Reine's fingertips glide along the leather-bound books, the shelves towering far above her height as she moves across the floor, letting herself soak in the room's familiarity.

"This was one of my favorite places to be," Reine explains, remembering all the late nights she would sneak in here to read more of her favorite stories. "I was not the Princess of Cendres in this room. I could fall into any story I wished to be in; I could be anyone I wanted. I could feel free from the burdens and the expectations."

"It's nice," Namjoon comments in his quiet tone, his eyes wandering to the vast collection of books her family has amassed over the years.

"Thank you," Reine says, smiling at Namjoon as he sends her a slight head nod.

"The entrance is in here?" Hoseok asks, frowning slightly. "Why is it not in the throne room? It would make more sense for the entrance to be near where the royal family is most frequently."

"That is exactly why it was not built there," Reine explains, turning to face Hoseok. "My ancestors did not want the choice to be obvious; they realized that the enemies would expect the entrance to be in the throne room, so it was built in a less obvious place to confuse them. I suppose now, looking back, I realize maybe it had to do with the chance of the Horsemen being freed. Maybe the First Queen realized that they needed to be smarter than them, so she chose a more inconspicuous place for the royal family to hide."

Hoseok hums, nodding his head in thought as Jungkook stares at the rows and rows of books in front of him, his eyes squinting in concentration as he reads the titles.

"There are a lot of fairy tales here," he comments, pointing to the section he is facing. "Were these your favorite?"

Reine smiles, a secretive little upturn of her lips as she clasps her hands together in front of her. "My father was fond of fairy tales."

Jungkook's eyebrows shoot up, disappearing into his messy hair as it rests against his forehead. "Is that so?"

"I think he also enjoyed pretending to be in a different life sometimes," she says, her voice growing quieter. "This kingdom was my mother's, and he married into this life. Underneath the evil that had nestled into his heart, I think he enjoyed having that breath of fresh air - a beautiful story telling the tale of a happy ending."

Reine moves to stand next to Jungkook, her eyes glossing over the stories her father used to read to her growing up. "I think when he would read these to me, he was offering me that same solace. For those precious moments, we were not the King and the Princess. We were father and daughter."

Jungkook reaches over to take Reine's hand, like he did in the village. This time, she lets his armored fingers wrap around her, holding her steady while she drifts in the waves of her memories.

"My father did not get his happy ending," she says quietly, realizing that only Jungkook must be able to hear her near-whispered tone. "My mother, Claire, the other nobles and peers who smiled upon me while I received the crown... none of them got to live their fairytale life. I do not even see myself getting a happy ending through everything that has happened. I cannot sit idly by while I take away the happy endings of everyone else."

"Let us find this weapon so we can kick some ass," Jungkook whispers back and Reine's eyes widen.

"You cannot use language like that," she scolds. "You're an angel."

"I like to break the rules," he says, grinning as his eyes and skin emit a soft, golden glow before fading back to his human-disguised persona.

"Your happy ending is not lost," Hoseok speaks as he moves to stand on her other side. "It's not too late for you."

"I hope so," Reine says, looking at Jungkook's hand in hers before letting it slip from her grasp. She turns back to the center of the room and walks, the three Archangels trailing behind her as she walks across the room to the farthest corner, where bulkier, more worn-down books rest on the shelves.

"The history section," Reine explains as she leans forward, her eyes looking for a specific title. "I was never allowed to come over here unless accompanied by my teacher. I was told the books were too heavy for me to lift alone, so I was to stay away. Of course, as I grew older, I found out the real reason why this corner is not a place to casually be in."

Reine finds the book she is looking for, and her fingers enclose over the spine of it as she pulls it forward, hearing the lock clicking open as a small section of the bookshelf swings open to reveal a hidden doorway leading into darkness.

"I have never been here, but my father explained how to get inside and where to go in case I was ever separated from them during an attack against us," Reine explains as she peers inside. "It looks pitch black in there so we should go get some torches."

"Three torches, at your service," Jungkook's voice says and Reine turns around to see all three of the Archangels have gone back to their glowing golden eyes and skin, their light reflecting off of every nearby surface.

"That works," Reine says, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at the goofy, proud grin on Jungkook's face as he moves forward.

"I'll walk in the front," he says, pulling his shield from his back to hold in front of him. "There could be anything in these tunnels and we need to keep you safe."

Reine doesn't think anything dangerous could be in the tunnels since it is meant to keep people safe, but she remembers that her parents were meant to keep Cendres safe and they nearly crushed it in their hands, so she decides to keep her mouth closed while the four enter the tunnel.

Namjoon pulls the hidden door shut again, making sure no one would see it open and follow them inside - especially the Horsemen.

