The cold, wintry air bites at Reine's skin as Jungkook flies higher and higher; she grips onto the sword in her hands tightly as Jungkook's arms tighten around her to keep her steady in his grip.

She glances over as the wind whips her hair in her face and she sees the other two Archangels flying next to the two of them, and she can't help the awe in her eyes watching their elegant wings keeping them in the air.

She even dares a glance downwards, and pales when she realizes how high the four of them are; she can't even see the ground anymore as they soar above the clouds.

As quickly as the shivering developed when she stepped outside of the cave, she can feel her body warming as they fly farther away from the bitter cold of L'Hiveter.

As they climb even higher and closer to the palace in the center of the kingdom, Reine squints at the light of the sun, anger flaring in her chest as the too-bright light dares to shine so brilliantly again when she feels so dark inside.

She has accepted that the sunlight will never be the same to her; she only holds resentment of that which she used to adore.

Now, as the rays of the sun warm her chilling skin, she wishes it would hide behind the clouds.

She wishes it would rain, though now even one of her last solaces holds bittersweet memories.

She thinks of rain and she envisions a hooded man, his passive gaze hidden within the shadows as he steals glances at her, his heart beating faster in his chest without him fully knowing why.

Reine tightens her grip on the blade in her hand, not caring about the pain throbbing in her fingers from the intensity.

"Careful," Jungkook says, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the course ahead, "it is not a gentle weapon to hold."

"I am not a gentle person anymore," Reine says, her voice nearly lost in the wind. "I can handle the pain."

She sees Jungkook glance at her again, but she ignores his golden gaze as she reluctantly lays her head on his chest, dizziness gripping her senses as her body calms from the adrenaline so she can feel the effects of her blood loss.

Her eyes wander around her, seeing the clouds breaking away as they get closer to the center of the land she calls home. She sees how high they are and she is reminded of the pedestal she has always been forced to stand on. She wonders after all this time, how she still ended in a place she never wished to be.

A place she doesn't belong.

She recalls that through the entirety of her life, she has always done her best to remain selfless in her goals of leading this kingdom into an era of peace and fulfillment.

So why does she keep getting pushed back to her knees, watching from her crumbling pedestal as the world burns beneath her?

Why can she not save everyone?

Why does it have to be her who saves everyone?

"We are going to land outside of the village so the townspeople do not get suspicious of people flying with giant wings," Jungkook says over the wind rushing past their bodies.

Reine doesn't answer; she stares at Jungkook's sword and instantly remembers how Yoongi's sword resembled his darkness - his strength. He used that sword to cut down his enemies and claim their blood as his victories.

He did not cut her with his sword, but she feels as though he had.

Is she his enemy now?

Is he willing to hurt her if his brother commands, as Jimin did?

"Hey," Hoseok's voice sounds and Reine glances around her to see that the four have landed in the grassy plains outside of the village where she and Jimin first entered Verre.

That feels like a lifetime ago to her.

She glances to see Jungkook's golden sword in her hands, and she wonders if he has ever cut down an enemy like Yoongi did with his sword time after time.

Reine suddenly remembers something Yoongi once said, and she looks at Jungkook as he stands in front of her, his gaze curious again as he watches her.

"You gave Yoongi the scar on his face," Reine says, gesturing to the sword in her hands, "with this."

Jungkook nods, and she can tell he is fighting back a prideful smile. "I tried to take his head off, but he is quick on his feet."

Reine clears her throat, determined not to cry again.

"What now?" Reine asks, handing Jungkook his sword. He glances at her reddened fingers, noticing how tightly she had been gripping his weapon's hilt, but Reine pays no attention to his questioning gaze.

"We walk back to your palace, and we let you get comfortable with being back in your home," Hoseok shrugs. "We have some time. The Horsemen will not be back until they feel at their strongest, which gives us a few days."

"Why are we still standing here?" Reine asks, pushing past the three as she walks forward. "Also - is there a way to make your skin stop glowing? Humans don't glow."

"Ah," Hoseok says, closing his eyes as he lets out a slow breath. His wings disappear, leaving behind the intricate golden tattoos on his back as his skin fades to a tan color, as the other two do the same. "It has been a while since we have walked among humans."

"Do not refer to my royal status in the village," Reine says, not bothering to glance behind her as she continues to walk, the Archangels trailing behind her as she pulls the hood of the cloak over her head. "I do not wish them to know my identity."

"Of course, Your Highness," Hoseok says, bowing slightly as he moves to walk beside Reine.

"Now, preferably," Reine says, scowling at him as his eyes widen slightly at her tone.

"My apologies," Hoseok says, bowing his head again as Jungkook moves to walk on the other side of Reine. Namjoon trails behind the three, keeping his head down as he keeps up with the group heading into the village.

