitten manage to meet again; however, the boldness of their previous exchanges makes room for more tender feelings. In the ten days that follow their reunion, they manage to find balance between their jobs and the nights spent together in Yoongi’s apartment, sharing intimacy and passion.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Swearing. These two swear a lot. Breast worship (touching, kissing, licking, biting, marking, scratching, bruising), masturbation (male and female receiving), oral sex (male receiving), cumplay, cum eating, cream pie, unprotected sex (use a condom unless you’re all clean), phone sex, sexting, (on a plane too, which sort of leads us to mile high club, kinda…?) A fair amount of making out and dirty talking. That should be all. Mild oral fixation. If you squint. And crying after sex (in the best way possible, I promise)

Here is the music companion! (spotify link) And here is my masterlist

Enjoy 💜✨

Keep reading

[12:07 a.m.] the night is young but here you are, barely able to form a simple sentence as you stumble over your own two feet, the after-effects of the alcohol weighing you down quite heavily. it’s a fucking amazing thing that you are not alone, though, because helping you unlock the door and enter your shared apartment is none other than your (ridiculously attractive) roommate yoongi. the man’s a music producer and when he gets a call to come to the club from anyone else, he flatly replies, “no, I’m busy,” before proceeding to hang up the phone. however, he has a different set of rules whenever you’re involved. that’s why when he saw your caller ID and picked up the phone, your friend answered, “yoongi? y/n’s plastered off her ass, you need to take her home.” he didn’t think twice before securing his jacket and driving over to pick you up.

as soon as you enter the doorway, you push yourself past yoongi and beeline over to the couch. you pop yourself onto the cushions and lazily blink back at him, and you can tell that he’s exhausted. his eyes are a little droopy, and his face has gone pale but truth be told, he still looks like the most angelic person in the room.

“wait here, and don’t move,” yoongi instructs and goes into the hallway. a few moments later, he returns with a bottle of water. he sits directly in front of you on the ground and he hands you the bottle of water (after opening it for you like the gentleman he is), before proceeding to undo your shoes. You stare down intently as he unbuckles the heels, and you can only think that no one has cared this much for you in a long time. after your shoes are removed, yoongi looks up at you. “what’s going on, y/n? is everything okay?”

you’re nervous now because you don’t know what to tell him; you’ve had the craziest revelation that has been eating away at you for who knows how long. how in the world do you tell your roommate that you’re in love with him? eventually, things had to boil over which is what’s led you to make the worst decision which was to drink more than you can normally take. you can’t imagine what rejection would be like from someone that you live with, so you decided against telling him. however, now that he has presented this question to you, all you can do is whimper and look at him with teary, red eyes. “I can’t tell you,” is all you say, and his eyebrows furrow. “I won’t push you. but let’s get you ready for bed, okay?” his hand reaches to wipe your tears, and for a second his palm lingers, warming up the side of your face.

he helps you up and walks you to the bathroom, closing the toilet lid for you to sit down on. he reaches for your makeup remover wipes and begins to clean the various layers of cosmetics from your skin, with a touch so gentle it’s as if he’s cleaning a porcelain doll. “yoongi, can I tell you something?” you whisper, the alcohol beginning to dilute in your system. “of course, sweetheart, anything.” you look directly into his eyes and let out a long sigh. “I went out drinking today because… I don’t want to hear a rejection.” yoongi blinks back, confused. you continue, “I like you. a lot. as more than a friend. and I don’t want to know if you don’t like me the same way, because then it’ll be weird and we live together and it’s gonna make you uncomfortable then I-” you stop talking when yoongi places an index finger to your lips. “you’re rambling, y/n,” yoongi’s ears are tinted red and you can see that he’s nervous: his gaze is darting everywhere and he’s constantly licking his lips, perhaps looking for the right thing to say. he always knows the right thing to say.

“I like you a lot too, y/n. I have for a little while now. all I need you to know right this moment is that I would never reject you. ever. for now, though, let’s get you changed and in bed, we can talk in the morning, okay?” you know he’s not just dismissing you because you see the sincerity in his eyes and you just hope he can see it in yours, too. he grabs your hands and walks you to your room where he gathers some pajamas and lets you change. once you’ve finished, he tucks you into bed but before leaving, he sits on the edge of it and gently strokes the top of your head. “goodnight, beautiful. I will see you in the morning.” he smiles down at you and bends over to leave a searing kiss on your forehead that you swear you can feel for the rest of the night after he leaves to his room. tomorrow’s very much anticipated on your end and on the other side of the wall, yoongi can’t help but fantasize about what awaits him the next morning as well.

Dating advice

Summary: It’s been months – ok, it’s been years – since you last went on a date. And you’re sick of it. Sick of seeing couples kissing and holding hands in the street. Sick of your friends settling down. Sick of everyone buying houses and having families. You’re going to do something about it. You’re going to snap up a man, you’re going to tie someone down, you’re going to finally commit, you’re going to – you’re going to need a bit of advice.

Pairing: Yoongi x reader

Genre: fluff; angst; smut

Word count: 54k

Status: Complete

Warnings: Relevant warnings will be posted on each part. Drinking, low self esteem, swearing, explicit sexual content (towards the end).

Authors Note: Now complete! Thanks to anyone read this at the time, I hope whoever reads this in the future enjoys :)

Part one 

Part two

Part three

Part four

Part five

Part six

Part seven

Part eight 

Part nine

Part ten

Part eleven

Part twelve

Part thirteen

Part fourteen

Part fifteen

Part sixteen

Part seventeen

Part eighteen

Part nineteen

Part twenty

the bedroom hymns ● prologue

⟶ Chapter summary | Was it simply an urban legend, or a myth, or perhaps a curse? Smotia may have been known as a prosperous land, rich in its resources and nature, thriving with its hardworking men and women. But the world also talks about its mystery, about the mysterious evil residing in the shadows, waiting in silence, watching every single one of your move.

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 6,9k words ⟶ Ratings & Warnings | +18 / M for Mature; nothing much for this chapter, only appearances of alcohol use, drinking, rumours about serial killers, mentions of abductions, mentions/depictions of domestic abuse ⟶ Story Masterlist | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Taglist: @veronawrites​​ - @petalsofink​​ - @mrskimjoon​​ - @piecsblog​​ - @lithelilith​​ - @borahaerhy​​ — @manjir0​​

prologue. the bluebeard’s tale

There is a dark tale looming across the Land of Smotia.

A tale that has been passed down from one generation to another, spoken by the elders to keep the young from wandering out of their homes during nightfall, and to keep the men from committing bad deeds and sin.

The tale speaks of an evil being that lurks in the night and haunts the towns in the dark. Any mention of this evil being would instil fear among the people. Even the little children would cry and shudder when they hear his name. Yet it never stops people from whispering his name, gossiping about all the things that he may have done to earn such a reputation, and telling each other about the origin story of his existence and how his name ever came to be in the first place.

Weiterlesen

the bedroom hymns ● prologue

⟶ Chapter summary | Was it simply an urban legend, or a myth, or perhaps a curse? Smotia may have been known as a prosperous land, rich in its resources and nature, thriving with its hardworking men and women. But the world also talks about its mystery, about the mysterious evil residing in the shadows, waiting in silence, watching every single one of your move.

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 6,9k words ⟶ Ratings & Warnings | +18 / M for Mature; nothing much for this chapter, only appearances of alcohol use, drinking, rumours about serial killers, mentions of abductions, mentions/depictions of domestic abuse ⟶ Story Masterlist | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Taglist: @veronawrites​​ - @petalsofink​​ - @mrskimjoon​​ - @piecsblog​​ - @lithelilith​​ - @borahaerhy​​ — @manjir0​​

prologue. the bluebeard’s tale

There is a dark tale looming across the Land of Smotia.

A tale that has been passed down from one generation to another, spoken by the elders to keep the young from wandering out of their homes during nightfall, and to keep the men from committing bad deeds and sin.

The tale speaks of an evil being that lurks in the night and haunts the towns in the dark. Any mention of this evil being would instil fear among the people. Even the little children would cry and shudder when they hear his name. Yet it never stops people from whispering his name, gossiping about all the things that he may have done to earn such a reputation, and telling each other about the origin story of his existence and how his name ever came to be in the first place.

Weiterlesen

the bedroom hymns ● chapter i

⟶ Chapter summary | It is time for your night escapade to come to an end, for you to return to the real world and face the reality waiting back home. You return home celebrating the brief sense of freedom that you found tonight, completely oblivious to the presence secretly watching you from afar.

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Fantasy au, Fairytale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 8,2k words ⟶ Ratings & Warnings | +18 / M for Mature; nothing much for this chapter, only appearances of alcohol use, drinking, rumours about serial killers, mentions of abductions ⟶ Story Masterlist | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Taglist: @borahaerhy​ — @manjir0 — @veronawrites​ — @petalsofink​ — @mrskimjoon​ — @piecsblog​ — @lithelilith​ — @janura26 — @itsshaydeekaydee​ — @unsureofwhathappens​

chapter i. when the stars are aligned

Even when the night has turned dark and deep, the beauty of Smotia is hard to conceal.

Perched atop of one of the highest hills on the outskirts of the city, you earn a good view of Smotia from high up. Normally, you wouldn’t have lingered far too long during your night excursions, in fear of getting lost track of time—which is something that has happened to you before—and for getting found out that you had escaped from home or being recognised by someone you may come across. But your curiosity had drawn you up here, unable to deny your desire to have one last good look of the place that you call home.

Weiterlesen

the bedroom hymns ● chapter ii

⟶ Chapter summary | Your father has never been a man with many words, but he has always been a man with many secrets, and now there is someone else sharing your deep curiosity, waiting for a chance to unravel them.  

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 7,4k words ⟶ Ratings & Warnings | +18 / M for Mature; nothing much for this chapter, only mentions of alcohol use, drinking, intoxications, mentions of abductions, mentions of arranged marriages, depiction of war ⟶ Story Masterlist | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Permanent Taglist | @borahaerhy — @manjir0 — @veronawrites — @petalsofink — @mrskimjoon — @piecsblog — @lithelilith — @janura26 — @itsshaydeekaydee — @unsureofwhathappens — @tarahardcore — @piratequeen-impact — @idkjustlovingbts — @purplebeebs​ — @dungeonwitchy​ — @valentinesbts​

chapter ii. the wicked king

Once upon a time, long before Nythelean Empire rose to power and The Citadel stood proudly at the heart of the city, nothing existed within the Land of Smotia but the endless spread of untouched fertile land surrounded by the untamed woodland and wild mountains.

Weiterlesen

the bedroom hymns ● chapter ii

⟶ Chapter summary | Your father has never been a man with many words, but he has always been a man with many secrets, and now there is someone else sharing your deep curiosity, waiting for a chance to unravel them.  

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 7,4k words ⟶ Ratings & Warnings | +18 / M for Mature; nothing much for this chapter, only mentions of alcohol use, drinking, intoxications, mentions of abductions, mentions of arranged marriages, depiction of war ⟶ Story Masterlist | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Permanent Taglist | @borahaerhy — @manjir0 — @veronawrites — @petalsofink — @mrskimjoon — @piecsblog — @lithelilith — @janura26 — @itsshaydeekaydee — @unsureofwhathappens — @tarahardcore — @piratequeen-impact — @idkjustlovingbts — @purplebeebs​ — @dungeonwitchy​ — @valentinesbts​

chapter ii. the wicked king

Once upon a time, long before Nythelean Empire rose to power and The Citadel stood proudly at the heart of the city, nothing existed within the Land of Smotia but the endless spread of untouched fertile land surrounded by the untamed woodland and wild mountains.

Weiterlesen

the bedroom hymns ● chapter viii

⟶ Chapter summary | As Yoongi returns home, he is welcomed by the shadows of his past, and the secret behind his journey being challenged and questioned. At the same time, you slowly begin to unravel your father’s secrets, as you begin to learn more about his magic,  and you continue following the shadows of his footsteps to find out what he has planned.  

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader  ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 12,1k words ⟶ Ratings | PG-13, +18 / M for Mature for future chapters; mentions of war, dark magic, a brief mention/hint of stalking  ⟶ Story Masterlist | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi

⟶ Author’s note | We’re finally getting a long chapter! I contemplated between dropping this part as a full chapter or to split it into two, but I figured it would be best to combine the scenes as they work much better if being shared and told at the same time. That being said, I might be taking a break from posting the chapters for a couple of weeks (just a week or two, maybe) to finish the rest of the upcoming chapters so we can have some more regular updates. I’ll be back soon with more thrilling scenes, I promise. But for now, I hope this long chapter will fill your days as we wait for the next ones to come :)

chapter viii. chasing shadows

Yoongi never truly understood why he was able to find solace while he was staying in Smotia until he finally returned home.

Emburn Empire, Min Yoongi’s home kingdom and the home of the fairies, can be quite distinctive compared to any other kingdoms that inhabit the Land of Far Far Away. Its vast territory rises from one of the most sequestered regions of the fairy tale land, divided into three separate sections connecting Emburn Empire with the three different elements of nature which support the empire as a whole—on the land, its landed territory that is united with the main continent of the fairy tale land; on the water, the small province floating against the rough waves of the Carmine Sea; and on the air, presented by the patch of island housing the main government of Embun which levitates gracefully above the continent, floating among the thick white clouds on the blue-grey sky above.

Here, much like in Smotia, greens in various hues cover the expanse of Emburn. Widespread of green grass and a vast variety of trees blanket the range of hills, with dense clusters of tall trees crowning the rising terrains and stowed between the dip of valleys. Some trees grow here just as wide as the people’s homes and almost as tall as the sky above, with many that are almost older than the entire empire itself. Thick clusters of wild ivy smother the stone walls of the Imperial Palace and the people’s houses in the towns, and flowers bloom in a myriad of shapes and colours that only exist here in the Emburn Empire.

Yoongi recalls all the dawns and mornings he spent sitting on top of the tallest hills in Smotia, looking away from the towns and the mercenary camps to enjoy the sight of the canopies of trees and the widespread meadows and finding similarities there to the sea of green waiting for him back home. Oftentimes, he would wonder how the empire that was built within the human realm could have given him a sense of familiarity which reminded him of his home. Whenever he remembered how Smotia existed in the borders between two realms, he would find himself wondering if the similarities had been deliberately created to mirror their closest neighbour, albeit their existence is separated by the portals hidden in the depth of the Elcester Forest. And that was before Yoongi learned of the truth about the Wicked King’s true antecedents and the true history behind his ascension as the ruler of the Nythelean Empire.

Had King Aneas done it on purpose, then? That he had built his new home in the human realm which resembled the land where he had once been, taking everything that he had learned from his former ally about making use of the land’s resources to establish his empire and to support his people?

Because just like how Nythelean Empire gain their resources from the Land of Smotia, the fertile land, the green hills, the abundant woodlands and fresh springs that spread all over the territories of Emburn are the ones that have helped the empire and its people to thrive for a long period of time. But unlike in Smotia, resources are not the only things that the people of Emburn could gain from nature.

One look was all he needed to see, through the first sight that Yoongi had taken from his homeland on the day he emerged in the bluffs after leaving Smotia behind, to remind him that the two empires are not one and the same. Arriving at the bluffs at dawn, he traveled towards the southeast of Earthpeak Cliffs and across the borders between kingdoms, where the sight of the territory of Emburn first welcomed him. The green hills of the landed territory of his homeland opened for him like a warm embrace. The sight and the feeling that overcame him as he marched his loyal mare, Aspen, through the borders had been almost comparable to what he experienced the first time he first came through the borders of Smotia.

Yet all the similarities ended once he finally reached the area where the landed territory of Emburn and the capital city were connected, where the first sign of Emburn’s distinctive nature could be seen.

What doesn’t exist in the vast fertile land of Smotia is magic. The same kind of magic that exists here in every part of the land, drifting in the air that Yoongi breathes, and is constantly felt by every single inhabitant living within the territories of Emburn Empire. This old magic is what becomes the empire’s source of power ever since the day it was established and built by Yoongi’s ancestors, with the emperor and empress sitting on its throne becoming the pillar and the core that hold the magic together, binding it and keeping it stable for many years.

It is the same powerful magic that allows the capital city of Emburn and the Imperial Palace to defy gravity, levitating far above the mainland and higher than the peaks of Earthpeak Cliff, the tallest rocky mountains which stand above the Carmine Sea.

The sight of the levitating capital city which Yoongi saw the moment he reached the heart of Emburn had become clear evidence and reminder of how different his homeland truly is, not only compared to the human land of Smotia but also to all the places he visited throughout his journey. Beyond the sight of the sea of green that welcomed him in the landed provinces, appeared to his eyes the majestic sight of Marble Falls, the flowing waterfalls that descend all the way from the grounds of the Imperial Palace in the sky and down to the Armere River that flows between the range of hills in the grounded region of Emburn in the mainland.

This powerful magic was first found by the ancient fairies who once roamed this part of the fairy tale land, passed down to Yoongi’s blood ancestors who built the empire from the ground up to create a peaceful haven for the fairies in Far Far Away land. The magic that still exists today, the one that is holding the empire together in the present, and the same magic that becomes the cure to Yoongi’s ailment, helping him piece together the bond that he has with his mana which has grown weak and fragile during his time away from home.

It had only taken Yoongi mere seconds after breathing in the fresh air here in Emburn and stepping through the gates of the Imperial Palace for his power to begin knitting itself together. He could feel every fractured piece of his mana strengthening itself until his powers began coursing through his body once again, until he was finally able to heal. In an instant, his senses were heightened, the mana flow within him stopped rebelling against him and it began to calm down, settling peacefully the way it should have been.

Days have gone by since his arrival, and before he realises it, those days are slowly turning into weeks. Albeit his mana has yet to fully return to its normal state, Yoongi is quite relieved to have made the decision to return home, allowing him the chance to not only recover the magic within him but also to gain more strength before he returns to finish his journey.

Sometimes, when he would roam through the imperial palace on his own, he would be filled with guilt and realisation that he should have probably listened to Yijeong’s advice about returning to Emburn so he could recover. If only he had listened and hadn’t been so stubborn about staying in Smotia, knowing that the chances of him finding what he was after had been slim, perhaps he would have been able to use his powers when he needed them the most.

But that was all in the past now, and all he can focus on now is to recover completely while thinking of ways to make up for his obstinacy once he gets back to where Yijeong is. Because recovering his powers hadn’t been the only thing that Yoongi had managed to gain by coming home.

Ever since the moment he arrived back to the land of Far Far Away, Yoongi immediately noticed the peculiarity hanging in the air. He could easily sense the turbulences happening in the fairy tale land, recognising immediately that something had been brewing in his absence. Warning bells kept ringing in his head as he entered the home castle with cautions upon his arrival. His shoulders had been heavy, not knowing what to expect as he made his way to see his parents.

While it wasn’t bad news which welcomed him home, the odd exchange that he had with his mother during their first reunion didn’t help much to reassure him about the situation.

“Was it really necessary for you to be away for so long? What could have been more important than being here, for you to prepare for the crown and handle the matters around the empire in place of the Emperor?” 

Empress Ariane had always shown Yoongi a form strict of love, as she had always placed the matters of the crown and the empire above everything else, including her own son. In her eyes, Yoongi is not just her biological son, but the Crown Prince and the sole heir of the Emburn Empire, and she has always reminded Yoongi of his role at every chance she gets. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to Yoongi when she immediately brought up his duty to the empire and the crown upon his return home, to remind him of the need for him to focus on preparing himself to take the Emperor’s place once it was due time for him to take the responsibility.

Yet there was something in the way the Empress addressed the matter which had been bothering Yoongi. His own conscience has been brewing with suspicions, and it has kept nagging him in the back of his mind that he finds it hard to shake the thoughts away, even to this day.

“What if something happens to—” the Empress’ words broke and shattered at the mention of the Emperor while they sat together in the throne room the day Yoongi first came to see her. Hurt flickered through her gaze, though she quickly blinked it away before Yoongi could say something about it or look deeper into her thoughts at that moment. “What if something happens while you are out there running amok doing heavens know what? You know I wouldn’t be able to handle this entire empire by myself.”

Yoongi never said a thing in return except making a promise that everything would be okay, regardless of what the Empress was trying to imply. There was no need for her mother to finish her words, as Yoongi could already hear it in his head.

What if something happens to the Emperor?

“Nothing is going to happen. I am sure of it.” Yoongi said this to the Empress with full conviction, as he had truly made sure of the safety of the empire and the Emperor before his departure from home.

Emperor Aymon, the ruler of the Emburn Empire and Yoongi’s biological father, has been bedridden from a mysterious illness which started two years ago. The ailment had come out of nowhere, when the strong and healthy Emperor unexpectedly started to grow weak. It had all begun with the Emperor losing control of his mana flow, until the magic within him began fighting back against him, erupting through his whole body while hurting him from the inside. Once the powerful mana began to simmer down, it almost seemed like every drop of magic within him had been wasted, and so did his soul.

Even the entire empire was hurting, as his magic—that was supposed to stabilise the powerful magic within the home of the fairies—started weakening. The unexpected changes of weather caused the crops to fail and prevented fishing ships from sailing out across the Carmine Sea. Earthquakes and storms happened every so often that people kept having to build new homes, while a series of peculiar illnesses began to spread in towns.

To this, the Emperor had chosen to lock himself in one of the tallest towers in the Imperial Palace, not only for the sake of himself and to prevent his magic from harming people around him, but also to preserve the magic that he had left to keep his empire under control. Even once the Empress and the High Priest of Emburn managed to aid him in stabilising the empire with their magic, Emperor Aymon remained in his refuge while doing his best he could to find a way to heal.

Yoongi still remembers the days he spent with the Emperor during the height of his sickness. The fairy king had always appeared to his eyes as the most powerful being he had ever known. But during that period of time, it seemed to him that his father was withering right in front of his eyes, appearing more frail than he used to be as the Emperor laid down on the massive bed where he had been resting during the time of his illness.

But at the same time, the Emperor still appeared to him as the strongest person he had always known. When even at his most critical condition, the Emperor still did his best to fulfil his duty as the ruler to use the rest of his magic to keep the empire and their homeland from crumbling apart.

If only Yoongi had been as indifferent as how the Empress had made him to be—both to the Emperor’s condition and the turbulences occurring in his home kingdom—he would have thought that Empress Ariane’s inquiries had come from a place of concern. The concern she might have felt for the Emperor’s wellbeing, and what might happen to the empire with the Crown Prince being away during the Emperor’s absence.

Yet, seeing the truth now, Yoongi remains haunted by a lingering doubt.

Unbeknownst to the Empress, Yoongi had visited Emperor Aymon not long before leaving Emburn. Not only had the Emperor always known what Yoongi had been up to during his time away from home, but it had actually been the Emperor himself who sent him off on his journey in the first place.

“I want you to do me a favour while I still exist in this realm. It will be quite challenging of a task should you take it, and it wouldn’t be an easy path, but it is necessary that you go into this journey to prevent the upcoming turmoil that may arise in the Land Far Far Away in the near future.”

That day, the Emperor sat down on his bed, his back resting on the headrest as he spoke to Yoongi. He seemed resolved as he relayed his request to his son. But for the most part, he also appeared resigned, as if he was ready to welcome the end of his time should it come to him. But for the first time after a while, Yoongi had also noticed that his father had looked like he was in a much better shape than he usually would, which gave him a sense of relief, albeit briefly. Because no matter how well-shaped he looked as he sat there looking into his son’s eyes, the Emperor’s voice still showed how weary he truly was.

“If you are willing to take this challenge for me, you have to promise me two things,” Emperor Aymon said then. His voice came out stern, and his words came like a warning that Yoongi had no other choice but to agree and make a promise to follow his words. Only then did the Emperor continue with the list of requirements that Yoongi needed to follow. “One, you must go into this with an open mind and forget everything that you’ve learned about the war between kingdoms that was written in the books. Two, you must never let your mother know about my request. Promise me this.”

Yoongi had questioned this specific request from his father at first, yet the warnings given to him had made him grow cautious enough to make sure that he wouldn’t be leaving the Emperor alone without someone watching over him while Yoongi was away. Before he left, Yoongi had ordered a few of his trusted men to keep watch on the Emperor, warning them to trust nobody except for Yoongi. Not even the Empress herself.

He hated not being able to trust his own mother, but the situation that happened after had proven that he had made the right call. As now that even the Empress and the Royal Aides are being placed under close watch, the Emperor’s condition has been getting better. Though Yoongi has been adamant about keeping this information a secret between himself and his men, that not even the Empress knows about the Emperor’s improving health.

It has caused him to feel unsettled, not knowing who to trust even in his own empire. Yet the situation had only given him more reason to do what his father willed him to, as he set off to fulfil not only the Emperor’s request, but also his own intention.

Tonight would be the last night Yoongi would be spending at his home.

Tomorrow, he would have to decide if he should return to Smotia and regroup with his men, or if he should start investigating the Wicked King more closely to know what he is up to. Yoongi knows that he has been gone from his camp for too long, and through the reports sent to him by his men, he has heard that many things have been happening with the Nythelean Empire since the day he left Smotia.

It has made him feel anxious, suddenly afraid that he would miss the perfect opportunity of accomplishing his tasks, now that the Wicked King is on the move. Once again, he regrets for not taking his time to recover sooner, as his departure from Smotia seems to have only caused him the long restless nights filled with all the ’what ifs’, wondering if Fates are trying to stop him from doing what he is required to do.

To calm his thoughts, Yoongi steps away from his bedchamber once the night has fallen. When the night is deep, Yoongi often feels a heavy awareness hanging in the air around him, as if warning him about the shift happening in the fairy tale land and there is something looming in the horizon that he needs to be wary of.

Normally, he would simply reside in his room when this happens, where the stiff tension that he has been constantly feeling would not be able to mess with his mana flow. Or, he would spend the night in the library, trying to make sense of everything that the Emperor had told him as he dives right into the books that were written about the ancient kingdoms, the great war between kingdoms that had once rattled the land of Far Far Away, and about the ancient magic spells—one of which had been the same one that had allowed him to walk into his soulmate’s dream.

Tonight, Yoongi chooses to spend his time roaming through the dark hallways of the Imperial Palace with no destination in mind.

For the first time after a long while, he allows his mana to lead the way instead of giving in to the silence. He tracks down even the passageways within the castle that he had rarely traveled through—passing the vacant rooms and the Royal Guards’ posts, past the Great Hall where the empire would often hold their annual festivities, and he continues walking until he suddenly finds himself crossing the palace’s courtyard and entering the Lumina Apex Hall, where the source of the elemental magic that the Emperor has casted onto the palace’s grounds can be found.

Originally built by his ancestors as a temple to worship the moon—which was once believed to be the source of Emburn’s magic—the Lumina Apex Hall has become a fixture within the Imperial Palace’s grounds where the Emperor would spend late hours in the night to cast his magic, casting the spells that are needed to maintain control of his empire and its vast territories under his reign.

With walls and pillars built with Clayntine stone, one of the most durable materials that could only be found in the land of Emburn, and windows made of Shadow Crystals, the Lumina Apex Hall lights up in the nightfall with structures that reflect the moonlight perfectly like mirrors. Located at the center of the Royal Garden, the structure is partly covered with a layer of wild vines growing along its walls and pillars which have rapidly developed with time. Thick hedges and flowers blooming in pastel colours line up on either side of the pathway leading to its front door which has been left unlocked for the Empress and the Royal Priests’ daily visit.

A burst of energy welcomes him as Yoongi enters through the door. There are no lights inside the main atrium, yet moonlight streams through the Shadow Crystals that form the dome ceiling above the atrium, illuminating the hall perfectly with streaks of soft light spreading across the stone floors and bouncing against the stone walls. Standing at the center of the atrium, his eyes roam through the walls around him.

Even here, inside the stone walls, vegetation grows rapidly between the pillars. The overgrowth of vines appears along the pillars, bushes rise from the ground to cover the pale-coloured walls, and a thin layer of grass emerges where the floor tiles made of Osnite stones are split. As Yoongi looks up, he gets to see the bright display of stars which adorn the night sky of Emburn. The sight of the dancing aurora in copper and gold in the sky should have been daunting, when Yoongi notices that the shades seem darker than they usually would, presenting the shadows of peril in its wake.

Yet the sky seems brighter tonight than it usually does, with stars glimmering in the night sky, surrounding the aurora like a protective blanket. Somehow, it gives Yoongi a sense of peace to be walking under such a phenomenon as he steps towards the center of the atrium, where a small pond made of Clayntine stone stands on its own, taking over the space at the heart of the Apex Hall. Around the pond, specks of silver and cyan blue glitters appear to be floating around it instead of a flowing stream, beginning from its center and moving out towards where the streaks of moonlight are falling into the room.

He reaches out to touch the silver specks, feeling them crackle against the tips of his fingers before he retracts his hand. Smiling at the sight of the flowing magic that is the essence of Emburn Empire, he turns away and walks across the atrium to reach one of the glass doors of the Hall which leads to another part of the Royal Gardens that only the Emperor and his trusted people could enter.

Under his touch, the door opens for him, and Yoongi walks out through the pathway that has become familiar to him after all the years he has become acquainted with this place. A core memory from his childhood returns to him as he walks down the gravel-covered pathway, though the overgrown hedges and blood orchids blooming all around him are nothing like what he had seen many years ago.

He was a mere child when he first walked down this pathway with his father holding his hand, long before Emperor Aymon took the throne and during the time Yoongi’s father was slowly taking over the empire’s business with their alliances. To the Emperor, those visits had been about introducing Yoongi to his future duty and responsibility as the future Crown Prince of Emburn, while to Yoongi, the memories that had been engraved in his mind from that period of time hold an entirely different meaning to him.

