Call me a ghost for I no longer have a beating heart for you.

"Now there are six hands," Jungkook said, sliding his sword through two dead spirits.

"That light prince is mine!" The ugly spirit screeched, commanding the others to kill all that was alive in the room except for Jimin.

"I see your charms work on dead women as well?" Jungkook greeted Jimin with a nod of his head. "She is ready to throw hands for you."

Jimin smiled seeing the doe-eyed prince. "Might I say, throw hands at me!" A grunt passed the blonde prince's lips as he was pushed back into the wall by the spirit.

"It would be my pleasure to lend you a hand, but I have heard it is not polite to interfere in a lover's quarrel," Jungkook teased, slicing his swords through the dark shadows and earning non-stop screams. 

Jimin's lips turned up in amusement at the younger prince's comment, before he caught the spirit by her throat and dumped her on the ground. He drove his sword in a lightning strike that pierced into the spirit's chest which killed the already dead monster.

"Indeed. A heartbreaker." Jungkook sucked his teeth, shaking his head in disapproval.

Jimin's eyebrow quirked up at his playfulness. "Such a brat," he mumbled, eyes softening with adoration. "Glad to see you here. I want you to stay as lively as now by the end of this. Hence, protect yourself from them. Don't show any mercy. They are pure evil."

"And If the prince's hands begin shaking from fear, I will be here to protect him," Princess Ira said, slightly bowing her head in acknowledgment of Jimin's presence.

"Protect me? Rather, I would suggest you stay close to me, princess. They are not common people you were able to defeat because of the royalty in your blood. They are evil out from their graves."

She scoffed, swiftly swinging her sword through the dark shadow as two spirits fell on the ground before her, turning into ashes. 

Shoving back the curiosity to ask who she was, Jimin leaned closer to whisper into Jungkook's ear. "Lover's quarrel, I mustn't interfere."

_____

"Hoseok, first let us get out of here. We will find a way somehow to make things right." Inhee tried pulling him along with her by his arm.

He stood there in something of a daze. Lost in the melody of a song that she couldn't hear. It was as if she had to say the right words, in a voice that could reach his soul beyond the evil and fear.

"We haven't lost everything, brother," She said recalling the conversation they had a year ago. They rarely talked about their families and how they lost them even before they opened their eyes to the world.

"We lost everything, Hee," He had said to her. The words they both couldn't shake off their existence because regardless of the many treasures they owned, nothing compared to the love of a family.

"What do you mean?" he asked, eyes staring into hers, out of their foggy illusions.

"You are my brother."

He was frozen for what felt like a second before she felt him slipping out of her grasp. He stepped away from her in an urgency, a terror etched on his face. "I will not let anything happen to you," he said, "I need you to leave this place right away."

"We can find a way to end this without harming you," she softly let out. "We still have hope, but you have to come with me." She could see the change in his eyes, past the fear, a little hope glimmering. That is what she needed to hold on to. "Come with me, please. I don't want to lose you."

It was a miracle that he gave in, but she was on the lookout for another miracle that could free Hoseok of this curse. The only people who would know about this would be her uncle, who must have been in the war, and Taehyung, who just disappeared. She ran through the empty hallways with her brother by her side.

She must leave this palace while the spirits are being taken care of by her lover and her friend. "You don't want to fight me, princess," said a voice, pulling Inhee out of her trance. She felt a sharp sensation at the edge of her waist. As she turned to look around, stood a girl with a sword in her hands.

"Who are you?" Inhee asked, taking measured small steps towards the back of the hall.

"That's not anything of your concern." That girl shrugged. "But the thing you have become is a matter of my concern."

Inhee squinted her eyes, both in confusion and fury. "What have I become?" she asked.

"A monster," she growled, "because of you, we lost many of our people. It's only fair that you die to end the destruction you created."

It struck Inhee's mind. Whoever this girl was, must be thinking of Inhee as the person who called the dead back here. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Hoseok's hunched form, waiting for the right time to take the girl down.

"Do it," she sternly said. Something about the fierce gaze of the girl told Inhee about her inexperience. She could see that the girl was incapable of taking her life. If she could, she would have done so already. "Kill me," Inhee mocked.

"Inhee!" The familiar voice caught her attention. The sword pointed at her waist already forgotten as she spun on her boots to face the person she least expected to show up.

"Jungkook?" He pulled her in his embrace while Inhee stood there in confusion.

"Did I not warn you?" Jungkook asked Princess Ira, pulling Inhee behind him. "I won't let you hurt her."

Ira glared at Jungkook. "This is about innocent lives-"

"Fear for your life first," Hoseok said from behind her, putting a sword to her throat.

Ira kept her eyes locked with Jungkook as she whispered through the stinging pain, "You must do the right thing."

"Let her go, Hoseok," Jungkook said. "She knows the way out."

_____

Jimin watched with wide eyes, in confusion, as Yoongi threw the fire torch on the lot of books he had gathered. "Do you wish to be roasted into a turkey? Yoongi asked, pulling Jimin out of that room with himself. They both ran through the screams that filled the palace.

They both were panting hard until they reached the stable, taking their horses.  They spotted Inhee with the others, making their way out of the dry woods.

Jimin was the first one to dismount his ride and ran up to take Inhee in his arms. "I can't express how glad I am to see you alive and well," he whispered in her hair.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again," Inhee voiced the fear she held in her heart all this time, tears accompanying her words.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me," Hoseok spoke, catching all of their attention. "I suggest you kill me right away before the death comes for you."

"There has to be another way!" Inhee said, defensively. "No one shall harm as much as a single thread of my brother's hair."

Realizing now who the real heir to the Crimson Throne was, Princess Ira stated, "If he doesn't die, all my people will!" Her eyes set burning on Hoseok.

And as if the old trees recognized their land's princess, they all swayed in agreement. "The power of trees," Yoongi muttered, making a note to himself.

"We promise we will find another way to end this," Jungkook said, pulling Ira back by her shoulders, away from Hoseok.

"We have to find Prince Taehyung," Jimin suggested. "He must know how to end this curse."

"I think I can help," Ira mumbled, voice barely reaching them.

Inhee inquired her with a stern gaze. Jungkook stepped in between them. "She can help us," he said to Inhee before turning to the other princess. "Tell us how?"

"Only the heir of the Crimson Throne can call the dead. Therefore, only the heir must be able to ask them to leave," she said as if reciting a quote she had read. "If I'm right, it should take place at the same graveyard."

"I will take Hoseok to the graveyard. Inhee you must go back to King Seokjin with the antidote," Jimin commanded.

They had to part ways once again. Jungkook and Inhee headed back to The White Palace while Ira, Jimin, and Yoongi accompanied Hoseok on his quest.