Reine pulls her cloak around her more tightly, hoping she can hide the dried blood stains and her outfit that is now nothing more than stained tatters clothing her body.

She knows once she returns to her palace, she will need to clean herself and make herself look perfect again: like the doll she was made to be.

She knows she will never look the same; the branch that cut her forehead in Verre left a scar, and though Taehyung and Namjoon both healed her from significant wounds she received during her time in the outer regions, she can still see the slightest marring of her skin where the leviathan bit her and where the arrow pierced her stomach.

Though she is healed, she still carries physical and emotional reminders of her pain, and that alone is enough to change a person.

As the four enter the village, Reine glances around and sees the emaciated features of the villagers as they tend to their daily jobs and chores. She can see their bones more clearly, starvation weighing heavily on their forms as the adults carry the burden on their backs and the children sit idly by, not even having enough energy to giggle and play anymore.

She is the reason they are reduced to nearly nothing. She took the throne, and instead of keeping her silent promise to her villagers, she abandoned them to chase after people who betrayed her in the end.

She is right back at the beginning of her torment, everything diminishing around her even more intensely than it had been when she walked through this village with Jimin not too long ago.

As the four of them make their way through the village, an eerie silence holds itself over the crumbling cottages and stores, the only sound being that of grumbling bellies and the scraping of feet as the people in the town try to hold themselves upright. Reine wishes she had something to give this time; her bag was left back in the cave, long forgotten in the rush to get back to the palace. Her hands are trembling and empty as she forces herself to move through the village without stopping, knowing that if someone sees her face - the face of their Queen who abandoned them - they will speak their minds and further prove the thought she has been whispering to herself since Parish shot an arrow into her stomach.

She is not the person they all need her to be.

Jungkook moves closer to Reine, moving to grab Reine's trembling hand from underneath her cloak, being careful not to rustle the fabric too much in hopes of keeping her identity hidden.

Immediately, when Reine feels his armored fingers enclosing around her hand, she pulls away, not allowing herself to feel the comfort of a stranger's touch again.

She ignores his gaze, his golden eyes subdued alongside his Heavenly glow as his eyes seem to be a more humanized color of amber instead of the glittering gold.

Reine can see the children looking at her, whispering between themselves, and she knows that they remember her from when she gave them food.

She is sure they would not forget her after how happy they seemed to receive food from her that day.

She only wishes she had more, but instead, she walks through the village with empty hands and a heavy heart as the three Archangels walk with her, staring at the humans around them with pity in their eyes.

They cannot feel as humans do, but angels have always been taught that human life is precious and should be protected; seeing them withering away in front of their eyes is a shock to their senses.

"Keep moving," Reine whispers to them as she notices them trailing behind her more slowly than before. "There is nothing to be done at this moment. Leave them be."

Hoseok glances around one last time before he walks faster to catch up to Reine. He keeps his voice low as Jungkook and Namjoon catch up to them as well, finally reaching the path that leads to the palace.

"Humans are not supposed to look like that," he says, his shoulders sagging as they walk towards Reine's home. "They are supposed to be hopeful and happy."

"They have lost hope in my family and this kingdom long before this," Reine says, pulling her hood so her guards can see it is her and not a villager trying to break in.

The guards immediately bow, and she can see they are trying to hide their shocked faces at her appearance.

They have never seen her as less than pristine, and she can't imagine how rugged she looks in this moment.

Her image is crumbling, and she doesn't have the strength to hold it together anymore.

She walks forward, the three men trailing behind her as she stares at the ground beneath her.

No longer does she hold her head high as she walks. No longer does she push her shoulders back and smile at everyone she passes by. She walks with her tattered cloak billowing in the wind, trying to ignore the worried whispers as her people question between themselves how their Queen became such a rundown version of herself.

"Your Majesty," the guards at the front door say, bowing to her deeply as she stares at them with an empty gaze. "We are most happy to see you safe and well."

"I am going to my room. Please make sure no one bothers me. No one at all," Reine says, not giving them a last glance as she brushes past them into the grand entrance. She doesn't want to look around at her home; she doesn't want to see all of the hopeful faces of the people walking around her as they see her finally returning.

She doesn't have any hope to give them. She doesn't have anything to give at all.

Feeling like the weight of the world that was set on her shoulders when she was born is breaking her bones, she moves almost robotically until she reaches her bedroom door. Her body aches for a lasting hot bath and for her bed with pillows and blankets that had always made her feel safe and warm.

She took these little things for granted before.

"I wish to be alone," Reine says, facing the door as the Archangels stand behind her. "I will come find you when I am ready to. I apologize."

