A/n: imagine being able to update consistently

Jimin stared at rows and rows of dark knights, a legion reaching out as far as the eye could see, and even appearing to go beyond that. They stood in perfect formation on a frozen battlefield, where snowflakes were dancing in a choreographed ballet orchestrated by the wind, as the sun had not kissed the earth's surface in what seemed like weeks.

The prince smiled at the beauty of it all, and the power the dark nights exuded. His army, his father had said, his army alone to do with as he pleased... it was better than anything he'd ever dreamt before.

Jimin flinched when he felt a cold, heavy hand fall on his shoulder, long nails digging into his skin.

Look at it, my son...

Look at what I built for you...

Jimin looked over his shoulder, only to be met with nothing but an empty battlefield where he thought he'd sensed someone's presence.

"I... I don't understand..." he said, a disturbed expression flickering across his face. "Why... would you do this?"

Because you are my son... because you are everything this world needs.

"But you hate me," Jimin blurted out, stepping out of his hazy mind as he suddenly realized how the words he was hearing went in against everything Jimin knew about his father.

"You have... you have always hated me."

No... my boy I have never hated you. I have only been waiting for the right moment to gift you with your true purpose.

Jimin shook his head, glaring at his father's words as tears began to build in his eyes. "You have never wanted me as your son..."

Jimin... you go too far.

"I searched the faces of the Gods for ways to please you..." Jimin said with a quivering voice, the years of neglect and abuse like a fresh wound on his heart. "For ways to make you proud..."

Jimin...

"But you always disregarded me!" The boy said through gritted teeth. "No matter what skill I showed, in your eyes I was always weak and worthless... and I believed you... I still... I still believe you."

My dear son... I never-

Tears trickled down the sides of Jimin's face as he stared at the army of faceless, dark soldiers, recognizing his own darkness in each and every one of them.

"One... kind word," he whispered, balling his fists. "One full hug... where you pressed me against your chest and held me tight, would have felt like the sun on my heart for a thousand years..."

The prince trembled with emotion, and he clenched his jaw as more tears spilled from his eyes. "Why did you have to hate me so much?" He asked. "I never meant to kill your wife! I was but a baby... you don't know how many times I prayed to the Gods for them to switch my place on this earth with her... how many times I wondered if killing myself would make it all better..."

Jimin... my son... your mother was a strong, brave woman, and you resemble her in more ways than one.

The prince wrapped his arms around his waist, his gaze falling to the frosted ground.

But your father was a swine of a man, who did not deserve her...

Jimin's brows twitched into a frown, but before he could speak, his father continued.

My son you are not related in any way, to he who sat the throne of Delos for decades. Have you not realised it yet, my boy? Have you not pieced together the grandness that is your existence? Your mother knew very well that she would lose her life once she birthed you... she had already accepted the consequences the moment she came to me... desperate for a way out of the useless marriage she'd been trapped in.

Jimin's lips parted at what he was hearing, the words sounding like pure blasphemy, yet at the same time like the purest truth.

"W-what are you talking about?" He asked, shaking his head. "What do you mean!?"

Your mother sacrificed herself for you, my son... for you to fulfill your destiny.

The sound of riled up soldiers reached Jimin's ears, and the prince turned around to see multiple armies standing on the other side of the frozen battelfied, the flags of The Styx, Athens and Delos waving proudly in the frosty air.

Jimin's eyes widened at seeing his brother standing among the allied troops, gawking at him as he sat atop his horse.

Yoongi too, was among the opposing armies, roaring an inspirational speech to his men while he waved his sword strongly through the air. And even Taehyung, in his red lion from, was scratching at the ground and growling at Jimin's dark nights, readying himself for a fight.

Jimin swallowed thickly at the sight that made his heart race.

"Who... who are you?" He asked with a quivering voice, taking a few steps backwards as a terrible feeling of disorientation hit him. "What are you?"

A low chuckle that sounded like rumbling thunder rolled through the sky and filled the air.

My dear, dear boy...

Jimin's heart sank to his stomach upon hearing his father's voice be replaced by the melodious, gentle tone of a woman.

I... am your creator.

______________________

"Jimin?"

The prince flinched and looked to his side at the demigod, who was staring at him with what could only be described as deep concern borthering with unease.

Jimin pushed Yoongi further up his back and tightened his hold around the man's legs as he walked on steadily though the woods. "What?" he asked, blinking rapidly.

There was a silence instead of an answer from the demigod, and Jimin sighed. "I was thinking about a dream I had last night" he explained reluctantly. "It didn't make much sense."

The demigod hummed, peeking over his shoulder to check on Taehyung, who was snoring peacefully on his back. The redhead was wearing Jungkook's shirt as a headwrap to cover his firey locks, making him seem like only a poor, malnourished young man, instead of the flamboyant red prince known all throughout the kingdom.

"Was it a bad dream?" Jungkook asked after a moment, his voice low not to disturb the tranquility of the woods.

"I wouldn't say that..."

"Then it was a good dream?"

"No."

Jimin could almost feel the demigod's confusion radiating outwards, and yet there was nothing he could do, for he himself felt the exact same puzzlement.

The consistent sound of their feet disappearing in the undergrowth of the the trees, carried the men closer and closer to their destination.

"Jimin..." Jungkook spoke softly when he noticed the forest thinning out. "Do you think... they will be okay?"

