"Turn off the lights, Feel her rattle her bones
A big appetite
Forcing me to let go
رح تبلعني أنا
ترقص وأنا بغنيلها
حيه جاي من السما
"راس براس أنا واياها
The Snake - Lana Lubany

🐍

(Pleaseeee this song is sooo good and it's one of the "theme" songs for the book so please listen for this chapter)

**********

The young woman had woken up with last night's promises still hiding on her lips.

She thought of her truce with Jimin.

After she had offered to Jimin her absence, the advisor had decided to hear what she had done so far in her captivity. He liked that she was trying to seduce him in order to get what she wanted, though she lied so he believed it to be so she could escape to her home. While Leila had spoken to Jimin about her previous attempts at jealousy, he had laughed in her face.

"That's why I have to be your glorified hand maid?" He'd jested, shaking his head as she paced in front of her.

The girl paused to seethe, "I didn't think he'd say yes!"

Jimin nudged her with his elbow, she pushed it away, scowling, "No, of course not. The counter act of jealousy is to act unaffected at all. He wouldn't say no in fear of looking like he cared."

"Maybe he just doesn't care, like I've said to you."

It was still as he crossed his arms, deep in thought. A tentative light formed in his eyes, which Leila would soon recognize to be the expression as he schemed.

"We'll just make him then. So jealous, he can't deny the feeling."

Leila nodded her head, trusting him. She sadly had seen earlier that he knew what he was doing when it came to matters of the bedroom. And him being a man himself, while being Taehyung's close friend, allowed him the privilege of knowing things he shouldn't.

"Aren't you worried he will punish you? I mean, it would look like you're undermining him by flirting with his wife." The girl questioned, skeptical.

While he had expressed just how badly he didn't want her here, it still seemed out of character to go against the wishes of the prince.

But instead of becoming secretive, Jimin just smirked, "Oh, little innocent Leila, you'll be doing the work. I'll just get to enjoy it. While pretending to be appalled at your attentions."

So she'd be punished, if Taehyung decides so. And Jimin would get to walk away, intact with his position in the court. Clever.

Her voice dripped in what she learned to be sarcasm, a trait that she picked up from the man standing in front of her. It was becoming one of her preferred ways to communicate ideas.

"Why are you willing to do this? You are loyal to your friend. Its one of your only admirable traits."

Jimin grew serious, his eyes sharpening. His threatening smile dropping, as he looked into her eyes.

"I'm also loyal to this territory. I think you can understand that sometimes we do what is necessary, not for ourselves or our friends, but for the greater good. You cannot break the curse alone."

The princess felt the blow of this information like a knife in her chest.

Leila's lack of response made Jimin falter in pride. From the way he blinked rapidly, holding his chin up and avoiding her gaze, she knew that he wasn't supposed to tell her that. And he would never admit that to her, that he had made a mishap in front of an enemy. But it was clear that she was meant to be kept in the dark about this certain part of the curse.

And how to end it.

"Is that so?" Her voice sounded careful, not wanting to show the devastation of this knowledge to him.

Even as she held onto the edge of her bed so that she did not collapse in grief.

Jimin studied her for a moment, finishing with regret, "Yes. Even if you were to die by natural causes, or by your own hand, you would just be dead. Dead for nothing at all. Sacrificial martyr no longer."

She had ignored the last throw away insult, but what he said was clear. The curse had many more limitations and rules than she had been aware. Moving forward, all intricacies needed to be divulged.

And with that, her quest had become infinitely more difficult.

Taehyung had to kill her, and she'd have to make him do it.

The young woman got out of bed, frustration making her skull feel tight. Slowly rubbing at her forehead, she turned the silver knob on her shell-like bathtub. Sliding into the warm water with a sigh of relief, she thought of all the pertinent intelligence she had gathered about the prince, his dwelling, and the curse that bound them.

The whole place was littered with snakes. Not quite literally, but every bit of symbolism was wrapped up in their metal scales. They had been depicted on every door, and every art work that inhabited the place. Even the outfits of the court were often styles after the animal.

Leila knew royal families despite the creation of Tenebris, often kept these animals as a way to show their culture and lineage while following capitol rules. Obviously this castle was ancient, and in his family for generations. They could simply just be remnants of an earlier time.

