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7550 words

There's a certain heaviness that weighs down in Jungkook's stomach whenever The Bangtan approaches the Barter Isles. Like a sack of flour over a shoulder, or a handful of pebbles in trouser pockets, it's a heavy burden, but it's one that he's willingly undertaking.

Jungkook's Grandmother used to tell him tales of a realm not too far from his own. Beyond the ice, few people have ever crossed through treacherous frozen seas, and even fewer have lived to tell the tale.

She had observed it from her home in the sky; the depraved barbarity of them all, and yet how soft and tender they could be. Used them as a warning of what could happen to this realm if the current trajectory continues. 

In that other faraway realm, pebbles in people's pockets were once a surefire way to learn if they possessed magic or not. They'd be forced into the water with enough stones in their clothing to drag them beneath the surface.

To sink and drown meant they were without magic.

Contrarily, to rise up meant they were magical. 

Those who rose were then subsequently tied to a burning pole in the middle of the town square for all to see.

Either way, they'd die.

He wonders if he were to jump into the ocean, pockets stuffed full of stones, if he'd be able to fight against the current; if his wings would prevail and raise him up to the surface.

Knowing Pia, if she were to ever learn he was in the water, she'd make it her business to come along and drown him herself.

His mind begins to toy with him; to picture Pia's face, her dark hair slowly ebbing in the water around her golden features as she smiles, the air slowly seeping from his lungs. She'd do that, he thinks; smile as she watched him drown.

Disastrously, he finds himself smiling at the thought of it, too. To die would be an awfully large inconvenience, and yet if Pia's face was the last he ever saw before his soul kissed him an untimely goodbye, he thinks it wouldn't be such a terrible fate to suffer. Not a welcome death, per se, but a welcome farewell.

As his smile fades, his posture shifts. Gaze as stern as the fog on the horizon is hazy, Jungkook is reminded that there's really nothing to smile about.

The approach to the Barter Isles is always the same. A narrow cluster of islands dapple an expanse between two larger islands.

On these smaller, more curious islands, you can find anything your heart desires. Many a man has been lost to the maze of the Barter Isles; the ale and the women at the saloons, the dust dealt down damp alleyways, and the dodgy dealers who will swindle anyone for anything.

Jungkook's first visit to the Barter Isles went just about as terribly as you'd expect. Kept his hat tipped low to avert any domesticated or ensnared creatures from identifying his eyes. Ended up walking into a bloke who'd just eaten an imp-infused delicacy.

Known for mischief, imps are consumed for their giddy quality. A fun little high that lasts a night.

Unfortunately, imps are terribly reactive to human alcohol, even after they've been consumed by humans. The combination turns whoever has consumed them both into a lawless thug.

Jungkook went back to The Bangtan that evening with a nose bent entirely out of shape. Yoongi had to snap it back into place. Must have magic hands, 'cause the next day Jungkook's nose was as good as new—his black eye, not so much.

Standing beside Jimin, on the other side of the ship, Pia wonders what Jungkook must be thinking about. Knows that he's probably working himself into a frenzy in his own damn head. He was born under Virgo, after all. If she knows anything of the stars, and the qualities they lend to their children, it's that he's the type to remain stoic even when his brain is melting.

"You like this job?" Pia asks Jimin, making small talk, a certain snark to her tone. She doesn't care to entangle him. Not now.

"Hm?"

"Selling women off to be tortured," Pia clarifies, and is pleased to see Jimin's gaze avert hers. Guilt resides in one of these damn pirates, at least.

"What happens after you're sold on is none of our business," Jimin simply states.

That's how he rationalises it to himself. Wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he gave it too much thought. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Kill or get killed. All he's doing is what he needs to do to survive. Is an accomplice, sure, but he isn't some evil mastermind.

"Well, when you're next getting rum-drunk off the fruits of my misfortune, I hope you remember me," Pia says coldly. Sirens are known for savagery just as much as they're known for seduction. If she weren't pushing his buttons right now, maybe Jimin'd be able to tell that she's no fuckin' fairy. "I hope I haunt you for the rest of your life."

It may be Jimin she's speaking to, but it's Jungkook she's looking at.

She doesn't notice.

Jimin does, though.

He conceals a smirk. Understands her contempt is misplaced. Reckons all that time hauled up together must have done a number on her. Maybe she thought he'd save her. Maybe she's only just realising now that pirates are crooks but they're rarely liars. Jungkook's just doing what he always said he would.

Or at least what he always said he would in front of the crew.

"It's nothing personal, Pia."

She knows this should be true—and yet it somehow feels incredibly personal. Stockholm Syndrome, or so it's called. According to Jungkook, at least. A rogue term adopted from that same realm beyond the ice, told to him by his Grandmother. The twisted idea that you could develop a camaraderie with those who hold you captive.

