Alarms will ring for eternity
The waves will break every chain on me
My bones will bleach
My flesh will flee
So help my lifeless frame to breathe
My Blood-Ellie Goulding

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Y'all are gonna feel the difference in tension between her and Tae vs Jimin. 🤚🏻🤭

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Leila treated herself to the hot water bath that been filled while she was sleeping. She walked over shakily, still a little taken back by what happened to her body last night.

The room was kept separate from the chamber by a pale lavender curtain. The bathing area was just as beautiful as the rest of the room, all white marble again. The floor was cool under her feet, the tub almost shell-like. Made out of the same prismatic material that shown silver, blue, purple, and pink.

There was a long slab of table, covered in items for makeup and comfort. Some from her own possession, some newly bought. Again, the girl was surprised at the detail and care put into her room. But in this realm, she would not take it as something done out of kindness. There was an ulterior motive to her gilded quarters, and she would find it out.

And yet, she sighed as she sunk into the burning liquid. Purple flowers floated in the white, milky, and floral water. She would do anything to wash off the unknown feelings of the night before.

Even though she'd been warned of her bodies natural reactions to things, she hadn't expected to like it so much.

Or for a figment of her imagination to do her in.

Most of her life had been unfeeling, she thought as she grabbed a bar of soap from her side. It smelt of jasmine and pomegranate. Surprisingly, some of her favorite scents.

It was strange to experience everything all at once. Though she had yet to experience happiness that was not printed onto paper.

This feeling, it was dangerous. Because as she tried to wash herself, focusing on the shine of her olive skin, other hands tracing her skin would stumble into her thoughts. Making her breath quicken, and all attempts at cleaning leaving her body.

By the grace of the moon, it was all a test. The idea filled her body, as she broke out of a stupor for the fifth time, the bathwater almost cold at this point.

Seduction. It was as simple as that.

This was the path would continue to be the key to all of her problems.

Leila decided since dreams were ways to come to terms with reality, she found a different explanation for her strange visions. The way her body reacted. She decided her dream must have been sent from the deity of the moon, showing her the path to winning against the demented royal.

People can be easily manipulated. Leila understood that now, as her mind went back to the idea of pleasure. It was distracting, the feelings making it hard for her to think clearly. That is what her patrons wanted her to know.

Get him to trust you. Desire you. Care for you. And then, you have have to freedom to die.

The dreams had to be sent to her, to prepare her. To make her desensitized to the real action with Taehyung. So that she would be prepared to continue to her goal, while he was stuck in the clouds.

Yes, this was just a test. For her self restrain, focus, and discipline.

The girl would not spend the next hours of wake day dreaming about the prince's hands on her body.

His smile as he took her in his mouth.

The water slushed around her as she adjusted her thighs. A familiar heat rushing through her body. No.

The girl stood, water dripping down her body. A large mirror showed her, weighted down by the liquid. Her dark hair was black now, flushed away from her face and reaching the small of her back. Wrapping around her ample breasts. Tickling at her waist, that swelled out to wide, curved hips. Her eyes were bright in a way she hadn't been privy too before. Alive. Her cheekbones were more pronounced in the artificial lighting her, that tended to be silver. Her lips not a perpetual straight line, but full and a little lifted.

Leila was different, she knew it now. She needed to be.

I would have to tempt Taehyung, and it has to feel real. A slow unraveling, that would turn him less a leader and more into a man.

I would have to bed my enemy. Would it be like my dreams? Him, touching me desperately. Me, willing underneath him?

Even as her cheeks heated, her mouth dry as she dressed for the day. She would not let herself think of it again. Refrain. It was bad enough it happened in the throws of sleep. Because that man in her dream, that version of her betrothed, didn't exist. At least, not for her. Yet.

The prince had looked at her with stony indifference the night before. He was not in awe of her beauty, he did not trace her curves. She was just an obstacle in his way of ruling happily.

No, his eyes were not warm upon her like they were last night. They were unlikely to ever be. But she needed them too, even if it were superficial. Even if it meant nothing to him.

Just as she finished placing a casual light blue gown on, tying up the straps in the back, she heard a knock on the door. She grumbled, tying the last knot. She needed a personal maid like she had at home.

"Princess? I hope you slept soundly. Your day will be long." She heard Jimin's voice through the door, an idea forming in her head.

One that made her smile mischievously.

She opened the door quickly, watching the man bore down at her with his disdain. His eyes flitted across the fabric of her dress and then back to her eyes. Why couldn't the prince look at her like that? Its who she needed to use.

Jimin rolled his eyes as he caught her knowing smile. It wasn't a secret, as she learned the night before.

