┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ 𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓘𝓼 𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓐𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 ˚｡➶˚┊

She left Jungkook, Seulgi, and Hoseok at Topside.

Two days after the siege, Y/n found herself in the tent. Jin stood by her side, makeup caking his face due to the promos he shot. Taehyung stayed in the house to share the news with the remaining rebellion members. Hoseok, Seulgi, and Jungkook were far too injured to continue their journey through the Rocklands, so Y/n and Tae left them at the nearest rebel base, Topside, then went home to treat their own wounds.

Luckily, Jin had waited for them. Jin was the best doctor the group had. Y/n's shoulder already felt better despite getting stabbed, and Tae's wounds weren't as deep as they initially thought. Jungkook was stable for the time being, but she couldn't sit still. Leaving him in the Rocklands wasn't her plan. It had her heart squeezing until her vision shook, fuzz entering her eyesight.

"Hey," Jin said, rubbing her shoulder with his smooth, delicate hand. "Good news and bad news."

"Good news?"

"I did a promo and sent it to every holoscreen I could. Should be playing in the City, too."

Her head whipped around, her eyes bulging. "The City?! How the hell did you manage that?"

"Made a trade with an ally. He hacked into the systems and let the promo play. We're spreading the message. More people will join us, I promise. Don't worry too much about Hoseok and Jungkook."

Y/n sniffled but managed to nod. "And the bad?"

Jin hesitated. "Our cameras picked up Park going into the ho-"

She groaned before he could finish his sentence. "I'll go talk to him. Do me a favor and don't go outside. If your face is all over the City like you're implying, then we can't risk anyone seeing you. Stay hidden. If anyone comes near the tent, go out the emergency exit."

Before she left, he held her tighter. "Y/n." At her sigh, he came closer. "Don't be stupid. We can't afford that."

"Gee, you're inspiring."

Jin grinned. "What? You don't think I'm a delight to be around?"

"That's enough Jin time for today. See you later." 

Jin's windshield wiper laugh was all she heard as she left, glancing around to ensure no one was watching. She continued down the path to their main house, circling the town a few times to make sure no one followed her. By the time she finished, rain began.

The door opened, Y/n stepping inside and kicking off her shoes. She memorized where Park's room was by now. It had been well over a month since he joined, which meant hiding his presence from the other rebellion members grew more difficult by the day. Still, they persevered. Barely, but it was the thought that counted.

She went inside Park's room. He sat there, near the window he made for himself. It got bigger. Just by a few sword strokes, but enough to shine more light in the area. It illuminated his face, showing off the bags under his eyes. They got bigger too.

"The Emperor hasn't spoken to me since the news got out," Park said, not bothering to bring his eyes to her. "I heard you rescued a prisoner."

"How the hell did you hear that?"

"Promos all over the place. Your ambassador keeps bragging about rescuing a prisoner."

Y/n went over and sat on the edge of his bed. It creaked under her touch. "Just one, but yes. The others were dead."

Park stayed quiet for a long moment. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't know that word was in your vocabulary." She got up, going over and deciding to sit across from him instead. He didn't glance in her direction. "You look like shit."

Park snorted. "Well, you're quite peachy."

"You pinned me to a wall and choked me," she said. "I'm not letting that go, y'know. You're a danger to be around."

Much to her surprise, Commander Park didn't have a snarky remark for her. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm used to replying to rebels with violence. It might take me some time to stop."

"That's one shitty apology, Commander." She paused, narrowing her eyes. "It's unlike you to trip the cameras. Obviously you want something. What is it?"

"More observant than I thought," he said, letting silence dance between them for a beat. "I wanted to ask about the Islands of Thermus. Have you ever been?"

"You know, if I wasn't in crippling poverty because the Emperor takes all our money, maybe I would have rented a ship to go and visit."

Still, no snarky remark came. "The Emperor told me it was off-limits, like the Exodus Caves. What about the Rocklands?"

"The Rocklands is a hike, but if you go far enough west, you'll find the Bridge of Ica. Everyone's-" She broke off, her eyes jumping. "Wait a second, you've never been to the Rocklands?"

"Never left the mainland. Everything I know about the Rocklands I know due to the stories. Like the Vintars."

"We lost two friends to a Vintar."

Park tapped his finger against the thin walls. "I heard. I know I suck with apologies, but I'm sorry. Again."

Y/n shook the words away. "It's the price of war. You've lost people too." She paused as their eyes locked, and the hickory shade of his irises stared back at her. "I'm pissed at you, but I hope you know you didn't deserve to watch all those people die. I'm sorry."

His eyes expanded, his lips parting as if he wanted to speak. His mouth hopped between open and closed, Y/n tilting her head at that.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I can't remember the last time someone said that to me."

"Sorry?"

Park stiffened. For a moment, it seemed as though there were tears in his eyes. "I'm used to saying it. Receiving it? Not so much."

"I'm sorry about that too," Y/n whispered, coming closer despite her mind yelling at her for it. They kept their gazes on one another, not saying anything for several moments.

She shifted, peering at the stub of a finger he had. His left hand, his ring finger. Jungkook had no pinky thanks to the Tower, but his stub was different. It wasn't as clean as Park's. Jungkook's stub was slanted, like it had been earned in battle.

"Can I ask you something?" Y/n said, Park keeping quiet at that. She took it as permission. "How did you..."