Pia scoffed at the idea of it.

Jungkook has started imitating her.

Every time she gives him a certain look, he knows it's coming, so he beats her to it. He's always smiling when he does so. It makes her purse her lips, fighting a smile, too.

Perhaps there really is some merit in the concept of it all.

When Jungkook turns around, Pia doesn't avert her gaze. Cares not for being caught staring. It's the shamelessness of being a siren. The typical behaviours of humans don't concern her—but for the next few hours, they have to.

"Ready?" Jungkook asks, holding up a thin black fabric. He says it's called chiffon, but Pia is absolutely certain he's just making up words at this point. Then again, she quite likes the fabric. Would have much rathered her clothes were made from it.

In a formal, incredibly bland dress, she can barely breathe. Blames Jungkook. He's the one that tightened the lace back, after all.

He had asked her a similar question when he was doing it up earlier that morning: "Are you sure you're ready for all this?"

"Get in, get your sister, get me out," Pia had simply stated, running the somewhat lacklustre plan back to Jungkook. They'll go their separate ways once he's retrieved his sister. He suggested that she entangles some of the men keeping his sister captive. Sacrifice them. Get her tail back. It's a plan she can't refuse. Payday for her, payback for him. "I'm ready."

But Jungkook had lowered his head. Pulled the ribbons a little tighter as he adjusted the back of the dress. Below his breath he'd quietly said, "Humans aren't like us, Pia—"

"And I'm not like them, either," she had reminded him. "I've got entanglement on my side. Even if they think I'm a little strange, it won't matter."

"You've not been in water for well over a week," Jungkook had reminded her right back, knowing she's weaker without it.

"And whose fault is that?" She quipped in response, her tone short and curt.

"I'm not trying to argue with you, Pia," Jungkook asserted. "You're not as strong as you think you are. You have to at least make an effort."

She wanted to argue that wearing the stupid fuckin' dress was her making a hell of an effort, but he yanked on the corset ribbons once more just to be a prick.

"You'll suffocate me," she had told him.

"Good," he replied. "A taste of your own medicine. Something to remember next time you threaten to drown me."

To anyone outside of that room (had Jungkook not placed silencing enchantments over it), their bickering would have sounded tiresome. Curious, really, how they were both fighting smiles the entire time.

Neither of them is smiling now, as they slowly approach the Bater Isles.

Pia nods, turning around for Jungkook to tie the fabric in a knot at the back of her head.

It's fashion, or so Jungkook says. Women of the human realm like to wear silly little veils to construct a sense of mystery. Pretend as if they could maybe be magical. It's sexy apparently, as if humans aren't the ones who forced magic into the shadows in the first place.

Pia had scoffed at that. Jungkook had imitated her. They'd both smiled.

While Pia is actually veiled—her eyes look deep, dark brown to the dime a dozen people who can't help but give her a second glance—the chiffon veil will at least be helpful should she come into contact with any magical creatures.

She's to walk the streets of the Barter Isles as a regular woman, on the arm of Jungkook, so as to not raise any suspicion nor attention from the wrong crowd.

"Paddlers," Jungkook had called the land-pirates—those who wait until actual pirates dock in the bay, and then sneak onto their boats to steal their loot. "If they think I've got a fairy with me, they'll do everything they can to get you under their control, instead. Better for everyone if we move discreetly."

Unlike women, men's fashion on the isles doesn't allow for obscured eyes, but rogue fairies can't risk being seen by a magical being on the barter isles, let alone one of his calibre.

In private, confined to the room they had shared for the voyage, Pia had watched on as Jungkook quietly explained the curious, jelly-like discs he had placed on the surface of his bright blue eyes.

"Faux veils," Jungkook had mumbled, trying not to poke his eye out. "Before the wars—before the veiling—our eyes were, like, our favourite accessories, or so they say. These little beauties—" he held up a thin, curved disc, propped up on the tip of his index finger. No larger than a penny, it had a wet sheen to its deep brown surface. "—are made from frogspawn. It's a lost art, but they're pretty easy to make. Just have to go to the bogs and collect a little batch of the spawn up, simmer them over a little heat and add a little dust to clarify them. Hollyhocks are used for the colour, but I'm sure you could use any kind of petal, really. I've never experimented outside of the traditional recipes."

It was sort of sweet, Pia supposed, the idea of Jungkook crafting a little bit of real life magic with his own bare hands. Nothing special. Just endearing.

"Could pop these over the blue and be any colour we wanted," he continued. "Used to be fun, apparently, being a fairy."

Sitting on top of the trunk Pia had been acquiring items from throughout the journey, she'd smiled.

"Is it not fun now?"

Glancing across to her, one of his darling blue eyes now a deep, sultry brown, Jungkook looked quite unlike himself. It must be how everyone else views him. This is the Jungkook the crew knows.

