A/N: Hi everyone. Hope you're enjoying the story so far...I have big plans for the future! :)

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Soft chirps of morning doves hidden in the nooks and crannies of the castle walls brought the Oak Prince to a half-awakened state. By the brightness of the sun on the backs of his closed eyelids, he assumed it was late morning. Lying there as the sun grew higher in the sky, the ravenette's mind wandered to his dream.

He had an eerie dream that Jimin had returned from the dead, dressed strangely as a-

"Hey, Mr. Sleepyhead," a familiar whisper wormed into his thoughts, "You need to get up or you'll be late for your meeting."

Jungkook groaned as his body stretched long, his sore muscles pulling against the bed sheets.

"Tae," the Oak Prince slowly cracked his eyes open. The blonde was fully dressed and ready for the day, "What...what time is it?"

"Kook, you know I can't read your lips when you mumble like that..."

"I was asking-"

"It's nine," Taehyung chimed, correctly guessing what Jungkook asked.

The ravenette sat up, eyes foggy as the bright sun blinded him. A strange sense that something was off entered his body. Pushing a hand through his unruly black morning hair, his head turned to survey the bedroom.

"Wasn't Rose-"

Taehyung sat on the bed next to him, "Rose slept in our bed last night, 'member? You carried her in I think--well honestly, I had passed out already but-"

"Oh...yeah," Jungkook's eyes communicated the worry to the blonde, "I remember now...because she was freezing. Not just cold, Taehyung, I mean like freezing. We should bring her to-"

"Doctor G? I could bring her while you're at your meeting this morning."

"Perfect."

As a mode of gratitude, Jungkook gave the blonde a tired smile before pressing a kiss to his temple. Taehyung returned the gesture by running his lithe fingers up and down the younger's sides. Jungkook leaned into the other's touch, nuzzling his head into the blonde's neck. The ravenette began trailing hasty kisse down a tan throat.

"Kook..." Taehyung visibly swallowed, "You're going to be late. Not now..." the Oak Prince leaned back with a defeated eye roll.

"Just kiss me once thennnnnn."

Happy to oblige, Taehyung leaned into the younger's pursed lips as he giggled. Each male hummed into the kiss, the blonde laughing as Jungkook's neediness prompted him to bite gently on the other's lower lip.

"Sir," Taehyung murmured against the other's lips, "I don't understand how you can go from so exasperated to terribly horny in one day."

The ravenette pulled back, a question filling his hazy early mindset. 

Exasperated? Why would he be exasp-

"Oh my God," the blonde's face looked semi-horrified, "Don't tell me you don't remember..."

Jungkook's eyes lit up with an unwelcome understanding, "Jimin. T-the...damn it, that wasn't a dream..."

Taehyung's disbelief was audible as his tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth. A sigh escaped his mouth, "Really. I...if it was a dream then it was one hell of a nightmare."

The ravenette nodded numbly as he rolled off of the bed to stand. Taehyung did the same.

"Well...ugh, I don't want to worry myself sick about him returning but...just keep your eyes peeled. If you see or hear anything suspicious, come to me-"

"Okay, alright," Taehyung gave the ravenette an encouraging pat on the shoulder, "I'll do my best on the hearing part--so don't expect much."

The Oak Prince rolled his eyes and shoved Taehyung playfully back on the bed. Walking to his wardrobe, he quickly picked out his usual plain black attire and pulled it on. When he turned around the blonde was frowning at the window. Jungkook met his line of sight.

Taehyung noticed and looked away, "It's nothing, Kook. I'm just upset that-"

"It's going to rain. Of course. You hate rain."

The blonde sighed as an answer, nodding glumly as he strode out the door without another word.

Jungkook made his way to the side table, retrieving the same pocket watch he always wore and attaching it securely to his person.

"Damn it...how is it 9:15 already?" Jungkook hissed between his teeth. He rushed to apply oils and straighten out his bedraggled hair before taking off to his meeting. 

The gentle thrumming of rain against the castle walls greeted his ears as his feet carried him to the planning room. He didn't mind the rain as much as Taehyung did. Rain reminded the blonde of losing the Laurel Castle and the old Stone Prince...but to Jungkook the rain couldn't possibly hold all of those bad memories. Rain to him marked change and reflection. 

