"Lonely I, I'm so alone now
There'll be no rest for the wicked
There's no song for the choir
There's no hope for the weary
If you let them win without a fight"
No Rest for the Wicked - Lykke Li

❄️

Jimin

The hunger had not left him.

It grabbed and clawed at his throat, twisted in its desire. It bared its sharp talons, and ran them along his spine, as he swallowed his last mouthful of doe blood.

Thirst. Even after he just drank an entire animal. It had always been enough before. But then, before, there was other sustenance involved.

An increasing problem none of them were not allowed to fix.

It weathered him. As he looked into the darkness, at the full moon. The snow toned to a sad blue, cut across with silver. Into the vastness of the open field, only a circle of gnarled wood to conceal them. The lack of anything living in his line of sight.  His hand tightened into a fist, stiff as the coldness that seemed an old friend.

This. This was all they had left.  A begotten piece of land to hunt upon. To bring home to the others.

They were all connected, in a strange way. No one really understood it. But when the Prince was well fed, so were his subjects. When he abstained from his own thirst, it made others wither with him. A simple problem with an easy fix, that Taehyung refused to take.

Though, it was made worse by the lack of humans in this area. Strangely, so void it seemed like they had not resided here at all. Only a month it had been, and yet the air was different. The hunt itself, was different. Barren and willing of no fruits.

Jimin righted himself from the sullied ground, wiping at his nose. Trying to ignore the gnawing in his stomach.

Where was Taehyung?

They needed to talk. Now. Jimin was tired of holding back his thoughts for the sake of his honor.

The snow crunched under him, a sad song. He turned from the clearing, readying himself to enter into the tree line to find his counter part. He had not seen any of the other nobles around. Not even the crack of a branch or the wailing of wind.

His back felt a light with warm, the outermost layer buzzing as if electrified. Jimin slowly turned his head to the side, a small breath leaving him as he spotted the glow a couple feet behind him in the field.

No.

"Not now." He called out, not turning just yet.

Willing them to go away. The man continued walking, feeling his breath quicken as he did so. Sweat lining his hairline as he quickened his pace. The man looked back, glad to see the yellow glow disappeared.

But they did not have to follow him to be near.

"Fate does not wait for you." Boomed a loud, disembodied voice.

Jimin held at his ears, betrayed by the sound. Every time it pierced at his ears, shards of glass. Feminine and masculine all at once, old and young like an ancient child. A sadistic mimicry of mortality.

Not of this world. And no matter how many times he'd heard it, it would never become familiar to him. Each time, a new and terrible sound. And now, it expanded around him. In the trees, on the ground, touching his skin.

Jimin panted, eyes darting around nervously, "It is not my own arrogance that prevents me, I am surrounded by all that can hear."

His voice was low, and the voice did not move. Instead, it let out a low hum of distaste.

"This cannot wait. I have a new message for you. A change in ways."

The inhuman voice purred in his ear, making his head twitch. A new fear sprouting along the base of his bones. Finally scaring away the hunger.

"A change?" Jimin wavered, piercing his nails into his palms.

How could this be?

"Yes, One noble has changed the course of things. His patience is thinning, and he does not trust the Prince will do as he is told. If he kills the daughter of the moon, the opportunity will be lost."

The other nobles. Attempts on her life by others were expected, even by ones that Taehyung and Jimin trusted. A risk that the Prince had been willing to to take. If they one of them killed the daughter of the moon in this cycle, it would be another hundred years of peace.

Of not worrying that the sun would rise, and force them all into hiding away half of their life.

It could have been any of the nobles that was trying. But if it were Jeongguk, it meant that Jimin was running out of time, and quickly.

Frustration rose within him, a desperation tearing at the walls of superiority he built around himself, "What can I do? I have already tried. The prince is stubborn and will not listen to me."

"If you cannot convince him of consummating his marriage, then you know what must me done."

"And that is?"

"Kill her." The voice screeched out, a sickly sweet syrup.

Jimin paused his breathing, all of the air leaving his lungs.