It's also the Jungkook that women on the Barter Isles know. She wonders how many admirers he has. How many adoring young women pine for the return of the Bangtan, sitting at their windows, yearning, looking out to shore.

The corner of his lip had twitched, a smirk creeping onto his face—not so much due to her question, but due to the look on her face.

He didn't answer but instead asked, "Got a weakness for brown eyes, huh?"

Her plush lips had pursed, a reluctant smile gracing her pretty face. "Why do you think I've drowned so many humans? I hate feeling weak."

And what a weakness it is to look at Jeon Jungkook. She can hate all that he is, and she can hate his kind, and she can hate his stupid sense of humour, but one thing she can't ever do is hate the way he looks.

His broad shoulders are strong, muscles well-defined from all of his flying. She can't help but stare every time he turns his back to rid himself of his clothes before bed.

There's only one saving grace for Pia—the knowledge that he flies, and that he definitely looks stupid when he does so. She thinks all fairies look stupid, though.

Sometimes she thinks about what he'd look like swimming, instead. For a cold-blooded creature, the thoughts make her remarkably hot. She doesn't like it. Has vowed never to entertain such thoughts again.

But the room below deck just gets so stuffy. Jungkook's skin gets clammy. Clues her into what he could look like wet; like what he could look like in her world. Fairies are terrible swimmers, mind you. Wings get in the way. He'd never be right in her world. Would drown himself before she even got the chance.

Sometimes, on particularly long nights, she watches him sleep as her fingers twirl in jugs of salted water. He'd started doing that; automatically salting her water. On occasion, he'd collected a little ocean water for her. Had to be discreet to avoid questions from the rest of the crew.

On those nights, the ones when he showed a little compassion, Jungkook looked ethereal. His nose sloped at an angle so divine he could rival a God, and his lips always rested ever so slightly ajar as he slept. With his eyes closed, concealing his blue, it was easy to forget what he was.

Along his cheek, a small scar pressed a perpetual kiss. Below deck, in the dead of night, lit only by the dull light of her candle, she'd focused on it. Wanted to ask how he got it; to question why he didn't flawlessly repair himself.

Sirens can do that. Heal. Mend. Whatever you wanna call it. She's been chipped by fishing lines before. Has had run-ins with asshole fish. Yet she's pristine. You'd never guess.

With a smile, Jungkook had taken her joke about weaknesses in good humour, but he also hadn't entertained it further.

By nature, risk isn't something enjoys, and Pia makes him feel like he's gambling with every conversation they have. It's a losing game. He'll be out of money in no time. Out of luck. Out of his depth.

Concern—for both himself, and for Pia—is only ever shown behind closed doors.

In front of the other boys, he's assertive. Cold. Pia doesn't necessarily miss the warmth of what he's like behind closed doors, but she definitely thinks life is much easier pretending that she feels ice when she looks in his direction.

Just before the ship reaches the bay, Jungkook wraps a chain around her wrist—much like the one around her ankle. Doesn't utter a single word, but does also wrap it around his wrist, too.

He gives it a tug, then wraps a piece of parchment around the clasp. It begins to smoulder almost instantly, the paper charring and burning up without any flames until it all disintegrated into nothing, taking the chain with it—or so it appears.

Jungkook tugs his wrist closer to his chest, and Pia finds herself stumbling, connected to Jungkook with an invisible string.

"Ancient charm," he quietly says to satiate her curiosity. "There's an old wizard who lives in a cove just off the side of the island. We get him things he needs from the Barter Isles, he does us favours. The chain and the charm are both from him."

Pia tugs on her own wrist, and is unsurprised to see Jungkook's wrist jerk with hers. She grits her teeth. Scoffs. "I'm on a leash."

Jungkook doesn't imitate her scoff, but he does flick his dark, entirely false, brown eyes up towards her.

She finds herself familiar, for the first time, with what might feel like to drown.

"Yeah," Jungkook smirks, his voice quiet enough to make sure the other crew members can't hear him. They all have their own tasks to get on with on the isles. Items to retrieve and debauchery to engage in. Jungkook's been given the dirty work, but he's grown to enjoy a little bit of filth, apparently. "Like a good little dogfish."

Pia's sharp eyes narrow—and then she's smiling again.

"I'm so drowning you as soon as this is all done."

"Can't wait."

The issue with a man like Jeon Jungkook, and his desire to be incognito, is that to see him is to be beguiled. It's not necessarily because of how he looks—though it doesn't hurt—but more so because of how he carries himself. He has too much grace for the isles.

His steps aren't staggered like the drunkards out at all hours of the day, and his shoulders aren't slumped like market workers from a hard day's labour. The women propositioning business on alley corners find themselves distracted when he swaggers on by.