Beyond this pathway is a magical place, the portal gate which acts as the border between realms and the bridge that connects Emburn Empire to the other kingdoms in the mainland of the land Far Far Away. It was through this magic gate that the Emperor had been able to travel freely between kingdoms and realms, to be able to visit their allies and neighbours while keeping the homeland from being exposed to external threats, and without having to lose connection to the source of Emburn’s magic—just like what happened to Yoongi during his journey. It wouldn’t be until later, once Yoongi takes the throne as the new ruler, when he would be required to do the same, though he would still be able to cross the portal gate whenever he needed to.

The Eden Isle Gardens is what the magical portal gate is called, and it is the one place that Yoongi would always come to visit whenever he returned home.

For many years, ever since he was a child, he would secretly escape to this place whenever he needed a moment of reflection. This has been a place of refuge where he would be able to find peace, and a place that holds one of his most treasured memories which Yoongi has kept for many years.

Even in the Emperor’s absence, the vegetation in this part of the magic garden grow beautifully. The Emperor’s magic remains strong here, keeping the grounds fertile, the grass and hedges perfectly trimmed instead of growing rapidly, and the portal gates secured, with nobody else but Yoongi and Emperor Aymon holding the key and memorising the spell that would help them activate the portals when needed. Yoongi follows the path that has been adorned with blood orchids growing left and right, fairy dust leading his way through the areas that moonlight is unable to penetrate, until he finds the center of the garden, to the place where Yoongi would always return to.

At the center of the garden, surrounded by a small pond and blooming blood orchids, stands a small gazebo made of Shadow Crystals. His legs feel light as Yoongi walks across the boardwalk across the pond to reach the gazebo, while a sense of deja vu fills him as he takes a seat inside, right at the spot which overlooks a locked steel gate which has always caught his attention.

Once in the past, that steel gate had been one of the magic portals that the Emperor would use for his journeys. It was the main bridge connecting his empire to their former ally, another empire which the former Emperor of Emburn, Yoongi’s grandfather, had managed to form a tight bond with. A close and mutual relationship which lasted until the height of Emperor Aymon’s reign.

But as Yoongi looks out through the steel gate now, there is nothing left out there but the wastelands and the ruins of the fallen empire that was once superior in its reign.

After the war between kingdoms, the territory which lies beyond the portal has become a forbidden area for anyone to enter. With remnants of hazardous toxins and black magic that may still linger in the area after the war, nobody has been allowed to come across the borders and into the wastelands for many years. From this side of the connecting portal, the steel gate is secured with chains made of Magraonor steel and locks that are bound with magic spells casted by the Emperor and the High Priest.

Even though Yoongi wouldn’t be able to walk across the gate with all those spells preventing him from seeing what is beyond the darkness, he can picture it inside his head. Through his distant memory, he still recalls the majestic empire that had once been the most peaceful place in Far Far Away, the home of the elves, fairies, and powerful mages who once loved to travel between kingdoms to spread their knowledge about ancient magic and healing remedies. But if only he would close his eyes tonight, the brilliant images of the fallen empire that he once remembered would not be the image that he sees.

Another reason why Yoongi has been doing all he could to evade sleep tonight was the dreams. Ever since he used the spell which allowed him to walk into his soulmate’s dream, and ever since the day he arrived back home, a different kind of dream has been haunting his long, restless nights.

In his dream, he saw himself crossing over the steel gate, the chains and locks had been broken and he could easily walk across the borders to enter the wastelands. He saw himself walking up the steps to the fallen empire’s home castle, surrounded by nothing but shadows and the ruins that had been said to fill the barren territory, and a thick layer of white mist following him as he reached to where the main palace should have been.

Everything about the dream has been daunting, and it has only solidified his concerns about the peculiar shift happening in Far Far Away. While he never got to see what was waiting for him at the end of those steps, to see what was hidden behind the thick mist and beyond the broken stone walls, he still remembers the feeling of unease that lingered through his chest as he was stuck inside the dream, the eerie shadows that seemed to follow him through the mist as he entered the wastelands, and the feeling of death that seemed to linger.

The unnerving sensation he felt was so strong that he could feel it touching his skin even as he opened his eyes upon his return to the waking world. Even now, as he silently recalls the sights he saw in his dreams, his body shudders, while the same uneasiness fills his chest, warning him about the darkness that may come to visit.

As Yoongi sits silently at the center of the magic garden, under the dome roof of the glass gazebo overlooking the high hedges and broken pathway leading to the steel gate, he is unable to look away from the darkness beyond him. Lost in the faint memories that he has of the past, he doesn’t notice it when a black cat enters the premises, sauntering between the hedges filled with blood orchids and over the glimmering pond before finally joining him to lie down in the gazebo.

The black cat follows Yoongi’s gaze, as if trying to understand what the man is thinking so deeply about. The cat suddenly slides closer and rubs itself against Yoongi’s calf to gain his attention before sitting back on its hind legs, with his curious eyes looking out towards the nothingness beyond the gate.

“We used to slip away and escape to this place when we were kids, didn’t we?” a deep voice speaks. “What a wonderful time that was, when we were nothing more but oblivious little children who knew nothing about the world.”

Yoongi turns to the black cat with a smile, recognising the voice that had just spoken to him, allowing him to identify this mysterious cat that had just decided to join him in his wonderings. “Indeed, we were. Those moments back then were truly irreplaceable,” Yoongi says, responding to the cat as he turns his gaze back at the steel gate. “We used to run away from the tutors to hide in this place, and then played hide and seek until the sun came down and Father would have to come down here himself to fetch us.”

“Those were the days,” the black cat softly chuckles. The cat falls silent for a moment before it softly continues, “This was also the place where you met her for the first time, wasn’t it?” The cat turns to look at Yoongi as the other does the same, and they exchange gazes with each other when the cat adds, “I’m talking about Her Majesty, Queen Milena.”

Sighing, Yoongi looks around the garden and reminisces about the past. “This was the place—” he says, as his memory takes him back to that moment in time from many, many years ago, when he was nothing more but a little boy who could barely able to speak fluently, yet was curious enough to follow his father to see what the Emperor was up to when he suddenly changed his plans with Yoongi to come to this place, only to find out that the Emperor was having important guests visiting. While the Emperor went on a stroll with his guest, Yoongi came to the gazebo to meet the young Princess Milena, the future queen who was resting while staying under the shade. The young Crown Princess of their neighbouring empire welcomed Yoongi with a warm smile, a sight that to this day remains to be the most glorious thing about her for Yoongi to remember.

“We did come across each other in this place for the first time, but it was beyond that gate where I used to be able to see her—” Yoongi says, pointing at the locked steel gate, while his memory once again takes him back to those days when Emperor Aymon took him along during his visits past the steel gate. Back then, a remarkable empire stood proud and strong on the other side of the gate, with the sun shining brightly on its prosperous land. Now, there is nothing there but the dark void and the flowing white mist that haunts him in his sleep.

The black cat looks out towards the steel gate and, as if knowing what Yoongi had just been thinking about, says, “And now there is nothing left there but the wastelands.”

“Is that really the truth?” Yoongi questions almost distractedly, and the cat scoffs.

“Only you would question it.”

The blunt comment draws a smile to Yoongi’s face, and he turns back to look at his peculiar companion to say, “The only thing I’m questioning right now is why you chose to come here while disguising in that form. I didn’t expect that you would follow me all the way back home, Yijeong.”

The black cat, Yijeong, stretches out and lies down near Yoongi’s feet before answering, “As a concerned friend, I was worried when I didn’t get a word from you since you went home. I had to slip out in disguise to move easier when following you. This form was the perfect choice since nobody would pay attention to a black cat strolling through the gardens. Did you notice that you were being followed by guards? I’m not sure if they know what you’re up to, but it seems that they’re determined to keep people away from the gardens to give you some privacy.”

Despite knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see anyone other than the two of them, Yoongi still steals a glance over his shoulder, looking back to where these royal guards that Yijeong mentioned might be standing by. Somewhere near the Apex Hall, no doubt, as it would be rare for regular guards to be able to come this far. The only exception was given to Yijeong, as the son of the Empire’s General, the only other person aside from the Emperor who has access to visit this magical place. Just like him, Yijeong has been trained and prepared to replace his father once the time comes, to one day stand by Yoongi’s side once he takes over the throne and rules the empire, and he had been trained all the spells that would be needed for him to do his duties.

“I noticed having extra shadows following me since I left my room,” he says, before facing towards the center of the gardens again and settling back against the glass wall on the side of the gazebo, though he turns his attention towards the other side of the gardens this time, where fireflies are beginning to appear around the pond. “I’ve had guards shadowing me since I got back, so I already expected them to follow me here too. But I didn’t care. They wouldn’t be able to enter this place anyway.”

“I guess you’re right,” Yijeong says as he lays his chin on his paw. “What were you expecting to find by coming here anyway?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep, then I started strolling through the palace’s grounds, looking for some kind of a distraction,” Yoongi answers with a deep sigh. “I suddenly felt like I needed to get out of the palace, and I suppose that’s how I found my way here.”

Yijeong says nothing for a moment, before he questions Yoongi with a hushed voice, “Something was bothering you. Has the Emperor’s request been weighing heavily on you?”

His question draws a frown to Yoongi’s face. Yoongi had never truly revealed the true purpose of his expedition into the human realm, not to his loyal men and even to Yijeong, except to simply mention that it was a royal duty that was needed to be done under the Emperor’s request. Yijeong may have never questioned it out loud, and despite his willingness to stay by Yoongi’s side and to join him on his journey, Yoongi had always known that his best friend had been curious, if not suspicious about what he aimed to find.

It was not until the day Yoongi had to depart from camp, leaving behind Smotia to return home, when he finally pulled Yijeong aside to tell him everything—about the true reason why he left home, about why he had chosen to remain in Smotia, or why he had to keep a close eye on the Wicked King.

Only Yijeong knows what their true mission was, and what the Emperor had requested Yoongi to find without Empress Ariane ever knowing.

“Find my childhood friend. Find Milena. Help me find out what happened to her, and if she is still alive, bring her home. I cannot leave this realm without having any knowledge of her fate. I can’t die regretting that I couldn’t do anything to save her. If you can find ‘him’, then you might be able to find out if he still has her.”

Yoongi understood it quite well when Yijeong complained about being kept in the dark. Thankfully, his friend was quick to forgive him, knowing that such a big secret would cause a myriad of other problems should it ever get out, or for the Empress to hear that her own husband had made such a request. Even though it has been such a long time since both Yoongi and Yijeong ever came across Queen Milena, they both still remember how jealous the Empress had been of the Emperor’s friendship with his closest friend.

But sharing this secret only gave little relief to Yoongi’s heart, because there is still one more secret that he holds dear, unable to find a way to reveal it to Yijeong when he still has his own doubts. That finding Queen Milena, a mission that might be fundamental for the Emperor’s road to healing, has only been a small part—if not the first step—of Yoongi’s personal goal. And he has yet to be able to share this with anyone, even Yijeong, because he has never truly shared the real story of his first encounter with Queen Milena in the magic gardens.

Because that day, Queen Milena had not been sitting in this gazebo on her own, and only Yoongi and the Emperor knew Queen Milena’s secret which had been hidden until now.

Just as Yoongi is silently pondering if he should share his secret with his best friend, the air around them suddenly shifts. There is an invisible weight that breezes through the bushes, stirring the peacefulness that has been accompanying Yoongi in his wallowing. Even Yijeong becomes alert as he stirs by his side that Yoongi instantly rises, already prepared to use his magic to connect to the elements around them so he can see what is happening. But before he can even begin summoning his mana, Yijeong snaps his head to focus on him. His best friend’s gaze remains on his chest just as warmth begins to form against his skin, while the mana flow within him seems to be reacting to the sensation rising around them.

“Hey, Yoongi?” Yijeong says with a spark of surprise lathering his voice.

“Yeah?” Yoongi answers with his eyes focusing back and forth between Yijeong and the gardens, noticing how the leaves are swaying with the unsettling breeze.

“Why is that thing glowing? Did you do something or are you conjuring your mana to have it reacting like that?”

“No, I’m not doing any—” Yoongi starts to respond when his amulet—which has been hanging from his neck and down to his chest the whole time he was here—begins vibrating. He looks down and touches the amulet, which is now glowing in his hand as he lifts it up to get a better look. Blue light shimmers from the center of the amulet, flickering and swirling even stronger as he brings it up, inadvertently pointing it towards the locked gate that was supposed to lead him to their fallen neighbour.

His breath is caught, as he slowly begins to understand what is happening. There is only one reason why the amulet would be reacting this way, even if it makes no sense at all for it to be trying to lead him towards the forbidden territory beyond the sacred gate. And then, something finally dawns on him.

“You know, this amulet has been lighting up quite often since I got back home,” he whispers almost to himself, while the voice inside his head adds, ever since the dreams started happening. “But this is the first time it’s doing something like this.”

This can only mean one thing. “I think someone is using his magic to create portals, and they have been moving around between realms.”

Yijeong slowly rises, while Yoongi’s heartbeat picks up, beating rapidly in his chest right after he says those words. “Do you know who it might be? Can it be possible that—” Yijeong begins to question him, only for him to see Yoongi shaking his head, chucking to himself with disbelief when he says,

“It’s impossible, but—”

And it seems almost too good to be true just to think about it. Yoongi swallows hard as he wonders about this, as he can no longer qualm the rising hope blooming in his chest when he adds, “I think I know who it might be.”

She’s so close. How could it be? 

Yoongi has no idea how it could possibly happen, but he can sense you being so close to him that he can almost feel your presence within arm’s reach. His body trembles with anticipation, excitement, and his worries rising at the same time. Seeing that there is light appearing, hope waiting at the end of his journey, Yoongi slowly releases his amulet and kneels down beside his best friend.

If he wants to find the truth, and find you, then he will no doubt need help to achieve it.

“Yijeong, I need you to listen to me carefully—”

Your hands feel clammy as you stand right in front of another silver door.

Unlike the other doors that you have seen so far, this one looks the most ordinary and a bit—old. Made of deep-coloured wood, its front is adorned with embellishments made of thin silver linings that are crafted in intricate curves formed in floral patterns, and they all seem to glint in the dimly lit hallway. You probably shouldn’t be intimidated by its size and the intricate details that you are seeing, but not surprisingly, your knees are already shaking with the mere thought of opening this door filling your head.

Deep down, you already know that whatever you may come across once you step through this door, it will be far from ordinary. This is what you have learned so far from these silver doors after venturing into them for the past few days, as it had become one of your past afternoon activities once you are done with your daily lessons and royal duties.

The shock that you gained after entering the first silver door remained within you for quite a while. Pure disbelief had followed you after coming back out of the door, not entirely sure if what you encountered that day had been real. If only you hadn’t found yourself stumbling back into the hallway of Stargrave Castle or nearly spraining your ankles on your way back to your bedchamber, perhaps you would simply think that you were dreaming. That there was no way you could have gone back to The Citadel, or that the door had connected you back to the smaller—and slightly bland-looking—study room which your father, King Aneas, would often spend his time working in with his men back at the capital.

But you were well awake to feel it when the dusk came in and your skin was covered by the bumps rising as the temperature dropped so rapidly. And you were definitely awake when the palace’s maid came to help you prepare for dinnertime. You even held a long and steady conversation with her while she was brushing out the knots in your hair, further proving that you were walking in the real world instead of being stuck in a long, extended dreamscape.

Yet those things couldn’t stop you from questioning your own sanity as you laid down on your bed that night, particularly when you recalled the conversation that you ’heard’ from your hiding spot when you were in the study room. But then you looked out the window of your bedroom, the curtains left open as you had wished to see the stars and you saw a glimpse of the same copper aurora which had captivated you on the night of your arrival, the magical display of light once again making its appearance known to you as it danced in the sky above the calm ocean.

The sight quickly reminded you of how different and peculiar everything should be in this place. It made you realise that the odds of you actually being transported back into a different place across the realm would not have been impossible. It was hard to deny it when you remembered experiencing jumping into a burning flame to get into this realm, and that magic did exist in this place in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine.

It was your own curiosity which had drawn you back to the same hallway after you were done with your lessons on the next day. At first, you considered going through the same door again, if only to prove that you hadn’t been dreaming and that you were completely sane. But then your father’s voice echoed through your mind as you stood in front of the same door, reminding you of his warning to only try one door at a time.

As you wished to be able to see more, you stepped away from the first door. There was no humming sound calling you back when you left it behind, while an odd pull was felt through the air, and you followed it until you found another silver door not too far away.

The silver door which soon became your second to try out had been smaller in size compared to the first one you had gone into. Yet you still entered with caution. You came through the door thinking that you would be prepared to find another surprising revelation, only to feel the shock filling your entire being when you walked through the door to come out through a small cabinet, and you found yourself emerging into the royal waiting room that was located within the city hall in the capital city of Smotia.

There was nobody around to catch you as you came out of the waiting room. After finding the podium on the first floor, right where your father’s throne was placed for him to acquire during formal ceremonies, you continued to make your way to the upper floors. Having been to this place often times before to accompany your father, you found no trouble in finding the main balcony, where the King would stand before the people of Smotia as he leads various ceremonies and rituals together with you by his side and his loyal ministers shadowing his movements.

Sure enough, as you looked down from the balcony, the Elysium Square was presented right before your eyes. The town’s square where the people would gather to see their King and to celebrate the empire’s annual events, and oftentimes, to simply enjoy the free time they have during their daily lives.

The same way the people were doing as you looked down from above. Keeping yourself in the shades to avoid being seen, you saw how the town’s workers were walking down the pavements as they were on their way home, making quite a haste to make sure that they would return to their dwellings before dusk. There were also little children playing around the fountains, while their mothers kept their busy eyes to watch over them while gossiping on the sides.

Just like the day before, when you felt your knees buckling beneath you in shock, you had to hold on to the railings as you watched the people below, the faint voices of their laughter became solid proof that you had been once again sent away from your new home. A memory flashed through your mind just then, of how each time you were supposed to attend the royal gathering alongside your father, the King himself would never ride the royal carriage with you to reach the city hall.

Each time, your father would somehow arrive not long after you would, with not a sight of another royal carriage arriving at the city hall to bring him all the way from The Citadel. Turning back to the hall where you came from, you could almost picture it, to see the King walking down the hall before emerging through the main balcony to greet his people, his daughter, and his men, without a single person witnessing how he had truly arrived.

With your curiosity deepened, you continued your adventure for the next few days by trying out two different silver doors, both of them lined up within a nearby hallway just beyond the King’s study room. And just like the previous ones, each of these doors took you back to different areas in the land of Smotia which you had become most familiar with.

The smaller one took you back to the town’s church.

You came out through the storage room door at the back of the church and, in your shock, you came so close to bumping into the head priest while you were busy taking in your surroundings. It was pure luck that you had been quick enough to slip into a nearby room which was thankfully empty, that you were able to avoid getting seen by the head priest who walked by with his helpers.

When the coast was clear enough for you to slip out of the room, the evening mass was just starting to take place. You may have recovered from your shock by then, yet once again, your mind was caught in a battle between acceptance and denial to make your exit. Fallen prey to your own curiosity, as you wanted to get a closer look instead of leaving with questions shadowing your thoughts, you returned to the room where you had been hiding in. From one of the wardrobes you found, you managed to grab a commoner’s cloak for you to borrow, using it to hide your identity as you slipped between the parishioners who came for the head priest’s sermon and gain his blessings.

As everyone around you was listening to the head priest’s sermon with rapt attention, the burning candles on the altar swaying with the breeze, their soft lights illuminating the walls and the dais while giving a serene feeling into the whole church, your attention remained on the side doors leading to the back halls where you came from. Once again, you could almost see the shadows of your father, sauntering through the back halls with his magic before appearing at the altar without anyone noticing or wondering where His Majesty had come from.

The next silver door you tried had appeared to your eyes like a work of art. The carvings on the wood panels had been the ones to draw you in, before you noticed that the silver embellishments that marked the door seemed to have silver specks floating around it, drawing more of your attention to have a closer look. That was before the humming voices began to call for you, pulling you in, enchanting you to slide in the key and open the door for a new adventure.

The magic door brought you to the orchard house that was part of the royal winery on the outskirts of the capital city. Located beyond the borders of the Elcester Forest where the wide, open plane was rich and fruitful enough for the vineyard to grow massively, it was the place which produced the royal wine that the King would often serve to his special guests during royal dinners and important events that were held by the empire.

Despite recognising the place almost immediately, you still took your time to look around to find clues, any signs that may confirm your suspicions. Leaving the main house, you browsed through the warehouse and stockrooms, not stopping until you finally found the crates of bottles that were being prepared to be sent away to The Citadel. It wasn’t until you saw the royal crest marking the crates and the bottles when you finally confirmed it, that the place had indeed been another one of the King’s properties which was situated within the territory of Smotia.

Back in the part of the empire which existed in the human realm.

You walked across the clearing with a mixed feeling of awe and trepidation. The day was beginning to settle down to dusk by the time you were venturing through the property, with the sun descending into the horizon, spreading more shadows than light through the open vineyards. It allowed you to stay in the shade to avoid being seen, and to be able to watch the workers from a safe distance. As the night was closing in, there were only a small group of people left working at the winery. Most of them were just finishing up, either at the warehouse or the stockrooms where they kept the crops. They all seemed busy with their own tasks to notice you, though it didn’t stop you from feeling like someone was watching your movement, causing you to become even more cautious while you were feeding your curiosity.

It was after the last trip you took through the silver doors when you finally came to a realisation, to finally understand the secret behind them. Once you accepted that your little adventures had not been a dream or imagination, and that what you encountered had not been mere illusion, you finally understood what these silver doors were.

Portals.

The silver doors that your father had given you access to have been magic portals, with powerful spells that would bring you to different places, allowing you to emerge in different realms, and perhaps even beyond.

If only you hadn’t had the talk with your father on the day you first arrived in this castle, or taken the time to understand more about this new realm and learn about magic since you have been here, you would have simply thought that you have indeed gone crazy. But all the days you spent learning about the fairy tale land and the magic that lies within the realm have only helped you to understand everything better, and you soon realised that this was the magic that your father mentioned the day he handed you the bundle of keys that you are now holding in your hand.

“Within each one of the silver doors, there is a strong kind of magic. One that has been so demanding of our family’s powers, exists under my control, and it is also the type of magic that should be kept secret, no matter what. Once you go through them, you will understand why it is important for me to defend this castle and our home territory.”

Was this the reason why your father brought you back to this place after so long, after spending years keeping you away from it? Did he want you to learn about his magic after protecting you from it? Was this the reason why he handed you these keys, to show you the power of magic that has been passed down in your family?

But then the most important question still haunts you to this day—

Has this been His Majesty’s way of being able to travel to different places in a short amount of time so he could handle his business, to be able to do his duty without having to travel far and long so he could continue taking care of his empire?

With this new knowledge, your curiosity has been growing stronger than your fear, and you have more questions plaguing you each day. Questions that you would have to keep to yourself until the day your father would return home.

Until then, you would gather more information through your lessons and from opening more magic doors. Perhaps, the more you get to see the magic behind these doors, the more you can see this new world as you continue venturing through these portals, then you will be able to learn and understand more about your father’s magic and this magical realm, and find out who you truly are.

That was the reason why you are standing here tonight, right in front of yet another silver door that has drawn your curiosity that you find it hard to look away. The silver embellishments on the door are glimmering right before your eyes, as they reflect the soft glare of moonlight that has penetrated into the hallway through a nearby window.

The moonlight that rarely accompanies you whenever you are about to embark on your own little adventure.

In your previous trials, you have only chosen the short period of time in the late afternoon after tutoring hours to slip out of your bedchamber and venture into these halls. Keeping the short timeframe that your father had given you for these adventures, you have always used the sign of dusk to remind you to return home, allowing you to be back right before dinnertime.

Today has been different. Tutoring hours lasted longer than usual, when Lord Gordan took over your afternoon lessons and sat you down to teach you about your family’s ancestry. The extra lessons didn’t end until dusk finally came, when Nanny Abigail took over guarding you as she led you straight to dinner in the royal dining hall.

It wasn’t until long after dinnertime when you finally found the chance to slip out of the bedchamber. The absence of Lord Gordan and Nanny Abigail when you stepped out of the room, and the absence of the lady maids in the hallway wasn’t so much of a surprise, but it was quite a shock to find that there had been no guards standing by outside of your bedchamber. Just like how it would have been back at The Citadel when you could barely see yourself going around the palace without at least one guard following you.

It made you curious, yet you spent no time wondering about it, and took the chance to slip out of your quarters and find your way back to this hallway of silver doors.

There were no palace staff in sight as you walked down the halls, but you did catch a sight of a pair of guards standing in their post in a nearby hall, though they seemed to be focused on guarding the King’s study room to notice you slipping into the shadows behind the pillars as you made your way into this place. Glancing towards the end of the hall and to the opposite way, you make sure that the coast is still clear, and nobody would catch what you are doing as you move closer to the silver door.

This time, there is no humming sound coming out of the door to summon you, as if beckoning you to come closer and choose this door for you to open tonight. Yet the silver key that you are holding seems to vibrate against your palm the closer you come towards the door before you. The vibration is strong enough to cause the rest of the keys in the bundle to jingle that you have to press your palm around them to keep them from making too much noise, afraid that it might draw someone’s attention and you would miss the chance to see what lies beyond the magic door.

Knowing that you won’t have much time left before the guards would begin their evening patrol and your absence in the bedchamber gets discovered, you reach back and pull up the hood of your cloak to cover yourself before walking through the door. Learning from past experiences, after finding yourself emerging into unexpected places and coming close to being seen or recognised, you realised that you would have to be more careful to avoid getting caught by someone and accidentally exposing your father’s secret during your trips.

That was why you decided to be much safer tonight, to disguise yourself as you go through with your secret escapade.

Under the half-ragged cloak that you have often worn whenever you escaped from The Citadel at nightfall, you have chosen to wear a commoner’s clothes—a plain, dark-coloured tunic top and a pair of tight breeches—instead of your daily dresses. The pair of boots that would normally be hidden under your bed have replaced the low pair of heels that you wore during today’s tutoring hours and afternoon lessons.

With a deep inhale of breath and a silent prayer, you turn the vibrating key which has somehow become warm in your hold, and gently open the door.

You suck a deep breath as you emerge into a bedroom that looks nothing like the rooms you have seen all around the magic castle so far. The room you walk into appears to be quite small yet cozy, with a queen-sized bed positioned right at the center of the room, covered with a couple of fluffed pillows and fresh sheets, with a thick furry blanket folded on the foot of the bed. There is a shaded lamp on top of the side table right beside the bed, and a cold, unlit fireplace on the opposite wall. Right in front of the fireplace, a brown felt that appears to have come from a deer is laid to cover the wooden floor, making you think for a second that you might be inside a hunter’s lodging, until something draws your attention to make you think otherwise.

On your right appears to you a wooden door. Even while being closed shut, you can still hear the muffled sounds of people chatting and cheering, the sounds of glass clinking and cutleries hitting tables and plates, and the rough voices of men shouting and calling names. The noises that you hear are enough to give you a hint to figure out where you currently are, as they bring you back to the scene you encountered a period of time ago during your late-night trips into town. Though doubt fills your mind, as you still find it hard to believe it to be true unless you can see it with your own eyes.

You turn towards the door, and the door from which you came in from grabs your attention. Looking at it now, it seems to be the door of a walk-in closet. But just like the other portals, magic has turned it into something else. Through the half-opened door, instead of seeing the interior of a closet, you see the sight of the magic portal that is still open. There is nothing there but the sight of a dark void with swirling blue lights floating at the center. The dark void seems eerie to you, yet you no longer look at it with fear as you know that this magical sight is what will lead you back to the magic castle once you are done venturing here.

The sound of a man’s laughter and the loud cheers that follow draw your attention back to the bedroom door. Curious to know where you might have ended, you carefully make your way to it. The wooden floor creaks beneath your booths, making your breath hitch, and you silently pray that the noises outside would drown the sounds you are making as you slowly reach for the doorknob and turn it open. To your relief, the door has been left unlocked, and you carefully pull it open just an inch. Just enough for you to see what is on the other side.

The muffled sounds you heard suddenly clear out and immediately hit you straight in the face—the loud chattering that seems to come from dozens of rowdy men and the boastful laughter that you heard earlier, with the sounds of glasses clinking against each other or hitting against wooden tables. Seeing nothing but a wooden walkway and railings as you open the door, you realise that you are currently on the upper floor of an establishment, while the noises seem to have been coming from downstairs. The familiar scent of booze, dust, and burning candles wafts through the air, and you stifle a gasp as you soon realise where you are.

Moving in haste when you barely have the chance to recover from shock, you shut the door with a soft click and turn the other way. Across from you appears a window, left partly opened for the cold night breeze to flow into the room, blowing the thin curtains that have little to do to shield the lights coming from the street outside. With shaky legs, you walk towards the window and look down.

Just as suspected, you see the bustling street of the business district of Smotia right down below, with people passing by as they are making their route home or searching for a place of leisure after a long day of hard work. You can easily recognise the street you are looking at, because you had ventured into the same street the last time you slipped away from home.

Still busy taking everything in, you almost miss the sound of firm footsteps and the creaks on the wooden floor outside of the bedroom, until you hear them coming closer towards the bedroom door. A low and deep voice calls out from outside the door, snapping you out of your shock, “Anee? Is that you?”

Turning sharply with a gasp, you rush to close the door to the closet, hiding the glimmering portal before rushing into the small bathroom on the other side of the fireplace to hide.

“You didn’t tell me that you were coming tonight—”

The deep sound of voice fades just as the bedroom door opens merely seconds after you close the bathroom door shut. “Anee? Are you here?” the man calls out again after coming to a halt. “Huh. That’s funny, I thought I heard someone here.”

Just when you expect him to leave after finding the room empty, you hear the man entering the room instead. The floor creaks more intensely under his boots, and you hold your breath as you sense him coming towards the window. Peering through the seams between the door and the wooden frame, you catch the sight of the man as he stands in front of the window, looking down the street with a sigh.