Or, because they are apart of the story depicted near the chapel. Eclipse. Snake bite. And sleeping under the moon. Most mythos served as an allegory, but the Kim glass was quite strange. Death? Carnage? A figurative way to show the family's crest winning against their enemies?

The princess especially wished she knew more about the last stained glass depiction. What about endless night was preferable to this kingdom?

Now that she had free reign of the castle, she would go back and look at the depictions in greater detail. There could've been symbols that she missed or hadn't even seen.

The lunetta flowers, snakes, and the eclipse.

This kingdom not wanting the sun to come back.

Leila knew it was all connected, she just needed more.

And she would take it.

But before she did so, she needed to trust herself. To start out, she created a glowing ball of pale light in her hand. Her power thrummed within her, used to this familiar exercise. Moonlight as anyone else would call it, the power they expected her to wield. While many of the "rules" of magic were lost to time, the abilities people could wield were clearly recorded.

They had to be of the natural elements. A variation of the deities that ruled over them.

Leila let the light go dim. The girl lifted her hand to the moonlight that stretched into the bathroom through a circular window. She twisted her wrist, forcing the light to bend to her will. She spread her fingers, and tiny particles of sand floated around her face. She lifted her left hand from the water, the sound trickling as she condensed the pearly sand in-between her two palms. Pressing and pressing, like she were simply trying to hold her own hand.

The pressure released, and in her right hand was a perfectly spherical piece of glass. This, she had discovered while training in the sands of the desert next to her palace. Only her elder knew before that she could wield sand, and turn it to glass. That she could control the particles of sand left in glass, and burst them. Now a whole court of people knew of that ability.

Leila took a deep breath, the water swelling around her as she did so.

The girl held one hand above the water, and focused on her magic as she usually would. Her chest was dimly lit, but did so after using any form of her abilities. She concentrated on the stillness of the liquid, its transparency, and its flexibility.

She turned to her left, spotting the jar filled of purple salt next to her head. The girl quickly grabbed the jar, not caring as water spilled out of the tub. Her hands slipped as she tried to open the cap, the form suctioned. The princess used her nails to pry it off, dumping the entirety of the lavender smelling salt into the tub.

A theory, that may or may not work. Considering, her ability only showed in the ocean and not any form of bath or freshwater.

Leila trained her eyes on the water, palms held once inch above the surface. Fingers straight. Concentrating her magic to move from her chest, to the palms of her hands. Willing it to move to her, under her.

Come to me.

To the princesses bewilderment, a small tendril of water began to reach for her hand. A tiny sprout, transparent and slowly moving. Dripping up, up, until the water lapped at her hand. And then with a certain splash, the water joined the rest of it's friends back in the tub.

Holy goddess above all.

It wasn't much. But it was true, and could be trained.

The ocean and I were one, just like the moon.

The princess lifted the tendril. Again and again, until her fingers pruned. Until the water ran cold, and got tired of her manipulations. Until her body felt drained from straining her limits. Until Jimin knocked on her door, and told her she had five minutes to get ready before seeing the prince.

A new power. A new plan.

Even after learning of the curses' novel hindrance, hope for a better world was not entirely lost.

************

"What is that ghastly face for Leila?"

"I'd rather sit in my bathtub till I am old and gray than visit the prince." She waited for a quip against her insolence. It did not come.

At home, her indignation was doused instantaneously. A weed to be pulled. It was freeing to have the ability to whine and pout here.

Jimin did not falter, as they walked down the dark hallway, to which she understood now led to the library. This fraction of the immense castle held their rooms, some members of the court, and Taehyung's personal lounging areas.

"Interestingly enough, it was you who came up with this glorious idea of him tutoring you about the world. Was it not?" The man teased, drawling out the words.

Leila's attention was pulled from the windows, the engraved stone of the castle. Away from any other symbols and marks she'd have to add to her mental collection.

"He told you that?"

"Oh yes he did. And again, I advised him to send you to the pits and be away with you once more. Sadly he did not listen."

"And that is why you made a pact with me." Leila concluded swiftly.

Because Taehyung was denying his advice about me at every turn. It seemed like Jimin did not like being ignored, more than he liked following his friend's commands.