Eyes covered by chiffon, their heads turn almost as if they want him to know that they've seen. Fuck the man they're currently trying to swindle; they want him. The look they cast Pia's way is one of contempt. Though she can't see their eyes, she can see the way their lips upturn.

And they can see the way hers can't help but smirk in response.

"I wanna drown them all," Pia hisses as they make their way through a maze of tight alleys.

Walking side by side, the chain stops her from getting too far out of his reach. Occasionally he'll grab her wrist when she starts veering off, but always drops it as soon as she realigns. The veering off is unintentional.

Or it at least it was.

The warmth of his skin is just so curious to her. She wants to understand it. To feel it.

She wonders if the other men on the Isles are warm like he is.

She doubts it.

"Scope 'em out, take your pick," Jungkook flippantly says. "Got a job to do first, though. No murder until then, please."

"It's not murder," Pia defends. "It's sacrifice. And hey—it's for the greater good."

"I don't think one siren getting back her tail is considered 'the greater good', Pia," Jungkook hums, not paying much attention as he checks the signage above saloons. He's looking for one in particular: The Red Witch.

The buildings on the islands are dilapidated. Sea air hasn't been kind to them, and the residents of the isles even less so.

The paving stones are uneven and crooked, and Jungkook has to grab onto Pia's wrist every now and again to stop her from tripping up.

"This fuckin' dress," she curses, because unlike the veering off, the stumbling really is unintentional.

"It's your sea legs," Jungkook disagrees. "You're used to the motion of the water. Haven't adjusted to solid ground yet."

"No," she disagrees right back. "It's the fuckin' dress."

Jungkook stops in his tracks. Pia stumbles, this time because of him. Still chained to him, they're dictated by one another, but he's stronger.

"Can you—"

"Enough," Jungkook softly says, pulling Pia back to face him. Her eyes are obscured by the veil, the tip of her nose and plush pillows of her lips the only things he can see. "Just play ball with me. An hour."

"I've never played ball before," Pia replies and Jungkook smiles. He's not sure if she means the sport, or the idea of doing what someone else wants. He thinks both could be true.

Jungkook looks down to the damp floor below and shakes his head. When he looks back up, she swears she can almost see the blue shine through his faux veils.

"When this is all done, I'll show you how," he promises, though they both know when this is all done, they'll return to their own lives. Sirens don't belong to land and fairies don't belong in water.

When all this is done, so are they.

"C'mon," he encourages them along, nodding towards a saloon at the top of the street. An old wooden sign swings in the breeze, split down the middle from water damage. The paint has worn off, but the engravings remain: The Red Witch.

"Spooky," Pia deadpans. Hates witches almost as much as she hates fairies.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, pulling open the creaky door.

"Play ball," he simpers, just enough length on the chain keeping them tied together for him to place his hand on the small of her back as he guides her into the establishment.

Dark and damp, the scent is almost enough to drown out the hyacinths that follow him around whenever Jungkook is with Pia. Almost.

A small bar is in the far corner of the room, and tables and chairs are dotted about the place. It's hardly the top of the day, but there's still a fair number of patrons within the establishment. It's the go-to place for scoundrels and rogues alike. It's where dealers like to fester.

Nodding across to a bloke who easily looks ten years older than he actually is, Jungkook outlines him as a target.

"Scythe," Jungkook quietly declares, his lips resting against Pia's hair as he speaks. God damn hyacinths. "He's a nasty fucker. Works for one of the big dealers. Specialises in—"

Before he can even finish his sentence, Scythe clocks Jungkook. Recognises him straight away, even with a belly full of rum.

"Oi, twinkle toes," Scythe grins at the sight of Jungkook, his gold teeth glinting in the low light of the dingy saloon. There's something seedy about him as he licks his lips, dark eyes stalking down Pia's body. "Got yourself a girl for the night, huh?"

Behind her veil, Pia tweaks a brow.

A girl for the night.

The implication isn't lost on her; that she's a body for hire.

She thinks about the women she had passed earlier. The bitter glances that had been thrown her way like camels spitting in the desert, and the insalubrious, leering looks in her direction from seedy men just like Scythe.

Fashion, Jungkook had said the veil was. Sexy.

And it is, he'd argue, just for a very specific demographic of women on the isles.

What he forgot to mention was that it was also a surefire way to spot a prostitute. 

Anonymity is the real purpose of veils, and that's exactly what Pia needed. What he needed was for her to not argue against him, which is why he never mentioned it.

"It's a pirate's life," Jungkook smirks as he walks towards Scythe, pulling out the chair opposite him to take a seat. Doesn't pull one out for Pia. Just sits himself down and lets her stand. Prick.

Standing just behind Jungkook's chair, the chain connecting them isn't quite long enough. She makes it natural, the way her palm comes to rest over his shoulder, to allow for the awkward bending of her arm. Her sharp nails dig in, just to let him know how little she appreciates his manners (or lack thereof) at the moment.