'I have different taste' he had said, while looking at her mouth.

The advisor was attracted to her. He just despised her in the same breath. He would kill her if he could. He would just want to sleep with her before he did it.

At least he felt something for her. It was more than she could say about the prince. But it was strange, wishing for someone to hate her.

For someone to feel a thing at all.

She felt flattered by Jimin, but she did not burn. Not like she had in the sheets of her bed by a simple thought. Maybe, it was the curse that tied her and Taehyung together. That binded them. It could have possibly heightened all sorts of sensations.

"Where am I being taken?" She asked as they moved down the hall, side by side.

Jimin decided to quicken his pace, making the girl chase after him as they passed under large stone archways. The castle was night again, different from the dusky stars of her room.

"Does it matter?" He spoke lazily, making a right. Disappearing from her vision as she paused in the middle of a walkway.

"I will not move from this spot until you tell me." She called out to him, the way she would to a servant back home.

She heard him sigh, his footsteps echoing as he walked back to her. His eyebrows were furrowed in unveiled annoyance. It almost made her laugh.

It would be fun to bother him. And very easy to do so.

"The library, Princess. For your awaiting, pining, deviously handsome husband. Happy?" Jimin told her reluctantly. His light hand was contrasting harshly against the black stone he gripped onto.

Leila smiled sweetly, the gesture not reaching her silver eyes.

"Thank you."

She started to walk. Now a bit ahead of the advisor. She would not be carted around like an object. She was a royal in her own right after all.

He huffed behind her, catching up. His voice much closer as he spoke.

"Don't thank me yet. You won't like it." He said, an insolent smirk found its way to his face as he grabbed onto her arm. He wrapped it around his own arm, setting the pace.

Leila frowned, internally apprehensive. She doubted anything she'd have to do with the prince would be something she liked.

Finally, their journey had stopped in front of a large oak door. Jimin promptly opened it, waving her into the large room.

The library was beautiful, like the rest of the castle. Leila was slowly becoming used to the harsh, sharp glamour of this place.

But this, this might be her favorite of all.

The room was cavernous in its size. Thousands of candles lighting up the space, warmer toned than the rest of the cold lights. Ornate, flowering moldings burst from doorways, on top of the book cases. Thousands of books, from what Leila could see, littered the place. The bookcases were made of shining black material, the books ancient in their shelves. A large, evergreen carpeted staircase split the middle of the room, leading to an upstairs filled with more bound paper. Gray pots filled with a violet flower sprouted around the room, black ivy trailing up some bookcases and walls in the room. As if this place were alive. Leila knew that magic had to have been used in that instance, since plants did not survive without the artificial atmosphere covering Tenebris.

In the left corner of the room, a smoky granite fireplace burned with a bright flame. Cozy almost, in the overwhelming place. A dark green couch, covered in pillows and several benches for reading sat around it in anticipation. Blankets of the finest sprawled haphazardly across the area.

If she were alone, she could spend hours here. She wondered if she would have time to at least read one shelf of this majestic place. But alas, an unstable advisor and prison guard prince awaited her.

The prince was nowhere to be found.

Leila was about to ask if this were a trap before Jimin pulled on her arm again.

She followed him, walking past the shelves to the right back corner of the room. Here, there was a long oak table with a map burned into it. A large window letting in light from the night sky, illuminating a figure that rested with his back against the approaching pair.

Taehyung.

His silhouette was black in the moonlight. Shoulders broad in the faint darkness. Dripping in decadent silver. His hands remained bronze against the oak table, familiar hands tightened.

Leila swallowed harshly. The veins wrapped around them like vines, just like in her dream. There was not a detail wrong, or misplaced.

Yet she'd only seen the man once in person.

Her visions were definitely divinely sent.

"Princess." His deep voice uttered against the silence.

The prince turned around, letting himself rest on the table. Arms crossed to the point where the girl could see slight muscles beneath his black doublet.

His eyes, the same black with flakes of gold. Yet, unlike in her mind, they did not rest upon her own. They gazed quietly, at her arm wrapped around that of his advisor's.

Jimin pulled away from the girl, letting her hand fall to her side.

Taehyung did not react, just simply looked away. He pushed up from his stance against the wood. He stood at his full height, sculpted hands behind his back. The princess was grateful for that, that they were gone from her view.

His gaze fell on her for a moment, barely there. Gone like a shooting star, and yet her chest tightened and fluttered. His profile clear to her, as he spoke to his advisor once more. Leila reveled in the strong line of his nose. The black, wavy hair that fell gently in front of his eyes. The dominant agitation that he sent at the man who often bothered Leila.