Jimin stopped his saunter, pressing his lips together so tightly they almost disappeared. His eyes were slits as he looked at her, with hands behind his back, and spoke deathly quiet. The lamp light was not unkind to his delicate face, casting it in white gold.

"Dear Leila, I'm very impressed by your inability to miss anything. But might I remind you not speak of that unless we are in your rooms. And at the rate you're going, Taehyung will never frequent them, so we won't have to worry about him overhearing." The man finished, hiding his aggravation with a forged smile.

In case anyone caught them co-conspiring in the corridor.

The princess settled on her right hip, crossing her arms. The advisor had a funny way of making her wish she had been skilled in the art of insult such as he.

And though he was admittedly right, she bristled at the man's tone, "You're awful, do you know that?"

The man nudged her with his elbow, the starch fabric of the uniform felt at her ribs. Walking again as they saw the door of the library in sight.

Jimin paused at the large doors, looking at her with poisoned amusement, "I like the term honest. Now try your best to not be a bumbling fawn today. I haven't had the time to turn you into a siren."

Leila scoffed, rolling her shoulders back. Today she had chosen a lavender, muslin gown. The sleeves were to her elbows, the neckline scooped. The waist of the dress was tightest right under her chest, and fanned out from that point on. Simple, but the color brightened her eyes, and made her dark brown hair shine.

"I am not entirely inept, Jimin."

She stayed still as his gaze trailed across her dress, passing along the necklace gifted to her. Without thinking, the princess grabbed at it and held the crescent to her chest.

"Indeed, you are not." The man concurred with a jeer, shaking his head a bit as he lifted his brow.

Leila's cheeks burned, as she understood the insinuation. He had seen her sitting on Taehyung's lap. She did not cower under his accusatory gaze. The girl looked from him, to the door which he lazily leaned upon.

Wasn't he supposed to be dropping her off?

"Stop trying to embarrass me. We are going to be late." The mercury eyed girl retorted, facing the doors and ignoring the agitating advisor.

But he wouldn't let it go. He leaned closer, dipping so he could speak into her ear.

"You weren't sheepish then, sacrifice." The words circled, before diving to take their prey.

The girl lifted her left shoulder, voice defiant, "Because I really just wanted to do it."

Jimin did not respond. Nor did he move away, or make another comment. Instead, he opened the door to the library.

Leila startled, as Taehyung was standing in the center of the room this time, not huddled in the back like an ancient librarian. The man was dressed in a simple steel blue shirt, with gold detailing. His pants were black once more, loose on his legs. Ankles crossed. Ebony hair mussed and falling into his irises. From which he peered at her and the advisor's proximity, arms crossing as he did.

The prince must have heard the last bit of their conversation. It was enough to distract her from what they had done, and what they hadn't done the night before.

The girl startled when Jimin laid his hand on the back of her neck. His middle finger, just pressing at the edge of the amethyst bruise on her neck. She refused to wince, taking the slight pain of it as they moved forward.

Taehyung was still impassive, and yet his eyes never left where his friend now gripped onto her. Mouth moving from upturned, to a smooth plain.

"Here Taehyung, I release to you this succubus." Jimin spoke in a droning voice, letting go of her neck as she was placed right before the prince.

Leila fumed, her chest starting to glow silver as she turned away from the prince. Jimin looked down, his eyes sharpening as he backed away from her, hopefully realizing he went a little too far with the girl. Knowing that in the burst of her power the first night she had been held captive, he had hid under a table to escape her.

"Does the dungeon have any more space? I think they are missing a prisoner down there." The girl asked in an admonitory way. Baring her teeth at the advisor he kept glancing between her hands and her face.

She did not look back at her husband to see if he approved of her threat. To see if he was even listening to their childish squabbles.

Fear left Jimin's eyes, a more intimate voice erupting from honeysuckle, "Oh, but if I were locked away then who would undo your corset at the end of the night?"

Before the princess could begin to retaliate at his insolence, Taehyung's deep voice sounded from behind her. Sure, and finite.

"I think I could spare a cell for him."

Leila's eyes widened of their own accord, surprised Taehyung had stepped in for her. Feeling dubious that the prince made a joke at his friend's expense for her. Right after Jimin had mentioned undressing her.