The power imbalance is perfectly clear to anyone who glances their way.

Nobody is really concerned with them, mind you. A lot of them are Scythe's goons. Know better than to let their eyes intrude on his meetings.

"You ought to get some girls on that island," Scythe shakes his head, sipping on his ale, then considers, "Unless you prefer fuckin' around with your little crew mates. I'm sure it gets awfully lonely on that ship—and hey, no judgement. That Park prick is a pretty little fucker. You ain't so bad either, twinkle toes."

While Scythe isn't wrong—Jimin is a sight for sore eyes—the idea of fucking a human just simply doesn't appeal to Jungkook.

Fairies are mechanical beings. They follow the ebb and flow of nature. It goes against their instincts to fornicate with anything other than fairies.

Obviously it's not unheard of—Jungkook's got a star in his lineage after all—but it sure isn't common.

It's a simple life, that of a fairy. They bask in the glory of nature, cultivating friendship and communities. Sex happens. He's fucked plenty of his friends. It's just a way to bond; to have fun.

What Jungkook hasn't done?

Twined.

While sex is a somewhat meaningless pass time for fairies, the act of twining goes beyond sex.

To twine is to link your body so inherently with someone else that it becomes hard to discern where one ends and the other begins. It's intimacy in the purest form of the word. It's the sharing of dust; the understanding that your souls should converge.

Unlike humans, and their complex (and in Jungkook's opinion, frankly far too lengthy) reproduction process, all that's needed is a drop of moon-bathed morning dew on freshly twine-dusted wings for fairies to procreate.

Again, fairies are mechanical beings. Once a fairy twines, sex has a purpose. Souls are tied together in order to create offspring, and they remain that way forever.

So while Jungkook had fucked many of his friends, male and female alike, it's only ever been for fun.

To twine is to embark on a new stage of life, and it's one that he's simply not ready for.

He's also yet to meet anyone he's considered twining himself to. The girls with the hyacinths in their hair back in his kingdom try. The boys, too. He'll have his fun, but he'll never wrap his wings around them. He won't let his dust sink into their wings, nor theirs into his.

To twine with a human isn't possible. They've no dust to give back.

He's heard of fruitless endeavours before; of fairies so besotted with a human that they try. It just ends with unrequited pining, and a fairy unable to ever twine again because they sank their dust into the skin of a being who couldn't reciprocate.

Sometimes, Jungkook wonders if sirens have similar rituals.

He never asks.

"They'd be lucky to fuck me," Jungkook assures Scythe with a boyish grin that proves: yes, they would be. "Anyway, I'm only on the island for a few days, so I'm making the most of local delicacies while I can."

He glances up to Pia. Notices her nostrils flaring in annoyance. Grins.

"You do you, twinkle toes," Scythe shrugs, not caring what Jungkook does in his free time. He does good business. That's all Scythe cares about. Is why he calls him twinkle toes, 'cause he's quick and diligent with his deals. Gets in, gets out. "Is that the only reason you're here? Pleasure?"

Shaking his head, Jungkook reaches beneath his cloak to the pocket of his waistcoat, and pulls out a clipped wad of cash. He slides it over to an incredibly intrigued Scythe, and watches him practically salivate at the sight of it.

Every man has a vice. Scythe's is money. And rum. But mostly money.

"Business," Jungkook asserts. "I need an audience with your boss. I'm after a fairy, and I think he's got the one I want."

Scythe looks at the money, then at Jungkook. Adjusts in his seat. Clears his throat.

While the kids and the low-level crooks of the island report back to Scythe, he's a small fish in a large pond. His boss is across the shore on another small island that specialises in perfumes. A far nicer part of the isles, that's for sure.

It's also where they're keeping their prized possession.

"You heard about the stardust, did ya?" Scythe smirks.

The stardust.

All at once, Jungkook feels the floor beneath his chair collapse like a trap door. He's hurtling down down down, but there's no crash. Just an endless fall—until he feels a tug on his wrist, Pia pulling him from his thoughts back to the real world.

He's not sure how long his silence lasts.

He just knows that his sister is in a whole world of trouble if the dealers know about his family's dust.

"I've heard rumours," Jungkook shrugs, hiding his panic incredibly well. "Wanna see her for myself."

"No fuckin' chance," Scythe instantly snorts. He leans in closer over the table, swiping up the cash as he does so. Lowers his tone. "You ever seen a fuckin' star?"

"No."

"Exactly," Scythe reclines with a smirk as he begins counting Jungkook's cash. There's dirt embedded in his nails. A finger is missing from his left hand, and Pia decides she doesn't want to know how he lost it. She also decides he probably deserved it. "They're keeping her hidden."

Jungkook reclines in his chair. Contemplates this for a moment.