"You're still here? Leave us." Taehyung glared at Jimin, who stood with his arms crossed by the door.

The more delicate man rolled his eyes, showing the closeness of their relationship. If Taehyung were the darkness of the eclipse, Jimin seemed to be the lightness of the sun around it peeking out. He turned to leave before Leila spoke up.

"Oh, before he leaves I need to ask you of something." Her cheeks heated, speaking to him. His gold eyes did not reach her though, they remained on the advisor.

Jimin paused, waiting apprehensively. Taehyung nodded his head, his dark eyebrows raising. Again, only his profile visible to her. He would not even spare a glance as she made her demands.

"Go ahead."

She waited, trying to catch his gaze. Yet silence stretched on.

Fine, don't look at me.

"As you know, women are in need of extra help when it comes to dressing. I would to have a personal assistant to aid me." Leila said, without agenda. She let her voice gain a softer edge, silken as it met both the men in the room.

Taehyung nodded, knowing the customs of royal women.

"Yes, you will have your pick of maidens to be at your side." He said, choosing his words carefully.

Maidens.

No, that wouldn't do.

Leila filled her voice with conviction, "I want him."

Taehyung's head perked up, finally making contact with her. She ignored the chill she felt at their meeting. His eyes were as cold as ever, disturbed by her request.

She moved her gaze to the man upon her left, a much more comfortable endeavor.

The plan she devised earlier had come to fruition. Jimin stood, stunned. His eyes peering nervously from the prince to the girl. His gaze finally settled on Leila, a glare deep from inside him torching her.

'You'll pay for this' she imagined the fairy like man saying. Or something like, 'what the fuck do you think you're doing'

Maybe it was a little bit of both. Powerless and worthy of nothing now? She wanted to ask.

She knew the look, but stared innocently back anyways.

It was silent, as the prince deliberated. Leila knew that part of seduction, was creating the idea of envy. Having his advisor, and likely best friend as she guessed, dress her would be a perfect scenario to add fuel to the flint. No matter if the man developed feelings for her, she knew how royal men felt about their possessions.

A Prince having another man dress his wife? It was simply disgraceful. A threat to his power, his hold on his wife. If he could not keep his wife happy, what would that say about his authority over the kingdom?

Yet, Leila would learn soon, that Taehyung was full of unhappy surprises.

"As you wish." His velvet voice muttered out, again not looking at her.

Once again unchanging. No flash of possession, or princely avidity. He did not only not care, he would permit it.

"Taehyung-" Jimin asked angrily, not wishing to obey the foolish request.

Judging from his reaction, Leila's previous assumptions were right. In this kingdom, it would stull be scandalous for him to be her assistant.

But the prince's word was final.

"I said leave us." Taehyung offered harshly, not letting his friend have anymore lenience.

Jimin's eyes blazed, his fists clenched tightly. Leila almost felt guilty for second, since she did not believe the man would actually say yes. Her words of apology left her mind as Jimin sent one more look of hatred her way, before heading away from them. The door slammed loudly, jolting her as her and prince were left alone.

Leila looked at the prince, silence deafening as he began to pace in front of her. The man was articulate excellence, his posture perfect. Tall, smoke and mist as moonlight continued to light him. The candle light meeting at the other side to show his statuesque face.

She almost wished Jimin were back. She could handle his hot headedness. Taehyung's deadly calm was much more dangerous. Most predators were quiet before they attacked.

"I should be sorry for what happened yesterday. But I'm not. You needed to be brought down from the clouds, and know exactly your place here in my court." Taehyung's voice startled her a bit, after getting used to the peace between them.

Tension filled the air, as he kept her gaze from her.

Look at me. How will you ever see me if you do not look at me?

"That being said, if anyone lays a hand on you, tell me. They will be dealt with accordingly."

So that they do not accidentally kill me, and break the curse.

"Yes sir."

The air felt charged as he asked the next question. Leila watched as he touched his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, wetting them. His voice was tight, perfectly controlled.

"Is your room suitable for you?"

With his back slightly turned again, she finally found her voice.

"Why do you care? If you all wish I didn't exist, and only see me as a conspirator plotting your doom? The dungeons are practically calling my name." Leila inquired, just as deliberately as he did.

Matching his command.

Wanting to get some sort of reaction out of him.

Why won't you look at me?

Did he really care that little? For the woman cursed just as he? For the women who he last night destroyed the foundation of everything she knew?

His prisoner, his betrothed.