Jimin took in her expression, winking. 'I told you so' emanating from his smug disposition.

Oh.

He had been flirting. Making her act lively and interested around Taehyung. It made sense, considering she was usually wound tight as a clock around him. Guiding her to relax, which would loosen the other man up to her.

Considering she was more introverted in general, it would be hard without Jimin's inflammatory slights to keep up her animated chagrin.

Her baseline was calm. Intuitive. Thoughtful and less impulsive. Leila often learned that she discovered more when she talked less, and observed what was around her.

Maybe that is what disinterested the prince.

Taehyung moved from around her, his spiced scent trailing from behind. Leila just stared, unable to stop as he trailed across the heavy carpet to his friend. Jimin clapped his back, whispering a joke that she was not privy to. Taehyung laughed, teeth shining against his sculpted face. The heaviness, ostentatious air around him seemed to dissipate. He seemed not a prince then, but a man without duty.

He seemed happily absorbed in his egotistical advisor.

Leila leaned against the front of a bookshelf, observing. Getting a glimpse of how they acted when an outside like her wasn't around. It was the first time she had seen them smile together. While it wasn't integral to her plan, she wanted to know how dutiful and sloth became friends. One, an angel of a morning that did not exist.

The other, night incarnate.

"You can handle that right?" It was louder, loud enough for her to hear as she waited for the close friends to stop talking. Though she missed what request was being made.

To have grown up with a companion like that, would've been a pleasure.

"Of course Taehyung." Jimin answered seriously, pride in his voice.

With a slight bow, he showed his loyalty. Though the prince accepted the gesture, they were still equals in this moment.

The prince smiled, grateful, "Thank you, truly. I know I ask much of you but-"

"Don't," Jimin interrupted, holding up a hand. Letting his companion know that thanks was not needed.

A sharp pang hit her stomach, coiling to her throat like a sickness. As Jimin made his way out of the room, she thought of all Taehyung had experienced, even as someone destined like herself. A friend, who did not ask for anything in return after giving.

Envy. What she was feeling, was jealousy. It was quite agonizing, and for a moment she questioned if she should be trying to evoke such a horrible feeling in the man before her.

Though she doubted envy would ever be felt this strongly for her.

Taehyung turned, his attention back on her. The door shut soundly behind them, though the prince did not flinch. It was quiet, as the pair took each other in. Neither spoke up for a moment, awkwardness filling the atmosphere. Leila did not avert her gaze, but felt wobbly as he walked closer to her.

They were now married. They had now felt each others touch. He had healed her wounds with his tongue.

Something was different today, despite his usually uninterested expression. His perusal moved from her hair, her eyes, and landed on her bodice and skirts. Then back up to her irises, like how the moon moved in phases across the sky.

"Your dress is the color of Lunetta." Taehyung offered, an olive branch.

His tone was docile, gaze tame. But it was acknowledgment he did not offer before.

Not knowing if it was a compliment or simply a remark, she hesitated. In the wait, the man turned to stone once again. Politeness thinning. Leila wished to remedy whatever cage had started to form around the royal.

"That's why I chose it. It will hold my admiration over, until I can pick them."

The man paused, his lips parting as he nodded slightly. The soft lips, that she had now felt many a times on her welcoming skin. Yet the icy countenance stayed. It seemed she would never get the prince as how he acted with Jimin.

And yet, it still bruised her. As much as she wished him to thaw, it was hard for herself as well. Around Jimin, her mouth moved on its own accord. Unafraid of saying the wrong thing.

His daunting aura and the ghost of his mouth on her neck kept her silent, quaint as she had been before her time at the castle.

It seemed that their thoughts were similar, Taehyung's eyes flickering to the purple spot on her neck, their color darkening. Lingering and burning her as if his flesh were on her own once again. She waited, not daring to breathe. Until his gaze dropped, and he walked between the shelves.

"Follow me, its time for your first lesson."

The girl relaxed her shoulders, swallowing down the lump at her throat grown from tension. It seemed, even when heat rose between them, he would simply ignore it. And, so would she, if she wanted to eventually find out the secrets the prince kept from her.