"What if I've got something they might be interested in?" Jungkook shrugs. Knows the idea of a flightless fairy doesn't really compare with stardust wings, but the idea of Pia is still rare. She's an oddity. Something to be bought and sold, or at least she is as far as the scum of the realm is concerned.

"Such as?" Scythe entertains him.

"A flightless fairy," Jungkook states all rather plainly. Scythe's brow cocks at this, 'cause while no, it isn't comparable, it's still not a bad payday.

He snorts, then says, "I'm supposed to believe you caught a—"

Jungkook raises his wrist, tugging Pia a little further forward. It's a clear indication that she's chained to him; that she's not what Scythe thought she was. His expression falters for a second as he looks Pia up and down—and then he laughs.

"Bullshit—"

"Show him," Jungkook commands, and Pia knows exactly what she needs to do: nothing.

She stands perfectly stoic as the candles in the room begin to go out. One by one, a small wind is pinching them, until it's pitch black save for a little light streaming through the murky windows. It doesn't prove much, really. Just proves that there's some form of magic in the room.

Magic, of which is being commanded by Jungkook.

Scythe wouldn't be able to tell, though, and so as the candles begin to flicker back on, he's speechless.

"Well, I'll be damned," Scythe whistles. "Flightless fairy. If she aint got wings—"

"Her heart," Jungkook says without any apparent care. "S'where her dust is. Can't expend any of it herself, so she's powerful. Can't be farmed for dust, not like fairies normally are—though I suppose you could probably just extract blood. If it's all stored in her heart, her blood'll be like liquid-gold, probably. Could start a new trend. A new fad. Without wings to crumble, who knows how long you could milk her for? Could get every last drop and then wait for her heart to pump out even more. Reuse, reuse, reuse."

The words Jungkook speak taste rancid on his tongue. It's like he's being poisoned from the inside out; fumes slowly sinking from his nose whenever his mouth is closed. Like thick vapours, they'll suffocate everyone around him. Or maybe not. Maybe just him.

The way Scythe begins to look at Pia, Jungkook kind of wishes he could poison the fucker for real.

He smirks, then looks at Jungkook with a sleazy glint in her eye. "She follows your commands well. Good little bitch, isn't she?"

"Her bite is far nastier than her bark," Jungkook quickly replies, knowing that Pia won't have taken kindly to that comment. "Be careful how you speak about her. She's strong. Might be under my control, but if I hand her over to you, I can't promise she won't rip your throat out."

"Feisty, huh?" Scythe appears to enjoy the idea of this. Licks his lips. "Maybe I'll take her for a test drive before I hand her over to the bosses. Y'know. Just to check how nasty she really is. I hear fairies are basically nymphs with wings—and you know how much I like me a nymph."

"I mean it, Scythe," Jungkook sternly asserts, not taking kindly to the comparison either. "She's not one to play around with."

"You think she'll have a choice once she's under my command?" Scythe laughs. "Don't tell me you haven't been fuckin' her."

"I ain't tellin' you shit," Jungkook shrugs, his previous friendly demeanour well and truly gone like the candle flames around the room. "She follows my commands 'cause she wants to. If she fucked me, it's cause she wanted to. Fairies aren't the type to be strong-armed. You know this. You know what you have to do to wrangle even the weakest of fairies. She ain't got no wings. There ain't no clipping her."

Wing clipping is the most popular and gruesome of choice when it comes to keeping fairies under control. Almost kills the fairy, leaving them with only a portion of their wings to prevent them from flying. They're in too much pain to fight against dealers when they're clipped. Leaves just enough wing to harvest dust.

It's unbearable hearing Jungkook talk like this. Imagining it. Knowing that if she hadn't been found by him, her fate could have played out like this. They'd have dug into her back to find wings, and when they found nothing, they'd have killed her regardless.

Scythe doesn't notice when a tiny bead of water splashes on the table beside Jungkook.

As Jungkook quickly glances towards Pia, she's perfectly stoic, save for a thin, wet trail of a tear that had stalked down her cheek.

"Yknow what Scythe? Conversation's done," Jungkook decides all rather quickly. Gets to his feet, and reaches over to dig into the pocket of Scythe's that his money had been tucked into.

Scythe instantly grabs Jungkook's wrist. Money is his biggest addiction and he'll be damned if it's taken from him.

Pia is dragged forward as Jungkook swiftly lifts his other wrist to bite through the chain, the magic in his spit strong enough to tear through the charm, and frees himself from her.

Scythe doesn't realise what Jungkook has just done, for within the same breath Jungkook is propelling a sharp punch to his jaw, the impact cracking the gold caps from a number of his teeth. Thrown to the floor by the sheer force, Scythe looks like he's about to snarl, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

"Don't fuck with me, Scythe," Jungkook threatens as Scythe's men begin to leap into action, surrounding the pair of them and waiting for an order from their boss. "You get me an in with your boss. It's not a request. It's an order."