"In my experience, the will to live is heightened when surrounded by beautiful things." Taehyung responded soundly, distantly as he avoided her. His ringed finger ran along the a row of books, feeling along their spines.

Though they were in the same room, Leila felt as if they were universes apart. Two points in the sky, revolving around each other. Bound for the same galaxy, but never crossing paths.

"My thirst for life remains the same as when I grabbed that glass." Leila spoke quietly, truthfully. Gaze searing into the beautiful man that would not react, not look back.

Her declaration for death did nothing, not as it had yesterday.

The man paused towards the bookshelf. Voice condescending, "Not while rotting in a jail cell. You wouldn't last a day in those circumstances, prized jewel of the West. While you may have never been offered emotional comfort, physical relief is very important to you. Is it not?"

Though his back was turned, she swore she heard the end of the sentence lilt up in a smile.

For a second, she wondered if the prince was molded from the same stone his castle was formed.

"Maybe." The girl deadpanned, becoming increasingly more frustrated. If this is how interactions between them would go, she doubted at any chance of seduction. She needed to think quickly, for Taehyung seemed to be always one step ahead.

"Leila, it's best if we speak clearly to one another. Do you like the room?" He asked pointedly, over her game of avoidance. Of trying to stir a reaction in him.

She disliked Jimin for his lack of decorum.

She hated Taehyung.

His offhand, bored tone as he spoke to her. For his unwillingness to meet her eyes. To look at her.

Gaze at me as you talk about ripping away my freedom.

But he wouldn't.

Leila couldn't stand it anymore.

"Taehyung." She called out, interrupting him. Her voice sounded foreign to her. It was not as strong as she wished it to be, but a summer trill in the winter air.

It was the first time she'd spoken his name out loud. It grasped at her lips, pulling them. Melting into her tongue.

His dark, yet amber eyes flicked to her finally. He leaned against the large shelf, hands still behind him. His jaw was set in a harsh line, eyebrows furrowed. It seemed like he was not breathing as his mouth set, high cheekbones shone. His neck strained back, as he looked down at her threw his lashes.

Like she was simply an inconvenience.

Her cheeks flushed unexpectedly. While his eyes were not gazing upon her as if she was his last meal, they were still extremely beautiful. Even if they were as cold as the winter realm outside.

Had Leila seen a man before, as handsome as he was pretty?

It should not matter to the young woman. It did not matter. It would just make her pursuit of him easier on her end. Love making would be not the worst thing she'd ever have to do for the fate of humanity.

It's like he could read her thoughts.

"What?" He asked through gritted teeth, probably annoyed that she stopped his line of questioning.

His hands made an appearance again, as he folded his arms in front of his chest. Waiting. Wondering what his eyes needed to peruse her for.

And yet, Leila had not thought past speaking his name. It was very unlike her, impulsivity did not suit her.

"I want to know more about-"

Everything.

Again, jaw twitched as he looked upon her. Like he was annoyed his gaze was forced on her. Her presence again, a nuisance.

"What exactly?" He bit out, quietly. Pinched.

Her chest stuttered. She moved a bit closer to him, and his eyes followed her travels. Not able to pull away, now that they rested upon her. This time, Leila saw his chest stop moving as she came to a stop in front of him. His eyes glowed in moonlight, as she looked up at him. Meeting without fear or intimidation.

So close, she could see the individual flakes of gold suspended in onyx. Almond depths, slightly narrowed at her. His pretty lips twitched, as his irises never severed from her own.

She swallowed, hoping that she looked up through her long, kohl lashes.

"All the things that I was kept from." Leila kept her voice soft, but inviting.

The man did not answer, simply moving away from her. Their eyes broke contact, and she finally found the ability to breathe again. Her shoulders fell, as he walked closer to the long map. His footsteps were muffled by the carpet.

Again the prince was unchanged. He lifted his one hand, running it through his black, wavy tresses that reached the nape of his neck.

"Fine. But only for an hour.

Leila was silent in her triumph. She settled, awaiting his words.

"You know of the reason why our world is stuck in perpetual darkness?" He called out, voice less strained from before.

Leila who was once sure of her answer spoke begrudgingly. Hands crossed behind her back.

It was a trick question. It was not known to her territory, any territory she knew of why the sun was banished from the sky. But Taehyung was looking for something, so she offered her deliberation she had conjured over the years.

"I'm not sure if anyone really knows, but I have a guess. Punishment. Our ancestors had destroyed this Earth. The plants, the people. The gods and goddesses were angry. But, they were merciful. Every couple of hundred years, they would allow for the chance at the restoration of the sun. Children born under the black sun would be given the powers of both the moon and the sun."