“Must have been my imagination, then. ’Am getting old for this, I swear,” he seems to mumble to himself before he gently shuts the window, and as he bends, you get to see him more clearly to recognise him. The illuminating street lights from outside the window are helping you to see his face.

Sir Elias.

A woman’s voice is heard from outside the room, calling for him, and the man turns to walk away. “Nothing, love. I thought I heard someone in the room, is all,” he calls out to whoever was calling him as he makes his way to leave the bedroom.

“Who is it? Is it Anee?” the woman’s voice seems muted as she remains outside the bedroom, with the noises from below rising in the background.

“Nah,” Sir Elias chuckles lowly. “It’s just the wind—” he calls out to the woman that you assume to be his wife as he turns and begins walking away, before adding gently under his breath, “Or maybe I just missed that bloody sucker.”

You remain still as you listen to the faint click sound of the door coming to close, followed by the sound of Sir Elias’ heavy footfalls over the wooden floor fading in the distance, until silence fills the room.

It isn’t until you take a few more deep breaths and steady your shaking hands before you finally open the door, looking around you to make sure that the bedroom is completely empty before finally stepping out of the bathroom. With a deep, exhale of breath, you come down to your knees in your relief and rest back against the bed. Your eyes turn to the window, now closed shut to shield the voices from the town below, leaving you in the stifling silence where your mind once again becomes the loudest.

The silver door has taken you back to The Rare Roots, the local pub right at the center of the business district in Smotia, and straight into one of the rented rooms on the upper floor of the pub, which Sir Elias had offered you to take the night you came here.

Your head spins as questions after questions continue to fill your mind.

Why would the King have direct access to a local pub in the business district of Smotia?

And why would Sir Elias—the owner of the local pub who you have never once seen coming to visit The Citadel—be calling your father by his childhood name, as if they have known each other personally for a very long time, or that he would expect the King to be appearing in one of his rented bedrooms as if it would be such a normal occurrence to happen here?

You remain in the bedroom for a while longer, looking around to find any sign that your father had truly been here, while the night passes by with the muffled sounds from the crowd of The Rare Roots below penetrating through the silence. The noises out there are loud, but not loud enough to drown your thoughts as you take a seat at the foot of the bed, trying to make sense of your findings.

The curtains by the window have been left open after Sir Elias’ departure, allowing the figure that has been moving in the shadows to look his way in, watching your movements in silence, his presence completely unbeknownst to you. Perched atop the roof of the next building, he gets a clear view of you. Of the way you seem to be wallowing so deep in your thoughts that you are unaware of the pair of eyes that are keeping a close watch on you.

And he continues to watch over you, taking his time to take the sight of you in and memorise everything he sees of you until you finally slip away, disappearing into one of the doors which acts like the portal bringing you back home. That is when he also makes his move, stepping back into the shadows to return to where he belongs, filled with the delight of victory that comes after finally finding what he was after.

Found you. Finally, I’ve found you, he wonders to himself, as he slips away and disappears through the shadows of the night.

— © 2023 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

the bedroom hymns ● chapter viii

⟶ Chapter summary | As Yoongi returns home, he is welcomed by the shadows of his past, and the secret behind his journey being challenged and questioned. At the same time, you slowly begin to unravel your father’s secrets, as you begin to learn more about his magic,  and you continue following the shadows of his footsteps to find out what he has planned.  

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader  ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 12,1k words ⟶ Ratings | PG-13, +18 / M for Mature for future chapters; mentions of war, dark magic, a brief mention/hint of stalking  ⟶ Story Masterlist | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi

⟶ Author’s note | We’re finally getting a long chapter! I contemplated between dropping this part as a full chapter or to split it into two, but I figured it would be best to combine the scenes as they work much better if being shared and told at the same time. That being said, I might be taking a break from posting the chapters for a couple of weeks (just a week or two, maybe) to finish the rest of the upcoming chapters so we can have some more regular updates. I’ll be back soon with more thrilling scenes, I promise. But for now, I hope this long chapter will fill your days as we wait for the next ones to come :)

chapter viii. chasing shadows

Yoongi never truly understood why he was able to find solace while he was staying in Smotia until he finally returned home.

Emburn Empire, Min Yoongi’s home kingdom and the home of the fairies, can be quite distinctive compared to any other kingdoms that inhabit the Land of Far Far Away. Its vast territory rises from one of the most sequestered regions of the fairy tale land, divided into three separate sections connecting Emburn Empire with the three different elements of nature which support the empire as a whole—on the land, its landed territory that is united with the main continent of the fairy tale land; on the water, the small province floating against the rough waves of the Carmine Sea; and on the air, presented by the patch of island housing the main government of Embun which levitates gracefully above the continent, floating among the thick white clouds on the blue-grey sky above.

Here, much like in Smotia, greens in various hues cover the expanse of Emburn. Widespread of green grass and a vast variety of trees blanket the range of hills, with dense clusters of tall trees crowning the rising terrains and stowed between the dip of valleys. Some trees grow here just as wide as the people’s homes and almost as tall as the sky above, with many that are almost older than the entire empire itself. Thick clusters of wild ivy smother the stone walls of the Imperial Palace and the people’s houses in the towns, and flowers bloom in a myriad of shapes and colours that only exist here in the Emburn Empire.

Yoongi recalls all the dawns and mornings he spent sitting on top of the tallest hills in Smotia, looking away from the towns and the mercenary camps to enjoy the sight of the canopies of trees and the widespread meadows and finding similarities there to the sea of green waiting for him back home. Oftentimes, he would wonder how the empire that was built within the human realm could have given him a sense of familiarity which reminded him of his home. Whenever he remembered how Smotia existed in the borders between two realms, he would find himself wondering if the similarities had been deliberately created to mirror their closest neighbour, albeit their existence is separated by the portals hidden in the depth of the Elcester Forest. And that was before Yoongi learned of the truth about the Wicked King’s true antecedents and the true history behind his ascension as the ruler of the Nythelean Empire.

Had King Aneas done it on purpose, then? That he had built his new home in the human realm which resembled the land where he had once been, taking everything that he had learned from his former ally about making use of the land’s resources to establish his empire and to support his people?

Because just like how Nythelean Empire gain their resources from the Land of Smotia, the fertile land, the green hills, the abundant woodlands and fresh springs that spread all over the territories of Emburn are the ones that have helped the empire and its people to thrive for a long period of time. But unlike in Smotia, resources are not the only things that the people of Emburn could gain from nature.

One look was all he needed to see, through the first sight that Yoongi had taken from his homeland on the day he emerged in the bluffs after leaving Smotia behind, to remind him that the two empires are not one and the same. Arriving at the bluffs at dawn, he traveled towards the southeast of Earthpeak Cliffs and across the borders between kingdoms, where the sight of the territory of Emburn first welcomed him. The green hills of the landed territory of his homeland opened for him like a warm embrace. The sight and the feeling that overcame him as he marched his loyal mare, Aspen, through the borders had been almost comparable to what he experienced the first time he first came through the borders of Smotia.

Yet all the similarities ended once he finally reached the area where the landed territory of Emburn and the capital city were connected, where the first sign of Emburn’s distinctive nature could be seen.

What doesn’t exist in the vast fertile land of Smotia is magic. The same kind of magic that exists here in every part of the land, drifting in the air that Yoongi breathes, and is constantly felt by every single inhabitant living within the territories of Emburn Empire. This old magic is what becomes the empire’s source of power ever since the day it was established and built by Yoongi’s ancestors, with the emperor and empress sitting on its throne becoming the pillar and the core that hold the magic together, binding it and keeping it stable for many years.

It is the same powerful magic that allows the capital city of Emburn and the Imperial Palace to defy gravity, levitating far above the mainland and higher than the peaks of Earthpeak Cliff, the tallest rocky mountains which stand above the Carmine Sea.

The sight of the levitating capital city which Yoongi saw the moment he reached the heart of Emburn had become clear evidence and reminder of how different his homeland truly is, not only compared to the human land of Smotia but also to all the places he visited throughout his journey. Beyond the sight of the sea of green that welcomed him in the landed provinces, appeared to his eyes the majestic sight of Marble Falls, the flowing waterfalls that descend all the way from the grounds of the Imperial Palace in the sky and down to the Armere River that flows between the range of hills in the grounded region of Emburn in the mainland.

This powerful magic was first found by the ancient fairies who once roamed this part of the fairy tale land, passed down to Yoongi’s blood ancestors who built the empire from the ground up to create a peaceful haven for the fairies in Far Far Away land. The magic that still exists today, the one that is holding the empire together in the present, and the same magic that becomes the cure to Yoongi’s ailment, helping him piece together the bond that he has with his mana which has grown weak and fragile during his time away from home.

It had only taken Yoongi mere seconds after breathing in the fresh air here in Emburn and stepping through the gates of the Imperial Palace for his power to begin knitting itself together. He could feel every fractured piece of his mana strengthening itself until his powers began coursing through his body once again, until he was finally able to heal. In an instant, his senses were heightened, the mana flow within him stopped rebelling against him and it began to calm down, settling peacefully the way it should have been.

Days have gone by since his arrival, and before he realises it, those days are slowly turning into weeks. Albeit his mana has yet to fully return to its normal state, Yoongi is quite relieved to have made the decision to return home, allowing him the chance to not only recover the magic within him but also to gain more strength before he returns to finish his journey.

Sometimes, when he would roam through the imperial palace on his own, he would be filled with guilt and realisation that he should have probably listened to Yijeong’s advice about returning to Emburn so he could recover. If only he had listened and hadn’t been so stubborn about staying in Smotia, knowing that the chances of him finding what he was after had been slim, perhaps he would have been able to use his powers when he needed them the most.

But that was all in the past now, and all he can focus on now is to recover completely while thinking of ways to make up for his obstinacy once he gets back to where Yijeong is. Because recovering his powers hadn’t been the only thing that Yoongi had managed to gain by coming home.

Ever since the moment he arrived back to the land of Far Far Away, Yoongi immediately noticed the peculiarity hanging in the air. He could easily sense the turbulences happening in the fairy tale land, recognising immediately that something had been brewing in his absence. Warning bells kept ringing in his head as he entered the home castle with cautions upon his arrival. His shoulders had been heavy, not knowing what to expect as he made his way to see his parents.

While it wasn’t bad news which welcomed him home, the odd exchange that he had with his mother during their first reunion didn’t help much to reassure him about the situation.

“Was it really necessary for you to be away for so long? What could have been more important than being here, for you to prepare for the crown and handle the matters around the empire in place of the Emperor?” 

Empress Ariane had always shown Yoongi a form strict of love, as she had always placed the matters of the crown and the empire above everything else, including her own son. In her eyes, Yoongi is not just her biological son, but the Crown Prince and the sole heir of the Emburn Empire, and she has always reminded Yoongi of his role at every chance she gets. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to Yoongi when she immediately brought up his duty to the empire and the crown upon his return home, to remind him of the need for him to focus on preparing himself to take the Emperor’s place once it was due time for him to take the responsibility.

Yet there was something in the way the Empress addressed the matter which had been bothering Yoongi. His own conscience has been brewing with suspicions, and it has kept nagging him in the back of his mind that he finds it hard to shake the thoughts away, even to this day.

“What if something happens to—” the Empress’ words broke and shattered at the mention of the Emperor while they sat together in the throne room the day Yoongi first came to see her. Hurt flickered through her gaze, though she quickly blinked it away before Yoongi could say something about it or look deeper into her thoughts at that moment. “What if something happens while you are out there running amok doing heavens know what? You know I wouldn’t be able to handle this entire empire by myself.”

Yoongi never said a thing in return except making a promise that everything would be okay, regardless of what the Empress was trying to imply. There was no need for her mother to finish her words, as Yoongi could already hear it in his head.

What if something happens to the Emperor?

“Nothing is going to happen. I am sure of it.” Yoongi said this to the Empress with full conviction, as he had truly made sure of the safety of the empire and the Emperor before his departure from home.

Emperor Aymon, the ruler of the Emburn Empire and Yoongi’s biological father, has been bedridden from a mysterious illness which started two years ago. The ailment had come out of nowhere, when the strong and healthy Emperor unexpectedly started to grow weak. It had all begun with the Emperor losing control of his mana flow, until the magic within him began fighting back against him, erupting through his whole body while hurting him from the inside. Once the powerful mana began to simmer down, it almost seemed like every drop of magic within him had been wasted, and so did his soul.

Even the entire empire was hurting, as his magic—that was supposed to stabilise the powerful magic within the home of the fairies—started weakening. The unexpected changes of weather caused the crops to fail and prevented fishing ships from sailing out across the Carmine Sea. Earthquakes and storms happened every so often that people kept having to build new homes, while a series of peculiar illnesses began to spread in towns.

To this, the Emperor had chosen to lock himself in one of the tallest towers in the Imperial Palace, not only for the sake of himself and to prevent his magic from harming people around him, but also to preserve the magic that he had left to keep his empire under control. Even once the Empress and the High Priest of Emburn managed to aid him in stabilising the empire with their magic, Emperor Aymon remained in his refuge while doing his best he could to find a way to heal.

Yoongi still remembers the days he spent with the Emperor during the height of his sickness. The fairy king had always appeared to his eyes as the most powerful being he had ever known. But during that period of time, it seemed to him that his father was withering right in front of his eyes, appearing more frail than he used to be as the Emperor laid down on the massive bed where he had been resting during the time of his illness.

But at the same time, the Emperor still appeared to him as the strongest person he had always known. When even at his most critical condition, the Emperor still did his best to fulfil his duty as the ruler to use the rest of his magic to keep the empire and their homeland from crumbling apart.

If only Yoongi had been as indifferent as how the Empress had made him to be—both to the Emperor’s condition and the turbulences occurring in his home kingdom—he would have thought that Empress Ariane’s inquiries had come from a place of concern. The concern she might have felt for the Emperor’s wellbeing, and what might happen to the empire with the Crown Prince being away during the Emperor’s absence.

Yet, seeing the truth now, Yoongi remains haunted by a lingering doubt.

Unbeknownst to the Empress, Yoongi had visited Emperor Aymon not long before leaving Emburn. Not only had the Emperor always known what Yoongi had been up to during his time away from home, but it had actually been the Emperor himself who sent him off on his journey in the first place.

“I want you to do me a favour while I still exist in this realm. It will be quite challenging of a task should you take it, and it wouldn’t be an easy path, but it is necessary that you go into this journey to prevent the upcoming turmoil that may arise in the Land Far Far Away in the near future.”

That day, the Emperor sat down on his bed, his back resting on the headrest as he spoke to Yoongi. He seemed resolved as he relayed his request to his son. But for the most part, he also appeared resigned, as if he was ready to welcome the end of his time should it come to him. But for the first time after a while, Yoongi had also noticed that his father had looked like he was in a much better shape than he usually would, which gave him a sense of relief, albeit briefly. Because no matter how well-shaped he looked as he sat there looking into his son’s eyes, the Emperor’s voice still showed how weary he truly was.

“If you are willing to take this challenge for me, you have to promise me two things,” Emperor Aymon said then. His voice came out stern, and his words came like a warning that Yoongi had no other choice but to agree and make a promise to follow his words. Only then did the Emperor continue with the list of requirements that Yoongi needed to follow. “One, you must go into this with an open mind and forget everything that you’ve learned about the war between kingdoms that was written in the books. Two, you must never let your mother know about my request. Promise me this.”

Yoongi had questioned this specific request from his father at first, yet the warnings given to him had made him grow cautious enough to make sure that he wouldn’t be leaving the Emperor alone without someone watching over him while Yoongi was away. Before he left, Yoongi had ordered a few of his trusted men to keep watch on the Emperor, warning them to trust nobody except for Yoongi. Not even the Empress herself.

He hated not being able to trust his own mother, but the situation that happened after had proven that he had made the right call. As now that even the Empress and the Royal Aides are being placed under close watch, the Emperor’s condition has been getting better. Though Yoongi has been adamant about keeping this information a secret between himself and his men, that not even the Empress knows about the Emperor’s improving health.

It has caused him to feel unsettled, not knowing who to trust even in his own empire. Yet the situation had only given him more reason to do what his father willed him to, as he set off to fulfil not only the Emperor’s request, but also his own intention.

Tonight would be the last night Yoongi would be spending at his home.

Tomorrow, he would have to decide if he should return to Smotia and regroup with his men, or if he should start investigating the Wicked King more closely to know what he is up to. Yoongi knows that he has been gone from his camp for too long, and through the reports sent to him by his men, he has heard that many things have been happening with the Nythelean Empire since the day he left Smotia.

It has made him feel anxious, suddenly afraid that he would miss the perfect opportunity of accomplishing his tasks, now that the Wicked King is on the move. Once again, he regrets for not taking his time to recover sooner, as his departure from Smotia seems to have only caused him the long restless nights filled with all the ’what ifs’, wondering if Fates are trying to stop him from doing what he is required to do.

To calm his thoughts, Yoongi steps away from his bedchamber once the night has fallen. When the night is deep, Yoongi often feels a heavy awareness hanging in the air around him, as if warning him about the shift happening in the fairy tale land and there is something looming in the horizon that he needs to be wary of.

Normally, he would simply reside in his room when this happens, where the stiff tension that he has been constantly feeling would not be able to mess with his mana flow. Or, he would spend the night in the library, trying to make sense of everything that the Emperor had told him as he dives right into the books that were written about the ancient kingdoms, the great war between kingdoms that had once rattled the land of Far Far Away, and about the ancient magic spells—one of which had been the same one that had allowed him to walk into his soulmate’s dream.

Tonight, Yoongi chooses to spend his time roaming through the dark hallways of the Imperial Palace with no destination in mind.

For the first time after a long while, he allows his mana to lead the way instead of giving in to the silence. He tracks down even the passageways within the castle that he had rarely traveled through—passing the vacant rooms and the Royal Guards’ posts, past the Great Hall where the empire would often hold their annual festivities, and he continues walking until he suddenly finds himself crossing the palace’s courtyard and entering the Lumina Apex Hall, where the source of the elemental magic that the Emperor has casted onto the palace’s grounds can be found.

Originally built by his ancestors as a temple to worship the moon—which was once believed to be the source of Emburn’s magic—the Lumina Apex Hall has become a fixture within the Imperial Palace’s grounds where the Emperor would spend late hours in the night to cast his magic, casting the spells that are needed to maintain control of his empire and its vast territories under his reign.

With walls and pillars built with Clayntine stone, one of the most durable materials that could only be found in the land of Emburn, and windows made of Shadow Crystals, the Lumina Apex Hall lights up in the nightfall with structures that reflect the moonlight perfectly like mirrors. Located at the center of the Royal Garden, the structure is partly covered with a layer of wild vines growing along its walls and pillars which have rapidly developed with time. Thick hedges and flowers blooming in pastel colours line up on either side of the pathway leading to its front door which has been left unlocked for the Empress and the Royal Priests’ daily visit.

A burst of energy welcomes him as Yoongi enters through the door. There are no lights inside the main atrium, yet moonlight streams through the Shadow Crystals that form the dome ceiling above the atrium, illuminating the hall perfectly with streaks of soft light spreading across the stone floors and bouncing against the stone walls. Standing at the center of the atrium, his eyes roam through the walls around him.

Even here, inside the stone walls, vegetation grows rapidly between the pillars. The overgrowth of vines appears along the pillars, bushes rise from the ground to cover the pale-coloured walls, and a thin layer of grass emerges where the floor tiles made of Osnite stones are split. As Yoongi looks up, he gets to see the bright display of stars which adorn the night sky of Emburn. The sight of the dancing aurora in copper and gold in the sky should have been daunting, when Yoongi notices that the shades seem darker than they usually would, presenting the shadows of peril in its wake.

Yet the sky seems brighter tonight than it usually does, with stars glimmering in the night sky, surrounding the aurora like a protective blanket. Somehow, it gives Yoongi a sense of peace to be walking under such a phenomenon as he steps towards the center of the atrium, where a small pond made of Clayntine stone stands on its own, taking over the space at the heart of the Apex Hall. Around the pond, specks of silver and cyan blue glitters appear to be floating around it instead of a flowing stream, beginning from its center and moving out towards where the streaks of moonlight are falling into the room.

He reaches out to touch the silver specks, feeling them crackle against the tips of his fingers before he retracts his hand. Smiling at the sight of the flowing magic that is the essence of Emburn Empire, he turns away and walks across the atrium to reach one of the glass doors of the Hall which leads to another part of the Royal Gardens that only the Emperor and his trusted people could enter.

Under his touch, the door opens for him, and Yoongi walks out through the pathway that has become familiar to him after all the years he has become acquainted with this place. A core memory from his childhood returns to him as he walks down the gravel-covered pathway, though the overgrown hedges and blood orchids blooming all around him are nothing like what he had seen many years ago.

He was a mere child when he first walked down this pathway with his father holding his hand, long before Emperor Aymon took the throne and during the time Yoongi’s father was slowly taking over the empire’s business with their alliances. To the Emperor, those visits had been about introducing Yoongi to his future duty and responsibility as the future Crown Prince of Emburn, while to Yoongi, the memories that had been engraved in his mind from that period of time hold an entirely different meaning to him.

Beyond this pathway is a magical place, the portal gate which acts as the border between realms and the bridge that connects Emburn Empire to the other kingdoms in the mainland of the land Far Far Away. It was through this magic gate that the Emperor had been able to travel freely between kingdoms and realms, to be able to visit their allies and neighbours while keeping the homeland from being exposed to external threats, and without having to lose connection to the source of Emburn’s magic—just like what happened to Yoongi during his journey. It wouldn’t be until later, once Yoongi takes the throne as the new ruler, when he would be required to do the same, though he would still be able to cross the portal gate whenever he needed to.

The Eden Isle Gardens is what the magical portal gate is called, and it is the one place that Yoongi would always come to visit whenever he returned home.

For many years, ever since he was a child, he would secretly escape to this place whenever he needed a moment of reflection. This has been a place of refuge where he would be able to find peace, and a place that holds one of his most treasured memories which Yoongi has kept for many years.

Even in the Emperor’s absence, the vegetation in this part of the magic garden grow beautifully. The Emperor’s magic remains strong here, keeping the grounds fertile, the grass and hedges perfectly trimmed instead of growing rapidly, and the portal gates secured, with nobody else but Yoongi and Emperor Aymon holding the key and memorising the spell that would help them activate the portals when needed. Yoongi follows the path that has been adorned with blood orchids growing left and right, fairy dust leading his way through the areas that moonlight is unable to penetrate, until he finds the center of the garden, to the place where Yoongi would always return to.

At the center of the garden, surrounded by a small pond and blooming blood orchids, stands a small gazebo made of Shadow Crystals. His legs feel light as Yoongi walks across the boardwalk across the pond to reach the gazebo, while a sense of deja vu fills him as he takes a seat inside, right at the spot which overlooks a locked steel gate which has always caught his attention.

Once in the past, that steel gate had been one of the magic portals that the Emperor would use for his journeys. It was the main bridge connecting his empire to their former ally, another empire which the former Emperor of Emburn, Yoongi’s grandfather, had managed to form a tight bond with. A close and mutual relationship which lasted until the height of Emperor Aymon’s reign.

But as Yoongi looks out through the steel gate now, there is nothing left out there but the wastelands and the ruins of the fallen empire that was once superior in its reign.

After the war between kingdoms, the territory which lies beyond the portal has become a forbidden area for anyone to enter. With remnants of hazardous toxins and black magic that may still linger in the area after the war, nobody has been allowed to come across the borders and into the wastelands for many years. From this side of the connecting portal, the steel gate is secured with chains made of Magraonor steel and locks that are bound with magic spells casted by the Emperor and the High Priest.

Even though Yoongi wouldn’t be able to walk across the gate with all those spells preventing him from seeing what is beyond the darkness, he can picture it inside his head. Through his distant memory, he still recalls the majestic empire that had once been the most peaceful place in Far Far Away, the home of the elves, fairies, and powerful mages who once loved to travel between kingdoms to spread their knowledge about ancient magic and healing remedies. But if only he would close his eyes tonight, the brilliant images of the fallen empire that he once remembered would not be the image that he sees.

Another reason why Yoongi has been doing all he could to evade sleep tonight was the dreams. Ever since he used the spell which allowed him to walk into his soulmate’s dream, and ever since the day he arrived back home, a different kind of dream has been haunting his long, restless nights.

In his dream, he saw himself crossing over the steel gate, the chains and locks had been broken and he could easily walk across the borders to enter the wastelands. He saw himself walking up the steps to the fallen empire’s home castle, surrounded by nothing but shadows and the ruins that had been said to fill the barren territory, and a thick layer of white mist following him as he reached to where the main palace should have been.

Everything about the dream has been daunting, and it has only solidified his concerns about the peculiar shift happening in Far Far Away. While he never got to see what was waiting for him at the end of those steps, to see what was hidden behind the thick mist and beyond the broken stone walls, he still remembers the feeling of unease that lingered through his chest as he was stuck inside the dream, the eerie shadows that seemed to follow him through the mist as he entered the wastelands, and the feeling of death that seemed to linger.

The unnerving sensation he felt was so strong that he could feel it touching his skin even as he opened his eyes upon his return to the waking world. Even now, as he silently recalls the sights he saw in his dreams, his body shudders, while the same uneasiness fills his chest, warning him about the darkness that may come to visit.

As Yoongi sits silently at the center of the magic garden, under the dome roof of the glass gazebo overlooking the high hedges and broken pathway leading to the steel gate, he is unable to look away from the darkness beyond him. Lost in the faint memories that he has of the past, he doesn’t notice it when a black cat enters the premises, sauntering between the hedges filled with blood orchids and over the glimmering pond before finally joining him to lie down in the gazebo.

The black cat follows Yoongi’s gaze, as if trying to understand what the man is thinking so deeply about. The cat suddenly slides closer and rubs itself against Yoongi’s calf to gain his attention before sitting back on its hind legs, with his curious eyes looking out towards the nothingness beyond the gate.

“We used to slip away and escape to this place when we were kids, didn’t we?” a deep voice speaks. “What a wonderful time that was, when we were nothing more but oblivious little children who knew nothing about the world.”

Yoongi turns to the black cat with a smile, recognising the voice that had just spoken to him, allowing him to identify this mysterious cat that had just decided to join him in his wonderings. “Indeed, we were. Those moments back then were truly irreplaceable,” Yoongi says, responding to the cat as he turns his gaze back at the steel gate. “We used to run away from the tutors to hide in this place, and then played hide and seek until the sun came down and Father would have to come down here himself to fetch us.”

“Those were the days,” the black cat softly chuckles. The cat falls silent for a moment before it softly continues, “This was also the place where you met her for the first time, wasn’t it?” The cat turns to look at Yoongi as the other does the same, and they exchange gazes with each other when the cat adds, “I’m talking about Her Majesty, Queen Milena.”

Sighing, Yoongi looks around the garden and reminisces about the past. “This was the place—” he says, as his memory takes him back to that moment in time from many, many years ago, when he was nothing more but a little boy who could barely able to speak fluently, yet was curious enough to follow his father to see what the Emperor was up to when he suddenly changed his plans with Yoongi to come to this place, only to find out that the Emperor was having important guests visiting. While the Emperor went on a stroll with his guest, Yoongi came to the gazebo to meet the young Princess Milena, the future queen who was resting while staying under the shade. The young Crown Princess of their neighbouring empire welcomed Yoongi with a warm smile, a sight that to this day remains to be the most glorious thing about her for Yoongi to remember.

“We did come across each other in this place for the first time, but it was beyond that gate where I used to be able to see her—” Yoongi says, pointing at the locked steel gate, while his memory once again takes him back to those days when Emperor Aymon took him along during his visits past the steel gate. Back then, a remarkable empire stood proud and strong on the other side of the gate, with the sun shining brightly on its prosperous land. Now, there is nothing there but the dark void and the flowing white mist that haunts him in his sleep.

The black cat looks out towards the steel gate and, as if knowing what Yoongi had just been thinking about, says, “And now there is nothing left there but the wastelands.”

“Is that really the truth?” Yoongi questions almost distractedly, and the cat scoffs.

“Only you would question it.”

The blunt comment draws a smile to Yoongi’s face, and he turns back to look at his peculiar companion to say, “The only thing I’m questioning right now is why you chose to come here while disguising in that form. I didn’t expect that you would follow me all the way back home, Yijeong.”

The black cat, Yijeong, stretches out and lies down near Yoongi’s feet before answering, “As a concerned friend, I was worried when I didn’t get a word from you since you went home. I had to slip out in disguise to move easier when following you. This form was the perfect choice since nobody would pay attention to a black cat strolling through the gardens. Did you notice that you were being followed by guards? I’m not sure if they know what you’re up to, but it seems that they’re determined to keep people away from the gardens to give you some privacy.”

Despite knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see anyone other than the two of them, Yoongi still steals a glance over his shoulder, looking back to where these royal guards that Yijeong mentioned might be standing by. Somewhere near the Apex Hall, no doubt, as it would be rare for regular guards to be able to come this far. The only exception was given to Yijeong, as the son of the Empire’s General, the only other person aside from the Emperor who has access to visit this magical place. Just like him, Yijeong has been trained and prepared to replace his father once the time comes, to one day stand by Yoongi’s side once he takes over the throne and rules the empire, and he had been trained all the spells that would be needed for him to do his duties.

“I noticed having extra shadows following me since I left my room,” he says, before facing towards the center of the gardens again and settling back against the glass wall on the side of the gazebo, though he turns his attention towards the other side of the gardens this time, where fireflies are beginning to appear around the pond. “I’ve had guards shadowing me since I got back, so I already expected them to follow me here too. But I didn’t care. They wouldn’t be able to enter this place anyway.”