Reflection...reflection.

He needed to reflect on the events of last night. 

Park Jimin, after years of being dead, came back last night alive as ever--looks changed, timing poor, but the same stance and stubborn jut in his hip that meant he wanted to talk. 

And boy, did Jungkook want to talk to him too. 

He had so many questions. Why did Jimin have white hair and red eyes? What made him come back after three years? Was Jimin really a demon? Did Jimin...still love-

No. No. Jungkook would not ask Jimin that. He was too afraid the answer would be a no.

But did it even matter? It wasn't like the demon that had control over Jimin's old body could care for him anyway...right?

The ravenette angrily pushed his bangs out of his eyes as he emerged into the meeting room. Tens of eyes shot up to meet his entrance; many faces greeted him politely as he took his seat at the head of the oak table. 

He cleared his throat, allowing himself a quick glance at his pocket watch. 

9:24. 

Perfect timing.

"Good morning everyone," he started. A few Laurel Court members sitting in for Eonjin smiled at him, "As you all know, the North is almost finished with its rebuilding and renovations..."

A few subtle nods. Some coughing.

"Which is a good thing. However, we are seeing an excessive growth in the population up there, near the towns bordering the Stone Castle. While growth is great, the expanding number of people is causing problems-"

"Yes sir," a Stone Court member that Jungkook knew well was tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the table, "It seems the rate at which food is being produced is hardly proportionate to the birth rate. If this continues for long-"

"People are going to starve!" butted in an anxious-looking Stone member, "If Prince Jeon really cared about the citizens of Noirwood, he would've listened to Florian's suggestion of shipping more food up there!"

A few gasps escaped the attendees open mouths. The man clearly didn't mind the stares he was garnering; his face betrayed the pure anger he felt in the moment with little regard to anything else. 

"Sir," Jungkook began, "You need to understand that-"

"I understand plenty," the man huffed, "You southerners are too selfish to help out others, even if it means they'll starve. The Oak Region has a huge surplus of food, with it located alongside the sea and all. Can't you listen to the Stone Prince like a good counterpart should? Send a little?"

"I-"

"Oh wait," the man wouldn't let Jungkook speak. He stood up off of his chair and motioned to the castle as a whole, "You're probably too busy with that husband of yours to even consider the well being of Noirwood! You don't care about the North or its people-"

"ENOUGH!" the Oak Prince slammed a fist on the table. He was not in the mood for altercations that morning, "You-" he pointed at an Oak Soldier standing near the door, "Remove this man at once."

Obliging instantly, the soldier walked over to the man and firmly gripped his upper arm. The man stared daggers at the ravenette as he was pulled silently to the doorway. Jungkook thought it was over as the man turned away from him, heading for the exit. But he was wrong.

With a snide look over his shoulder at the Oak Prince, the enraged man spat out words that made Jungkook's blood boil.

"You can't even take care of your own daughter--We've all heard the stories about her failing health. That in itself proves that you can't take care of Noirwood. You're a failure of a father AND a ruler!"

With that last comment, the soldier shoved the man particularly hard out the door. The door closed with a strong thud. Jungkook's eyes were still burning against the closed door as the air turned dreadfully quiet. 

He didn't realize his hands were trembling with rage until the Oak Court member closest him laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Digging his nails into his palms, the ravenette removed his eyes from the door to face his advisor.

"Sir, none of us think you are a bad ruler except for Will. He's probably acting like this because he has his own family up North-"

"Understood," the Oak Prince tried to force the hurt expression off of his face with effort, "I don't blame him. But if he would've listened to what I was going to say, maybe he wouldn't have ended up personally attacking me."

Siding with Jungkook, the other council members nodded as their moods stabilized. The Oak Prince moved back to the topic at hand.

"So, the population issue in the North...as Will was saying...it'll be a matter of months before the food reserves are low. The issue isn't dire enough for me to send tons of food immediately--that's why I rejected Florian's proposal. In order for the North to become self-sufficient, we'll need to make use of the barren lands up there; I called you in here today to discuss the possibility of developing those charred fields so that by spring they'll be fertile and-"

"Excuse me," a Stone woman raised a hand from the far end of the table, "I don't mean to intrude on your idea, but Florian has already explored that option. He deemed that it wouldn't be worth the time and effort needed to make it succeed."