"Interesting. And now you know of the true prophecy now. How in order for the curse to be broken, you must die?" Taehyung stopped his waltz, once again staring at her.

She did not falter. Smooth as ice, she would be.

"Yes, I understand that now."

His eyes remained upon her still, waiting for a response. Maybe a tear, maybe for her to drop to her knees in silence. But she would not bend.

For once, his lips lifted in a slight smile. Suddenly, she was home again. In the Lut desert, warm and surrounded by nothingness from all sides.

A reaction. To her fearlessness. Her unwillingness to crumble.

His smile turned to iron, his eyes narrowing, "Aren't you angry?"

It felt like the words slipped out before they were supposed to. He grabbed onto the bridge of his straight nose, his lips pursed.

Leila shook her head, unfamiliar with his distress, "At my fate? No, I am honored."

That's not what she thought last night. But it was what she had settled upon.

Taehyung's eyes were pained as he stood in front of her, a bit closer. Much different to his bored pacing. He was not cold now. An inferno, he looked down at her. His hand lifted, as if he would close the distance between them. Ending their rivalry with one touch. But as he watched her eyes widen, he let his arm fall back to his side.

Leila ignored her disappointment. Wondering now if maybe the prince felt sympathy for her circumstances. Or wished to connect over their shared tangle of fate, that took away some freedom of their life choices.

Maybe it felt nice to have someone in the same predicament around.

It all shattered the moment he spoke again, his voice harsh and unfeeling. Ember eyes now dusty coal.

"You aren't bitter, that all you are is a decorated sacrifice to them? That you were bred to die?"

Again, she was reminded this was her enemy. One that knew of her previous plot to end his life. He looked at her like she was the monster, who would've ended his life if people only asked.

The princess faltered internally.

Any ounce of shared pain, gone. He didn't have to say it. But that is how the prince thought of her too.

Maybe that is way he didn't look at her. Because she was assumed to be a shell of a person. But she would not cave to his words. Would not splendor him with anger, or sadness. She saw now that as she tested him, he did as well. Testing her capacity of emotions.

He had been raised to feel.

She had been raised to be void.

"It's not like I can be angry, or hurt, or disappointed. I am a lamb for the slaughter. A soulless, mindless thing put in a pretty body. Meant to tempt you, to kill you, to poison the true hero of the prophecy. A tool, like many women are deemed. Am I not?" Her words were sharp cutting the air.

They did not miss their target.

For the first time since she sliced herself with glass, the man looked wounded. His face wore a tightened expression as he realized his mistake. By assuming the way people saw her, is how she viewed herself.

By being angry with her, instead of those that put it into her head to kill him.

"Emotions are meant to be felt. Not learned." Was the only response he could muster.

Though when she caught his stare this time, they looked much closer to what they had been in her dream.

The princess stepped away from him, her stomach dipping. She had him exactly where she wanted him on her web. Now she just had to bite.

"Either way, I would like if you continued to teach me. I think what you've shown me today is my pride."

Find a way to spend more time alone with him.

Taehyung let out a bitter laugh, and again the sound shocked her system. He leaned back onto the table, the top tie of his doublet loosening a bit. More of his throat and chest was exposed, but she quickly adverted her gaze.

"You're used to always getting what you want, aren't you?" The temperate man asked sardonically.

A hint of dark amusement in his tone.

"I mean, sure. If you don't include me having to die to save the world, or being a prisoner by a very stoic prince." Leila countered, sending him a wistful look.

Taehyung nodded, his eyes glittering.

"Let Jimin take you back to the quarters. We get married in three days."

She felt like she'd fallen off a cliff. Panic gripped at her throat at his strangely resolved tone.

"Three days? And where will you be?" She forced herself to ask calmly.

The prince of night leaned forward, smirking. His tongue finding the corner of his mouth, before hardening his expression.

"Leila, while we may be betrothed we will never be companions. My business is mine and you keep to yours. Never mistake my begrudging respect for interest."

With that, he turned around.

Not looking back, as Leila was escorted from the room.

The princess worried, wondering if she would ever be able to corrupt someone so uninterested in her.

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(A/n): AHHHAHHAHAB screaming, crying, throwing up. I feel like I'm finally settling into the characters and the scene. It'll get only better from here on out.

Are you loving it? I hope sooooo.

Thiiissss is the HAIR WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PEIOLE!!/!$292029

Again, please direct people to this book. Love Silk Sheets forever and always, but I have improved a lot. I don't want it to be the only thing I am known for on here! I keep hoping someone recommends Solace on Tiktok too hehehe.