"What?" Was all he could mutter out, so quiet it would've been whisked away with the wind if it did not cease to blow.

"Kill her."

Her. Leila.

He had hated her. The girl he had been forced to watch for months. Kept away from where he was allowed to feed. Jimin would've happily killed her then, if asked. A simple chore boy for the Prince who had been too haunted to do it himself. 

He had hated the princess even more, when a deity showed at the foot of his bed one chilling night. Telling him he was destined to bring about the sun before either of the cursed. That he must betray his friend aid in her seduction of Taehyung.

I hated myself more for saying yes without a second thought.

He had desired her, when she had been before him. In all his months of watching, a living breathing fire of a woman. With eyes that were so open, that they reflected back the sky. Eyes that challenged the way he thought of power, and if he so desperately wanted to take it anymore.

Still desired her, as she stood above him. Him on his knees, face with no remorse as she pulled on his hair.

Jimin hid his wants from the prince. But he could not hide them from a god.

No. I can't do it. I wont.

"How will that break the curse? I am not part of the prophecy. I was born a day after the Prince. All I will do it prolong the chance at-" Jimin scrambled, losing his words as if they ran away from his traitorous mouth.

His eyes willed for the deity to show before him. That yellow glow in the darkness, begging. But night remained, stilled around him. Choking and reaching. Mocking him in its power to just exist. To reign supreme without even a vessel to threaten him.

The air squeezed in around him, suddenly thwarted by icy shards that he rarely felt.

"Do you not trust my knowing? Did I not promise you greatness and a title if you do as the gods ask? As I ask?" It's tone was softer now, a multiplied lullaby. It moved away from him, allowing him to breathe once more.

"You did, Solis." Jimin said it's name, a rasped vengeance.

"Then, why protest?"

And with that, the deity of the sun was gone. Vanished. Jimin had no more chances to barter with the primordial being.

Before, he had been assured power. And the princess. If he so wished, after betraying the Prince of night. After betraying his entire kind.

If he had done all Solis asked. Jimin was not sure why the patron of the Prince was calling upon him to help. Was not sure of his role and place in this world, other than to be the Prince's assistant. At first, he felt mocked. A joke, at his standing in the court and the legacy he would never have. A shadow, underneath the Prince of Night. Tempted, by a being who knew all of his desires. Who knew of his insecurities and vendettas.

It was only so convenient that Leila had fallen into his lap the other day, and done exactly as she was supposed to. In turn, to throw it away for the sake of her stubborn volition.

He wasn't sure how he would get either of them to do his bidding. The god's bidding. And he was losing his chance. He could not. Not after all he had been promised.

Not after all that was taken from him.

At the thought, anger quelled his doubts. A burning that could've melted the snow under his feet. Taehyung had his vows.

Jimin had his own to fulfill. Even if it meant ending her. No matter how difficult it would be.

His vengeance had preceded her. It would continue after.

"I will do it." He spoke into the air, binding the deed to himself. The wind seemed to move again, playing at the edges of his dyed brown hair. He scratched at his scalp, knowing some day soon he would not have to hide himself.

The ground crunched behind him, snow and broken twigs. The man whirled around, his chest heaving at the intrusion.

Taehyung stopped, his cloak flowing behind him. Expression scrunched with confusion, for their kind was usually more sensitive to sounds.

Jimin had just been distracted.

The prince laughed, fangs glinting under the moon, "Have you gone mad? I know its been a while since we've fed, but talking to yourself? That is surprising."

It seemed like his friend's mood had changed. Dark and gloomy he had been when Leila arrived. But Jimin had seen them. At the carriage. A war waged, though neither had pulled out their weapons.

The prince had almost forgot to pack the decanters to hold all the blood, after his little conversation with her.

"I won't cave in", my ass. It burnt, both acidic and warm. If they did bed each other, Jimin's role would be done without bloodshed.

It's what I want. Right?

And yet, the envy that circled around his neck, a noose of misfortune, told him differently.

"It seems like I am not the only one who's gone mad, Prince." Jimin let his tone strike, stabbing at his old friend.

