"Because brothers don't let each other wander in the dark alone."
~Jolene Perry~

Three consecutive knocks were heard outside the sorcerer's study. Namjoon sighed, glancing at the most unnoticeable corner of the room before telling the newcomer to show himself.

The mahogany opened, revealing the youngest prince himself. He stood tall, an unreadable expression sitting on his ethereal features.

The youngest prince walked towards the sorcerer's table, his dark royal robes kissing the wooden floor.

"Is she here?" The youngest prince asked, hesitantly asking the sorcerer before him.

"She's not, my prince. She's been out before the ultraviolet. She said she wanted to see the sunrise by the lake."

Taehyung nodded, scrutinizing the sorcerer's study one last time, as if trying to find something that looks misplaced at the moment before finally having his departure.

Once the door closed with a thud, A loud intake of breath was heard at the corner Namjoon glanced at earlier and there, emerged the hiding lady.

"You can't continue doing this, darling." The sorcerer repeated, the tenth time that day. "Later on, the youngest prince will find you and you won't have any excuse when he caughts your act. I won't even be surprised if he already knows that you're avoiding him."

"I know that." I sighed. "I-I just don't think I could stand being with him after what happened."

"Taehyung didn't do anything wrong, darling. You know that." Namjoon remarked, "The thing you saw is just a part of your imagination."

"You can't say that." I argued, "You're not there when he showed up. The look of hatred and betrayal was clearly present in his eyes. He's assuming that I forgot about him! Which is not true! I missed him so much and it hurts to know that I wanted to be with him but I don't know how to." I complained, my teeth gritting in frustration.

"You said you'd find a way. When? It's been so long, Namjoon. I can't contain myself for any longer. I'm going to go insane if I would continue to sit here and wait for your help." I continued.

"I found a way." The sorcerer stated. "But I don't know if you'd make it."

"What is it?" I asked immediately.

"Forget it. It's not worth it." The sorcerer sighed.

"I swear sorcerer, if you don't tell me what that way is, I will not hesitate to break your little secret to Taehyung." I warned.

"You will never do that." The sorcerer hissed. "It will cause chaos in Pangaea."

"I don't care. If I would be stuck here in misery because of you, I'd make sure you also get your own misery." I bravely threatened earning a glare from the sorcerer.

"You don't get to threaten me, darling." The sorcerer taunted. "I am the sorcerer here. I am the one with power."

"Powerful or not, I don't care. I don't want to be stuck in this land for any longer. I'm getting a bad feeling about it." I stated, feeling my gut twist in dismay.

"You would need to travel." The sorcerer finally explained. "You would need to find the Magic Lamp of Pangaea. The lamp holds a genie that would grant its master's only wish. Yet, the genie would only grant a wish once in a hundred years. That means, if someone wished on it before you did, it will not grant your wish anymore."

"A lamp? Where do I find it?" I asked.

"It's located in a cave, at the heart of this land. It's a long journey considering that we are at the edge of Pangaea. Also, I'm not sure if it's still there." The sorcerer admitted.

"What do I need to do after I get a hold of this magical lamp?" I questioned and the sorcerer stared at me, dead in the eye.

"Bring it to me." He replied and I scoffed.

"Bring it to you? For what? Who knows if you're just ordering me to bring that damn thing to you for your own satisfaction?" I hissed, returning his stare. "You think I'm a fool? As far as I know, if that lamp you're saying has a magical genie in it, all I need to do was rub its sides then the genie will do as I wish."

The sorcerer narrowed his eyebrows, scrutinizing me. "You're being so aggressive for something so small, darling. If you let your emotions take over, trust me, it won't end well."

"I'm desperate, Namjoon." I countered. "I've been missing out what's happening in my land for so long." I continued. "If the Jungkook I saw that night was really a pigment of my imagination, then I couldn't just disregard it. I hallucinated. It means something in my mind is distorted. I can't continue living with that. It would always bother me to the point that it would not let me be at peace."

"What if that happened because your lover wanted to send you a message?" The sorcerer queried. "What if he's warning you from something inevitable that might happen soon?" 

"Then that means I need to go back immediately. Whatever it is, I need to be back. I can't make him wait forever. It will break us." I replied, biting the inside my cheek.

