-lake of hearts-
12

"i hope you had a nice rest, son." the king greeted with all smiles as taehyung rose in his bed. it was the next night, and his father was already in his face about something. he had a book sat on his lap as his father explained something to do with it. the book seemed old, it's cover crusted over with years and years of what seemed like decent handling. the pages seemed thin, like they could be torn easily. the cover was decorated with pretty purple jewels, and in purple writing, down at the bottom left of the cover, proudly stood, min yoongi. "this is a spell book, it rightfully belongs to min yoongi."

"and you want me to return it?"

"no son, i want you to burn it."

taehyung's eyes widened. when you burn a warlock's spell book, they lose their power and immortality. which, in this case, would kill yoongi. since he was way older than regular age. yoongi would shrivel down to his actual age and die a death from old age instantly. why did his father want to do this to a friendly warlock who has helped them so many times?

"how did you get the book?"

"i went over for a potion to help your mother heal quicker, and while i was there, i took it from him. i flashed away before he could even notice. i'm sure he's in a panic currently, but it's his fault and he deserves this entirely." the king declared, his red eyes narrowing as he stood from the bed. taehyung was still half asleep, not processing most of the situation. he moved the spell book from his lap and stared at his father with skepticism.

"why does he deserve it?" taehyung was practically cut off, seen as his father truly wanted this to happen. taehyung was still unsure of why he would want to rid of such a kind warlock. yoongi had helped them for years, he even helped taehyung when he was younger. taehyung did care for the warlock, maybe not much in his eyes, but enough to not kill him.

"i think he purposely made the ward weak. i've had multiple reports of a werewolf scent running around the vampire kingdom. it's everywhere i go, even in here taehyung. it's the same werewolf scent. i think a werewolf got in here during the day. that means things could be stolen or destroyed. the werewolves are planning something bigger, and if yoongi is on their side, we must rid of him. so, burn the book. that is an order." the king almost shouted, turning and leaving the vampire alone. taehyung bit his lip, this was all his fault. jeongguk's scent had been spread all around due to him.

taehyung stood from his bed, his destination being his closet. he opened the doors and pulled out the clothes stained with jeongguk's blood, his scent heady. he'd let out a prolonged sigh. taehyung went back to the bed and grabbed ahold of the warlock's book and flashed away into the night.

the air against his face felt nice as he ran all the way out of the kingdom and straight into the grand center. he knew this route like the back of his hand. he turned a sharp corner by a tall oak tree, one that hung droopily over a dirt trail, stashed with beetles and bugs. that tree was one taehyung used to climb when he was younger, not that he would partake in that anymore. his grandfather wasn't there to catch him when he fell, so he didn't climb. he would never climb it again if there was nobody underneath the tree to catch him.

he knocked thrice on the warlock's door. the door swung open with it's usual purple smoke. taehyung entered the house, still clutching the clothes and the book. he set them down on yoongi's table. yoongi came down the steps with a panicked expression, which melted once he caught sight of his marvelously decorated book.

"oh yes! you've found it. thank you so much my dear. i've been worried sick. i thought someone would burn it, and i'd be dead." the warlock laughed nervously, now taking into consideration, the serous look of pain etched on taehyung's face. he was absolutely not in the mood for laughing. the prince wanted these clothes destroyed, not for his own personal gain. rather, to protect jeongguk. he didn't want the werewolf to be traced using these clothes. sadly, he really liked the dress shirt, and the pants that had to be scorched in the process, but that was fine by him. as long as the werewolf was untraceable.

"i'll give you the book, for a price." the prince smirked, his pointy teeth on full display as a look of delight fell on his expression. finally things were going his way, it wasn't the best idea.. going against his father's wishes. taehyung knew he couldn't kill yoongi, not for a "crime" he did himself.

"fine. nothing too extravagant, i'm feeling a little less powerful tonight. i'm quite stressed, after searching for this damned book all day long." yoongi approached him slowly, his purple eyes once bright had fallen under stress. they had darkened with worry, but now they seemed to grow brighter. taehyung understood, his eyes used to be bright and graceful like that, now they rest a dark red. sadness and despair only showed as his happiness had fallen somewhat ill, no longer able to recover.

"it is simple. please just destroy these clothes and get me something that can mask a werewolf scent." taehyung plead, his lifeless, hungry eyes full of desperation. taehyung was hungry, he would not have been if he didn't vomit up all of jeongguk's blood, but it was the only way he thought he could feel better about himself.

he didn't feel better, he felt worse. his stomach hurt like hell, and his head was throbbing with pain. the prince still managed to stay upright though, just for this occasion. he needed to be strong, so when the warlock nodded to his request, he felt accomplished.

the warlock snapped his fingers, the clothes on the table burning in vibrant purple flames, soon disappearing from
existence entirely in a pile of unrecognizable ashes that seemed to sizzle. taehyung let out a sigh. yoongi didn't question it, he knew that times could get hard. he even felt like that himself. the warlock went back to his room and retrieved a scent hider. it was in a clear bottle that could be applied to any object that needed to be cleansed of heady scents. taehyung took it gratefully and thanked the warlock. yoongi waved to him as he left, well as he almost left.

the prince turned around, clearing his throat. "actually, yoongi. there's a reason i had the book in the first place." the warlock seemed to be all ears, leaning on one of his marble topped tables, his weight all on his left elbow as he tucked his book beneath his other armpit. perhaps he thought the prince would steal it from him again. "my father stole it, when he came over last."

yoongi furrowed his brows, setting down the book. he decided that the prince was there to inform, not to trick. "why would he steal something so valuable from me? all i have done is been helpful." taehyung opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but it closed. yoongi looked perplexed, his eyes radiating off a negative energy. warlock's were half demon anyways, he had lots of negative energy within him.