Following dutifully behind him, the prince led her to a long black wall in the back left corner of the library. Taehyung gestured to her to sit on one of the red, velvet chairs that was centered in front of the wall. This area was decorated in planets and stars, falling on crystal strings from the ceiling. Books lined the entirety of the walls on the left and right, their binding dark and dust filled. It was obvious this section carried an older selection from the rest.

The prince waited for her attention, tapping on the long desk that sat under the wall. After flushing, she sat forward head astute. He raised an eyebrow, before picking up what looked like a white powder cylinder fashioned into a stick.

With the white stick, he began to write on the wall.

'DEITIES'.

Leila read, as the prince underlined the word.

"Leila, what is your full name?" The man asked, looking at his hand as it rested on the desk. Waiting expectantly for an answer.

Despite very well knowing it himself.

"Leila Mahnaz Anvari."

"Yes, your middle name. Mah, is the part derived from the deity of the moon. Correct?" Taehyung asked, though it was more a statement.

The princess paused, once again noting that her marital counterpart did not care that she knew of her history. Her culture and religion were not taboo in this place like the rest of Tenebris.

"Yes." Leila responded surely.

Pacing forward, Taehyung used his hands to talk, rings glinting as he did so.

"Right, to make things more simple for today, I will speak of these same deities in the terms that all of Tenebris learns under the nose of the capitol. They usually are formed from olde latin, or english equivalents. I am trying to gauge what you learned, and what was kept from you. But, as I believe you to know, our world was formed and follows the laws of the six main deities."

The princess simply nodded, adjusting her dress as she crossed her legs. The only thing Leila loved more than fantasy novels were that of history.

History was always in danger of being erased by those who wished to hide it. Enlightenment was frowned upon in times of darkness where people were more easily controlled.

"The earth is truly governed by the god of the moon, Lunaith. The earth deity and sky deities, Terragon and Cael respectively. The goddess of the ocean Agwyn, and the god of the night, Nox." Taehyung stated, writing the names onto the board in a straight line under deities. His back and shoulders showing through his doublet.

If any official came through at this moment, Taehyung would've been publicly burned as an enemy of the state. No one was supposed to be governed. No divine were to be believed in. The one true belief, was in the territories.

He didn't seem to care. It was admirable, how unconcerned he was in his defiance. It was known among citizens of various territories that they kept bits and pieces of their old ways. To speak it aloud, and to a foreigner, would've been a death wish. The man had not lied yesterday when he said he despised authority or rules.

And yet, her back was pin straight as if an officer would walk in now and claim them for their execution.

"And lastly, the goddess of the sun. Just as you were blessed and marked with the middle name of Mahnaz, I was given that of the sun deity." Taehyung said, his voice quieter than it had been.

A name. One that he had not yet written on the board. Names carried power, but they were married. Though not a match made from love, it was something she should know about him.

"What is it?" Leila questioned.

His eyes found her own, gold smelting into silver. A charge filled the air, destinies plaited with metal.

"Solis." Taehyung said with a sigh, as if he'd given her a piece of himself he was unwilling to offer.

Leila wanted to laugh, thinking about how close the name sounded to the word soulless. A word, that had been used to describe her often at home. Back then, it had been a compliment, a testament to her will.

Now it branded her in shame. Not for him though.

"Pretty." She said, her voice softening. A delicate name for a stony prince.

Taehyung cleared his throat, his gaze turning back to the board. She swore a hint of red touched at his cheeks. He started writing on the board once more.

Though she might have embarrassed him, she couldn't help it.

The name seemed beautiful when granted to the Prince of Night. All the names of the deities were, though she still preferred them in Persian. She stayed silent with her opinions, wanting the prince to continue.

"Now the gods existed before and after the Black Sun. Though before that cataclysmic event, most people were not in tune with their magic. Only some had the ability. Therefore these gods were explained to be caused by natural forces. Now, we know that they are in balance with natural forces, but can appear in human-like form."

He paused before speaking out again, detached as if he had heard this a million times before.

"Which allowed them to reproduce. And reproduce again. And again. And their children to have children. All the people with magic on this world can be traced back to one of the six deities. They are called Caelestia."

The prince wrote the word, with a dash, and then 'star touched' for the definition next to it.