“I guess you’re right,” Yijeong says as he lays his chin on his paw. “What were you expecting to find by coming here anyway?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep, then I started strolling through the palace’s grounds, looking for some kind of a distraction,” Yoongi answers with a deep sigh. “I suddenly felt like I needed to get out of the palace, and I suppose that’s how I found my way here.”

Yijeong says nothing for a moment, before he questions Yoongi with a hushed voice, “Something was bothering you. Has the Emperor’s request been weighing heavily on you?”

His question draws a frown to Yoongi’s face. Yoongi had never truly revealed the true purpose of his expedition into the human realm, not to his loyal men and even to Yijeong, except to simply mention that it was a royal duty that was needed to be done under the Emperor’s request. Yijeong may have never questioned it out loud, and despite his willingness to stay by Yoongi’s side and to join him on his journey, Yoongi had always known that his best friend had been curious, if not suspicious about what he aimed to find.

It was not until the day Yoongi had to depart from camp, leaving behind Smotia to return home, when he finally pulled Yijeong aside to tell him everything—about the true reason why he left home, about why he had chosen to remain in Smotia, or why he had to keep a close eye on the Wicked King.

Only Yijeong knows what their true mission was, and what the Emperor had requested Yoongi to find without Empress Ariane ever knowing.

“Find my childhood friend. Find Milena. Help me find out what happened to her, and if she is still alive, bring her home. I cannot leave this realm without having any knowledge of her fate. I can’t die regretting that I couldn’t do anything to save her. If you can find ‘him’, then you might be able to find out if he still has her.”

Yoongi understood it quite well when Yijeong complained about being kept in the dark. Thankfully, his friend was quick to forgive him, knowing that such a big secret would cause a myriad of other problems should it ever get out, or for the Empress to hear that her own husband had made such a request. Even though it has been such a long time since both Yoongi and Yijeong ever came across Queen Milena, they both still remember how jealous the Empress had been of the Emperor’s friendship with his closest friend.

But sharing this secret only gave little relief to Yoongi’s heart, because there is still one more secret that he holds dear, unable to find a way to reveal it to Yijeong when he still has his own doubts. That finding Queen Milena, a mission that might be fundamental for the Emperor’s road to healing, has only been a small part—if not the first step—of Yoongi’s personal goal. And he has yet to be able to share this with anyone, even Yijeong, because he has never truly shared the real story of his first encounter with Queen Milena in the magic gardens.

Because that day, Queen Milena had not been sitting in this gazebo on her own, and only Yoongi and the Emperor knew Queen Milena’s secret which had been hidden until now.

Just as Yoongi is silently pondering if he should share his secret with his best friend, the air around them suddenly shifts. There is an invisible weight that breezes through the bushes, stirring the peacefulness that has been accompanying Yoongi in his wallowing. Even Yijeong becomes alert as he stirs by his side that Yoongi instantly rises, already prepared to use his magic to connect to the elements around them so he can see what is happening. But before he can even begin summoning his mana, Yijeong snaps his head to focus on him. His best friend’s gaze remains on his chest just as warmth begins to form against his skin, while the mana flow within him seems to be reacting to the sensation rising around them.

“Hey, Yoongi?” Yijeong says with a spark of surprise lathering his voice.

“Yeah?” Yoongi answers with his eyes focusing back and forth between Yijeong and the gardens, noticing how the leaves are swaying with the unsettling breeze.

“Why is that thing glowing? Did you do something or are you conjuring your mana to have it reacting like that?”

“No, I’m not doing any—” Yoongi starts to respond when his amulet—which has been hanging from his neck and down to his chest the whole time he was here—begins vibrating. He looks down and touches the amulet, which is now glowing in his hand as he lifts it up to get a better look. Blue light shimmers from the center of the amulet, flickering and swirling even stronger as he brings it up, inadvertently pointing it towards the locked gate that was supposed to lead him to their fallen neighbour.

His breath is caught, as he slowly begins to understand what is happening. There is only one reason why the amulet would be reacting this way, even if it makes no sense at all for it to be trying to lead him towards the forbidden territory beyond the sacred gate. And then, something finally dawns on him.

“You know, this amulet has been lighting up quite often since I got back home,” he whispers almost to himself, while the voice inside his head adds, ever since the dreams started happening. “But this is the first time it’s doing something like this.”

This can only mean one thing. “I think someone is using his magic to create portals, and they have been moving around between realms.”

Yijeong slowly rises, while Yoongi’s heartbeat picks up, beating rapidly in his chest right after he says those words. “Do you know who it might be? Can it be possible that—” Yijeong begins to question him, only for him to see Yoongi shaking his head, chucking to himself with disbelief when he says,

“It’s impossible, but—”

And it seems almost too good to be true just to think about it. Yoongi swallows hard as he wonders about this, as he can no longer qualm the rising hope blooming in his chest when he adds, “I think I know who it might be.”

She’s so close. How could it be? 

Yoongi has no idea how it could possibly happen, but he can sense you being so close to him that he can almost feel your presence within arm’s reach. His body trembles with anticipation, excitement, and his worries rising at the same time. Seeing that there is light appearing, hope waiting at the end of his journey, Yoongi slowly releases his amulet and kneels down beside his best friend.

If he wants to find the truth, and find you, then he will no doubt need help to achieve it.

“Yijeong, I need you to listen to me carefully—”

Your hands feel clammy as you stand right in front of another silver door.

Unlike the other doors that you have seen so far, this one looks the most ordinary and a bit—old. Made of deep-coloured wood, its front is adorned with embellishments made of thin silver linings that are crafted in intricate curves formed in floral patterns, and they all seem to glint in the dimly lit hallway. You probably shouldn’t be intimidated by its size and the intricate details that you are seeing, but not surprisingly, your knees are already shaking with the mere thought of opening this door filling your head.

Deep down, you already know that whatever you may come across once you step through this door, it will be far from ordinary. This is what you have learned so far from these silver doors after venturing into them for the past few days, as it had become one of your past afternoon activities once you are done with your daily lessons and royal duties.

The shock that you gained after entering the first silver door remained within you for quite a while. Pure disbelief had followed you after coming back out of the door, not entirely sure if what you encountered that day had been real. If only you hadn’t found yourself stumbling back into the hallway of Stargrave Castle or nearly spraining your ankles on your way back to your bedchamber, perhaps you would simply think that you were dreaming. That there was no way you could have gone back to The Citadel, or that the door had connected you back to the smaller—and slightly bland-looking—study room which your father, King Aneas, would often spend his time working in with his men back at the capital.

But you were well awake to feel it when the dusk came in and your skin was covered by the bumps rising as the temperature dropped so rapidly. And you were definitely awake when the palace’s maid came to help you prepare for dinnertime. You even held a long and steady conversation with her while she was brushing out the knots in your hair, further proving that you were walking in the real world instead of being stuck in a long, extended dreamscape.

Yet those things couldn’t stop you from questioning your own sanity as you laid down on your bed that night, particularly when you recalled the conversation that you ’heard’ from your hiding spot when you were in the study room. But then you looked out the window of your bedroom, the curtains left open as you had wished to see the stars and you saw a glimpse of the same copper aurora which had captivated you on the night of your arrival, the magical display of light once again making its appearance known to you as it danced in the sky above the calm ocean.

The sight quickly reminded you of how different and peculiar everything should be in this place. It made you realise that the odds of you actually being transported back into a different place across the realm would not have been impossible. It was hard to deny it when you remembered experiencing jumping into a burning flame to get into this realm, and that magic did exist in this place in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine.

It was your own curiosity which had drawn you back to the same hallway after you were done with your lessons on the next day. At first, you considered going through the same door again, if only to prove that you hadn’t been dreaming and that you were completely sane. But then your father’s voice echoed through your mind as you stood in front of the same door, reminding you of his warning to only try one door at a time.

As you wished to be able to see more, you stepped away from the first door. There was no humming sound calling you back when you left it behind, while an odd pull was felt through the air, and you followed it until you found another silver door not too far away.

The silver door which soon became your second to try out had been smaller in size compared to the first one you had gone into. Yet you still entered with caution. You came through the door thinking that you would be prepared to find another surprising revelation, only to feel the shock filling your entire being when you walked through the door to come out through a small cabinet, and you found yourself emerging into the royal waiting room that was located within the city hall in the capital city of Smotia.

There was nobody around to catch you as you came out of the waiting room. After finding the podium on the first floor, right where your father’s throne was placed for him to acquire during formal ceremonies, you continued to make your way to the upper floors. Having been to this place often times before to accompany your father, you found no trouble in finding the main balcony, where the King would stand before the people of Smotia as he leads various ceremonies and rituals together with you by his side and his loyal ministers shadowing his movements.

Sure enough, as you looked down from the balcony, the Elysium Square was presented right before your eyes. The town’s square where the people would gather to see their King and to celebrate the empire’s annual events, and oftentimes, to simply enjoy the free time they have during their daily lives.

The same way the people were doing as you looked down from above. Keeping yourself in the shades to avoid being seen, you saw how the town’s workers were walking down the pavements as they were on their way home, making quite a haste to make sure that they would return to their dwellings before dusk. There were also little children playing around the fountains, while their mothers kept their busy eyes to watch over them while gossiping on the sides.

Just like the day before, when you felt your knees buckling beneath you in shock, you had to hold on to the railings as you watched the people below, the faint voices of their laughter became solid proof that you had been once again sent away from your new home. A memory flashed through your mind just then, of how each time you were supposed to attend the royal gathering alongside your father, the King himself would never ride the royal carriage with you to reach the city hall.

Each time, your father would somehow arrive not long after you would, with not a sight of another royal carriage arriving at the city hall to bring him all the way from The Citadel. Turning back to the hall where you came from, you could almost picture it, to see the King walking down the hall before emerging through the main balcony to greet his people, his daughter, and his men, without a single person witnessing how he had truly arrived.

With your curiosity deepened, you continued your adventure for the next few days by trying out two different silver doors, both of them lined up within a nearby hallway just beyond the King’s study room. And just like the previous ones, each of these doors took you back to different areas in the land of Smotia which you had become most familiar with.

The smaller one took you back to the town’s church.

You came out through the storage room door at the back of the church and, in your shock, you came so close to bumping into the head priest while you were busy taking in your surroundings. It was pure luck that you had been quick enough to slip into a nearby room which was thankfully empty, that you were able to avoid getting seen by the head priest who walked by with his helpers.

When the coast was clear enough for you to slip out of the room, the evening mass was just starting to take place. You may have recovered from your shock by then, yet once again, your mind was caught in a battle between acceptance and denial to make your exit. Fallen prey to your own curiosity, as you wanted to get a closer look instead of leaving with questions shadowing your thoughts, you returned to the room where you had been hiding in. From one of the wardrobes you found, you managed to grab a commoner’s cloak for you to borrow, using it to hide your identity as you slipped between the parishioners who came for the head priest’s sermon and gain his blessings.

As everyone around you was listening to the head priest’s sermon with rapt attention, the burning candles on the altar swaying with the breeze, their soft lights illuminating the walls and the dais while giving a serene feeling into the whole church, your attention remained on the side doors leading to the back halls where you came from. Once again, you could almost see the shadows of your father, sauntering through the back halls with his magic before appearing at the altar without anyone noticing or wondering where His Majesty had come from.

The next silver door you tried had appeared to your eyes like a work of art. The carvings on the wood panels had been the ones to draw you in, before you noticed that the silver embellishments that marked the door seemed to have silver specks floating around it, drawing more of your attention to have a closer look. That was before the humming voices began to call for you, pulling you in, enchanting you to slide in the key and open the door for a new adventure.

The magic door brought you to the orchard house that was part of the royal winery on the outskirts of the capital city. Located beyond the borders of the Elcester Forest where the wide, open plane was rich and fruitful enough for the vineyard to grow massively, it was the place which produced the royal wine that the King would often serve to his special guests during royal dinners and important events that were held by the empire.

Despite recognising the place almost immediately, you still took your time to look around to find clues, any signs that may confirm your suspicions. Leaving the main house, you browsed through the warehouse and stockrooms, not stopping until you finally found the crates of bottles that were being prepared to be sent away to The Citadel. It wasn’t until you saw the royal crest marking the crates and the bottles when you finally confirmed it, that the place had indeed been another one of the King’s properties which was situated within the territory of Smotia.

Back in the part of the empire which existed in the human realm.

You walked across the clearing with a mixed feeling of awe and trepidation. The day was beginning to settle down to dusk by the time you were venturing through the property, with the sun descending into the horizon, spreading more shadows than light through the open vineyards. It allowed you to stay in the shade to avoid being seen, and to be able to watch the workers from a safe distance. As the night was closing in, there were only a small group of people left working at the winery. Most of them were just finishing up, either at the warehouse or the stockrooms where they kept the crops. They all seemed busy with their own tasks to notice you, though it didn’t stop you from feeling like someone was watching your movement, causing you to become even more cautious while you were feeding your curiosity.

It was after the last trip you took through the silver doors when you finally came to a realisation, to finally understand the secret behind them. Once you accepted that your little adventures had not been a dream or imagination, and that what you encountered had not been mere illusion, you finally understood what these silver doors were.

Portals.

The silver doors that your father had given you access to have been magic portals, with powerful spells that would bring you to different places, allowing you to emerge in different realms, and perhaps even beyond.

If only you hadn’t had the talk with your father on the day you first arrived in this castle, or taken the time to understand more about this new realm and learn about magic since you have been here, you would have simply thought that you have indeed gone crazy. But all the days you spent learning about the fairy tale land and the magic that lies within the realm have only helped you to understand everything better, and you soon realised that this was the magic that your father mentioned the day he handed you the bundle of keys that you are now holding in your hand.

“Within each one of the silver doors, there is a strong kind of magic. One that has been so demanding of our family’s powers, exists under my control, and it is also the type of magic that should be kept secret, no matter what. Once you go through them, you will understand why it is important for me to defend this castle and our home territory.”

Was this the reason why your father brought you back to this place after so long, after spending years keeping you away from it? Did he want you to learn about his magic after protecting you from it? Was this the reason why he handed you these keys, to show you the power of magic that has been passed down in your family?

But then the most important question still haunts you to this day—

Has this been His Majesty’s way of being able to travel to different places in a short amount of time so he could handle his business, to be able to do his duty without having to travel far and long so he could continue taking care of his empire?

With this new knowledge, your curiosity has been growing stronger than your fear, and you have more questions plaguing you each day. Questions that you would have to keep to yourself until the day your father would return home.

Until then, you would gather more information through your lessons and from opening more magic doors. Perhaps, the more you get to see the magic behind these doors, the more you can see this new world as you continue venturing through these portals, then you will be able to learn and understand more about your father’s magic and this magical realm, and find out who you truly are.

That was the reason why you are standing here tonight, right in front of yet another silver door that has drawn your curiosity that you find it hard to look away. The silver embellishments on the door are glimmering right before your eyes, as they reflect the soft glare of moonlight that has penetrated into the hallway through a nearby window.

The moonlight that rarely accompanies you whenever you are about to embark on your own little adventure.

In your previous trials, you have only chosen the short period of time in the late afternoon after tutoring hours to slip out of your bedchamber and venture into these halls. Keeping the short timeframe that your father had given you for these adventures, you have always used the sign of dusk to remind you to return home, allowing you to be back right before dinnertime.

Today has been different. Tutoring hours lasted longer than usual, when Lord Gordan took over your afternoon lessons and sat you down to teach you about your family’s ancestry. The extra lessons didn’t end until dusk finally came, when Nanny Abigail took over guarding you as she led you straight to dinner in the royal dining hall.

It wasn’t until long after dinnertime when you finally found the chance to slip out of the bedchamber. The absence of Lord Gordan and Nanny Abigail when you stepped out of the room, and the absence of the lady maids in the hallway wasn’t so much of a surprise, but it was quite a shock to find that there had been no guards standing by outside of your bedchamber. Just like how it would have been back at The Citadel when you could barely see yourself going around the palace without at least one guard following you.

It made you curious, yet you spent no time wondering about it, and took the chance to slip out of your quarters and find your way back to this hallway of silver doors.

There were no palace staff in sight as you walked down the halls, but you did catch a sight of a pair of guards standing in their post in a nearby hall, though they seemed to be focused on guarding the King’s study room to notice you slipping into the shadows behind the pillars as you made your way into this place. Glancing towards the end of the hall and to the opposite way, you make sure that the coast is still clear, and nobody would catch what you are doing as you move closer to the silver door.

This time, there is no humming sound coming out of the door to summon you, as if beckoning you to come closer and choose this door for you to open tonight. Yet the silver key that you are holding seems to vibrate against your palm the closer you come towards the door before you. The vibration is strong enough to cause the rest of the keys in the bundle to jingle that you have to press your palm around them to keep them from making too much noise, afraid that it might draw someone’s attention and you would miss the chance to see what lies beyond the magic door.

Knowing that you won’t have much time left before the guards would begin their evening patrol and your absence in the bedchamber gets discovered, you reach back and pull up the hood of your cloak to cover yourself before walking through the door. Learning from past experiences, after finding yourself emerging into unexpected places and coming close to being seen or recognised, you realised that you would have to be more careful to avoid getting caught by someone and accidentally exposing your father’s secret during your trips.

That was why you decided to be much safer tonight, to disguise yourself as you go through with your secret escapade.

Under the half-ragged cloak that you have often worn whenever you escaped from The Citadel at nightfall, you have chosen to wear a commoner’s clothes—a plain, dark-coloured tunic top and a pair of tight breeches—instead of your daily dresses. The pair of boots that would normally be hidden under your bed have replaced the low pair of heels that you wore during today’s tutoring hours and afternoon lessons.

With a deep inhale of breath and a silent prayer, you turn the vibrating key which has somehow become warm in your hold, and gently open the door.

You suck a deep breath as you emerge into a bedroom that looks nothing like the rooms you have seen all around the magic castle so far. The room you walk into appears to be quite small yet cozy, with a queen-sized bed positioned right at the center of the room, covered with a couple of fluffed pillows and fresh sheets, with a thick furry blanket folded on the foot of the bed. There is a shaded lamp on top of the side table right beside the bed, and a cold, unlit fireplace on the opposite wall. Right in front of the fireplace, a brown felt that appears to have come from a deer is laid to cover the wooden floor, making you think for a second that you might be inside a hunter’s lodging, until something draws your attention to make you think otherwise.

On your right appears to you a wooden door. Even while being closed shut, you can still hear the muffled sounds of people chatting and cheering, the sounds of glass clinking and cutleries hitting tables and plates, and the rough voices of men shouting and calling names. The noises that you hear are enough to give you a hint to figure out where you currently are, as they bring you back to the scene you encountered a period of time ago during your late-night trips into town. Though doubt fills your mind, as you still find it hard to believe it to be true unless you can see it with your own eyes.

You turn towards the door, and the door from which you came in from grabs your attention. Looking at it now, it seems to be the door of a walk-in closet. But just like the other portals, magic has turned it into something else. Through the half-opened door, instead of seeing the interior of a closet, you see the sight of the magic portal that is still open. There is nothing there but the sight of a dark void with swirling blue lights floating at the center. The dark void seems eerie to you, yet you no longer look at it with fear as you know that this magical sight is what will lead you back to the magic castle once you are done venturing here.

The sound of a man’s laughter and the loud cheers that follow draw your attention back to the bedroom door. Curious to know where you might have ended, you carefully make your way to it. The wooden floor creaks beneath your booths, making your breath hitch, and you silently pray that the noises outside would drown the sounds you are making as you slowly reach for the doorknob and turn it open. To your relief, the door has been left unlocked, and you carefully pull it open just an inch. Just enough for you to see what is on the other side.

The muffled sounds you heard suddenly clear out and immediately hit you straight in the face—the loud chattering that seems to come from dozens of rowdy men and the boastful laughter that you heard earlier, with the sounds of glasses clinking against each other or hitting against wooden tables. Seeing nothing but a wooden walkway and railings as you open the door, you realise that you are currently on the upper floor of an establishment, while the noises seem to have been coming from downstairs. The familiar scent of booze, dust, and burning candles wafts through the air, and you stifle a gasp as you soon realise where you are.

Moving in haste when you barely have the chance to recover from shock, you shut the door with a soft click and turn the other way. Across from you appears a window, left partly opened for the cold night breeze to flow into the room, blowing the thin curtains that have little to do to shield the lights coming from the street outside. With shaky legs, you walk towards the window and look down.

Just as suspected, you see the bustling street of the business district of Smotia right down below, with people passing by as they are making their route home or searching for a place of leisure after a long day of hard work. You can easily recognise the street you are looking at, because you had ventured into the same street the last time you slipped away from home.

Still busy taking everything in, you almost miss the sound of firm footsteps and the creaks on the wooden floor outside of the bedroom, until you hear them coming closer towards the bedroom door. A low and deep voice calls out from outside the door, snapping you out of your shock, “Anee? Is that you?”

Turning sharply with a gasp, you rush to close the door to the closet, hiding the glimmering portal before rushing into the small bathroom on the other side of the fireplace to hide.

“You didn’t tell me that you were coming tonight—”

The deep sound of voice fades just as the bedroom door opens merely seconds after you close the bathroom door shut. “Anee? Are you here?” the man calls out again after coming to a halt. “Huh. That’s funny, I thought I heard someone here.”

Just when you expect him to leave after finding the room empty, you hear the man entering the room instead. The floor creaks more intensely under his boots, and you hold your breath as you sense him coming towards the window. Peering through the seams between the door and the wooden frame, you catch the sight of the man as he stands in front of the window, looking down the street with a sigh.

“Must have been my imagination, then. ’Am getting old for this, I swear,” he seems to mumble to himself before he gently shuts the window, and as he bends, you get to see him more clearly to recognise him. The illuminating street lights from outside the window are helping you to see his face.

Sir Elias.

A woman’s voice is heard from outside the room, calling for him, and the man turns to walk away. “Nothing, love. I thought I heard someone in the room, is all,” he calls out to whoever was calling him as he makes his way to leave the bedroom.

“Who is it? Is it Anee?” the woman’s voice seems muted as she remains outside the bedroom, with the noises from below rising in the background.

“Nah,” Sir Elias chuckles lowly. “It’s just the wind—” he calls out to the woman that you assume to be his wife as he turns and begins walking away, before adding gently under his breath, “Or maybe I just missed that bloody sucker.”

You remain still as you listen to the faint click sound of the door coming to close, followed by the sound of Sir Elias’ heavy footfalls over the wooden floor fading in the distance, until silence fills the room.

It isn’t until you take a few more deep breaths and steady your shaking hands before you finally open the door, looking around you to make sure that the bedroom is completely empty before finally stepping out of the bathroom. With a deep, exhale of breath, you come down to your knees in your relief and rest back against the bed. Your eyes turn to the window, now closed shut to shield the voices from the town below, leaving you in the stifling silence where your mind once again becomes the loudest.

The silver door has taken you back to The Rare Roots, the local pub right at the center of the business district in Smotia, and straight into one of the rented rooms on the upper floor of the pub, which Sir Elias had offered you to take the night you came here.

Your head spins as questions after questions continue to fill your mind.

Why would the King have direct access to a local pub in the business district of Smotia?

And why would Sir Elias—the owner of the local pub who you have never once seen coming to visit The Citadel—be calling your father by his childhood name, as if they have known each other personally for a very long time, or that he would expect the King to be appearing in one of his rented bedrooms as if it would be such a normal occurrence to happen here?

You remain in the bedroom for a while longer, looking around to find any sign that your father had truly been here, while the night passes by with the muffled sounds from the crowd of The Rare Roots below penetrating through the silence. The noises out there are loud, but not loud enough to drown your thoughts as you take a seat at the foot of the bed, trying to make sense of your findings.

The curtains by the window have been left open after Sir Elias’ departure, allowing the figure that has been moving in the shadows to look his way in, watching your movements in silence, his presence completely unbeknownst to you. Perched atop the roof of the next building, he gets a clear view of you. Of the way you seem to be wallowing so deep in your thoughts that you are unaware of the pair of eyes that are keeping a close watch on you.

And he continues to watch over you, taking his time to take the sight of you in and memorise everything he sees of you until you finally slip away, disappearing into one of the doors which acts like the portal bringing you back home. That is when he also makes his move, stepping back into the shadows to return to where he belongs, filled with the delight of victory that comes after finally finding what he was after.

Found you. Finally, I’ve found you, he wonders to himself, as he slips away and disappears through the shadows of the night.

— © 2023 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

the bedroom hymns ● chapter viii

⟶ Chapter summary | As Yoongi returns home, he is welcomed by the shadows of his past, and the secret behind his journey being challenged and questioned. At the same time, you slowly begin to unravel your father’s secrets, as you begin to learn more about his magic,  and you continue following the shadows of his footsteps to find out what he has planned.  

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader  ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy au, Fairy Tale retelling au ⟶ Word count | 12,1k words ⟶ Ratings | PG-13, +18 / M for Mature for future chapters; mentions of war, dark magic, a brief mention/hint of stalking  ⟶ Story Masterlist | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi

⟶ Author’s note | We’re finally getting a long chapter! I contemplated between dropping this part as a full chapter or to split it into two, but I figured it would be best to combine the scenes as they work much better if being shared and told at the same time. That being said, I might be taking a break from posting the chapters for a couple of weeks (just a week or two, maybe) to finish the rest of the upcoming chapters so we can have some more regular updates. I’ll be back soon with more thrilling scenes, I promise. But for now, I hope this long chapter will fill your days as we wait for the next ones to come :)

chapter viii. chasing shadows

Yoongi never truly understood why he was able to find solace while he was staying in Smotia until he finally returned home.

Emburn Empire, Min Yoongi’s home kingdom and the home of the fairies, can be quite distinctive compared to any other kingdoms that inhabit the Land of Far Far Away. Its vast territory rises from one of the most sequestered regions of the fairy tale land, divided into three separate sections connecting Emburn Empire with the three different elements of nature which support the empire as a whole—on the land, its landed territory that is united with the main continent of the fairy tale land; on the water, the small province floating against the rough waves of the Carmine Sea; and on the air, presented by the patch of island housing the main government of Embun which levitates gracefully above the continent, floating among the thick white clouds on the blue-grey sky above.

Here, much like in Smotia, greens in various hues cover the expanse of Emburn. Widespread of green grass and a vast variety of trees blanket the range of hills, with dense clusters of tall trees crowning the rising terrains and stowed between the dip of valleys. Some trees grow here just as wide as the people’s homes and almost as tall as the sky above, with many that are almost older than the entire empire itself. Thick clusters of wild ivy smother the stone walls of the Imperial Palace and the people’s houses in the towns, and flowers bloom in a myriad of shapes and colours that only exist here in the Emburn Empire.

Yoongi recalls all the dawns and mornings he spent sitting on top of the tallest hills in Smotia, looking away from the towns and the mercenary camps to enjoy the sight of the canopies of trees and the widespread meadows and finding similarities there to the sea of green waiting for him back home. Oftentimes, he would wonder how the empire that was built within the human realm could have given him a sense of familiarity which reminded him of his home. Whenever he remembered how Smotia existed in the borders between two realms, he would find himself wondering if the similarities had been deliberately created to mirror their closest neighbour, albeit their existence is separated by the portals hidden in the depth of the Elcester Forest. And that was before Yoongi learned of the truth about the Wicked King’s true antecedents and the true history behind his ascension as the ruler of the Nythelean Empire.

Had King Aneas done it on purpose, then? That he had built his new home in the human realm which resembled the land where he had once been, taking everything that he had learned from his former ally about making use of the land’s resources to establish his empire and to support his people?

Because just like how Nythelean Empire gain their resources from the Land of Smotia, the fertile land, the green hills, the abundant woodlands and fresh springs that spread all over the territories of Emburn are the ones that have helped the empire and its people to thrive for a long period of time. But unlike in Smotia, resources are not the only things that the people of Emburn could gain from nature.

One look was all he needed to see, through the first sight that Yoongi had taken from his homeland on the day he emerged in the bluffs after leaving Smotia behind, to remind him that the two empires are not one and the same. Arriving at the bluffs at dawn, he traveled towards the southeast of Earthpeak Cliffs and across the borders between kingdoms, where the sight of the territory of Emburn first welcomed him. The green hills of the landed territory of his homeland opened for him like a warm embrace. The sight and the feeling that overcame him as he marched his loyal mare, Aspen, through the borders had been almost comparable to what he experienced the first time he first came through the borders of Smotia.

Yet all the similarities ended once he finally reached the area where the landed territory of Emburn and the capital city were connected, where the first sign of Emburn’s distinctive nature could be seen.

What doesn’t exist in the vast fertile land of Smotia is magic. The same kind of magic that exists here in every part of the land, drifting in the air that Yoongi breathes, and is constantly felt by every single inhabitant living within the territories of Emburn Empire. This old magic is what becomes the empire’s source of power ever since the day it was established and built by Yoongi’s ancestors, with the emperor and empress sitting on its throne becoming the pillar and the core that hold the magic together, binding it and keeping it stable for many years.

It is the same powerful magic that allows the capital city of Emburn and the Imperial Palace to defy gravity, levitating far above the mainland and higher than the peaks of Earthpeak Cliff, the tallest rocky mountains which stand above the Carmine Sea.

The sight of the levitating capital city which Yoongi saw the moment he reached the heart of Emburn had become clear evidence and reminder of how different his homeland truly is, not only compared to the human land of Smotia but also to all the places he visited throughout his journey. Beyond the sight of the sea of green that welcomed him in the landed provinces, appeared to his eyes the majestic sight of Marble Falls, the flowing waterfalls that descend all the way from the grounds of the Imperial Palace in the sky and down to the Armere River that flows between the range of hills in the grounded region of Emburn in the mainland.

This powerful magic was first found by the ancient fairies who once roamed this part of the fairy tale land, passed down to Yoongi’s blood ancestors who built the empire from the ground up to create a peaceful haven for the fairies in Far Far Away land. The magic that still exists today, the one that is holding the empire together in the present, and the same magic that becomes the cure to Yoongi’s ailment, helping him piece together the bond that he has with his mana which has grown weak and fragile during his time away from home.