"Then we shall go there early before someone that's capable of containing it, takes interest with it." The sorcerer announced.

"You're coming?" I asked, baffled.

"I need to." The sorcerer grimly answered. "The genie only grants one wish for over a thousand years before it agrees to grant one, once again. If it falls on the wrong hands, we will be in trouble."

I nodded, feeling excitement surge in my system at the mere mention of a way back to where I belong. "When do we leave? We need to go as soon as possible."

"I know, that's why we're going to leave the day after tomorrow." Namjoon pointed out.

"Fine by me." I quickly agreed.

"There's just some things you need to remember, darling." The sorcerer said, earning my focus once again.

"What is it?"

"The way to the heart of Pangaea is not easy. A few obstacles will await trespassers like us." Namjoon started to explain. "Merchants that get to travel this land back and forth always had to trade something so they could get back in their houses safe and sound."

The sorcerer stopped talking, producing a map from one of his drawers, pointing at a certain area that looked like a forest. "This, is Evergreen. It's where the mad hatter resides and I assume that you've been here. It's a forest full of tricks up its leaves. Witches lurked around and traps from hunters like the huntsman also litter this forest. It may sound easy to get through it but no, this place is as dangerous as any rainforest. We may have the hatter on our side that would prevent the witches from targeting us but the hunters doesn't bow to any Saint." Namjoon explained carefully, pointing out every single detail I needed to know.

His index finger travelled to somewhere down the forest which looked like mountains. "This, is the Mountains of Whispers. This is the part of our journey that would strain our mentalities. It sometimes leave great damages to the mind of a traveler. You shall prepare your mentality, contain yourself and know how to separate reality from the whispers and images the lost souls would show infront of you. You need to stay awake in here, darling. No matter what. Being unconscious of your surroundings would get you into a vulnerable state."

"I'd take note of that." I muttered before the sorcerer proceeded into sliding his index into a sketch of a bridge. "This, is the Bridge of Death. Vicious beasts called trolls sleep under this bridge. Many merchants don't go near this bridge nor they have the courage to cross it. Sadly, it's the only bridge that would lead us to the cave where the lamp is. The trolls, they say, are one of the reasons why those who try to get the lamp never comes back alive."

"We could do it." I encouraged. "If this is the only way to get back to Jungkook, I'm willing to take risks." I stated, my eyes falling to a castle-like structure at the far right of this castle.

"What do you call this place?" I asked and the sorcerer looks taken aback but immediately shrugged it off.

"The Master's Castle." He answered shortly.

"Do you know who he is? I've been there and—" He cut me off.

"He who shall not be named." He stated making me feel weird so I directed our conversation into the upcoming journey once again.

"Who's coming with us?" I asked but before the sorcerer could answer, the door to his study opened.

"Who's coming with who?" An annoyingly sugar sweet voice asked from behind me.

"Prince Jimin." The sorcerer acknowledged.

"May I know what scheme is my royal sorcerer planning with the maiden the youngest prince is currently getting himself busy with, hm?" The crowned prince asked.

"It's none of your business." I said, loud enough for the prideful prince to hear.

"Forgive me, my princess, but everything that's inside the castle's perimeters have something to do with me." The crowned prince chuckled. "How can I be a good king if I will pay no mind to my peoples' businesses?"

"Maybe you'll be a good king when you would rule the underworld. You look suitable for the job down there, your majesty." I sarcastically stated earning a glare from him.

"Stop arguing. It won't make any matters better." The sorcerer emphasized, looking at me before his eyes landed on the royalty a few feet away from me. "Prince Jimin, I found a way to send her back to her land," He paused, glancing at me before continuing, "We need to get the Magic Lamp of Pangaea."

The crowned prince's brows furrowed. "That lamp? Does it even really exist?"

"Yes. It does. I've heard from merchants that whenever they travel close to the Pangaea's heart, they would see people trying to get inside the cave where it's placed but would never make it out." The sorcerer explained. "They believed that the trolls under the Bridge of Death are protecting the magical lamp and they are the ones responsible for the disappearance of all those people who tried getting the lamp."

The crowned prince glanced at me. "Are you going, princess?"

"Of course." I answered right away.

