Taehyung waited until Jimin finally came to his room. He'd been waiting there for what felt like forever. He'd taken the much encouraged nap and just regretted it. He'd had a dream. No, a nightmare.

He was in the middle of this forest and suddenly a dark black cloud began swirling around him – began engulfing him. He cried out, his voice echoing and sounding scratched. The cloud ate him up until there was no more light to shine through. Surrounded him until Taehyung woke up in a cold sweat.

"Hey, you're here. Came to say goodnight?" Jimin asked approaching the younger. He patted his shoulder and opened the doors to his room, Taehyung following after him silently.

"Are you feeling alright?" Jimin asked, taking off his accessories and placing them on his table.

"Mhm."

Jimin nodded, digging through his drawer for his nightwear. "You should get some sleep. The next few weeks are probably going to be hectic."

"Why won't you look me in the eye?" Taehyung asked, finally speaking.

Jimin froze for a moment. He then turned around, his lips that were resting curving into a smile. A fake smile Taehyung saw right through.

"What do you mean, silly?" Jimin asked, giving a quick chuckle before going back to his closet. He took out a random silk robe and began undressing. It was usual for the two to dress in front of each other.

"Jimin, are you hiding something from me?" Taehyung questioned, carefully observing the change in Jimin's facial expression.

Jimin tied the belt, securing the robe. He looked at Taehyung with the plastic smile again. "When have I ever hidden something from you? Well, other than the whole elf prince thing," he answered, adding a forced laugh at the end.

Taehyung leaned against the bed frame, arms crossed and brow raised. "Really?"

"Gosh. Go to bed, Tae."

Taehyung sighed. "What do you think about my gift?"

It was just for a split second, but Taehyung saw the panic that washed over him

"I think it's wonderful. You're going to be just like your father. Maybe greater."

"And Namjoon?"

"He thinks the same."

Taehyung nodded. He knew he wasn't going to get anything out of Jimin. Although he was a terrible liar, if he wanted to hide or protect something, he'll go to the ends to do so.

"Goodnight, Jimin," Taehyung said, heading to the doors.

"Night, Tae. Love you lots," Jimin replied.

Taehyung looked back. He didn't have a reason to be mad at Jimin, he knew if the older's lips weren't sealed he would've told Taehyung in a heartbeat. Now that makes t all the more suspicious, that it was something Jimin wanted to hide from the younger as well.

Taehyung smiled. "Love you too. Sweet dreams."

•—•—•

Taehyung entered the training room, but unlike usual days, there were more spectators today. Namjoon, Yoongi, Prince Jin and his mother sat at a table at the side.

"Oh, Prince Taehyung has arrived," Linda said. She got up and went to give him a hug as greeting. "I heard all the good news," she said with a bright smile. "Sorry I was away on another trip, but I won't have to do all this alone now that you'll join me."

Taehyung lifted his brows, a little confused on what she meant but nodded anyways. He said a few more words to his aunt before going over to Jeongguk who was setting up some sort of machine with Hoseok.

"Hey, guys," Taehyung said, stopping whatever argument they were having. They were being so quiet, he only heard murmurs as he was approaching.

Hoseok head whipped around as he gave a glare to the Prince. "Your highness," he greeted roughly.

"Um, okay. What happened?"

Jeongguk rolled his eyes then looked at Taehyung. "Yoongi heard about the rumours," he explained.

"Did he confront you?" Taehyung asked, suddenly getting invested.

Hoseok shook his head. "But he's been acting weird, avoiding me. I mean that's kind of usual but even Prince Jin heard about it, no way he didn't. Watch." Hoseok set the machine in his hand down and turned his head back.

"Hey, Yoongs, wanna help us with this? Having some bugs," Hoseok called out.

Yoongi looked at him, blinked twice, then began to look everywhere except him before coughing loudly and beginning a conversation with Namjoon.

Hoseok turned back and lifted his shoulder. "See??"

Taehyung and Jeongguk shared a quick look, both having the same ideas cross their mind as Hoseok returned to work on the machine.

"Anyways, what is that?" Taehyung asked, pointing at whatever that was.

"It's a machine that basically measures the power of your attacks. That's not the exact definition but just in summary. Okay, Gguk can you test it out?" Hoseok asked, setting the machine down. He made sure to be behind the machine with Taehyung as Jeongguk went to the middle of the room.

There was a target at the other end. Jeongguk focused up a bright blue light came off from his hand before he flung it the target. At nearly the speed of light, his little ball hit the wall which began to instantly crystallize and make the room feel colder. Ice covered almost the entire wall, spiking out in random areas.

"Your gift still amazes me, Jeongguk. It's actually quite beautiful," Linda commented. Jeongguk bowed his head to thank her.

"Wow, way to show off," Hoseok muttered as he went to read the machine. Jeongguk went over to them, smiling lightly at the elf's remark. His smile got wider as he saw Taehyung still staring at the wall, mouth wide open, amazed.

"Uh, so we just going to leave it like that?" Taehyung asked, pointing at all the ice.