The ravenette frowned. Since when had Florian believed a sustainable addition to the north wouldn't be worth the time and effort for his people? Never.

"Are you sure?" Jungkook was wary of the way the woman was nodding, "Because the effort would be funded through the Oak treasury, with some reinforcements sent up by me-"

"Oh heavens," the woman swatted the air as if clearing what the Oak Prince had said, "The funding and number of able-bodies isn't the problem..." she trailed off to gaze at the rain-drops speckling the window.

"Then what is it?" her colleague asked, "You never explained to me why Florian said no."

"Well..." the woman unknowingly rubbed her lips back and forth together as she spoke. Jungkook could sense her hesitation to reveal the reason, "When Florian sent out scouts to those burnt lands to survey the ground, they never returned. Well...all but one did."

"And what did that one say? What happened? Was it a band of savages?" Jungkook realized his chest was pressing into the table from his curiosity.

"No, not a band of savages," the woman continued, eyes resting on the clouds outside, "The man who returned claimed...h-he claimed that something dark had control over the land-"

"What do you mean 'something dark'?" the ravenette pressed, not trying to come off as too pushy, "As in another Jihoon?"

After the name slipped from his lips the room got quiet. It was as if the name itself was a curse that no one wanted to speak of, even if three years had passed.

"No. Not like that," the woman sighed, "The man told Florian that there were apparently huge tunnels built underground there-"

"Tunnels?" Jungkook was incredulous. Never before had he heard of tunnels in the north, especially ones that were in such remote places.

"Yes, tunnels. And he said they went on forever and it was so dark that the other men got lost. He came upon some disturbing stuff that he wouldn't share with me, but told me repeatedly to avoid the land at all costs."

The Oak Prince furrowed his brow, "Hmmm. Perhaps they were tunnels of the old peoples...before Noirwood was founded? That calls for an investigation, don't you think? Why wouldn't Florian-"

"I don't think that young lad is too fond of ghosts," a Stone member said flatly, "And if it's underground tombs you're talking about..."

"Okay. Okay. Thank you for explaining it to me. I want none of this to spread outside of this room to prevent mass hysteria. I'll talk to Florian about these 'tombs' personally. Tomorrow I'll travel up there for a couple days."

A few murmurs of approval told Jungkook that he had done enough to quell their worries and regain their confidence since the incident. As everyone was planning to leave and Jungkook was about to wrap up the meeting, a knock sounded at the door.

Startled, the Oak Prince didn't get a chance to ask who it was before the door opened a crack. The man from before stood there, an arrogant smirk on his face. 

"Mr. Jeon," the smugness in his voice was palpable, setting Jungkook's stomach on edge, "Your husband wishes to see you in the library after the meeting is over."

Jungkook nodded politely at all of the members in attendance before stalking towards the door. His eyes never left the man's testing stare.

"The meeting is over. So is your spot on the council."

A slight wave of horror washed over the man's features as he opened the door wide enough for the ravenette to walk through.

"Oak Prince, sir--if I would've known-"

Jungkook cut him off with a poke to the chest, "For your information, I'm an amazing husband and father. For you to claim anything otherwise was a huge mistake on your part."

The man blubbered apologies as he clung against the door frame. Jungkook ignored him as he began to move away. 

"B-but, Mr. Jeon, I have children and a wife that I need to f e e d..."

The Oak Prince droned the man out by focusing on the hard pounding of the rain on the hallway windows.

Change and reflection.

Change and reflection.

*  *  *

"You look pissed babe."

Taehyung was comfortably sitting in a blue armchair, bouncing Rose on his knee. A children's book was propped open in one of his tan hands.

"Hey! Language!" the ravenette walked across the wooden floor of the library towards his family. Rose clapped her hands together as her father drew closer, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear myself say the words...so--guess it never happened."

"Happened!" Rose repeated excitedly as Jungkook picked her up. The ravenette scoffed at the blonde.

"So," Taehyung pursed his pink lips, "How'd the meeting go? If I had to guess..."

Jungkook covered Rose's small ears before irritably shaking his head at the blonde, "It was fucking terrible."