It had only taken Yoongi mere seconds after breathing in the fresh air here in Emburn and stepping through the gates of the Imperial Palace for his power to begin knitting itself together. He could feel every fractured piece of his mana strengthening itself until his powers began coursing through his body once again, until he was finally able to heal. In an instant, his senses were heightened, the mana flow within him stopped rebelling against him and it began to calm down, settling peacefully the way it should have been.

Days have gone by since his arrival, and before he realises it, those days are slowly turning into weeks. Albeit his mana has yet to fully return to its normal state, Yoongi is quite relieved to have made the decision to return home, allowing him the chance to not only recover the magic within him but also to gain more strength before he returns to finish his journey.

Sometimes, when he would roam through the imperial palace on his own, he would be filled with guilt and realisation that he should have probably listened to Yijeong’s advice about returning to Emburn so he could recover. If only he had listened and hadn’t been so stubborn about staying in Smotia, knowing that the chances of him finding what he was after had been slim, perhaps he would have been able to use his powers when he needed them the most.

But that was all in the past now, and all he can focus on now is to recover completely while thinking of ways to make up for his obstinacy once he gets back to where Yijeong is. Because recovering his powers hadn’t been the only thing that Yoongi had managed to gain by coming home.

Ever since the moment he arrived back to the land of Far Far Away, Yoongi immediately noticed the peculiarity hanging in the air. He could easily sense the turbulences happening in the fairy tale land, recognising immediately that something had been brewing in his absence. Warning bells kept ringing in his head as he entered the home castle with cautions upon his arrival. His shoulders had been heavy, not knowing what to expect as he made his way to see his parents.

While it wasn’t bad news which welcomed him home, the odd exchange that he had with his mother during their first reunion didn’t help much to reassure him about the situation.

“Was it really necessary for you to be away for so long? What could have been more important than being here, for you to prepare for the crown and handle the matters around the empire in place of the Emperor?” 

Empress Ariane had always shown Yoongi a form strict of love, as she had always placed the matters of the crown and the empire above everything else, including her own son. In her eyes, Yoongi is not just her biological son, but the Crown Prince and the sole heir of the Emburn Empire, and she has always reminded Yoongi of his role at every chance she gets. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to Yoongi when she immediately brought up his duty to the empire and the crown upon his return home, to remind him of the need for him to focus on preparing himself to take the Emperor’s place once it was due time for him to take the responsibility.

Yet there was something in the way the Empress addressed the matter which had been bothering Yoongi. His own conscience has been brewing with suspicions, and it has kept nagging him in the back of his mind that he finds it hard to shake the thoughts away, even to this day.

“What if something happens to—” the Empress’ words broke and shattered at the mention of the Emperor while they sat together in the throne room the day Yoongi first came to see her. Hurt flickered through her gaze, though she quickly blinked it away before Yoongi could say something about it or look deeper into her thoughts at that moment. “What if something happens while you are out there running amok doing heavens know what? You know I wouldn’t be able to handle this entire empire by myself.”

Yoongi never said a thing in return except making a promise that everything would be okay, regardless of what the Empress was trying to imply. There was no need for her mother to finish her words, as Yoongi could already hear it in his head.

What if something happens to the Emperor?

“Nothing is going to happen. I am sure of it.” Yoongi said this to the Empress with full conviction, as he had truly made sure of the safety of the empire and the Emperor before his departure from home.

Emperor Aymon, the ruler of the Emburn Empire and Yoongi’s biological father, has been bedridden from a mysterious illness which started two years ago. The ailment had come out of nowhere, when the strong and healthy Emperor unexpectedly started to grow weak. It had all begun with the Emperor losing control of his mana flow, until the magic within him began fighting back against him, erupting through his whole body while hurting him from the inside. Once the powerful mana began to simmer down, it almost seemed like every drop of magic within him had been wasted, and so did his soul.

Even the entire empire was hurting, as his magic—that was supposed to stabilise the powerful magic within the home of the fairies—started weakening. The unexpected changes of weather caused the crops to fail and prevented fishing ships from sailing out across the Carmine Sea. Earthquakes and storms happened every so often that people kept having to build new homes, while a series of peculiar illnesses began to spread in towns.

To this, the Emperor had chosen to lock himself in one of the tallest towers in the Imperial Palace, not only for the sake of himself and to prevent his magic from harming people around him, but also to preserve the magic that he had left to keep his empire under control. Even once the Empress and the High Priest of Emburn managed to aid him in stabilising the empire with their magic, Emperor Aymon remained in his refuge while doing his best he could to find a way to heal.

Yoongi still remembers the days he spent with the Emperor during the height of his sickness. The fairy king had always appeared to his eyes as the most powerful being he had ever known. But during that period of time, it seemed to him that his father was withering right in front of his eyes, appearing more frail than he used to be as the Emperor laid down on the massive bed where he had been resting during the time of his illness.

But at the same time, the Emperor still appeared to him as the strongest person he had always known. When even at his most critical condition, the Emperor still did his best to fulfil his duty as the ruler to use the rest of his magic to keep the empire and their homeland from crumbling apart.

If only Yoongi had been as indifferent as how the Empress had made him to be—both to the Emperor’s condition and the turbulences occurring in his home kingdom—he would have thought that Empress Ariane’s inquiries had come from a place of concern. The concern she might have felt for the Emperor’s wellbeing, and what might happen to the empire with the Crown Prince being away during the Emperor’s absence.

Yet, seeing the truth now, Yoongi remains haunted by a lingering doubt.

Unbeknownst to the Empress, Yoongi had visited Emperor Aymon not long before leaving Emburn. Not only had the Emperor always known what Yoongi had been up to during his time away from home, but it had actually been the Emperor himself who sent him off on his journey in the first place.

“I want you to do me a favour while I still exist in this realm. It will be quite challenging of a task should you take it, and it wouldn’t be an easy path, but it is necessary that you go into this journey to prevent the upcoming turmoil that may arise in the Land Far Far Away in the near future.”

That day, the Emperor sat down on his bed, his back resting on the headrest as he spoke to Yoongi. He seemed resolved as he relayed his request to his son. But for the most part, he also appeared resigned, as if he was ready to welcome the end of his time should it come to him. But for the first time after a while, Yoongi had also noticed that his father had looked like he was in a much better shape than he usually would, which gave him a sense of relief, albeit briefly. Because no matter how well-shaped he looked as he sat there looking into his son’s eyes, the Emperor’s voice still showed how weary he truly was.

“If you are willing to take this challenge for me, you have to promise me two things,” Emperor Aymon said then. His voice came out stern, and his words came like a warning that Yoongi had no other choice but to agree and make a promise to follow his words. Only then did the Emperor continue with the list of requirements that Yoongi needed to follow. “One, you must go into this with an open mind and forget everything that you’ve learned about the war between kingdoms that was written in the books. Two, you must never let your mother know about my request. Promise me this.”

Yoongi had questioned this specific request from his father at first, yet the warnings given to him had made him grow cautious enough to make sure that he wouldn’t be leaving the Emperor alone without someone watching over him while Yoongi was away. Before he left, Yoongi had ordered a few of his trusted men to keep watch on the Emperor, warning them to trust nobody except for Yoongi. Not even the Empress herself.

He hated not being able to trust his own mother, but the situation that happened after had proven that he had made the right call. As now that even the Empress and the Royal Aides are being placed under close watch, the Emperor’s condition has been getting better. Though Yoongi has been adamant about keeping this information a secret between himself and his men, that not even the Empress knows about the Emperor’s improving health.

It has caused him to feel unsettled, not knowing who to trust even in his own empire. Yet the situation had only given him more reason to do what his father willed him to, as he set off to fulfil not only the Emperor’s request, but also his own intention.

Tonight would be the last night Yoongi would be spending at his home.

Tomorrow, he would have to decide if he should return to Smotia and regroup with his men, or if he should start investigating the Wicked King more closely to know what he is up to. Yoongi knows that he has been gone from his camp for too long, and through the reports sent to him by his men, he has heard that many things have been happening with the Nythelean Empire since the day he left Smotia.

It has made him feel anxious, suddenly afraid that he would miss the perfect opportunity of accomplishing his tasks, now that the Wicked King is on the move. Once again, he regrets for not taking his time to recover sooner, as his departure from Smotia seems to have only caused him the long restless nights filled with all the ’what ifs’, wondering if Fates are trying to stop him from doing what he is required to do.

To calm his thoughts, Yoongi steps away from his bedchamber once the night has fallen. When the night is deep, Yoongi often feels a heavy awareness hanging in the air around him, as if warning him about the shift happening in the fairy tale land and there is something looming in the horizon that he needs to be wary of.

Normally, he would simply reside in his room when this happens, where the stiff tension that he has been constantly feeling would not be able to mess with his mana flow. Or, he would spend the night in the library, trying to make sense of everything that the Emperor had told him as he dives right into the books that were written about the ancient kingdoms, the great war between kingdoms that had once rattled the land of Far Far Away, and about the ancient magic spells—one of which had been the same one that had allowed him to walk into his soulmate’s dream.

Tonight, Yoongi chooses to spend his time roaming through the dark hallways of the Imperial Palace with no destination in mind.

For the first time after a long while, he allows his mana to lead the way instead of giving in to the silence. He tracks down even the passageways within the castle that he had rarely traveled through—passing the vacant rooms and the Royal Guards’ posts, past the Great Hall where the empire would often hold their annual festivities, and he continues walking until he suddenly finds himself crossing the palace’s courtyard and entering the Lumina Apex Hall, where the source of the elemental magic that the Emperor has casted onto the palace’s grounds can be found.

Originally built by his ancestors as a temple to worship the moon—which was once believed to be the source of Emburn’s magic—the Lumina Apex Hall has become a fixture within the Imperial Palace’s grounds where the Emperor would spend late hours in the night to cast his magic, casting the spells that are needed to maintain control of his empire and its vast territories under his reign.

With walls and pillars built with Clayntine stone, one of the most durable materials that could only be found in the land of Emburn, and windows made of Shadow Crystals, the Lumina Apex Hall lights up in the nightfall with structures that reflect the moonlight perfectly like mirrors. Located at the center of the Royal Garden, the structure is partly covered with a layer of wild vines growing along its walls and pillars which have rapidly developed with time. Thick hedges and flowers blooming in pastel colours line up on either side of the pathway leading to its front door which has been left unlocked for the Empress and the Royal Priests’ daily visit.

A burst of energy welcomes him as Yoongi enters through the door. There are no lights inside the main atrium, yet moonlight streams through the Shadow Crystals that form the dome ceiling above the atrium, illuminating the hall perfectly with streaks of soft light spreading across the stone floors and bouncing against the stone walls. Standing at the center of the atrium, his eyes roam through the walls around him.

Even here, inside the stone walls, vegetation grows rapidly between the pillars. The overgrowth of vines appears along the pillars, bushes rise from the ground to cover the pale-coloured walls, and a thin layer of grass emerges where the floor tiles made of Osnite stones are split. As Yoongi looks up, he gets to see the bright display of stars which adorn the night sky of Emburn. The sight of the dancing aurora in copper and gold in the sky should have been daunting, when Yoongi notices that the shades seem darker than they usually would, presenting the shadows of peril in its wake.

Yet the sky seems brighter tonight than it usually does, with stars glimmering in the night sky, surrounding the aurora like a protective blanket. Somehow, it gives Yoongi a sense of peace to be walking under such a phenomenon as he steps towards the center of the atrium, where a small pond made of Clayntine stone stands on its own, taking over the space at the heart of the Apex Hall. Around the pond, specks of silver and cyan blue glitters appear to be floating around it instead of a flowing stream, beginning from its center and moving out towards where the streaks of moonlight are falling into the room.

He reaches out to touch the silver specks, feeling them crackle against the tips of his fingers before he retracts his hand. Smiling at the sight of the flowing magic that is the essence of Emburn Empire, he turns away and walks across the atrium to reach one of the glass doors of the Hall which leads to another part of the Royal Gardens that only the Emperor and his trusted people could enter.

Under his touch, the door opens for him, and Yoongi walks out through the pathway that has become familiar to him after all the years he has become acquainted with this place. A core memory from his childhood returns to him as he walks down the gravel-covered pathway, though the overgrown hedges and blood orchids blooming all around him are nothing like what he had seen many years ago.

He was a mere child when he first walked down this pathway with his father holding his hand, long before Emperor Aymon took the throne and during the time Yoongi’s father was slowly taking over the empire’s business with their alliances. To the Emperor, those visits had been about introducing Yoongi to his future duty and responsibility as the future Crown Prince of Emburn, while to Yoongi, the memories that had been engraved in his mind from that period of time hold an entirely different meaning to him.

Beyond this pathway is a magical place, the portal gate which acts as the border between realms and the bridge that connects Emburn Empire to the other kingdoms in the mainland of the land Far Far Away. It was through this magic gate that the Emperor had been able to travel freely between kingdoms and realms, to be able to visit their allies and neighbours while keeping the homeland from being exposed to external threats, and without having to lose connection to the source of Emburn’s magic—just like what happened to Yoongi during his journey. It wouldn’t be until later, once Yoongi takes the throne as the new ruler, when he would be required to do the same, though he would still be able to cross the portal gate whenever he needed to.

The Eden Isle Gardens is what the magical portal gate is called, and it is the one place that Yoongi would always come to visit whenever he returned home.

For many years, ever since he was a child, he would secretly escape to this place whenever he needed a moment of reflection. This has been a place of refuge where he would be able to find peace, and a place that holds one of his most treasured memories which Yoongi has kept for many years.

Even in the Emperor’s absence, the vegetation in this part of the magic garden grow beautifully. The Emperor’s magic remains strong here, keeping the grounds fertile, the grass and hedges perfectly trimmed instead of growing rapidly, and the portal gates secured, with nobody else but Yoongi and Emperor Aymon holding the key and memorising the spell that would help them activate the portals when needed. Yoongi follows the path that has been adorned with blood orchids growing left and right, fairy dust leading his way through the areas that moonlight is unable to penetrate, until he finds the center of the garden, to the place where Yoongi would always return to.

At the center of the garden, surrounded by a small pond and blooming blood orchids, stands a small gazebo made of Shadow Crystals. His legs feel light as Yoongi walks across the boardwalk across the pond to reach the gazebo, while a sense of deja vu fills him as he takes a seat inside, right at the spot which overlooks a locked steel gate which has always caught his attention.

Once in the past, that steel gate had been one of the magic portals that the Emperor would use for his journeys. It was the main bridge connecting his empire to their former ally, another empire which the former Emperor of Emburn, Yoongi’s grandfather, had managed to form a tight bond with. A close and mutual relationship which lasted until the height of Emperor Aymon’s reign.

But as Yoongi looks out through the steel gate now, there is nothing left out there but the wastelands and the ruins of the fallen empire that was once superior in its reign.

After the war between kingdoms, the territory which lies beyond the portal has become a forbidden area for anyone to enter. With remnants of hazardous toxins and black magic that may still linger in the area after the war, nobody has been allowed to come across the borders and into the wastelands for many years. From this side of the connecting portal, the steel gate is secured with chains made of Magraonor steel and locks that are bound with magic spells casted by the Emperor and the High Priest.

Even though Yoongi wouldn’t be able to walk across the gate with all those spells preventing him from seeing what is beyond the darkness, he can picture it inside his head. Through his distant memory, he still recalls the majestic empire that had once been the most peaceful place in Far Far Away, the home of the elves, fairies, and powerful mages who once loved to travel between kingdoms to spread their knowledge about ancient magic and healing remedies. But if only he would close his eyes tonight, the brilliant images of the fallen empire that he once remembered would not be the image that he sees.

Another reason why Yoongi has been doing all he could to evade sleep tonight was the dreams. Ever since he used the spell which allowed him to walk into his soulmate’s dream, and ever since the day he arrived back home, a different kind of dream has been haunting his long, restless nights.

In his dream, he saw himself crossing over the steel gate, the chains and locks had been broken and he could easily walk across the borders to enter the wastelands. He saw himself walking up the steps to the fallen empire’s home castle, surrounded by nothing but shadows and the ruins that had been said to fill the barren territory, and a thick layer of white mist following him as he reached to where the main palace should have been.

Everything about the dream has been daunting, and it has only solidified his concerns about the peculiar shift happening in Far Far Away. While he never got to see what was waiting for him at the end of those steps, to see what was hidden behind the thick mist and beyond the broken stone walls, he still remembers the feeling of unease that lingered through his chest as he was stuck inside the dream, the eerie shadows that seemed to follow him through the mist as he entered the wastelands, and the feeling of death that seemed to linger.

The unnerving sensation he felt was so strong that he could feel it touching his skin even as he opened his eyes upon his return to the waking world. Even now, as he silently recalls the sights he saw in his dreams, his body shudders, while the same uneasiness fills his chest, warning him about the darkness that may come to visit.

As Yoongi sits silently at the center of the magic garden, under the dome roof of the glass gazebo overlooking the high hedges and broken pathway leading to the steel gate, he is unable to look away from the darkness beyond him. Lost in the faint memories that he has of the past, he doesn’t notice it when a black cat enters the premises, sauntering between the hedges filled with blood orchids and over the glimmering pond before finally joining him to lie down in the gazebo.

The black cat follows Yoongi’s gaze, as if trying to understand what the man is thinking so deeply about. The cat suddenly slides closer and rubs itself against Yoongi’s calf to gain his attention before sitting back on its hind legs, with his curious eyes looking out towards the nothingness beyond the gate.

“We used to slip away and escape to this place when we were kids, didn’t we?” a deep voice speaks. “What a wonderful time that was, when we were nothing more but oblivious little children who knew nothing about the world.”

Yoongi turns to the black cat with a smile, recognising the voice that had just spoken to him, allowing him to identify this mysterious cat that had just decided to join him in his wonderings. “Indeed, we were. Those moments back then were truly irreplaceable,” Yoongi says, responding to the cat as he turns his gaze back at the steel gate. “We used to run away from the tutors to hide in this place, and then played hide and seek until the sun came down and Father would have to come down here himself to fetch us.”

“Those were the days,” the black cat softly chuckles. The cat falls silent for a moment before it softly continues, “This was also the place where you met her for the first time, wasn’t it?” The cat turns to look at Yoongi as the other does the same, and they exchange gazes with each other when the cat adds, “I’m talking about Her Majesty, Queen Milena.”

Sighing, Yoongi looks around the garden and reminisces about the past. “This was the place—” he says, as his memory takes him back to that moment in time from many, many years ago, when he was nothing more but a little boy who could barely able to speak fluently, yet was curious enough to follow his father to see what the Emperor was up to when he suddenly changed his plans with Yoongi to come to this place, only to find out that the Emperor was having important guests visiting. While the Emperor went on a stroll with his guest, Yoongi came to the gazebo to meet the young Princess Milena, the future queen who was resting while staying under the shade. The young Crown Princess of their neighbouring empire welcomed Yoongi with a warm smile, a sight that to this day remains to be the most glorious thing about her for Yoongi to remember.

“We did come across each other in this place for the first time, but it was beyond that gate where I used to be able to see her—” Yoongi says, pointing at the locked steel gate, while his memory once again takes him back to those days when Emperor Aymon took him along during his visits past the steel gate. Back then, a remarkable empire stood proud and strong on the other side of the gate, with the sun shining brightly on its prosperous land. Now, there is nothing there but the dark void and the flowing white mist that haunts him in his sleep.

The black cat looks out towards the steel gate and, as if knowing what Yoongi had just been thinking about, says, “And now there is nothing left there but the wastelands.”

“Is that really the truth?” Yoongi questions almost distractedly, and the cat scoffs.

“Only you would question it.”

The blunt comment draws a smile to Yoongi’s face, and he turns back to look at his peculiar companion to say, “The only thing I’m questioning right now is why you chose to come here while disguising in that form. I didn’t expect that you would follow me all the way back home, Yijeong.”

The black cat, Yijeong, stretches out and lies down near Yoongi’s feet before answering, “As a concerned friend, I was worried when I didn’t get a word from you since you went home. I had to slip out in disguise to move easier when following you. This form was the perfect choice since nobody would pay attention to a black cat strolling through the gardens. Did you notice that you were being followed by guards? I’m not sure if they know what you’re up to, but it seems that they’re determined to keep people away from the gardens to give you some privacy.”

Despite knowing that he wouldn’t be able to see anyone other than the two of them, Yoongi still steals a glance over his shoulder, looking back to where these royal guards that Yijeong mentioned might be standing by. Somewhere near the Apex Hall, no doubt, as it would be rare for regular guards to be able to come this far. The only exception was given to Yijeong, as the son of the Empire’s General, the only other person aside from the Emperor who has access to visit this magical place. Just like him, Yijeong has been trained and prepared to replace his father once the time comes, to one day stand by Yoongi’s side once he takes over the throne and rules the empire, and he had been trained all the spells that would be needed for him to do his duties.

“I noticed having extra shadows following me since I left my room,” he says, before facing towards the center of the gardens again and settling back against the glass wall on the side of the gazebo, though he turns his attention towards the other side of the gardens this time, where fireflies are beginning to appear around the pond. “I’ve had guards shadowing me since I got back, so I already expected them to follow me here too. But I didn’t care. They wouldn’t be able to enter this place anyway.”

“I guess you’re right,” Yijeong says as he lays his chin on his paw. “What were you expecting to find by coming here anyway?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep, then I started strolling through the palace’s grounds, looking for some kind of a distraction,” Yoongi answers with a deep sigh. “I suddenly felt like I needed to get out of the palace, and I suppose that’s how I found my way here.”

Yijeong says nothing for a moment, before he questions Yoongi with a hushed voice, “Something was bothering you. Has the Emperor’s request been weighing heavily on you?”

His question draws a frown to Yoongi’s face. Yoongi had never truly revealed the true purpose of his expedition into the human realm, not to his loyal men and even to Yijeong, except to simply mention that it was a royal duty that was needed to be done under the Emperor’s request. Yijeong may have never questioned it out loud, and despite his willingness to stay by Yoongi’s side and to join him on his journey, Yoongi had always known that his best friend had been curious, if not suspicious about what he aimed to find.

It was not until the day Yoongi had to depart from camp, leaving behind Smotia to return home, when he finally pulled Yijeong aside to tell him everything—about the true reason why he left home, about why he had chosen to remain in Smotia, or why he had to keep a close eye on the Wicked King.

Only Yijeong knows what their true mission was, and what the Emperor had requested Yoongi to find without Empress Ariane ever knowing.

“Find my childhood friend. Find Milena. Help me find out what happened to her, and if she is still alive, bring her home. I cannot leave this realm without having any knowledge of her fate. I can’t die regretting that I couldn’t do anything to save her. If you can find ‘him’, then you might be able to find out if he still has her.”

Yoongi understood it quite well when Yijeong complained about being kept in the dark. Thankfully, his friend was quick to forgive him, knowing that such a big secret would cause a myriad of other problems should it ever get out, or for the Empress to hear that her own husband had made such a request. Even though it has been such a long time since both Yoongi and Yijeong ever came across Queen Milena, they both still remember how jealous the Empress had been of the Emperor’s friendship with his closest friend.

But sharing this secret only gave little relief to Yoongi’s heart, because there is still one more secret that he holds dear, unable to find a way to reveal it to Yijeong when he still has his own doubts. That finding Queen Milena, a mission that might be fundamental for the Emperor’s road to healing, has only been a small part—if not the first step—of Yoongi’s personal goal. And he has yet to be able to share this with anyone, even Yijeong, because he has never truly shared the real story of his first encounter with Queen Milena in the magic gardens.

Because that day, Queen Milena had not been sitting in this gazebo on her own, and only Yoongi and the Emperor knew Queen Milena’s secret which had been hidden until now.

Just as Yoongi is silently pondering if he should share his secret with his best friend, the air around them suddenly shifts. There is an invisible weight that breezes through the bushes, stirring the peacefulness that has been accompanying Yoongi in his wallowing. Even Yijeong becomes alert as he stirs by his side that Yoongi instantly rises, already prepared to use his magic to connect to the elements around them so he can see what is happening. But before he can even begin summoning his mana, Yijeong snaps his head to focus on him. His best friend’s gaze remains on his chest just as warmth begins to form against his skin, while the mana flow within him seems to be reacting to the sensation rising around them.

“Hey, Yoongi?” Yijeong says with a spark of surprise lathering his voice.

“Yeah?” Yoongi answers with his eyes focusing back and forth between Yijeong and the gardens, noticing how the leaves are swaying with the unsettling breeze.

“Why is that thing glowing? Did you do something or are you conjuring your mana to have it reacting like that?”

“No, I’m not doing any—” Yoongi starts to respond when his amulet—which has been hanging from his neck and down to his chest the whole time he was here—begins vibrating. He looks down and touches the amulet, which is now glowing in his hand as he lifts it up to get a better look. Blue light shimmers from the center of the amulet, flickering and swirling even stronger as he brings it up, inadvertently pointing it towards the locked gate that was supposed to lead him to their fallen neighbour.

His breath is caught, as he slowly begins to understand what is happening. There is only one reason why the amulet would be reacting this way, even if it makes no sense at all for it to be trying to lead him towards the forbidden territory beyond the sacred gate. And then, something finally dawns on him.

“You know, this amulet has been lighting up quite often since I got back home,” he whispers almost to himself, while the voice inside his head adds, ever since the dreams started happening. “But this is the first time it’s doing something like this.”

This can only mean one thing. “I think someone is using his magic to create portals, and they have been moving around between realms.”

Yijeong slowly rises, while Yoongi’s heartbeat picks up, beating rapidly in his chest right after he says those words. “Do you know who it might be? Can it be possible that—” Yijeong begins to question him, only for him to see Yoongi shaking his head, chucking to himself with disbelief when he says,

“It’s impossible, but—”

And it seems almost too good to be true just to think about it. Yoongi swallows hard as he wonders about this, as he can no longer qualm the rising hope blooming in his chest when he adds, “I think I know who it might be.”

She’s so close. How could it be? 

Yoongi has no idea how it could possibly happen, but he can sense you being so close to him that he can almost feel your presence within arm’s reach. His body trembles with anticipation, excitement, and his worries rising at the same time. Seeing that there is light appearing, hope waiting at the end of his journey, Yoongi slowly releases his amulet and kneels down beside his best friend.

If he wants to find the truth, and find you, then he will no doubt need help to achieve it.

“Yijeong, I need you to listen to me carefully—”

Your hands feel clammy as you stand right in front of another silver door.

Unlike the other doors that you have seen so far, this one looks the most ordinary and a bit—old. Made of deep-coloured wood, its front is adorned with embellishments made of thin silver linings that are crafted in intricate curves formed in floral patterns, and they all seem to glint in the dimly lit hallway. You probably shouldn’t be intimidated by its size and the intricate details that you are seeing, but not surprisingly, your knees are already shaking with the mere thought of opening this door filling your head.

Deep down, you already know that whatever you may come across once you step through this door, it will be far from ordinary. This is what you have learned so far from these silver doors after venturing into them for the past few days, as it had become one of your past afternoon activities once you are done with your daily lessons and royal duties.

The shock that you gained after entering the first silver door remained within you for quite a while. Pure disbelief had followed you after coming back out of the door, not entirely sure if what you encountered that day had been real. If only you hadn’t found yourself stumbling back into the hallway of Stargrave Castle or nearly spraining your ankles on your way back to your bedchamber, perhaps you would simply think that you were dreaming. That there was no way you could have gone back to The Citadel, or that the door had connected you back to the smaller—and slightly bland-looking—study room which your father, King Aneas, would often spend his time working in with his men back at the capital.

But you were well awake to feel it when the dusk came in and your skin was covered by the bumps rising as the temperature dropped so rapidly. And you were definitely awake when the palace’s maid came to help you prepare for dinnertime. You even held a long and steady conversation with her while she was brushing out the knots in your hair, further proving that you were walking in the real world instead of being stuck in a long, extended dreamscape.

Yet those things couldn’t stop you from questioning your own sanity as you laid down on your bed that night, particularly when you recalled the conversation that you ’heard’ from your hiding spot when you were in the study room. But then you looked out the window of your bedroom, the curtains left open as you had wished to see the stars and you saw a glimpse of the same copper aurora which had captivated you on the night of your arrival, the magical display of light once again making its appearance known to you as it danced in the sky above the calm ocean.

The sight quickly reminded you of how different and peculiar everything should be in this place. It made you realise that the odds of you actually being transported back into a different place across the realm would not have been impossible. It was hard to deny it when you remembered experiencing jumping into a burning flame to get into this realm, and that magic did exist in this place in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine.

It was your own curiosity which had drawn you back to the same hallway after you were done with your lessons on the next day. At first, you considered going through the same door again, if only to prove that you hadn’t been dreaming and that you were completely sane. But then your father’s voice echoed through your mind as you stood in front of the same door, reminding you of his warning to only try one door at a time.

As you wished to be able to see more, you stepped away from the first door. There was no humming sound calling you back when you left it behind, while an odd pull was felt through the air, and you followed it until you found another silver door not too far away.

The silver door which soon became your second to try out had been smaller in size compared to the first one you had gone into. Yet you still entered with caution. You came through the door thinking that you would be prepared to find another surprising revelation, only to feel the shock filling your entire being when you walked through the door to come out through a small cabinet, and you found yourself emerging into the royal waiting room that was located within the city hall in the capital city of Smotia.

There was nobody around to catch you as you came out of the waiting room. After finding the podium on the first floor, right where your father’s throne was placed for him to acquire during formal ceremonies, you continued to make your way to the upper floors. Having been to this place often times before to accompany your father, you found no trouble in finding the main balcony, where the King would stand before the people of Smotia as he leads various ceremonies and rituals together with you by his side and his loyal ministers shadowing his movements.