The prince frowned, but then he glanced at Taehyung and Yoongi and understood what the demigod meant. "Of course," he murmured. "Don't worry about them. They're stronger than they look."

Jungkook gulped and nodded with unsure eyes, before speaking up again a short moment later.

"What about me?"

The demigod looked through his lashes, without meeting Jimin's eyes. "Will I... will I be okay? A-am I stronger than I look? You seem so sure of everything. Without doubts or concerns... you know so much about the world while I- I've been so ignorant... so stupid..."

Jimin stopped walking, causing Jungkook to stop in his tracks as well and look at the prince with the expressions of a frightened deer.

The prince placed his hand on Jungkook's shoulder with enough force to make the demigod stumble backwards a bit, and he stared deeply into the boy's doe eyes, locked and steady on those trembling pupils.

"You need to stop this."

Jungkook's eyes darted away from Jimin's face in panic and the boy nearly whimpered. "I- I know it's just... I can't-  I don't- I don't know what to- e-everything is just so-"

"Jungkook, look at me," Jimin ordered sternly, tightening his grip on the demigod's shoulder while his eyes never deviated from his face.

The demigod's chest heaved up and down as his breath was everything but consistent, and he stared at Jimin with his large doe eyes, seeming truly, deeply terrified for the very first time since meeting the prince.

"I know that it's a lot," Jimin said. "I know you lost your brother... I know you have just opened your eyes to the fact that the world is unimaginably cruel... and filled mostly with dispicable people, but you can not lose yourself. You have a duty to fulfill."

Jungkook's eyes filled themselves to the brim with tears, and his lips quivered.

"Fill your lungs for me, will you?" The prince asked, carefully cupping the demigod's cheek. "Breathe and... think of good things. As long as you continue to brighten your heart with the sun that shines within you... you will be okay, Jungkook... I promise you."

The demigod nodded, and released a shuddering breath as he closed his eyes and leaned in to Jimin's hand.

Jimin catched his lower lip between his teeth, his heart suddenly tighter in his chest. It had been a while since he'd last felt it beat so hurriedly, with such excitement from the simplest action.

Nearly every muscle in Jimin's body was telling him that he should steer away from the demigod. And yet a small, but powerful part of the prince could not bear to treat him coldly. He wished to dominate the boy. To teach him a better way of thinking than the naive lessons he clung to. But Jimin's father and his dreams had done well at reminding him that the young demigod could be unpredictable and dangerous. It was better if he did not risk it.

"Let's go," Jimin whispered, letting his fingers slide down the smooth curve of the demigod's jawline as he removed his hand. Jungkook leaned in slightly as if to chase the touch, but then snapped out of his daze and nodded with flushed cheeks, seeming embarrassed to have shown such longing for affection.

Jimin could not help but chuckle, and Jungkook's blush deepened.

They traveled futher in silence, until they had reached the edge of the woods and found exactly what they had been walking toward for hours.

"Fournoi Bay," Jimin said, staring up at the tall brick wall that surrounded a town lit up by festive-looking lanterns and torches. "I came here with my brother when we traveled through the kingdom a few years ago. They have a great harbour and the best fish market in the Seven Kingdoms."

The prince glanced at Jungkook, who didn't seem all too sure about entering the grand-looking city.

"We are dressed like slaves so we will draw no attention to ourselves," Jimin tried to reassure. "We will find a tavern and rest there for a while. Clear our minds... sort things out."

Jungkook hummed, and followed after Jimin when the prince stepped confidently toward the gates and into the view of the fortress guards.

"Hold it!" One of them shouted.

"We are travelers!" Jimin yelled up at them. "We were attacked by thieves. Our friends got badly injured and we seek refuge."

"What's the last city you've been!"

"The capitol."

"Oh really? Must've been before the mad king Namjoon closed it then."

Jimin frowned, wondering if he had heard the guard correctly. "Closed it?" He asked. "Mad?"

The prince wasn't answered, but the city walls opened, and safety was, after what had felt like years, finally back within their reach.

They followed the strings of lanterns that were hung up to illuminate the roads and eventually found a large tavern, which was busy and filled with drunk people who looked cheerful despite the gloomy state of the world. Whores were entertaining wasted men, loud arguments were being held over mysteries of the gods, and a fierce drinking game was taking up most of the attention in the busy establishment.

"Think they've come to drown their misery?" Jimin asked with a smirk, though Jungkook did not seem to share his amusement.

The two wurmed themselves through the crowd to get to anyone that seemed like the owner.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you perhaps-"

"How many rooms, how many people?" A fat man wearing a white tunic stained with unidentifiable spots asked absently.

"Uhm, how many we can earn by working?" Jimin asked, trying out his best smile.

The man turned to Jimin fully now, his face shiny with sweat. "Two of you seem weaker than my mother's pudding," he spat with a frown.

The man's eyes scanned Jungkook first, and then Jimin. "And you... you don't seem like you've worked much in your life. I can recognize a laborer if I see one."

"I promise you I can work!" Jimin said sharply. "I was a guard in the capitol. I simply don't build muscle very quickly is all..."

The inn-keeper huffed, but then the man glanced at his overcrowded tavern, and nodded hastily.

"Two rooms, dinner only if the work is good. Go upstairs and let your friends rest. I want both of you down here as soon as possible."