"Jungkook," Pia quietly says, and he recognises the rosy tone of her tongue instantly. She's trying to entangle him. Fruitless fuckin' endeavour.

He just shakes his head. Snarls, "Him, not me."

She's already keeping Scythe's men at bay. Having to speak will only make her lose focus and risk the both of them getting trapped.

"Pia," Jungkook grits his teeth, as Scythe spits on the ground to rid his mouth of the blood.

And so she does as she's told.

"Scythe," she says instead. Normally she derives a little giddy joy from entangling. Today, she feels nothing but repulsion. It's hard. Something that normally comes so easily to her is nauseatingly overwhelming. There are just too many men around them that she's keeping at bay. Jungkook should be dealing with Scythe, not her. "You won't tell anyone about this meeting, will you?"

Jungkook watches Scythe as his attention flickers from Jungkook to Pia. There's a softening of his eyes. Adoration. Desire.

It just makes Jungkook wanna crack his skull all over again.

"No," Scythe drawls, desperate to be closer to her—but she's keeping him at bay like the rest of them. That's the trouble with entanglement. It pulls people in.

It's never normally an issue, for Pia's normally dragging them to the rocks.

But she's not entangling for herself, now. All of this is entirely against her nature.

"You won't mention that you've seen Jungkook," she tells Scythe, and he shakes his head, bloody lips hanging ajar, desperate to keep his eyes on her.

"No."

Pathetic, she thinks.

"And if anyone asks about your injuries, you'll admit to harassing a young woman and her putting you in your place, won't you?"

"Yes."

A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"Tomorrow, you'll do everything you can to find out the location of the fairy Jungkook's trying to find," Pia instructs him, desperate to leave The Red Witch. She can feel his men drawing in closer. They just want to be close to her. That's all.

She wants to scream. Wants Jungkook to just do something, but knows realistically he can't do a fuckin' thing.

"I will," Scythe vows.

"And the day after, you'll tell him everything you know."

"That's right."

"And then you'll forget all about it."

"Forget it all."

"Good little bitch," Pia smiles, then turns her attention to men leering around them. "Go. Sit down. Stay there until the sun sets."

Jungkook's hand immediately wraps around Pia's wrist, and as soon as there's a clearing between the men, he bolts them out of there. Her entanglement is weak. She's weak. Had been out of the ocean for far too long. Had to focus so many commands on Scythe that she's certain the entanglement will wear off of his men within a few minutes.

"I'm so fuckin' drowning him," Pia snarls as they storm out of the dilapidated building.

"You ain't do nothin', Pia," Jungkook says, tightening his grip on her wrist as he leads her down a new alley that looks just the same as all the others. 

Without the chain, there's nothing to stop her from running off, and Jungkook doesn't trust her not to go and get herself lost for the fun of it. He forgets that she just saved his skin, when she could have let him get royally fucked up instead.

"We can't go back to the ship," Jungkook laments. "If word gets out about you, the place'll be ransacked. There's no way in hell they're gonna think you're a fairy now."

"Well, what about the others—"

"Oh, you care all of a sudden?"

"No," she scowls.

"Good. It's none of your concern what happens to them. You heard Scythe. You know what they were sending you off to. They don't give a shit about you."

In their defence, none of the other boys really know the intricacies of the fairy trade. They don't know how abhorrent it truly is. Doesn't absolve them of their sins, but it makes it a little more excusable. Helps Jungkook forget what they do for a living, at least. He'd go mad if he didn't.

"You think I don't know that?" Pia snaps back, pulling her hand away from Jungkook's, but he doesn't ease up his grip. Is far stronger than her. Keeps her hand firmly clasped in his as he drags them away from the maze of buildings that the dealers dwell in.

They weave between gaggles of people, veering left then right, getting lost in the riot of it all. By the time they ease up, the cobbled streets are long gone. They're on neatly paved roads, now. Very few people are around, so he reaches over to the knot tied around the back of her head. Tears the chiffon veils from her.

The slight blur to her vision is remedied, Jungkook holding the chiffon in his spare hand and he takes her down yet another new lane.

So focused on arguing against him, Pia hadn't noticed just how far they'd fleed from the seedy hub of the island.

The buildings in this part of town are absurdly different to the decay of the dealer areas. White walls washed and well kept, there are daisies planted on the lawns. She knows very little about human dwellings, but judging by the lucky shells above doors, she thinks that these must be homes.

"My eyes—" she begins to panic, which is quite unlike her. Then again, she hardly even feels like herself these days.