"Those with stronger abilities, that are closer in talent to the deities themselves are called Dimidium. That is what you and I are. We have more god in us than the average human." His tone was more serious then, pointed as he looked at her from a few feet away.

Anticipating that she might be overwhelmed, from learning such a thing. A thing he had been told since his childhood, and that she had been kept from till adulthood.

"We aren't entirely human?" She asked, gripping the arms of her chair.

There was a name, for what her and the prince were. She had not been told this information, nor about the origin of magic. Again, a hot flash of anger wreaked its havoc, for this information would not have prevented her from her duty at all. It was just carelessness not to tell her.

But as much as she knew she should be shocked, that her body should be shaking from the information, she felt at peace for once. It was reaffirming that she felt different growing up, despite knowing other with magic inside them. The brunette had known since the first drop of blood fled her body just a week ago.

Taehyung nodded, as if reading her mind once again, "Not quite entirely human indeed. Which explains the color of our blood. While we have a mixture of both blood and ichor, when we are injured, it is our ichor that runs to the surface in order for us to use its healing properties. But it is the human blood in our body that allows us to flush, to-,"His intake of breath was stark before carefully finishing, "To do many things that require bodily function."

"So to get this figured out, we are more infused with divinity because we are direct descendants?"

"Yes, and because of the date we were born. Both of cursed blood. Some would call it blessed."

Leila concentrated, moving forward in her seat. Epiphany raising higher notes in her usual sultry and low tone, "So these bloodlines started to come into existence only after the black sun? As a way to possibly give humans a chance to survive in this atmosphere without the help of it. And that is the origin of شعبده بازي. Sorry, I mean magic."

"Yes, correct Leila." Taehyung's eyes were alight, a slight smile lifting the edge of his lips. Taking in her ability to draw conclusions from the given information, maybe the smallest bit impressed his newly wed was not dim.

His posture changed, stoic professor to relaxed apprentice. He sat on the desk, arms crossed. His blue doublet turning his skin into spun gold. Small cracks fissuring in his fortress, due to the unperceived threat of her ignorance and sprouting curiosity.

It was the perfect time to strike.

"Do your people know why the sun never came back? I was told at home after one long night that it just did not rise again, and that nobody knows why or how. I'm not sure if that was a lie too."

Her voice hung, a cloud in the air between them. The young man's eyes were blank, calculating whether this question was prying or simply a continuation of their lesson before.

Either way, he lied.

"They're right. No one knows." The prince answered simply, cooly.

He did not move, a statue in a garden. His gaze was hype focused on her. Internally begging her to move on from this line of questioning.

It set her on edge. Too close to this mystery to be kept from it. She watched as his eyes shifted to a large, black book with gold binding to his left. His eyes returning back to hers.

Leila took note of its ancient fraying, the words latin on spine.

She flickered back to him, accusation spoiling her tone, "Are you sure? Or is it because you don't want me privy to such things."

His answering scoff was meant to be condescending. He rolled his feline eyes, jaw twitching.

"I just don't have that knowledge Leila, stop pushing."

"Fine. But if you do not know the reason, or how it happened, why then are you not willing to break the curse? There seems to be nothing preventing you from doing it, especially if you know as little as the rest of us."

"I don't know anything more than the rest." He said, this time more abrasive as he avoided her protests.

He turned his back to her, about to write more with the white dust. Leila lifted her hand, using light entering the window to mold it around the material in the prince's hand. She lifted the stick, Taehyung turning his head to see her chuck it across the library.

He whirled around, iciness set ablaze. Eyes venomous on her own. He did not have to speak for her to know she crossed a line, considering his lack of use of magic in her presence. But she did not stop.

The princess persisted, lifting herself off the plush chair, "But you do. There must be something you know. You don't want the sun to come back. You told me you're not willing to Jill me to end the curse. I want to know the reason for it. I cannot believe it to be a petty vengeance for all those of Tenebris who expect of you martyrdom. That would be pathetic. What is the reason I'm being kept alive, Taehyung?"

"Do not ask me of such things." He whispered harshly, his eyes never losing the fire within them at her exhortation.

She stepped closer to where he was standing, watching as his blank gaze turned into a glower. His fists tightened, his movement freezing. Close enough she could see the blue tinge to his midnight hair. He regarded her proximity with that of seeing a poisonous animal.