A standstill. Taehyung did not react, forever the one to wait. Forever the one with all the control. Would he falter?

"Come now, don't be so icy towards me. It is not I who humiliated you at the feast." The man remedied with a jest, moving forward to slap at the man's arm.

Jimin pulled away, rage slowly burning at his feet, "That is the least of my worries. I am still hungry. You, and all of them, are still hungry. Where are the humans? We will not survive like this."

Human blood would've at least helped with the persistence of the thirst. Jimin wouldn't dare mention again what other source would've cured it.

Taehyung's expression lost its casual nature. Standing taller, and talking in that tone that seemed to want to diminish Jimin as he were a snuff to a lit wick.

"This is the same area we have always been given with the blessing of Tenebris. Humans come and go as they please out of this territory. It cannot be helped when they do not. But they always find their way back. We still have rations of blood donations back in the kingdom that I have kept under lock and key. It seems like ever since Leila has arrived, your trust in my rulership has dwindled. What is it you really wish to say?"

A warning. Jimin shifted with all the things he wished he could say. His eyes lifted to his friend, crossing his brown leather covered arms.

"I don't know. But it seems like ever since she's arrived, you've been making the wrong decisions. There are people in our kingdom who would do anything to see her dead. You wanted her to be safe. Did you not reject the ways of the past for this very reason? You've overstated your greatness. You are still a man as any other, as I warned you." Jimin tried to reason, though his tone remained sharp.

He begged. Begged his friend to see his way.

It will be easier to be betray you then.

Taehyung sighed, his eyes softening, "Jimin, I am fully capable of-"

"There is a reason your father did what he did." The advisor interrupted, making the final wound.

It was silent, as the two close males gauged each other. Jimin did love him fiercely, as much as he loathed him. It was why he wished Leila could've just been kept away where she belonged. But Jimin had been born with sin. Forged with covet and greed. Taehyung, the water to cleanse him of his wrongdoings. It seemed that once one became too close to another, they would either form together or sit upon each other. Opposites, like oil in water. The latter was becoming increasingly more daunting.

The prince moved forward, eyes narrowed. Speculating and searching his friend for answers he would not give. His gloved hand reached out, just to fall to his side. The man looked to the distance, throat swallowing, and black hair tucked behind his ears.

Noble. Stoic. All the leader he was born and bred to be. Left with the weight of making sure the sun would not rise on his shoulders.

All the glory. All the power. And he wanted to risk it all to do it humanely.

I fucking resent it.

"Yes, and my father is dead for it. For his foolish conceit and blustered brutality. My mother met the same fate. I will continue my duty, but by the gods I will not with such force." Taehyung lamented coldly, his voice genuine.

Maybe even more tender, than it had been before when speaking of the Princess. But the man was stubborn. Set in the ways he created.

Jimin shook his head in protest, stepping towards his companion, "She would want to. Its in her blood to."

Please. Listen.

Taehying physically winced, his eyes shutting against the winter air. Just a smooth shadow of black against the backdrop of snowy midnight. The stars around him in the sky, a throne and the moon a crowned halo. He took in a deep breath through his nose before speaking.

"That is it, right there Jimin. She was made to. Cursed to want me, to feel a pull towards me. How does she really have any choice in the matter? I-I am trying to give her choice, when I have taken some of it away already."

There it was. A break, a falter. A crack. Too much humanity in a man that never was one. And Jimin, tormented, and renewed. The man would never do as Solis wished. He cared of the Princess too much.

Cared, a word so close to love it brewed poison to even think of it.

The prince had everything. And Jimin would take it from him.

Jimin spoke once more, before moving onto his next hunt, "You are weak. And you will destroy us all."

*******************
Leila

"Lily, what happens in those halls by the ballroom?"

The princess felt the pressure lighten on her hair. Her back was flat the girls legs as she sat on a stool in front of her bed. She'd been reading Dante's Inferno, a poem as old as time it seemed.

A Tenebrian translation. As she Lily weaved through her hair, plaiting the tresses, a quote had become a thorn in her side.

"Do not be afraid; our fate
Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."