Sure enough, as you looked down from the balcony, the Elysium Square was presented right before your eyes. The town’s square where the people would gather to see their King and to celebrate the empire’s annual events, and oftentimes, to simply enjoy the free time they have during their daily lives.

The same way the people were doing as you looked down from above. Keeping yourself in the shades to avoid being seen, you saw how the town’s workers were walking down the pavements as they were on their way home, making quite a haste to make sure that they would return to their dwellings before dusk. There were also little children playing around the fountains, while their mothers kept their busy eyes to watch over them while gossiping on the sides.

Just like the day before, when you felt your knees buckling beneath you in shock, you had to hold on to the railings as you watched the people below, the faint voices of their laughter became solid proof that you had been once again sent away from your new home. A memory flashed through your mind just then, of how each time you were supposed to attend the royal gathering alongside your father, the King himself would never ride the royal carriage with you to reach the city hall.

Each time, your father would somehow arrive not long after you would, with not a sight of another royal carriage arriving at the city hall to bring him all the way from The Citadel. Turning back to the hall where you came from, you could almost picture it, to see the King walking down the hall before emerging through the main balcony to greet his people, his daughter, and his men, without a single person witnessing how he had truly arrived.

With your curiosity deepened, you continued your adventure for the next few days by trying out two different silver doors, both of them lined up within a nearby hallway just beyond the King’s study room. And just like the previous ones, each of these doors took you back to different areas in the land of Smotia which you had become most familiar with.

The smaller one took you back to the town’s church.

You came out through the storage room door at the back of the church and, in your shock, you came so close to bumping into the head priest while you were busy taking in your surroundings. It was pure luck that you had been quick enough to slip into a nearby room which was thankfully empty, that you were able to avoid getting seen by the head priest who walked by with his helpers.

When the coast was clear enough for you to slip out of the room, the evening mass was just starting to take place. You may have recovered from your shock by then, yet once again, your mind was caught in a battle between acceptance and denial to make your exit. Fallen prey to your own curiosity, as you wanted to get a closer look instead of leaving with questions shadowing your thoughts, you returned to the room where you had been hiding in. From one of the wardrobes you found, you managed to grab a commoner’s cloak for you to borrow, using it to hide your identity as you slipped between the parishioners who came for the head priest’s sermon and gain his blessings.

As everyone around you was listening to the head priest’s sermon with rapt attention, the burning candles on the altar swaying with the breeze, their soft lights illuminating the walls and the dais while giving a serene feeling into the whole church, your attention remained on the side doors leading to the back halls where you came from. Once again, you could almost see the shadows of your father, sauntering through the back halls with his magic before appearing at the altar without anyone noticing or wondering where His Majesty had come from.

The next silver door you tried had appeared to your eyes like a work of art. The carvings on the wood panels had been the ones to draw you in, before you noticed that the silver embellishments that marked the door seemed to have silver specks floating around it, drawing more of your attention to have a closer look. That was before the humming voices began to call for you, pulling you in, enchanting you to slide in the key and open the door for a new adventure.

The magic door brought you to the orchard house that was part of the royal winery on the outskirts of the capital city. Located beyond the borders of the Elcester Forest where the wide, open plane was rich and fruitful enough for the vineyard to grow massively, it was the place which produced the royal wine that the King would often serve to his special guests during royal dinners and important events that were held by the empire.

Despite recognising the place almost immediately, you still took your time to look around to find clues, any signs that may confirm your suspicions. Leaving the main house, you browsed through the warehouse and stockrooms, not stopping until you finally found the crates of bottles that were being prepared to be sent away to The Citadel. It wasn’t until you saw the royal crest marking the crates and the bottles when you finally confirmed it, that the place had indeed been another one of the King’s properties which was situated within the territory of Smotia.

Back in the part of the empire which existed in the human realm.

You walked across the clearing with a mixed feeling of awe and trepidation. The day was beginning to settle down to dusk by the time you were venturing through the property, with the sun descending into the horizon, spreading more shadows than light through the open vineyards. It allowed you to stay in the shade to avoid being seen, and to be able to watch the workers from a safe distance. As the night was closing in, there were only a small group of people left working at the winery. Most of them were just finishing up, either at the warehouse or the stockrooms where they kept the crops. They all seemed busy with their own tasks to notice you, though it didn’t stop you from feeling like someone was watching your movement, causing you to become even more cautious while you were feeding your curiosity.

It was after the last trip you took through the silver doors when you finally came to a realisation, to finally understand the secret behind them. Once you accepted that your little adventures had not been a dream or imagination, and that what you encountered had not been mere illusion, you finally understood what these silver doors were.

Portals.

The silver doors that your father had given you access to have been magic portals, with powerful spells that would bring you to different places, allowing you to emerge in different realms, and perhaps even beyond.

If only you hadn’t had the talk with your father on the day you first arrived in this castle, or taken the time to understand more about this new realm and learn about magic since you have been here, you would have simply thought that you have indeed gone crazy. But all the days you spent learning about the fairy tale land and the magic that lies within the realm have only helped you to understand everything better, and you soon realised that this was the magic that your father mentioned the day he handed you the bundle of keys that you are now holding in your hand.

“Within each one of the silver doors, there is a strong kind of magic. One that has been so demanding of our family’s powers, exists under my control, and it is also the type of magic that should be kept secret, no matter what. Once you go through them, you will understand why it is important for me to defend this castle and our home territory.”

Was this the reason why your father brought you back to this place after so long, after spending years keeping you away from it? Did he want you to learn about his magic after protecting you from it? Was this the reason why he handed you these keys, to show you the power of magic that has been passed down in your family?

But then the most important question still haunts you to this day—

Has this been His Majesty’s way of being able to travel to different places in a short amount of time so he could handle his business, to be able to do his duty without having to travel far and long so he could continue taking care of his empire?

With this new knowledge, your curiosity has been growing stronger than your fear, and you have more questions plaguing you each day. Questions that you would have to keep to yourself until the day your father would return home.

Until then, you would gather more information through your lessons and from opening more magic doors. Perhaps, the more you get to see the magic behind these doors, the more you can see this new world as you continue venturing through these portals, then you will be able to learn and understand more about your father’s magic and this magical realm, and find out who you truly are.

That was the reason why you are standing here tonight, right in front of yet another silver door that has drawn your curiosity that you find it hard to look away. The silver embellishments on the door are glimmering right before your eyes, as they reflect the soft glare of moonlight that has penetrated into the hallway through a nearby window.

The moonlight that rarely accompanies you whenever you are about to embark on your own little adventure.

In your previous trials, you have only chosen the short period of time in the late afternoon after tutoring hours to slip out of your bedchamber and venture into these halls. Keeping the short timeframe that your father had given you for these adventures, you have always used the sign of dusk to remind you to return home, allowing you to be back right before dinnertime.

Today has been different. Tutoring hours lasted longer than usual, when Lord Gordan took over your afternoon lessons and sat you down to teach you about your family’s ancestry. The extra lessons didn’t end until dusk finally came, when Nanny Abigail took over guarding you as she led you straight to dinner in the royal dining hall.

It wasn’t until long after dinnertime when you finally found the chance to slip out of the bedchamber. The absence of Lord Gordan and Nanny Abigail when you stepped out of the room, and the absence of the lady maids in the hallway wasn’t so much of a surprise, but it was quite a shock to find that there had been no guards standing by outside of your bedchamber. Just like how it would have been back at The Citadel when you could barely see yourself going around the palace without at least one guard following you.

It made you curious, yet you spent no time wondering about it, and took the chance to slip out of your quarters and find your way back to this hallway of silver doors.

There were no palace staff in sight as you walked down the halls, but you did catch a sight of a pair of guards standing in their post in a nearby hall, though they seemed to be focused on guarding the King’s study room to notice you slipping into the shadows behind the pillars as you made your way into this place. Glancing towards the end of the hall and to the opposite way, you make sure that the coast is still clear, and nobody would catch what you are doing as you move closer to the silver door.

This time, there is no humming sound coming out of the door to summon you, as if beckoning you to come closer and choose this door for you to open tonight. Yet the silver key that you are holding seems to vibrate against your palm the closer you come towards the door before you. The vibration is strong enough to cause the rest of the keys in the bundle to jingle that you have to press your palm around them to keep them from making too much noise, afraid that it might draw someone’s attention and you would miss the chance to see what lies beyond the magic door.

Knowing that you won’t have much time left before the guards would begin their evening patrol and your absence in the bedchamber gets discovered, you reach back and pull up the hood of your cloak to cover yourself before walking through the door. Learning from past experiences, after finding yourself emerging into unexpected places and coming close to being seen or recognised, you realised that you would have to be more careful to avoid getting caught by someone and accidentally exposing your father’s secret during your trips.

That was why you decided to be much safer tonight, to disguise yourself as you go through with your secret escapade.

Under the half-ragged cloak that you have often worn whenever you escaped from The Citadel at nightfall, you have chosen to wear a commoner’s clothes—a plain, dark-coloured tunic top and a pair of tight breeches—instead of your daily dresses. The pair of boots that would normally be hidden under your bed have replaced the low pair of heels that you wore during today’s tutoring hours and afternoon lessons.

With a deep inhale of breath and a silent prayer, you turn the vibrating key which has somehow become warm in your hold, and gently open the door.

You suck a deep breath as you emerge into a bedroom that looks nothing like the rooms you have seen all around the magic castle so far. The room you walk into appears to be quite small yet cozy, with a queen-sized bed positioned right at the center of the room, covered with a couple of fluffed pillows and fresh sheets, with a thick furry blanket folded on the foot of the bed. There is a shaded lamp on top of the side table right beside the bed, and a cold, unlit fireplace on the opposite wall. Right in front of the fireplace, a brown felt that appears to have come from a deer is laid to cover the wooden floor, making you think for a second that you might be inside a hunter’s lodging, until something draws your attention to make you think otherwise.

On your right appears to you a wooden door. Even while being closed shut, you can still hear the muffled sounds of people chatting and cheering, the sounds of glass clinking and cutleries hitting tables and plates, and the rough voices of men shouting and calling names. The noises that you hear are enough to give you a hint to figure out where you currently are, as they bring you back to the scene you encountered a period of time ago during your late-night trips into town. Though doubt fills your mind, as you still find it hard to believe it to be true unless you can see it with your own eyes.

You turn towards the door, and the door from which you came in from grabs your attention. Looking at it now, it seems to be the door of a walk-in closet. But just like the other portals, magic has turned it into something else. Through the half-opened door, instead of seeing the interior of a closet, you see the sight of the magic portal that is still open. There is nothing there but the sight of a dark void with swirling blue lights floating at the center. The dark void seems eerie to you, yet you no longer look at it with fear as you know that this magical sight is what will lead you back to the magic castle once you are done venturing here.

The sound of a man’s laughter and the loud cheers that follow draw your attention back to the bedroom door. Curious to know where you might have ended, you carefully make your way to it. The wooden floor creaks beneath your booths, making your breath hitch, and you silently pray that the noises outside would drown the sounds you are making as you slowly reach for the doorknob and turn it open. To your relief, the door has been left unlocked, and you carefully pull it open just an inch. Just enough for you to see what is on the other side.

The muffled sounds you heard suddenly clear out and immediately hit you straight in the face—the loud chattering that seems to come from dozens of rowdy men and the boastful laughter that you heard earlier, with the sounds of glasses clinking against each other or hitting against wooden tables. Seeing nothing but a wooden walkway and railings as you open the door, you realise that you are currently on the upper floor of an establishment, while the noises seem to have been coming from downstairs. The familiar scent of booze, dust, and burning candles wafts through the air, and you stifle a gasp as you soon realise where you are.

Moving in haste when you barely have the chance to recover from shock, you shut the door with a soft click and turn the other way. Across from you appears a window, left partly opened for the cold night breeze to flow into the room, blowing the thin curtains that have little to do to shield the lights coming from the street outside. With shaky legs, you walk towards the window and look down.

Just as suspected, you see the bustling street of the business district of Smotia right down below, with people passing by as they are making their route home or searching for a place of leisure after a long day of hard work. You can easily recognise the street you are looking at, because you had ventured into the same street the last time you slipped away from home.

Still busy taking everything in, you almost miss the sound of firm footsteps and the creaks on the wooden floor outside of the bedroom, until you hear them coming closer towards the bedroom door. A low and deep voice calls out from outside the door, snapping you out of your shock, “Anee? Is that you?”

Turning sharply with a gasp, you rush to close the door to the closet, hiding the glimmering portal before rushing into the small bathroom on the other side of the fireplace to hide.

“You didn’t tell me that you were coming tonight—”

The deep sound of voice fades just as the bedroom door opens merely seconds after you close the bathroom door shut. “Anee? Are you here?” the man calls out again after coming to a halt. “Huh. That’s funny, I thought I heard someone here.”

Just when you expect him to leave after finding the room empty, you hear the man entering the room instead. The floor creaks more intensely under his boots, and you hold your breath as you sense him coming towards the window. Peering through the seams between the door and the wooden frame, you catch the sight of the man as he stands in front of the window, looking down the street with a sigh.

“Must have been my imagination, then. ’Am getting old for this, I swear,” he seems to mumble to himself before he gently shuts the window, and as he bends, you get to see him more clearly to recognise him. The illuminating street lights from outside the window are helping you to see his face.

Sir Elias.

A woman’s voice is heard from outside the room, calling for him, and the man turns to walk away. “Nothing, love. I thought I heard someone in the room, is all,” he calls out to whoever was calling him as he makes his way to leave the bedroom.

“Who is it? Is it Anee?” the woman’s voice seems muted as she remains outside the bedroom, with the noises from below rising in the background.

“Nah,” Sir Elias chuckles lowly. “It’s just the wind—” he calls out to the woman that you assume to be his wife as he turns and begins walking away, before adding gently under his breath, “Or maybe I just missed that bloody sucker.”

You remain still as you listen to the faint click sound of the door coming to close, followed by the sound of Sir Elias’ heavy footfalls over the wooden floor fading in the distance, until silence fills the room.

It isn’t until you take a few more deep breaths and steady your shaking hands before you finally open the door, looking around you to make sure that the bedroom is completely empty before finally stepping out of the bathroom. With a deep, exhale of breath, you come down to your knees in your relief and rest back against the bed. Your eyes turn to the window, now closed shut to shield the voices from the town below, leaving you in the stifling silence where your mind once again becomes the loudest.

The silver door has taken you back to The Rare Roots, the local pub right at the center of the business district in Smotia, and straight into one of the rented rooms on the upper floor of the pub, which Sir Elias had offered you to take the night you came here.

Your head spins as questions after questions continue to fill your mind.

Why would the King have direct access to a local pub in the business district of Smotia?

And why would Sir Elias—the owner of the local pub who you have never once seen coming to visit The Citadel—be calling your father by his childhood name, as if they have known each other personally for a very long time, or that he would expect the King to be appearing in one of his rented bedrooms as if it would be such a normal occurrence to happen here?

You remain in the bedroom for a while longer, looking around to find any sign that your father had truly been here, while the night passes by with the muffled sounds from the crowd of The Rare Roots below penetrating through the silence. The noises out there are loud, but not loud enough to drown your thoughts as you take a seat at the foot of the bed, trying to make sense of your findings.

The curtains by the window have been left open after Sir Elias’ departure, allowing the figure that has been moving in the shadows to look his way in, watching your movements in silence, his presence completely unbeknownst to you. Perched atop the roof of the next building, he gets a clear view of you. Of the way you seem to be wallowing so deep in your thoughts that you are unaware of the pair of eyes that are keeping a close watch on you.

And he continues to watch over you, taking his time to take the sight of you in and memorise everything he sees of you until you finally slip away, disappearing into one of the doors which acts like the portal bringing you back home. That is when he also makes his move, stepping back into the shadows to return to where he belongs, filled with the delight of victory that comes after finally finding what he was after.

Found you. Finally, I’ve found you, he wonders to himself, as he slips away and disappears through the shadows of the night.

— © 2023 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

the bedroom hymns ● chapter xiv

⟶ Chapter summary | To answer your curiosity, Yoongi presents you with a challenging offer. Is your desire to learn about this new realm and his secrets strong enough for you to risk revealing your own secrets? Or will you remain loyal to the promise you made to your father to protect the family’s secret? 

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader  ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy AU, Fairy Tale retelling ⟶ Word count | 6,785 words ⟶ Ratings | PG-13, +18 / M for Mature for future chapters; include classism, black magic, alcohol consumption ⟶ Story Masterlist: The Bedroom Hymns | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Author’s note | Here’s the second part of what was meant to be a part of the previous chapter. I hope this answers a lot of questions. Have fun reading!

chapter xiv. red strings-2

You fall silent as you feel a slight drop in your stomach. 

You should have expected that he would demand a fair trade right away. If only you have had enough time to figure out what to say, to plan just how much you are able to share about yourself without having to lie to his face should he chooses to answer your questions with honest truth. 

Taking a slow drink from your glass, you take your time to contemplate your options. “Maybe—” you slowly begin, “I can tell you a little bit about myself for a fair exchange.” 

Yoongi squints his eyes. There seems to be a hint of suspicions in the way he is looking at you. At first, he says nothing. Not a single response to your offer. Perhaps he can already tell that you wouldn’t be able to give him everything that he might be demanding from you. 

It makes you feel discouraged when you think that he may change his mind and you won’t be getting some answers. But Yoongi surprises you when he suddenly shrugs and smiles. 

“Very well, then. I guess that’s fair,” he says, though you cannot really make out the tone of his voice, or if he’s still going to be truthful when he hums, “Where do I start?”

Yoongi says this while slowly rubbing his chin. “Well, I suppose that you know who I am by now,” he finally begins, his eyes showing a playful glint which only helps lessen your worries and doubts. 

“Do I?” you question him in return, mirroring the playful tone of his voice. “We’ve only met once before this, putting aside the other times when you shadowed my movements. I know your name, and I know that you are a part of one of the most notorious brotherhood of mercenaries known within the continent. But I had assumed that your men have only been roaming the human realm. But here you are now.” 

Yoongi’s lips rise slowly to a crooked grin. “That is quite an interesting part to note, isn’t it?,“ leaning forward once again, he places his crossed arms on the table to get closer to you. “And I’m not talking about us meeting in different realms, but the fact that I never specifically told you to which brotherhood I am belonged to, when I could’ve been a part of any mercenary group that is currently active among the people,” he calmly drawls, while your eyes grow wide, realising your blunder. “And yet, you were able to recognise the insignia that belongs to our brotherhood and figured out that I am a part of it.” 

Silently laughing at yourself, you realise that he is right. 

Yoongi had never once mentioned the name of the mercenary army group that he is a part of, and yet, he has never once tried to deny it whenever you brought it up. Both in the market town and here, you have yet to see Yoongi wearing the insignia that belongs to the brotherhood. 

But there is no denying that everything about him had made it easy for you to link him to the mercenary group which is known to be moving among the commoners, both within the territories of your father’s empire, and also in various neighbouring territories.

Not to mention, each time you lay your eyes on Yoongi, you would be reminded of the nameless mercenary who had caught your presence that night in The Rare Roots; his demeanour, the way he carries himself, his speech, and the most defining characteristic that you have felt from him so far, his aura. 

“I’ve told you that I’m no damsel,” is what you tell him in return, hinting at his connection to the aforementioned mercenary group. “In almost every place that I’ve traveled to, I’ve either met some of your men, your brothers in arms, or seen traces and trails left behind by your brotherhood.” 

In this case, you are not entirely lying to him. This is something that you have caught on during your excursions as of late. Aside from learning more about your father’s activities in the various places that you have visited so far, you have also been following the trails left behind by the mercenary army by using everything that you have learned from Advisor Kim and the Royal guards’ reports. 

You recall seeing the insignia in various places in the midst of your excursions, either worn by a passing member of the mercenary army or plastered on the walls, pillars, and any other places visible for the commoners to see; a public declaration to show that the brotherhood are on the people’s side and not the royals’. 

“You have made quite a name among the people, no matter which kingdom or empire you have come across,” you add while tipping your chin at the engraved insignia, “I never expected that I’d be seeing that crest here too, in a completely different realm.”

You lean forward on the table, mirroring his gesture as you murmur softly to him, “It wasn’t hard to put two and two together after what we talked about the last time we met, but you were the one who gave it away when you denied none of the things I said about you being a part of that movement.” 

A surprised look flickers through his gaze. “You are a smart one, little dove,” he says, completely amused. “As I’ve said before. I shouldn’t have underestimated you.” 

You lean back in your seat, feeling victorious. “No, you shouldn’t have.” 

He mirrors your movement as he settles back in his chair, except that he follows it by lifting his shimmering tankard, taking a swift drink before he speaks again. Once the drink is lowered, a determined look fills his eyes, as if talking about this would require him to take off the mask that he normally wears when he is with you. 

You can tell the difference when he looks at you straight in the eyes, his chin lifted, and there is a different flair coming from him. A new sense of authority that would have been intimidating should a commoner stand right before him. 

Not you, however, when you have grown used to facing something similar, a presence that feels more intense, whenever you have to come face to face with your father. 

“You’re right. I am a part of the brotherhood. I can’t tell you more other than the fact that I work alongside my brothers to serve the people who are willing to hire our service and pay for our hard work with gold. Be it a local merchant, a commoner, or a nobble, we serve them with everything that we have for an exchange of a good pay,” he says, sounding proud, subtly hinting that he may have quite an important role in his brotherhood of mercenaries that he is keeping from you, “as for crossing the borders between the realms—” 

He tugs at the bamboo hat that he has been wearing and starts taking it off. “Not every men who had joined the brotherhood would be capable of moving from one realm to another so easily,” he explains as he tosses his hat away. For some reason, the gesture draws your attention, and you find yourself getting completely fixated on it that you can’t take your eyes away from him. 

“Only a handful of us had come from the magic realms, most of us coming from various territories within the Land of Far Far Away, while the other members who had later joined us once we started the movement are regular humans, mostly commoners from the human realm who we encountered in our journey and volunteered to join our purpose.” 

You can almost picture the mercenary army growing steadily in size with the passing time, reaching all the common people directly than the royal aids of your father’s empire ever could. “And that purpose would be gaining gold coins from whoever is willing to pay for your service?”  

But is that all there is to it? 

You cannot help but wonder, unable to truly believe that it could all be that simple, when almost every men working under your father’s ruling has believed otherwise. The memory of your past conversation with one of your father’s Royal Advisors return to you. About the mercenary army that was suspected to be a part of the rebellion movement which has been silently rising among the people of Nythelean Empire. 

“That is correct,” he says, “well, that’s mostly the reason why we do this for a living. But there are also others who have their own purposes in joining our movement.” 

You tilt your head, finding this suspicious. Your shoulders grow tense, your spine feels cold. “What kind of—purposes?” you ask him, while your mind begins running wildly. 

Does he really have nothing to do with the rebellion? Or is his brotherhood truly the rebel army as suspected by the Royal Guards?  

While you are looking at him with suspicions, Yoongi carries with him an easy air, as if he has nothing dark or sinister to hide. He keeps the same light attitude when he answers, “Protection. The ability to protect their family, their hometown, their livelihood, to be able to defend against any crime and any physical threats—the kinds of harm that would always get overlooked because they were hurting the commoners and not the nobles with storages of gold coins—or any possible threats that may harm them and their family directly.” 

A smile lifts on your lips as relief slowly washes over you. “So you’re vigilantes, doing all the work that the royal army working under the ruling of the kings and emperors couldn’t, is that what you’re saying?” 

Yoongi barks out a laugh. “You can put it that way,” he says. “It’s more like a security work for the people. But we also provide a chance for the common people to rise and lend their strength.”

He takes another drink and continues, “Out there, in the small towns and settlements that are far out of reach from the empires and their law, there are commoners who had trained for their lives to serve as knights, only to fail from claiming their places in the knighthood because they had no noble blood or any high standing in the society. That’s where we come in, as we welcome them under our wings and give them a place to serve, to use their skills and put their training to good use.”

Good use. Those words sound like music to your ears. The kind of music that eases your worries. There is a hint of suspicions still lingering in your mind, yet you find yourself believing his words. 

It’s almost as if you can feel it; the truth that his words carry with them, the genuine pride coming out through his voice when he speaks about the brotherhood that has been seen as the villains by the royals. 

“And not all of them are capable of using magic or casting spells?” you choose to ask rather than sharing your doubts about the brotherhood. “Or whatever it is that you use to move between realms?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “Regular humans don’t know anything about magic. Even the ones who are able to cast powerful spells will not be able to travel across the realms so easily. Only the gifted ones can do it.”

“Like you do.” 

He gives you a smile. “Like me.” 

Once again, you tilt your head while you try to process all of this. “And all of the traveling has to do with your work in the mercenary? But why do you must venture through the human realm, when you could’ve had more chances here?” You take a quick glance around, once again being drawn to the vast farmland which spreads right before your eyes. “What kind of work are you doing here now?” 

Yoongi licks his lips. The gesture steals your attention from his words, drawing a hint of warmth out of your skin. It is another new sensation that you have never felt before. But then again, never once had you ever felt so drawn to someone like this, not as much as how he has you drawn to him like a moth drawn to a flame. 

“Why the human realm?” he repeats your question with a hum as he looks out towards the view. The faraway look in his eyes tells you that there is a story in there, before he simply answers, “It’s hard to explain, really.” 

The corners of his eyes crease a little when he smiles. “I can’t say that it had all been a deliberate choice to raise an army of mercenaries out there in the human realm. I think you would be able to understand this, but it all started a long time ago, when I first came into the human realm in search of an adventure. We call it as ’soul-searching’, a personal mission that I had taken to venture far, far away from home to find my purpose in life.” 

You return his smile just then, because you can understand him well enough, as you have been doing just the same thing. Going out to new places, stepping into foreign lands, all because your soul craved for a new adventure, to write a new story, and to be able to see the world. 

“I never planned to stay long in the human realm, but then as more and more friends, other men and old colleagues left the magic realm to join me, we formed ourselves a small alliance to be able to have more means and reasons to remain in the human realm for a bit longer, while also find ways to give back to the people and the community that had welcomed us with open arms, despite never knowing who we were or where we came from. And then, one thing lead to another—” 

“And your small group or adventurers become a rogue army working alongside the humans.” 

“Once again, you are correct,” he answers with a proud smile. “As to why I am here, it’s the same reason why I’ve been to the places where you encountered me before. I’m doing the same kind of work that I did in Narlès, and similar to most of the work I’ve done back in Smotia”—one corner of his lips lifts to a grin—”like that day when I followed your trails at the royal winery.” 

His gaze softens as you roll your eyes. 

“We usually do the same details of work whenever we are hired by people in the human realm. But when it requires me to travel across the borders and return to this realm, the work varies,” he adds, this time with a hint of fierceness in his voice. Proud and bitterness mixing together. “And these jobs come with bigger risks. Hence the disguises and the hidden armoires. But I do earn bigger pay when I succeed.” 

This has you raising your eyebrows. Curiosity comes through you as you take a closer look at his attire. 

Dressed as a local commoner, he looks quite unassuming that he would be able to roam around without raising suspicions. Unlike back in Narlès when he had at least shown his weapons under and over his unmarked cloak and dark-coloured outfit, this time, you are sure that he has numerous weapons hidden under his simple clothes. 

The same way you are hiding your golden dagger under your skirt, hidden from view but easy for you to reach whenever necessary. 

“You’ve been to Smotia. This place might look similar, but it is still entirely different. Not only with the magic that exists here, but also with the people that resides in this place and their way of living,” he explains, his words mirroring every single thought you had about this place since you had first gotten here. 

“There is a secret about this place that requires us to keep a close eye on the territory. A dark secret,” he says with a secretive smile. “But I’m sure that you’re used to something like this.” 

You realise what he is hinting at. Once again, the past conversation you had with the farmers follows you. You bristle as you recall the warning that was given to you and how it had reminded you of home. Your old home, and the dark rumours that everyone whispered all the way into the palace’s walls.

“These stories have been passed around from one generation to another, and I’m sure most people who live in this place and have learned about the tales for a long time won’t even know whether or not these stories are real, or if they are nothing more but an urban legend told by the elders to keep everyone here safe and keep things in order.” 

“Like the rumours that the people have been spreading in Smotia.” 

Yoongi gives you a solemn nod. “Smotia isn’t the only place that holds a dark secret. This place, and many other places—kingdoms, empires, even the small, lawless towns and rogue settlements—all have their secrets. It doesn’t matter whether we are in the human realm, or right here, within the magic realm of Far Far Away. People loves to tell stories, dramatising any event that happened sometime in the past to make use of them to keep the younger ones in line.” 

You are not entirely surprised to hear this. Old tales live among the people who still speak of them. They are the reason why local traditions and customs exist in the first place. But it is interesting to know that even in different realms, such thing still exists. 

Yoongi continues to speak. “For those of us with magic skills or have enough mana to endure the magic present in places such as Grimm, we would travel to and fro and pay regular visits to such places. Not only for the purpose of running our mission or for hired jobs, but also in between our duties, just so we can be here to observe, to protect, and even to hunt—”

“Hunt…what?” 

A pinch folds itself inside your chest. A myriad of scenarios start their callous plays inside your head; your father’s assassination attempt, the unmarked mercenary soldiers that followed you through the depths of the Elcester Forest, the attempts to infiltrate The Citadel. 

“Anything that may cause any disturbances happening within the Land of Far Far Away. The small and invisible threats that always start from the most inconspicuous places. Being vigilant and moving under our own rule allow us to get closer to the sources before they rise rapidly to become a bigger threat to the entire realm,” Yoongi answers after a beat of silence and a whole round of wild imagination running through your head. 