"There are a lot of dead ends," Reine explains as the four move forward, the dirt-packed walls and ceiling dimly illuminated by the angels' glow. Reine almost wishes she had changed her dress into a darker color, knowing she will be walking out of here with the hem tainted brown from the dirt floor beneath them. "One thing I was told it was imperative to learn was the directions I needed to go to get to the secret room. I spent a long time reciting it to my father before he was satisfied that I could easily travel in here by myself if need be."

"Well, Your Highness," Jungkook says, coming to a stop as Reine nearly runs into his back. She stands on her tiptoes, peering over his shoulder to see that they have already reached their first fork in the path. "Which way?"

Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Right. Left. Right. Left.

"Left," Reine says, the pattern echoing in her head.

Jungkook hums, nodding his head as he moves forward again, his shield gripped tightly in his hand as he holds it in front of them.

The rest of them follow behind him, and Reine strangely finds herself feeling relaxed. She realizes that even though she did trust the three Horsemen she grew to be close to, in the back of her mind she was still apprehensive about them, knowing they were imprisoned for a reason. She was constantly second-guessing herself, wondering if she was doing the right thing - if she was on the right path.

With the Archangels, however, she knows with an unfaltering certainty that she is doing what she is supposed to be doing. She is doing the right thing aligning herself with these three and searching for a way to put the Horsemen back in their prisons.

She isn't doubting her choices anymore because she knows she is finally back on the right path.

"Thank you," Reine says in the silence, breaking it as three heads turn to look at her.

"For what?" Hoseok asks, tilting his head as he speeds to walk next to her. Jungkook stays in front and Namjoon trails behind while Reine stares at the golden glow around her in awe.

"For not condemning me for my choices," she says. "For saving me when Seokjin tried to kill me. For giving me hope again."

Jungkook stops walking again, and she sees another split in the path.

"Left again," she says, and he moves to the left, continuing down the winding dirt paths stretching underneath Reine's kingdom.

"You don't need to thank us," Hoseok says. "As your duty is to your people, our duty is to this planet - to you, your people and the humans outside of your realm. Our fallen brothers will gladly watch the Earth burn beneath their destructive fingertips, and we are willing to do anything to keep humans safe."

"Even when we err and bring chaos upon ourselves?" Reine asks, a sad smile etched on her features as she glances over at Hoseok, who smiles to himself while shaking his head.

"Especially when we err," he says. "Humans are a beautiful creation, Reine. You fumble - yes, you all make mistakes often - but watching the process in your emotions as you stand yourself back up, learn from your errors and create an entirely different possibility with your newfound knowledge as you step into tomorrow is a beautiful thing. Human emotions are art, splashing themselves onto the canvas of this planet as it thrives from the diversity in the feelings you all spread into its soil. Angels do not feel as deeply and beautifully as humans do; the Horsemen, when they lost their wings, dug their fingers into the Earth's soil and were terrified of what they felt when they made contact with the purity of the human emotions they experienced."

Reine nods her head, remembering how genuinely afraid and confused Taehyung seemed as he tried to deal with the emotions he had experienced. "I take it for granted, the ability to feel so deeply. I found myself wishing to not feel anything at all sometimes if only to escape my pain for a short while."

Reine sighs, telling Jungkook to go right before her hand moves to idly caress the necklace perched on her skin. "But now, I know what it means to be human; I know to feel so deeply that emotions become physical reactions within myself is something that makes me strong. I have motivation to do the right thing because I know I will find happiness at the end of the journey. I hold the pain in my chest as a reminder that while I no longer have them, I did have people who loved me with everything they had in their own hearts."

"The Horsemen used to only know anger and hatred," Jungkook says as he leads them further into the dirt-packed tunnels, the air thick and humid around them. "Now, three of them have been exposed to other emotions they have never felt before, and I have no doubt it is causing their hearts to become conflicted."

"They will be hesitant," Hoseok agrees, nodding his head.

"Jimin could have killed you with that arrow," Namjoon says, causing Reine to jump slightly at the sudden sound of his voice. "He could have, but he didn't."

"He was supposed to kill you," Hoseok says, nodding again. "But he could not go through with it. In the end, he wounded you with his arrow so he could break his connection to you and work on getting his full strength back. Because of his hesitation, we had enough time to get to you before Seokjin could."

"You think Yoongi, Jimin and Taehyung will not fight against me?" Reine asks, and Jungkook clears his throat before speaking.

"They will gladly fight against us," he says as he stops at another fork in the path.

"Left," Reine says and they move forward.

"But I think they will leave you for Seokjin to deal with," he continues. "I can imagine that they told him they would not hurt you, but they agreed not to stop him from doing it."

Reine nods, her heart aching at the thought of them. "I understand."

"We will be there, Reine," Hoseok says, placing his hand on her shoulder as they walk. "We will help you fight for your kingdom. For this planet."

"Right," Reine says to Jungkook before running her hands over her face. "What are we going to do if we cannot find the weapon? How can we win?"