"Then, I shall go with her." The crowned prince smirked. "Who would protect her better than I could from those things, hm?"

"I could." A deep voice boomed behind the crowned prince and I. "I'll go with her."

I stiffened, feeling the very presence of the person I'm avoiding these last few days, just behind me. I took a quick glance of him and saw him looking directly at the sorcerer.

"You can't go." The crowned prince stated, turning to his twin. All sorts of playfulness and mischief gone within a second, leaving just a royalty that's executing his duties. "The castle would need a royalty to watch over it while I'm gone. Besides, we can't let you out of the castle the things you hold could turn gold."

"That's more of a reason why I should go." The younger twin insisted, glancing at me. "I could protect her more because of my curse. She won't be harmed by the enemy if they turn into golden statues. And now, I have something that would prevent me from turning everything into gold without the sorcerer's spells." He continued, showing his gloved hands.

"Still, the people needs a leader—" The crowned prince was cut off.

"Then, you, shall stay." His younger twin interjected, eyes devoid of any emotion like always.

Jimin scoffed, moving to stand head on with Taehyung. Their eyes locked and for a little while, I saw their eyes soften before getting masked once again with their cold demeanors.

"You think I'm weak?" Jimin chuckled darkly. "You think that because you have powers, I'm weaker?" Jimin repeated, tauntingly.

"I don't think you're weak." His younger twin replied. "I just think I'm more capable of protecting her than you."

Jimin's golden eyes dimmed its brightness at those words. "Are you serious?" He smirked. "I don't even think that you could hold a sword properly. Do you think you're good enough to fight on hand-in-hand combat? You don't even know anything about fighting. You think you could just touch them, then poof! You've overpowered the enemy. You think it's that easy? Well, no, beast, not everyone is scared of you for you could turn them into golden statues. Not everyone is afraid of getting in physical contact with you, so back off and stay in here." Jimin spat, his form almost towering over the taller twin.

"I've trained for things like this. I'm born to protect my people from beasts. I'm the crowned prince, soon to be king. I demand you to follow my orders." Jimin stated, turning towards the doorway to take his leave but a low grumble of disapproval made him halt in his steps.

"You're wrong." Taehyung stated, dark eyes shifting gold for a second. "You've been too busy with yourself that you never realized that I'm also a prince. I've also trained for this. I could also protect people if I want. I could overpower an enemy without using my cursed hands. And, if I wish, I could steal the crown from you. I could be a king, brother."

The crowned prince looked taken aback for a second but he immediately composed himself, laughing at his younger brother. "You've trained? Stop fooling around, my baby brother, we all know you can't hold a weapon."

"Maybe I can't hold a sword, as it's sharpness dulls when it turns gold but I think you forgot about our mother's golden bow and arrow, did you? I'm guessing you don't even think it exists as your attention was always directed into slaying the people you don't like with our father's silver sword." Taehyung mocked, walking towards his brother. "Do you want to know who's stronger between the two of us, brother?" Taehyung challenged.

"I don't doubt my strength." Jimin stated, glaring at his twin.

"I don't doubt mine either." Taehyung mused. "I don't just scare people for fun. I make them realize that there is really something to be scared off." Taehyung smirked, circling at his brother's stiff form. "Let's fight each other tomorrow, at the arena. If I win, I shall dethrone you."

"And If I do?" Jimin's voice was deeper, not trying to get intimidated by his younger brother's taunts.

For a brief moment, Taehyung's eyes locked with mine before it shifted to his older brother's golden orbs.

"You get to take her as your queen." Taehyung announced. "And I shall leave the castle's grounds and stay in my dungeon forever, for the sake of your reign. That would happen if you win, brother." He finished, avoiding my eyes.

"I accept the challenge, brother."

A/N
I've been so happy these days I hope all of you are also doing fine :D

Butter really passed the baton to Permission to Dance <3

It was like:

Butter   = 7 WEEKS #1
PTD     = 1 WEEK #1
BTS      = 8 WEEKS #1

BTS IS SEVEN, ALWAYS #1
FOR THE ETERNITY

I LOVE Y'ALL GUYS! STAY SAFE AND BE HAPPY!

LOVELOTS!

~RG2108~