"The Emperor cut it off when he made me his slave. I agreed to help him if it meant sparing my brother from his cruelty."

"Why would he do that?"

Park rubbed his stub over his knee. "The Emperor takes more than you know. Not just from the people of New Theon, but from the guards who serve him, too. He took my finger to control me." He broke off, tightening his hold on himself. "What significance does the left ring finger have?"

Y/n's lower lip quivered. "Marriage."

"I could always wear the ring on the other hand, but it's not the same, is it? It's just another small way the Emperor will control me. Even if we kill him, I'll have that stupid stub to remind me there's no such thing as freedom. Freedom is nothing more than an uncut string. I can swing my sword as much as I'd like, but I'll never cut that last string."

Y/n wanted to reply, but Park already stood, brushing himself off. Without so much as glancing at her, he went to the door, throwing it open and letting the hallway light float inside.

"Park," she said, him freezing in the doorway.

"I shouldn't have said any of that. I'll see you around-"

"Five years ago, the Emperor's men stormed my home. They set fire to every building, slaughtered everyone in sight. The people I loved died in my arms, and all I could do was watch. Jungkook carried me out of the fire, and I walked away with this." 

He turned as she stood and lifted her shirt to show the burn mark stretching across the right side of her stomach. It went up to her bra, stopping right before it reached her chest.

He scanned his eyes over every detail, his four-fingered hand tracing by the knob of the door. He didn't take his stare off her until she dropped her shirt.

"I shouldn't have said any of that," she murmured. She leaned against the wall, neither of them moving to add more to the conversation. Park nodded once. Twice. Then, his lips twitched as he left. Although it was quick, she knew she saw it.

He smiled.

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚˚｡➶˚┊

"I'm not ready."

Y/n picked her head up, watching Tae scrub off his sword. Near the handle rested a carving he did himself. It was a Tarwal, a little furry pet Jin used to have. Taehyung and Jin took care of it together until, like everything else in their world, it passed due to the Emperor's interference.

They were scrubbing their weapons behind the tent, cleaning them in buckets of water they got from the river not too far away. Inside, Jin made arrows for hunting. Without Hoseok and Jungkook, they were understaffed. They could enlist the help of other rebellion members, but that would mean stopping production altogether to go gather people who may or may not be around.

The rebellion needed to stay as hidden as possible. Any rebel business was conducted in the tent. Even the house didn't have much rebel activity. Their plans stayed inside the tent at all times. If anything ever happened, they'd burn the tent using the torches inside. It was the only way to protect themselves.

"For?" Y/n asked as Tae continued to clean his weapon.

"The hotel. I know it's a few months away, but I can't stop thinking about it. If we barely survived the Tower, how will we survive the hotel?"

"We'll have Park with us this time. He's the best fighter in New Theon."

"Will he fight or just get us inside? If he's seen with us, doesn't that mean his life is over?"

"At least he'll be in the same area. As long as we do our part, we'll be fine. He gave us valuable information about the safe in the Emperor's room. He'll distract the guards outside so we can get away. That's what matters, right?"

Tae slowed his movements, letting the rag hang off the sword. "I miss painting."

"I didn't know the Emperor's hotel room reminded you of painting."

He cracked a smile at that. "Tone down the sass for a minute, Miss L/n."

"Uh oh, calling me Miss L/n? Are we flirting or fighting?"

"Don't get too excited, you know your best friend has always been more my type."

She snorted and nudged his shoulder, the two cleaning their swords again. "Is that what your next piece will be? Jungkook?"

"No," Tae said, scrubbing one spot until he could see his reflection in it. "I'd want to paint Hobi's smile." Y/n went still at that, Taehyung slumping his shoulders. "I want to remember what it looks like."

"Me too."

"I remember when he used to make us stay up all night, reading him books one after another since no one ever read to him as a kid. Jin was always the most dramatic, wasn't he?"

"Isn't he always?" Y/n asked, Tae laughing as a result. "You had the best reading voice. Hobi always asked you for encores and made the rest of us go to bed. Jungkook and I used to bet on you two being in love with each other."

"Then he got married," Tae said with a tongue click, blowing a raspberry. "Did you win the bet?"

"Of course not. Jungkook never loses-"

"Y/n, Tae!" Jin's voice called, the two sheathing their swords and stepping inside the tent, where Jin waited. He had sweat plastered to the side of his head, his eyes wide and nearing the edge of their sockets. "We have a problem."

Y/n and Tae shared a glance, knitting their brows together before Y/n spoke. "Is it Park?"

"Worse."

"What?" she asked, but she didn't need to. 

Footsteps echoed across the land, clamoring coming from outside. She smelled the blood before she saw it. Her legs rushed to the front of the tent, and she peeked through the entrance. 

Soldiers marched together, all wearing the same elegant armor as the ones at the Tower. Crimson and gold mixed together, silver chains to show their ranks. There was one strolling down the center with golden chains. The leader. 

Unlike the others, he didn't have a mask. There were scars on his face, his dragon-like eyes narrowed. Y/n jumped back and gasped, recognizing him as the lead guard from the Tower. Not only that, but she knew him from the stories. One of the deadliest men in New Theon, trained by Commander Park.

Kim Namjoon.

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ 𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓘𝓼 𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓐𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 ˚｡➶˚┊

A/N: Thanks for reading, and sorry about the cliffhanger. If you've read this far in the story, remember to please vote if you want me to keep writing it. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!