He gives an easy rise of his shoulders as it’s not a big deal. “Of course, we are only a small army roaming through a vast magical realm, where each territory, every strong empire within the realm have their own rules. Some kingdoms even cast their strong spells around their territories that won’t allow us to walk past their borders as easily as we would’ve liked. But we do what we can, keeping watch for the people that may be overlooked should any harm ever comes.” 

Spells to keep people out of a territory? 

Of course, you wonder to yourself as you start recalling everything that you have learned so far about the safety measures that an empire must abide to in order to keep its palaces, territories, and the people within safe. 

You are also reminded of the action that your father had taken after the latest breach which happened at the main palace, and how the royal guards at the Stargrave Castle have been keeping the same tight security to make sure that the empire’s territory is secured from any possible threat while in the King’s absence. 

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to think that there would be kingdoms that would use magic and spells for protection. Knowing what you know now, you begin to wonder if your father had also done the same to increase the security at the empire’s territories. Surely, there had to be a reason why he had forbidden you from stepping out of the palace through the front gate. 

Leaving you only relying on the magic portals to be able to step foot out of the palace whenever you need a chance to escape. 

It should be a powerful spell then, you wonder to yourself as you imagine having a force of magic protecting the empire, making you wonder just how powerful the King’s magic truly is, or if he ever had help from the strongest mages in the empire. 

Silently, you remind yourself to question about this to Lord Gordan the next time you sit with him to learn about royal defence or when you are sitting with Lady Laurel for your next magic lessons.  

When he notices that you have no more questions to ask of him, Yoongi crosses his arms over his chest and turns the focus of the conversation on you. “Now, it’s your turn to tell me more about you, little dove,” he calmly says, keeping his eyes on you when he points out, “You’re no mere traveller.” 

His words sound more like a statement instead of a question, and it shouldn’t surprise you that Yoongi would begin his digging into your secret by pointing out something that may have been quite obvious. 

Keeping your voice steady, as your father’s voice once again echoes through your head to remind you about keeping your family’s secret, you give him a smile and stiffly nod. “No, I’m not.”

“And you can travel across the realms.” 

Your heartbeat picks up. “Not that I’ve done this for a long time, nor am I an expert like yourself. And I’m not doing this for a noble purpose like you do,” you find yourself admitting to him, before deciding that perhaps you can share with him at least a part of your truth without revealing who you truly are. 

“You have probably figured out by now where I initially came from,” you begin, and when Yoongi says nothing to respond to this, you simply continue, “The human realm has been the only home that I’ve known for as long as I can remember, even if I never got to truly see any other places in the human realm itself aside from the place where I lived.” 

Yoongi immediately frowns at this. You can tell that he is surprised to hear this, and you can already guess that he probably wouldn’t like to hear what you are about to share with him next. 

“I…was sheltered almost my entire life, kept from the world, hidden in the shadows”—being kept as a secret while you were caged within the palace’s walls—”so I would take every chance I could get, sometimes steal it, just to be able to see the world outside that I was never allowed to see. Before, all I could do was to slip out of my window to travel across the town, then the city, and then I’d venture into the secluded places where people wouldn’t be able to recognise me. A chance to escape and experience freedom.” 

The more you reveal this part of yourself, Yoongi’s gaze seems to grow darker. It feels unsettling, yet comforting at the same time. Because it almost seems like he is enraged at your situation. That he is becoming angry—for you. 

When had anyone ever felt this kind of concern for you? 

You try to remember, before realising soon enough that not even your governess, Nanny Abigail, the closest person to you since your days back at The Citadel, had ever voiced her concern about you being sheltered and hidden from public view. If any, she seems to have always encouraged and supported the King with his decisions, while often convincing you that it would have been better to remain within the palace’s walls for your own safety. 

Thinking about this makes you feel upset and bitter, so you quickly push these thoughts away, rather than allowing it to pester your thoughts when you should be enjoying this wonderful moment that you have with Yoongi. 

“I might not like you in the sense of crossing the realms, because I have no control of it,” you allow a little more truth to come out. “As a matter of fact, I surprised myself when I arrived here. Never had I expected that I would find my way to a town where magic exists, when I had only been seeing these places through the books that I’ve been reading.” 

As you laugh softly to your confession, Yoongi’s frown slowly fades as he curiously says. “You are not familiar with the magic realm.” 

You shake your head. “No, I am not. Not yet, at least. Everything is new to me. I’m still learning,” you admit to him with a bashful smile. “I spend my time learning about magic and this realm through the books, never knowing that I might be able to get the chance to visit these places and learn about them directly.” 

Yoongi’s expression seems to grow softer after hearing your words. “Is that the reason behind all these questions? All the curiosity that you always have with you?” he asks you, “All because you’ve never had the chance to see the world with your own two eyes, much less this realm we are in?” 

Slowly, you nod your head. “I have so many questions but not many that could answer them,” you answer him with a deep exhale of breath, recalling the hours you spent digging into the books in the library only to never feel satisfied enough with what you have found. 

Yoongi’s lips twitch to a grin. “And you expected me to answer them for you.” 

“Maybe not all of them, but you are the one available right now for me to speak to,” you admit to him with a soft giggle, making him smile, as if the sound of your laughter pleases him. “And, now that I’ve shared all of this with you, as of now, you have become one of the limited people who knows about my secret.” 

“I’m going to guess that there’s not a lot of people,” he says with a gentle voice, to which you answer with a nod while you solemnly keep the real answers in your head—

The truth is, you are the only one who actually knows about my secrets. The only one who knows that I’ve been traveling to different places. The only one who knows that I exist while the world revolves in blissful ignorance. 

In your silence, Yoongi takes this moment to take a good look at your face while you are lost in deep thoughts. He seems to have found something in you when he murmurs to you softly, “You can sense my magic.” 

His words catch you off-guard, but you try your best to control your emotions. “It’s not like I’ve learned how to use magic, or to even have it inside me at all,” you slowly admit to him while recalling your father’s words about magic, how it resides within you, passed down from his bloodline.

But you have never truly felt it, and your father never had the chance to show it to you or to teach you more about it before he had to leave the palace for his royal duty. 

“But, I’ve learned how to sense them ever since I first arrived in this realm,” you continue, while Yoongi seems intrigued to hear this. 

For some reason, you feel no guilt about sharing this with him. You just don’t feel like it would be particularly necessary to hide this, as this is a new ability that you have been honing through your afternoon lessons with Lady laurel and Lord Gordan, after all. 

In fact, seeing his reaction, you suddenly start feeling hopeful that perhaps he can help you understand about this new ability that you have been gifted with yet still cannot understand, much less to wield it at your own will. 

The ability to detect other mana or aura from your surroundings—be it on the places where you are at or within the people you are with. 

This was said to be the first step of practising your own magic and sharpening your mana while you wait for your father to guide you through the rest. Of course, you haven’t started learning more than the basics, nothing but the theories and the principles behind it, yet you have secretly learned enough on your own to identify the magic that is present around you. And you have learned enough to recognise the energy that you can feel coming out of Yoongi.

And what you can sense from him has only been making you feel more curious about him. The strong pull that keeps drawing you to him. The essence of his magic—

Right at the same time, the same curiosity flickers through Yoongi’s gaze. “What do you sense from me when that happens?” 

His question—and the way he says it—sounds surprisingly reassuring, and it prompts you into answering him truthfully. 

“Serene. Otherworldly,” you start describing what you feel, recalling the tingling sensations that you felt upon sensing his magic, when you first realised that they were coming from him. “It feels comforting and intimidating at the same time. And quite—captivating, as if there is a strong pull coming from your magic that keeps drawing me in.” 

Familiar. 

Because it feels eerily similar to the magic that you have grown used to. Similar to the magic that you have been feeling coming from your father’s portals. The strong pull that you feel from Yoongi reminds you too much of the strong charm that sends you across various realms that you find in the magic doors, which often feels like invisible dust brushing at your skin that would sometimes linger with you long after you have stepped across the portal. 

The first time you felt it while you were with him back at Narlès, you had chalked it up as having the portal’s magic lingering in your skin because of how different the weather was compared to home. Now, however, the moment you are back in Yoongi’s presence and feeling the same sensation all over again, you finally realise that it hadn’t been the case at all.  

With tilted head, you take a good look at Yoongi, wondering why it is possible for him to have the kind of magic that seems to resemble your father’s. Through your lectures, you have learned that the type of magic that a person obtains may differ depending on the source of its powers, and would often differ according to where the person resides in or which empire they are from.

Just like the people within the sun empire that were said to be blessed by the sun itself, and the empires that were said to have claimed the blessings of the Moon and the Gods that are believed to reside in the sea. 

Would it be possible that your father’s magic may have come from the same source as Yoongi’s? 

Before you can figure out how to bring this up, Yoongi continues to speak, focusing on your magic as if he knows that you haven’t learned much about how special your ability truly is. 

“For anyone who acquires the gift of magic or born with mana within them, they will be able to feel or sense it when magic exists around us. At least, most of us do,” he explains, smiling, while your mind flies back to the old farmer who may have felt your mana when you first met him. Then Yoongi surprises you when he adds, “But it takes a different kind of gift and talent to be able to recognise or identify someone else’s magic by sense alone.” 

“And that’s something that you are incapable of.” 

But I might. 

Yoongi nods his head. “That must’ve been the reason why you were able to notice my presence while I was following you. It was my magic that you sensed when you couldn’t see me.” 

You tilt your head, realising that he might have been right. And he may not have noticed that he had just solved one of the biggest mysteries that have been plaguing your thoughts as of late, when you could never explain to yourself the reason why you had always been able to sense Yoongi’s presence even before you could see him there. 

“But I can tell you this—” he continues, “I can feel the mana within you. For me, it feels like an unrefined diamond, glowing inside you. Except that there is something that is shielding it, protecting it like a veil.”

A shield? It isn’t much of a surprise to hear that you have an unrefined mana, as you are still lacking in training. But to know that there is something protecting it is another matter. “But—how?” 

Yoongi presses his lips together as if he is feeling unsure with his answer. “I wish I know,” he says with a regretful smile. “If I have to make a comparison, try to picture a door. A door that has been kept closed and locked so tightly that it would take an effort to open it. Right behind that closed door is your mana. That is how shielded your energy is.” 

“So—you’re saying that if I want to be able to find my magic and use it, I have to open that door?” you question him, suddenly feeling light-headed and confused. Yet every word he is giving you makes sense. 

Is that the reason why your tutors have refrained from teaching you magic, and had always insisted that you should wait for the return of the King?

“I supposed you can say that,” Yoongi says with a nod. “But that’s not all. I can tell that you also have magic all over you. Although it feels more like a protection spell that is meant for you, not for the mana you have inside you.” 

Hearing this only leaves you feeling more confused. Until you finally remember the reactions you saw earlier from the farmers working on the field when they saw you walking away, as if they had just realised that you were there. 

Thinking about this, you raise your eyebrows. “The kind of protection spell that may hide me even in plain sight?” 

He stifles a smile as he says, “Something like that.” He also seems—proud, to see that you are able to figure it out before he can explain further.  

“Yet you can’t recognise its form or where it came from,” you guess again, while Yoongi’s expression shifts when he stiffly nods.  

“No, I’m afraid I can’t. The only thing that I can tell you is that it seems to have been placed on you instead of it developing naturally, because it feels entirely different compared to the mana flow I’m feeling from you. I can feel these two separate energies flowing both from within and around you as I’m sitting here with you.” 

Sinking back in your seat, you say nothing to this, and choose to hide your expression as you take a hefty drink from your glass. For a while now, you have suspected that something like this may exist. That you may have some kind of magic surrounding you at times. It would only make a whole lot of sense of everything that you have been questioning and wondering about.

The fact that you have been able to escape the palace during the night without people noticing you, but only while you were right outside of the palace’s walls. Common people who would walk by without seeing you when you passed them in the streets, or the royal guards who would fail to notice you slipping through their tight patrol. 

As if you were never there. 

Instinctively, your hand finds your necklace that is hidden under your cloak, and you anxiously begin toying the gem with your fingers the way you always do when you are lost in deep thoughts and in need to focus. 

You start thinking about all those nights you spent roaming the dark streets in Smotia and the afternoons you spent wandering away from the palace, recalling all the significant moments and events, to try and put all the pieces together. You have never have believed that you were a master of disguise, so skilful in hiding your identity that you managed to remain unnoticed during your trips to the outside world. 

Unlike Yoongi, perhaps, who seems to be quite an expert if putting up disguises. He would no doubt be able to blend in with the locals with his disguises, avoiding unwanted attention that may put a risk to his duties.  

Thinking about this now, the odd expression worn by the mercenary soldier that you met at The Rare Roots begins to make more sense. When he looked at you as if you had magically appeared right in front of him and he was completely caught off-guard that he had let his mask slip. And for some reason, you can almost see that same expression coming out of Yoongi as he is silently watching you—the cold, amused look coming out of his eyes, as if he is trying to solve a puzzle, or a mystery, and he would be able to find the answer by simply looking at your face. 

More questions come to mind, and they slip out of you in soft whispers while you are trying to solve this mystery. “How is that possible?” you first ask yourself, before your gaze lands back on Yoongi who hasn’t said a word, giving you the chance to ruminate on this new revelation about yourself. 

“If I am protected with a spell, like you said, how did you manage to notice me?” You just cannot help but wonder out loud. 

Both in Narlès and here in Grimm, Yoongi has always been the one to find you first. Compared to how you would have had to approach someone and talk to them first to get them to notice you—just like the farmers you met earlier and the people you talked to on your previous excursions. 

Just as you are waiting for him to respond, you catch Yoongi’s eyes as they move. A barely visible flicker that is so subtle that you would miss it if only you blink. And you are partially sure that his gaze has landed right at your necklace, at the fingers that are brushing against the golden embellishments securing the ruby pendant that seems to be reflecting the sunlight as you twirl it in your touch. 

All of a sudden, a blurry image from your almost-forgotten dream comes back to you. 

Yoongi’s eyes remind you of the pair of dark eyes drifting down to your collarbone, eyeing on the necklace that you were wearing even in your dreams. The deep voice that almost felt like a whisper, a murmur, when the man in your dream spoke of as if he had just gotten an answer to the riddle that he was so desperate to solve, “The necklace. Of course. I should’ve known.”

Carefully, you lower your hand, opting to take Yoongi’s attention away from the necklace. His curious gaze is starting to make you feel uncomfortable, too vulnerable, that even the necklace is starting to feel hot under his dark, perusing eyes. 

“I might have a theory,” Yoongi begins as his eyes find yours again. This time, the look that he is giving you seems a bit more cautious. As if he is treading carefully through this, and you understand why when he says, “But I might have to show it to you to prove it, since it would mean using my magic to understand, and I can do that if you would allow me to.”  

As he stops talking, you can almost hear the unspoken words that he is keeping to himself as he regards you with a smile. A silent promise that also becomes a challenge that he offers you in exchange of any secret that you may choose to share with him—

This secret I can reveal to you, as long as you are willing to reveal yours. 

— © 2024 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind is not allowed. unsolicited translations are not allowed.

the bedroom hymns ● chapter xiv

⟶ Chapter summary | To answer your curiosity, Yoongi presents you with a challenging offer. Is your desire to learn about this new realm and his secrets strong enough for you to risk revealing your own secrets? Or will you remain loyal to the promise you made to your father to protect the family’s secret? 

⟶ Title | The Bedroom Hymns: a Bluebeard’s twist ⟶ Pairings | Min Yoongi x female reader  ⟶ Genre | Fairy Prince!Yoongi, Crown Princess!reader, Fantasy AU, Fairy Tale retelling ⟶ Word count | 6,785 words ⟶ Ratings | PG-13, +18 / M for Mature for future chapters; include classism, black magic, alcohol consumption ⟶ Story Masterlist: The Bedroom Hymns | ⤎ previous chapter | next chapter ⇢ ⟶ Main Masterlist | Mailbox | Taglist | Feedback | Music Playlist | Ko-fi ⟶ Author’s note | Here’s the second part of what was meant to be a part of the previous chapter. I hope this answers a lot of questions. Have fun reading!

chapter xiv. red strings-2

You fall silent as you feel a slight drop in your stomach. 

You should have expected that he would demand a fair trade right away. If only you have had enough time to figure out what to say, to plan just how much you are able to share about yourself without having to lie to his face should he chooses to answer your questions with honest truth. 

Taking a slow drink from your glass, you take your time to contemplate your options. “Maybe—” you slowly begin, “I can tell you a little bit about myself for a fair exchange.” 

Yoongi squints his eyes. There seems to be a hint of suspicions in the way he is looking at you. At first, he says nothing. Not a single response to your offer. Perhaps he can already tell that you wouldn’t be able to give him everything that he might be demanding from you. 

It makes you feel discouraged when you think that he may change his mind and you won’t be getting some answers. But Yoongi surprises you when he suddenly shrugs and smiles. 

“Very well, then. I guess that’s fair,” he says, though you cannot really make out the tone of his voice, or if he’s still going to be truthful when he hums, “Where do I start?”

Yoongi says this while slowly rubbing his chin. “Well, I suppose that you know who I am by now,” he finally begins, his eyes showing a playful glint which only helps lessen your worries and doubts. 

“Do I?” you question him in return, mirroring the playful tone of his voice. “We’ve only met once before this, putting aside the other times when you shadowed my movements. I know your name, and I know that you are a part of one of the most notorious brotherhood of mercenaries known within the continent. But I had assumed that your men have only been roaming the human realm. But here you are now.” 

Yoongi’s lips rise slowly to a crooked grin. “That is quite an interesting part to note, isn’t it?,“ leaning forward once again, he places his crossed arms on the table to get closer to you. “And I’m not talking about us meeting in different realms, but the fact that I never specifically told you to which brotherhood I am belonged to, when I could’ve been a part of any mercenary group that is currently active among the people,” he calmly drawls, while your eyes grow wide, realising your blunder. “And yet, you were able to recognise the insignia that belongs to our brotherhood and figured out that I am a part of it.” 

Silently laughing at yourself, you realise that he is right. 

Yoongi had never once mentioned the name of the mercenary army group that he is a part of, and yet, he has never once tried to deny it whenever you brought it up. Both in the market town and here, you have yet to see Yoongi wearing the insignia that belongs to the brotherhood. 

But there is no denying that everything about him had made it easy for you to link him to the mercenary group which is known to be moving among the commoners, both within the territories of your father’s empire, and also in various neighbouring territories.

Not to mention, each time you lay your eyes on Yoongi, you would be reminded of the nameless mercenary who had caught your presence that night in The Rare Roots; his demeanour, the way he carries himself, his speech, and the most defining characteristic that you have felt from him so far, his aura. 

“I’ve told you that I’m no damsel,” is what you tell him in return, hinting at his connection to the aforementioned mercenary group. “In almost every place that I’ve traveled to, I’ve either met some of your men, your brothers in arms, or seen traces and trails left behind by your brotherhood.” 

In this case, you are not entirely lying to him. This is something that you have caught on during your excursions as of late. Aside from learning more about your father’s activities in the various places that you have visited so far, you have also been following the trails left behind by the mercenary army by using everything that you have learned from Advisor Kim and the Royal guards’ reports. 

You recall seeing the insignia in various places in the midst of your excursions, either worn by a passing member of the mercenary army or plastered on the walls, pillars, and any other places visible for the commoners to see; a public declaration to show that the brotherhood are on the people’s side and not the royals’. 

“You have made quite a name among the people, no matter which kingdom or empire you have come across,” you add while tipping your chin at the engraved insignia, “I never expected that I’d be seeing that crest here too, in a completely different realm.”

You lean forward on the table, mirroring his gesture as you murmur softly to him, “It wasn’t hard to put two and two together after what we talked about the last time we met, but you were the one who gave it away when you denied none of the things I said about you being a part of that movement.” 

A surprised look flickers through his gaze. “You are a smart one, little dove,” he says, completely amused. “As I’ve said before. I shouldn’t have underestimated you.” 

You lean back in your seat, feeling victorious. “No, you shouldn’t have.” 

He mirrors your movement as he settles back in his chair, except that he follows it by lifting his shimmering tankard, taking a swift drink before he speaks again. Once the drink is lowered, a determined look fills his eyes, as if talking about this would require him to take off the mask that he normally wears when he is with you. 

You can tell the difference when he looks at you straight in the eyes, his chin lifted, and there is a different flair coming from him. A new sense of authority that would have been intimidating should a commoner stand right before him. 

Not you, however, when you have grown used to facing something similar, a presence that feels more intense, whenever you have to come face to face with your father. 

“You’re right. I am a part of the brotherhood. I can’t tell you more other than the fact that I work alongside my brothers to serve the people who are willing to hire our service and pay for our hard work with gold. Be it a local merchant, a commoner, or a nobble, we serve them with everything that we have for an exchange of a good pay,” he says, sounding proud, subtly hinting that he may have quite an important role in his brotherhood of mercenaries that he is keeping from you, “as for crossing the borders between the realms—” 

He tugs at the bamboo hat that he has been wearing and starts taking it off. “Not every men who had joined the brotherhood would be capable of moving from one realm to another so easily,” he explains as he tosses his hat away. For some reason, the gesture draws your attention, and you find yourself getting completely fixated on it that you can’t take your eyes away from him. 

“Only a handful of us had come from the magic realms, most of us coming from various territories within the Land of Far Far Away, while the other members who had later joined us once we started the movement are regular humans, mostly commoners from the human realm who we encountered in our journey and volunteered to join our purpose.” 

You can almost picture the mercenary army growing steadily in size with the passing time, reaching all the common people directly than the royal aids of your father’s empire ever could. “And that purpose would be gaining gold coins from whoever is willing to pay for your service?”  

But is that all there is to it? 

You cannot help but wonder, unable to truly believe that it could all be that simple, when almost every men working under your father’s ruling has believed otherwise. The memory of your past conversation with one of your father’s Royal Advisors return to you. About the mercenary army that was suspected to be a part of the rebellion movement which has been silently rising among the people of Nythelean Empire. 

“That is correct,” he says, “well, that’s mostly the reason why we do this for a living. But there are also others who have their own purposes in joining our movement.” 

You tilt your head, finding this suspicious. Your shoulders grow tense, your spine feels cold. “What kind of—purposes?” you ask him, while your mind begins running wildly. 

Does he really have nothing to do with the rebellion? Or is his brotherhood truly the rebel army as suspected by the Royal Guards?  

While you are looking at him with suspicions, Yoongi carries with him an easy air, as if he has nothing dark or sinister to hide. He keeps the same light attitude when he answers, “Protection. The ability to protect their family, their hometown, their livelihood, to be able to defend against any crime and any physical threats—the kinds of harm that would always get overlooked because they were hurting the commoners and not the nobles with storages of gold coins—or any possible threats that may harm them and their family directly.” 

A smile lifts on your lips as relief slowly washes over you. “So you’re vigilantes, doing all the work that the royal army working under the ruling of the kings and emperors couldn’t, is that what you’re saying?” 

Yoongi barks out a laugh. “You can put it that way,” he says. “It’s more like a security work for the people. But we also provide a chance for the common people to rise and lend their strength.”

He takes another drink and continues, “Out there, in the small towns and settlements that are far out of reach from the empires and their law, there are commoners who had trained for their lives to serve as knights, only to fail from claiming their places in the knighthood because they had no noble blood or any high standing in the society. That’s where we come in, as we welcome them under our wings and give them a place to serve, to use their skills and put their training to good use.”

Good use. Those words sound like music to your ears. The kind of music that eases your worries. There is a hint of suspicions still lingering in your mind, yet you find yourself believing his words. 

It’s almost as if you can feel it; the truth that his words carry with them, the genuine pride coming out through his voice when he speaks about the brotherhood that has been seen as the villains by the royals. 

“And not all of them are capable of using magic or casting spells?” you choose to ask rather than sharing your doubts about the brotherhood. “Or whatever it is that you use to move between realms?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “Regular humans don’t know anything about magic. Even the ones who are able to cast powerful spells will not be able to travel across the realms so easily. Only the gifted ones can do it.”

“Like you do.” 

He gives you a smile. “Like me.” 

Once again, you tilt your head while you try to process all of this. “And all of the traveling has to do with your work in the mercenary? But why do you must venture through the human realm, when you could’ve had more chances here?” You take a quick glance around, once again being drawn to the vast farmland which spreads right before your eyes. “What kind of work are you doing here now?” 

Yoongi licks his lips. The gesture steals your attention from his words, drawing a hint of warmth out of your skin. It is another new sensation that you have never felt before. But then again, never once had you ever felt so drawn to someone like this, not as much as how he has you drawn to him like a moth drawn to a flame. 

“Why the human realm?” he repeats your question with a hum as he looks out towards the view. The faraway look in his eyes tells you that there is a story in there, before he simply answers, “It’s hard to explain, really.” 

The corners of his eyes crease a little when he smiles. “I can’t say that it had all been a deliberate choice to raise an army of mercenaries out there in the human realm. I think you would be able to understand this, but it all started a long time ago, when I first came into the human realm in search of an adventure. We call it as ’soul-searching’, a personal mission that I had taken to venture far, far away from home to find my purpose in life.” 

You return his smile just then, because you can understand him well enough, as you have been doing just the same thing. Going out to new places, stepping into foreign lands, all because your soul craved for a new adventure, to write a new story, and to be able to see the world. 

“I never planned to stay long in the human realm, but then as more and more friends, other men and old colleagues left the magic realm to join me, we formed ourselves a small alliance to be able to have more means and reasons to remain in the human realm for a bit longer, while also find ways to give back to the people and the community that had welcomed us with open arms, despite never knowing who we were or where we came from. And then, one thing lead to another—” 

“And your small group or adventurers become a rogue army working alongside the humans.” 

“Once again, you are correct,” he answers with a proud smile. “As to why I am here, it’s the same reason why I’ve been to the places where you encountered me before. I’m doing the same kind of work that I did in Narlès, and similar to most of the work I’ve done back in Smotia”—one corner of his lips lifts to a grin—”like that day when I followed your trails at the royal winery.” 

His gaze softens as you roll your eyes. 

“We usually do the same details of work whenever we are hired by people in the human realm. But when it requires me to travel across the borders and return to this realm, the work varies,” he adds, this time with a hint of fierceness in his voice. Proud and bitterness mixing together. “And these jobs come with bigger risks. Hence the disguises and the hidden armoires. But I do earn bigger pay when I succeed.” 

This has you raising your eyebrows. Curiosity comes through you as you take a closer look at his attire. 

Dressed as a local commoner, he looks quite unassuming that he would be able to roam around without raising suspicions. Unlike back in Narlès when he had at least shown his weapons under and over his unmarked cloak and dark-coloured outfit, this time, you are sure that he has numerous weapons hidden under his simple clothes. 

The same way you are hiding your golden dagger under your skirt, hidden from view but easy for you to reach whenever necessary. 

“You’ve been to Smotia. This place might look similar, but it is still entirely different. Not only with the magic that exists here, but also with the people that resides in this place and their way of living,” he explains, his words mirroring every single thought you had about this place since you had first gotten here. 

“There is a secret about this place that requires us to keep a close eye on the territory. A dark secret,” he says with a secretive smile. “But I’m sure that you’re used to something like this.” 

You realise what he is hinting at. Once again, the past conversation you had with the farmers follows you. You bristle as you recall the warning that was given to you and how it had reminded you of home. Your old home, and the dark rumours that everyone whispered all the way into the palace’s walls.

“These stories have been passed around from one generation to another, and I’m sure most people who live in this place and have learned about the tales for a long time won’t even know whether or not these stories are real, or if they are nothing more but an urban legend told by the elders to keep everyone here safe and keep things in order.” 

“Like the rumours that the people have been spreading in Smotia.” 

Yoongi gives you a solemn nod. “Smotia isn’t the only place that holds a dark secret. This place, and many other places—kingdoms, empires, even the small, lawless towns and rogue settlements—all have their secrets. It doesn’t matter whether we are in the human realm, or right here, within the magic realm of Far Far Away. People loves to tell stories, dramatising any event that happened sometime in the past to make use of them to keep the younger ones in line.” 

You are not entirely surprised to hear this. Old tales live among the people who still speak of them. They are the reason why local traditions and customs exist in the first place. But it is interesting to know that even in different realms, such thing still exists. 

Yoongi continues to speak. “For those of us with magic skills or have enough mana to endure the magic present in places such as Grimm, we would travel to and fro and pay regular visits to such places. Not only for the purpose of running our mission or for hired jobs, but also in between our duties, just so we can be here to observe, to protect, and even to hunt—”

“Hunt…what?” 

A pinch folds itself inside your chest. A myriad of scenarios start their callous plays inside your head; your father’s assassination attempt, the unmarked mercenary soldiers that followed you through the depths of the Elcester Forest, the attempts to infiltrate The Citadel. 

“Anything that may cause any disturbances happening within the Land of Far Far Away. The small and invisible threats that always start from the most inconspicuous places. Being vigilant and moving under our own rule allow us to get closer to the sources before they rise rapidly to become a bigger threat to the entire realm,” Yoongi answers after a beat of silence and a whole round of wild imagination running through your head. 

He gives an easy rise of his shoulders as it’s not a big deal. “Of course, we are only a small army roaming through a vast magical realm, where each territory, every strong empire within the realm have their own rules. Some kingdoms even cast their strong spells around their territories that won’t allow us to walk past their borders as easily as we would’ve liked. But we do what we can, keeping watch for the people that may be overlooked should any harm ever comes.” 

Spells to keep people out of a territory? 

Of course, you wonder to yourself as you start recalling everything that you have learned so far about the safety measures that an empire must abide to in order to keep its palaces, territories, and the people within safe. 

You are also reminded of the action that your father had taken after the latest breach which happened at the main palace, and how the royal guards at the Stargrave Castle have been keeping the same tight security to make sure that the empire’s territory is secured from any possible threat while in the King’s absence. 

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to think that there would be kingdoms that would use magic and spells for protection. Knowing what you know now, you begin to wonder if your father had also done the same to increase the security at the empire’s territories. Surely, there had to be a reason why he had forbidden you from stepping out of the palace through the front gate. 