"Oh," the blonde seemed to understand that Jungkook didn't want to speak about it, "If you need me to fight anyone, Kook-"

"Yes, I'll let you know if I need anyone dead, Tae," Rose wiggled free of Jungkook's hands on her ears, leaning towards the floor. The Oak Prince set her down and she took off towards some bookshelves, singing a song about the sun as she went.

"Is she singing? What's it about this time? I tried to get her to explain what she was singing to me once-"

"What did you want to talk about Tae? I saw you less than an hour ago."

Taehyung appeared irritated by the interruption, his lips flattening out, "Oh yeah. I...well, I came here to find books for you about, uh, demonology after I brought Rose to Dr. G-"

"I almost forgot about that!" By reflex, Jungkook moved to sit down to listen to Taehyung's story. No other armchairs looked as comfortable as the blonde's lap, so that's exactly where he sat, "What did the doctor say?"

Taehyung chuckled and wrapped an arm around the ravenette's waist, "Good news. Doctor G says she's doing well, that the coldness you described is normal for someone with her problem, on a certain level..." the blonde paused as Jungkook tiredly leaned into his chest, ear pressed up against his beating heart, "But...you know, if this persists and she can't sleep because of her body temperature, he wants us to meet him again."

"Daddy!" Rose squealed as she lumbered over to the pair with a large book in her hands. When she drew close enough to the chair, she threw the book down nonchalantly, the pages fluttering open violently as the cover slapped the wooden floor.

"Hey!" Taehyung grabbed Jungkook's thigh hard as he leaned towards his daughter, a warning look on his face, "I told you not to throw books, Rose. Please pick that up-"

"Wait," the ravenette bounded off of the blonde, his gaze set on the page of the book that was open, "Is...is that-"

"A monster! AAAAHHHH!" Rose's hands quivered as she sprinted and crashed into Taehyung's knee. The blonde lifted her up and set the girl on his lap while the Oak Prince snatched the book up.

"No honey, that's not a monster-"

"Tae, was this the book you found about...about the business I needed to read?"

Rose clung on to Taehyung's tan hand, playing with his fingers as she repeated what the ravenette had said, "Tae, what's this bidness?"

The blonde gave Jungkook a questioning look as he probably didn't read her lips right. The ravenette mimicked a copying gesture, and Taehyung smiled.

"This business is NOT for you, hun. Go play, the monsters won't jump off the pages." 

The girl hopped off of Taehyung easily enough, racing back to the bookshelf she was playing near earlier. She gave the book in Jungkook's hand a wide girth before running off on her stubby legs.

"To answer your question," the blonde pointed at the fat book in the other's hand, "Yes. That's...the book of demonology I found in here. It's ancient, like, super dusty, ready-to-fall-apart ancient," Taehyung made a face. 

"Don't worry, I won't make you read it," Jungkook was hardly paying attention to his husband by this point, scanning the pages eagerly, "'Summoning, Categories of Demons, Weaknesses, History.' Tae, this is perfect."

The ravenette's eyes were alight with hope as he lunged towards the blonde, meaning to kiss him on the forehead.

"TAE!" Rose suddenly screamed, jolting Jungkook so that he bumped his nose with Taehyung's.

"Ow..." the blonde grumbled, rubbing his nose, "What the he-"

"What is it, Rose?" the ravenette asked while blinking daringly at Taehyung, "What do you need?"

"I found a book about bears! Read it to me Tae!" Rose scampered back over to the reading chair, her cheeks red with exertion.

"What about me?" Jungkook bent down so that he was eye level with his daughter, "Why can't I read it to you?"

Rose looked between her fathers in confusion for a moment. She blinked her long lashes as she thought of a response.

"I..." Rose held the book out to the blonde, "No. You can't read it daddy. Only Tae can read to me. I have a daddy for reading, a daddy for holding me, and a daddy for singing..."

"Oh my. She has quite the assortment of fathers," Taehyung sported a cheesy smile, "I guess I'm lucky I'm not the singing father, cause I can't stay in tune."

"Neither can I," Jungkook admitted as he opened the huge book about demons in his lap. The rain incessantly dripped down the library windows.

If any time was the best time to reflect on his past and on Jimin...it was now.

He flicked the book open to the section entitled History of Demons and began reading. 

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