It had reminded her that while the men were gone, this was not a time of relaxation for her. She needed to find out about the curse, and quickly. From her strange interaction with the nobles and Aera, she needed to progress quicker than she had been.

One step ahead was all she needed. Too many questions were left unanswered.

What was the entirety of the curse? All of its ins and outs that Leila new the prince was hiding from her. The stories surrounding this place. The motifs. The rules. How everyone seemed to speak so carefully around her even when nothing important was being said.

How Taehyung did not act surprised about her dreams, even in spite of the charmed amplifier.

Why was this kingdom so strange?

As the days trudged along and only one was left without the prince, it was time to prod her servant companion who had now rarely let her leave her sight.

"Partying. Nothing for the likes of a noble." Lily answered quickly.

Not quick enough.

This routine, Leila admittedly liked. Them taking casually about things the princess hadn't before. Like their favorite wines or what color dresses looked the best. They even laughed about how the nobles were good looking, and which one paired best with the servant girl. Easy. Comfortable.

Too comfortable. A servant of the king in fear of status would never do it so freely, even if permitted.

Leila flipped another brown and crinkled page of the book, not even looking up, "So, nothing for the likes of you?"

Silence. The "servant" girl had the nerve to pretend to be shocked. The princess looked at the mirror facing near them out of the corner of her eye. Seeing Lily's pale face flush a soft pink. Her brown eyes flickering into the purple and silver expanse of her chambers.

"Excuse me?" She awkwardly stumbled, letting out a small laugh.

Leila sighed, bored with the act. She placed her book down, pages flat to the stone ground. Turning around she sat up on her knees, looking directly at Lily who kept her brown eyes trained to her skirts in avoidance.

"You used Taehyung's first name. You can barely tie up a corset yourself. And frankly, your nails are too well kept for a servant. You have stumbled across simple answers several times, to hide that you know too much of court life. Who are you really, Lily?"

"You miss nothing, Princess." The hazelnut brunette remarked, her smile crumpling under the royal's gaze.

"No, no I do not." Leila answered bluntly. She wasn't one to act humble in the face of truth.

Leila waited, expression unchanging as the girl before her ran her manicured nails over the soft pads of her fingers. To other royal, it is possible she could've passed. Not because she was good at her disguise, but simply because they were too lazy to care.

"I'm Lily, as I said. I just happen to be Jimin's sister. Sorry, I should've said it earlier. We all grew up together. Our mother's were close. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable in case..."

Jimin's sister? Leila leaned forward, her hand resting on cold stone as she inspected the girl's face. Indeed, they had the same oval face shape and soft, delicate features. The same shade of brown hair. Peculiar, when most favored black here.

The princess let go of her suspicions, letting a teasing smile spread as she nudged the girl's knee. A lady perhaps, in association with the advisor. She would soon figure out exactly why it was kept from her in the first place.

"No, it is fine. I hope you are not mad I hit your brother."

"I wish I could have done it." The usually quiet girl blurted out, while dismissively waving her hand.

She quickly covered her mouth with the same hand, looking shocked at her own words. Leila stared at her for a moment, catching her wide eyed before they both burst into laughter.

As Leila raised off the floor letting herself fall backwards on her bed, Lily still chuckling, she felt a lightness in her stomach she hadn't felt since she was a small child. It did not matter that she did not fully trust Lily. Only for a moment. Once so long ago, she would've done anything to have been laughing with her sister's in their rooms, just like this.

Now that Leila was finally experiencing a fraction of it, she would cherish it.

Even if it never were to happen again.

If only fate was not her gift.

The daughter of the moon rolled to her side, her braid falling over her left shoulder as she addressed Lily, "Alright, thank you for the help, 'servant' Lily. But I must be going to bed now. I am winded from all the reading I have done."

Lily responded in a playful manner, practically bouncing as she got of the plush bed and made her way to the door, "Surely once I leave you won't dive into another one of your romance novels with the darkly handsome lead."

Pretending to be offended, Leila lifted her head off the bed slightly. Her hand slapped onto her chest in mock sanctity, "I wouldn't dare. But indeed, only two days and you already know me so well."