Leaving you only relying on the magic portals to be able to step foot out of the palace whenever you need a chance to escape. 

It should be a powerful spell then, you wonder to yourself as you imagine having a force of magic protecting the empire, making you wonder just how powerful the King’s magic truly is, or if he ever had help from the strongest mages in the empire. 

Silently, you remind yourself to question about this to Lord Gordan the next time you sit with him to learn about royal defence or when you are sitting with Lady Laurel for your next magic lessons.  

When he notices that you have no more questions to ask of him, Yoongi crosses his arms over his chest and turns the focus of the conversation on you. “Now, it’s your turn to tell me more about you, little dove,” he calmly says, keeping his eyes on you when he points out, “You’re no mere traveller.” 

His words sound more like a statement instead of a question, and it shouldn’t surprise you that Yoongi would begin his digging into your secret by pointing out something that may have been quite obvious. 

Keeping your voice steady, as your father’s voice once again echoes through your head to remind you about keeping your family’s secret, you give him a smile and stiffly nod. “No, I’m not.”

“And you can travel across the realms.” 

Your heartbeat picks up. “Not that I’ve done this for a long time, nor am I an expert like yourself. And I’m not doing this for a noble purpose like you do,” you find yourself admitting to him, before deciding that perhaps you can share with him at least a part of your truth without revealing who you truly are. 

“You have probably figured out by now where I initially came from,” you begin, and when Yoongi says nothing to respond to this, you simply continue, “The human realm has been the only home that I’ve known for as long as I can remember, even if I never got to truly see any other places in the human realm itself aside from the place where I lived.” 

Yoongi immediately frowns at this. You can tell that he is surprised to hear this, and you can already guess that he probably wouldn’t like to hear what you are about to share with him next. 

“I…was sheltered almost my entire life, kept from the world, hidden in the shadows”—being kept as a secret while you were caged within the palace’s walls—”so I would take every chance I could get, sometimes steal it, just to be able to see the world outside that I was never allowed to see. Before, all I could do was to slip out of my window to travel across the town, then the city, and then I’d venture into the secluded places where people wouldn’t be able to recognise me. A chance to escape and experience freedom.” 

The more you reveal this part of yourself, Yoongi’s gaze seems to grow darker. It feels unsettling, yet comforting at the same time. Because it almost seems like he is enraged at your situation. That he is becoming angry—for you. 

When had anyone ever felt this kind of concern for you? 

You try to remember, before realising soon enough that not even your governess, Nanny Abigail, the closest person to you since your days back at The Citadel, had ever voiced her concern about you being sheltered and hidden from public view. If any, she seems to have always encouraged and supported the King with his decisions, while often convincing you that it would have been better to remain within the palace’s walls for your own safety. 

Thinking about this makes you feel upset and bitter, so you quickly push these thoughts away, rather than allowing it to pester your thoughts when you should be enjoying this wonderful moment that you have with Yoongi. 

“I might not like you in the sense of crossing the realms, because I have no control of it,” you allow a little more truth to come out. “As a matter of fact, I surprised myself when I arrived here. Never had I expected that I would find my way to a town where magic exists, when I had only been seeing these places through the books that I’ve been reading.” 

As you laugh softly to your confession, Yoongi’s frown slowly fades as he curiously says. “You are not familiar with the magic realm.” 

You shake your head. “No, I am not. Not yet, at least. Everything is new to me. I’m still learning,” you admit to him with a bashful smile. “I spend my time learning about magic and this realm through the books, never knowing that I might be able to get the chance to visit these places and learn about them directly.” 

Yoongi’s expression seems to grow softer after hearing your words. “Is that the reason behind all these questions? All the curiosity that you always have with you?” he asks you, “All because you’ve never had the chance to see the world with your own two eyes, much less this realm we are in?” 

Slowly, you nod your head. “I have so many questions but not many that could answer them,” you answer him with a deep exhale of breath, recalling the hours you spent digging into the books in the library only to never feel satisfied enough with what you have found. 

Yoongi’s lips twitch to a grin. “And you expected me to answer them for you.” 

“Maybe not all of them, but you are the one available right now for me to speak to,” you admit to him with a soft giggle, making him smile, as if the sound of your laughter pleases him. “And, now that I’ve shared all of this with you, as of now, you have become one of the limited people who knows about my secret.” 

“I’m going to guess that there’s not a lot of people,” he says with a gentle voice, to which you answer with a nod while you solemnly keep the real answers in your head—

The truth is, you are the only one who actually knows about my secrets. The only one who knows that I’ve been traveling to different places. The only one who knows that I exist while the world revolves in blissful ignorance. 

In your silence, Yoongi takes this moment to take a good look at your face while you are lost in deep thoughts. He seems to have found something in you when he murmurs to you softly, “You can sense my magic.” 

His words catch you off-guard, but you try your best to control your emotions. “It’s not like I’ve learned how to use magic, or to even have it inside me at all,” you slowly admit to him while recalling your father’s words about magic, how it resides within you, passed down from his bloodline.

But you have never truly felt it, and your father never had the chance to show it to you or to teach you more about it before he had to leave the palace for his royal duty. 

“But, I’ve learned how to sense them ever since I first arrived in this realm,” you continue, while Yoongi seems intrigued to hear this. 

For some reason, you feel no guilt about sharing this with him. You just don’t feel like it would be particularly necessary to hide this, as this is a new ability that you have been honing through your afternoon lessons with Lady laurel and Lord Gordan, after all. 

In fact, seeing his reaction, you suddenly start feeling hopeful that perhaps he can help you understand about this new ability that you have been gifted with yet still cannot understand, much less to wield it at your own will. 

The ability to detect other mana or aura from your surroundings—be it on the places where you are at or within the people you are with. 

This was said to be the first step of practising your own magic and sharpening your mana while you wait for your father to guide you through the rest. Of course, you haven’t started learning more than the basics, nothing but the theories and the principles behind it, yet you have secretly learned enough on your own to identify the magic that is present around you. And you have learned enough to recognise the energy that you can feel coming out of Yoongi.

And what you can sense from him has only been making you feel more curious about him. The strong pull that keeps drawing you to him. The essence of his magic—

Right at the same time, the same curiosity flickers through Yoongi’s gaze. “What do you sense from me when that happens?” 

His question—and the way he says it—sounds surprisingly reassuring, and it prompts you into answering him truthfully. 

“Serene. Otherworldly,” you start describing what you feel, recalling the tingling sensations that you felt upon sensing his magic, when you first realised that they were coming from him. “It feels comforting and intimidating at the same time. And quite—captivating, as if there is a strong pull coming from your magic that keeps drawing me in.” 

Familiar. 

Because it feels eerily similar to the magic that you have grown used to. Similar to the magic that you have been feeling coming from your father’s portals. The strong pull that you feel from Yoongi reminds you too much of the strong charm that sends you across various realms that you find in the magic doors, which often feels like invisible dust brushing at your skin that would sometimes linger with you long after you have stepped across the portal. 

The first time you felt it while you were with him back at Narlès, you had chalked it up as having the portal’s magic lingering in your skin because of how different the weather was compared to home. Now, however, the moment you are back in Yoongi’s presence and feeling the same sensation all over again, you finally realise that it hadn’t been the case at all.  

With tilted head, you take a good look at Yoongi, wondering why it is possible for him to have the kind of magic that seems to resemble your father’s. Through your lectures, you have learned that the type of magic that a person obtains may differ depending on the source of its powers, and would often differ according to where the person resides in or which empire they are from.

Just like the people within the sun empire that were said to be blessed by the sun itself, and the empires that were said to have claimed the blessings of the Moon and the Gods that are believed to reside in the sea. 

Would it be possible that your father’s magic may have come from the same source as Yoongi’s? 

Before you can figure out how to bring this up, Yoongi continues to speak, focusing on your magic as if he knows that you haven’t learned much about how special your ability truly is. 

“For anyone who acquires the gift of magic or born with mana within them, they will be able to feel or sense it when magic exists around us. At least, most of us do,” he explains, smiling, while your mind flies back to the old farmer who may have felt your mana when you first met him. Then Yoongi surprises you when he adds, “But it takes a different kind of gift and talent to be able to recognise or identify someone else’s magic by sense alone.” 

“And that’s something that you are incapable of.” 

But I might. 

Yoongi nods his head. “That must’ve been the reason why you were able to notice my presence while I was following you. It was my magic that you sensed when you couldn’t see me.” 

You tilt your head, realising that he might have been right. And he may not have noticed that he had just solved one of the biggest mysteries that have been plaguing your thoughts as of late, when you could never explain to yourself the reason why you had always been able to sense Yoongi’s presence even before you could see him there. 

“But I can tell you this—” he continues, “I can feel the mana within you. For me, it feels like an unrefined diamond, glowing inside you. Except that there is something that is shielding it, protecting it like a veil.”

A shield? It isn’t much of a surprise to hear that you have an unrefined mana, as you are still lacking in training. But to know that there is something protecting it is another matter. “But—how?” 

Yoongi presses his lips together as if he is feeling unsure with his answer. “I wish I know,” he says with a regretful smile. “If I have to make a comparison, try to picture a door. A door that has been kept closed and locked so tightly that it would take an effort to open it. Right behind that closed door is your mana. That is how shielded your energy is.” 

“So—you’re saying that if I want to be able to find my magic and use it, I have to open that door?” you question him, suddenly feeling light-headed and confused. Yet every word he is giving you makes sense. 

Is that the reason why your tutors have refrained from teaching you magic, and had always insisted that you should wait for the return of the King?

“I supposed you can say that,” Yoongi says with a nod. “But that’s not all. I can tell that you also have magic all over you. Although it feels more like a protection spell that is meant for you, not for the mana you have inside you.” 

Hearing this only leaves you feeling more confused. Until you finally remember the reactions you saw earlier from the farmers working on the field when they saw you walking away, as if they had just realised that you were there. 

Thinking about this, you raise your eyebrows. “The kind of protection spell that may hide me even in plain sight?” 

He stifles a smile as he says, “Something like that.” He also seems—proud, to see that you are able to figure it out before he can explain further.  

“Yet you can’t recognise its form or where it came from,” you guess again, while Yoongi’s expression shifts when he stiffly nods.  

“No, I’m afraid I can’t. The only thing that I can tell you is that it seems to have been placed on you instead of it developing naturally, because it feels entirely different compared to the mana flow I’m feeling from you. I can feel these two separate energies flowing both from within and around you as I’m sitting here with you.” 

Sinking back in your seat, you say nothing to this, and choose to hide your expression as you take a hefty drink from your glass. For a while now, you have suspected that something like this may exist. That you may have some kind of magic surrounding you at times. It would only make a whole lot of sense of everything that you have been questioning and wondering about.

The fact that you have been able to escape the palace during the night without people noticing you, but only while you were right outside of the palace’s walls. Common people who would walk by without seeing you when you passed them in the streets, or the royal guards who would fail to notice you slipping through their tight patrol. 

As if you were never there. 

Instinctively, your hand finds your necklace that is hidden under your cloak, and you anxiously begin toying the gem with your fingers the way you always do when you are lost in deep thoughts and in need to focus. 

You start thinking about all those nights you spent roaming the dark streets in Smotia and the afternoons you spent wandering away from the palace, recalling all the significant moments and events, to try and put all the pieces together. You have never have believed that you were a master of disguise, so skilful in hiding your identity that you managed to remain unnoticed during your trips to the outside world. 

Unlike Yoongi, perhaps, who seems to be quite an expert if putting up disguises. He would no doubt be able to blend in with the locals with his disguises, avoiding unwanted attention that may put a risk to his duties.  

Thinking about this now, the odd expression worn by the mercenary soldier that you met at The Rare Roots begins to make more sense. When he looked at you as if you had magically appeared right in front of him and he was completely caught off-guard that he had let his mask slip. And for some reason, you can almost see that same expression coming out of Yoongi as he is silently watching you—the cold, amused look coming out of his eyes, as if he is trying to solve a puzzle, or a mystery, and he would be able to find the answer by simply looking at your face. 

More questions come to mind, and they slip out of you in soft whispers while you are trying to solve this mystery. “How is that possible?” you first ask yourself, before your gaze lands back on Yoongi who hasn’t said a word, giving you the chance to ruminate on this new revelation about yourself. 

“If I am protected with a spell, like you said, how did you manage to notice me?” You just cannot help but wonder out loud. 

Both in Narlès and here in Grimm, Yoongi has always been the one to find you first. Compared to how you would have had to approach someone and talk to them first to get them to notice you—just like the farmers you met earlier and the people you talked to on your previous excursions. 

Just as you are waiting for him to respond, you catch Yoongi’s eyes as they move. A barely visible flicker that is so subtle that you would miss it if only you blink. And you are partially sure that his gaze has landed right at your necklace, at the fingers that are brushing against the golden embellishments securing the ruby pendant that seems to be reflecting the sunlight as you twirl it in your touch. 

All of a sudden, a blurry image from your almost-forgotten dream comes back to you. 

Yoongi’s eyes remind you of the pair of dark eyes drifting down to your collarbone, eyeing on the necklace that you were wearing even in your dreams. The deep voice that almost felt like a whisper, a murmur, when the man in your dream spoke of as if he had just gotten an answer to the riddle that he was so desperate to solve, “The necklace. Of course. I should’ve known.”

Carefully, you lower your hand, opting to take Yoongi’s attention away from the necklace. His curious gaze is starting to make you feel uncomfortable, too vulnerable, that even the necklace is starting to feel hot under his dark, perusing eyes. 

“I might have a theory,” Yoongi begins as his eyes find yours again. This time, the look that he is giving you seems a bit more cautious. As if he is treading carefully through this, and you understand why when he says, “But I might have to show it to you to prove it, since it would mean using my magic to understand, and I can do that if you would allow me to.”  

As he stops talking, you can almost hear the unspoken words that he is keeping to himself as he regards you with a smile. A silent promise that also becomes a challenge that he offers you in exchange of any secret that you may choose to share with him—

This secret I can reveal to you, as long as you are willing to reveal yours. 

— © 2024 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind is not allowed. unsolicited translations are not allowed.

MIN YOONGI MASTERLIST

KEY

❤️ - smut

💚 - suggestive

🧡 - fluff

💙 - angst

🖤 - dark

💜 - dom idol

🩵 - sub idol

🩷 - idol x reader

💛- idol x idol

His kinks ❤️

As a sub ❤️🧡🩵

I want to be a rock in my next life (coming soon)

Hybrids, Yoongi thought they were extinct until he comes across a cat hybrid shivering late at night near his apartment. His head tells him to call someone, his heart tells him to bring her up to his place. He listens to his heart.

Warnings/tags: Very fluffy but also hurt/comfort, also very smutty, dom Yoongi, sub reader, aftercare, somewhat slice of life, law breaking because owning an unregistered hybrid is well law breaking

Munch much (ft jk) (coming soon)

Your new to the bdsm lifestyle having only recently discovering it and wanting to try. At your first munch you meet two guys looking for a 3rd roommate not knowing they were also looking for a 3rd playmate.

Warnings: bdsm lifestyle focused but also some slice of life plot too, falling in love over time, aftercare, enjoying bdsm while still being an active member of society! dom Jungkook, dom Yoongi, sub reader, very kinky (spec warnings in each chapter) (they don't sub but somehow it works with 2 doms ok its my fic-)

NSFW Yoongi as a sub

Main masterlist

BTS masterlist

Curious cat

Warnings for smut and talk of kinks but it’s fluffy too

----------------------------------------

- Yoongi is just so sweet like the sweetest you’ve ever known

- Will surprise you with spontaneous things: maybe he bakes some cookies or maybe he cleans the entire house you just never know

- One of his favourite things is to surprise you because he loves to see your reaction

- LIVES for praise

- “I’m so proud of you baby boy” “good job baby” “You are just the sweetest”

- Is very sensitive and isn’t the best at staying calm

- Will burst into tears sometimes because of this

- Mommy to the rescue though with plenty of cuddles, and if need be (crying has stopped but still isn’t feeling ok) a meditation video

- Calls you mommy all the time as it just falls so sweetly off his lips and he loves it so

- Has the lowest sex drive of the group which isn’t a bad thing but Yoongi would only be in the mood like twice a week whereas the others would be way more

- Yoongi just thinks that there is more to life than sex so as much as he does enjoy it he wouldn’t necessarily pick it over everything for example sex or cute movie date he would pick the cute movie date every time

- Don’t be fooled though because he is one kinky mf

- Only likes kinks on the softer side but you don’t even realise that there soft kinks because of how wild he can get

- Really into bondage gets so excited if you fell him you plan to tie him up somehow. Isn’t a fan of handcuffs though he only likes rope/ribbon because there softer

- Sometimes is down for it outside of sex too. Really into non sexual submission like kneeling by your feet, or tying his hands together above his head, gaging him and having him sit like that for awhile

- Wants to kiss you all the time, is always kissing during sex and even not in sex

- Never forgets to asks before he cums and for that very reason you hardly ever deny him unless it’s for punishment purposes 

- You both enjoy bathing together, Yoongi just loves to be washed by you, he finds it so relaxing especially if you throw in a surprise massage

- Loves to make you feel as loved as you make him

- Will smother you with affection and praise because it’s his only way to show you how you make him feel every day and he wants you to feel the same

- Speaking of cute movie dates, they are his fav because it means snuggles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and popcorn hehe)

- Overall Yoongi is just so subby sweet and is the best sub ever

A kiss (Yoongi x reader)

Summary: After ogling each other from afar for months, you finally find yourselves in a hidden corner on a party, where you share your first kiss.

Yoongi x (gender neutreal) reader

827 words

Crossposted to AO3

A fluffy Yoongi drabble, strangers to lovers, no warnings necessary

The small lamp on the sideboard next to you makes Yoongi's skin glow. He has backed you against the frame of the farthest door, out of sight of anyone randomly crossing the hallway to get to the kitchen or bathroom. You stand close without touching, his hand braced next to your head, his breath hot and steady on your face. His eyes are black in this half-light, gleaming onyx, fixed unblinkingly on you. There is no way he can't see the want and yearning that's consuming you right now. The need to reach out and slip your hands under his sweater, feeling his body for the first time. Your heart races faster than your thoughts. The urge to touch him grows more powerful by the second, but you're too proud to make the first move. After all these months of dancing around each other, you're closer now than you've ever been. And yet it's so far from being enough. You had hoped this evening would finally bring relief, had hoped the dance would end today. An end and a beginning at the same time. A future. He smells so good. Involuntarily, you lean in a bit, inhaling him deeply. His breath changes instantly, rising and ebbing away in increasing pace. Then it stops. When you look up, you find his eyes closed, pink lips slightly parted. Your mouth goes dry, there is nothing more important in this very moment, than staring, than imagining. All it would take is a turn of your head, a quick stretch... A shiver runs through you; tension trying to find a way to release itself. The closeness is simultaneously delicious and unbearable. Still no touch. The world around you has long since been forgotten, you exist only here with him, in this cocoon of warmth and desire. You lean forward a little more, giving in to the magnetic pull. The heat is getting stronger. Your body is trembling with sensory overload.

Yoongi opens his eyes. They are back on you in an instant, new determination on full display.

Inhale. Exhale.

His gaze drops to your lips.

A heartbeat. Two. He bends, tilts his head, his lips now perfectly aligned with yours, and your breath hitches, afraid you'll miss something, as if the sound of your breathing might drown out the touch of your lips. Still, hesitation. A whispering of your name. A whimper from your throat, the slightest sound, a tiny plea caused by total overwhelm. And then- Then you finally taste him, his lips melting against yours and tears well up in your eyes, it's a literal catharsis, the summit after a long climb, the moment after a jump when you realize you're not falling, but flying. Light as a feather his body leans against yours, embracing your smaller form, hiding you in your little secret realm, inaccessible to all the others. It's the safest place on earth right now.

Light as a feather his tongue dips, asking to be let in, nudging yours, hot and skilled.

You have no idea how much I wanted this, he pants, barely pausing long enough to get the words out.

Then what took you so fucking long, you murmur, earning a low chuckle. You wrap your arms around his body, pulling him closer, until he is pressed flush against you. He is strong. He is warm. He wears way too many clothes. Your lips continue to explore each other; hungry, insatiable, a delicate dance in which sometimes he leads and sometimes you do. He tastes like coffee and something sweet, so very addicting. Yoongi utters a curse out of sheer wordlessness. He's drunk with bliss. He holds your face in the gentlest way possible, as he captures your mouth with his again. You never felt anything like this before. Your hopes and imagination didn't even come close to reality. His lips and tongue set you on fire. Imagine what this mouth could do...somewhere else. You gasp. Goosebumps crawl all over your skin; images of naked intertwined bodies and skin glistening with sweat flash through your mind. You want that. It's insane how much you want that. Him.

All of it.

Let's get out of here.

Your hushed words make him slowly unwind from you, big warm hands sinking to your waist.

His eyes smile at you over flushed cheeks, the most beautiful sight you've ever seen. His lips look as sore as yours feel. A subtle ache that is totally worth it. Slowly you become aware of the world around you again. The music in the main room. The people laughing and crossing the hallway. You can't wait to be truly alone with him.

You take his hand in yours and squeeze it briefly. He squeezes back, smile widening. A gentle tug towards the door detaches you from your hidden corner. You don't fail to notice how perfectly your hands fit into each other. And somehow you are sure your lives will too.

Pairing: Yoongi and OC

Rating: G, just a sweet fluffy meet-cute

Word Count: 959

"Welcome to Art Box" a female voice said from somewhere in the store as we walked in.

"Tae, why are we here? We could've just ordered what we needed online"

He looked at me and rolled his eyes, "No, this is an experience. Plus they can help us get exactly what we need."

I followed him towards the back of the store, wide wood counters made a huge square in the middle of the store. Cash registers and huge catalogs were neatly placed in the center.

"Tali!" Tae yelled.

"Tae! Welcome back!" a voice like warm honey yelled back.

"Where are you?"

"Hold on!"

A pair of slim denim-clad legs came into view, feet covered by combat boots. The top half was obstructed by thick paper swatch books.

We both ran to relieve the mystery person of their burden.

"Thank you!"

I was stuck. In front of me was a literal angel. My brain scrambled to commit all her features to memory.

Wide brown eyes.

Freckles.

Top lip bigger than lower lip.

Mole near her right eye and on her neck.

Hair covered by a scarf.

Almost as tall as me.

"Hello? Yoongi-hyung? Hello?!" Tae's voice snapped me back into reality.

"Huh?"

He gave me a smirk.

"I wanted to introduce you to Tali! She owns Art Box!"

I pivoted my body towards her and waved.

"Tali, this is my friend Yoongi."

She waved back and we gave each other small bows. I discreetly stared at her as she went behind the counter and shelved the sample books.

"So what can I help you with?" She asked, folding her hands and placing them on the counter.

"Well I need a new liner brush and he needs paint."

She looked at me and I felt my ears get red.

"Do you know what kind of paint?"

"Blue" I blurted out.

Tae snickered and she gave me a confused face.

"Blue?" Her lips puckered as she said the word.

I nodded.

"What shade of blue? What medium?" She raised her eyebrows.

Tae slapped my shoulder, "I'm going to go look at brushes" he announced as he walked away leaving us alone. She took an apron off a hook and put it on. Tying the belt around her waist, she gestured for me to follow her.

"Do you know what shade of blue you are looking for?" She asked as we walked toward the paint section. There weren't many people in the shop, and it had a quiet energy with wood shelves and windows letting in the light.

"Shade?" My brain had run away.

"Yes, like do you want a dark blue or a lighter shade? More purple or green?"

"Um dark, like navy"

She nodded. We stopped in front of a rack with hundreds of tubes of paint.

"Acrylic or Oil?"

I scratched my neck, "I don't know?" I said sheepishly.

She let out a small laugh, "I'm going to say acrylic, it's easier to clean up"

I nodded. We shifted over to the end of the aisle. The wooden floor creaking as we stood shoulder to shoulder. I jumped as she turned towards me.

"How big is your canvas?"

I put my hand above my head. Then I spread my arms out.

"That big"

Her eyes got big, I could see the golden flecks near her pupil. They were the same color as her freckles.

"That's a lot of blue" she mumbled. "So for that I'm going to recommend you do a custom batch. We make it here and you can buy as much as you need. We will also save the formula in case you need more. Sometimes the colors won't match in commercial tubes."

I just nodded. She gave me a small smile as she walked passed me, the smell of her perfume wafting to my nose. I followed her back to the counter. She pulled out a paint swatch book from behind the counter and stood next to me.

"So here are all the shades of blue we have. But we can also mix if you want something more custom." I watched her hands as she pointed to the paint swatches. Her hands were small but elegant, covered in paint and ink marks. A small tattoo of a paint brush ran along the side of her index finger and a crescent moon was on her pinky.

She looked at me and smiled. I stared at her and saw her blush and look away.

"So...what shade do you want?" She asked.

"Oh, um…" I looked down and pointed to a midnight blue shade, "this one?"

"This shade is only this dark three coats in, one coat is more like this one." She pointed to a rich peacock blue, "Is that okay?"

I nodded and she nodded back. She pulled an order form to her and started to fill it in.

"Phone number?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"I need your number, to call you when your paint is ready for pickup"

I felt my ears get hot. I took the pen and filled out my name and number, making sure to write it super neatly.

"Min Yoongi?" She said.

I nodded, liking how she said my name.

"Okay, so I will call you when it's ready to pick up, about 2 days"

Tae walked over, about 10 brushes in his hands.

"Tali, I'm ready to pay"

She took the brushes from him and rang him up.

"Have a good day!" She said, "See you soon!"

As we walked out the store, I looked back and caught her staring, chin in hand. She popped up and blushed bright red. I smiled as she rolled her eyes. I made the ‘call me’ gesture and she laughed.

"See you in two days!"

A date!!!! They are gonna go on a date!!!!!

Dating advice | Part six

Summary: It’s been months – ok, it’s been years – since you last went on a date. And you’re sick of it. Sick of seeing couples kissing and holding hands in the street. Sick of your friends settling down. Sick of everyone buying houses and having families. You’re going to do something about it. You’re going to snap up a man, you’re going to tie someone down, you’re going to finally commit, you’re going to – you’re going to need a bit of advice.

Pairing: Yoongi x reader

Genre: fluff; angst; smut

Word count: 3.6k

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, low self-esteem, mentions a parents death in the past, awkwardness,

Authors Note: Thanks for all the love so far! Things are about get a bit spicier.

Previous | Next | Series masterlist

“You bring dates here now?”

Everything in you goes tense at the sound of the voice. It’s light, the words sound like they’re an attempt at a joke, but when you look at Yoongi his face doesn’t reflect the tone. His eyes are wide as they flick between you and the man next to you, his smile looks forced. Part of your brain tricked you into believing, perhaps hoping, that Yoongi wasn’t working tonight to see this, but of course, there he stands.

Even after all the drinks you’ve had tonight, you feel sober under his gaze. You force a smile to your lips as you watch Yoongi’s eyes continue to flick between you and the man stood next to you. Yoongi has never seemed like someone with a judging character but even you can see his mind working.

“This is Jimin,” you refrain from looking at him as you stick your thumb in his direction, you know the smile that hasn’t left his lips since he convinced you to bring him here will still be there. “My stupid friend who’s bought me way too many drinks tonight already.”

“And who’ll be buying her at least one more,” Jimin cuts in, moving forward to make himself comfortable on one of the bar stools. “We’ll have two of your finest G&Ts please Yoongi.”

If Yoongi catches the fact that Jimin has called him by his name without you introducing him, he doesn’t say anything. You take a seat next to Jimin as you watch Yoongi pour out your drinks. If your leg was closer to the ground and not dangling off the bar stool you’re sure it would be bobbing with nerves. You can practically feel Jimin buzzing next to you. He really needs to calm down.

Keep reading

🫂💕😫

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who gave you the code to his studio and lets you sleep on his couch at the end of a long day of school/work. Every day, Yoongi looks forward to your arrival at the studio, wanting to spend a portion of his day in your company, listening to your stories and making you laugh. “don’t be afraid to come in whenever you want. if i gave you the code, it's because i want you here at any time.”

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who buys you postcards from every place he travels, no matter how many times he goes to the same place — for, even though Yoongi was there doing what he loved most, he couldn't stop thinking about the one he loved most. “i know you already have a postcard from here, but i wanted to remind you that it’s impossible not to think about you.”

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who doesn't like seeing you talking to other men, always looking with disgust at those who tried to capture your attention. he still didn't know why he felt uncomfortable when he saw you with others, he just knew that you could do better than them. “it’s not my business, i know, but you deserve better. they probably don’t even know the difference between shampoo and body wash.”

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who sends you good morning and good night texts every day, even if the time zone between you was different. it started when Yoongi saw you knocked down by life and when he realized that his words brightened your day, he couldn't stop. “good morning, you. remember that your soul is perfumed with the stardust that created the universe. never forget your worth.”

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who always looks for you in the audience when he knows you went to see him in concert. even in the midst of thousands of faces screaming his name, Yoongi just looked for yours, feeling his heart warming a little when your face lit up for him. “among billions of people, our souls decided to find each other. your presence at my concert is nothing compared to that.”

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who finds small moments to hold your hands and feel your warmth next to him. in the turmoil that assaulted his mind, your touch seemed to calm Yoongi and he didn't mind holding your hands whenever you provoked him. “now you can’t use your hands. they will be mine forever. i’m not letting go of them anytime soon.”

PRE-BOYFRIEND!YOONGI who knows perfectly well how he feels about you, he's just afraid to say it. because of all the relationships in his life, your friendship was the most important to him, and Yoongi didn't want to lose you by confessing his love for you. “promise that nothing between us will change. promise that you will always stay in my life. promise that even though i love you, you won’t leave me.”