"he requested that the book should be burned. therefore you would lose your powers and you would die. i asked him why he wanted me to do such a thing, especially when you've helped us so much. he said that it's because you made the ward weak on purpose, and that you let a werewolf in." taehyung sputtered out, his hands coming close to each other, fingers slotting together. the warlock's house was warm, something boiling in a pot, producing hot steam in the far back room. it was purple and sparkling, from what taehyung could see.

the warlock was sweating, "i didn't make the ward weak. i can't range a ward in strength and weakness. i wouldn't be able to control if it let a werewolf in or not." his voice echoed off the walls, until he came to a bright realization. "is that why you wanted your clothes destroyed? they had the scent of a werewolf on them, didn't they?"

taehyung somberly nodded, "but it won't happen again. i just want to hide my mistake and then i'll never talk to that distracting werewolf." the vampire prince paced the warlock den, the sky was darkening into the late hours of the night. it was all too magnificent. stars decorated the edge of the sky, the moon blasting positive energy in all the species' direction.

"so what should i do, taehyung? the king expects me dead." yoongi rubbed in between his eyes and as he tried to think of a solution to the obvious problem. taehyung never thought he would get into this much trouble when he became a prince. hell, he thought he would get into less trouble because of it.

"maybe you could live somewhere else. can't warlocks move their houses?" taehyung suggested weakly, watching as the warlock perked up.

"yes, actually they can. i've always wanted to be closer to the lake of hearts." taehyung had heard of the lake of hearts, and how it had magical powers. he always wondered what it was used for, since he had never been informed. a rattling, vigorous shaking stopped his mind from thinking. the house was tearing down, breaking things from the walls, the staircase almost snapped as suddenly the outside scenery changed. once surrounded by thick trees, now not far from a huge, looming lake. "i can't be right next to it. it may disturb it's powers."

taehyung had already left the warlock's den, curiosity seeming to attract his body to the lake. it was like a big, pink magnet. he walked through the neat grassy plain, going to sit in the short grass by the lake of hearts. yoongi joined him, taking a seat right beside him and staring at the pink reflective water in front of them. "how does this work?" taehyung asks, his eyes turning pink instead of the red they always were.

"this is the lake of hearts. it's been here forever. it is used for lovers, when they need a certain surge of power, they come here. they first allow their eyes to turn pink, which is done just by staring at the lake. then, they stare at each other. if their eyes fade back to their original color, that means they aren't really meant to be. let's see if we are." yoongi laughed, already knowing the answer as he turned his head. both of their eyes stayed pink for only a short amount of time, before turning back to a shiny purple and a dull red.

"that's a bummer, i always wanted to date a prince. anyways, after they prove they are meant for each other, they seal it with a kiss. if the lake doesn't reject them- they are suddenly healed from any emotional or physical pain, and their full potential and strength returns to them. if their love is strong enough, they might even gain a power that only they can use together. if the lake rejects their love, well, they will be swallowed up by the pink water." taehyung listened to all of the details. he thought it was cool, the idea of the lake. "nobody has successfully used it, except for one couple."

"who?" taehyung mumbled into the cool air.

"many pairings of the same species have tried to use this to save their kingdoms, but the only couple to actually use the lake's powers correctly- were a vampire and a werewolf." taehyung's eyes widened.

"how can they love each other if they hate each other's species?" taehyung's jaw was dropped as yoongi pulled himself from the ground. how could a vampire love a werewolf? that made no sense.

"what i'm saying dear, is that the code is all wrong. marrying within your own species is like marrying your sibling- it's not natural. do you ever feel drawn to someone? someone you know deep down that you can't actually have?" yoongi lifted an aged finger, pointing it to taehyung's heart. suddenly it started to beat. taehyung was dead, he had never heard his own heart beat before. when the warlock removed his finger, the beat fell silent. the prince gulped, what was this warlock saying? better yet, what was this warlock doing to him?

"get them before they are gone, dear." yoongi seemed to slouch over, his eyes resting on the lake of hearts. "or live with sorrow for the rest of your lifetime." taehyung understood now, yoongi let that one special person drift away. taehyung stood from the grass too, wiping away at pieces of grass that cling to his pants. he'd hesitantly pull the warlock in for a hug.

the lake of hearts glowed a soft pink as they stood there. the night was growing somewhat old, and maybe taehyung could feel the beginning of a small burn, but he stayed there as the warlock recollected himself. "it's getting early, you should get going." his voice was back to that monotone one, the one that wasn't speaking so soulfully about the lake of hearts. taehyung was about to question him about it, but a big ball of purple smoke came charging his way, and abruptly, he was back in his own bedroom.

-chapter-end-