"Your Majesty, please never apologize for needing to take a moment to yourself," Hoseok says, reaching to place his hand on her shoulder, but deciding against it and letting his hand fall limply back at his side. "We will do a quick sweep of the palace to see if we can find any sign of the weapon. Will we be stopped by any guards?"

"No," she says, placing her hand on her doorknob. "They saw you come in with me. They won't bother you."

"I understand," Hoseok says, bowing to Reine deeply, though she can't see him. "We will meet again shortly."

Reine doesn't say anything as she hears their retreating footsteps. Slowly, her hand turns the knob of her bedroom door, and she pushes it to get inside the once-familiar area.

She can tell someone has been coming in here to keep things clean; there isn't a speck of dust on any of her belongings, and the curtains have been drawn back to let the sunlight in.

She sighs, leaning to pull her dirty boots from her feet, not caring in the moment about the mess she is making. When she stands, a glimmer catches her eye and she glances over to see the crown she left behind, right where she left it beside her bed.

The rose gold and diamond-studded crown glows brightly as the sun shines on it, almost as if it is rejoicing that its most recent owner has returned to claim it.

Instead, she turns away in shame, her shaky fingers coming to untie her cloak as it falls to the floor in a heap.

Slowly, she peels herself out of her outfit, watching as the bloody, dirty rags join her boots and cloak in a useless pile at her feet.

She moves to her bathroom, drawing a bath for herself and climbing into the depths of the tub. Reine lets herself feel nothing but the warm water against her skin, leaning her head back to douse her curls in the water so she can properly wash her hair.

She watches as the bath water turns from clear to brown, evidence of her journey washing away from her exhausted body as she scrubs her skin and hair until it's painful.

She remembers the times the Horsemen's skin touched hers; she remembers them hugging her, carrying her and even kissing her as angry tears fill her eyes again.

She blinks them away, hating herself for shedding tears for them when they are plotting her murder in this moment.

Part of her truly believes that they care for her. Part of her believes what they said - that they hoped Seokjin would agree and they all could co-exist peacefully within the barriers of the forcefield.

Part of her hopes that when they found out about the curse being tied to her life, they decided between themselves that as long as Seokjin agreed, they would not let her die because they had grown to care for her, as she had grown to care for them.

Part of her hopes that is all true.

Part of her hurts; part of her hurts in a way she has never felt before. She has felt the loss of her family, watching as they were torn from her, their blood surrounding her on the floor of the throne room as she pretended to be dead herself.

That pain is something she can never describe or replicate; it is something like a plague all on its own and it is something that will stay with her forever. It is a part of her now.

This pain - the pain of betrayal - is something else entirely. Its own living, breathing, festering being that clings onto Reine's wounds and licks at them greedily, tasting every ounce of pain it can.

All of this emotional pain - the loss, the heartbreak, the betrayal - all of it is causing Reine physical pain to the point of barely being able to catch her breath.

All the while, the entire kingdom looks to her from her pedestal crumbling beneath her feet, watching with their collective breaths held as they wait for her to plummet.

They don't know yet, but she is plummeting.

Down, down, down she goes into the abyss of the darkness beneath her.

She doesn't know where to go from here. She is free falling.

How did she go from such a hopeful soul - a young girl with wonder in her eyes and light in her heart to this?

Reine realizes she is shivering, her bath water long turned cold as she gets out of the filth of her travels, placing her robe over her body as she moves to sit at her vanity.

She doesn't look at her reflection; she doesn't want to see who - or what - looks back at her. She runs her fingers through her wet hair, not being able to focus long enough to properly dry her hair. She decides to pull her damp hair into a low bun, knowing she has no patience to be able to style it into an updo fit for a Queen.

The last thing she wants is to put on a costume and pretend she is who she once was, but if she can keep the facade going a little longer to appease the people around her, she will give them this tiny solace - for now.

Until she hits the ground.

She's free falling.

She pulls the first dress from her wardrobe, seeing the white lace and red velvet as something decent enough for a Queen to wear as she slips it on.

She's not used to seeing herself wearing extravagant clothing again; she feels like a child playing dress-up as she fixes the flowing skirt so its hem rests on the floor. She slips on white heels, wishing she could run around barefoot as she used to as a child, but she knows she cannot do such a thing with so many eyes on her.

She looks back at the crown, knowing she should be wearing it.

It is part of her costume, after all.

Reine moves slowly forward, her fingertips grazing the tip of the beautiful crown in front of her, but she recoils, holding her hands against her chest as she turns away from it.

All she can see when she looks at it is her parents' blood, her own blood and the hollow eyes of the starving villagers staring at her and silently begging for her to do something.

Without a second glance at the crown, Reine turns and leaves her room, closing the door behind her.