It did not deter her.

"And just why not? Are you not my husband? Can I not speak freely?" Leila thrust upon him, feeling desperation blossom in her chest.

Being kept in the dark now felt like punishment. A way for the prince to torture her. Though his next words, were much worse.

Taehyung leaned closer, his face now only inches away. She could feel his warmth, even from there. Beautiful and barbarous all at once. The snarl in his expression clear, as destroyed her without remorse.

"You can speak freely, but you cannot demand answers. And you know that our marriage means absolutely nothing in terms of what I decide is inconsequential enough to share with you. While I am your husband on paper, I am not your confidant. Nor are you mine. You are being held here and bound to me because it is necessary. You are a threat to my entire kingdom, and you will be treated as such. Despite your request to know more about our world, and have me be the one to do it. Do you think I would choose this if it was not forced upon me?"

Inconsequential. Forced. Necessary. So that is what he thought of her? She jolted back, the resentment in his voice was visceral. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared back at him, unwilling to tremble under the hatred in his gaze for her. Her breathing increased, adrenaline coursing her blood stream.

She glared right back at the royal. He continued to do so, not correcting himself or apologizing. None of the pristine politeness he played at with her.

It seemed the only emotion she could evoke out of him was anger. And Leila was grateful for him driving the knife in again. Not that he hadn't already done so yesterday. The boundaries between them were clear. Transparent as glass, as the man reminded that her presence here was to be that of a close enemy once more.

He would not bend to her. Not in friendship, not in anything more or less.

In her mind, it was a practical rejection. It would keep her focused so that she could end the curse, if she were not attached to him at all. It was good to know, that he remained a rival.

But in her heart, she knew her marriage would be as lonely as her life before she got to this castle.

"I wish, that if you do not want me here, you would just send me away." Leila spoke with resolution. Her stance was that of a royal, head held high as she asked for him to send her away.

No begging, or whining in her voice. No insecurity. Just embracing his repudiation. Taking it like that of divine blood would. He was right. No type of companionship would ever be found between them. She built a wall of her own, to rival his. Made of spike, and sand. So every attempt to climb up, would be met with blood and the long trail down to the bottom.

For a moment, his gaze wavered. Leila wondered if it could've been regret. He rose, his head dropping to the side as he his gaze traced along her. Biting at the edge of his pink lip, and letting go. Heat gone, but his cold refusal still there.

"You ask for many things, wife. I cannot give them. This lesson is over." Taehyung blinked, the words gritted out. Saying the word wife, like he wounded in doing so.

One last insult.

The princess did not wait for another. She turned, walking to the exit, rage fueling her as she slammed the door to the library. Jimin had shouted for her as she moved down the hall, but she ignored him. Letting out a frustrated scream after she made it safely to her own chamber.

Leila did what she was told for most of the night. Playing the good little captive she was meant to be.

Until deep at night, when the whole of the castle was asleep. Luckily her door had not been charmed at this time of night, just the exits of the castles.

She stepped quietly past Jimin's rooms, knowing if anyone were to catch her it would be him. Probably hoping she was some other servant girl when he opened the door. When she made it past him, her pace quickened.

Not breathing as she passed the long corridors to the prince's rooms.

Finally, after looking over her back for the entire way, she made it to the wrought iron doors. She traced along the backs of the carved serpents, letting moonlight seep from her finger in silver rivulets. Her suspicions rang true when the doors clicked open, letting her in.

Without any more thought, she ran to the back of the library where they had their lesson earlier. Her hand lighting the path. Kneeling down when she got the book case, the shelf, where the prince's eyes drifted earlier. Her heart pounded with anticipation, the feeling suddenly sinking.

The black and gold book from earlier was gone.

The walk back to her room was distraught. Taehyung was just as perceptive as her. A tentative war had begun, and he had already won the first battle.

She fell asleep that night, though not as easily.

Hair tangled around her neck. Heat spread between her thighs. The name of the prince on her tongue. Whether it was from pleasure, or from fight, it always tasted saccharine.

Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung.

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(A/N: Okayyy the people spoke and you said you like long chapters...so I guess that is what we are going with hahahaha.

In this chapter there is a lot of background/lore so again, if there are any questions please ask!!!