"Goodnight Leila." Lily said, her eyes rolling as she laughed.

"Night."

Then the door shut. Silence, once an old friend felt like she was now truly a prisoner.

Leila let her eyes glance around the room, the beautiful place she now resided. Becoming just as much her as the warmth of her home. The tall bookshelves, the finest lush fabrics and drapery. The fireplace that she hadn't lit yet, the thick and detailed Kashan rugs that covered parts of stone floors. Letting her head fall back, she looked out the window. The sky upside down to her view. The ocean above, the moon a pearl at the bottom of the midnight floor.

Was she really in captivity here?

Or had her true imprisonment started at home, when isolation was all she knew?

Tonight, Leila would find out.

The girl lifted herself off the bed, looking outside to Taehyung's window across the castle spires. She watched for a half hour, making sure no guards were stationed inside. It would've posed a problem when she broke into his rooms tonight, to see if that is where he hid the book about the curse.

When no movement seemed to pass over his windows, Leila knew it was time to leave. Mentally preparing herself for the trek, she slid on a black flowy nightgown so that she wouldn't stand out in the shadows.

She would break a rule once again, walking around at midnight.

The princess had done it before, when she first wished to find the book. And she would do it again, despite the prince's warning. Leila was not one to impulsively throw herself in danger for the sake of it, but she had a feeling these rules were not in place for her safety.

But to keep her from finding out any truths.

The princess walked to her door, steadying her breath. Turning the knob, as daunting as the task itself. Leila had wondered if her doors had been magicked while her husband was gone, but no such alarm rang as she opened it to the outside.

The hallways were pitch black. So dark, she could not decipher open space from wall. Touching her chest, her magic swelled. A small silver light through the thin material of her dress. Closing the door, she padded onto the open stone floor. Once again, looking all around for any signs of guards or disorderly court members.

Nothing.

Silence suffocated her. The only sound, blood pounding through her ears as she turned and walked to her right. The same path to Taehyung's corridors that she was always accompanied to.

She kept her light dim as she passed by the dark stone to her left and right, passing the useless windows that didn't allow for any light. Not even that of the true moon. If someone was lurking at the same time as her, she didn't want to be too visible. That meant moving slower than she usually would, the wall to her right rough and cracking under her hands and she ran them along the surface.

All along the way until she made it to the hall of Taehyung's chambers. It felt like a miracle, her chest relieved of the weight pressing down upon it. It was much more suspicious for her to get caught walking around than it was to be in his room itself. Nearly everyone else thought they already shared a room. Only a few select people knew she slept somewhere else, other than their own personal guard, Jimin, and Lily.

The girl held up her hand, tracing over the serpents on his door. The locks similar to the library. A faint glow rimmed the outline of the door, before fading. Leila grabbed at the notch and pulled.

The door remaining sealed.

Leila let out a disbelieving huff, continuing to pull at the handle. She shook it without reprieve, after several minutes hitting the iron with frustration. The girl let the silver light of her chest bloom brighter as she frantically looked around for another mechanism. It seemed to no avail, as nothing new appeared, even after she traced the same pattern once again.

The princess groaned in frustration, letting her head fall back as she gripped onto the iron design. The metal cold as ice under her touch.

Her eyes flickered over the top of the door, landing on a iron engraving that stood out more than the rest.

A snake with its next sticking out further from the door, its jaw cracked wide open. Its forked tongue was sharp as two needle points, as it peeked between curved fangs.

Leila shook her head, eyes narrowing on the object. Blood magic?

Back at home, Elder Fareena had told her some magic users bound their items with their blood. They could hide things away without even a lock and key, if they so wished. Leila thought back to her wedding night, when Taehyung had swiped his tongue along the smooth opening of her wound.

Feeling the burn as the wound stitched itself.

The princess felt more decided, that the prince could harness this ability.

She stood on her toes, straining to barely reach the top of the snake. Stepping onto the bottom of the door engraving, she managed to leverage herself up enough to reach.