"Doesn't matter if your gift works," Hoseok said simply, resetting the machine. He set it back down and looked at Taehyung. "Your turn, Prince Taehyung."

Taehyung nodded and walked over to where Jeongguk had been. He watched as everyone waited attentively for him to do something that'll blow their minds away. Taehyung gulped and raised an arm, but he knew it wouldn't be that simply. He licked his lips and readjusted his feet.

Nothing was happening. He tried to concentrate, but couldn't. He didn't know what to do. He looked at Jeongguk.

"You can do this," he mouthed, offering a smile. Taehyung nodded. He took a big breath, closed his eyes, and focused all his energy into this. He recalled how it felt the previous day. He recalled all the training he'd been with Jeongguk.

Taehyung opened his eyes and gave it his all, and an instant flash of something went off from his hand and hit the wall. Well, more like destroyed the wall. The ice shattered along with it. They had an open view to the gym.

It was dead silent as everyone was speechless. Taehyung lowered his arm, scared from how quiet everyone was that it wasn't him who caused.

"Oh my Elvador," Jin finally spoke. Everyone then one by one broke out into big smiles.

"He might be stronger than the late King," Linda said, eyes trained on the wall.

"And if he learns to control it, he could be the strongest of them all," Namjoon added, but he sounded more disappointed than impressed.

It all felt surreal to Taehyung. He looked out at his hand, closing and opening his fingers, examining what in the world just happened.

"My god, what spell did you use?" Jeongguk asked, approaching the elf with a proud smile.

Taehyung shrugged. "I don't know."

Jeongguk raised a brow. "You don't know? I mean, it's normal for it to just come without casting a spell to someone who's been so used to it but that was your first time."

Taehyung shrugged again. After that, Jeongguk shooed everyone out when Taehyung whispered to him that he felt uncomfortable with everyone there. They also moved to a different room as they had some helper elves fixing up the wall. Usually an undo spell would work just fine, but not in that case.

Jeongguk took off his coat so that it was just his loose black sleeveless top and pants. He sat on the ground and patted the floor. Taehyung, confused, took the seat on the ground in front of Jeongguk.

"Okay, we clearly see what you can do, but now you have to be able to control it," Jeongguk explained. Taehyung nodded, looking right at Jeongguk.

Jeongguk clapped but kept his hands together. He nodded, signalling Taehyung to copy. Taehyung did a weak clap, looked down at his hand then back at Jeongguk.

"Now what?" Taehyung asked.

"Now..." Jeongguk started. He slowly separated his hands, a small ice blue orb forming. "Concentrate, do exactly what you did in the combat room but at a smaller scale. Focus all your energy into this."

Taehyung nodded. He did exactly what Jeongguk did, but nothing came. Jeongguk's orb died out as he moved his hands to scoot closer.

"Concentrate, Tae. You can do it," Jeongguk said softly.

Taehyung's heart fluttered for a quick bit. He got lost in Jeongguk's eyes for a moment, but he snapped himself out. He tried again, but putting all his attention to it. This time when he separated his hands, a white orb had formed.

Taehyung's lips broke to a big smile. All the other situations where he'd used his gifts were so instant that he had doubts that it was even him. Seeing it up close made him realize how real this all was. That he was just not some normal human who'd been mistakenly brought here and given elf ears.

"I did it! I'm doing it!" Taehyung looked up to see Jeongguk with a smile as big as his, teeth and all.

His stomach now did a whole summersault.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Control it," Jeongguk began to yell. Taehyung blinked rapidly and turned his attention back to the orb that began to grow bigger and glow brighter.

Taehyung began to falter, not knowing what to do as it just got worse. He tried to control it but he just couldn't. He let his hands get wider. Then when Jeongguk's put his hand over his, Taehyung lost it. He couldn't even hear or process Jeongguk repeatedly telling him to control it as the orb got brighter. It eventually blinded him at one point before Jeongguk forced his hands to close.

Jeongguk took his hands back and Taehyung felt like he could finally breathe.

"What was that?" Jeongguk asked sounding alarmed.

Taehyung abruptly got on his feet. "I'm– um– I'm tired. Nap. I'm going to have a nap. Bye." Taehyung basically sprinted to the door and shut it quickly. He laid his back against the door, breathing heavily, not caring if the guards at the door looked at him confused. With a hand placed over his heart that was beating too fast for his own good, Taehyung knew he'd tangled himself in a newfound mess.

•—•—•

"Do you like an elf here?" Jimin asked.

Taehyung's eyes widened. He stopped fixing his hair in the mirror and looked at his best friend.

"What?"

Jimin hopped off the bed and approached Taehyung, a smile dancing on his lips. He patted his shoulder and looked at the mirror.

"Well my friend, whenever you have a crush you pay extra attention to your appearance," Jimin said, making Taehyung look away and bite his lip. "Remember when you liked that Baekhyun boy? You were exactly like this every day before class."

"Jimin, oh my god no. We don't talk about that," Taehyung said quickly. He was more embarrassed than sad about that rejection. He just had to go on and like a straight guy even though he knew he had the hots for some girl and just had to confess in front of both of them drunk.