"We hold them off for as long as we can until their strength dwindles," Jungkook says, his tone deeper than normal as Reine can sense his determination. "It will be a game of cat and mouse; we fight and protect you until they cannot fight anymore, and they will run away to hide again while they regain their strengths. We will need to rest as well, and while we try to regain our own strength, you can continue to look for the weapon."

Reine's shoulders slump. "You would be stuck in an eternal war against them if we do not find it."

"Indeed," Hoseok admits. "But we are willing to do anything we need to do."

"We are strong," Namjoon says in his usual quiet tone, but Reine can sense his shift in mood as well.

"What if they overpower you enough to kill you?" Reine asks, and Hoseok shakes his head.

"We do not die like humans do, as I mentioned before," he says. "We will be gone, yes, but we will essentially be reborn into a novel vessel."

"How long does it take for an angel to be reborn like that?" Reine asks, and she can tell by the collective silence of the three men that the answer isn't what she wants to hear.

Finally, Jungkook speaks.

"About a hundred years or so," he says, and Reine's shoulders fall even further. If the Horsemen manage to kill all three of them and her, they will have free reign of the planet for a century before the Archangels can do anything about it.

"It takes a lot to kill an angel that way," Hoseok assures Reine. "The only bad thing is that because the Horsemen are no longer angels and they are made of only the darkness, their bodies are physically stronger than ours. The impurities in their souls have turned them into something more than being immortal; they are nearly invincible."

"Except against the weapon," Reine concludes, and she sees Hoseok nod.

"Otherwise, it's a game of getting them weak enough to have no other choice but to flee."

"What would it take to kill an angel?" Reine asks.

"When we become weakened because of injuries and blood loss," Hoseok explains, "our powers dwindle. We have no strength to fly away to get to somewhere safe. Our healing abilities disappear when our bodies become too weak to hold onto such power. The weaker our bodies become, the weaker our powers become until both become nonexistent."

"Why can the Horsemen not be killed in that way?" Reine asks. "They were angels once."

"Because of the corruption inside of them," Hoseok says. "The darkness gives them more energy; it gives them dark, warped energy that they use as a protective mechanism. When they feel themselves reaching the point of becoming too weak, the darkness takes over, acting like a bandage to keep them alive."

"The darkness is not one to give up like that so easily," Namjoon says, and Reine shakes her head.

"Neither am I," she says. "Go right."

"In that sense, they have an advantage," Hoseok continues. "They have that extra boost of power that we do not have because we choose not to give in to the temptation they welcomed with open arms."

"We will find the weapon and I will drive it into their hearts before they get a chance to use it," Reine concludes, refusing to watch anyone else die. "I will imprison them, and they will never see freedom again."

"Spoken like a true Queen," Jungkook says, grinning over his shoulder.

"You have grown immensely in the short time we have known each other," Hoseok says as he smiles at her. "We are honored to witness it."

"I have my entire life to mourn my losses," Reine says, "but I only have now to save the world."

"I do not know about the rest of you, but I am particularly looking forward to leaving another ugly scar on Yoongi's face," Michael says, and Reine can hear in his voice that he is smirking.

"Take it from me, Jungkook," Reine says, placing her hand on his shoulder as she points to the left with her other hand. "Personal vendettas only drive you further into the place you wish to escape from."

"You are too similar to Hoseok," he says, fake gagging as he shakes his head. "And here I was hoping I could have someone fun like me. These two are boring."

"You can have your fun when the time comes as long as it does not endanger the life of the Queen," Hoseok says, and Jungkook rolls his eyes as he glances over at Reine, who is walking next to him.

"I have to deal with these two pretending they are my parents every day," Jungkook groans quietly as Hoseok and Namjoon trail behind the two. "It would not be the worst thing to let loose and be on my side of things every once in a while."

"Living in the moment," Reine says, her gaze falling to the floor as Jungkook hums.

"I may be like Hoseok, but you are eerily similar to Yoongi, you know," Reine speaks, and Jungkook scrunches his nose in distaste.

"I know," he admits, his eyes rolling again. "But at the end of the day, he is the one with a scar on his face from me. So, I think it's clear as to who the better of the two is."

"Right," she says, choosing not to press the topic any further. She almost feels comfort knowing that these three knew the Horsemen well before they turned into what they are today. She knows that deep down, they are mourning their own losses of their brothers.

She knows that they understand her and the pain she is feeling.

"Left," Reine says, and when the group turns to walk the path on the left, they come to a stop when the trail ends, a dark brown wooden door waiting for them.

"We're here," Reine says, moving forward and placing her hand on the doorknob.

"Let me open it," Jungkook insists, gently pulling her hand away and stepping between her and the door.

Reine nods, knowing it is better not to argue as he takes the knob in his own hand, twisting it and wincing as the hinges squeak loudly.

"Let's get it," he says, grinning over his shoulder before stepping into the room, the other three following behind.