Couldn't Taehyung have been a little shorter?

The young woman placed her finger on the forked tongue, wincing as the blood rose from her wound. Ignoring the sharp pain so enough silver blood poured into the snake's cupped mouth. Leila stepped down, breathing heavily as the door clicked open.

Thank the gods.

Leila glanced behind her once more, making sure no one had appeared in the time she had been distracted. Seeing only darkness, she moved into Taehyung's room.

The door closed tightly, and she locked it once again through the notch without her blood. Luckily, the room was already alight with its usual orange glow. The fireplace was magicked to always expel flame, and candles hung from black metal sconces around the corners of the room. It was bright, but it was enough.

It was the same it had been on their wedding night. If this castle were Winter, his room was Autumn. A rounded warmth, leaves and spices falling before the frost took over. Everything had been neatly tucked away, not a sheet or a piece of clothing out of place. She walked over to the bed, kneeling down to look under. She lifted the dark blue skirts, putting her hand on the bed boards to see if there were any hidden compartments.

None.

The princess lifted herself up, moving to the nightstand. For a moment, feeling guilty as she opened the ornate piece of dark oak, before remembering he had her stalked and charmed her room.

This was her creating balance in their relationship.

She laughed to herself, shutting the drawers. Once again, nothing. Not even a damning letter or something embarrassing that wasn't related to the curse. She left his armoire alone, knowing it would be the worst place to hide a book. Any fool who thought they were smart would hide it there.

She walked towards the center of the room, not chancing the bathroom. Walking onto the ledge in the back corner where a black drape separated his study from the front of his chambers. Leila lifted the fabric, her braid falling back over her right shoulder.

His important papers were filed neatly on the desk. She touched her chest, needing extra light to read. Reaching forward, she quickly flipped through the pages. Boring instances of rulership that everyone liked to forget existed. Their monthly taxes to the capitol of Tenebris. How many shipments of wheat and flowers they were allotted.

Unnecessary. The increasingly impatient girl let the papers drop, the stack coming undone. One paper falling from the rest. The girl picked it up from the floor, ready to place it back in the stack from which it came.

Till she looked at it. The girl lifted the browned paper closer to her face. It was a handwritten list of numbers, all in a long line of red ink. Blotches of ink stood out across it, as if someone pressed too hard while writing. The number started out at a thousand, crossing off and off and growing smaller down the line until one number was newly written and untouched.

The number 45.

Forty-five? Forty-five what?

Leila wished to ponder longer, but this list did not matter. Though chilling in its ambiguity, it would have to wait.

She placed the paper back at the bottom of the stack, once again glancing around the room. At the long stacks of scrolls and maps that were in the corner of the dark study. Of the history books that lined the shelves.

The shelves. Hiding in plain sight. Of course, perfect for a man that was so seemingly practical.

Leila moved swiftly past the drapes, entering the main chamber once again. Stopping right in front of his floor to high, domed ceiling book shelves decorated with crystal skulls and wilted flower petals. Her breathing elevated in pace, quicker and quicker as her fingers ran along the spines. They were all dark in color, but Leila would not forget the gold leaf and the depth of the one she needed. Though it only sat against one wall, the book shelf was large. With each minute passing, it felt more redundant to keep looking. After an hour of searching, her eye caught gold.

Glinting with the flame of candle from the corner of the room. Moving across the spine like molten gold.

Here heart dropped to her stomach, the feeling as unnerving as it was exhilarating. She grabbed the top of the spine with her uninjured finger, the book scraping dully against its roommates. The book was hefty, feeling around twenty pounds. Leila let it flop onto the ground gently, dust lifting from it as it settled.

Leila refracted the moonlight peering in from Taehyung's window, showing the hardened cover of the book. Tracing along the indented symbols that she did not understand emblazed proudly.

Ǩß'X øƒ † í'+ π'˜†

å˜∂ †' âøs˜

Leila lifted the front open carefully, seeing a name signed in ink. Then the insignia of the Kim house. Then, with a slow breath, her finger a river along the pages. Prying the secrets from a book who wished her never to see its face.