Jimin smirked and went around the elf so that he their faces met. "So, who's the lucky elf?"

"Shut up. I don't like anyone! I'm just..." Taehyung thought for a couple seconds. "Making myself more presentable. I'm a prince, I need to look prim and proper."

"Mhm, since when have you cared about that?"

Taehyung closed his jewelry box harshly, creating a large sound. "Since now," He said trying to sound serious but it came off more as a whine.

"Alright, alright."

Taehyung huffed and walked over to his closet. As he pretended to find a robe to wear, he finally confronted himself. He's been avoiding thinking about it, but he can't keep pushing away his feelings.

Honestly, it hit him like a truck, he just never saw it coming. It started off as a friendship but it's now definitely much more to him. He just wanted to be a supportive friend but his stupid heart just had to want more. Taehyung didn't know when it exactly started, but it's here now.

He turned back to Jimin who followed after him, looking at what he could steal from the younger's closet.

"I like Jeongguk."

Jimin's stopped his searing and looked at Taehyung, eyes widened. "Wowza."

Taehyung sighed. "But it'll never happen."

"'Cause he likes my brother?"

"What? How did you know?"

Jimin offered a smile as he walked closer to him. "We tell each other everything, duh. And I overheard you two talking about it once. I'm sorry, bub." He engulfed the other in a hug, one that Taehyung gladly returned. Jimin continued. "But I don't think it was that kind of love."

They broke away from the hug but still held each other. Taehyung hummed, wanting him to go on.

"He lost everyone and Namjoon was all he had. I'm not trying to invalidate his feelings, but it's just what Namjoon thinks. But that doesn't matter. He's trying to move on now and they've gotten casual around each other again."

"But what if he did really love him? Still does?" Taehyung asked weakly. "I-I mean, it's just a little crush. Nothing big. I'm not even sure, to be honest."

"Okay well, what made your feelings for him shift?" Jimin inquired.

He didn't even need to think about it as he spoke. "Well at first I thought he was just this adorable hot-headed guy– elf. He was cute and sexy at the same time and I didn't know it was possible. It was shameless flirting cause why not but as soon as I found out he liked Namjoon, I was supportive. Never jealous. But now recently, I don't know. Maybe it's how much he cares for me. He's so humble and kind, he's the type to put others before him. He doesn't fear anything and stands up for what he believes in, never backs out."

Jimin giggled. "Okay I would say the same things about him. Doesn't mean I have a crush on him, now does it? Tell me how you feel when you're with him."

"Well... I held his hand this one time and I never wanted to let go. It felt so– felt so right, you know? My heart starts to beat so fast and there's a million butterflies in my stomach and all he has to do is just look me in the eye and wow I'm a goner. I wanna protect him at all costs, make sure he's happy, see that beautiful smile of his."

Jimin scoffed. "Good luck with that. Jeongguk never smiles."

"What? Yes he does. It's the cutest," Taehyung said in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh... well then."

"Well then...?"

Jimin patted the side of arm before returning to surf through his closet. "You like him."

"Well yeah thanks genius. Tell me what to do now."

Jimin shrugged. "Confess."

"Jimin!"

"What?" Jimin stretched. "Tell him how you feel. Take him on a date. Have a go before you have to start your tour to all the kingdoms and get swarmed with work. You're off the hook as of now because Namjoon and Prince Jin thinks you're not ready just yet. A king won't have that much time to date, Tae."

Taehyung frowned. Oh right, he was the heir to the throne. He's been excited for that even with all the new responsibilities coming his way, but he never really thought of how difficult that may be. It wouldn't just ordering people to do things for him, he'd have to get things done himself.

"Will Jeongguk come with us on the tour?" Taehyung asked eagerly.

"His choice."

Taehyung nodded. He finally grabbed a navy blue robe with white faux fur lining and put it on. Finding out his family secret can be momentarily paused. He could focus on his love life for a bit.

"You ready to go see them?" Jimin asked as he saw him put on the last garment.

"Yes!"

They hurried off together to the portal room where Namjoon waited. He was watching the portal doors carefully. A few minutes later, the doors finally opened.

Taehyung didn't think, he ran up to them passing Yoongi and hugged them tightly.

"Mom, dad. I misssd you both," Taehyung said releasing them from his hug.

Marie, his adoptive mother, wiped at her eyes to stop the tears from dropping. She cupped the elf's cheek.

"Us too, baby. We're so proud of you."

"Thank you for bringing us back home," his father added.

Taehyung smiled big. "Stop, don't say thank you to me. If there's anyone to show our gratitudes towards, it's these guys."

The couple smiled and looked at the three elves behind him and offered a bow that Taehyung also joined in. Okay, his love life could wait too. Taehyung wanted to have some quality family time above all.

He didn't really realize how much he really loved his parents until he'd been without them for so long. They've been with him through it all and they've always wanted the best for him. Now that's one love that Taehyung would never have to question.

—•
MkAy I don't know  what this update was y'all im just tryna get the story moving a little bit faster !!!

Bye<3