"Ain't no magic in this neighbourhood," Jungkook snaps, a little agitated that she isn't as quick-witted as usual. They'd both be able to feel it if there was magic around the place. The only thing he can feel is her. That annoys him, too. "You'll be fine. You also look ridiculous wearing it here. There also aren't any prostitutes in this neighbourhood—"

"Yeah, thanks for that," she sneers.

"You'd have never worn it if I told you the truth," he rolls his eyes. "And it is fashion, so I didn't actually lie. It's just fashion for women of a certain profession—"

"They thought I was a prostitute."

"And I think you're a conniving, murderous fish," Jungkook snaps right back. He's stressed, and fuck— his back is killing him. He can feel it coursing through his veins; his wings punishing him for behaving so horrifically. "Hardly worse than someone just making a honest living, is it? The oldest profession in the realm. In fact, maybe you'd do well to learn from them. Y'know, such as putting aside your attitude to just get the fuckin' job done."

"Oh, fuck you," Pia says, stopping in her tracks. This time, she doesn't let Jungkook drag her along. She shakes off his grip, and he lets her go.

There's an ache in her chest as she realises he doesn't care if she leaves.

But she's tired. Has been growing weaker and weaker with every day spent away from the ocean. Used up what little energy she had left to entangle Scythe. She doesn't have the mental energy to go it alone, let alone the physical strength.

For better or for worse, she needs him.

"Kook, please," Pia softly whines. There's no malice to her words, and the look on her face is one of genuine anguish. Even though it's the result of her mistakes, none of this is her choice. She thought he understood that. "We have to be together right now. If I had it my way, I'd go home. I'd leave. I'm helping you. Please don't fight with me."

The look on Jungkook's face is hard to read. He seems apologetic, but he also seems incredibly perplexed. His upset is not Pia's fault. It's wrong for him to take it out on her.

That's why he dropped his grip on her. Of course he doesn't want her to leave—he just wants her to know that despite it all, he does trust her.

"Look, Pia—I'm sorry," he struggles to get his words out, apologies not something that come easily to him, for it means accepting fault. Fairies are rarely ever the ones in the wrong. He guess it explains why it feels like his wings are tearing themselves apart. He's not behaving like her should be. "I know this sucks. I know—"

Pia just shakes her head. Furrows her brows.

"What are you apologising for?" She interrupts, thinking it's not needed. Not right now. She just wants him to treat her like an equal. Superficial words mean nothing to her. "We're helping each other out. Neither of us will be in debt to the other once this is all over, Kook."

"I know, but—"

"But nothing," she offers a compassionate smile. "Don't pity me."

"It's not pity."

"Well whatever it is, don't. I'm helping because I'd want someone to help me if the roles were reversed. I think I'd die if what's happening to your sister happened to any of mine," she solemnly admits. "My heart would break, and I would simply die."

Empathy is a trait that Pia surprisingly carries off extremely well. As she begins to walk beside Jungkook again, arms folded over her chest, she's a little more closed off than normal. She does, however, nudge into him, just to get him smiling.

"Okay," she exhales, pleased he isn't insisting on more awkward apologies. "So, we've got two days until we meet with Scythe again. Now what?"

Jungkook purses his lips, squeaking them ever so quietly as he thinks of an answer that she deserves. Is absolutely stumped. Losing his cool was not part of the plan. His back is sore, and his wings are desperate to breathe, so fuck knows how much he's damaged them in the process. Violence causes cracks. Always.

He needs to heal just as much as she does.

"Fuck knows," he sighs, then nods towards an inn up ahead at the end of the lane. Like the rest of the neighbourhood, the building is well-kept. White wooden slats protect the exterior, while rose bushes line the lawn. They're not too far from the sea, and yet the neighbourhood seems unscathed from the bitter coastal air. "Going back to the ship is  death wish. Let's just rest up for the night?"

"You know who lives there?" Pia queries, not quite grasping the concept of an inn.

"Human thing," Jungkook says, realising that sirens must be like fairies, in that way. Hospitality is a shared trait. You're invited into homes because that just how community works. Humans lack that trait. Everything comes with a monetary value and a certain greed. "You pay to stay in a room for the night."

"Pay?!" she exclaims, highly baffled by it all.

"Mhm," Jungkook nods, as he leads her further up the lane.

"That's absurd," she declares. "Do you have enough money to cover it? I only ever trade in shells so I'm not sure what the conversion is like—"

"Yeah," he nods, tenderly fond and slightly enamoured by the intricacies of her life that he doesn't fully understand. Knows there's heaps of lost treasure down below. Figures she could just trade with that, and yet uses shells instead. Cute. "Got plenty."

"Okay," she nods, trusting him right back, because what other choice does she have at this point? "Two days, and this will all be done."

Oddly, this doesn't comfort Jungkook.

If anything, it just makes it worse.

end of part three

a/n: the next chapter will NOT be an epilogue -- instead it's gonna be chapter 4! there's just so much to unpack with this story hahaha