The entirety of the page, from top to bottom, was filled with the nonsense symbols she had see on the first page. Leila felt heaviness prick her eyes, a scoff leaving her body into the quiet room. She kept turning pages, hoping it was a mistake. Hoping that this illegal book with a dead language was not her only chance of knowing. But with each page it became clear that this book was not translated into Tenebrian, and never would be.

That's all it was. For pages and pages. Thousands of them. Leila felt herself lost in the nothingness, until she fell onto a page with a drawing. The same depiction from on of the stain glasses.

The eclipse.

Turning the page once again, suspicion mounting. To see a picture of the snake, the tree, and the man. Though in sketch form, it was more detailed. The snake was clearly biting the man's neck, his eyes closed and face unaffected by pain.

Leila slammed the book shut.

Why?

Why had he hid a book from her she couldn't even read?

It would have been more insulting, to just leave it where she first saw it in the main library. Of course, the images were there. And many new ones would help to piece together the symbols she found on the glass. But still, she would be just as lost as she was before without words.

Just more images of a tale she did not understand. That was somehow directly related to the curse.

A crash of thunder sounded, a fury of rain falling from the skies. Leila startled, looking up from the book to see out into the world from the prince's window. Torrential downpours bleated across the sky, making the midnight of darkness blurry. The black castle stood out, a dark shadow against the grays of weather. The moon weaved in and out of the black and smoky clouds, taking away the only source of light except the occasional vein of lightning across the sky.

The princess new it was the perfect time to move back to her chambers, since the loudness of the storm could cover any sounds she would make.

Heaving the book up, she kept the black object close to her chest. Thunder sounded again, making her careless whether dust coated her front or not. She left his room, slamming the door heavily in time with the storm.

She walked back the way she came, the light she offered even more muted by the book she had to hold with both hands. Leila made it to the long, last stretch of hallways before her rooms. Somehow, the girl had not yet felt relief. The sound of heavy rain echoing along the arched roofs. The crack of thunder boomed loudly, so loudly she wished to cover her ears. Thunderstorms had always been warm at home, the rain sweet.

Everything was cold here. When the lightening would strike, it would light everything up in the corridor in flashes. Making shadows and monsters out of corners and stones. Leila walked faster and faster, not looking behind. Feeling as if someone was watching her every move.

Maybe this was why Taehyung had told her to stay in her rooms. Out of what could be lurking when sleep touched the court.

The princess had now passed Jimin's room, letting go of a deep breath. Only a few minutes more. She had excitedly moved forward, getting closer to the end when lightening struck again.

A figure stood at the end of the hallway. Unmoving, staring at her.

What the fuck?

Leila was paralyzed, her chest ceasing. Gripping onto the binding and pages of the book as if it would protect her from what was in front of her. Once again the hallways was bathed in darkness, for Leila had tapped at her chest to remain completely concealed. Blinded. She fell to the floor, sitting on stone and placing the book down so her hands could be free.

But when lightening flashed again, the person was gone. Leila shook, letting her shoulders drop. Feeling like it was possible that she was just scared and imagined it, considering the strange statues and their cast with the storm.

She lifted the book, nervously laughing at herself before she moved down the hall again. The princess made it to her door, quickly unlatching the handle with her magic. Knowing again, she simply imagined the screams coming from further down the hallway.

It must have been the wind.

Leila set the book under her bed, trying to let go of all the nerves in her body. Watching the moon covered by clouds, as she settled into bed. Waiting for sleep to take her.

Taehyung had conquered once again, like in her dreams. Unable to undo and overcome her, from world's away in the blanket of night, without as much as a simple touch.

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(A/N): So know y'all kinda know about Jimin's motivations and reasonings. Its not even the full story, but I hope it is much clearer what his some of his reasoning for "helping" Leila was. I definitely hinted at more of the story and I want to see if any of you can guess it.

Leila being sneakyyyyy I wonder what exactly she'll figure out with a book she cant even freaking read mwahaaahahahh

General vibes of Taes room because I don't have exact pictures obviously